That wasall he got out before Isabella found her chance. While he was distracted pouring the ether onto a rag, she grabbed one of the neglected woodenoars and swung it like a cricket bat.Simonhowled in pain as it connected with his left shoulder.
She didn’t wait for him to recover, but threw the oar over the side of the boatas far as she could manage,andthendove over the side.Dark wavesswallowedher, but she kicked furiously and broke the surface with a large gulp of air, losing her shoes in the process, but that was the least of her worries. Simon was shouting an obscene amount of cursesas he reached out and tried to grab her,but sheeludedhim, using her arms to scissor toward freedom.
Thank God she was a strong swimmer, but even so, the weight of her skirts wanted to drag her down, the tight lacings of her corset making it difficult to hold her breath longer than a few minutes. At least withjustone oar at his disposal, it would be harder for the viscount to follow her. That gave her a fighting chance to make it to the shore where she could go for help. It would be a struggle to get there, but she’d rather drown than be at Simon’s mercy.
Butthen,like a beacon of hope,a cutter rounded the bend, its white sails unfurledto the breeze.The shipwas closer than the shore, so she changed direction and headed that way. It wasn’t flying any colors, but surely she would have better luck making up a story for the French forces rather than having Simon do it for her.Just so long as she could make it there before it took to the open waters where she would have no chance of catching it.
Using all the strength she could muster, she stillfalteredseveral times, her arms starting to give out from the strain as she went under and swallowed sea water, but she dug down deep in that restless, determined part of her and pushed forward.She kept her focus by thinking of her family and how she would tell them she was sorry for everything she’d put them through. Whether they accepted, or even cared about her apology, didn’t really matter. At least she would have absolved herconscience.
She thought of her friends–Triana, Rowena, Alyssa, and Korina—and how she would tell them how much their friendship meant to her, and let Korina know that, now that she had her freedom and her dowry, she would travel to America and start a new life in the New World. She might not even choose to keep her name. She could use her middle one and go by Calliope Claymoore. It had a certain ring to it.
But most of all, she thought of Ridge and everything she wanted to tell him if they ever came face to face again.
By the time Isabellawas close enough to grasp on to the rope ladder hanging over the side of the cutter, her arms wereweak andtrembling.It tookthree tries, but shewas able tohang on to the coarse hemp.She wasn’t even sure if she could pull herself up, but she’d come this far, so she wouldn’t stop now.
With the perspiration of her exertions mixing with the water dripping down in her face, she took it onecarefulstep at a time. When she reached the top, she paused and peeked over the side to see what sort of enemy she might be facing. Her heart stopped as she saw a man in a black shirt and dark trousers and boots shouting orders to several other men who looked just as disreputable.
Dear God. Surely she hadn’t just boarded a pirate ship?
It wasn’t untilthe captain turned and she saw the black eye patch over his face that shealmostcried out in relief. She was about to summon the strength to do so whenshe saw the shining silver blade of a rapier enter her line of vision. She didn’t move, but shifted her gaze to the side and met the grinning gaze of a man with a scarred face.
“Wot do we have’ere? A stowaway?”
He grabbed her arm and hauled her rather effortlessly over the side. She tried to remain upright, but her legs would no longer support her weight. Her hair fell forward in a bedraggled, wet mess, her breath heaving in greatgasps andpants as she stared at the wooden deck. Now that the journey was over, Isabella had nothing left to fight with, but if she could just get the captain’s attention…
“’Aye, Cap’n! I caught a rather temptin’ fish!” The man chortled merrily as a pair of black boots entered her line of sight.
She wearily lifted her head and focused on that black eye patch, the one that had given her such a fright the first time she’d laid eyes on it, but now gave her a sort of comfort, because she knew the man behind the façade.
But when he spoke, it wasn’t the man she’d come to adore, but the raspy voice of a man in charge of a crew of miscreants. “Take her to my cabin.”His dark eye narrowed and headded, “I’ll tend to her directly.”
***
RidgeapproachedLogan and pulled his first mate aside.There were a handful of crewmen working on this particular vessel, but he didn’t care to share thisdelicateinformation with anyone but his comrade.“Isabella ishere.”
As long as he’d known Montgomery, he’d never seen his eyebrows reach his hairline before. But as theyalmostdisappeared in his coal black hair, he murmured, “I guess she got tired of waiting for you to rescue her.”
Ridge didn’t find his words very humorous. “We have to turn back.”
Logan shook his head with a snort. “Not possible.”
“She can’t go to France onthisvessel!It’s too dangerous.I’m taking her back toWalmer.”He started to walk away, but the other agent stopped him with a firm hand on his arm. This time when he spoke, there was no trace of mirth,just acomplete seriousness in those ice-blue eyes.“You know we can’t do that.We have a job to fulfill.If we wait any longer, thatchances of rescuing our spy will be even less.”
Ridge exhaled heavily and shoved a hand through his hair. “She doesn’t know about One-Eye’s reputation. I told her I’d worked on a merchant ship.”
Logan shrugged. “I supposea privateerisbasically the same thing, except it’s allillegalin the grand scheme of things, even though you were working with the EIC.” When Ridge merely glared at him, he sighed. “If what she thinks concerns you that much, then I suppose you’d best go talk to her and tell her the truth.” He looked up at the sails billowing in the breeze. “If this wind holds steady, we should be docking inGravelinesin about two hours.”
Ridge didn’t reply, just turned on his heel and headed down into the interior of the ship.
When he opened the door of his cabin, he saw Isabella lying on his crude, single bunk, her damp hair spread out around her like a copper wave. She was still dressed in the blue silk gown, but after her swim in the sea, there was likely no hope to restore it.
Her face was turned away from him, but as he sat down next to her, he realized that her breathing was deep and even. She was asleep.
He couldn’t hold back a smile, as he brushed a strand of her hair away from her cheek. It was enough to cause her to stir. Her eyes fluttered open and she turned her head to look at him.“Ridge. Is it truly you?” she whispered.
“It’s me.” He lifted the eye-patch to show her his eye beneath, but then he settled it back in place. It wouldn’t do for anyone to catch him without it. It had been part of his dark persona for some time. For anyone to find out it was all a lie would effectively ruin his fearsome reputation—the one he hoped that Isabella would never learn of.
She struggled to sit up, so he pressed her back down with a firm hand on her shoulder. “You should rest while you can.” He swallowed heavily. “We’ll be reaching France in a couple hours, but while I have to leave the ship, I want you to stay here, where you’ll be safe.”
