Destiny of the Heart (Viking Destiny) (20 page)

Kristen woke up as she slammed against a wall. She
was confused and disoriented and suddenly felt quite
nauseous. Rolling to her knees, she jerked to her left and
heaved everything in her stomach all over the floor. The sick
only added to her confusion because she couldn't remember
feeling ill. The last thing she remembered was discussing her
plans to leave London with Mel. So, where the devil was she
now?

Kristen slowly sat back down and leaned against the
wall behind her, carefully avoiding the puddle of vomit next to
her. She racked her brain, trying to remember. She was
relatively certain she wasn't in Mel's house. Given that she
was rocking, despite sitting perfectly still herself, and that she
felt like throwing up again, she guessed she was on a boat.
She had always been a little seasick, to her mother's chagrin,
but she had never experiences anything like the roiling in her
stomach now. As if on cue, the roiling in her stomach had her
leaning over and retching to her side again.

When finished, she stood up and tried to steady herself.
Once she found her legs, Kristen walked slowly to the door.
To her utter surprise, it was open, and she briefly wondered if
it was an oversight or if she wasn't meant to be kept prisoner.
No doubt someone had kidnapped her, but who the devil was
it this time? Since her stepfather was dead that only left the
mysterious woman. Frowning, Kristen peeked around the
doorway to see if she had guards at her door. She didn't.
Since she was only vaguely familiar with ships, she knew she
had to go up to get to the deck. Perhaps she could convince
the captain that she was there against her will and he would
drop her off at the next port.

Kristen snorted. She should be so lucky. No, she
figured it was far more likely that she would have to bribe
whoever had kidnapped her. If it was the mystery woman,
Kristen had no idea just how deep those pockets ran, but she
was willing to bet not as deep as Kristen's since the woman
was being paid to kill her. Her stomach roiled again, and she
knew she didn't have time to think about it anymore. She
closed the door behind her softly and then crept up the stairs,
slowly and quietly. Just before she reached the top, a surly
voice reached her from the bottom.

“'Ere now, what are ye doing on board? Mighty ba
d luck
ter 'ave a woman on board the ship.”
Kristen squinted down at the man below, though she
couldn't see him very well as he was in shadows. “I don't recall
how I came to be on this ship, sir. I do believe there's been
some mistake.”
“Aye, and the cap'n will be wanting ter sort it out. Ye'll
'ave to come w' me.”
“No, I think I should go directly to your captain.”
“'e's 'aving his supper 'e is and must not be disturbed,
ye ken? Better ye wait in the brig.”
“I most certainly will not!” She said indignantly,
stamping her foot for good measure.
The man was not impressed and began moving in her
direction slowly. “Look lady, no need fer trouble, ye hear?” He
said as he lunged and tried to grab her.
Kristen grabbed his hand and bent his thumb back,
swung her leg behind his knees to knock him down, and then
smashed her elbow into his temple, knocking him
unconscious. She watched as he slid down the stairs and laid
still at the bottom. Leaving him there, she continued the rest of
the way up the stairs to the deck. She looked around
hesitantly and assessed the situation. There weren't many
men on deck, but as she looked around, there was nothing but
ocean around them. Whoever had taken her must have done
so last night. But, as she tried to figure out what to do about it,
her stomach lurched. She ran to the railing and leaned over to
throw up.
***
Derrick sat in his cabin pushing his food around, not
quite paying attention to what Jack was saying.
"- and she told m'father that she was rather proud I was
at sea. Derrick, are you listening?" Jack asked, noticing
Derrick's lack of attention.
"Sorry, what was that?" Derrick asked, looking up from
his plate.
"Are you feeling alright?"
"Course, what makes you think I'm not?"
Jack lifted a brow. “The fact that you're not listening
isn't much of a concern, when do you ever?” That got him a
sour look from Derrick. “But, since when do you apologize for
not listening?”
Derrick stared at his friend for a moment and then burst
out laughing. Jack thought he had probably gone mad.
"I guess I'm a bit distracted is all." Derrick said, still not
touching the food on his plate.
"How did Kristen take the news of your trip?"
"Seems she will be doing some traveling of her own, so
I doubt she cared."
"Of course she cares. You're a bloody idiot if you think
she doesn't."
"She's refused me at every turn, and she is nothing but
argumentative."
"Sounds like someone else I know."
Derrick glowered. "Anyway, it's better this way. If she
gets married, well then perhaps I'll get lucky and she won't
love him. If she doesn't -"
"Then what? Hmm? You'll marry her yourself because
that's what you should have done to begin with."
Derrick looked at Jack in confusion. "What's gotten into
you?"
"Nothing." Jack dropped his fork in irritation.
Derrick eyed him warily, but didn't say anything further
on the subject, not sure what to make of Jack's outburst. But,
he didn't have time to contemplate it further as there was a
loud crash outside the cabin door. They turned to look at the
door.
“Bloody hell, Jack. Do you always have to pick the
ruffians that feel the need to fight amongst themselves?”
He got up and stomped toward the door but heard
another loud crash and a grunt on the other side before he
reached it. Derrick swung the door open, a thundering black
scowl on his face, and stepped over the man lying at his door.
He jogged up the stairs thinking he would merely put a stop to
a stupid fight, but what greeted him when he got to the top
took his breath away and made his heart stop. Kristen was on
the deck, her gown half ripped off and hair flying wildly in the
wind. Blood was smeared on her face and arms where she
had been attacked by his men. She was half crazed with fear,
and she looked a little green to boot.
Cold, hard anger gnawed at Derrick's stomach. He
walked toward the man circling her with every intention of
ripping his head off. She wouldn't be able to fend off any more
attacks in the condition she was in, and they all knew it. Jack
grabbed Derrick's arm, knowing if he didn't calm Derrick down,
every one of the crew members would be dead.
“Derrick, they don't know who she is, only that she's on
board and she isn't supposed to be. They're just doing their
job.”
“Not bloody good enough.” Derrick growled low and
jerked his arm from Jack's grasp.
Jack sighed. “I didn't think it would be.”
As soon as Kristen finished throwing up, there was
another man at her side wanting to take her to the brig. She
fought the man off, but it had only caused the rest of the crew
to come to his aid. She was attacked by several swarthy
looking characters all at once, and as she was now, she didn't
have the strength to face even one more. She was certain
they would kill or rape her if she gave in, so she was
determined to stand her ground. Blood was pouring from her
head where someone had hit her with a bucket, her lip was
busted, nose bleeding, and she probably had a good number
of broken bones, too. She was sure she broke her knuckles
with the last fellow she hit. He was pretty solidly built.
The one circling her now was rather small in
comparison, but that didn't relieve her mind any. She was a
prime example of how size in that capacity could be deceiving.
But, it seemed the little man got tired of stalking her from afar
and moved in for the first strike. Kristen's eyes flared with the
realization that he was going to hit her because she simply
couldn't move. She braced herself mentally for the pain, and
closed her eyes, squeezing them shut. But, the hit never
came. Instead she heard a whelp and a long string of curses,
then the little man groaned as he hit what was probably one of
the masts. She opened her eyes to find out what had
happened and relief poured through her instantly.
“Derrick.” She whispered as she collapsed from
exhaustion.
Derrick caught her and lifted her his in arms. He turned
to face the men of his crew who were in various states of pain
themselves. His expression told them they were in serious
trouble.
“Each of you that had a hand in this will be let off at the
next port. It's either that, or I kill you. Take your pick. For the
duration of that time, if you so much as look at the lady wrong,
I'll kill you anyway. Do I make myself clear?” He waited briefly
for their nod and then left.
Every man there knew that Derrick meant every word.
They had each been involved in trying to apprehend the lady,
so they were henceforth on their best behavior to avoid notice
and not stir the captain's ire. Derrick Shane paid his men well,
but when he was required to deal with them in a disciplinary
fashion, he was rumored to be the devil himself. Not one of
the crewmen wanted to find out.
Derrick slammed into his cabin and yelled for the cabin
boy as he lay Kristen gently on his bed. The cabin boy entered
and bowed.
“Eli, I need a fresh bucket of water, another plate of
food, and some wash cloths and towels. Also, arrange to have
buckets heated and brought in for a bath. And, see if there are
any dresses still on board.” The boy nodded and left to do his
bidding. Derrick had traveled with his lady friend's before and
probably had something that they could use until he could get
Kristen her own dresses. For now, though, he needed to clean
her off and assess the damage that had been done.
He frowned. There was a lot of blood covering her, and
there was also the matter of how she came to be on his ship.
He couldn't say that he wasn't happy to see her as she had
occupied his thoughts a good deal since leaving London. But,
it was obvious she wasn't there by choice, and at the moment,
she didn't look so good. It would take time to sort out which
injuries were recent, and which she sustained from her
previous kidnapping. That line of thought stilled his hand and
he looked at her.
Kristen had been through more than any woman should
have to bear. He didn't know the secrets of her life, but he was
willing to bet that whatever they were, they couldn't be good. It
was as if someone wanted her dead, at least from the first
kidnapping. This one seemed calculated to Derrick, more like
someone trying to shove the two of them together. He grinned.
Mel. He would have to remember to hug her when he saw her
next. The woman was tenacious in her matchmaking attempts,
and Derrick was certain that when Kristen awoke, she would
agree Mel was the most likely culprit in this kidnapping.
Derrick gently brushed Kristen's hair back from her face
while he waited for his cabin boy to return. At last, the items
he requested were delivered, and he tapped his foot
impatiently as he waited until the tub was full of warm water.
When the bath was ready, he lifted Kristen from the bed so Eli
could quickly change the sheets, and left Eli to do the rest of
the picking up.
Derrick's attention was on Kristen. It was a rare
occurrence that he got to undress a woman for reasons other
than sexual need, so he was careful not to wake her as he
undressed her. He lowered her into the warm water and
bathed the blood from her body, taking care not to hurt her
any further. As he washed her hair, he searched her body for
other injuries. As far as he could tell, the swollen eye was from
the previous kidnapping, but she had a broken rib, and it was
protruding from under her left breast. He would have to wrap it
tightly so it could mend.
Her knuckles were swollen and bruised from the abuse,
but all in all, she was a lot better off than he feared. Most of
the blood didn't appear to be hers, and what was hers came
from the head wound, though even that had stopped bleeding.
He should probably have the ship's physician look at it to be
sure, but he didn't think any of her injuries would prove fatal.
Though he was concerned that she seemed so pale.
After rinsing her hair, he took her from the bath and
wrapped her in a towel, drying her as gently as he could. Once
she was dry, he found his wrap and began tightly winding it
under her breasts. He decided it was better to leave the head
wound unwrapped until the physician had a look at it, but he
tended to her other more minor wounds as he could. Kristen
moaned but didn't open her eyes. The fact that he had done
all he had thus far, and she hadn't woken up, concerned him.
She was strong, much stronger than any other woman
he had known, but she had a nasty head wound, not to
mention she was still recovering from her last ordeal. And,
when she did wake up, she would be in one hell of a mood. Of
course, at least then he would know she was alright. It was the
not knowing that was driving him mad. So, to help keep his
mind busy, he dressed her in a simple cotton night gown and
laid her gently on his bed against the pillows, wrapping her in
warm blankets to keep the chill out.
With nothing else to do but wait, he began pacing his
cabin. His large frame felt restricted in the confines of the
cabin, but he refused to leave her side. A knock sounded at
his door, and he sighed.
“Come in, Jack.” He called.
Jack walked in. For once there was a serious look on
his face. Derrick could be grateful for small favors, he
supposed.
“How is she?” Jacked asked, concerned.
“She has a broken rib for sure. I've wrapped it, but she
hasn't woken up so I can't tell if she's well otherwise. She took
quite a beating from those men, Jack. There was a lot of
blood. What kind of men do we hire that would beat up a
woman, a LADY no less?”
Jack shrugged. “They do what we pay them to do.”
“What kind of men does that make us?” Derrick asked
softly, returning his gaze to Kristen.
“This wasn't your fault, you know. You didn't know she
was on board.” At Derrick's noncommittal grunt, Jack
continued. “I talked to Nino. He was the first one to see her
and reported that she said she didn't remember how she came
to be on the ship. Someone brought her here without her
knowledge. The best thing we can do is make sure she's
comfortable for the time being, and when she does wake up,
find out what she remembers. Maybe we can figure out what
the bloody hell is going on.”
“I'm pretty sure I know how she got here.” Derrick
replied softly, still watching over Kristen.
"How's that?" Jack asked in surprise.
"Mel and Oliver. Mel's been playing matchmaker lately,
and she would need Oliver to carry Kristen.
Jack frowned. "Well, at least we know she's safe for the
time being."
Derrick nodded, though he didn't say any more on the
matter.
“And Derrick?” Jack said as he turned toward the door.
“Stay away from the crew until your temper has calmed down.
If you want to replace them, fine. But, I can't run an entire ship
by myself while you're in here with her.” He left Derrick to his
ministrations.
Derrick knew Jack was right. Given his present mood,
he would wipe the floor with anyone he even suspected was
involved in hurting Kristen. So, he stayed in his cabin as his
friend suggested. He sat there by the bed for the longest time,
just watching her. When she finally did move, he was beside
her instantly, hoping she would wake up.
“Kristen, come on sweetheart. Wake up. Can you hear
me?” He looked at her intently as her eyes fluttered open.
She looked at him for a moment, confusion on her face,
and then winced. That green look came back, then she rolled
to the side of the bed and vomited at Derrick's feet. He jumped
back and swore.
“Bloody hell!” He grouched.
When she couldn't heave anymore, she rolled back
over and was unconscious again.
Chapter 23