Bittersweet Endeavors (39 page)

An unlit lantern
hung
inside the doorway
and
Myra
quickly lit its wick.  A distant scream from the depths below
conveyed
Lucia’s distress. 
Myra
urgently took the perilous
steps
that were unevenly
carved
out of the
dirt
.  Her heart thump
ed heavily in her chest. 
Aware it’d be a good while before Seth made his way there, she trembled with fear. 
She
’
d
be
alone in this endeavor
and i
t scared the wits out of her.

Myra
followed the sound of Lucia’s cries until she faced a large, splintered wood door.  Another
terrifying
scream
re
sounded
through the hall
,
and without hesitation or concern for
her safety
,
Myra
cast
open the door and
confront
ed
the unknown attackers.

“Mercy!  You are pirates!”  The words unwittingly left her lips as she viewed the scene in front of her.  At least ten of the roug
hest, most vile looking men she’d
ever the misfortune to set
e
yes upon stood staring
back
at her.
 
She recovered
her breath,
but
Myra
stood firm and gave her bravest
stance
.  “Who are you?”
she demanded
, but not to any particular man
.

“Who are you
?”
One of t
he men who
se
hand
fondled Lucia’s
bare
breast
stepped forward
and was the first to speak
.
  Lucia
’s face streamed with tears and she visibly shook.  She was shackled to a wooden
post;
her dress
was
ripped and
her breasts were
exposed for all the men to see.

“I’m Lady
Myra
, wife of Zachary Frederickson who owns
this home you are trespassing
.  I demand you let go of that woman and
leave the premises posthaste
.”  Her voice gave
much more authority than she felt,
or for that matter possessed, but
she hoped that they believed her ruse of confidence.

“Ah, the
Lady
Myra
, eh?”
The voice came from another
man
who
pitched
his words
out
in broken English
between rotted teeth.  His eyes traveled the distance
and
glance
d
at her
from head to heel
, making a slow sweep across her middle.
  He began to make his way toward her
but was diverted when
another voice
spoke
up, and the man moved back
within the shadows of the barely lit room.

“So, you’re the woman who has our
Zachary
in such a state
?
”
The man’s voice was
near
ly
perfect
English, although
his accent hinted at his
Spanish decent. 
The
group
of men opened
a space
and
allowed
the
man
to pass into view.  His long, curly black hair was
tied in the back with twine
and
Myra
was
surprised
,
for he
didn’t
look as if he belonged
.  Other than being
clean
ed
, his breeches and bright red waistcoat appeared in neat and new order
, unlike the dirty tatte
re
d clothing the other men wore
.  His face also regarded her with gentleness,
which was
also
unlike the other men in the room
,
who either glared or ogled her.
 
Although
it appeared he may be easier to hear reason
, she
decided she
’d
remain
cautious
consider
ing
the company he kept among him. 

As he approached,
Myra
fought the urge to step back.  She
didn’t want
him
or the other
m
en
to
sense
her trepi
dation.  Myra glanced at
Lucia’s frightened face
,
and it helped
Myra
persist in feigning courage and
confront the men
. 

“Free my maid,” she commanded
to the man who appeared to be the auger of the group.

“I cannot do that,” he replied politely.

“Certainly you can,
”
Myra pressed politely.

“I’m not the one who placed her here, so it’s not my place to remove her,” he smiled.  “As you so graciously reminded, this isn’t our dwelling, but that of your husband.”

“Then leave her be.  Call y
our men off of her this instant,
”
she rushed out after two of the men began wickedly stroking Lucia’s body with their filthy hands.

“My men?”  He smiled,
and despite Lucia’s cries of torment and protest behind him, he was
n’t the least a
ffected
.
His dark brown eyes twinkled with amusement.  “And
what makes you believe these
men
are mine?” 
A low rumble
of laughter lifted his chest when
the words
left his lips.  “There are
a great
man
y things I freely stake claim
to
, but these men are certainly not
any
of them.”  He raked his hand through rich
black
hair and then crossed his broad arms across his chest.

“I am sure you can convince them that it’
s
in their best interest to leave my maid alone.”
 
Lucia let out a sharp yelp as one of the men lowered his hand and bega
n raising
her skirt upward. 
“Do it now.  Please,”
Myra
urged. 

“
Although your husband may not be pleased…a
s you wish, Mrs. Frederickson.”  The man closed his eyes and bowed his head
toward her
. 
A scarce
look at the offending pirates who surrounded Lucia
gave
enough
indication
of his demand, and the
men
immediately
release
d
her bounds
.  They moved
away from her
an
d Lucia ran to her side and held
the ripped section of her dress protectively against her chest with her hand
. 

“Are you hurt?  Did they do any other harm other than this,” she whispered to Lucia, indicating her gown, but insinuated much more. Lucia shook her head no in reply.  Myra closed he
r eyes and gave a moment to offer
God
thanks that she’d reached her in time before the scoundrels inflicted worst harm upon her. 

“Your maid fares well enough.  No serious harm has been
imposed
upon her
,” the man before her stated.  “These men meant no true harm.”

Despite his claim he wasn’t in charge
,
Myra
saw
that the
man h
eld some power over
them
.  She
saw
the men’s fear
as well as
their
respect as they
, too,
watch
ed
the man before her.

“I
offer my
thanks for your assistance
.” 
Myra
took Lucia by the hand and began walking to the door that l
ed
to
their
exit.

“
Halt
,
Senora
.” 
His previous pleasant tone
turned cold and sinister
.  “The young maid may go, but
you
,
shall
remain.”

Luc
ia held onto her hand so tight that
it felt as
if
entrapped
in stone
.  She turned to Lucia and w
hispered for her to leave
.
But Lucia
fervently
shook her head
and
tighten
ed
her grasp. 

“I’ll not leave you,” she
returned
in a quivered voice
.

“Seth is on his way, you must show him the way down here once he arrives,” she
said
,
as she hid
her words in their departing embrace.

Tears filed Lucia’s eyes and she reluctantly left. 
Myra
stood guard as the door closed
behind her and
she was
determined to fight until
her death
if any
of the loathsome men
took
to follow her. 

“
Tis my
belie
f,
”
Myra
said with the m
ost bravado
she could
m
uster, “T
hat my husband would take much offense if you or any of these men attempt
ed
anything improper where I’m concerned.  He’
ll
surely kill you for any fool-hearted attempt to compromise me.”

“Is that what you believe,
Senora
?”  Without a glance in the
direction of the
other
men
, the dark-haired stranger waved his muscular, bronze hand.  The men quickly dispersed within the s
had
ows and
then
out of the room
by way of a door at the other end of the room
.

“That is what I know,
s
ir.  Now kindly remove yourself from the premises and be on your way forthwith.”  Strange
ly, just
the
one man caused
more apprehension
within her
than when all the men
surrounded
her
.

He took a threatening step toward her and Myra continued to step back, but each step was conquered by another, and he closed in on her.  Trapped, her back stood flat against the door to her exit.  His hands outstretched
and
capture
d
her between him and the door, and he leaned down
.  T
heir noses nearly touched.  Her breath caught heavily in her throat
and hindered
the scream she wanted to let loose.

“I don’t fear your husband,
Senora
, but it’s your husband who fears me,” he
said
menacingly
.  “Do not ever
forget that.”

Myra
turned her face
away from him
.  Her cheek pressed hard against the wood of the door a
nd
a splinter worked its way into her cheek.  She winced in protest.

He
gently held
her by the shoulders
, b
ut his strength prevented her from bolting.  When he drew her into his arms and placed a chaste,
gentle kiss
on
either side of
her cheek
s
, she took a spar
se second to look at him.  She
prepared herself for the worst, and when she convinced herself that she
had
t
he strength to handle whatever
pain he was about to
inflict
, he opened the door and let her go free.