“But you got her away from that husband she wasn’t happy with.”
“Not far enough, but that’s not what she asked of me.”
James had rarely ever made promises back then and certainly not to women. He recalled vividly the day he did. Sarah had brought over a basket of treats that she’d baked for Jeremy. He knew from Jeremy that she often did that when James was away. But he was home that day and she asked if she could speak with him privately, so he walked with her in the garden behind his house. He’d bought the plantation that bordered hers to give Jeremy a home, not to actually become a planter. But he did anyway. The land was simply too fertile to ignore, and at Connie’s request they planted crops on most of it, though James insisted on having gardens about the house.
When she didn’t speak immediately, James remarked with a smile, “Your boy has been throwing rocks at my house again. I hope you don’t think you need to apologize for him.”
She gave him a wry smile. “I can’t imagine why, but he’s afraid of you for some reason. The rock throwing is to show you he’s not.”
“That’s courage, to defy his fear.”
“I suppose it is. I’ve tried to get him to come over here with me so he can see for himself that you’re a nice man, but he refuses.” At James’s laugh, she asked, “What amuses you?”
“I don’t think anyone has ever used that word to describe me, Mrs. Ross. But if this isn’t what you wanted to talk about...?”
“No, there’s something else.” She shook her head sadly. “I’ve decided that I must leave my husband. He and I were never suited and—and his gambling has grown worse, and now there is drinking—”
“Has he hurt you?” James cut in with a snarl.
“Goodness, I see now why you can strike fear into a child. No, it’s nothing like that. I was just never happy here, and now it’s so much worse. I don’t want Damon to end up a pauper.”
“Divorce him.”
“I wish I could, but my family would never accept that stigma, and I do want to return to them. But my husband won’t let me go if I try to take our son with me, and I won’t leave without him, so I must leave in secrecy.”
“Do you need money for passage?”
“No, but I hope you’ll take us with you to England the next time you sail there.”
He should have just told her the truth, that he didn’t allow women aboard his ship unless they occupied his bed. Instead he’d lied and told her he had no immediate plans to return to England when in fact he was heading back to the homeland the next day to settle his score with Nicholas Eden.
“I was taken with her,” James said to Conrad now. “She certainly was beautiful. And I was tempted, but she tugged at something else in me that made me want to help her instead of seducing her. She was so bloody melancholy, yet so gracious.”
“But you did help her.”
“Not really. I told her I’d get both her and her son to a ship that would take them to England. She came to the house the next day to get that help, but the boy bolted, and I saw bruises on her arms this time. I bloody well wasn’t going to leave her there for more abuse. So I insisted she come with me and wait in Port Antonio, where we dropped her off. I promised that when I returned, I would help her get the boy away from his father. But Eden and then George proved too much of a distraction. I never did get back to Jamaica to help her.”
“You tried your best. She was a woman of some means. No doubt she made other arrangements, might even have returned to England alone to get her parents’ help in retrieving the boy.”
“Her husband, Cyril, might have been something of a wastrel, but from the few times I saw him in the fields with his son, I could see they obviously shared a closeness. So the lad wouldn’t have come to harm before she could fetch him away from there.” Then James rolled his eyes. “I haven’t thought of her in ages. But I wish I’d kept my promise.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
JACK OPENED HER EYESbut didn’t bother to get out of bed because she couldn’t bear to spend yet another boring day practically by herself in the cabin. Although Damon had given her books four days ago, they weren’t helping to distract her when she’d already read most of them.
Five trunks filled with clothes, soaps, and other amenities had been delivered that day she had her first bath. She’d been both delighted and furious that Damon had planned so well for her kidnapping that he’d even bought a wardrobe for her. Unless he’d stolen it. That was more likely. And she never did thank him. And he’d never explained further what he’d meant when he said Lacross was working for him even though she’d asked several times. Had he been lying? Bragging?
She hadn’t seen a lot of Bastard, whom she’d got in the habit of calling Damon in the last four days, either, except to help change his bandage. She had started to enjoy that intimate contact with him, though she’d never let him know it. But the rough seas they’d encountered kept him at the wheel so much, a few nights he hadn’t even gotten back to the cabin for his dinner, and when he did, he was too tired for conversation. She’d asked why he didn’t have more men capable of manning the wheel, but he’d fallen asleep before she got an answer. Even Mortimer had abandoned her, moving out of the cabin three nights ago, so she couldn’t question him, either.
Damon still wasn’t letting her see Jeremy, but was allowing them to send notes to each other. She was grateful—and for this she thanked Damon. But she didn’t trust him not to read the notes so she’d decided to make them cryptic, and to use phrases and references that only Jeremy would understand. She knew her brother had caught on when in her first note she’d asked him if he looked like Tony after a round at Knighton’s or like Boyd. Unfortunately, he’d answered,Like Boyd,which meant he had at least one injury that was going to be slow to heal. Then Jeremy suggested she do what Reggie would do to get Nick to attend a ball with her. She’d laughed at that one, but didn’t think her brother was really encouraging her to seduce the captain... well, at least not physically. But their cousin Reggie did use her feminine charms when she wanted to change her husband’s mind about something, so Jacqueline got the idea. Damon had even suggested she try seduction. Did all men think alike?
Considering that Damon did confirm an association with Lacross, even though he’d been utterly vague about it, she let Jeremy know by writing,Gabby and Drew once met our greatest enemy,so he’d know Damon had confirmed it. Jeremy’s reply to that wasWish I had a knife so I could start sharpening it.
Other than the notes, the only interesting things happening were the strong winds making the ship speed through the ocean, and the few times she’d heard sounds of arguing outside the cabin. Mortimer broke up one of those disagreements; Damon broke up another. It was a bit unnerving because it had sounded as if the pirates were trying to get inside the cabin. She’d quickly latched the door until it was quiet out there again.
But this morning, her seventh at sea, yet another argument started outside the cabin just as she was finishing her breakfast, and it sounded like a particularly nasty scuffle. Someone or something was thrown so hard against the wall that even her empty plate rattled on the table. Damon entered the cabin a few moments later, looking disheveled and angry.
“Let’s go!” he ordered. She was too confused to move immediately, so he came over and took her hand. “I’ve decided to keep you at my side. It’s the safest place for you.”
