Linna : Historical Romance (The Brocade Collection, Book 5) (33 page)

CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

Linna’s contractions started late afternoon on the fourth day out and were accompanied by cheers
. It wasn’t her labor anyone celebrated, it was the first bit of water that shoved at the ship, making it groan ever so slightly, and sending everyone to the side to look down. Linna was no exception. She had to wait for the cramp of motion to subside before she attempted it, but she was at her own porthole within moments, looking out at what they’d been praying for.

Water
.

The tide had finally reached
them. Soon they’d be free. And if another cramp hadn’t been starting across her midsection making her certain, Linna would have decided it was her hopes dying. Marcelle was going to win. There was nobody to stop him. Not anymore. She lay on her cot, held her hands over the hard swell that was her baby and cursed the fates, since God wasn’t listening.

The first pains weren’t hard to bear
. Linna kept them to herself, even as the ship righted itself and began swaying from side to side with each influx of water. Becky brought her supper. She smiled at the girl, motioned for her to put it down, and when that pain finished, she went to the tray and heaved the contents out the porthole.

Lack of appetite wasn’t going to give her away
. Dominique checked on her just before the final locking in. Like always. Linna kept her lips clamped shut and did her best to control her breathing. She only wished she could find the numb state she’d been in since they’d brought her on board.

She hadn’t
been loaded on a gangway, at least not on her feet. Marcelle was much too smart for that. A very pregnant woman, trussed up and gagged, would have created more notice than he needed. A large, unwieldy traveling trunk hadn’t the same problem.

In fact, it was so large and well-lined, that it hadn’t been much of a problem at all
. Linna had been numb by then. She’d been numb since Cord’s beating.

The sun was setting when the ship finally came loose
, earning another round of cheers. Linna wasn’t doing as well. The pains were fast and hard, one after the other, and her cot was soaked through with sweat. And she was frightened. She knew she’d have to do this alone, and it scared her. She didn’t have another choice. She didn’t trust anyone. All she knew was how much she’d loved Cord and how much the sound of him being beaten had hurt.

She moaned, gripped her hands on the quilts
, and tightened every muscle. It felt like she’d been doing it for hours, and she’d do as many more hours as she had to. Marcelle wasn’t getting his hands on this baby. Not Cord’s baby.

And then a series of tremendous booms shook the ship and changed everything
.

Linna heard the rattle of chain which meant her door was about to be unlocked and opened
. When it was, another boom came, sounding much louder with her cabin door open.

“Linna
? Are you awake?” 

Dominique’s sweet southern sounding voice was strained
. She had a lantern held high. Linna cursed silently. She had her jaw clenched, and there wasn’t anything she could do to prevent the blonde from seeing what was happening. Cord was wrong, too. It wasn’t a red color she saw. It was a lot darker than that.

“Oh, dear God
! Not now! Not—”

There was a commotion in the hall beyond the cabin,  then Dominique was on her knees, moving sweat-soaked strands of hair from Linna’s forehead
.  

“Oh, Linna
. We have to move you. We have to get you hidden. Now! We don’t have much time. Can you walk?”

“Why...should I?”  Linna snarled it
. She knew how false the blond woman was. She’d heard. Dominique had been there, witnessing every blow Cord’s body had taken.

“We’re under attack!”

“Non...sense.”  The past half of the word was moaned, due to another pain.

It was also over-ridden by another thundering volley.

“You hear that? It’s cannon fire. We don’t have much time, I tell you!”

“Cannon?”

“They’re running the black flag. Everything is madness. Marcelle isn’t looking. This is the chance we need!”

“For what?”

“Getting you somewhere safe. We’re under attack! And it’s about bloody time!”  Dominique slid an arm beneath Linna’s shoulder to assist her.

“Is it...pirates?”  Linna whispered.

“Of course it’s pirates! And we didn’t stand a chance. We don’t have any speed, and they came at us from the bow. We can’t get a shot off.”

As if timed to her words, another series hit the ship, making everything tremble about them
. Even her cot.

“Come
! I’ll help you. You can walk. I know you can walk. And we don’t have much time. We’ve got to get you moved!”

“Why?”

“I don’t have time to explain!”

“Then I don’t have time to move,” Linna replied, and clamped her teeth against another onslaught of agony.

“Cord said you were stubborn. He said nothing about how much. I have to hide you! They can’t get this ship turned broadside to get our own cannons working. These aren’t just pirates, Linna! They’re
pirates
.”  The woman emphasized the word with a screaming sound.

“What does that mean?”

“Your Cord. He’s a pirate. Him, and all the others. That’s what I mean.”

“Cord’s dead.”

Dominique shoved a sigh out, ruffling her bangs. “Marcelle isn’t thinking quickly enough, or he’d be here already. He only has one weapon left: you. That’s why we have to get you hidden! Now! Before he thinks of it.”

Linna smiled shakily at her
. “You tell Marcelle, and I’ll find a way to slit your throat. You understand?”  She didn’t have but ten, maybe fifteen seconds left of respite, and she wasn’t going to waste them. “I know exactly who and what you...are now!”  The last word was a keening cry of sound, Linna bit her tongue to halt. The pains were as agonizing as she’d been led to expect, but they weren’t putting a dent in the ache that came from watching Cord get hurt.

“You know so little
. And see less!”

Linna barely heard her with part of her consciousness, while the rest
of her tried to absorb and live through hellish pain. Dominique came back into view. Linna turned her face aside and held the pain of another contraction close. They might have killed Cord, but they weren’t getting their hands on his baby.

“Cord’s dead
. You helped kill him,” she mumbled. She wasn’t going with Dominique. She didn’t trust anyone, especially her.

“
No,
Cherie.
At most he’s injured. And angry. He’s probably more angry than hurt at the moment.”

“You lie!”  Linna cried, catching her breath for another pain.

Dominque clicked her tongue. “Marcelle didn’t have control of the blows. I did. Matthew’s my man. None of his blows would have killed your Cord. I had already ordered it so.”

“But you...had him dumped in the sea.”

“I had him dumped into Drew Fletcher’s carriage! That’s where! Oh, Linna, please believe me! I only keep by Marcelle’s side so I know what he’s doing. No other reason. You think I like the man?
Tiens!
I swear to you now. Listen. Your Cord is alive, I’m betting everything he’s on that pirate ship, fighting his way to you, and if I don’t get you hidden, it’ll all have been for nothing. Do you hear me? Nothing!”

Linna sucked in a breath, rolled onto her side, and put her feet on the floor, preparatory to standing
. Then she had to wait for the interval between pains so she could stand.

~ ~ ~

The flush of battle came to him just when he needed it, making every ache mute to a solid throb of anger, and rage, and bloodlust. The only thing it didn’t do was make his body respond the way it should. The way he expected it to — like it was healed.

Cord had been beside Rex at the captain’s wheel
, watching. It was the best vantage point, and it didn’t require him to move anywhere. He wasn’t about to admit weakness, and he wasn’t letting Marcelle win. Both of which required willpower and the ability to make his body handle the motions he required of it. It wasn’t easy. When he felt too weak, he leaned against a rail until it passed. Then, he moved on.   

They’d waited for the ship to spot them before running up the flag
. It was their trademark. It made it much more poignant that way. No one had to give an order for anything after that. It was well-timed, and well-rehearsed, and perfect.

The anchor was dropped off the starboard side, bringing
The Seduction
to a shuddering halt and sending it broadside in a clockwise direction. That put all seven cannons directly in line to the caravel. That was when they sent the black flag to full staff. In tandem, the seven fuses were lit and within seconds of each other the cannons barked their response.

The first shots grazed the bow, splitting off the figurehead, taking wood from the bulkhead, and several went wide
, just as Rex Fletcher ordered. Not only was his daughter aboard, but they were damaging his fanciest ship as well. If the caravel had run up a white flag, it would have been over, but that wasn’t what happened. He’d hired a fighting captain and crew for his biggest ship. Cord watched as Rex ordered another round of cannonade to bring about surrender, once gunfire was returned.

Cord’s palms were slick
. He wiped them across his pants, leaving dark trails.

There was a slight wind in the air, with a bit of chill to it
. He didn’t feel it. All he felt was heat,  anger, and disgust at his own body.

“Come along then
. Careful. Watch your step.”

Cord set his jaw, clenching his teeth to ward off pain, and glared at Linna’s brother.

“What? You don’t like having a nurse-maid? Well, I’m not so fond of the chore, either. Get a move on or we’ll miss the boarding, too.”

One of the caravel’s masts had taken a blow and sheared off near the base
. Cord had watched in the fading sunlight as it had wavered back and forth, tangling lines and sails, and looking for a moment like it wouldn’t fall, since it had spun a web about itself. Then, with a great groan, it had gone right over the side, the mast tip sinking below the waterline and dragging the bigger ship to a complete standstill. It was tantamount to a death blow.

He couldn’t see anything, his heart was a pounding problem in his ears, and there was nothing he could do about any of it
. Cord had never felt so helpless. There was smoke,  cries, and not much else happening, and not one of them was that they’d found Linna.

Linna
!
His soul was crying the name, but his jaw remained set. His mouth silent.

He reached the deck, sent the order for his legs to continue holding him, and trusted they’d obey
.
The Seduction
was alongside the crippled ship with grappling hooks imbedded into the other ship’s rails, and all Cord managed to do was stumble down a ladder and across the decking, listening to Drew’s  complaints the entire time. He knew why Rex had given Drew this duty. As slowly as Cord was moving, there was no better way to keep from seeing any action. And that kept him safe. Rex was cunning all right. Drew didn’t even see it.

There were more shouts, louder and angr
ier than the others. Above the smoke line, Cord could see the reason. They had Marcelle, looking ridiculous in a plum-colored velvet long coat, with a cutlass in his hand and his back to the rail. The fool had gone to the fo’c’s’le deck, and was surrounded.

“No!” 

Cord opened his mouth to say it, but nothing came out. Until they knew where Linna was, they’d need Marcelle.
The fools!
The wind shifted, wafting smoke through across the sight and making everything on Cord anxious, and worried, and rushed. And his body wouldn’t cooperate with any of it.

He could hear the fighting, but couldn’t see anything once he reached the boarding planks they’d slapped into place, linking the ships
. The sun was setting, and the smoke was wafting about, and he had to focus on a new problem. Getting across the impromptu gangplanks. With the tide coming in the ships were rocking in place, making the planks slide back and forth. There was no way to race across. His ribs wouldn’t allow him to suck in a deep enough breath, and his legs weren’t moving at his command.

Drew went across first
, turned to look at Cord, and got a cry of warning before barely ducking a sword aimed at taking his head from his torso. That was all the incentive the other man needed. The clash of steel rang out, and then Drew disappeared into the gloom, too.

Cord hated the weakness of his own body
. He used that emotion to get across. It seemed to take forever. He had to take two shuffling steps, wait for the board to rock back, take two more steps, then wait. Two more...wait. It was time-consuming and strength-sapping. He was shaking with the effort, but he was across. And then he was looking. His heart was paining him with the strength of each beat. He knew what the emotion behind the pain was, too. Fear.