Captured (27 page)

He laughed. “No. We toss the bodies into the sea. The sharks enjoy the meat.”

Clare’s eyes closed and her heart ached in response to such indignity.

“The sharks have come to rely on the meat so much, they circle the island regularly. They serve as a deterrent to any slaves foolish enough to try and escape by swimming.”

So he did have a defense of sorts.

He looked her way. “I’m taking great joy in knowing my brother is frantic in mind and spirit wondering where you are. I’ll be forever in Vanweldt’s debt for presenting you to me.”

“For what purpose?”

“I’m going to sell you, of course, and if there is a child, it, too. Dominic will be enraged but there’s nothing he’ll be able to do once I put you on the block. I hate him, you know. He and his whore of a mother stole my father’s affection from Mother and me. My father left us and never returned. That Dominic will never see his child will also make up for that.”

“The last person with designs on this child died beneath the heavy hooves of a team of horses. What will be your fate, Eduard?”

He slapped her with the back of his hand so forcefully she cried out involuntarily in pain. “How dare you mock me! You are in no position to be anything but respectful and obedient. Any more sass and I’ll take a whip to you, child or no child.” He grabbed her by the jaw and seethed, “Do you understand me!”

The mask of the slave remained firmly in place.

“Do you!”

“Yes.”

He tossed her away. “Yves. Drive us back.”

The giant turned his head around for a moment and looked at Clare just long enough for their gazes to connect, then drove them back the way they’d come.

Dominic felt as if he might burst into a hundred angry pieces if they didn’t get under way soon. Because of the unrelenting way he’d been driving the men and himself, not only were they going to be too angry to sail, they were going to be too physically exhausted, but they knew why he was so on edge; they were in a hurry to rescue Clare, too, so, so far they hadn’t let his sour mood deter them from their tasks.

It was two hours past midday. The ballast had been loaded in record time and he felt as if fate was finally smiling on him at last. The gunners were placing the last of the cannons into their slots while Richmond and the powder monkeys, who now included an apprentice named Ben Sullivan, distributed grapeshot, cannonballs, and grenades at each of the stations.

Gaspar came up out of the hold. “Everything’s secure down below.”

“Good. Thank you. I believe we’re almost ready.”

“Yes we are. Do you wish to talk strategy now?”

He nodded. “Tell everyone to meet me in my cabin as soon as possible.”

Once everyone was gathered around the large map he’d unrolled on top of his desk, he used his finger to trace the course. “We’ll head east and then northeast past Cuba and Haiti. East again and south past Antigua and Montserrat.”

“So we’ll come in on the eastern side of the island just like before,” Esteban noted.

“Yes. The lands are on that side, and my cousin Gabe said the French are using the western side as a connection for ships ferrying guns and supplies to the colonies. Last thing we want is a battle with the French Navy before we can get to Clare. The western ports are always filled with slavers, too, as we all well know.”

“When are we raising anchor? Day or night?” Gaspar asked.

“That I don’t know. I’m open for suggestions because were it just me, I’d sail as soon as everything was in place and to hell with the time of day.”

“Then I vote we do that,” Esteban said.

Dominic looked to his childhood friend. “Your vote?”

“Now.”

“James?”

“Yesterday.”

He took in Washington Julian, Tait, and Richmond. They all voted to leave as soon as the
Marie
was ready.

A pleased Dominic nodded his thanks. “I’ll go tell the crew.”

Ninety minutes later to the sounds of battle drums and cheers from the people on shore, the
Marie
slipped out of the harbor and headed east.

Clare was confined to her room for the rest of the day but she didn’t mind. Her face was beginning to swell from the blows she’d received first from Vanweldt, and now Eduard, and there was nothing she could do about it or the dull ache that accompanied it. She passed the time by recalling the memories she’d stored up during her days on the island: the feast, the drums, doing errands with Anna, the sunsets, and all the times and the ways she and Dominic had made love. Those memories alone could have sustained her for months or more. The remembered feel of his kiss and his hands; the earth-shattering feel of the little death, and the way he held her when they finally sought sleep evoked a bittersweet smile, because she was not in his arms. Her thoughts then moved to her children. She wondered if they were safe with Dominic, or still with their owners. She hoped it was the former because she had no idea what might be awaiting her should she have to return to Savannah to try and free them again.

The heat of the day had finally waned and her stomach reminded her she hadn’t eaten since that morning. She supposed not feeding her was Eduard’s way of flaunting his hold over her, but she knew it would only be temporary because Dominic was on his way to take her home.

An hour later, Eduard entered. “Excuse my neglect. I had business to oversee. Would you care for dinner?”

“Yes.” Clare wondered why he was pretending to be nice. They both knew it was a lie.

“Come with me.”

The dining room’s table was set formally with tarnished silver and chipped china. Goblets holding drinks were at each seat. Nancine was in a chair at one end of the table. Across the room near the French doors, Yves stood silent as a statue. Clare wondered how long it would take for Nancine to storm from the room now that she had arrived.

But she said instead, “I suppose if I must have you as a guest, I must, so welcome to our home.” She gestured her to the chair positioned in the middle of the table. “Please be seated. I must speak to my son for a moment.” She stood and added, “Avail yourself of the wine. Cook will be serving us shortly. Eduard, will you step out with me, please. There’s something I wish to discuss.”

“Of course, Mother. Clare, if you will excuse us.”

She nodded and took her seat. Still surprised but not trusting Nancine’s apparent change of heart, Clare picked up her goblet intending to quench her dry throat, but the loud grunt Yves made caused her to look his way. He was at her side in an instant. He took the goblet from her hand, switched it with the one at Eduard’s setting, then moved back to the wall just as they reentered the room. Clare was so startled by Yves’s actions she was shaking. Had something been wrong with the goblet of wine she’d been given? Then she remembered how Dominic’s mother had reportedly died.
Poison
. Heart still racing, she drank a bit of the new wine and then set the vessel down. Calming herself, she gave the now seated Nancine a false smile. Clare then shot a discreet glance Yves’s way but he offered no response.

The servants brought in the meal. Over the course of eating, Eduard drank his cup dry. As he stood to replenish it, he swayed and then began to claw at his throat. He fell onto the table, sending dishes tumbling and platters crashing to the floor, as he fought whatever had him in its throes. Awful gasping noises came from his throat. Nancine jumped to her feet and screamed, “No! Oh! No! Eduard! Oh my god!”

Eyes blazing with fury, she screeched at Clare, “You switched the cups! Whore! It was meant for you, not my son!”

She ran to him. The servants came in, and after looking for a few moments retreated.

“Eduard!” she cried again, but her son was beyond her calls. His tongue, black as leather, had swollen to such large proportions it hung thickly from his mouth. Jerking with spasms, his eyes rolled back unseeingly, he fell from the table to the floor and was still.

Clare didn’t remember getting to her feet but she found herself stepping away from the table in horror. That terrible death had been meant for her.

Nancine knelt over Eduard’s body and screamed, “No! No!” She began to sob as if her heart had broken. Looking up at the wide-eyed Clare, she launched herself, punching and scratching and screaming like a banshee. Then she was lifted from her feet and thrown across the room. Her body hit the wall hard, then slid down into a broken seated position. The unnatural angle of her neck showed it to be broken.

The terrified Clare looked up at the giant and he put out his large hand. Shaking so much she found it hard to stand, she put her hand in his and let him lead her through the French doors and out to Eduard’s carriage. After she got in, he set the horses to a brisk pace and headed for the water.

Once there, he left the carriage, and she followed him to a small wooden building not far from the water’s edge. She watched as he brought out a canoe and two oars. A man came riding up and Clare froze. Yves looked up but ignored the man for the moment. Instead he took Clare’s hand and guided her into the canoe.

“Oh, it’s you, Yves.”

It was the overseer Griggs. His eyes went to Clare before he said to Yves, “Guess LeVeq tired of her. Looks like she put up a fairly good fight, though.” And he grinned and chuckled while indicating her bruised and battered face.

Yves left Clare sitting in the boat, walked over to the grinning man, and lifted him clear of the ground. Yves turned his broad back, effectively blocking Clare’s view. Griggs gave a short strangled sound. His neck had been broken. Yves carried the body to the canoe and put it inside, then pushed the boat into the water. When the tide caught it, he got in and began to row.

When his powerful arms cleared them of the coast, and the water became deep enough, he dropped Griggs’s body into it and rowed on.

“May I ask you a question?” Clare asked, still shaking.

He nodded.

“Why can’t you speak?”

He opened his mouth and showed her that most of his tongue had been severed.

She was appalled. “I’m so sorry.”

He shrugged.

“Did Vanweldt do that to you?”

He nodded.

“Are you helping me to get back at him?”

Again the nod.

“Do you have any idea where we’re heading?”

He shook his head negatively and smiled.

She smiled in reply. “I suppose anyplace is better than the one we left. Thank you for alerting me to the poison and for helping me get away.” She then told him the story of Nancine poisoning Dominic’s mother and added, “I suppose poisoning her own son balances the scales.”

He nodded.

“I wish you could tell me your story. How long has Vanweldt owned you?”

He raised one hand and flashed five fingers twice.

“Ten years?”

His eyes said yes.

“If we could somehow make our way back to Liberté, you would be able to live free there.” And she would be grateful to him for the rest of her days. “It’s very beautiful.”

He gave her no response, but she wondered how long he’d wanted to be free of Vanweldt. She decided probably since the day his tongue had been cut out. She couldn’t imagine the pain he must have endured and how angry and helpless he must have felt. “Thank you again. I owe you my life.” And quite possibly the life of her child.

The sun would be setting in another few hours and bringing with it nightfall. As he continued to row, she didn’t want to think about how dangerous it might be on the open seas in such a small vessel at night. Instead, she prayed Dominic would find them.

He looked at her and used his hand to mimic talking.

“You want me to talk?”

He nodded.

“To pass the time?”

Again, he nodded.

So she told him her story and how she’d been captured, and about her children and her life in Savannah. She also told him of her love for Dominic and how it felt to be free. “You’d like it,” she told him, and he smiled in reply.

She told him of her love for sunsets also. “Back home, I was always too busy to see them. Until I met Dominic I had no idea how beautiful they were.”

Suddenly he stopped rowing and turned his head and looked out over the ocean.

“What’s wrong?”

For a moment he offered no response, then he pointed north. She looked out but saw nothing at first, and then a few moments later a far-off ship slowly came into view. “Is it Vanweldt?”

Eduard had mentioned that Sylvie and the slaver would be returning. Clare didn’t have the long-range viewing all sailors seemed to have, so she couldn’t determine if the ship was friend or foe.

“Can you tell?” she asked tensely. She tried not to think about what recapture might mean for both of them, but the horrific ramifications filled her anyway.

The ship drew closer, still too distant to see its flag, but then he smiled and pointed to her and then to his heart. Confused, she mulled over his actions. Peering at him in an effort to glean his meaning, she touched her own heart and then her eyes went wide. “Is it Dominic? Is it the
Marie!”

The smile in his eyes said yes, and all the pent-up fear and emotion drained away and she cried tears filled with love and joy.

T

Dominic grabbed his glass and scanned the sea. The small boat was still a ways off, but the
Marie
was close enough for him to make out the man and the woman. The sight of Clare put a sheen of tears in his eyes. “It’s Clare!”

The crew cheered as one. Dominic had no idea why she was with what appeared to be Vanweldt’s Yves, but it didn’t matter. His Clare was within sight and would soon be held next to his heart. Dominic swept the sea for ships. “Do you see any sails!” he called up.

“Nothing but open water, sir.”

Gaspar appeared by his side. He used his own glass to sweep the sea. “I see no sails anywhere, either, but Yves is never without Vanweldt close by. Do you think this might be a trap?”

“Not unless Vanweldt has a ship that can rise from the depths like Poseidon.”

“If Yves is holding her hostage I hope he’s ready for a seat in hell.”

“I hope so, too, but just in case this is not as benign as it appears…Battle stations!” he shouted, and his men rushed to their positions.

All Dominic could think about was holding her, kissing her, and being near her again. He’d been in agony since the moment Dot relayed the details of her abduction. Now, in a few minutes they’d be reunited, and he thanked all the gods from both of his parents for her safe return.

As the familiar ship came alongside, Clare wept. Seeing the
Marie
was akin to seeing home. Looking up, she saw the man who’d stolen her heart. “Dominic!”

“Good evening,
petite!”

“Yves rescued me, so please don’t shoot him!”

He laughed. “Thanks for the warning. Yves, I am in your debt. Do you wish to come aboard?”

Yves nodded.

The rope ladder came over the side and the giant guided the canoe closer, then grabbed hold of the net and held it while Clare made her slow climb. She was two-thirds of the way up when Dominic reached down and hauled her up and into his arms. He paid no attention to Yves as he climbed the rope to the deck.

“I’m so glad you are safe,” he whispered hoarsely.

“It’s so good to be in your arms. So good.” He was holding her so tightly she just knew her spine was cracking but she didn’t care.

“Are you hurt?” But before she could respond, he saw the bruises and swelling on her face. “Who did this!” he demanded.

“We’ll talk of it later. Right now just hold me, please. They were planning to sell me and the baby.”

Placing a kiss against the top of her hair he did so, and felt himself on the brink of exploding from the intensity of his love for her. Vanweldt wanted to steal this, extinguish this. If he and Eduard had been successful in their heinous plan it would have torn out his heart, but she was safe and sheltered in his arms. “I’m never letting you out of my sight ever again,” he husked out emotionally.

Their tender reunion was such that every eye of every crewman held a tear.

Looking down into the bruised but still beautiful face, Dominic told her softly, “I’ve a surprise for you.” And he beckoned to someone behind her. She took a moment to give watery smiles to Gaspar and James Early and the rest of the men who’d left their homes and families to come to her rescue. She said to them, “Thank you. I’ve no idea how to repay you or if I ever can.”

When Ben walked up, she went silent and stared. Her hand went to her mouth and the tears gushed. “Benjamin?” she whispered. “Oh my word. Benjamin!”

Grabbing her son whose height topped hers by a good five inches, she held him as tight as she’d held Dominic. She rocked him and no doubt embarrassed him but he held her just as tightly. “How did you get here?” she asked, awed at how tall he’d grown since she saw him last. “Where’s your sister?”

“I’m a member of the crew, Mama. Sarah’s on the island.”

Clare turned to Dominic and Gaspar and the words wouldn’t come. Through her tears she said with a choked laugh, “I can’t seem to stop weeping. Oh, Dominic, Gaspar, all of you, thank you.” She embraced Dominic again. “My children. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” Her emotion moved him. Being able to free her children was yet another way to prove how much he loved her. “I don’t mind if you weep for all eternity as long as you do it in my arms.”

Ben interrupted them. “Mama, I must get back to my post.”

She smiled. “I know, dear. You go on. We’ll talk much longer later.”

He bowed and departed.

Dominic turned to Yves and said genuinely, “Thank you for helping her. If you wish to become a member of the crew you are welcomed.”

The giant nodded, but Dominic couldn’t tell if the nod was an acknowledgment of the thank-you or a nod of agreement to join the crew. He decided to deal with that later. “Come, let’s go to my cabin, and Clare can tell us what has happened, and then we go kill my brother and Vanweldt.”

“Your brother’s dead.”

Dominic stopped.

“Nancine poisoned him.”

Surprise filled his face.

“Come,” Clare said, “I’ll explain.”

Once everyone was settled, Clare told her story, beginning with her being sold and abducted on the streets of Charleston and ending with Eduard’s poisoning and her escape with Yves.

“So the fates cheated me out of sending them to hell,” Dominic growled.

“Does it really matter who sent them?” Gaspar asked. “We’re simply pleased they were sent.”

Dominic smiled. “I suppose you are correct.”

“Maybe the fates will give us Vanweldt as a boon instead,” James added.

“And let’s not forget the duplicitous Sylvie,” Dominic added. He’d never committed violence against a woman but Sylvie made him want to break that code. “Vanweldt was due to return to Martinique sometime today?” he asked Clare.

“According to Eduard, yes.”

Dominic held no grief for the man who’d lived life as Eduard LeVeq. In fact, he thought hell too pleasant an end for the evil souls of Eduard and the treacherous Nancine, but he found it highly ironic that her poison had killed her own flesh and blood.

“So do we go home, or do we try and catch Vanweldt?” Gaspar asked, bringing Dominic back to the conversation at hand.

Dominic looked to Clare and she said, “I’d prefer we go home so that I can see my Sarah, but I don’t wish to have Vanweldt’s shadow looming over our future.”

He agreed, but he had a question. “Where does Yves stand?”

Clare’s eyes sought the man who’d saved her life. “Vanweldt cut out his tongue. There is no love there.” But she asked him, “Do you stand with the crew of the
Marie?
”

He nodded. Raising his hands, he slowly mimicked breaking something in half.

Gaspar said, “I believe we have our answer.”

“Then let’s go hunting.” Still moved by Clare’s presence, he told the men, “I’ll meet you above deck in a moment.”

They exited, and when the door closed, Dominic and Clare were alone. Words were unnecessary. She moved into his arms and let herself be wrapped in his love and held against his strong beating heart. “I knew you would find me,” she voiced, basking in the glory of being with him again. “I had no doubts, ever.”

The love he felt for her had no bounds. “I’m so glad you are here, and it pains me that I can’t make Eduard pay for harming you.”

“He earned his reward. Violet as well.” She thought about Dot. “Did Dot make it back to Savannah?”

“Yes. She came straight to the dock to find me. She’s on the island with Sarah.”

That good news added to the joy of knowing Sarah and Ben were safe. “Thank you for rescuing them, but how was it accomplished? I don’t remember describing them to you.”

So he told her.

She leaned back and looked up. “You threatened the Hamptons with guns?”

“Had no time for niceties. Had to find you.” He then told her about seeing Sarah sweeping the porch and tripping over Ben at the docks.

“So you knew what they looked like?”

“I did. Ben has your eyes, and when he gazed up at me, my heart stopped.”

“He’s grown so much.” She reached up and placed her palm against his cheek. “You’re a very resourceful man, Captain.”

“I’m just selfish. I wanted my love back.”

She rose up on her toes and kissed him. “Thank you for loving me this much.”

“You’re welcome,
petite.”

“Will you kill Vanweldt?”

“He stole you, Clare. He hurt you and he’d hurt you again given the opportunity. Surely you’re not going to plead his case.”

She shook her head. “I just don’t want you to have his blood on your hands.”

“Rather his blood on mine, than yours on his. There’s no other way.”

“I know.”

He gave her a solemn kiss on the brow. “When we get home, I’m going to draw you a bath and fill it with every flower on the island.”

In response to the promise she hugged him tight and said against his heart, “Then hunt quickly and well.”

Above deck, Dominic gave his decision to the crew and they cheered lustily. As a slaver, Vanweldt was a threat to them, their families, and their friends, and they all wanted his presence swept from the seas forever.

With Clare safely tucked below in his cabin, the anger Dominic had been holding in was given full sail. Antigua was north, so he instructed Esteban to turn the ship in that direction and they waited tensely for the lookout to spot their prey. The sun was just beginning to sink to the horizon, which meant they had less than an hour of light left. Dominic prayed they’d catch Vanweldt before nightfall, otherwise he might be able to sail past them unnoticed in the dark.

“Sail!” the lookout called out.

Dominic grabbed up his glass. The ship he focused on was a smaller craft, and because Dominic had no idea what type of vessel Vanweldt might be captaining, he handed the glass off to Yves. The big man took a long look. An evil smile curled his lips. He nodded and handed it back.

“It’s him!” Dominic shouted to the crew. “Everyone to the ready!”

As men scrambled to their assigned duty stations, the deck became a beehive of activity. Dominic didn’t bother yanking down the French flag flying high on the mast. Vanweldt knew the
Marie
on sight, and Dominic hoped that sight was enough to make the Dutchman soil his breeches.

“He’s turning about, Captain!” the lookout cried. “Must’ve recognized us.”

“Give me all the sail you can. We want to catch him before the sun sets.”

Because Vanweldt’s ship was smaller, depending on the skill level of the crew and the wind, she had the potential to be faster. At the moment, though, the lack of a good wind put the
Marie
at a disadvantage. “Keep him in sight!”

If Dominic were in Vanweldt’s position he’d look for someplace to hide until dark. He assumed the Dutchman knew the waters well, but so did Dominic. There were twenty or so islands stretched like a curved strand of pearls from the Virgin Islands to Tobago and they offered many coves and channels. Some of the coves were wide and held waters deep enough to support a ship the size and weight of the
Marie,
others did not. Were he Vanweldt, he’d be searching for one of the latter, but only if the hidey-hole held an alternate route back out to sea, otherwise Dominic and the crew could simply drop anchor and wait. Dominic had stocked his ship with supplies enough for thirty days. Since the Dutchman had been taking only a short trip between islands, he’d probably not laid in a large supply of provisions. He would be ill-prepared for a siege.

Finally being able to confront him filled Dominic with a deadly satisfaction. That the Dutchman had attempted to carve out his heart by taking Clare and possibly her unborn child meant he’d be given no quarter.

For the next quarter of an hour, the lookout kept them abreast of the position of their prey. The ship remained on a northerly course but began hugging the island coastlines as if Vanweldt was indeed looking for a place to put in and hide. Suddenly the wind picked up. As the sails on the
Marie’s
three masts rose and filled until they resembled sheets billowing in the breeze, the men all roared their appreciation for the blessing from the sea.

While the
Marie
continued to cut her way purposefully through the azure blue water, Dominic took a quick trip below decks to see if Gaspar and the weapons crews were in need of anything. He also wished to discreetly look in on Ben.

“He’s doing well,” Gaspar informed him after taking Dominic aside. “He’s got that fear in his eyes of course—we all had it going into our first battle—but he’s managing. Richmond and I both will look out for him.”

Dominic nodded and continued on. He went next to his cabin to see about Clare. Opening the door he found her curled up in his bed asleep. He savored the sight of her safe and sound, and just for a moment let his icy cold purpose be warmed by swells of relief and love. He’d had no real measure of the depths of his feelings until she was taken. The arrogance in him ensured he would have found her even if it had taken decades. The man in him who cared for her more than any pirate treasure embraced that arrogance because he refused to contemplate a life void of the sound of her voice or the beauty of her smile.

He wanted to stand and watch her until the stars fell into the sea, but he had to go. Leaving her to her dreams, he soundlessly closed the door and departed.

Back up on deck, he turned his glass on Vanweldt and knew he’d been right. The Dutchman did know the area because he appeared to be heading for the tiny island of Diablo. Too small for the Europeans to claim and too mountainous to clear and cultivate, even by slave labor, Diablo was one of the few uninhabited places left in the Caribbean. Dominic pulled down his glass and called to Esteban to adjust course. A look over the side showed a large pod of dolphins racing the ship. The sight of the sleek gray bodies rising and falling so rhythmically against the surface of the sea usually put a smile on Dominic’s face, but not this time. If anything they seemed as purposefully focused upon catching Vanweldt as he.