Guardian Angel (29 page)

When she nodded, Colin continued on. “Nathan calls her Brat all the time. He has a particular fondness for that nickname.”

His slow wink increased Jade's blush. “Black Harry calls me Dolphin,” Colin went on to explain. “It's meant as an insult, too.”

Nathan shook his head. “Dolphins are gentle, Colin. It wasn't meant as an insult.”

Caine let out a weary sigh. “Who is Black Harry?”

It was suddenly hitting him full force, this amazing miracle. He found his strength deserting him. Caine dragged Jade over to the wingback chair that faced the settee, sat down, and forced her with his hold to sit on the arm.

He stared at his brother all the while. “I still cannot believe you're alive,” he said.

“You have Pagan to thank for that,” Colin replied. “And I can't believe you're so calm. I was certain you'd go into a rage when you found out I made Jade promise not to tell you. Caine, there's so much I have to explain. First, however, I do believe Nathan's sister has something she wants to tell you.”

Jade was shaking her head vehemently. “I have nothing to say to him, Colin. If you feel like enlightening him on all the facts, do so after I've left.”

Caine wasn't paying any attention to her rantings. He let go of her arm, leaned forward, his elbows resting on his knees, and said, “I want you to tell me who did this to you. Give me the name, Colin. I'll do the rest.”

Jade took advantage of Caine's inattention. She once again tried to leave. Caine never took his gaze away from his brother when he grabbed hold of her hand. “I believe I mentioned that you aren't going anywhere.”

Nathan looked incredulous. “Why haven't you put your knife through him yet?”

She shrugged before answering. “Colin would have been upset.”

“What's taking Black Harry so long?” Nathan asked Colin then. He strolled over to the settee, took his place next to Colin, and propped his feet up on the same wide stool.

“He'll be a while yet,” Colin explained. “He lost his spectacles.”

Both men started laughing. Jade was horrified. “Black Harry's here? In England?”

Her voice shook. Only Nathan seemed to understand the reason for her distress. “He is,” he announced in a hard voice. “And when I tell him . . .”

“No, Nathan, you mustn't tell him anything,” she cried out. She tried to get out of Caine's grasp. He tightened his hold in reaction.

“Who is Black Harry?” Caine asked, ignoring Jade's struggles.

“He's the uncle,” Colin answered. “He took care of Jade after her father died.”

Caine was trying to filter all this information through his mind. The way Jade had reacted to the news that Harry was here indicated she was afraid of him.

“How long was she with him?” he asked Colin.

“Years,” Colin answered.

Caine turned to Nathan. “Where the hell were you when she was growing up? Out robbing people blind?”

“Damn it, Colin, a man can only take so much,” Nathan muttered. “If he keeps it up, I'm going to kill him, even if it means losing your friendship.”

Colin was still too exhausted from the walk to take part in the conversation. He wanted to rest for just a few more minutes before he started his explanation. With a loud yawn meant to draw attention, he said, “No one's going to kill anyone until this has all been straightened out.” He leaned back against the cushions and closed his eyes.

A loud commotion drew everyone's attention then. Caine looked up just in time to see a large flower pot fly past the windows to the terrace. The pot crashed against the stone wall. A sharp blasphemy followed the splintering noise.

“Harry's here,” Colin drawled out.

Caine continued to stare at the entrance, thinking to himself that he was prepared for just about anything now. Nothing more could ever surprise him again.

He was, unfortunately, mistaken. The man who finally strutted across the threshold was so outrageous looking, Caine almost laughed.

Harry paused, put his big hands on his hips, and glared at his audience. He was dressed all in white, with a wide red sash tied around his pot-bellied waist. His skin was bronzed by the sun, his hair was silver as clouds. Caine judged his age to be near fifty, perhaps a bit more.

This one could give children nightmares for months. He was amazingly ugly, with a bulbous nose that covered most of his face. His eyes were bare slits, due to the fact that he was squinting fiercely.

The man had flair, he'd give him that much. He literally swaggered into the drawing room. Two men rushed ahead of him, moving objects out of his way. Two more filed in behind. Caine recognized the last two. They were Matthew and Jimbo. Both of their faces were covered with fresh bruises Caine had inflicted when he'd had his little talk with them.

“It's getting damned crowded in here,” Caine stated.

Jade jerked her hand away from his hold and rushed over to Black Harry. She threw herself into his arms and hugged him tightly. Caine noticed Harry's gold tooth then. When he smiled down at Jade, one of the front teeth gleamed in the light.

“Oh, Uncle Harry, I've missed you,” she whispered.

“Of course you missed me,” the elderly man grumbled. “I'm going to beat you good though,” he added after he'd given her another hug of affection. “Have you gone completely daft, girl? I'll be hearing every spoiled morsel of this tale, and then I'm going to beat the daylights out of you.”

“Now, Harry,” Jade said in a voice meant to soothe. “I didn't mean to upset you.”

Harry let out a loud snort. “You didn't mean for me to find out, that's what you didn't mean to do,” he countered. He leaned down and kissed her loudly on the top of her head.

“That one be Caine?” he asked, squinting at the man in question.

“He is,” Jade answered.

“He ain't dead.”

“No.”

“You done your task well then,” Harry praised.

“He will be dead soon enough if I get my way,” Nathan drawled out.

“What's this mutiny I'm hearing?”

“Harry?” Jade asked, tugging his attention back to her.

“Yes?”

She leaned up on tiptoe and whispered into his ear. Harry frowned during the telling.

When she was finished, he nodded. “I might be telling, and then again, I might not. You trust this man?”

She couldn't lie. “I do.”

“What does he mean to you, girl?”

“Nothing,” she blurted out.

“Then look at me eyes,” he ordered. “You're talking to the floor and that tells me something tricky's going on.”

“There's nothing tricky,” she whispered. “I'm just glad this deception is over.”

Harry didn't look convinced. “Then why'd you bother watching out for him if he meant nothing to you?” he prodded, sensing she wasn't telling him the full truth.

“He's Colin's brother,” she reminded her uncle. “That is the only reason I bothered.”

Harry decided to wait until they were alone before he forced the truth out of her. “I'm still not understanding,” he bellowed. He was squinting in Caine's direction now. “You should be kissing Pagan's feet to my way of thinking,” he added. “Your sorry brother's alive, ain't he?”

“Now that you're here, we can sort all this out, Harry,” Colin called out.

Harry grunted. He looked back down at Jade. “I'm still going to beat you bloody, girl. Do you doubt me?”

“No, Harry, I don't doubt you,” she answered. With an effort, she hid her smile. In all their time together, Harry had never, ever harmed her. He was a kind, gentle man with a soul so pure, so white, God was surely smiling down at him with pride. Harry liked to threaten all sorts of horrid punishments when there was an audience listening. He was a pirate, he would often remind her, and appearances had to be kept up.

Caine had started out of his chair when Harry made his first threat, but Colin motioned to him to sit down again. “Bluster,” he'd whispered to his brother.

“Get me a chair, men,” Harry shouted. He continued to squint at Caine as he walked over to the hearth. Both Colin and Nathan got their feet and the stool out of his way just in the nick of time. While Jade helped resettle Colin, Harry stood in front of the hearth, his hands clasped behind his back.

“You don't look anything like Dolphin,” he remarked. He grinned, displaying his lovely tooth again, then added, “You and your puny-arsed brother are both homely as sin. Only family resemblance I can see.”

Caine didn't think the man could see much of anything, but he kept that opinion to himself. He looked over at Colin to see how he was responding to that insult. Though Colin's eyes were once again closed, he was smiling. Caine concluded Harry's thunder was all for his benefit.

One of his men carried a big chair over to the hearth, and when Harry was settled, Jade walked over to stand behind him. She put her hand on Harry's shoulder.

“You wear spectacles, me boy?” Harry asked Caine.

Caine shook his head. “Anyone here wear them? One of your servants perchance?”

“No,” Caine answered.

“Uncle, do you know where you lost your last pair?” she asked.

“Now, lovely, you know I don't remember,” he answered. “If I did, I wouldn't have lost them, now would I?”

Harry turned back to Caine then. “There be a village close by?”

Colin started laughing. Even Nathan broke into a grin. Caine didn't have the faintest idea why they were so amused.

“There is a village close by,” Colin said.

“No one was asking you, you twit. Go back to sleep, Dolphin. It's all you're good for,” he added with a wink.

Harry turned to his cohorts and bellowed, “Men, you know what to do.”

The two unsavory-looking men lounging by the terrace doors both nodded. Just as they turned to leave, Jade prodded Harry's shoulder. “Oh, all right, girl,” he muttered. “No pillaging, men,” he shouted then. “We're too close to home.”

“Aye, Black Harry,” one of the men called out.

“Did they jump to do my bidding?” Harry asked Jade in a whisper.

“They did,” she answered. “As quick as lightning.”

Harry nodded. He clasped his knees with his hands and leaned forward. “Now then, I was hearing talk of mutiny when I came inside. You'd think this was a time for rejoicing, but I ain't hearing any cheering. You hearing any cheering, girl?”

“No, Harry.”

“Could it be that the Dolphin's such a bother, you ain't glad to have him back?” he asked Caine. “Can't say I blame you. The boy can't even play a decent game of chess.”

“I was half out of my mind when we last played,” Colin reminded him.

Harry snorted. “You only got half a mind, twit.”

Colin grinned. “Caine? Do you know why this sorry piece of flesh is called Black Harry?”

“I'll be telling it,” Harry announced. “It's because I got me a black heart.”

He made that statement as a boast, then waited a full minute for Caine to appreciate his explanation. “I gave myself that nickname. It's fitting, ain't it, girl?”

“Yes, Uncle, it's very fitting. Your heart's as black as night.”

“It's good of you to say so,” Harry replied. He reached up and patted her hand. “As soon as me men get back from their errand, I'm leaving for the Wharf. I could use a spot of supper to hold me over.”

“I shall see to it at once,” Jade said. She immediately moved toward the doors, deliberately making a wide path of Caine's chair. When she reached the entrance to the foyer, she turned back to her uncle. “Please don't let Nathan and Caine fight while I'm gone, Harry.”

“I wouldn't be caring,” Harry called out.

“But I would care,” she returned. “Please, Harry?”

“All right then, I won't let them fight.”

As soon as the door shut behind Jade, Harry whispered, “She's a piece of work, that one. I should have cut her face years ago. She's too pretty for her own safety. 'Tis the reason I had to leave her behind so many times. Couldn't trust me men when my back was turned.”

“She's so pretty,” Nathan snapped, “that some dishonorable men would take advantage.”

“Let it go for now, Nathan,” Colin interjected. He opened his eyes and looked at Caine. “My brother's an honorable man.”

“Like hell,” Nathan growled.

Caine wasn't paying any attention to the conversation now. He'd homed in on Harry's casually stated comment that he'd left Jade behind. Where did he leave her? Who watched over her when he was away? There sure as hell hadn't been a woman there, or she would have known a little more about the facts of life.

“What's all this talk about?” Harry demanded, drawing Caine's attention again.

“Although it isn't in your nature, I'm asking you to be patient, Harry,” Colin requested. “There's been a little misunderstanding, that's all.”

“Clear it up quick then,” Harry ordered.

“Damn it, Colin, I know all I need to know,” Nathan said. “Your brother's a bastard . . .”

“You were born out of wedlock, son?” Harry interrupted. He looked absolutely thrilled by that possibility.

Caine sighed. “No, I wasn't born out of wedlock.”

Harry didn't even try to hide his disappointment, another fact that made absolutely no sense to Caine.

“Then you can't be going by that nickname,” he instructed. “Only those born with the stigma can boast of it. A man's only as good as his nickname,” he added with a nod.