My Lady Vixen (11 page)

Alexa felt nothing but immense relief when the last sliver of English soil slipped beneath the horizon. No matter what the future held it was better than what she left behind.

Though the weather was cold and brisk, often laced with driving snow or sleet, Alexa spent a good part of each day on deck. Often, fearing for her health, Mac was forced to send her to her cabin. But despite of, or perhaps because of, the harsh weather, Alexa’s health prospered. Each day Mac became more and more enchanted by her sparkling eyes, rosy cheeks and glowing complexion.

They chose not to speak of Adam. Alexa knew that once she spoke his name painful memories would rise up and haunt her. In her estimation it was best not to dredge up feelings better left untouched, or to analyze those same feelings too closely, for surely hate existed somewhere in the compartments of her heart. But what of those times he made love to her with such tenderness that she lay swooning and unresisting in his arms? It was all part of his grand plan for revenge, she told herself bitterly.

How could a man make love to a woman with such feeling and yet care nothing for her? Obviously Alexa had never known a man like Adam, for that’s exactly what he had accomplished. And yet … yet … a small kernel of indefinable feeling lurked in her heart. An emotion ready to burst into bloom given the slightest provocation. Some might call it love. Alexa put no name to it.

Mac was just as determined to keep thoughts of Adam from invading Alexa’s mind and body. In his heart he knew she had fallen in love with Adam and truly believed those feelings would never be returned by his friend. Adam had plans that didn’t include the daughter
of John Ashley. Mac’s own course was much less complicated. He would care for Alexa until she came to realize the extent of his love. When that happened they would marry and live happily ever after. But then, Mac had always been a dreamer.

One fine day Alexa stood at the rail of the
Lady
A, staring westward. As it happened so often of late, her mind dwelled on the babe growing inside her. Already she had to let out her dresses and wondered if she could complete the voyage without Mac finding out.

Inexplicably her thoughts turned to Fox, a man Alexa knew would never treat her cruelly despite the fact that he was a pirate and a rogue. Their all too brief encounter had initiated her to a thrilling new experience that Adam had finely honed in their months together. Would she ever see Fox again? she agonized. Probably not, she decided. If only her baby belonged to Fox … Unikely … but …

Almost as an afterthought. Alexa’s hand fell to her stomach where she lightly outlined the slight bulge she was careful to keep hidden beneath her cloak and numerous petticoats. And then, in a motion so common to pregnant women she pressed her other hand to the small of her back, forcing her stomach and pelvis forward. In the several seconds she held that position her pregnancy was all too apparent.

Merry eyes akindle, Mac watched from the quarterdeck as Alexa leaned into the wind, staring westward. Her beautiful face reflected her inner turmoil and Mac wished there was something he could do to ease her fears. Then suddenly her movement caught his attention and his breath caught painfully in his throat. Alexa’s unusual stance emphasized the unnatural bulge of her stomach, with one slim hand outlining the slight swelling while the other eased her back, as if to take the pressure off her burgeoning middle.

Mac knew a moment of intense hatred for Adam Foxworth. Pregnant! The bastard had left Alexa pregnant without a thought for her future! Hadn’t he realized such a thing could happen? Mac thought with impotent fury. It was obvious Adam’s vengeful mind failed to take into consideration the consequences to an innocent young girl. Never had Mac felt the urge to kill so strongly.

Mac spent the rest of the day coming to terms with the certain knowledge that the woman he loved was expecting another man’s child. Holed up in his cabin with a bottle of brandy, he pondered long and hard and finally came to a painful decision. Armed with the knowledge that what he was about to do was right for Alexa, Mac spoke briefly to his navigator, then went to bed, his mind much eased. From the beginning he knew his dream had been an impossible one.

Alexa hardly noticed the slight change in course. What she did note was that the closer they came to their destination the warmer it became. As the nights passed into days, and days into weeks, Alexa’s pregnancy advanced apace. The day finally came when she could no longer hide it from Mac. He came upon her one day when she was forced by the hot sun to remove her concealing cloak, and she caught him staring at her stomach. She did not flinch but faced him squarely.

“It’s true, Mac,” she admitted before he could ask. “I am expecting Adam’s child.”

“I know, Alexa,” Mac acknowledged softly. “I’ve known for some time.”

“You must hate me.”

How could she think such a thing? “Not you, milady, never you,” came Mac’s impassioned reply. “Only Adam for taking advantage of you and then abandoning you without a thought for what might occur.”

“He didn’t know.”

“Don’t make excuses for that blackguard. He should have anticipated that possibility and made provisions.”

“I was going to tell him but he left without so much as a good-bye. Besides,” Alexa said bitterly, “it would have made little difference to Adam. Knowledge that he had sired a child upon me would only serve to sweeten his revenge.”

“Perhaps you do him an injustice,” suggested Mac.

“We both know I meant nothing more to Adam than a means of getting to my father. This baby is mine and mine alone. I’ll raise it to the best of my ability.”

Mac marveled at Alexa’s courage in the face of such adversity and he was determined that she would not suffer because she was unfortunate enough to be born the daughter of Sir John Ashley. Nor would her child. But for the time being Mac thought it best to keep his plans to himself for he knew Alexa would never agree to them.

“Alexa, you must know I’d never abandon you,” Mac said tenderly. “I will do whatever is necessary to help you.” And hope you don’t hate me for it later, he silently added.

Somehow Alexa was comforted by the knowledge that Mac shared her secret. Whatever Mac was, pirate or no, he was her friend and could be depended upon for help.

They were nearly within sight of land when the
Lady
A crossed the path of an English merchantman. The first sign Alexa had of any trouble was the loud cheer arising from the men on deck who had been itching for a chance to engage the enemy in battle. She watched from the safety of the passage as Mac readied his ship for battle. It was obvious to Alexa that Mac had learned much during his years of tutelage under the Fox aboard his
Gray Ghost.

The crew immediately sprang into action, loading and
priming the twenty-four eighteen-pounders on the upper deck and eight nine-pounders on the quarterdeck. A brace of pistols and cutlass were strapped about each man’s waist in anticipation of hand-to-hand combat.

Before allowing the British ship the advantage. Mac turned the
Lady
A leeward and ordered a warning shot fired across the bow. “Strike the colors!” he yelled to his crew. Immediately the Stars and Stripes were hoisted up the flagpole, caught the breeze and waved proudly above the
Lady
A. The British ship returned a warning shot of her own.

“Look lively, men, we’re coming about!” shouted Mac as he brought the sails into the wind, coming up almost on the prow of the enemy ship. “Fire your guns on the swivel deck!” came the crisp order.

The volley that followed rendered the merchantman nearly helpless. Mac ordered the sails lowered as he came up against the hull of the English ship which was unable to fire her guns, for by that time the
Lady
A was far too near. Much to the chagrin of the American sailors the fight was finished before it really began.

In quick order a boarding party led by Mac leaped nimbly across the short distance separating the two ships and swiftly subdued the last pocket of resistance. After impressed American seamen were ferreted out, the remaining English crewmen were set adrift in their longboats to be picked up by another of their ships in the vicinity while Mac made an inspection of the merchantman’s cargo. He was well pleased with the variety of goods he found aboard which would bring a good price in the West Indies.

A skeleton crew was put aboard the merchantman to sail her to Barbados and dispose of her cargo. Because the ship was old and slow, Mac thought it best to sell her also. It was a good day’s work and each crew member would be richer for their efforts, Mac mused happily as
he watched the merchantman sail away manned by his most trusted men.

Nearly six weeks to the day that the
Lady
A left London, the first green crescent of land came into view. But to Alexa’s surprise the ship did not make for port but maintained a course parallel to the coast. When questioned, Mac explained his tactics.

“Just before I arrived at Penwell Castle to take you back to London, I saw Captain John Paul Jones of the Continental navy, who with a small squadron based on French soil carries on a series of raids against British coastal shipping. Fox and I are part of his operation-harassing British ships close to their own shores. Just this year France allied herself with the colonies so that the British not only had to contend with the colonies but with the French fleet.

“Captain Jones had recently received a dispatch outlining plans of a British expeditionary corps to march into Savannah in late fall. It’s already December and I have no idea what I’ll find if we sail directly into Savannah Harbor.”

Alexa slowly digested all this, then suddenly something clicked in her brain. “Savannah! That’s not in Virginia!”

Mac smiled slyly. “It’s in Georgia, milady.”

“But … I don’t understand,” said Alexa warily. “I thought we were going to Virginia.”

“A slight change in plans, Alexa. One that will work well in your favor. Trust me, I would do nothing that would harm you,” he assured her most emphatically.

Alexa shrugged. What did it matter where she went? One place would serve her purposes as well as another. She would pose as a young widow expecting a child and hope to find work eventually.

The
Lady
A appeared to hover just out of sight of land until nightfall. Only then did she cautiously nose toward
shore. Under cover of darkness the ship unerringly made her way into a small cove with an opening barely discernible to the eye. Alexa held her breath as the ship gracefully traversed the coral reef and finally bumped against a dock in the deep but small body of water that Mac told her had been dredged out to accommodate a sailing vessel the size of the
Lady
A. It was on private property and not many people knew of its existence.

“On whose land is it?” Alexa asked curiously.

“It belongs to a friend of mine,” Mac murmured non-committally. “Are your bags packed, Alexa? We will be going ashore soon.”

“Aren’t we going to Savannah?”

Mac gave her a oblique look. “No, I’ll leave you off here. You’ll be safe enough.”

“But … are you staying here too?” A shiver of foreboding shook Alexa’s small frame and she pulled her cloak tighter about her slender shoulders. Some innate sense warned her that everything was not as it should be. Surely Mac wouldn’t lie to her, would he?

“Alexa. I have to see to the docking right now. But the moment we are ashore, I promise to tell you everything.”

Not entirely satisfied but unable to persuade Mac otherwise, Alexa returned to her cabin to finish her packing. By now she had let out every one of her dresses and her pregnancy could no longer be concealed beneath her skirts nor covered by her cloak. Well into her fifth month, her waistline had virtually disappeared. Somehow, during the weeks of the voyage the baby growing beneath her heart had become very precious to her. A tiny entity with a character all its own, living, breathing, taking nourishment from her own body. Against her will Alexa began to love the tiny being, to wonder what he or she would look like. Which
invariably led her to thoughts of Adam. From there everything became muddled as images of Fox warred within her brain for prominence. Most times her child looked like Adam. But at other times she pictured her baby’s face as being completely featureless, for she had no idea what Fox looked like.

A short while later Alexa’s baggage was set ashore on the dock and then Mac came for her. Glancing at her warily he grasped her hand and guided her down the gangplank. Once on land he hesitated for a moment then led her along a well-defined path that crunched beneath her feet.

“Seashells,” Mac smiled, sensing her question.

“Where are we going, Mac? It’s so dark I can barely see the path.”

“Just hang on and follow me, milady. I know this path well. You’ll see the house as we come out of the woods.”

Suddenly Alexa balked, her mouth set in stubborn lines. “I will go no farther, Mac, until you tell me where we are going. I think I’ve been patient long enough. What is all the mystery about?”

Mac sighed regretfully. What he was about to tell Alexa was sure to shock and anger her. Alexa, I hope you won’t hate me for what I’ve done but it’s what I judged best for you and your child. One day you’ll thank me.”

Not only did Mac’s words confound Alexa, but she felt as if a hand had closed around her throat. Frantically she searched for a meaning behind his words. “What … what are you talking about? Why should I be angry with you?”

While they talked Mac urged her along the path, and unconsciously she followed. Suddenly they came out of the woods and onto the well-kept grounds surrounding an imposing two-story house whose every room blazed
with the light from thousands of candles. Dozens of coaches lined the curving driveway and it was apparent a party was in progress.

“Jesus!” breathed Mac irreverently. “I hope it’s not too late.”

“Too late for what?” Exasperation furrowed Alexa’s fine brow. “Whose house is this?”

“Alexa, these lands belong to Adam and this is his house.” Mac held his breath, waiting for the inevitable outburst. He was not disappointed.