“Because he hates pirates, and he got it into his head that I’m one, too. He didn’t bother to ask, he just assumed, and embroiled me in a scandal as a result. So it’s going to be a pleasure to see him surrounded by pirates on his very own ship!”
“You know that will just reinforce his opinion—”
“Exactly,” she cut in. “By the time I’m done with him, he’ll wish he was wrong, but he’ll never learn the truth that he was mistaken.”
Gabrielle went back to the Malorys’ for the rest of the day, but stayed in her room. If she were to see Drew before she stole his ship, she was sure she’d tear his eyes out; then his ship wouldn’t be sailing at all. So it was better that she hide in her room.
Margery was incredulous when Gabrielle told her what had happened. “Don’t you worry about your papa. Those are good men he picked to accompany us here. You know they’ll get him out of this mess.”
“Yes, I know. We’ll have the voyage back to the Caribbean to figure out just what to do.”
“I’ll help if I’m needed,” Margery assured her. “It’s just such a shame that you’ll have to miss the last of the Season here. It was going so well.”
“Actually…I didn’t have a chance to tell you last night, but Drew Anderson made sure that I would be missing the rest of the Season and any other Seasons here as well. He showed up at the ball last night, quite foxed, and said in front of Wilbur and Lady Dunstan that Nathan is a pirate.”
“Why would he do that!?” Margery gasped.
“I suppose protecting the innocent from the bloodthirsty could have been his drunken reasoning, but who knows. However, Wilbur took that information and spread it far and wide this morning. Having been on the brink of proposing to me, he’s probably deeply disappointed after Drew’s disclosure that I no longer meet his standards.”
“Good God, they’ve ruined you!” Margery gasped.
“Oh, yes, I’m definitely ruined—thanks to Drew,” Gabrielle said with a catch in her throat.
She felt the sting of tears in her eyes. She turned aside before Margery noticed. She wanted to feel angry again. Anger was her salvation right now. But Margery knew her well. She didn’t have to see the tears to know they were there.
Her friend put an arm around her waist. “Never you mind, girl. We’ll find you a husband somewhere else.”
She and Margery sneaked out of the house in the early evening. Gabrielle left Georgina a note, explaining her father was in trouble and she was leaving to help him. The lady might not believe that after she heard of the scandal, but Gabrielle wouldn’t be around to be questioned either way. And there was only one tense moment when Miss Carla whistled as they were hurrying down the back stairs, to let them know she wasn’t asleep under the cover on her cage, but no one came to investigate.
They’d packed only enough clothes that they could carry themselves in carpetbags. She’d mentioned in her note to Georgina that she could contact her solicitor about having the rest of their belongings shipped to St. Kitts. Ohr was waiting down the street with a carriage to take them to the docks. He’d already purchased her two cabins for the voyage under a false name, one for herself and Margery to share, and one for the three male “servants” who were accompanying her. Getting her friends a cabin, too, meant three fewer men would have to climb over the railing tonight to hide in the hold.
It was a bold plan they were enacting. If she weren’t so furious with Drew, she’d probably change her mind and disappoint them all. She just wished she didn’t feel so guilty about the way she was leaving. After everything the Malorys had done for her, this was a shoddy way to repay them. But she knew James would insist upon helping if he knew, and she couldn’t let him do that. He’d done enough.
Glancing back at the townhouse, Gabrielle realized she was going to miss the Malorys. God, she’d had such high hopes when she came to London of finding the man of her dreams. Oddly enough, she’d found him. It was too bad he had to be a blackguard and turn her dreams into a nightmare instead.
Chapter 22
GABRIELLE PACED THE SMALL CONFINESof one of the cabins on Drew’s ship. Her nerves were acting up. She couldn’t believe she was stealing a ship, let aloneDrew Anderson’sship. She’d give it back, of course. She was really only borrowing it, or at least she tried to convince herself of that to alleviate some of the guilt that had begun to plague her. But it didn’t help much.
She’d come aboard last night after they made sure the captain wasn’t around. She hadn’t expectedThe Tritonto be such a fine vessel. With three tall masts, it was a lot bigger than her father’s two-masted merchantman. Drew and most of his crew were off enjoying their last night in port, which had made it easy for the men Ohr had hired to sneak aboard and hide themselves in the hold.
She didn’t get much sleep last night, though, and finally gave up trying at dawn, so her anxieties had built up until the slightest little sound was making her jump. She’d chewed each of her nails down to the quick.
It was too quiet as the ship left the harbor and sailed out into the channel, indicating nothing was happening yet, but the wait was nerve-wracking. Her tension was very similar to what she’d felt three years ago when her ship had been threatened by pirates, when she’d waited for the sounds of cannons to warn if there would be a fight. There wouldn’t be any cannons fired this morning, but she was anticipating shouts, even pistol shots as command of the ship changed hands.
The sharp knock on her door startled the breath out of her and got an annoyed squawk from Miss Carla. That in turn woke Margery, who’d still been sleeping in her bunk.
It was Richard at the door. He poked his head inside to tell them, “She’s ours. You can come out now.”
“I didn’t hear any shots,” Margery said, then asked Gabrielle, “Or did I sleep through the noise?”
Gabrielle smiled. “No, there were no shots, but like you, I was expecting some.” She raised a brow at Richard. “How’d you manage such a peaceful transition?”
He came inside and closed the door with a grin. “We’re good.” But then he laughed. “Actually, we’ve had practice before. Took over a ship one night right in harbor, though it was just a joke among friends. We gave it back. But it showed us how easy it could be when you have the element of surprise on your side.”
“And you couldn’t have told me about that yesterday?” she huffed.
“Nothing is guaranteed. But surprise tipped the odds in our favor—Captain.”
