He took one last look at his little fury who had so completely ruined his plans. A smile tugged on his lips because he couldn’t quite bring himself to be angry about it. Not when he’d met such a delightful little warrior.
He gave her a last salute that she could not see...and then he was off.
Chapter 4
Roger—lovely, handsome, reliable Roger. He was in sight, scrambling down the hillside with two other officers in tow when she turned around with a smile of triumph.
“You’ve been caught now, Pirate—” Her words stopped abruptly.
Where was he?
She looked around with her lips still parted, the words caught in her throat.
Gone. He was gone.
She headed out of the cave’s mouth, scrambling along the shore a few paces to try and catch sight of him, her heart racing every step of the way.
Truth be told, it hadn’t stopped racing since that first moment she’d spotted the pirate’s silhouette in the cave. Her whole body tingled, her chest too full of emotions to name them.
Excitement, a voice whispered.
It was definitely excitement that had her feeling light as a cloud. But the moment she acknowledged it, guilt brought her crashing down to the ground.
“Minerva?” Roger’s voice was right behind her, so familiar, so safe, so...not like that pirate’s growl.
She spun around to face him. His handsome features were drawn tight with concern as he gripped her shoulders and took her in from head to toe. “Are you all right, Min? What happened?”
“Pirate,” she breathed. Now that the excitement was fading, she found herself oddly deflated. Exhausted, no doubt, from the close call she’d endured. From the fighting.
At the thought, she became aware of the throbbing in her hands, in the foot she’d used to kick him.
She winced and Roger caught it.
“Go,” he shouted to the other officers. “Find the man who accosted my lady.”
His lady. Well then. He had not formally asked for her father’s permission to court her, but it seemed he still had every intention. Rebecca would no doubt swoon when Minerva told her. She tried for a smile but found herself sighing instead, letting Roger take her weight as he pulled her into his arms. “Too late,” she said softly.
“What?”
She gave her head a shake. “I think you’re too late. He’s already fled.” She forced herself to straighten. There would be time to rest later. For now, they had a pirate to catch. Drawing herself to her full height, she met Roger’s concerned gaze and they both heard the officers shouting behind her as they took in the loot he’d left behind. “I’m afraid I let him get away.”
“Let him...” Roger laughed in surprise. “My dear Minerva, I am just glad you were not harmed.” He pulled back with a frown. “You are not, are you? He didn’t...” His scowl grew fierce. “He did not touch you, did he?”
“No,” she said quickly. As she said it she had a vivid memory of his arms around her, the hand that had clamped over her mouth. “No,” she said again. “He did not touch me.”
Not in the sense that he meant, and not with any violence.
She frowned as she recalled his amusement as he’d swatted her fists aside. Her pride had taken more of a blow than she had.
“We should hurry,” she said, pulling back from his arms to face him directly. “He’ll be getting away.”
Roger shook his head. “You have done enough, Minerva.” His furrowed brow reminded her of her father. “What were you doing down here at this time of night?”
She opened her mouth and shut it as she thought of how best to explain.
Roger wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “Poor girl, you’re shivering.”
Was she? She hadn’t noticed the cold that was seeping through her cloak until Roger’s arm about her brought new warmth.
“You should consider yourself lucky that Eddleston saw your lantern down here while he was keeping watch tonight.”
Eddleston. Minerva recalled a young officer, likely no older than Hattie. One of the newer recruits who’d arrived recently to join her father and his men.
“Yes, thank heavens,” she muttered, even as she twisted her head, craning her neck. “Surely he could not have gotten far.”
“Leave the scoundrel to me and my men,” Roger said. “We’ll find him. He couldn’t be the most savvy pirate if he chose this shoreline of all places to make his camp.”
“Yes, but that is what’s so troubling,” she said, grudgingly falling into step beside him as he led her back along the shoreline to the trail leading to her family’s home. “He was here to meet someone, Roger.”
Roger made a grunting sound of acknowledgment, his focus on helping her navigate the rocks and outcroppings that made the bottom of the trail a hazard, particularly at night. At some point, he’d relieved her of her lantern and was holding it ahead of her as he guided her along just in front of him.
“Roger.” She stopped short when they reached the top of the cliffside trail. “Don’t you see? He was here to meet someone. A buyer. Do you see what that means?”
From the blank look he gave her, she was afraid he didn’t. But then his brows drew together, and he nodded. “It’s a dangerous business, Minerva. You really shouldn’t walk alone at night.”
She just barely held back a sigh. Couldn’t he see? “It’s not me I’m worried about, Roger. It’s this town. It’s the fort. What if we have a criminal in our midst?”
His expression warred between concern and exasperation.
She had the humiliating feeling that she was overreacting...but she was not. Billingham was a quiet little village, and this naval installment might have been small as well, but it was her home. This place was hers to protect. And if someone here was dealing with pirates, if someone here was to meet the pirate, to buy his stolen goods, as the pirate’s words alleged, then that meant smuggling was involved. It meant—
“Any criminal
