“Tell me about the nabob.”
Darius was not a trustworthy man. Six years earlier he’d led a mutiny on the decks of The Aurora, splitting the crew and their loyalties in half. She herself had disarmed him and sent him overboard with the other dogs. She’d heard talk of his adventures since then, mostly mischief with the occasional ransom run or looting of a navy vessel, but she’d also heard of his death at the hands of the navy.
The years had been kind to him; indeed if anyone had softened, it was Darius. No longer did his sharp cheekbones and aristocratic features appear so harsh and angular. No longer did he resemble the son of the manor house. Fresh air and years in the sun lent him the means to look like a very healthy, very successful pirate. Hopefully the man she had once called big brother was still inside him somewhere.
“My father has something that belongs to him. He got it into his head that he could swap me for his stolen items.”
“And those items are?”
“How should I know? Do you think he would trust me with that kind of information? He thinks I am lower than pond scum. He thinks all pirates are the same.”
“He said that to you?”
“He didn’t have to. It was there in his eyes.”
“Should we just kill him now and be done with it? I don’t need the ransom that badly.”
He was fishing. He goaded her to try to get a more direct reaction like when she’d screamed James’s name as he’d fallen. She shrugged as though James’s life meant absolutely nothing to her.
The action hurt.
“Did he give you those bruises around your throat as well?”
“We fought.”
“He must be some adversary if he is still standing.”
“Last time I saw him, he wasn’t standing.”
“Yes, well, an unconscious man is easier to transport than one able to fight back.”
“What stake do you have in this? Do you mean to taunt my father? Kill me? I don’t understand your involvement.”
“If I wanted you dead, Lamb, you would be. I was bored, no ships to annoy, no treasure to steal, only one kidnapped daughter to save.”
“So you’re an angel now? Is that it?”
Darius laughed so loudly his horse shied to the left, the reins pulling tight over her back while he got the beast under control. “I would never go that far. I always have my reasons.”
Daniella humphed and relaxed as much as she could with her feet and hands tied. She would get no more answers from him and she wouldn’t push. Not yet. Not until she figured out what his part was.
When the inn came into view, Daniella thought about screaming for help from the occupants, but discarded the idea. The sea was the quickest way back to her father’s hamlet.
The riders fanned out and dismounted one by one, and finally she saw James’s prone form over the saddle of a horse being led by another pirate. Hobson and Patrick were trussed up so they couldn’t move an inch. Each had murder in his eyes.
Daniella knew how they felt.
Chapter Twenty-Two
When James finally came to, all was silent but for the creaking of the ship and the sloshing of the waves against the hull. Even though his mind was sluggish and slow to catch up he knew they’d been taken aboard the very ship they had fought to outrun.
It was all over. Amelia and his mother would be at the mercy of a vengeful pirate until the end of their days. He didn’t bother opening his eyes, but went over and over in his mind where he’d stepped wrong. What had been his biggest undoing? Was it Daniella? Was it his military pride misleading him into thinking he was in control? She was the single biggest distraction he’d ever encountered—had he simply not seen that she was utter destruction barrelling his way?
The second question trying to bombard his consciousness was had she planned it? At the back his mind from the very beginning had niggled the notion that this was all one bigger trap to land him in front of Captain Germaine and answer for his actions. Daniella had said her father wasn’t a vengeful man, but then why had he taken Amelia and his mother in the first place? And perhaps she was vengeful on his behalf, or trying to earn a place back at his side.
He guessed he would soon find out. It couldn’t be a coincidence that this other pirate had turned up that morning. Either Daniella had set him up or he was working for Captain Germaine. Either way, James knew if he didn’t do something, anything, he was a dead man.
Opening his eyes as far as he could to the predawn glow, he took in his surroundings. Thank God the swelling to his face wasn’t as bad as he’d thought it would get. Expecting to be cooling his heels in a rat-infested hull with the bilge, he was surprised to find himself in a clean, fresh stateroom, furnished with bunks, a desk and two chairs.
His head snapped up and he tried to rise but then the room began to spin and with a groan he was forced to lie back.
Turning his head and willing his limited vision to clear, he saw her. Curled up in the chair, her bare toes hanging from the edge and her hands cradling her cheek, Daniella slept. She looked so innocent, so young and trusting. But looks were deceiving and only a willing pawn slept this deeply once captured. “Daniella?” he whispered, wanting to be careful not to alert a guard if there was one outside the door. Not yet.
No answer. Now that his vertigo had levelled out, he checked the other corners of the room to make sure they weren’t being watched.
Satisfied they were alone, he called a little louder, “Daniella?”
This time she stirred,
