The moment they reached the gangplank, Isabella could have wept with relief, but until they reached English shores, sheknewthat the threat could follow them out to sea.At least they would be able to see who followed them, now that the sun had fully risen as a bright, yellow orb in thecloudless, blue sky.
They hadn’t even boarded when Ridge began shouting orders to his crew. “Lift anchor and get this ship out to sea!”
The menleapedinto action, releasing the sails, and getting everything ready to depart. Ridge didn’t release Isabella’s hand until they were on deck.
From the rail, Isabella watched in horror as several Frenchmenbegan to rush upwardtoward the ship.She wasn’t surprised to find that Simon was among their number, his distorted face full of hatred as he locked eyes with her.
Fortunately, Ridge kicked thegangplankout of the way, sending several men crashing into the water, their ownmomentum propellingthemforward, astheMalicebeganher laboriouspull away from the docks.
More shots rang out as the cutter was bombarded with enemy gunfire, but then Logan and Pierce began to return with a volley of their own. Isabella crouchedlowand covered her head with her hands as pieces of the wooden ship splintered around her, deadly lead balls missing their mark by mere inches.
Acease in the dischargeallowed her to breathe,asRidge bellowed, “Get below decks!” When she turned her head, she realized that he was speaking to her from the helm where he was focused on steering them out to sea.
Isabella nodded and rose at the same time another shot rent the air. But where all the others had missed, this one hit its mark, rippingthrough Isabella’s heavy wool coatwith all the heat of a fireplace poker. She hissed as she gripped herrightthigh. She glanced at Ridge, but since he didn’t appear to notice the incident, she certainly didn’t want to alarm him, so she limped back to the cabin she’d leftjusta few hours before.
Perspiration was starting to dot her forehead, the pain from her injury starting to break through the shock that she had actually beenshot. She went inside and sat on the cot, glancing down at the coat, tofindthat there was a crimson stainstarting toappear. She exhaled steadily and, while she didn’t know much about the perils of battle, sheknewshe had to find a way to stop it from bleeding further.
Removing the coat, she tossed it aside and closed her eyes upon finding the dark trousers that Ridge had given her were soaked with the sticky dampness of her blood. She closed her eyes and prayed that the bullet wasn’t lodged in her thigh,andafter she peeled backthe fabric, she realizedwith a bit of reliefthat it was justa rather nasty gash, the bullet appearingto have just grazed her.
She tore off one of the sleeves of her shirt and tied it around the wound for a temporary fix. Hopefully, Ridge would be able to find something better when he arrived to check on herlater.
Exhausted, shelayback against the cot and shut her eyes. Sheneededbuta brief moment to collect herself.Her limbs ached and her eyes grew heavy. Thenwearinesscrept in that wasjust too much to ignore.
Perhapsa nap then, andwhen she awoke, she could convince herself that this had all been nothing more than a bad dream.So she gave in to the blessed relief of oblivion.
