Capturing the Pirate's Heart (The Emerald Quest Book 1) (19 page)

The two men spoke quietly and
peered into the tavern. Madeleine was surprised that the sailors did not know
where to find the street she had named. Although she had expected New Orleans
to be smaller and more uncivilized, she was surprised by the number of people
in the streets; although it was still not as big as the English towns she was
used to.

Shadows flickered on the wall
backlit by the street lamps as they waited in the dark beneath an overhanging
porch. The sweet smell of the burning oil was cloying and Madeleine swallowed
as bile rose up and burned her throat. It was a combination of the smell and
the fear for their fate once they reached the house. The outcome of the search
for the necklace was probably inconsequential; she did not doubt that these men
would kill them. Looking up from beneath her lashes she caught Jake’s eye. His
eyes were wide and he was trying to tell her something. He inclined his head
toward the fence at the end of the porch, just behind where he was standing. He
mouthed words to her and she stared at him trying to see what he was saying
before looking across at the fence. There was a small gap in the planks at the
base, and she realized Jake’s intention as he whispered softly.

“I’ll bring help.”

The two men still had their
heads together and Madeleine strained to hear their words but their thick
accents made their words difficult to understand. She stepped closer so that
she would partially block their view of Jake. As she moved, Jake dropped to the
ground and rolled through the small hole. Before they were aware of him moving,
he was through the gap and the darkness swallowed him.

For a moment, the weight lifted
a little from Madeleine’s heart. If only Jake could find Sébastien…

“Oy!” the man closest to her
turned around and the look on his face was almost comical as he realized Jake
was gone. “Where the dickens did the little bugger go?”

Madeleine put her hands to her
face and shook her head, pretending she hadn’t seen him. The stocky sailor
grabbed her arm and his filthy breath hit her before he turned to the man with
the strong accent. “You go and find him. He can’t have got far. I’ll hold her.
Quickly, before Dirk comes back out.”

Madeleine closed her eyes.
How
many more men did they have helping them?

Before he could go, the door
opened and Dirk swaggered out. “We’re almost there. Rue Toulouse is only two
streets away. Come…” He looked around and his eyes narrowed. “Fuck. Where’s the
boy? Don’t tell me you buffoons let him escape?” He stared at Madeleine and his
voice was harsh with the same anger that fired his eyes. He reached out and
squeezed her arm and the pain shot up to her shoulder. “You may think he has
gone to your pirate but he’ll get no help from that quarter.”

She twisted in his grasp as the
pressure of his fingers became unbearable and she shivered at the malice in his
voice.

“The tattle in the tavern was
all about the mysterious necklace. Jean-Luc Leclerc has been waiting
impatiently for his brother’s return.” A smile split his face but it was not
pleasant. “The word is around that the fur trader, Lutchenko gave a Russian
heirloom to his mistress—” his fingers squeezed harder “—but no one knows who
the woman was, so overhearing your talk to your little friend was a windfall
for me.”

She let out her breath as his
fingers loosened on her arm and he turned to the other two men. “Forget the
boy, we have to work quickly. We’re the only ones who know the name of the
mistress.”

Madeleine shrunk back into the
shadows away from his intent gaze as his eyes narrowed.

“Or are we? Does the pirate know
who Lutchenko’s woman was?” He shook her arm. “Did you tell him where she
lived? Does he know where the treasure is?”

“No, I did not.” She shook her
head; she could at least answer half of his question truthfully and prayed he
would not question her further. The other two men stepped in close to her side,
and Dirk strode ahead and led the way, keeping to the shadows of the porches
that overhung the narrow footpath. Occasionally they passed a tavern where
light spilled out onto the road. For the time being, Madeleine cooperated; she
really had no other option, but she kept alert and scanned the street ahead
with every step she took.

She wasn’t about to disclose to
them that Sébastien had known Josephine du Bois, but she could be honest in her
denial. They had never discussed where her great aunt had lived but perhaps he
already knew? Her mind was whirling—her foolish innocence was becoming more
apparent to her by the minute. In her naiveté she had thought she could cross
the ocean, find the necklace, and assume that no one else would be interested
in a treasure of emeralds and diamonds.

If indeed Sébastien was looking
for the necklace, had she been a fool to trust him? Is that why he had tried to
dissuade her? Was the talk of a future in the islands just that—sweet talk to
get her to disclose more information about a necklace that he already knew of?
Did he laugh when she landed on his boat like a ripe juicy plum for the
picking? Mortification filled her as she recalled the nights… and days… she had
spent in his bed. She had shed all her girlish modesty.

More than that, it was grief
that filled her. Grief for the false love she had believed in. Setting her jaw
in determination, Madeleine fought the tears that threatened and summoned the
anger to clear her mind. All she could be grateful for was that she hadn’t told
Sébastien that she loved him. Perhaps it was the premonition of losing him—as
she had lost everyone else she had ever loved? Or perhaps a small part of her
had told her not to trust.

Lust and love.
Had not Aunt Josephine’s diary
been witness to the same web of lies?

That was something she would
have to deal with—if, no, when— she escaped. But perhaps she would not escape
and her life was over?

Would anyone care?
She had no one who held concern
for her well-being. She was alone and she would have to help herself. She had
crossed the world to find this necklace and by God, she would not give in to
three thieves.

“This way.” A rough hand shoved
her forward and Madeleine lifted her head. They had turned into a quiet street
which appeared to be full of grand homes. It was a lot quieter than the other
streets. It would be far less likely that someone would notice that she was
being held against her will. Most of the houses were in darkness and the street
was quiet, apart from a chorus of croaking that came from the far end. As she
was dragged down the street, a dog barked and a light came on.

“It’s the last house on the
river side before the swamp.” Glee filled his rough voice as they approached
the last house. It was in darkness and Dirk put his hand up and the two men
held her as they stood in the shadows.

“All right, madam. Where will we
find the necklace?”

Safe at rest, at home. In the
water, by the water, in the garden.
Her great aunt’s spidery writing was
imprinted in her memory like a brand. She would never—even on the threat of
death—reveal those words.

“It is…secreted in her…boudoir.”
Madeline made her voice hesitant as though the words came reluctantly. “There
is a wooden chest and it is hidden in a false bottom beneath some garments.”
She was beginning to warm to her fabrication. “Luxurious silk cloth from the—”

“Enough.” Dirk looked around.
“We will need the three of us to search the house…and we must be silent. If
they are asleep, we may have to—”

Madeleine gasped at the thought
that her lie about the whereabouts of the necklace could result in the death of
whoever was in the house. “Wait…”

“Be quiet.” Dirk came closer and
took her arm. ‘We cannot afford to have you inside while we search, in case you
think to scream and warn them.” He looked around and even in the dim moonlight
she could see the intention in his eyes as he raised his hands.

“No, please…” Her stomach
clenched as his hands circled her neck “What if my aunt has moved it? I know of
other places where it may be hidden. You cannot kill me, you may need more
information. There is more.” She hated begging but it was her only chance.

His hands stilled and he let out
a snort of disgust, obviously realizing that she spoke the truth. He reached
down into his long boot and pulled out a coil of thin rope. “Just as well I had
forethought, wasn’t it?”

He jerked his head to the vacant
land next to the house. Across a low stone fence through the foliage of a large
magnolia tree, the tiered vaults in the cemetery shone in the moonlight.

“Tie her to that tree.” He moved
in until his face was mere inches from hers. “Not a word. Not a sound or a
scream from you…or I will come back and slit your throat. I promise you of
that.”

 “Captain!” Sébastien
recoiled as a small figure bulleted from the darkness and hit him squarely in
the stomach. He caught his breath and looked down at a mop of red hair.

“Jake. What in God’s name are
you doing out at this late hour?” His stomach clenched as the boy began to
speak quickly and incoherently. “Slowly. Take a breath and tell me what the
matter is.”

“They made me. They made me
pretend I was saying goodbye.” The lad hitched a sob.

“Who did?”

“That scoundrel, Dirk and the
other two. They took Miss Madeleine, sir. They took her.”

Heat flashed through Sébastien’s
body and his pulse beat rapidly. He forced himself to calm as he flexed his
fingers. Crouching down, he looked the lad in the eye and he spoke firmly.
“Just tell me clearly, where did they take her?”

“To the house in Rue Toulouse
where the lady with the necklace lives.”

“No, lad. That cannot be.”
Sébastien frowned and shook his head. “That lady is dead and the house is
gone.”

“Well, that is where they were
going when I managed to escape.” Jake looked back at him with wide eyes. “They
wanted the necklace.”

Sébastien’s gaze dropped to the
lad’s neck and realized it was stained with blood. “Did they harm you?”

“It is only a nick. Can I come
with you to rescue Miss Madeleine?”

Sébastien stood and looked
toward the
Maiden
while he thought. “I need you to help me and it is a
very important task that I will give you. I don’t have time to write a letter,
so you must listen carefully.”

Jake nodded and did not speak.

“I want you to go straight to
Lafitte's Blacksmith Shop
. It is a tavern on the corner
of Rue St. Philip.”

“I know it, sir.”

“That is where you will find my
crew. Tell them I need help and I need at least six men. Lead them to the end
of Rue Toulouse. Tell them Miss Madeleine is in danger.”

The young lad turned away but
Sébastien touched his shoulder. “Tell them it is a matter of life and death and
to come prepared…and come quickly.”

Sébastien took a precious moment
to run up the gangplank of the
Maiden
, down to his cabin and threw the
berth ticket on the table, not giving any regard to it. He reached above the
alcove where Madeleine had first hidden, and opened a secret panel at the side.
The pistol that he kept secreted there was oiled and ready for use. He tucked
it into his boot and ran for the ladder.

***

Madeleine waited only a few
minutes after the three men crept around the back of the two-story wooden
house. When the man with the strong accent had tied her hands, she had held
them apart and it had been too dark for the man to see the gap between her
wrists as he had secured the rope. She had even feigned a cry of pain when he
had pulled the rope tight and looped it over a branch above her head.

Time was of the essence, and as
soon as the men were out of sight, Madeleine slipped her hands from the rope.
She gathered her skirts and ran in the other direction as fast as she could
without making a sound. If she were to escape them, she must get as far away as
she could. As she stepped over the low fence, a shiver ran down her back and
the hairs rose on the nape of her neck. Slowly, she walked through the marshy
ground to the first row of vaults. It was very different to the church
graveyard where her family was buried in the village in England. Long shadows
loomed ahead of her as she walked slowly between the two-story vaults. She
reached the end of the first row at the back of the cemetery and her feet sank
in the soft ground. She lifted her foot and her slipper pulled free with a loud
squelch. A slight breeze picked up and a keening sound surrounded her.

It is only the wind blowing
around the tombs.
But rationalizing the reason for the sound did not stop the goose bumps that
rose on her arms.

A dog barked in the distance and
as Madeleine turned to the sound, it was followed by a bloodcurdling scream.
Lamplight glowed in the upper story of Josephine’s old house and guilt ran
through her as she feared that the men had killed someone because of her lie
about the necklace. Step by step she backed away and stifled a scream as
something brushed her hair. Madeleine swiveled around, her hands batting at the
air, but it was only a tangle of vines hanging from a tree. The deeper she
walked into the cemetery, the thicker the vegetation grew where the swamp had
reclaimed the graves.

She looked around as fear
crawled up her spine. The only way back to the streets that were filled with
light and people, was past the house, and the three men were sure to come out
if she went that way. All around her were vaults and crypts leading down to a
yawning darkness and she searched for a place away from the side of the
cemetery near the house, and high enough to hide behind. The wind picked up and
the moon was obscured by a scudding cloud, and the cemetery was plunged into
darkness. She closed her eyes as fear crawled in her chest. It was only a short
while before the wind dropped and the cloud cleared away. Madeleine opened her
eyes and gasped as fingers of mist rose eerily between the vaults. Feeling her
way, with her hands outstretched in front of her, she touched a cold slab of
marble and walked around to the other side before dropping to the damp ground,
her hands over her eyes.
Chasing Aunt Josephine’s
necklace was an impossible dream, she should have realized that happiness and
security had been hers to grasp all along—Sébastien wanted to settle down in
Hawaii, and if only she had seen that was where true happiness lay—in the
future, not in the past.

But now it was too late.

***

All was quiet at the end of Rue
Toulouse where Josephine and Francois du Bois had once resided. Sébastien had
known the house well, having visited there on a number of occasions to do
business with François before he died. The events of this night disturbed him.
There was no necklace to be found in the house. The house had been razed to the
ground two years ago. He focused on the task at hand, refusing to let thoughts
of failure enter his mind. He held onto the hope that Madeleine was still
alive. He would not let himself think anything else. A sour taste filled his
mouth. She must be safe—he could not fail her, too. Guilt wracked him and it
was like a physical blow to his stomach. He had taken her innocence and now she
had been kidnapped because he had left her alone.

He stood beneath the magnolia
tree that had once been in Josephine’s indoor garden, wondering where they had
taken her. As he stared down at the ground deep in thought, the moon shone on a
length of rope thrown on to the pavers that had survived the fire. As he bent
to pick it up a stealthy movement caught his eye.

“’T is only us Captain.” He
recognized the deep voice of his second mate as five more figures materialized
in the darkness, followed by the young cabin boy.

“Well done, lad.” Sébastien
reached down and squeezed his shoulder. “You worked quickly.”

“Where is she?” The young boy’s
voice broke as he struggled to catch his breath.

“I don’t know. I am at a loss to
understand why she would lead them here.”

“Sir,” Jake interrupted him.
“Miss Madeleine never said to me that the house had burned down. I don’t think
she knew. She told them it was the last house before the cemetery.” He pointed
to the next house where a lamp shone softly in the window. “Look.”

Sébastien followed Jake’s gaze
and drew in his breath. A couple of figures were moving stealthily through the
room on the top floor of the house and he would wager that one of them was
Dirk.

“You’re right.”

A hushed conversation with the
second mate and they devised a plan to surprise the men. Jake was to wait
here—in case anyone else came—and Sébastien would look for Madeline in the
house while his men overpowered Dirk and his henchmen.

Together they moved to the back
of the timber building, their movements masked by the noise of the rising wind.
Sébastien looked up, the moon was completely obliterated by cloud and there was
a smell of rain in the air.