Love's Abyss (St. John Series) (24 page)

Her hand tried to stop his. “Andrew,” she said.

He shot her a look that told her not to say another word. His eyes traveled back down to her abdomen and the fading dark mark upon it. “What is this?” he asked coldly. “A love mark?”

“Andrew, I can explain,” she said, desperation in her voice.

He looked up at her and a chill ran down her spine. She turned from him, crossed the room, and stopped in front of the window.

“Explain?! Explain what? That he gave you a gold trinket for being his whore!” he shouted at her.

“No! I . . . I . . .”

Before she could finish her sentence, his hand connected with her cheek sending her head flying backwards.

Tears of pain streamed down her face. She turned to him with utter shock in her eyes. “How dare you strike me!” she hissed and spun away from him, looking for something to defend herself with.

He grabbed her by her hair and turned her towards him. With madness on his face he growled, “Did you shout his name?”

“Let go of me!”

“I don’t think so . . . 
Wife,
” he said as he pushed her onto the bed, pressing her body to it with his. “You see, I plan on having my way with you. And you will do exactly what I want. Now answer me! Did you shout his name?”

Before she thought about the consequences her words would have, she said, “Every time.”

His fist struck her face knocking her back into the pillow.

“My father will kill you for this,” she warned as she attempted to push him off.

“I think not. You see, if you say one word, I’ll kill that housekeeper of yours after I have my way with her as well. I will get what I want from you, and tomorrow he hangs, so I will have my vengeance on him as well.”

“They were right about you. You are a raping, murdering bastard.”

“You should have listened,” said the monster as his fist hit her again.

Although she was seeing stars, Madison refused to give into unconsciousness. She strained against him. He grabbed one of her wrists and wrestled to get the other. Grabbing a vase from the bedside table, she hit his head. As he slumped limp for a moment, she crawled out from under him.

Scurrying out of the bed, she felt him grab her hair again and pull her towards him.

“I’m going to enjoy taking you,” he jeered. “I hope you keep fighting, it makes it more challenging . . . fun.”

“Get off her,” a voice from the window said. Andrew turned to see Nicholas standing there.

“What are you doing here?” Andrew replied as he stood up. He pointed towards the door. “Leave. What happens here is between my wife and me.”

“No,” Alex said firmly.

“Oh, you want to watch? See what it’s like between a man and a woman. You know I heard you prefer men. Is that true?” the Commodore needled.

“Alex?” Madison questioned quietly.

“Shut up, you stupid bitch!” Andrew said over his shoulder. He was so caught up in attempting to rile Nicholas that he paid no heed to the name she had just said. “What is it, Nicholas?”Andrew said as he slowly made his way around the room.

“Stop right there,” Alex warned.

Andrew stopped and held his arms out. “As you wish,” he said as he lunged towards his sword.

Alex’s eyes quickly scanned the room. He picked up a candelabra and held it up to block the Commodore’s blows. The men battled for several minutes. Andrew lunged towards Alex. Alex sidestepped Andrew. As Andrew stumbled past Alex, his hand reached out, striping the cravat from around Alex’s neck.

When Andrew landed, he looked at the cravat. There was blood on it. His eyes traveled to Nicholas’s neck. “You,” he hissed.

“Who else?” Alex said.

“I should have known,” Andrew said. “Nicholas wouldn’t possess your skill, my favored opponent.”

He slowly stood up, placed his hand on the table and grabbed the ashtray sitting there. Throwing ashes at Alex, he blinded him momentarily. Never one to let an opportunity slither by, Andrew shoved Alex to the ground. He stood up and placed his sword on Alex’s throat. “Now to end this once and for all.” He drew back his sword. Alex’s eyes grew wide.

Suddenly there was a loud pop. Alex watched as Andrew’s mouth dropped down and he looked at his chest. Blood trickled from the area of his heart. He fell to the ground.

Glancing around the room, Alex spied Madison standing, clenching a smoking pistol. Jumping to his feet, he raced over to her. “Madison.”

Tears ran from her eyes. “Go!” she shouted as the sound of footsteps came running down the hall. “Alex, you have to go!” she pleaded. “They’ll kill you. Go!”

Alex shook his head. “No, not without you.”

“Go. I’ll take the punishment. Please,” she begged.

There were voices at the door. “Sir, are you okay? I thought I heard a shot,” the lieutenant said.

“Please,” Madison begged.

Alex looked at the door, then to Madison. “No,” he said again and grabbed her hand and pulled her to the window. “I have a plan.”

Madison’s head spun. She blinked rapidly several times. “I . . . I . . .,”

Before she could finish, he picked her up in his arms and started down the trellis using only one hand to hold on. He carried Madison to the coach, their bodies masked by the shadows.

The lieutenant surged through the door. His eyes took in the room and landed on the Commodore’s body. “Commodore,” he yelled as he ran to his body and rolled him over.

Another man came running into the room. “Secure the area!” the lieutenant ordered.

“Sir?” the soldier questioned.

“The Commodore’s been shot. Now secure the area!”

About that time another solider came into the room. “Lieutenant, sir.”

“This is not a good time, Sergeant,” the lieutenant informed.

“The prisoners have escaped.”

The Lieutenant searched the room. “Where is Mrs. McClain?”

“I haven’t seen her, sir,” answered the sergeant.

“Damn it!” the lieutenant said. “He’s taken her again.”

He stood up and turned to the sergeant.

“Have the men comb this island. That pirate’s out there somewhere. He killed the Commodore and has taken Mrs. McClain hostage again.”

“Yes, sir!”

Cassandra came running into the room. “Madison?!”

The lieutenant looked at her. “Go retrieve her parents and have them wait for me in the study.”

“What’s happened?” Cassandra questioned.

“That’s none of your concern, wench. Go do as I say!”

Cassandra ran out the door and did as ordered, all the while praying Madison was okay.

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Samuel scampered down from beside Max and opened the door when he saw the Captain carrying Madison. As Alex climbed inside he shouted to Max, “Take the back roads to Buckner’s Cliff and find me a dead body along the roadway, about my size.” Samuel closed the door and climbed back up beside Max.

Max yelled. “Haya!” and the horses lunged forward.

Samuel looked at Max confused. “Why would he want a body?”

Max looked at Samuel. “I never question the Captain’s orders. He always has a plan.”  As the coach approached the gates, Max turned forwards, “Say nothing, Samuel. I’ll handle this.”

Samuel nodded his head in agreement

“This is the back entrance,” the guard said. “All carriages must leave through the front.”

“Ah, well you see, my good man. Mr. Sinclair has some . . . company . . . and wants to leave unseen. Understand?”

“Mr. Sinclair? As in the Governor?” Max just smiled. “Open the gate.” He motioned to the other guard. The guard opened the gate and Max drove the coach out.

Once past the sentries, Alex looked at Madison. She licked her split lip. He took out his handkerchief and wiped the blood from her lip. She smiled weakly at him. They both spoke each other’s names at the same time.

“You first,” he said.

“I . . . I don’t know where to begin,” she said.

“I do,” Alex replied. “Why? Why did you do it?” She looked at her hands. He placed his finger under her chin and raised it up. “Madison?”

“I had to,” she said. “I couldn’t let him hang you. When I saw you, captured, I thought of a way for you to escape. But you had to hate me, so you’d leave.”

“Why?”

She looked at him with sadness in her eyes. “I knew you wouldn’t leave me if you knew how I felt about you.” She took a long collective breath. “I couldn’t let him hang you, so I came up with my plan. I figured if you hated me you would leave, and by the time you figured it out, I would have truly been Andrew’s wife.”

“Madison?”

She held up her hand to stop his words. “Your escape would give me hope, life. I could look out at the sails in port and pretend you were there, safe. Alex, I would rather cut my own heart out than to see anything happen to you.”

He placed his hand on her cheek and wiped her tears with his thumb. “Why would you live a life of hell in order to save me?”

“Because I love you,” she whispered.

He placed his other hand on her face. “You love me?” She lowered her eyes and nodded her head. He leaned over and gently kissed her.

“Whoa. Alex, I found one,” Max yelled.

“Be right back,” Alex told Madison as he exited the coach. She looked out the window and saw the two large men pick up a body from the roadside and load it
onto the back of the coach. She turned her head to the other side of the coach, startled by someone entering.

“Samuel! What are you doing here? I thought I told you to stay hidden?”

“You did. But I couldn’t. He’s so cruel,” Samuel said.

Alex entered the coach again. “Boy, what are you doing in here?”

“Nothing,” Samuel replied.

The coach lurched forward again. “Guess you’ll ride here with us.” Alex leaned out the window. “Stop at Buckner’s Cliff,” he yelled to Max.

Madison eyed him suspiciously. “Why there?”

“You’re not the only one who comes up with elaborate plans,” he informed her.

He took off his coat and placed it around her shoulders. She smiled sweetly. “Thank you.”

They rode in silence for several minutes. The coach stopped and Max opened the door. “Your destination,
sir
,” he said with sarcasm in his voice.

Samuel climbed out. Alex assisted Madison to the ground.

She watched as Alex and Max drug the body down and headed towards the edge of the cliff.

“Mind telling me what you’re up to?” Max questioned his friend.

“Sure, but help me stand him up first.” The two men struggled with the dead body. “Hold him,” Alex told his friend. Max struggled to hold the body as Alex stood before them. He turned his head sideways. “Yeah, he should do the trick,” he said as he walked over to Max and shoved the body over the edge.

“Why the hell did you do that?”

“I had to make sure he looked the part,” Alex said.

“So you had me stand here, holding that smelly bugger up, so you could see if he
looked the part
? Couldn’t you have done that with him lying on the ground?”

“Well, yeah. But I wanted to see if you would agree to hold him standing,” Alex told his friend.

“You’re all heart. Why did you push him over the edge?”

“Had to have a dead body for them to retrieve.”

“Who?” Max asked.

“The officers,” Alex informed his friend.

“Why?”

“Well, they will want proof that Alexander Xavier is dead.”

“Oh,” Max replied calmly. Then Alex’s words sunk into his head. “What?!”

“You heard me,” he said as he patted Max’s arm.

“You’re serious?”

Alex nodded his head and turned to look at Madison.

“Is she really worth it?” Max asked his friend.

“Yes,” Alex replied softly. He took a slow breath and readied himself for the blow. “Now, hit me.”

“Have you gone mad? Why on this earth would I do that?”

“Well, if I defeated Alexander Xavier, I would have a few injuries of my own. Now hit me,” he said as he held his finger up to point to his jaw. “Not too hard. My jaw is still tender from that punch her father gave me.”

“All right,” Max said shrugging his shoulders. Drawing back his fist, he nailed Alex in the nose.

“Damn it, not that hard. And I said my jaw, not my nose!”

“Sorry, but I thought you might want it to look real.”

“Not that real,” Alex snapped. He eyed Max and smiled. “Now your turn.”

“My turn?!” Before the words left his mouth Alex’s fist connected with Max’s mouth.

Samuel and Madison watched the two. “What on earth are they doing?” Madison questioned.

“Never question the Captain’s plans,” Samuel replied.

They observed the two men fight for several minutes. Hitting, punching, tackling each other and rolling on the ground. Both men stood up and Alex roughly rubbed his neck to make the wound bleed.

“Now,” Alex said as he looked at Max, both men bleeding and dirty. “We look like we’ve been fighting pirates.”

“We have,” Max said dryly as he raised one brow.

Alex turned to Samuel. “Go roll around in the dirt. Make sure to rip your clothes, too.”

“Aye, aye, Capt’n,” Samuel said.

“Oh, and don’t call me that anymore. From now on, I am Nicholas Sinclair.”

“Yes, sir,” Samuel said as he dropped to the ground and rolled in the dirt.

“What are you doing?” Madison asked.

“You were kidnapped, again, by that dreadful pirate, Alexander Xavier, after he shot and killed your husband. My driver, Max, and I just happened upon you. We battled the pirate and a few of his crew. During the battle, Alex was backed over the edge of the cliff. The others ran away upon seeing their Captain slain at my hand.”

“That’s your plan?” Madison asked with doubt in her voice.

“Yes, and I’m sticking to it.” He turned towards Samuel. “Get up boy. You want to look like you’ve been in a fight, not rolling in the dirt with a girl.”

Samuel stood up. Alex walked to him and ripped the sleeve of his oversized coat. “Where did you get this horrid thing anyway?” Alex asked.

“Well, as I was sneaking through the stables at that house, I was spotted by this other boy. He tried to stop me from getting to the house so I knocked him out and stole his clothes. I thought they might make a good disguise.”

A deep-throated laugh came from Max. “Just like his father,” Max said.

Alex ruffled Samuel’s blond hair. “We have much to discuss, but not now, later,” he told the boy.

Alex picked up Madison and walked to the coach. “Footman, the door,” he said as he smiled at Samuel.

“Yes, sir,” Samuel answered. Once Madison and Alex were inside Samuel asked. “All this time you were actually the Governor’s son?”

“Just go with it for now. We’ll discuss it later.”

The boy nodded and closed the door. He climbed back up to the seat with Max, and they headed back towards the Commodore’s house.

Inside the carriage Madison looked at Alex. “So all this time, you were actually Nicholas?”

Alex nodded his head. “Afraid so.”

“But why? Why did you choose . . . ?”

“To become a pirate?”

She nodded her head.

He slowly shrugged his shoulders, “I don’t know. Out of boredom. Stupidity. Looking for excitement. I could name a hundred more reasons, but none would make sense as to the life I chose.”

“You had every advantage being the Governor’s son,” she said still trying to comprehend why he chose such a dangerous path.

“I was young, not much younger than you are now. The expectations that come with being the Governor’s son were like a noose around my neck. An opportunity came along to live a different life, so I took it.”

“Why didn’t you tell me this before?”

“It wouldn’t have changed anything,” he said.

“It would have changed everything. When you were captured—”

“The Commodore would have used me as a pawn to try to claim my father’s title.” He was right, Madison reluctantly admitted. “If you had known, it would have put you in a situation that I did not feel you should have to bear.”

Alex looked at her. He could tell she had a million questions to ask. His eyes caught the shimmer of the necklace he had given her. He took his hand and lifted the coin. “You kept it?”

“Of course,” she said softly. “This way I would always have a piece of you close to my heart.”

“Whoa,” Max said as the coach stopped in front of the Commodore’s house. Samuel opened the door to the coach.

“Time to see how good of an actress you are,” Alex told Madison.

She looked at him strangely.

“Remember, you’ve just been rescued from the pirate that killed your husband. So you had better rustle up some tears.”

She smiled at him as a soldier sprinted towards them. “I have Ma . . . Mrs. McClain,” Alex told the man. “Quickly, get the door.”

The sailor nodded and ran to the top of the steps. He held open the door. Alex reached down and picked Madison up. “You’re too weak and distraught to walk, Mrs. McClain,” he said with a wink.

“And you’re a cad,” she whispered.

Once inside Alex carried Madison to the study, where her parents were waiting. As Alex walked through the door he heard her mother cry out, “Madison! Oh, thank goodness you’re safe. Quick, place her on the sofa.”

Alex walked over to the olive green sofa and gently placed Madison down.

“What happened?” her father questioned.

Alex proceeded to tell them the tale of battling the pirates and of the fatal outcome of Alexander Xavier.

“So, that pirate, Alex, is no longer with us?” Jonathan questioned.

Alex looked at his father, the relief apparent in Jonathan’s eyes. “I’m glad to say. His body lays at the bottom of Buckner’s Cliff.”

“Pity,” Robert said. “I wanted to see that bastard hang. If I hadn’t been surrounded by all those people the other day, I would have killed him with my own hands.”

You almost broke my jaw, wasn’t that good enough?

Max came into the room at that time. “Al . . . Cap . . . Mr. Sinclair,” he caught himself. “We better get going. The guard out front told me all of the prisoners have escaped and that it’s not safe to travel. He assured me they are combing the area for them right now.”

Alex heard the warning in Max’s voice.

“Very well then, Max, I’ll meet you at the coach,” Alex said.

Max nodded his head and turned to leave. “Don’t I know you,” came a deep voice from behind.

Max turned to face Madison’s father. “You might have seen me around,” Max replied, as a bad feeling began to build up in his stomach.

“I know I know you from somewhere. What’s your name?”

“Max, sir.”

“Max what?”

“Hart,” he replied deciding that there was no reason to lie.

“Maxwell Hart?”

Max could see that Robert was trying to remember where he knew him from. “Well, good evening then to you, sir,” Max said quickly as he turned to leave.

A shocked look came to Robert’s face as he recognized the man’s name. “Sybil,” he whispered.

Max stopped. “She was my mother,” he replied, never turning to face Robert.

“I’m sorry to hear about her passing,”

“At least someone is,” Max said with coldness in his voice.