Devi's Paradise (27 page)

If he went back to London with Romilly and her party, all that was in store was to see her wedded to Lord James and gradually lose all contact with her. This way he’d be his own man with money in his pocket and a ship. In return he would keep his part of the bargain, looking after her and being faithful. Lady Fenby would have no cause to complain.

She was nobody’s fool and knew exactly what was going through his head. She reached into his breeches and bared his cock. Running her hand over it expertly, she lingered on the helm and anointed it with the dew already seeping from its tip. ‘Think about it,’ she whispered, then ran her tongue over his foreskin.

‘I will,’ he promised, utterly controlled by the urge for release.

‘It’s siesta time,’ she purred. ‘Let’s to bed, my darling boy.’

Armand treated Romilly like a pariah. The harsh punishment she had received at his hands had not dissipated his anger. Alvina had a theory about this.

‘He’s acting like a man who is wildly jealous. You upset his apple cart when you fucked Awan and Lafette. He’s probably as annoyed with himself as with you, furious because you’ve hurt him.’

‘I wounded his male pride?’ Romilly sat up in bed, for it was early and they were breakfasting there before the heat of the day.

‘More than that, sweeting. Maybe he loves you.’

‘I would that it were so,’ Romilly sighed, but did she really want to have this fiery individual harbouring undying passion for her? She’d never be free of him.

‘Dearest, men can be such a nuisance,’ Alvina sighed, setting the tray aside and wriggling under the quilt beside her. ‘Take your fiancé for instance. Is he really interested in you or just after your dowry? As for George… I’ve caught him with Clive more than once, playing the hump-backed beast, yet he likes to fuck me. I’ve had more pleasure with Marcus. He doesn’t pretend to love me, simply fucking me, and that’s far more honest.’

‘I wish it was a year ago when I hadn’t embarked on this merry-go-round. I was innocent then, and far, far happier, my head filled with girlish fancies.’

‘Until you dallied with Nathan.’

‘That’s true, and look where it led me… here, in a pirate stronghold.’ Romilly was close to tears and happy to feel Alvina’s arms around her.

She was a reminder of home and security, those carefree hours they had spent together, shopping, giggling, flirting behind their fans. To be cuddled by her was comforting, and the heat she felt in her loins an added bonus. She had experienced the pleasure women could give each other and welcomed Alvina’s hands moving gently over her, reaching her thighs.

‘My God!’ she exclaimed, and pulled back the covering, staring at Romilly’s bruises. ‘His brand hasn’t yet faded!’

‘I know,’ Romilly sighed. ‘He beat me sore.’

‘I was there, remember? And you don’t hate him for it. We women are strange cattle, to be sure. We often despise the men who are nice to us, and desire the one who will treat us badly, both physically and mentally. It must be something to do with choosing a strong mate to father our offspring and protect us.’

She caressed the bruised skin tenderly and her fingers wandered across to Romilly’s fork, parting the feathery lips and stroking her most private place. They said nothing more, giving themselves up to pleasure, fondling and soothing, using lips and fingers to arouse, each knowing what the other needed to bring her to orgasm. Romilly, though once hesitant about touching a woman’s genitals, now took delight in doing so. She licked Alvina’s cleft, tasting her salty juices and inhaling her piscine odour. To suck at her beautiful breasts was to revert to infancy when she enjoyed the bounty of a wet-nurse’s milk. To hear her gasp and feel her shudder as she reached fulfilment made her proud to be the one who had made this possible.

When Alvina paid her the same compliment in return, she received it gratefully. Such an uncomplicated experience, similar to masturbation, and she didn’t miss a man’s penetration or even that of a dildo. Later they lay in each other’s arms and slept peacefully.

The time had come for them to return to Cayona. Joshua was expected any day. Armand trusted few and, disappointed in Sabrina, put Johnson in command of Devil’s Paradise. He had deliberately stayed away from Romilly, not simply to take her down a peg and damage her pride, but because he distrusted his own feelings regarding her. She would be leaving for Jamaica shortly and they would never meet again. He didn’t like to dwell on this.

He saw her from a distance, gave her orders through Sabrina, though was on speaking terms with Jamie and George and even Alvina, though he suspected that she would relay his every word to Romilly. He had closed down his emotions, was short-tempered and sarcastic and not any better when the
Golden Queen
anchored in Cayona bay.

Once assured that his hostages were in the coach and on their way to Bella Vista, he went in search of Cat. She was behind the bar in the tavern, but stopped serving as soon as Armand came in. ‘Take over, Starling,’ she said and reached for a bottle of rum. She filled a glass and slid it towards Armand over the polished surface.

‘No, thanks,’ he said. ‘I’ve a crow to pluck with you.’

She guessed what it was and tried to make light of it, saying, ‘You’d better come out the back,’ though doubting the wisdom of being on her own with him. He was very controlled, but she knew him well enough to recognise that beneath the calm exterior he was seething with rage.

Once in her parlour she offered him a seat, but he said, ‘I prefer to stand. This won’t take long.’

‘Sounds serious,’ she replied, trying to make light of it. ‘What’s wrong?’

‘I thought you were my friend,’ he began, looking so handsome that her heart did a summersault in her chest.

‘I am,’ she protested.

‘You plotted with Lafette to rob me of Lady Romilly. He’s dead, slain by me. Or didn’t you know?’

‘I knew,’ she whispered. ‘Some of his men got back here with his damaged ship. They told me what took place.’

‘You had my trust.’ He sounded deeply hurt. ‘I’m disappointed in you, Cat.’

She stood up, a tall woman but nowhere near as tall as him. It was time to tell the truth. ‘I’ll admit it. Yes, I did fund him so that he might steal her away. I could see you were growing too attached to her, and I didn’t want to lose what we had together.’

He raised an eyebrow and stared down at her. ‘And what was that? You’re a doxy who owns a tavern. I visited you on occasion and we enjoyed copulating. There was not and never would be anything more to it.’

‘Not on your part, perhaps, but what of me? D’you know how much I’d like to better myself, to become someone other than a money-lender and fence, a receiver of stolen goods?’

‘I promised you nothing.’

Cat could feel tears burning behind her eyes but wasn’t going to demean herself by shedding them. Her heart ached with love for him, and she longed to fling herself into his arms and have him give her a good hiding for plotting with Lafette, and then make savage love to her. For years now she had lived for his rare visits, her other lovers meaning nothing. But on seeing him looking at Lady Romilly she’d known deep inside that her days with him were numbered.

‘You want to marry her?’ she whispered brokenly.

Anger flashed across his haughty face and he clenched his fists. ‘Don’t be ridiculous! She’ll be leaving soon and returning to her old life.’

Hope surged and she gripped the front of his coat, shaking him in her eagerness. ‘Then you’ll come to see me?’

He took her hands in an iron grip and prised them away. ‘No, Cat.’

There was such finality in his voice that she stood before him stunned, emptiness spreading around her, the years stretching ahead into an uncertain future bereft of his presence.

She was still standing when he turned his back to her, tall, straight and indifferent, and walked out of the door. She choked back the tears and ran her hands through her tousled hair. Starling’s ugly face and misshapen form appeared.

‘Are you all right, mistress?’ he asked, and she was glad to see him, a friend she could rely on, a starveling who had turned up on her doorstep. She had taken him in and given him employment. The inn was the only home he had ever known.

‘I shall survive,’ she said, sniffing and running her hand over her eyes.

‘Master Paul will be back from the mission on Saturday,’ he ventured, striving to cheer her.

‘So he will. Thanks for reminding me.’ She was beginning to feel better, then said, ‘Send Phil to me.’

Starling hobbled out and Cat lay down on the couch, raised her skirts to her waist and consoled herself against the vicissitudes of life by stroking her bud while she waited the arrival of her young lover.

‘What now, I wonder?’ Alvina asked, as she sat with the other hostages in the grand reception room of Bella Vista. ‘How does Armand know that Joshua will soon be here?’

‘He gave him a date by which to return, one that he dared not miss for our sakes,’ Jamie replied, stopping his restless pacing and staring discontentedly out of the opened windows. They led on to a paved terrace under a colonnade. The garden beyond blazed with colour and the slaves sang as they worked among the flowers, their voices mingling with the sounds of birds.

‘Zounds, but I’m weary of this,’ George complained. ‘Just think, we could be strolling in Covent Garden at this very moment, meeting our friends in a coffee house or visiting our tailors or going to the club and indulging in a little gambling. How is it that people don’t die of boredom in such a backwater?’

‘I can’t think, my dear fellow,’ Jamie answered, handing across his snuffbox after taking a sniff and dabbing delicately at his nostrils.

‘There is more to life than the social round,’ Romilly said impatiently, finding him more and more annoying, the thought of spending the rest of her life with him hateful. She was in a gloomy frame of mind, not knowing what she wanted.

She had gone through the routine of breakfasting and then having Jessica attire her in one of the gowns made last time she was there. Armand had paid the bill, but she supposed that this would be added to the money he demanded. They were treated well at Bella Vista, and she could almost forget that it belonged to a pirate, bought with his ill-gotten gains.

He no longer had her sharing his bedroom. She had been placed in another further down the corridor, a grand chamber but not half as impressive as his.

She had spent the night alone, tossing and turning, ears strained to catch the sound of his approach.

She listened in vain.

Where was he, with that hussy, Cat? She speculated but without answers and, on rising, found herself paying particular attention to her toilette, adding little feminine touches, despising herself for wanting to catch his eye.

Now it was lunchtime, and they were about to adjourn to the dining room when there was a commotion in the hall and then the door opened and Armand ushered Joshua in. Peter Quidley followed them and Jessica turned pink, her eyes like stars.

‘Well met,’ Jamie shouted, going across and wringing his hand. Joshua seemed embarrassed but returned the greeting and that of George, too.

‘Captain Willard,’ exclaimed Alvina, extending her hand to him without rising from her seat. ‘Was your mission successful?’

‘Very much so, my lady,’ he answered with a bow.

‘You met Lady Fenby? She has agreed to help free us?’ Romilly asked, glad to see this fresh-faced, clean-shaven man whose upright bearing typified a naval officer.

‘She has indeed,’ he replied, kissing the back of her hand, and she noticed something different about him. He had changed in a subtle way that she couldn’t define. Then he added, ‘I shan’t be returning to England. Lady Fenby has offered me employment and I have accepted.’

This was a shock and Romilly realised how much she would miss him. ‘Are you sure this is a wise decision?’ she asked, surprised because she was upset. Had he forgotten how close they had been for a while? Had his vows of love meant nothing?’

He smiled at her and she caught a tinge of regret in his voice as he answered, ‘I’m sure, my lady. I shall be master of my own boat, a person in my own right.’

‘Never mind about all that; when are we free to leave?’ Jamie cried impatiently.

‘So anxious to go?’ Armand remarked mockingly. ‘I take it that you’ve not enjoyed your visit and won’t be returning.’

‘I think not, sir,’ Jamie said with exaggerated politeness. ‘I shall be happy if I never clap eyes on the place again.’

‘When can we leave?’ Alvina was almost dancing round the room. ‘Oh, Captain Willard, what is Port Royal like? Are there shops and parties and jollifications?’

‘It is lively, my lady, and so is Kingston. The Fenbys live in fine style and are so looking forward to seeing you all. Lady Fenby has arranged a welcome soirée.’

‘Not so fast,’ Armand cut in. ‘I’ve yet to count the money.’

‘It’s all there, sir, I’ve checked it myself,’ Henry Moorcross assured him. ‘I’ve not taken my eyes from the chest wherein it lies.’

‘Once I’m satisfied that the ransom has been paid in full, I’ll make arrangements for you to board ship. How did you get here, Captain Willard? Was it by packet-boat?’

‘No, sir, the Fenbys own several sloops and ordered a Captain Fox to bring us back here, and wait till everyone is ready to depart.’