Abandoned Memories (32 page)

“May I join you?”

Startled, Angeline glanced up to see Hayden standing beside her, a friendly yet concerned smile on his face. “Of course.”

He plopped to the sand and stretched out his legs, planting his hands behind him. For several minutes he stared at the sea, his jaw bunching then relaxing, then bunching again. No doubt, he was anxious about sneaking aboard the pirate ship in a few hours. Yet, why would he come to her and not his wife?

“Is there something I can do for you, Hayden?” She caressed Stowy’s fur.

He glanced over his shoulder at camp, where some of the colonists were starting the evening fire and several others were cutting fruit for supper. “You and James have an understanding?” He faced her.

The topic took her by surprise. “We are courting.” Curiosity caused her to search his expression. Why would Hayden concern himself with her and James’s relationship? Especially in light of the danger he faced that night.

He blew out a heavy sigh and gazed at the horizon. “I don’t know how to say this, but I feel I should discuss it with you before…”

“Before you risk your life tonight?”

“Indeed.” He rubbed the stubble on his jaw. “I don’t know what will happen, but I care deeply for both you and James. And, well, I suppose there is no delicate way to say this. Back in the States, I saw your likeness on a poster at the Norfolk sheriff’s station.” He stared at her. “You were wanted for murder.”

Angeline’s heart collapsed. Her blood turned to ice. She gazed out to sea, trying to force breath into her lungs, trying to put on an expression of shock, of indignation. Anything but reveal the terror gripping her.

“The name wasn’t yours,” he continued. “Clarissa somebody, but I’d know your face anywhere.”

She dug her toes in the sand, staring at the wavelets stroking the shore, not finding them as beautiful as she had only moments before. “My face is a common one.”

“Hardly.”

She looked at him, at the way his lips curved in that alluring smile, and she knew why Magnolia was smitten with him.

Angeline gave a huff of resignation. “What do you wish to know?”

“What do I wish to know?” He gave a cynical chuckle. “Well, if you’re going to marry James, I suppose I’d like to know what your real name is and whether you are, indeed, a murderer.”

A crab skittered across the sand. She followed it with her gaze.

“Just tell me it isn’t true,” he continued. “Tell me it was a mistake and I’ll never mention it again.”

A torrent of emotions clogged Angeline’s throat: fear, sorrow, anger. She opened her mouth to answer him, but nothing but a squeak emerged.

“Angeline. I know you. You aren’t capable of murder. Tell me they had the wrong woman.”

The crackle of a fire sounded in the distance, and she fully expected to see her clients appear to taunt her. She wanted to lie to Hayden. Wanted to shout that she had no idea what he was talking about. But it seemed that no matter how hard she tried, no matter that Dodd remained in a coma, her past would find a way to ruin her future.

“Zooks, Angeline. What happened?”

She closed her eyes, wishing the crashing waves would sweep over her and carry her away. “It’s a long story, Hayden.” Tugging on the chain around her neck, she pulled out her father’s ring and rubbed it gently with her thumb. The ruby and topazes barely shimmered in the fading light. “It started when my father was murdered. Thrown out the window of his shipyard by some madman claiming ownership.”

She expected more questions. She expected the typical expression of sympathy. What she didn’t expect was to see Hayden’s face turn a shade of white to match the sand.

“What was your father’s name?”

“Frederick Paine. Why?”

Hayden seemed to be having trouble breathing. “And the man who fought him?”

“A Mr. Carson, I think. He took off afterward. We never saw him again. Why? What do you know of this?” She laid a hand on his sleeve. His arm trembled. “If you know something about my father, please tell me.”

“I never met your father.” Hayden stared at the sand, his shoulders taut. “But I know about the deal that sent him to his death. The felonious accord which made Mr. Carson believe he owned your father’s shipyard.”

Angeline’s thoughts spun in a whirlwind. “How could you possibly know that?”

“Because I was the man who struck that bargain.”

HAPTER
29

W
hat are you saying?” Leaning forward, Angeline palmed the sand and shoved to her feet, still not believing her ears. Stowy circled the hem of her skirts, howling in annoyance.

Hayden rose and brushed sand from his trousers. Guilt dripped from his expression.

“You murdered my father?” Blood boiled through Angeline, muddling her thoughts and inflaming her anger. “You murdered my father!” Hot tears spilled down her cheeks.

“Not directly.” Agony stretched across Hayden’s eyes. “I had no way of knowing Mr. Carson would react the way he did.”

Raising her hand, Angeline slapped him across the cheek. Her hand stung, but it felt good. Hayden rubbed his jaw. She backed away and broke into sobs.

“I’m so sorry, Angeline. I was a swindler, a confidence man back in the States. I hurt a lot of people, God forgive me.” He took a step toward her, holding out his hand.

She shoved it away. Then batted tears from her face. She would not let this man see her cry. “You swindled this Mr. Carson?”

“Yes, I sold him your father’s shipyard.”

“But it wasn’t yours to sell.”

“No.” He lowered his chin.

“What did you think would happen?” Leaning over, she grabbed a handful of sand and tossed it at him. The grains struck him and slid down the fabric of his shirt. He never flinched. “What did you think!?” she shouted.

“I didn’t.” His eyes misted. “I had no way of knowing Carson would shove your dad out that third-story window.” Wind tossed hair into his face and he snapped it away. “I’m not that man anymore.”

Angeline didn’t care. All that mattered was that he was responsible for her father’s death. He was responsible for what she’d been forced to do afterward in order to survive! “Do you know what happened to me after my father’s death? Do you?” She thrust her face into his. “I was an orphan. Went to live with my uncle. A terrible man.” She turned her back to him. She wouldn’t tell him anymore. Wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of knowing the pain he had caused her. Instead she stood seething, longing for the pistol that used to sit in her belt.

“I’m so sorry, Angeline.”

Turning, she charged him and pounded both fists on his chest, her only thought to make him suffer as he had made her. But her thrusts merely bounced off thick muscle. He grabbed her hands and forced her to stop. Tearing from him, she dropped to her knees, gasping for air. Stowy hissed at Hayden.

“Angeline.” He took a step toward her.

She snapped her fiery eyes his way, feeling as though they could shoot darts at him if she so willed. “Don’t come any closer.”

“I hope you can forgive me.”

She scooped up Stowy. “If you’re truly sorry, then do me one small favor.”

“Anything.”

“You must not tell James. Not about the poster. Not about our talk.”

He hesitated, drew in a deep breath, and glanced out to sea. “I make no promises.”

Angeline stood and stiffened her spine. “I hate you, Hayden Gale. I will never forgive you. Ever.”

Hayden slid into the dark water and dove beneath an incoming swell. Thank God the waves came in strong tonight. The thunderous sound would hopefully mask any splashes he and Blake made as they swam toward the pirate ship. Well past midnight, clouds covered a waning moon and a smattering of stars, keeping light at bay and the night reigning in darkness—another sign God was on their side. Well, of course the Almighty was on their side. Surely He wasn’t on the pirates’? Hadn’t they prayed with James, Eliza, and Magnolia before they’d left? If God could heal Thiago, certainly He could make their mission to steal gunpowder successful.

Cool water gushed around Hayden, gurgling and slushing past his ears. Saltwater filled his mouth. He spit it out. The scent of brine stung his nose. Every muscle was tight. Every nerve coiled. Every sense heightened.
Oh, God, please just get me back to Magnolia in one piece
. Not hanging from a yardarm.

He broke the surface and spotted Blake just ahead of him. Getting to the pirate ship shouldn’t be a problem. Getting past the few pirates on board was another story. Hopefully it wouldn’t be as difficult as his encounter with Angeline had been earlier that day. An encounter he couldn’t shove from his mind, no matter the present danger.

He’d swindled many people in his past, made a thousand spurious deals that had relieved people of their fortunes and lined his own pockets. But he’d never hurt anyone he cared about.

Until now.

Not only hurt, not only stolen money from, but apparently his actions had destroyed her life, had possibly led her to murder and God knew what else.

Drawing in a deep breath, he dove beneath a roller, wishing the waves would wash him clean of his past. But he supposed God didn’t work that way. God forgives, God redeems, but He doesn’t always sweep away the consequences of one’s bad choices. Like everyone in the colony, Hayden had hoped to escape the horrors of war by coming to Brazil. He had also hoped to escape his equally horrifying past. But it had found him anyway. First in the form of his father, and now in the form of precious Angeline.

He plunged upward through the surface, his eyes stinging from salt, his lungs gulping air, his heart heavy with guilt. He could do nothing but apologize to both God and man. God had already forgiven him. Hayden prayed Angeline would do the same someday. Water slapped him in the face like she had done earlier. He deserved that and more for what he’d done. Even still, he could not abide by her wishes and keep silent. James deserved to know the truth—whatever that truth was. Hayden could not allow one of his best friends to marry a murderer.

All such concerns fled him when he and Blake struck the side of the ship. He must focus on their mission or all would be lost. Waves lapped the wood and spread foamy claws upward toward a railing that disappeared into the thick black of night. The oaky smell of moist wood filled Hayden’s lungs as Blake nodded and began climbing the rope ladder.

Captain Ricu was on board. At least they’d seen one of his men rowing him to the ship at nightfall. That was hours ago, and by now, the flamboyant captain was surely sound asleep in his cabin. The long days spent in the tunnels seemed to steal his ostentatious vitality. Most of the pirates ashore were asleep as well, save the few that guarded the camp. Since they were preventing the colonists from escaping by land, not by sea, it had been easy to slip into the water without drawing their attention.

Hayden gripped the thick line, propped his bare feet on the hull, and followed Blake. Coarse rope, which felt more like a dozen needles, burned his hands. The ship creaked and groaned beneath each incoming wave, mimicking the ache in his muscles. Above him, the night soon swallowed up Blake. Hayden continued until finally a hand gripped his arm and hauled him over the bulwarks. He landed like a wet fish on the foredeck. The
drip, drip
from his clothes and his heavy breath echoed like alarms over the ship.

Thankfully, the guttural snores of several men rose to drown out the sound—pirates, who with bottles clutched to their chests, lay in haphazard positions across the deck like marionettes whose strings had been severed. Even the watchmen, muskets strewn across their laps, slouched against masts and gun carriages as if God had poured a sleep potion on them from heaven.

Lifting a silent prayer of thanks, Hayden inched his way around prostrate forms, eyeing the pistols and swords strapped to their bodies. The colonists could sure use some weapons, but he dared not risk waking the sleeping miscreants. The gunpowder was far more important. Destroying the tunnels and—if what James said was true—keeping the final beast imprisoned was their top priority. Then perhaps Captain Ricu would give up his quest for gold and leave them alone. If not, they’d find another way to deal with him.

Hayden dropped down a hatch, ignoring the foul stench that bit his nose. He’d been on this ship twice before. Once to rescue Magnolia and the second time to deliver the treasure maps to the captain. Both times, he’d taken note of the layout—knew the ship’s magazine must be located between the second deck and the hold. He only hoped it wasn’t locked. Grabbing a lantern from a hook on the bulkhead, he led Blake into the bowels of the ship, past the wardroom and the pantry until they stood before a bolted door.

Apprehension stormed across Blake’s gray eyes. He yanked a small ax from his belt and raised it above the iron lock. It would make noise. They both knew it would. What they didn’t know was whether that noise would penetrate the pirates’ blissful slumber. But they had no choice.

Blake slammed the ax down.

Clank!

The lock swung on its hinge but didn’t break. Groaning inwardly, Hayden exchanged a look of frustration with his friend. They waited. The ship rolled over an incoming wave. Blake rubbed his sore leg. Wind whistled through the hallway, joining the creak and grate of aged wood. But no human sounds met their ears. The lantern sputtered, casting ghoulish shadows on the bulkhead. Blake raised the ax again.