“Yes, Theodore, I have heard of it,” Roc said. Lord Theodore Kinsdale paused to bow in acknowledgment to the governor. Spotswood nodded and met Cameron’s eyes above the little man. They both smiled. Theodore Kinsdale was a good man, a fine man. He supported the governor in all things, and held many a merry ball. He owned vast sugar estates in the islands, but preferred to live in Williamsburg. He did, in fact, despise the three-hour drive out to Cameron Hall, and so, for him to have arrived here unannounced, he must be flustered and upset indeed.
“Alexander, what do you intend to do about all of this!” Theodore demanded.
Spotswood glared at him. “I have ships all over the coast! I am doing things, man!”
“Have a drink, Theo,” Roc Cameron suggested.
“Don’t mind if I do, don’t mind if I do. Scotch!”
He sat in one of the handsome twined chairs upon the porch and mopped his face with a scarf. He stared from Roc to Alexander Spotswood, and then back again. “My daughter sails,” he moaned.
“When?” Roc Cameron said.
“Her ship has left this very day.”
Spotswood cleared his throat. “There’s no reason to believe that your ship will be attacked.”
“There is every reason to believe that theSilver Messengerwill be taken! I am a wealthy man. The ship sails with a tremendous cargo. Why, her jewels alone are worth a fortune.” He stared straight at Roc Cameron. Cameron stiffened. The two gentlemen were engaged in a running feud. Roc Cameron’s father and Theo had betrothed their children at birth.
Roc now found such an arrangement barbaric. He preferred to choose his own bride, at his own time. And rumor had reached him, even from England. The girl wanted nothing to do with him. He didn’t consider himself unduly proud, but admittedly, her rumored refusal annoyed him. Still, it made matters easy for him. He had vowed to his father upon his deathbed to uphold his every promise. To keep his honor.
“I’m sure that she will be safe—” Alexander began, trying to mollify Theo.
But Theo would have none of it. He jumped up, staring at Lord Cameron. “Roc, please! Your father was my dearest friend. You can make sure that she is safe! You have friends among the pirates—”
“Friends!” Roc Cameron exploded.
Theo lowered his voice just a shade, clamping his hands together, trying to hide his agitation. “She is my life!” he whispered. “She is all that I have left! I ordered her to return home to marry you! Now she sets sail. All right. You have not friends among the pirates, you have relations—”
“I do not claim pirates as relations!” Roc said firmly. He knew that the lieutenant governor was staring at him, and he cast the man a warning glare, then returned his attention to Kinsdale. “Sir! You would make it sound as if I fraternize with the likes of pirates.”
Governor Spotswood grinned at Roc, sitting back, preparing to enjoy the promised show. Roc Cameron frowned to him darkly but the governor’s grin widened.
“They say,” Theo said, his fists clenched by his side, “they say that the Silver Hawk is a Cameron—”
“He is no Cameron!”
“That the silver eyes give him away. They say, too, that out of some curious respect for the family name, he is willing to negotiate with you. It is rumored that he is quick to seize your ships, and quick to return them for a reasonable fee. They say that you have some power, that you have even been to that island of his and negotiated with him. By God, Petroc! You must help me!”
Cameron threw up his hands. “So, milord, this pirate comes from some ill-begotten and illegal branch of my family! So he is a bit less willing to cut my throat than yours. What would you have of me?”
Theo was silent for a long moment. Then he drew a scroll from within his pocket. “Marry her. Now.”
“What?” Cameron exploded incredulously.
“Marry my daughter now. Fulfill the vow you made to your father.”
“The girl isn’t even here—”
“I have proxy papers. I acquired them when I was in London.”
“But your daughter—”
Theo waved a hand in the air. “She has signed them. Oh, I grant you, she doesn’t know what she signed, she was arguing with me—speaking with me, that is—about other matters. But it is all well and legal, I assure you. Marry her now—”
“Why?”
“Because the Silver Hawk is your cousin. Because he might find my ship, and my daughter. And even if he does not, many of the others will respect his relationship with you, they will fear what he may do if they seize that particular ship.”
