Once Upon a Midnight Sea (5 page)

"I have no intention of disguising her."

"Then just what do you intend to do with her?" Adriana clenched her fists, growing more furious by the minute. She ignored Mrs. Bailey's calls for her to return to her cabin.

"I told you, we are headed to South America."

"South America is a big place." She threw a hand in the air. "It matters not. You'll not sell her in any country. I intend to prosecute you to the fullest extent of the law. No country is big enough to hide you!"

He let the door swing open and nonchalantly leaned against the doorjamb. The flaps of his shirt opened further, revealing the tight cords and rounded muscles of a man who had done his share of manual labor. The sight of his bared chest sent her insides jumping, all hot and shivery.

"Do you think I merely stowed aboard and snatched this ship without any planning? You take me for a fool, heiress."

She fought the urge to fan herself with a hand. "I certainly do."

"Neither you, nor anyone else, will ever find me."

"Ha! Such an oath proves it. You will never get away with this. Why, the instant you try to sell her..."

"I have no intention of selling the Lady Luck," he stated in a casual tone. "When I am finished with her, I intend to burn her at sea."

He couldn't have stunned her more if he'd slapped her in the face. After the instant of shock passed, she flew at him, pummeling wildly with her fists. "You animal–I'll have your head first!"

He stumbled backwards with surprise frozen on his face. His legs collided with the bed, and he sprawled across her father's velvet-covered mattress.

Adriana pounced before he could regain his balance. One fist glanced off his jaw while the other pounded solidly on his chest. She drew her arm back and aimed her next blow straight towards his nose. Before she could land it, strong hands yanked her back.

"What on God's green earth is going on here? Can't you two be peaceable for five minutes?"

Henri dragged her away from the bed. Adriana glimpsed Mr. Ling's terrified face peering around the doorjamb before he hurried off, complaining in Chinese.

Her captor stood and straightened his rumpled clothing. "You ill-mannered little tramp. Your father's money was wasted on Chadwick's finishing school."

A hot spike of shame blossomed in her chest. How could he possibly know what had happened there? He didn't. He couldn't! "You speak of things you know nothing of."

"I know that no amount of schooling makes up for a poor pedigree."

She gasped out her anger in a furious whoosh. "The words of a lowly thief cannot hurt me."

"Stop it, you two." Henri moved between them and shoved them a distance apart. "
Ça suffit
. Enough, I say."

Adriana's heart thundered in her chest. "He is going to burn Lady Luck. Whatever he does, you'll pay for it just the same. You are behind this."

"Nobody is going to burn Lady Luck." Henri turned to her captor. "Stop vexing her, I tell you. I won't tolerate it."

"Make him leave Father's cabin." Her voice quavered with tension. "He's not fit to mop its floors."

"The lady doesn't listen so well. I've already told her, this is my cabin. My ship. And she will surrender Starry Night."

He started toward her, reaching for her throat. Adriana slapped his hand away.

"Stop." Henri put up his hands, forcing them to remain at arm's length. "Adriana, you will allow him lodging in this cabin, and you will give him the necklace."

"I will not!"

Henri pointed a finger in warning, silencing her. He waited, drawing a deep breath.

"And Christian–you will not lay a hand on Adriana again, or you'll find yourself drifting at sea without a crew of any proportion." Henri's glare turned icy and for a moment, Adriana believed he might once again be on her side.

"She attacked me."

"If you behave in a civilized manner, I will take you where you want to go, I've already promised you that. But you must surrender Lady Luck when you are finished with her, undamaged."

Christian's nostrils flared as he blew out an angry breath, but he remained silent. He thrust out his hand.

Adriana's heart dropped into her stomach. Henri was not on her side. She turned her best pleading expression on him, but this time she could see it wasn't going to work.

"Give her until morning to surrender it on her own accord," Henri finally said. "Damn it, I can't keep breaking up your brawls all night. I want you both in your respective cabins, doors locked."

"I was merely minding my own business–" Christian started.

"Balderdash! Not another peep out of either of you tonight, or so help me, I'll keel-haul you both."

"Hmph." Adriana turned and stalked out of the cabin, leaving Henri to face Mrs. Bailey's angry glower alone. The matronly woman stood in the hall wrapped in Adriana's silk robe, arms folded across her chest. She delivered Henri a grumble from low in her throat before following Adriana back to her cabin.

* * *

Adriana found sleep impossible, but not because Mrs. Bailey, lying beside her, moaned pitifully at every rise and fall of the ship on the sea's swells. She clutched at the blankets, and before long had gathered them all into a ball, leaving Adriana shivering in the chilly night.

She could have gotten up to retrieve another blanket from her wardrobe, but the cold helped clear her mind.

Her gaze slid through the murky gray light of the cabin to the wardrobe doors, and her memory drifted to the instant she'd pulled them open and found Christian inside.

When she'd heard the noise inside she'd expected...she didn't know what she'd expected, but it certainly hadn't been a handsome young man with beguiling eyes and a princely grin. Her instant of shock passed when his gaze fell to the necklace, and she identified him immediately. Not a stowaway, but a jewel thief. And not just any jewel thief.

The Nighthawk.

The moment he'd opened his mouth, she'd known. His French accent was thicker than Henri's and he pronounced words with the inflection she had been delighted to encounter during her years in London. Too bad he put it to shame. This man was a no-good brigand. Knowing he slept in the next cabin made her skin crawl.

How he was connected to her father, she didn't know, but she refused to believe his preposterous tale. Her father was no jewel thief.

Yet something inside Adriana wouldn't let her believe her father was completely faultless. Mrs. Bailey also refused to believe the man's despicable lies, but she had only been with them since the death of Adriana's mother. No one else had known her father as long as Henri, and he hadn't denied Christian's wretched story.

Adriana shrugged the thought away. Mr. Dupree had proved himself untrustworthy. Father was a wonderful man who had always been generous with his money and his efforts. When he learned one of his master architects' children was gravely ill he'd immediately commissioned the children's hospital. This was a kidnapping for ransom, as simple as that. Her captor had simply lied about putting her ashore.

But there had been other instances that caused Adriana now to be wary, even early in her childhood. She knew her father liked to gamble but hadn't considered it a problem because he was both very lucky, and knew moderation.

She turned over on the mattress and stared at the sliver of yellow light under the door where it hit the glossy wooden floor. Had Father truly been a careful gambler, or had he merely hidden his losses? As she'd grown older, she noticed more and more often he returned from late night escapades silly drunk and stinking of illicit odors, but it had not been her place to mention it.

But neither did that make him a jewel thief. The mere notion was outrageous.

Adriana sighed heavily. In the darkness, Chauncey raised his head from his bassinet and whined. Adriana thrust out a hand. "Come here, boy," she whispered, careful not to wake Mrs. Bailey.

Chauncey jumped onto the bed and curled up next to her, giving Adriana a loving lick to the chin.

"You don't believe it, do you?" She stroked his soft head. "Father would never do such a thing."

Chauncey licked her face again and thumped his tail happily on the mattress, as if to say he agreed with her entirely.

"No, he certainly wouldn't," she said softly. "And no thieving scoundrel is ever going to convince me otherwise."

Chapter Four

Dust motes swirled on the narrow beams of morning sunshine slipping into Lady Luck's fore section. Adriana gently twisted Starry Night into three small coils and tucked it into her chosen hiding spot. She hummed happily along, pleased with her mischief. She replaced the items on top of the compartment and moved the supplies back in front, then closed the cupboard doors. Let that arrogant thief try his luck. He would never find it. Never!

She dusted off her hands. "I'd like to see him try," she said aloud.

At her feet, Chauncy yipped. He thumped his tail eagerly as she looked down at him, as if happy to be in on her prank.

"Threaten to burn my ship, will he? Not without a fight." She picked up her little dog and held him close as she left the hold. "And I will certainly be happy to give him one."

She returned to the main section to the sound of voices in the cabin hall. Mrs. Ling, and her captor.

"How does one work the bath?" he asked. "Do you speak English?
Parlez-vous Francais
?"

"Here," Mrs. Ling responded. "You push in. Turn. Pump."

Adriana peered through the doorway to find Christian watching over Mrs. Ling's shoulder as she explained the valve on the brass piping. She had delivered Christian a breakfast tray.

"You cannot fill the tub while at sea," Adriana stated with gruff authority.

Christian turned around and delivered a rakish grin. "I merely wish to take a bath. Surely the lady does not object to that?"

Mrs. Ling pushed past, smiling at Adriana. "Porridge and biscuit and ham for breakfast," she said.

"Thank you, Mrs. Ling. I shall be along in a moment."

Christian had dressed in her father's clothes. The breeches were too tight, showing the broad muscles of his thighs and narrow planes of his hips, and everything in between, in perfect detail. He'd donned one of her father's finest silk shirts, but couldn't close the top button. In the cleft of his shirt she glimpsed a tousle of dark hair and remembered the sight of his bared chest. It had burned itself on her mind like a hot brand.

He was not only handsome, but superbly proportioned. Such a combination equaled a dangerous weapon in a rake. She forced her eyes to meet his and ignored his obvious delight.

"We save our water for drinking. You may wash from your basin like everyone else."

He frowned. "We are fully stocked."

"While at sea, we ration," she returned firmly. So much was true, a sailor's rule, but still it gave her satisfaction to be the one to deliver it. Since awaking this morning, she'd thought of a thousand ways to make him miserable at sea. She would do her best to see this was no pleasure sail. "Even when fully stocked," she finished.

"We are within sight of land." He watched her with that devilish smirk as he buttoned the cuff of her father's shirt.

"It doesn't matter," she insisted.
He is daring me to say something of his theft of Father's clothes
, she realized.
Well I won't
. "I'll thank you not to use my staff at your whim."

He took a step nearer and opened his mouth to speak.

"Forgive me," she said quickly. "Your staff." She scowled. "But Mr. and Mrs. Ling are both very old. You've already upset them–"

"Mrs. Ling didn't appear upset." He continued his slow saunter towards her. His eyes glittered with merriment. How could he possibly know he'd set her on edge? Was it because she couldn't stop glancing over him, or that her cheeks were burning as though on fire?

"You may take your meals in the galley with everyone else."

He stopped before her, sweeping over her with a challenging glance. His pale green eyes lingered on her bosom, then her lips, before slowly traveling back to meet her gaze. "Very well."

Was it that he noticed she no longer wore the necklace, or was he staring at her body? Adriana squared her shoulders and ignored his roaming eyes.

"I trust you slept well?" His brows rose in a mocking expression.

"Better at sea than anywhere else," she returned.

"Sea water flows through your veins?" He smiled devilishly.

"As ice water flows through yours." She didn't smile back. Adriana turned and started away.

"Miss Montague."

She stopped and slowly swiveled back to face him.

"I believe you are forgetting something."

"Oh?" She placed a finger to her chin and pretended to ponder it. "No...I do not believe I am."

His contemptuous smile disappeared as he thrust out his hand. "Starry Night. Turn it over, now."