She looked around the room. It held a small table with a lantern and a plain wooden chair. Nothing else. She dropped into the chair, pondering what would happen next. Would he throw her out to sea so she could meet her death in the depths of the water? Make her walk the plank? Run her through with his sword?
The only person that should be run through with a sword is Storm. He caused this whole situation.
Above her, she could hear conversations, but could not make out the words. Night was beginning to fall and she wondered what steps Honey would take to go after Storm. She knew that Honey wanted to take him down almost as much as she did.
She hadn’t realized how close he was to her father. Honey’s name had been mentioned here and there in conversation, but her father was never one to offer extraneous information about his sea-faring dealings. Sean preferred to keep the specifics out of family conversations. That was his way of keeping them safe.
Seonag did take solace in the fact that she wasn’t alone in knowing what an unsavory character Storm turned out to be. She only wished her father had seen the scum for what he was before it was too late. The bastard would pay. If she wasn’t the one to mete out the justice her father so deserved, she was sure Honey would be the one to deal the final death blow.
The sound of footsteps caught her attention. She stood and focused on the door. The footsteps got closer and then passed. Her heart sank as they faded away. Seonag feared that she would be spending the night alone in this room. With no bed.
“’Tis fine,” she murmured. “I can sleep on the floor.” She’d essentially been doing that ever since boardingThe Hella. Though in this room, no pallet was to be found. She wasn’t really worried about that. Her concern was about what Honey was going to do. What punishment did he see fit for her deception?
She just wished she would have the chance to explain herself. To make him understand why she wanted to get to Storm herself. To let him know who she really was. Right now, he just knew she wasn’t Sean, but he didn’t know who she was. And she felt that piece was important.
Time dragged by as she waited for Honey to come get her. She was exhausted but couldn’t sleep. Honey’s furious face kept flashing in her mind. It pained her even more to know that she was the cause.
Colin sat inhis captain quarters, putting away a steady stream of whisky. “How could I have been so blind?” He spat the question out into the air of his empty room. Peggy offered his ear to talk, but he declined. He didn’t want to talk to anyone right now.
Sean, no, not Sean, had made a fool out of him. How would his men respect him now? What the hell was her name anyway? Who the hell was she and what was her plan?
He thought back to the time they spent together. Those times where he found Sean’s behavior odd for a lad. It all made sense now. But she bested him and that was unacceptable. Any trust that had grown between them was gone now.
If there was one thing Colin demanded it was loyalty. How could she be loyal if she couldn’t even trust him with her secret?
Because therehadto be a secret. What other reason could there be for her ruse? It had to be bad enough that she felt the need to be someone else.
But Storm had recognized her right away. Why? He didn’t seem surprised to see her onThe Hellaeither. That proved they had a history.
Was she Storm’s ex-lover? Did he leave her and she was trying to find him again?
Nay. She accused Storm of killing him.Killing who?
He took another long swallow of whisky, cognizant of the fact that as much as he wanted to lose himself in his cups, he couldn’t. He needed to remain alert.Hades Revengewas within firing distance. He wasn’t ready to take that step yet, but he couldn’t predict what Storm would do and he wanted to be prepared.
His thoughts kept wandering to Sean. They’d gotten close in these past few weeks during their time chasing Storm. She knew his darkest secrets. His greatest fears.
She also knew everything about him. His books. His finances. His holdings.
Jesus, he’d been taken for a fool.
She’d even had him questioning himself. He slammed his cup down on the table with such force he heard the wood crack. “That’s why she didn’t want to undress in front of me or my men. Damn it. If she did, we would have found out the truth.”
Peggy knocked on his door, opening it a crack and poking his head in.
“Cap’n?” he asked warily.
“What do ye want, Peggy?”
“I thought I should check in on ye. See how ye’re faring?”
“Hmph. Aside from being made a fool?”
“Och, Honey, I wouldna go that far.”
Colin barked out a laugh. “Nay? Did ye put all yer trust into a lad only to find out he’s a lass?”
“She must have a good reason, Honey. I know ye’re upset now. Just talk to the lass. Find out her intentions.” Peggy grabbed a cup, poured himself a dram of whisky and downed it in one swallow.
