Care and Feeding of Pirates (34 page)

"I saw what it did to you when you thought
him lost. I didn't want to watch you hurting. I want you to be
happy, believe it or not." James released her and smiled his slow,
rare smile. "Besides, if I'd let him die, you'd have never let me
hear the end of it."

"Certainly not." Her voice rang with
conviction.

James's smile widened. "I look forward to
seeing you at home, Honoria." He bent, pressed a brief kiss to her
cheek, then turned and walked away to his wife.

Honoria's heart ached to see him go, but the
parting held promise. She and her brother might finally have
narrowed the chasm that separated them. It was something, and
Honoria would make certain the chasm kept closing until it
disappeared altogether.

*** *** ***

The
Argonaut
sailed away with James
and Diana, their children, O'Malley, and a hold full of Mexican
gold. Honoria shaded her eyes and watched from amidships of the
Starcross
as the
Argonaut
grew smaller and smaller
against the horizon.

Christopher steered his ship determinedly in
the other direction. Manda stood next to him as he held the wheel,
and Henderson leaned against the rail nearby, checking a timepiece,
the morning sun glinting on his spectacles.

Honoria's heart was full as the other ship
disappeared. She'd nearly wept again when parting from Diana and
the children, but she knew they'd all visit each other soon. There
would be Christmases, birthdays, and long summer days, and any
other occasion that gave Honoria an excuse to visit the Charleston
house. One day, she and Christopher would bring children of their
own with them. They'd be a family, as she, James, and Paul had been
a family once upon a time.

"Honoria," Christopher said, breaking her
thoughts. "Stop daydreaming and take the wheel." He stood with one
hand lightly on it, his stance impatient.

Honoria heaved a sigh and made her way to the
stern. When she reached the wheel, Christopher relinquished it
without further word and strolled a little way down the deck with
Manda.

Honoria scowled at Christopher's fine and
straight back, the bulk of his bandages still showing through his
shirt. "I know why you are captain, Christopher."

Christopher glanced at her over his shoulder,
his gray eyes warm. "Because I was elected."

"No, because you enjoy ordering everyone
about." Honoria held the wheel with a light touch, remembering how
Carew had taught her to keep it steady without gripping it. "Would
you mind telling me where I am supposed to point the ship?"

Christopher turned to his sister.
"Manda?"

Manda's dark gaze roamed the horizon, her
black hair fighting the tail she'd pulled it into. "Thirty degrees
south, southeast."

Honoria moved the wheel. Mr. Carew had also
taught her how to line up the bow to the compass points with
precision.

"St. Cyr?" Christopher glanced at his
third-in-command, who was impassively watching two men hoist a sail
up the forward jib.

"It is correct, I think," St. Cyr
answered.

Honoria looked at Christopher in suspicion.
"What is correct?"

Christopher's handsome face remained serious,
but his eyes twinkled. "The location of the Mexican gold."

*****

Chapter Twenty-Six

"But . . ." Honoria frowned in confusion.
"You gave the gold to James. I saw it in the caskets."

"Yes. I did."

"That gold was real, wasn't it? You couldn't
have tricked him with a false stash. James would tumble to that too
quickly."

Christopher's lips curved into the smile of a
devil who's gotten away with something. "Don't worry, my love, we
gave your brother plenty of genuine gold from the
Rosa
Bonita.
But the
Rosa Bonita
was a large ship."

Manda was smirking, Colby grinning hugely.
Mr. St. Cyr, stoic as usual, let nothing show on his face, but his
eyes betrayed amusement.

"Explain to me what you mean," Honoria
said.

Christopher rested one booted foot on a bench
beside him. "Very well, my wife, I'll tell you a story. Once upon a
time, I had three ships. The
Saracen,
commanded by me, one
ship commanded by Manda, and one commanded by St. Cyr. We captured
the
Rosa Bonita,
yes, but she was far too slow and
conspicuous for us to sail ourselves. So we each filled our holds
with as much gold as we could carry and sailed off in three
different directions. Ardmore caught only me."

Honoria stared at him, openmouthed. Behind
her Henderson gave a slow laugh. "Good lord, Raine."

"So there is more gold?" Honoria asked.

"Plenty more where that came from. We just
need to fetch it."

"But . . ." Honoria spluttered, her worry
rising. "My brother is no fool. He'll have thought of that. He'll
follow us to the other stashes."

Christopher's gaze drifted to the horizon
over which the
Argonaut
had vanished. "No. I don't believe
he will."

"How can you know that? James is treacherous
and tricky, and has the habit of turning up where he's not wanted.
I should know."

"He will not follow us, Honoria."

Honoria opened her mouth to argue further,
than snapped it closed. "You made another deal with him, didn't
you, Christopher?"

Christopher's eyes were warm and full of good
humor. "Let's say that Ardmore and I understand each other, villain
to villain."

"Yes, Diana and I both agreed that you are a
pair of villains," she said darkly.

Honoria's face was warm from sun and temper,
and her heart beat swiftly. It felt too good to be angry with
Christopher, felt good to have him next to her, whole and strong.
She wanted to storm and rage, if only for the joy of having him
stand there and look at her like he did now. Christopher's gaze
told her he loved her and thought her beautiful.

"Honoria," he said, cutting through her
diatribe. "I have a better idea. Leave your post to Manda and go
below."

Honoria shook her head. "There is no sense in
my going below, Captain. You need all the men you have above."

Christopher's brows quirked. "That was not an
order from the captain. That was an order from your husband. The
husband you vowed to obey, remember?"

"To obey only when he is reasonable."

The sparkle deep in his eyes made her the
slightest bit nervous. Honoria clutched the wheel and looked at him
defiantly over it.

"Manda," Christopher said in commanding tone.
"Take the wheel." Then he came for Honoria.

*** *** ***

Christopher carried Honoria down to the cabin
over his shoulder, letting her squeal and protest all she liked. He
slammed the door and tossed her onto the bunk.

Honoria squirmed there like a bug on its
back, her skirt tangled in her shapely legs. Her eyes, full of
fury, sparkled with wild green light.

"That was hardly dignified," she said,
struggling to sit up. "What must the crew think?"

"They think I am madly in love with you."
Christopher pushed her back down into the quilts. "They don't blame
me for celebrating the fact that I'm still alive."

The reminder of his ordeal filled her eyes
with flattering worry. "Christopher, I thought I'd lost you."

Christopher stretched out beside her,
gathering her into him and resting his hand on her very shapely
hip. "I thought I'd lost me too." He kissed her hair. "Now that
we're alone, tell me how you knew to find me in the pool. You
couldn't have seen me fall."

Honoria stopped squirming, which was a pity,
because her backside had been rubbing against the front of his
breeches most fetchingly.

She looked up at him, her eyes luminescent in
the cabin's shadows. "I dreamed of you. You stood in the pool and
laughed at me for being so upset. And then you left me."

He let his fingers drift across the curve of
her waist as he thought about this. "Hmm."

"Did you dream of me?" she asked. "Perhaps we
met wherever we go when we have dreams."

A smile tugged at his mouth. "The very
practical Honoria believes that? I didn't dream of you. At least,
not like that."

"Like what then?"

"I dreamed of you like I did when I was in
Asia. I pictured your beautiful face." Christopher touched it.
"Your extremely sensual body." He ran his hand from her soft breast
to the curve of her hip. "Your lips." He brushed his finger across
them. "I thought about how your eyes light up when you scold me. I
knew I had to live to see you one more time, even if to hear you
shout at me."

Her eyes grew moist. "I thought I'd never see
you again."

Christopher pressed a kiss to the line of her
hair. "But you found me in time. We Raines are hard to kill."

As he'd hoped, Honoria's sad look lightened.
"Raines are bloody arrogant too."

"What language. You're turning into a pirate,
my wife."

"I most certainly am not."

Christopher brushed light kisses to her
eyelids, liking how her lashes tickled his lips. "The words I want
to hear again are what you said to me when you dragged me from the
pool. Let me see, what were they?"

Honoria scowled, brows moving beneath his
kisses. "You know perfectly well what I said."

"I want to hear it again. I command it, as
your captain and your husband."

Honoria stared at the whitewashed boards
above them for a long time, her eyes unmoving. Christopher waited.
He had all the patience in the world, the slow match again. He
could show her that.

She drew in a breath. "I said
I love
you.
"

Christopher bent closer. "What was that? I
didn't quite hear."

"Yes, you did." Honoria's fists clenched, her
body rigid.

Christopher turned her to face him. "You
barely moved your lips. I want to hear it loud and clear, my
wife."

The fire in her eyes could have scorched the
room. Honoria threw off his hand and sat up straight, nearly
cracking her head on the beam.

"I said, I love you, Christopher!" she
shouted.

"Ah, yes, that was it." Christopher traced
her soft, round cheek. "I love you too, Honoria."

"Damn your hide."

"It's already been damned, love." Most of the
skin had come off his hide in the tunnel and during the fall.
Healing was painful.

Honoria became instantly solicitous. "Are you
all right? Do you need me to rewrap the bandages?"

As much as he knew he'd enjoy that,
Christopher shook his head and pulled her back against him. "I'm
already feeling better. Just lie here with me a while."

Honoria subsided, threading her fingers
through his and pulling his arm around her waist. Bright sun on the
water reflected on the low beams of the cabin. "Christopher?"

"Mmm?" He breathed in the scent of her
hair.

"What are we going to do with all that
gold?"

Christopher chuckled. "I'll buy you a fancy
house, a fancy carriage, and fancy dresses. You'll live like a
princess."

"I'm rather enjoying running about your ship
in an old muslin gown."

Christopher let his hand rest on her breast.
Beneath her gown, she wore only a thin chemise to keep herself from
showing too much. He liked her without stays, without binding,
without anything to keep him out. "I'm enjoying it too," he
said.

"It was kind of you to reconcile with
James."

"He's my brother-in-law now, unfortunately.
Best to keep harmony within the family, don't you think?"

Honoria turned her head and smiled an
intoxicating smile that took his breath away. "Thank you,
Christopher. I so love Diana, I would hate to never see her again.
I will put up with James for her."

"You love your reprobate brother, don't
you?"

"I do, I suppose, underneath it all. James is
simply not very good at showing affection. Neither am I, I
think."

Christopher's warm feelings of love began to
mix with darker feelings of wanting. "You're just fine at showing
affection. At least to me."

She stared at him as though she'd never
realized how loving she could be. "It is worth it," she said.

"Hmm? What is?"

"Loving." Honoria let her fingers drift
inside his shirt, tracing the outlines of the dragon. "I was so
afraid of losing you again that I feared letting myself fall in
love with you all the way. I thought that if I held back, I
wouldn't hurt so much when you were gone again. But then--you were
taken away from me."

Christopher touched her cheek, needing to be
gentle with her right now. "I'm here, love. I made sure I came back
to you. I'll always come back to you."

"When I thought you might be buried in that
mountain forever, I realized that I already loved you so much I'd
never be able to stop the hurt. But I was glad too--glad I'd had
the chance to know you this time, to love you. And I realized that
I can't worry about what pain might come--I have to hold on to what
I have--
now
--and love you as hard as I can. Then, if you are
taken away from me again, I'll know I had the best of my life with
you. Loving you, not fighting it."

Christopher tugged her down to him, burying
himself in her healing warmth. "I wasted so much time without you,"
he said. "So much time pretending I didn't need you, and then so
much time trying to find you again. Thank you for coming with
me."

A little of her defiance peeked through. "I
believe you compromised me and didn't leave me much choice, Captain
Raine."

"No," Christopher said seriously. "Templeton
would have married you regardless, and you'd have returned to
Charleston, with me finally out of your life.
You
made the
choice."

Honoria regarded him without blinking, her
eyes full of love and hope. "I know," she said. "I'm glad I
did."