Stormy Persuasion (21 page)

Chapter Thirty-Three

“
I
’m beginning to enjoy this.�� Jacqueline grinned as she lifted a small wooden carving
of an elephant out of a crewman’s locker. “It feels like we’re on a treasure hunt,
doesn’t it?”

Judith, who was next to her, sorting through another locker, said, “Don’t you mean
scavenger hunt?”

“Considering what was stolen, I don’t believe I do. You know, all combined, that jewelry
is probably worth a king’s ransom. Yours alone would be!”

Judith didn’t blush or try to make excuses for her mother’s extravagance. Everyone
in the family knew how carried away Roslynn could get whenever she found something
to spend her money on.

Judith had hoped to find Nathan working with James’s group in the crew’s quarters
when she and Jack joined her uncle there after completing their search of each other’s
cabin. But although James had divided the crew who weren’t actually manning the ship
into two groups—one searching the cargo hold with Artie supervising, and the other
assigned to the main deck and the battery deck with Henry in charge, James didn’t
trust any of the sailors to search the crew’s quarters because he considered it the
most likely hiding place for the jewels.

Working alone there, James hadn’t made much progress, so he was glad to have Jack
and Judy’s help, and later Anthony’s, too, when he joined them, although Anthony was
mostly distracting James with his suspicions about who had robbed them. Boyd was at
the other end of this deck working his way toward them. They didn’t need to rip open
the mattresses in the large bunkroom because the mattresses were thin enough that
any jewelry that might have been sewn inside them could be detected by touch.

Boyd entered the crew’s quarters and spoke with James. A few moments later, James
called the girls over to him. “Boyd just found this,” James said, holding up an amber
ring. “He says it’s not Katey’s. Do either of you recognize it?”

Judith did. The amber ring went with her amber locket and bracelet. So she had brought
her amber after all. It wasn’t nearly as expensive as her other sets, but still beautifully
made, especially the oval locket, which was circled with tiny seed pearls.

Her father had come over to have a look at the ring and answered for her, “That’s
Judy’s ring. Gave her the amber m’self. The other pieces weren’t with it?”

“No,” James said, and nodded to Boyd, who left immediately. James didn’t exactly look
relieved by the discovery and told the girls, “I need to let George know she can stop
keeping an eye on Catherine. I believe we’re done here for the time being, so you
might as well come along.”

“You suspected her, too?” Jack asked, keeping up with him. “
I
did.”

Judith tsked, but James agreed, “Her—or her brother. Why do you think I sent you all
to different cabins? It was to keep them out of theirs.”

“Well, don’t let
her
know you suspected her,” Judith said quickly as she followed behind them. “She felt
bad enough when you only
looked
at her earlier.” Then, a little red-cheeked, she added, “Though I confess I did have
a moment’s doubt about Andrássy.”

“Where this was found doesn’t implicate either of them,” James said.

“So a sailor got greedy?” Jack guessed.

“Or planned this well in advance,” James replied. “But we’ll find out soon enough.
Boyd is having him brought to my cabin.”

Judith was frowning before they reached James’s cabin. If the ring hadn’t been found
in the crew’s quarters or a specific locker, how did he know whom to bring in for
questioning?

“George,
really
?” James complained the moment he entered his cabin to find her rifling through his
desk, the papers on top of it all scattered.

She glanced up to give him a sweet smile. “I was running out of places to look, m’dear.”

“You can stop looking.”

Catherine, standing in front of the bank of windows, turned to ask him hopefully,
“So am I exonerated?”

Judith was surprised that Catherine would actually ask that. So was James. Judith
didn’t think she’d ever seen her uncle look discomfited, but at that moment he did.
He merely said, “Of course.”

Anthony sat down on one of the sofas, stretched his arms over the back, and asked,
“So who is our culprit? I’ve a mind to tear him limb from limb just for sneaking into
Judy’s room, much less for stealing from her.”

James tsked. “He’ll need to be in one piece when we turn him over to the authorities
when we dock.”

“Then just a few minutes with him. Really, James, you can’t tell me you aren’t just
as incensed that the blighter would dare—”

“Course I am.”

Anthony rolled his eyes at that calm reply. He should have known getting James to
show what he was feeling was next to impossible. He’d tried, and failed, often enough
in the past.

Boyd, looking grim now, returned with Katey, and they both joined Anthony on the sofa.
Boyd had seemed the least disturbed of all the family members when he’d learned about
the robbery. After so many years at sea, he traveled with nothing of real value that
couldn’t easily be replaced, and he had tried to convince Katey to do the same. So
it was odd that he now seemed more disturbed than anyone else. Georgina noticed it,
too, and moved over to perch on the arm of the sofa next to her brother to quietly
question him.

Jack was standing next to Judy and leaned closer to her to whisper, “Who do you think
it is?”

“I’m more curious to know why your father hasn’t given us a name yet.”

“Because we wouldn’t recognize it if he did. Do you know all the names of the crew?
I surely don’t.”

“Of course, I didn’t think of that,” Judith whispered back, then sighed. “I’m letting
my suspicions run amok today. This is all so disturbing.”

“Worse than that,” Jack growled low. “We’ve never been robbed before, neither of us.
I bloody well don’t like how it feels.”

“But the thief has been caught and we will soon have our jewels back. You shouldn’t
still be so angry.”

“Can’t help it,” Jack mumbled.

Artie arrived, four sailors with him. Nathan was one of them. Judith’s pulse picked
up at the mere sight of him, but she was overcome with shyness, too, after what they
had done last night. She still cast him a smile, but it faltered when she saw how
tight-lipped he was. And he hadn’t noticed her yet. He was staring at James, as were
the other sailors.

James walked over to the sailors and held out the amber ring. “Recognize this?”

He didn’t seem to be asking any one of them in particular, yet Nathan answered, “Why
would I? I’m not your thief.”

“Yet it was found under your bed. Dropped it by accident, did you? Didn’t hear it
fall and roll out of sight? Rather careless, that.”

Judith blanched, every bit of color gone from her face. She was too shocked to remain
quiet. “My God, a smuggler
and
a jewel thief! How
could
you?!”

Nathan didn’t reply, but his emerald eyes weren’t so lovely when they narrowed in
anger. They were downright menacing instead. Because he’d been found out obviously.
She was going to be furious as soon as she stopped feeling like crying.

“A what?” more than one person asked.

Catherine’s timing couldn’t have been worse when she added, “That’s the man who entered
your cabin, Judith, with a bowl of milk for that kitten you adopted. He was quite
surprised that the room wasn’t empty when he found me there working on your gowns.”

Judith was even more horrified to realize Nathan had probably robbed her before last
night and had
still
made love to her. Icing for his cake? Or was that so she’d defend him in case this
very thing happened? He’d had plenty of opportunity these last four days to rob them.
She’d given him that because of the kitten. Had he used the animal as a ploy, in case
he got caught alone in her room? It was a perfect excuse, wasn’t it? And she’d played
right into his hand, insisting he bring her milk. And last night he hadn’t said he
wasn’t a criminal, only that
if
he had been, he wasn’t one now. The man played with words, and they’d
all
been burned because she was gullible enough to trust him!

“Why didn’t you tell us he was a smuggler?” James asked her.

Judith’s cheeks turned bright red as she was forced to confess, “Because it was just
a suspicion. I thought I could keep an eye on him and ferret out the truth.”

“He tried to buy your silence, didn’t he?” Georgina said gently. “By toying with your
affections?”

“Seducing me into silence, you mean?”

“Well—yes.”

“I’ll kill him!” Anthony snarled, and shot off the sofa.

“Wait!” one of the other sailors said.

But James was already grappling with his brother. “Not
now
, Tony. Jewelry first—then you can kill him if you’ve still a mind to.”

The other sailor spoke up again, this time in a tone of disgust. “You nabobs are a
bleedin’ odd lot. Nate’s no thief. I can vouch for that.”

James pushed Anthony back before he turned to the man. “How?”

“I’m his first mate,” the man said proudly.

“Are you now?” James said, and then to Nathan, “And how many more of my crew were
previously yours?”

Nathan looked beyond furious, so it was just as well the other two sailors were holding
him now by the arms. “Just Corky, and leave him out of this.”

“It makes sense that you’d have an accomplice, a lookout, as it were. Lock them both
up,” James said to Artie. “The ladies don’t need to be present for the questioning.”

Chapter Thirty-Four

“J
ust let me at him for a bit,” Anthony said to his brother as he paced the floor of
the captain’s cabin. “I’ll get the location of his hiding place out of him.”

James raised a brow at him. “I thought you were done with that grudge.”

“He robbed my daughter. It’s back in spades.” Anthony looked over his shoulder at
Judith, who was sitting on the sofa between Georgina and Jack, being consoled by them.

James’s arms were crossed and he was leaning back against the door in a relaxed stance.
But he was obviously blocking the exit, his not-so-subtle way of letting Anthony know
James wasn’t going to let him rip anyone apart just yet.

James said, “Artie is getting the rest of the ship searched, though considering our
thief is a carpenter able to create his own hiding places, that’s likely a useless
endeavor. But I’m still going to give Tremayne a few hours to figure out that the
only way he’s not going to rot in an American prison is if he cooperates by returning
the jewels and appealing to our mercy.”

“No mercy, James,” Anthony warned. “Jewels back or not, he’s still a thief and deserves
to rot.
And
he’s a smuggler. He’ll be lucky if he ever gets out of prison.”

James chuckled. “The Yanks aren’t going to imprison him for thumbing his nose at English
revenuers. They’re more apt to pat him on the back for that. Besides, our smugglers
aren’t a cutthroat lot, they’re merely a result of high taxes, protesters as it were.
You could even say they are revolutionaries. They’ve taken up the gauntlet to help
others. Jewel thieves are a different breed. They steal just to help themselves—or
when they have no other choice.”

“What the deuce does that mean?”

“Kindly recall that Danny,
my
daughter-in-law and your niece by marriage, was a thief. So you are aware that extraordinary
circumstances can force someone to do something they’d rather not do.”

Anthony snorted. “That is
not
the case here. The man’s not a pauper. He’s got his own bloody ship and a rich property
in Hampshire.”

“Exactly.”

“Eh? Now what are you getting at?”

“Settle on one or the other, Tony, not both. If he’s the thief—”

“If?!”

“Then everything else he’s said about himself is likely a lie,” James continued. “Consider
this, a thief who gets easy access to wealthy people’s homes because he is a carpenter.
He hears about our trip and that four wealthy families will be on board
and
a carpenter is needed. Rich pickings all in one place. Sounds like a thief’s dream
come true, doesn’t it? And free passage to a new continent where he can rob some more
before he returns home to England. All plausible. But what isn’t plausible is that
he’s gentry
and
a thief. The man’s a damn good liar though. You realize he would never have come
under suspicion if that ring hadn’t fallen out of his stash without his noticing before
he hid the rest. Foiled by a bit of carelessness. Bloody rotten luck, that.”

“Makes me sick to my stomach that he lied about
The Pearl
,” Boyd put in as he came over to join them. “Well, a ship he even invented a name
for. And, no, I’m not seasick again,” he added testily before one of his two standard
ribbers thought to mention it. “I was looking forward to helping him recover his ship
in New London.”

“Am I the only one who wasn’t gulled by him?” Anthony demanded.

“Give it a rest, Tony,” James said. “Tremayne—if that’s his real name—is not a stupid
man. He wouldn’t have done what
you’re
thinking.”

Anthony didn’t deny his other suspicions. “Wouldn’t he? He had the gall to rob her,
so I can’t believe that’s not all he stole from her.”

“Ask her,” James said simply.

“The devil I will,” Anthony replied uncomfortably, glancing behind him at Judith on
the sofa. “That would be Roslynn’s department and she’s not—”

“George,” James called out. “Ask her!”

“George doesn’t know what we are discussing,” Anthony hissed.

“Course she does,” James replied. “You mean to say Ros can’t read your mind as easily
as George reads mine?”

Judith had heard them well enough. When her father was angry, he was rarely quiet
about it. “The only thing he seduced out of me was my friendship—and trust,” she said
hollowly. “He convinced me of his innocence when he’s not the least bit innocent.
I should have followed my instincts. I
never
should have trusted him.”

“It’s not your fault, sweetheart,” Georgina assured her. “He fed you a tale designed
to appeal to your kind nature, so of course you’d believe him.” Georgina added pointedly
to James, “We all did. And he’s had enough time to stew. Wrap this up, James, so we
can put it behind us.”

•     •     •

The ship’s brig was more a cooling-off room for members of the crew who got into fights
or just needed a mild reprimand. It wasn’t set up for an extended stay. It could only
be called a brig because its door was made of iron bars. It was actually a tiny room,
one of four, in the hallway by the galley, where the cook had been storing sacks of
grain.

Corky was using one of the smaller sacks as a pillow for his head, not that either
of them was sleeping. Two narrow shelves or benches were built into the walls on either
side of the five-foot-square room. But what they couldn’t be called were cots. Yet
they’d have to serve as such. There was nowhere else they could sleep other than on
the floor.

There wasn’t even room enough to pace in, though Nathan felt more like smashing his
fist through a wall. He’d never been so angry at a woman in his life. The rest of
them had behaved no differently from what he’d expect of nabobs, but Judith? After
what they’d shared, how could she think he’d steal from her? From her! Being falsely
accused didn’t even compare to what he felt over that betrayal. But it was his own
fault for trusting an aristocrat. Now he might have to spend the rest of his life
in prison because of that error in judgment.

“I’d like to know who set you up so we know who to keelhaul afterwards.”

Corky wasn’t taking their incarceration seriously yet, but then his attitude was based
on their innocence and the certainty that they’d be released with profuse apologies
as soon as the real thief was caught. But there was evidence, which meant people were
not going to look any further when they believed they already had their man.

“I don’t think there’s going to be an afterwards, at least, not for me,” Nathan said,
gripping the bars in front of him and giving them a hard shake, but he got no satisfying
rattle out of them. “You, they’ll have to let go. They don’t imprison men for confessing
to friendship.”

“At least Artie left us a lantern. Surprised he did, after that angry look he gave
you. Speaking of which, have you made an enemy you failed to mention?”

“Other than Lord Anthony, you mean? No, not that I know of. And as much as I don’t
like that lord, he wouldn’t set me up by placing a missing ring under my bed. He’s
more direct, favoring revenge with his fists.”

“He prefers Sir Anthony.”

Nathan turned around. “Who does?”

“Sir Anthony does. He’s the son of a marquis, so of course that
makes
him a lord, but according to the second first mate, he prefers to be called Sir Anthony,
since he actually earned that title himself.”

“I don’t give a bleedin’ damn what he prefers.” Nathan sat on the bench across from
Corky. “I was more likely picked as the culprit because aside from the two first mates,
I’m the only other member of the crew who claimed a bed away from the main quarters.
Planting that bauble in the communal area wouldn’t have fingered anyone in particular
as the thief. But planting it in my room points a finger directly at me.”

“I’ve gotten to know the men,” Corky said in a thoughtful tone. “Was feeling them
out to see if any might want to join us on the trip home. Never would have guessed
one of them could be cunning this way, much less be a bleedin’ jewel nabber. If I
had to make a guess—”

“Don’t bother. Nothing short of finding the trinkets
on
someone else is going to get me out of this. Quiet!” Nathan cautioned, standing up
and gripping the bars again when he heard footsteps. “Someone’s coming.”

“Or just passing by on their way to the galley,” Corky said with a snort. “You’d think
they’d put a brig in the bowels of the bleedin’ ship, not close enough to the galley
that we can smell food cooking.”

Nathan didn’t reply when he saw the captain was paying them a visit. Malory glanced
around to locate where the key was hung before he continued down the hall. Nathan
almost laughed. Where could he go if he could reach the key? But he couldn’t. Even
with a shoe to give him an extra foot’s extension, he couldn’t stretch to the front
of the little hallway. But the captain’s not knowing where the key was hung proved
this room wasn’t used often. Nathan wouldn’t be surprised if Malory had had to get
directions to it.

James stopped in front of the cell. His expression wasn’t indicative of his mood,
but his words were. “I’m disappointed in you.”

“The feeling is bleedin’ well mutual. Anyone could have put that ring under my bed
and you know it. Obviously the thief did. The real one. Yet here I sit, framed for
something I didn’t do. A smuggler does
not
a thief make—not that I’m confessing to either charge.”

“Let’s be clear, Tremayne. It doesn’t matter to me what you used to do, only what
you’ve been doing since you boarded my ship. All that remains now is for you to fess
up to where you’ve hidden the rest of the jewelry.”

“So you’ve already searched everyone on board?”

“And the point of that would be? What was taken was from four separate jewelry boxes,
and some of it quite bulky—necklaces and tiaras that don’t bend, far too much bulk
to conceal on a person.”

“I’ve never stolen anything in my life, but if I did, I sure as hell wouldn’t be dumb
enough to hide it on a ship that hasn’t sighted land yet. I would have waited until
an escape was within view.”

“But you’re a carpenter, dear boy.”

“So?”

“So who better to fashion a hiding place? You could have built a cubbyhole in any
wall, floor, or ceiling and concealed it from view. A simple task for a carpenter
of your skill. I’m going to be quite annoyed if I have to rip my ship apart to find
your cubbyhole. Exceedingly so.”

“I would be, too.”

James actually laughed at that reply. “Yes, I suppose you would be—if you were telling
the truth. Unfortunately, my family has been robbed, so I’m not inclined to believe
the number one suspect just now. Proof, on the other hand, speaks for itself. I’ll
give you some time to think about your current situation, but not too long. I expect
to see land tomorrow north of our destination, so we could be in Bridgeport late tomorrow
night. Volunteer the location so the jewelry can be recovered and I might be able
to calm my family down enough to let you go.”

Nathan snorted. “We both know that’s not happening
if
I’m guilty, but since I’m not, I can’t very well tell you where the stash is, now
can I?”

James shrugged. “Who knows what my family’s sentiments will be once the jewels are
recovered. But right now I know exactly what they are, and it’s just your blood they
want.”

“You mean your brother does.”

“Well, yes, that goes without saying. You managed to inveigle his daughter’s trust.
If you went a step further and bedded her just to get her on your side for this bit
of pilfering, I’d kill you m’self. Did you?”

“You think I would say so after that statement?”

“I suppose not.”

“Why don’t you just ask her?”

“Oh, we did. But the darling chit has a way with words that can boggle the mind. If
she gave a definitive answer, I’d have to say it only seemed so.”

Corky joined Nathan at the bars. “If you’d stop barking up the wrong tree, Cap’n,
you might open your eyes to other motives. Grudges, revenge, even jealousy, or just
simple anger. I’ve seen a man break a priceless heirloom in a rage. Deliberately.
And cry like a baby afterwards. And wouldn’t take much to toss a sack of baubles over
the rail, now would it? They’d be gone in an instant. Too late to regret doing it.
You see my point?”

“You’re talking about a fortune, a bloody king’s ransom. No one in their right mind—”

“Exactly. Who’s in their right mind when they’re enraged, eh?”

The captain was shaking his head. Corky gave him a look of contempt and sat back down.
Nathan hadn’t thought of motives yet, but he did now.

“My friend’s suggestions are a little far-fetched, but here’s one that isn’t. There
was a stowaway who didn’t have time to do any obvious damage, but was picked up by
a ship that was on our arse. That was planned, and being so, one or more of the crew
could have been in league with them all along. Just because there hasn’t been another
sighting of that ship doesn’t mean it’s not still following us.”