Starlight & Promises (35 page)

Were it not for his father’s cooling corpse, he would be tempted to believe it didn’t truly happen.

With limited time in private, Samantha could hold her silence no longer. “Have you heard of a ship named the
Manta Ray?”
she asked.

Steven visibly started and averted his face, taking an audible breath. “Where did you hear that name?”

She looked down at her knotted hands. “I’ve heard gossip. The
Manta Ray
is a merchant ship. Since you have a shipping firm, I imagined you might have knowledge of it.” She lifted her gaze to his face. “Have you?”

He returned her look with an unreadable expression. “Indeed, I know of the
Manta Ray
. However, I conduct no business with its captain. The information you have is incorrect. The
Manta Ray
is no merchant but a pirate ship.”

He knew the ship! A shiver raced across her skin. “My word! I was unaware of the ship’s connection with pirates. Are you then acquainted with its captain, a Mister Miggs?”

“Unfortunately,” he said slowly. “We have crossed paths a few times, though I would hesitate to count him among my acquaintances. He has a reputation as a dangerous, vicious man.” His eyes narrowed. “Why do you ask about Miggs and the
Manta Ray?”

She expelled a mental breath. Now or never. She must either trust Steven or drop the subject entirely. “I understand Mister Miggs may have abducted my uncle and his friend James Truett.”

Steven looked shocked. “My dear, you cannot be serious. Miggs is certainly capable of abduction, but he does naught without profit. Why would he take Richard?”

In for a penny, in for a pound
. “Some despicable character paid him. I’ve no notion of whom. But I must discover the identity of Mister Miggs’s partner and whether Richard is still alive.”

Steven took her small, cold hands in his large, warm ones. “Samantha, Miggs is a monster. You dare not involve yourself in his business, even if it concerns Richard. Your husband may not be present to prevent you from taking foolish risks, but as your friend, I feel a responsibility to guard your safety. I could not possibly allow you to pursue this pirate.”

“I have no other leads, Steven. Will you help me? You can ask questions where I cannot.” Tears welled in her eyes. “I beg you, as Richard’s friend and mine, help me. I need only to know whether Richard still lives and, if he does, where I might find Mister Miggs and the
Manta Ray.”

He released her hands and combed his fingers through his beard. “You ask the impossible. I applaud your motives. Nonetheless, you cannot embroil yourself in such a perilous undertaking.”

Her tears spilled over. “I beg you, Steven. Please do this for me.”

He sighed. “If I should aid you, will you vow to do nothing rash or foolish, such as trying to find Miggs on your own?”

A tremulous smile curved her lips. “I promise. I’ll not make a move without consulting you. If we should uncover his location, we can notify the garrison.”

“Very well.” Steven took out his handkerchief, wiping away her tears. “I shall discover what I can, but I caution you, prepare for the worst. If this man has Richard in his clutches, your uncle’s chances of surviving are quite slim. You must understand, my dear, that what I learn may not be what you wish to hear.”

“I realize that. But I must know. If Richard is dead, I can face that fact. What I cannot abide is not knowing his fate.”

Steven moved across the carriage aisle and sat on the bench next to her. He enfolded her in his arms and placed a chaste kiss on her forehead. “I vow I shall try. Then we can allow the military to handle the situation.”

The day after his conversation with Samantha, Steven met with Miggs in the back room of the Blue Boar Inn. After quaffing a swallow of ale, Steven asked Miggs, “Is the
Manta Ray
still anchored in Macquarie Harbor?”

Miggs nodded and scratched at a louse crawling through the hair covering his bare belly.

“I have Colchester’s young niece,” Steven said, looking at the pirate with disgust.

Miggs’s hand jerked, and he spilled ale on the table. “Where?” he sputtered.

“Not here, you half-wit. But I have her trust. She will do whatever I say.”

Miggs leered, his gap-toothed mouth a gruesome sight.

“You’ll keep your hands off her or see not a penny of payment.” With a smirk, Steven lifted his tankard. “I have plans for her. Perhaps when I have what I want,” he added at the lustful look in Miggs’s eyes. He pointed a stiff finger at the pirate. “But not before! I want this one alive. A dead girl cannot lead me to the cat.”

When Steven showed up the following morning at Talmadge House, Pettibone stared down his nose at the early intruder. “Neither Lady Delia nor Mistress Badia accept social calls before ten,” he stated.

Steven stood his ground. “‘Tis imperative I speak with Mistress Badia.”

When Pettibone shook his head, Steven handed the butler his card. “Please inform her I called on urgent business.”

Samantha had slept poorly and arose earlier than was her usual habit. Due to the promise of Steven’s assistance, her mind had raced throughout the night. She could now set her plan in action.

While she was dressing, Steven’s and Pettibone’s voices drifted up from the downstairs foyer. She rushed her toilette, scraping a brush through her hair, and flew down the stairs as Pettibone was turning Steven away. Stopping on the bottom step, she pressed a hand against her stomach.

“Steven,” she said breathlessly when Pettibone began to close the door, “Aunt Delia is indisposed, but will you stay for breakfast?”

Pettibone twisted around with a scowl.

Over breakfast in the morning room, Steven exuded an impatience that fueled Samantha’s hopes. “You have information for me,” she whispered when the maid left them alone.

Pettibone entered the room before Steven could answer. The butler took up a post by the door, standing stiffly like a rusty suit of armor. Though Samantha glowered at him, he remained on watch.

When Steven nodded fractionally, her heart leapt. They limited further conversation to inconsequential matters. At the conclusion of the meal, Steven asked whether she and Delia would care to join him for a carriage drive.

“Aunt Delia suffers from the same unfortunate ailment Gilly contracted and is taking her rest. Gilly is nursing her. But I would love a jaunt in the fresh air.”

This time Jasper ignored Samantha’s downturned mouth and sharp looks and hefted himself onto the carriage bench next to her. Again she was unable to converse freely. Steven slid her a wink and suggested they stop at Government House gardens to stretch their legs. She swiftly agreed.

With Jasper following from a ten-foot distance, they ambled through the flowers on crushed-shell paths. Samantha and Steven kept their faces turned forward or bent over the blossoms and carried on a whispered conversation.

“Richard is alive,” Steven said first.

Samantha’s breath jammed in her throat. Her pulse beat wildly. “Alive?” she said in a strangled whisper.

He nodded.

“Where?”

“In a hidden cove where the pirates anchor their ship.” “How did you discover this?”

“One of Miggs’s men values coin more than loyalty.” “What action do we take now? Can the military aid us?”

He shook his head and glanced at Jasper, judging the distance between them. “Samantha, I have other news … news of a distressing nature.”

She peered at him but could discern no inkling of what he was thinking.

“After checking about, I uncovered shocking allegations of corruption in the military leadership,” he said. “They have known of the pirates’ cove for some time. The pirates pay them tribute for protection. They’ll not come to our aid. If we should attempt to involve them, word will most certainly get back to Miggs.”

Heart sinking, Samantha plopped down on a stone bench among the blooming roses, while Jasper took up a position farther down the path. What could they do? Christian and Garrett were far away, obviously off on a false lead. Who knew when they would return? If she waited, Richard could die in the interim. Jasper would not help her. He would lock her in the house were he even to suspect she was considering rescuing her uncle from pirates. Steven was her only hope.

She lowered her head and whispered her question. “What shall we do? We cannot confront pirates alone, but every day that passes further endangers Richard’s life.”

He smiled and turned his head toward her. “We are not alone. I have loyal men, men I trust. I shall go after Richard.”

Her fisted fingers mangled her skirt. “I must go, too. You’ll not leave me behind.”

“No, ‘tis too dangerous. The pirates Miggs deals with are killers. I’ll not place you in jeopardy. We have another problem,” he said before she could object. “I failed to learn the cove’s exact location. When I know more, I’ll get back to you.”

Jasper shuffled his feet in the shells, and Samantha darted a glance at him, then came to her feet. With Steven beside her, they wended their way through the garden to the carriage.

Steven handed her into the conveyance and whispered, “I shall be in touch soon.”

As if she didn’t have enough worries, another complication reared its thorny head. Samantha had missed her monthly course. She recalled Christian’s letter and sought out her maid. “Gilly, how does a woman know she is breeding?”

“Ooh, that’s marvelous, ma’am.”

Samantha waved off the maid’s speculation. “Refrain from jumping to conclusions. I ask only so I shall know if and when I’m with child.”

Gilly’s face fell. “Well, usually the first sign is missin’ the monthly courses. Then the mornin’ sickness comes on, though some women never have the sickness.”

Samantha did not feel ill. Surely an encouraging sign. Someday, should her detestable husband ever return, she would quite like a child or two, though she had no desire to rear a child alone.

“By about three months, the breasts become tender and swell,” Gilly said, “and by the fourth month, ye develop a little belly. But all women are different. Me mum had four babes without even knowin’ she was breedin’ ‘til they popped out of her.”

“Popped out of her?” Samantha twisted her mouth into a frown. What a disconcerting vision!