Karen Michelle Nutt (19 page)

Arianna felt the ship lurch forward. Then pick up speed as the ocean water pushed against the sides and the wind skimmed the open deck.

She watched the crewmembers at work, wondering if any of them had visited Keldon at the house. She spotted Samuel, Leighton, Vincent Aubrey and— Dear God! She immediately slid further back into her hiding place. Her heart went into sudden shock. How could she have forgotten about Nicholas Sherborn? Of course, he would be on the ship. It was his plan to take the Spanish frigate, in hopes Keldon would trust him.

Once Nicholas found out she was onboard, she had no doubt he would corner her for answers. A rush of dread whirled inside her as Arianna racked her brain for a plausible explanation Nicholas would accept.

"Miss Arianna?" Samuel hissed.

"I'm here.” She scooted forward.

"You kin come out now."

She crawled over to Samuel, hesitating to go out in the open. "Are you sure?"

"Shor’ as I kin be. Jest keep your hair covered and don't be talkin' ter no one. I have a place where you kin wait down below. We won't catch up ter de other ship fer days. Even ef all goes well, it kin be very tricky. You best stay below jest in case dere be fightin's goin' on."

"Samuel, is there a lot of bloodshed when you take over another ship?” She dreaded the answer, but she had to know the truth.

"No'm dere ain't. Mista Keldon don't believe in killin' unless dere be no other way. Now, let's stop de chatterin' before we gets ourselves caught."

She nodded and they made their way down to the lower deck without a hitch. The place Samuel had in mind for her to hide in was dark and stuffy. She thought about taking her chances up above, but in the end, she knew she’d be foolish to risk it. She had to stay hidden until they were far enough out to sea, so that Keldon wouldn’t be able to turn back without jeopardizing the whole expedition.

Arianna would wait to put forth plan B—well before they attacked the Spanish frigate. Keldon wanted to start a family. Being a pirate and a father couldn’t go hand in hand. Since their night in the garden, Keldon had been most attentive. With as much heated passion as he displayed, she could already be pregnant. If he didn’t want to run the plantation, then there had to be another line of business, a legitimate one that would interest him.

She stood and paced in the small enclosure. The sway of the ship and the stale air made her stomach turn. She needed fresh air. Surely, it had been a few hours since they had set sail. She made her way up the stairs to the bright sunshine, realizing the day had begun, while she’d been sitting in the dark hole below.

"Hey, ye lad get a move on.” Arianna turned toward a large burley man with dark eyes, long hair and sideburns. She realized he addressed her. She gulped and pulled her cap lower, until it covered her ears. "Did ye hear me lad?" the man yelled to her, again.

Arianna didn’t trust her voice. She nodded her reply.

"Well then get yer bony arse up here and help Higgins with the ropes."

Arianna nodded again even though she had no idea who Higgins was, but one look from the scowling man giving the orders, made her think she’d better find him.

Lucky for her, she heard Vincent Aubrey call to Higgins. Her eyes widened as she caught sight of the tall scraggly looking boy. He looked more out of place than she did. She headed over to him, keeping her face hidden from Vincent's view. She couldn’t take the chance he’d recognize her.

"Boy! No watch out!” Vincent's warning came a second too late.

Arianna stepped in the center of the loop as Higgins yanked on the rope. The twine constricted around her ankle like a noose, dragging her down and knocking the wind out of her. Higgins oblivious to what happened continued to drag her across the deck.

“Higgins stop,” Vincent ordered as he ran to help her.

Higgins turned and the color drained from his face. “Bloody ‘ell.” He loosened his hold.

Arianna breathed a sigh of relief. Being unceremoniously hauled up by her feet was bound to call attention. This was exactly what she didn’t need.

Vincent knelt down beside her.

She lowered her hat, covering her view. Why didn’t she have the sense to stay down below?

Vincent removed the rope from around her legs. "Are you all right?"

Arianna kept her eyes averted. "I'm fine," she answered in a gruff voice. Her ankle throbbed and her skin felt like it was on fire, but she needed Vincent to leave her alone before he recognized her. She scrambled to her feet, but once she put pressure on her right foot, she knew she was in trouble. She pitched forward and Vincent caught her.

She cringed as his hands landed on her chest.

"What in the world.” He steadied her and lifted her chin, forcing her to meet his gaze. “Good God, Mrs. Buchanan?" he whispered.

She nodded slowly. He helped her to move away from the others. Oh, she was in for it now.

"Does Keldon know you’re onboard?" he asked.

She shook her head and pleaded with her eyes for him not to say anything.

"You can't keep it a secret," he said as he nervously looked around him, noticing that Higgins watched them.

"Is he all right, sir?" Higgins called.

Vincent quickly answered. "No harm done, that can't be taken care of. Continue what you were doing, Higgins. I'll take the boy down below to wrap his ankle."

Vincent half led, half carried her to one of the cabins. There was a large bunk to the left of the room, a table and chairs to the right of it. He made her sit down on one of the chairs, before he knelt down to inspect the damage. He gingerly lifted her foot and rested it on his knee.

"Pardon me, Mrs. Buchanan, but I must remove the boot to make sure the ankle is not broken.”

Arianna wasn’t going to protest. Her foot throbbed.

When he removed the boot, she nearly bit her lip through, trying not to scream. He probed and poked until he was sure no bones were out of place. He dragged the other chair over and made her prop her foot up. He stood back and rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Now what do we do with you?"

"Are we far enough from home that Keldon won’t be able to send me back?"

"What is this about?” He frowned. “What mischief are you up to? Why are you here?"

"I have the right to know what kind of man I'm married to. I wanted to see for myself, firsthand how he conducted business.”

"Hmm. What exactly do you think we’re doing? Or should I ask?" he added with a small smile.

"You shouldn't ask,” she replied.

"You have your suspicion and maybe you are right.” He studied her for a moment.

“What?”

“I’m wondering how you sauntered past the men undetected. Even in your ridiculous outfit, you are too pretty to be a boy. Surely the men must be blind.”

Arianna knew she blushed and cursed her fair complexion.

Vincent grinned. "Oui."

"Yes?” Arianna eyebrows furrowed.

"Oui. Yes, to your question. We are far enough from home. Keldon won’t turn around. I suppose, you will have to take this adventure with us.” He tilted his head, his eyes betraying his worry. “As much as I enjoy your company, I am not sure how your presence will affect the other members of the crew. It might be for the best if we keep your identity a secret.”

She sighed. “That was my plan. It didn’t work out so well.”

“No.” He chuckled. “You made quite an entrance.”

"Keldon’s not going to be pleased with me, is he?"

"I would say not, but again, you are a lovely sight to behold. He might not be too angry with you."

"Maybe I should go to him.” She attempted to stand, but Vincent immediately put a restraining hand on her shoulder.

"You best stay put. I'll bring Keldon to you. This way I can ride the storm of his fury, he's sure to bestow. When he’s calm enough, I’ll send him down."

"That's nice of you to do that for me, Mr. Aubrey."

"Vincent, please.” He smiled. The man was charming, especially when his amber eyes twinkled with amusement.

"Vincent then and you must call me Arianna," she insisted.

"Arianna?” He sounded baffled. "But I thought your name was Annabelle. No?"

She sighed wearily. "Yes, so I've been told."

"Now you have me more confused than ever."

"You see, I had a fall recently and my memory is not as it should be. I don't recall any of my life before a week ago and to be perfectly honest with you, I hope I never remember it. From what I've learned, I was not a very kind person."

"If I may say so, it is most difficult for me to believe it. I must confess I have heard interesting rumors about you. I imagined in my mind that you had two heads and horns protruding from them.” He chuckled making Arianna smile at the ridiculous picture he conjured.

"You make me sound like a devil."

"Ah, people talk and sometimes they are most unkind."

"In my case they may have had every right to talk."

"Then you must have changed for I find your company very pleasant and Keldon must too. I haven’t seen him seem so... How should I say this... Well, most content. I envy him," he confessed, then cleared his throat as if he’d said too much. "I'll go talk to Keldon now.” He took her hand in his and bestowed a kiss. "Everything will be all right, Arianna. I will make sure of this.”

****

Vincent shielded his eyes from the sun as he came topside. Spotting the tall Scotsman, he made his way over to him.

Keldon acknowledged him with a nod then yelled for Higgins to loosen the sails.

Dragging Keldon away would prove difficult, but Vincent kept up with him, lending a hand when needed.

Keldon pivoted and bumped into Vincent. Keldon’s eyes narrowed. "Is there somethin’ ye wanted, Aubrey? Ye've been my shadow for the last half hour."

"You have an unexpected visitor aboard,” Vincent blurted out before Keldon could be called away again.

Keldon chuckled. “Weel did ye set out the fine china for tea?” When Keldon realized he was the only one laughing, his eyebrows came together in a frown. "A visitor, ye say. Ye mean a stowaway."

"Oui. Before you get yourself upset—"

"Get to the point, Aubrey. I doonae have all day to figure out yer riddles."

"Always in a hurry, my friend. All right, then. Your wife is in your cabin."

Keldon blinked in surprise. “Ye are mistaken. I kissed Arianna goodbye and left her safe at home.”

“She’s down below."

Keldon didn’t answer.

“Did ye hear me?”

"Aye, I heard ye fine. I am havin’ a wee bit of a problem believin’ this is possible."

"Well, since I brought her down below myself, after her fall, I—"

Keldon grabbed Vincent's shirt, worry creasing his brow. "Fall? Is the fool lass all right?"

Vincent pried Keldon's fingers from his shirt and glanced behind him. You might want to keep it down.”

Keldon took his meaning. He glared at anyone who was brave enough to meet his gaze.

Vincent continued, "Arianna is fine. She twisted her foot. Nothing was broken."

"And how, may I ask do ye know this?" he growled. His face turned red and the tick in his cheek warned Vincent one wrong word from him and he would be feeling Keldon's fists.

"Now listen, I had to make sure the foot wasn’t broken. No?”

Keldon took a deep breath and nodded. "Aye,” he managed to say, through clenched teeth. "Now that I know she is fine, she'll be ruing this day.” He turned on his heel, grumbling under his breath. “I doonae have enough to worry aboot, now I have to worry aboot her, too. What did the fool lass think she’d accomplish by sneakin’ aboard his ship?”

Vincent ran ahead and intercepted Keldon before he could go down below.

"Move aside, Aubrey," he warned.

"You must give me your word you will not be too severe with her."

"This is none of yer concern. Now move aside before I move ye myself."

"Then I'm going down below with you. I will not have you mistreating her."

Keldon opened and shut his mouth with a harrumph. “Ye cannae be serious. What do ye think I’m goin’ to do to her?”

“I am not sure, but if your scowl is an indication…” He shrugged, letting the implication speak for itself.

Keldon smoothed out his features. "If I give ye my word, that I will no’ lay a hand on her, will ye let me pass?"

"Your word has always been good with me."

"Aye. Then ye have it. Now, kindly move aside.”

With a sweep of his hand, he gave him wide berth.