Miss Lavigne's Little White Lie Page 17

  His brother grinned. “You pose a valid argument.”

  A rowboat carrying a crewman from the Mihos headed their direction. Each dip of the oars into the waves carried the vessel closer and increased the tightness in Daniel’s shoulders. Reynaud must be mad to chase Lisette this distance. His mental state didn’t bode well for negotiations.

  He glanced at Jake’s hardened profile. “You will watch out for her if I’m unable.”

  “There will be no need.”

  A few moments later, the rowboat bumped against the ship’s hull. Miguel, the Cecily’s most skilled marksman, crouched on the mast-top platform and trained a rifle on Reynaud’s man while Patch pointed a pistol over the side.

  “Captain Reynaud wants no trouble, sir,” the man called. “Permission to come aboard?”

  Daniel gave a sharp nod to lower the rope and withdrew his flintlock from the holster as Jake raised his firearm.

  A moment later, Reynaud’s man climbed over the railing, eyeing the weapons with caution. “I want no trouble either, Captain Hillary.”

  Daniel flicked a hand in the man’s direction. “Check him.”

  His first mate patted down Reynaud’s crewman, found a pistol in his waistband, and disarmed him. Stepping back, Patch pointed the man’s own firearm at his chest.

  “State your captain’s business,” Daniel said.

  The man’s drawn face was unshaven and dark circles marred the skin under his eyes. He hadn’t slept for some time if appearances were any indication. Perhaps Reynaud had pushed his men to the point of exhaustion, making a tense situation potentially volatile.

  “Captain Reynaud seeks his lost property. He asks that you return it, and we shall leave the way we came.”

  “Your captain is mistaken,” Daniel said. “I’m in possession of nothing belonging to him. Everything onboard the Cecily is mine.”

  “’Tis not goods, sir. He searches for his betrothed. She is a passenger on your ship.”

  Daniel smirked. “Sounds as if your captain’s betrothed has cried off. Perhaps she doesn’t wish to go with him.”

  “Nothing more than a lovers’ quarrel. Surely, Captain Reynaud and the lady could work out their differences if you allow them to speak privately.”

  What methods did Reynaud wish to employ to convince Lisette to return to him? A dark storm stirred within Daniel’s chest, and his fingers curled around the smooth handle of the gun.

  “Perhaps I could allow a meeting if your captain’s betrothed was onboard, but I assure you, she is not.”

  “The young lady travels with her brother and another female, Mademoiselle Serafine Vistoire.”

  Daniel schooled his features to give nothing away. “As I said, your captain is mistaken.”

  “Captain Reynaud spotted her by your side, sir. He knows his betrothed is on your ship.”

  “Damnation. Are you implying my wife was betrothed to your captain?”

  “Wife, sir?” The poor man’s complexion paled to that of a powdered wig. “You married the lady?”

  “This is a pickle,” Jake interjected, speaking directly to Daniel while keeping his firearm pointed at the man. “But I suppose a marriage renders a betrothal null and void. Nothing to be done for it, I fear.”

  Daniel wasn’t convinced Reynaud would give up easily after coming this far. “Indeed. Quite unfair to the gent, though. He is likely out a lot of blunt.” He offered a conciliatory smile. “Tell your captain I will make reparations double the amount of my wife’s dowry.”

  Reynaud’s man cleared his throat. “My captain has requested to speak with you, sir, if he is not allowed an audience with Miss Lavigne. Can we arrange a meeting aboard the Cecily?”

  Daniel gritted his teeth. Bloody hell. Take the money and get the hell out of here. “Your captain inconveniences me. I shall not be as generous in further negotiations.”

  Dread clouded the other man’s already dull mud pie eyes. “Understood, sir.”

  Daniel stated the terms for allowing Captain Reynaud and four crewmen onboard. “He has fifteen minutes to arrive.”

  With Daniel’s finest marksmen surrounding him and Jake, they waited on the main deck for their unwanted guests. In the time Daniel had allotted, a rowboat holding five men headed toward the Cecily. Reynaud was easy to identify with his rich coat and beaver hat. Sunlight glinted off the ornamentation on his hands. The arrogant dandy had donned rings on every finger this morning.

  Two men tugged on the oars while Reynaud and two other men took position in the bow. Curiously, the middle crewman looked frail and was slumped over on his seat. He wouldn’t be much assistance in a tussle.

  When the boat reached his ship, Daniel gave permission to board. The first man up the ladder and over the rail turned to reach for something below. Every man with a firearm tensed and steadied his aim. In a moment, Reynaud’s man heaved a body over the side and dumped it on the deck. A painful groan rose from the crumpled heap.

  “What the devil is this?” Daniel nudged the lump with the toe of his boot, and the man rolled over to his back. His face bore the faded yellow bruising from a previous beating as well as a fresh cut to his lip and a purple, bulbous eyelid. Something familiar about the man tickled the back of Daniel’s memory.

  A jolt of recognition passed through him, but he stilled his features as if he were fashioned of stone. Reynaud intended to manipulate Lisette’s sentiments and coerce her into leaving with him. He was a damned fool.

  “I have a present for Miss Lavigne,” a crisp voice answered.

  Daniel looked up to see the gentleman he had guessed to be Reynaud swing a slender leg over the railing. Once over the obstacle, he flicked imaginary dust from his tailored jacket and wrinkled his nose when he glanced down at the injured man. Reynaud’s boxy head and heavy, dark brows left him teetering on the edge between handsome and grotesque.

  “There is no longer a Miss Lavigne,” Daniel said. “I’ve married the lady. And she has no need for a broken-down old man.”

  Reynaud’s nostrils flared, reminding Daniel of a bull. “If you knew your wife better, you would realize you are mistaken.”

  Daniel didn’t like the turn this encounter was taking. “This meeting is finished. Take that bag of bones with you and get the hell off my ship.”

  A shriek from behind ripped through him like a bolt of lightning, freezing his blood in his veins. Blast and damn, Lisette.

  “Monsieur Baptiste,” she cried in anguish, rushing forward.

  Jake swung around and intercepted her a few steps from the hatch.

  “I told you to stay below,” Daniel barked.

  She struggled to break free of Jake’s hold. “What have you done to him, you monster?” Her eyes glimmered wildly, landing on Reynaud and earning a derisive lifting of the blackguard’s thin lip.

  Daniel aimed his pistol at Reynaud when he made to advance. “Hold your position.”

  The man sported a full-out sneer. “Come with me, Lisette, and I shall release your beloved Mr. Baptiste unharmed.”

  “Go to hell.” Daniel jammed the barrel of the firearm against Reynaud’s chest.

  In a flash of movement, Daniel was staring into the gaping holes of four pistols while his men aimed their firearms at Reynaud’s men.

  “Drop your weapons,” Patch snarled. “Now or you all die.”

  Reynaud laughed. “But not before your captain takes several lead balls to his person.”

  Lisette’s jagged sob made Daniel forget himself, but he quickly trained his pistol on Reynaud again when the man tried to move forward.

  “Take her below deck.”

  “Daniel, no. Please. I can reason with him.” Her strident protests continued even as Jake toted her down the hatch.

  Daniel’s palms slicked with perspiration, and his blood pounded in his ears, but he forced a calm outer appearance, raising an eyebrow as if the situation were humorous. “I’m beginning to believe you came out on the winning side, sir. My wife is proving to be a difficult we
nch.”

  Reynaud’s square jaw twitched. “She’s in need of harsh discipline.”

  Rage flew through Daniel and his finger squeezed against the trigger. He wanted to kill the bloody blackguard and rid the world of him, but to do so would mean his own death and possibly that of his men.

  “Be that as it may, I’m not turning the task over to you. If you and I must die today, then so be it.”

  Reynaud’s dead eyes met Daniel’s glower. Daniel planted his feet and tensed in preparation for a fight. The air crackled with aggressive currents. The only sounds came from Mother Nature—the wash of waves against the sides of the Cecily, the whoosh of wind—as Daniel and Reynaud locked in a battle of intimidation.

  Daniel hardened inside. He would take a bullet if it meant ending Reynaud’s life.

  A spark lit his opponent’s eyes. “A worthy foe at last.” The muscles in his jaw shifted under his pasty skin. “Let’s discuss payment, Captain Hillary.”

  Daniel signaled his men to lower their firearms. It was a risky move, but the only viable option. “Shall we retire to my office to discuss the terms?”

  Not for one moment did he judge Reynaud’s cooperativeness as a concession. The desperate hunger in his gaze betrayed him. He wasn’t surrendering anything, but he sure as hell wasn’t leaving with Lisette.

  ***

  Lisette rammed her shoulder against the cabin door, but the wooden slats didn’t give.

  “Stop it.” Serafine grabbed her from behind, her arms linking around Lisette’s waist. “This is madness.”

  “He locked it.” She broke free of her cousin’s hold and kicked the door then cursed under her breath.

  “You promised you wouldn’t go on deck. You were only going to take a peek,” Serafine said.

  “I need your help.” Whipping around, Lisette threw her arms wide, prepared to scream her fury. She faintly registered that Amelia was in the background perusing a constellations book with Rafe. Her posture was stiff and her hand quivered. The fight in Lisette ebbed.

  She stepped closer to Serafine and lowered her voice to a harsh whisper. “Why aren’t you helping me?”

  “Trust your husband to deal with the situation.”

  Lisette’s throat constricted as if some unseen force wrapped its chilled fingers around her neck. Mon dieu. Reynaud’s men held guns on Daniel. They were going to kill him. She gulped in a lungful of air, her head spinning.

  “No. I cannot leave this in his hands.” Lisette stumbled back to the door and banged her fists against the rough surface. “Release me. For the love of God, please let me out.” She screamed until her voice grew hoarse and her hands were on fire. “Let me out. Let me out.”

  When she could no longer shout, she increased the intensity of her pounding. The blows jarred her bones, and pain shot down to her elbows with each hit, but she wouldn’t stop until someone unlocked the door or she broke through the wood.

  The slide of the lock caught her notice a second before the door flung open. Daniel loomed in the doorway, his blue-black eyes aflame. Lisette scurried backward, but he snagged her. His fingers sank into the soft flesh of her upper arm. His grip was firm, but not painful.

  “All is well.” He spoke with deceptive tranquility as he threw a glance at her companions. “Please adjourn to the great cabin where tea and biscuits await you.”

  Lisette swallowed hard. Daniel was angry, but thank the heavens, he intended to set aside his temper, at least for the moment. She made to follow the ladies and Rafe, but Daniel held firm. “Not you, darling.”

  His humorless smile sent a trill to her fingertips and her stomach pitched. Once they were alone, he closed the door and released her. “What the hell were you thinking?”

  Her legs quaked with the effort of standing. She walked backward, groping behind her for the ladder-back chair, and collapsed on it before she crumpled to the floor.

  Daniel advanced, taking his time as if he had nothing on his mind aside from a leisurely stroll. He didn’t fool her.

  She lifted her chin and met his gaze. Just as she would face a fierce canine, she hid her fear. “Everything was taking longer than it should.”

  He braced his hand on the seat back and leaned over her. With one finger under her chin, he tipped her face up. Turmoil swirled behind his eyes.

  “You could have been killed.”

  His voice rattled and scraped, abrading her heart. A yawning hole opened wide inside her, sucking her into the dark cavern. Daniel could have been killed. She bit down on her trembling bottom lip. He could have been lost to her forever.

  His image flickered as single tears filled her eyes and overflowed to slide down her hot cheeks. His brown locks fell forward on his face as he leaned lower. She hesitantly swept his hair aside, behind his ears. Her finger skimmed the rim of one ear. Daniel shuddered and turned into her hand with his eyes closed. His lips touched her palm, his warm breath feathered outward over her wrist.

  Wonder flooded her senses. Daniel was hers now. He was safe and he belonged to her. No one could ever take him away. No one.

  Loosely twining his fingers with hers, he drew her hand to his mouth and placed a kiss on the bruised edge of her fist. She flinched.

  “What’s the matter?” He rocked back, his brows angled together, and twisted her hand to view the raw flesh. “What did you do? Is that from pounding the door?”

  “I wanted out,” she murmured, struck by how childish she sounded.

  He frowned. “Monsieur Baptiste means that much to you?”

  Daniel meant that much to her, but she couldn’t bring herself to say it. She knew she would never have his heart, not like Cecily did. She must be content with his protection and not burden him with her tender feelings.

  “I have known him all my life,” she answered.

  He sighed, a long and weary breath. “Come with me to Mr. Timmons’s cabin.”

  “I don’t require a surgeon. My hands are a little bruised only. Nothing serious.”

  Daniel urged her from the chair. “Come anyway.”

  Twenty-two

  “Really, Daniel, I don’t need to see Monsieur Timmons. It’s only a scrape.” Lisette regarded her hand in the dim lantern light as her husband escorted her to the infirmary. The lights swung from hooks, casting moving shadows across the plank floor and sides of the ship.

  “Just do as I say for once without argument.”

  She thought it best to hold her tongue. After all, her earlier actions could have gotten him killed. He no longer seemed as angry, but she was unhappy with herself now that she had had time to consider her actions.

  Reaching out, she touched his arm and drew to a halt. An ache throbbed in her chest. How had she grown to love him like this?

  “If anything had happened to you…” Her voice quivered with emotion. “I’m sorry.”

  Daniel pressed his lips together. After a long pause, he nodded. “Very well. Now, stop stalling our progress.”

  His dismissal of her feelings stung, but what had she expected? He viewed her as another responsibility, and his honor would see her safely delivered to London along with her family. What would become of them after that time, she didn’t want to contemplate. She had no fear he would leave them with unmet needs, unless she counted the need for him to love her in return.

  “Here we are.” One of Daniel’s men stood outside the infirmary as if keeping watch. Daniel placed his hand on the small of her back, yanked the curtain aside, and propelled her forward.

  “Monsieur Baptiste,” she cried.

  Her father’s dearest friend smiled then winced. “Gads, that hurts.”

  She swept to the side of his cot and knelt while the ship’s surgeon retreated to a corner.

  “Monsieur, I am sorry to have gotten you involved,” she said. “I never meant for any of this to happen to you.”

  “You’re not at fault, dear girl.” Monsieur Baptiste’s one-eyed gaze shot beyond her to Daniel. His left eye was discolored and swollen shut. �
��It is fortunate you found a protector in Captain Hillary.”

  She glanced over her shoulder. Daniel stood with his arms crossed, his expression neutral.

  She turned back to Monsieur Baptiste. “Yes, he has been a Godsend. How did you come to be on the Cecily? I thought…”

  She had heard Daniel demand Reynaud’s men take him back to his ship.

  “Your husband purchased my release.”

  She peered over her shoulder once again to find Daniel frowning.

  “Consider this a wedding gift, Mrs. Hillary.” His chilly tone communicated his displeasure. Monsieur Baptiste was another mouth to feed. Another responsibility for her husband.

  “Merci,” she mumbled.

  Monsieur Timmons stepped forward. “My patient needs his rest now.”

  Daniel gently grabbed her arm to assist her to her feet. “Examine her hands before we go.”

  Lisette’s face flushed. “I’ve told him it’s nothing.”

  The surgeon rounded the cot and captured her wrist, turning it to the side. “A minor abrasion. Clean it with soap twice a day until it heals.”

  She frowned. Lye would burn, no doubt. But she would follow his directives if that would satisfy Daniel and keep him from dragging her back to the infirmary.

  They said their good-byes and left Monsieur Baptiste to rest. On deck, the watch remained doubled.

  A splinter of fear worked its way into her heart. “Do you think Reynaud will still pursue us?”

  Daniel took her under his arm, snug against his side. “It’s a precaution, luv. No need to worry.” His warmth spread through her, easing her tremors if not her concerns.

  “What happened today? I thought he was going to kill you.”

  “I’m too stubborn to die, my dear.”

  Lisette stopped outside the cabin door. She wouldn’t allow him to brush aside her questions. “I want to know how it is we’re all in one piece and Reynaud is gone.”

  He sighed. “We reached a monetary settlement. I made certain it was an amount he couldn’t refuse.”

  She tipped her head to look up at him. “How much did Monsieur Baptiste cost? I can reimburse you.”