she asked. 'A few little mishaps and I'm now condemned by my staff as a witch and condemned by my own husband as a defiler of property? Jimbo, must I remind you that nothing out of the ordinary has happened since the fire, and that was over seven days ago. Surely the men will come to their senses in time.'
'Nothing out of the ordinary?' Jimbo repeated. 'You cannot be serious, Sara. Have you forgotten Dutton's little mishap, then?'
He would have to bring up that unfortunate incident. Sara gave him a disgruntled look. 'He didn't drown, Jimbo.'
Jimbo rolled his eyes heavenward. 'No, he didn't drown,' he agreed. 'But it was mighty close.'
'And I did apologize to the man.'
'Aye, you did,' Jimbo said. 'But what about Kently and Taylor?'
'Which ones are they?' Sara asked, deliberately feigning ignorance.
'The ones you knocked stupid two days ago when they slipped on the cannon grease you spilled,' he reminded her.
'You cannot place the blame for that solely on my shoulders.'
'I can't?' he asked. He was eager to hear the excuse she would give to explain away those injuries. 'You did spill the grease, didn't you?'
'Yes,' she admitted. 'But I was on my way to fetch a rag to mop up the mess when those men rushed past me. If they hadn't been in such a hurry to get away from me, they would have stopped, of course, and I could have warned them about the slippery deck. So you see, Jimbo, the blame really belongs on their superstitious shoulders.'
The shouted warning of a ship in the distance stopped their conversation. Within a blink of the eye the deck was filled with men running to their posts.
Sara didn't understand what all the commotion was about. Nathan bellowed her name before Jimbo could give her a proper explanation.
'Nathan, I didn't do it,' she cried out when she saw him striding toward her. 'Whatever has happened, I swear to you that I had nothing to do with it.'
That vehement speech gave Nathan pause. He actually smiled at her before grabbing hold of her hand and dragging her toward their cabin.
'I know you're not responsible,' he told her, 'though the men will probably blame you all the same.'
'What is it they're going to blame me for this time?' she asked.
'We're about to have some unwanted guests, Sara.'
'Unwanted?' she whispered.
They reached their cabin. Nathan pulled her inside but left the door open. It was obvious he wasn't planning on staying long. 'Pirates,' he explained.
The color immediately left her face.
'Don't you dare faint on me,' he ordered, though he was already reaching out to catch her in the event she decided not to obey him.
She pushed his hands away. 'I'm not going to swoon,' she announced. 'I'm furious, Nathan, not frightened. Damn if I'll let my staff think I've brought on pirates, too. Make them go away, Nathan. I'm not up to another upset.'
They were in for quite a battle, Nathan knew, but he wasn't going to share that information with his wife. In truth, he was worried, for he knew he should have used the faster clipper for their journey. They would never be able to outrun the bastards closing in on them. The Seahawk was too bulky and too weighted down to accomplish that feat.
'Give me your promise that you'll be careful,' Sara demanded.
He ignored that command. 'Matthew took Nora below,' he said. 'Stay here until he comes for you.'
After giving her that order he turned and strode out the doorway. Sara ran after him. He was forced to stop when she threw her arms around his waist. It was either that or drag her up the steps with him. Nathan turned around then, peeling her hands away as he moved. 'For God's sake, woman, now isn't the time to demand a good- bye kiss,' he roared.
She was about to tell him, no, that certainly wasn't the reason she'd stopped him, but he waylaid her intent by giving her a quick kiss.
When he pulled away she smiled at him. 'Nathan, now isn't the time to be… romantic,' she said. 'You have a fight on your hands. Do see to it.'
'Then why did you stop me?' he demanded to know.
'I wanted you to promise me you'd be careful.'
'You're deliberately trying to make me crazy, aren't you, Sara? It's all a plot to make me lose my mind, isn't it?'
She didn't answer that ridiculous question. 'Promise me, Nathan. I won't let go of your shirt until you do. I love you, and I'll worry unless you give me your word.'
'Fine,' he countered. 'I'll be careful. Happy now?'
'Yes, thank you.'
She turned and hurried back into her cabin to prepare herself for the coming battle. She rushed over to the desk drawers, intending to find as many weapons as possible. If the pirates were actually successful in breaching the ship, Sara was determined to help her husband any way that she could.
She found two loaded pistols in the bottom drawer and one wickedly sharp dagger in the center slot. Sara tucked the knife into the sleeve of her gown and put the pistols in a blue reticule. She wrapped the strings of the purse around her wrist just as Matthew came charging into the cabin. A loud booming sound echoed in the distance. 'Was that one of our cannons or one of theirs?' Sara asked, her voice shivering with her worry.
Matthew shook his head. 'It was one of theirs,' he answered. 'They missed their mark. They aren't close enough to do any damage yet. That's the reason we aren't firing our own cannons, Sara. Come with me now. I've got Nora safely tucked away below the water level. You can wait it out there with her.'
Sara didn't argue, knowing full well that Nathan was behind the order, but she felt very cowardly. It didn't seem honorable to her to hide.
It was pitch black in the hull. Matthew went down the rickety steps first. He lifted her over the first rung, explaining that the wood was filled with rot and would be replaced just as soon as he had time for the chore.
When they reached the bottom and turned a sharp corner the soft glow of a single candle led the way to where Nora patiently waited.
Sara's aunt was settled on top of a wooden box. Her bright red shawl was draped around her shoulders. The older woman didn't look at all afraid. 'We're about to have an adventure,' she called out to her niece. 'Matthew, dear, do be careful.'
Matthew nodded. 'It would be an adventure all right, if we didn't have such precious cargo on board,' he announced.
'What precious cargo?' Sara asked.
'I believe he's referring to you and me, dear,' Nora explained.
'Aye,' Matthew agreed. He started back up the squeaky steps. 'Now we've got to defend instead of offend,' he added. 'It's going to be a first for the crew.'
Sara didn't know what he was talking about. It was apparent that Nora did understand, though. Her smile said as much. 'What do you suppose Matthew meant by that remark, Aunt?' she asked.
Nora briefly considered telling Sara, then just as quickly discarded the notion. She decided that her niece was too innocent to understand. Sara still saw everything as good or evil. In her idealistic mind there weren't any shades of gray. In time she would come to understand that life wasn't that simple. Then she would be able to accept the fact that Nathan had led a rather colorful life. Nora hoped she would be there when Sara was told she was married to Pagan. She smiled just thinking about her niece's reaction to that news.
'I believe the crew would fight more vigorously if they didn't have to keep us safe,' Nora said.
'That doesn't make any sense,' Sara argued.
Nora agreed but changed the topic instead of saying so. 'Is this where the munitions are kept?'
'I believe it is,' Sara answered. 'Do you suppose those kegs are filled with powder?'
'They must be,' Nora said. 'We must watch the candle flame. If a fire started down here-well, I needn't tell
