Richard, that rogue, grinned and raised his hand to draw Georgina’s attention to him before he remarked, “I wouldn’t say that.”
Georgina had merely glanced at her husband and asked, “Does he count?”
“Most definitely,” James replied, then added, “Though he’ll wish he didn’t.”
Richard didn’t say another word after that, realizing that James was no longer talking about pirates, but Richard’s interest in his wife. Georgina realized that, too, but she merely tsked on her way to her brother for a hug.
It had taken a few moments for Drew to get past his new amazement, but now he demanded, “What the devil areyoudoing here, Georgie?”
“You really have to ask, when one of your crew showed up to warn usThe Tritonhad been overrun by pirates? Or was that not the truth?”
“It was true, but you didn’t think I could handle that on my own?”
She actually blushed slightly. “Well, certainly, but that wasn’t my only concern. Gabby disappeared, leaving a note that her father was in trouble. We gathered she might be with you, but since she is our responsibility, we couldn’t just guess about it, we had to make sure.”
Gabrielle was the one blushing now. She hadn’t expected ever to see the Malorys again, so hadn’t expected to have to deal with the guilt she felt for the way she’d sneaked off.
“I was desperate,” Gabrielle tried to explain. “Having just learned that my father had been in a dungeon for nearly a month, and it might take that long again before I could get him out.”
“We understand, Gabby,” Georgina said.
She might have said more, but James, studying the drawing again, said to Bixley, “High wallsanda gate?”
Bixley nodded again. “Pierre keeps it locked, and manned, too.”
“Bloody hell,” James mumbled, but then in a resigned tone added, “Very well, I haven’t climbed any walls in a while, I suppose I’m due.”
“You’re due for no such thing,” Georgina countered, and moved over to stand next to her husband. Then she suggested, “Why don’t we just blow those gates up? Our ships can get close enough, can’t they?”
It was beginning to sound like Malory was taking over the rescue operation. Gabrielle wasn’t surprised that he would put himself in charge. He was a man who wouldn’t just participate, he’d command, organize, give orders, and shoot down any objections. And he wouldn’t bother to ask if his help was needed.
James tapped the drawing now and dryly asked his wife, “Did you fail to note these cannons on the walls, m’dear?”
She glanced down at the drawing, said just as dryly, “It’s an old fortress. Those cannons are probably ancient and unusable, wouldn’t you think?”
“No, ma’am,” Bixley put in before James could give his opinion. “Pierre refurbished that place. It’s like new, well, aboveground it is. He did no work on the old dungeon, other than to make sure the doors would lock tight.”
Georgina said “Bloody hell” as well and moved over to the group of sofas to sit next to Gabrielle.
Gabrielle felt the need to elaborate on Bixley’s information and told James, “According to Ohr, Pierre added a few more enemies to the count when he turned rogue. It forced the other captains in the alliance to change locations. They didn’t like that. It had been a really nice settlement they’d built up over the years that no one knew about. Most of them were even calling it home. But they didn’t trust Pierre not to give away its location, so they moved out.”
“Would any of these other captains help with this endeavor?” James queried.
“They might. But it would take a while to locate them and—”
“And time is of the essence,” James cut in, but not unkindly. “I understand your concern for Nathan when you don’t know his condition or how he’s been treated all this time. But we have two ships now to pull this off. You can stop worrying.”
“He says that all the time,” Georgina whispered beside her. “You’d think he’d know by now that it doesn’t work, especially since I’m here for that very reason. A woman won’t stop worrying until there’s nothing left to worry about. Well, at least that goes for me.”
“And me,” Gabrielle agreed.
Chapter 46
TWO PLANS WERE FORMULATED,neither of which included hiring a look-alike to take Gabrielle’s place. Drew was annoyed. He’d liked that plan because it kept her out of harm’s way. But when he’d argued the issue, James had pointed out that if something went wrong with their plans, and it became necessary to confront Pierre directly, Gabrielle would be useful in luring the pirate captain out of his fortress.
Georgina wasn’t that lucky. She’d had her way about not staying home in England, but that had been a safe voyage. They hadn’t even been caught in that bad storm, had been able to avoid it entirely. And James had enjoyed her company on the crossing, as he knew he would, which had influenced his decision to allow her to come along. But now that the rest of the trip involved danger, he couldn’t be budged about her safety. She was going to stay at the inn in Anguilla—where Drew thought Gabrielle ought to be.
They wouldn’t be gone for more than a day, though, possibly not even that long, so his sister wouldn’t have long to worry about them. According to Bixley, Pierre’s stronghold was only a few hours away.
