Captive Embraces (44 page)

His eyes hate-filled, a sneer on his thin lips, Stephan advanced on Sirena, his intent clear. Wren cried a warning as Frau Holtz rushed into the room and took in the scene. She gathered the child to her and, with one swift motion, had one of the crossed rapiers off its wall brackets and tossed it to Sirena. “Do it, Mevrouw. He doesn't deserve to live,” she menaced viciously. “Do it!”

Sirena needed no second urging. She hefted the thin blade to test its flexibility and nicked the air. She backed off as Stephan stopped short, an evil smile on his face. Sirena took that moment to shed her negligee and slice at the nightdress till it hung in tatters high above her knees.

When she next looked at him, Stephan had armed himself with the second rapier. As he sliced the air, Sirena kicked off her slippers and crouched low, flexing her knees. “En garde!” she threatened softly as she advanced, bending her knees, and the tip of her rapier scraped Stephan's cheek.

Scarlet beads dripped onto the snowy ruffle at his throat. He blinked, unable to believe his eyes. He had lost the advantage he might have gained when Sirena advanced and parried, her weapon finding its mark time and again. “I'll kill you for what you tried to do to this child!” she exclaimed, lunging toward him and bringing up the rapier till it cut his upper arm.

Stephan stepped backward and Sirena lunged again, her aim sure as she brought up the rapier with all possible force, jarring the weapon from Stephan's grasp. He reached out to grasp the hilt with his left hand. In that moment Sirena knocked the weapon to the floor and drove him to the wall till he cried out, his eyes bulging with fear.

“Don't kill me,” he cried brokenly, “don't kill me!”

Sirena was beyond hearing, beyond caring as she coldly and mercilessly advanced, one step and then two, till she was inches from him. Her green eyes were glazed and all she could hear were the whimpers of a child. She thrust the blade into her husband's chest and watched his mouth fall open. Blood and crimson gore gushed forth. Savagely, she pulled the rapier free and wiped it across his shoulder. He reached out for her arm, but fell within inches of her bare legs.

The deadly implement dropped from Sirena's hold as she clasped her head, tears welling in her eyes. Frau Holtz gathered her in a comforting embrace. “You could do no less, Mevrouw. Vermin the likes of him deserves to die.”

Wren came to Sirena and hugged her waist. “Missy-ma'am, he didn't ... I'm all right now, truly I am, she assured.

Sirena staggered over to the softness of Stephan's favorite chair and lowered herself into it. Frau Holtz poured her a tot of rum and Sirena gulped at the liquor as it seared her throat.

“Did I kill him?” she asked in a quivering voice.

“Ja.
It is finished.”

“Frau Holtz ... what will happen to me if ... I'll go to prison for this. I'll be hanged!” she cried brokenly. “He deserved to die for what he did, but no one will ever believe me.”

“Nein!”
Frau Holtz said harshly. “No one will ever know and neither Wren nor I will ever tell. Is that right, child?”

Wren inched closer to Sirena. “I love you, Missy-ma' am. I loved the Sea Siren ever since the day the Frau first told me about her. I'll do whatever you say. I'll never tell.”

“We bury him, Mevrouw. Who is to say why or where the likes of him disappeared? Men disappear every day. Doesn't he haunt those dockside pubs? Who is to say he did not meet his end at the hands of a criminal?
Ja,
we bury him like the trash he is. I go get Jacobus.”

“All the blood! There's too much blood!” Sirena said in a dazed voice. “We can't have his servants clean it. We have to do it ourselves. Get a pail of water and some soap, Frau Holtz. I'll clean it myself.”

“We're going to need more than one pail of water,” Frau Holtz said grimly as she left the room with a parting shout to Wren to get dressed.

Wren wrapped her arms about Sirena and kissed her lightly on the cheek. “I'll be right back. You sit here and don't move. We're going to help you.”

Sirena nodded, her mind whirling. She couldn't think. All that blood. It was like a river. She would be executed for this crime. People with Stephan's standing didn't do things like he did. They wouldn't believe her.

Frau Holtz came back into the room dragging a drunken Jacobus beside her, an empty bucket in her other hand. “Look!” she yelled, “he's as drunk as sin. He won't be of any use to us. We'll have to do it ourselves.”

“We have to get rid of the body. This fool,” she said, jabbing a finger at Jacobus, “is no good to either of us. We'll have to bury the body ourselves.”

“Where? Where will it be safe, Frau Holtz? When Stephan doesn't make his daily rounds, someone will come looking for him. How long before someone thinks he met with foul play? The first place they'll come is here. We can't bury him.”

“A piece at a time. In different places,” Frau Holtz babbled.

Sirena blanched and gulped. “For some stray dog to dig up. No, it won't work.”

“The ship. Take him to sea and toss him overboard.”

“Toss who overboard?” Jacobus asked drunkenly

“First, we have to get him on board. Good thinking, Frau Holtz. Yes, that's what we'll do. Think,” she said, pressing her hands to her temples. “A barrel. We'll have to stuff him in a barrel and load it into the carriage. It's the only way. Oh, God, I can't believe I'm doing this.”

“The Mynheer. I'll fetch the Mynheer,” Frau Holtz cried excitedly.

Sirena's head jerked upright. “You'll do no such thing. If Regan were to know about this, he would toss me over the side with his father-in-law. No. Not a soul is to know, save us. We'll manage, Frau Holtz. Fetch a barrel and see if there isn't something you can do about sobering up Jacobus. While you're doing that, I'll get dressed. When Wren returns, send her to the stables to waken the groom and have him ready the coach. We're going to have to move quickly as it will be dawn soon. Hurry, Frau Holtz.”

Within the hour, working fast and furious, Sirena had dressed as had Frau Holtz, and Stephan's body was tightly fitted into a wooden stave barrel and the lid nailed shut. It was a grisly business but there was no one else to help. Jan and Willem had left the house nearly a fortnight ago to prepare the Sea Spirit for sailing. It was simply thought by Stephan that they had run off for a better position.

Stephan's valet, Smythe, and the footman, Rathbone, were still in the household staff. Smythe's room was at the far end of the house near the garden and Rathbone's was over the stable. Something would have to be done about them. Although, apparently, neither of them had overheard the commotion because they hadn't come anywhere near the library.

 

The sounds of furious knocking set Sirena's teeth on edge. Who, in their right mind, would be rapping on the door at this hour of the night? Cautiously, she walked into the foyer and peeped through the heavy draperies. Her eyes widened. Tyler Sinclair. Something was obviously wrong. Something must have happened to Regan. Quickly, she opened the door and dared him with her facial expression to reveal the bad news, whatever it was.

“Sirena, what are you doing up at this hour of the night? I fully expected to have to stand here for hours till someone came to let me in. There's something I must tell you, so, please, sit down and let me get you a drink. You're going to need it when you hear what I have to say.”

“Tell me, is it ... is it Regan?”

“It has nothing to do with him. It's Stephan. He was caught cheating this evening on the
Sea Siren.
Caleb sent me a note that I should come and tell you. He was called out and they're to duel tomorrow at dawn. Actually today, since dawn is but an hour away. Regan is Stephan's second.”

“Did you say at dawn?”

“Yes. Pistols were the gambler's choice. There's not much hope for Stephan, Sirena. If it had been rapiers, I would have put my money on Stephan—” Tyler stopped in mid-speech. Sirena had sat down on a seat and was laughing! She laughed until the tears streamed down her cheeks and Tyler thought she would choke to death.

Frau Holtz ran into the foyer, her eyes frightened and confused. When she saw Tyler she stepped backward, the pails she carried slipping from her hands and falling soundlessly on the thick carpet.

Sirena managed to gain control of herself and grasped Tyler by the arm. “Come with us, Tyler, there's something you must see.” She led him into the library and pointed.

Tyler walked to the container and looked inside, expecting to see it full of jewels and gold; plunder of the Sea Siren. When the enormity of what he beheld hit him, he gulped and swayed dizzily.

“We're taking the barrel and its contents to sea. Nail the lid shut for us, Tyler. We don't have much time. If you're coming with us, this is it. You won't have the opportunity again.”

“Oh my God!” Tyler exclaimed hoarsely as Sirena pressed the hammer into his hand.

“Nail it shut, Tyler!” she commanded. Woodenly, Tyler took the tool and the nails which were offered by a silent and stern Frau Holtz. He squeezed his eyes shut as he banged the first nail and his thumb along with it.

“Has Jacobus readied the carriage?” Sirena asked of the Frau.

“Ja,”
the old woman nodded.

“Do you want to come along with me or will you stay in London with Wren?” Sirena asked, already knowing what her answer would be.

“We go! The child has already taken what is most necessary and put it in the carriage. She waits outside with Jacobus.”

Sirena smiled and fondly clasped her loyal friend's sturdy hand. “I will see to the child's welfare and yours,” Sirena promised. “But I think it best that you and Wren should go to Spain for the time being. I will join you when I'm sure things are safe. For now, take some of my jewels; it will tide you over till I can get cash to you.”

Sirena looked at Tyler, who had just finished his gruesome task. “I've been thinking. What should be done about the servants? And Stephan's valet and footman, Smythe and Rathbone?”

“Don't worry about them. The cook and housemaids will go to my mother to complain their mistress skipped off without paying them their wages and, to keep peace, mother will pay them. As for those ruffians Stephan hired, they'll make off with anything of value in the house. They won't want to be running to the law. They don't have loyalty to anyone or anything. Besides, what they'll manage to steal from here would be twenty times what they could earn in a lifetime of fetching and carrying for the gentry.”

“All right. Now, please roll the barrel through to the kitchen and Jacobus will help you get it into the carriage. Hurry, we've only half an hour before dawn. Someone is bound to come looking for Stephan when he doesn't appear for the duel.”

“What's this?” Jacobus cried happily as he saw Tyler rolling the impromptu casket out the kitchen door. As he hurried to lend a hand, he asked jubilantly, “Booty for the crew?”

“It goes over the side as soon as we make open water,” Sirena said coolly. “This booty you wouldn't want, my friend.”

In the dark of the coach Sirena looked out the window. “Tyler, did you notice that man standing outside the courtyard? Have you ever seen him before?”

Tyler's face whitened and he leaned toward Sirena to look but her window. “Yes, I know who he is. He's one of the gamblers sent by the man who was to face Stephan in a duel. He's there watching to see that Stephan doesn't try to get away.”

“Well, I suppose his suspicions aren't aroused, otherwise he would have made an effort to stop us. To all intents and purposes he still thinks Stephan is in the house.”

“Yes, and a lucky thing for all of us,” Tyler breathed.

Through the streets of London Jacobus drove the horse team, wildly and recklessly. As they approached the wharf he slowed the animals. Wren squealed and grasped Frau Holtz for support as the coach came to a jarring halt and Tyler opened the door for them to exit. Jacobus raced to the ship on his skinny bandy legs and, within minutes, all hands were aboard. The anchor was hoisted and the ship ready to sail. The first faint glimmer of dawn was showing when the copper-bottomed ship slid from her berth in search of open water.

 

Regan pounded on the door with a vengeance. Where the hell was Stephan Langdon? Why wasn't someone answering the damned door? His eyes sought those of the gambler who was waiting patiently.

“He's in there. I saw him go in and he didn't come out. Break down the door,” he said flatly.

Regan tried the handle and was surprised to find it unlocked. Cautiously, he entered the mansion. Lamps were lit and smoking everywhere. He shouted for Stephan and was not surprised when he didn't answer. Something was wrong; Regan could sense it instinctively. He picked up one of the lamps and walked around the ground floor, his eyes alert. When he entered the library the sight made him draw in his breath.

The floor was still wet from the scrubbing Frau Holtz had given it, and he only needed to see the carelessly tossed rapiers on the desk to become suspicious. Upon closer examination, he found bloodstains on the draperies and dark vermillion specks spattered on several papers strewn on the desk.

His booted foot slipped. Bending over, he picked up a thick nail. Frowning, he let his eyes circle the room. The library even held the metallic smell of blood.

A knot of fear settled in his gut as he raced through the first-floor rooms. All were empty. His search of the second floor convinced him that Sirena and Stephan had done battle.