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Authors: Colette Gale

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But when she arrived, she found the place in disarray. Everything was strewn all over, as if there’d been some sort of fight or altercation.

“Papa?” she cried, rushing to the window to look out it.

Her heart surged into her throat.
A ship!
There was a ship just beyond the beach!

“Papa!” she screamed, clambering down the ladder. Was he leaving her? Had he thought her dead? Or had something worse happened? “Effie! Effie!
Zaaaaaren!
” she screamed as she ran all the way down to the beach.

— VIII—

“Thank heavens you’ve returned!”
Kellan Darkdale turned to Jane as she rushed onto the beach.

The ship sat a short distance away, sails at half mast. A small rowboat rested just off shore and two sailors sat in it, ready with their oars.

“What’s happened?” she asked, looking around for Papa and Effie. Something was terribly wrong. “Is Papa on the ship? Was he going to leave me?”

Darkdale took her by the arm. “It’s horrible, Miss Clemons. I—we—feared you were lost for good in the jungle! That some wild creature had—well, that’s neither here nor there. Now that you’ve returned, we have other, more serious problems.”

“Where’s Papa? There isn’t anyone in the treehouse, and it looks as if there’s been a struggle. Is he on the ship? Was he going to leave without me? Did he truly think I was dead?” She’d only been gone for a week!

“I have some terrible news, Miss Clemons. Please, brace yourself,” he said, urging her toward the small dinghy. “We must get to the ship as soon as possible.”

“What is it? Is Papa dead?” Jane didn’t like the grave expression on his face, but at the same time, she couldn’t help but remembering how he’d had his way with her in the hot, bubbling pool…with Jonathan’s permission. “What happened to him?”

“This ship has arrived…to take your father back to London. You see, he’s been convicted of a murder. I am so relieved you returned before the ship left.”

“A
murder
?” Jane halted on the sand. The bottom dropped out of her stomach. “Papa? When? How?
Impossible!
My father wouldn’t hurt a fly!”

“That’s why you must return to London,” Darkdale said, easing her toward the dinghy again. “Immediately. They plan to execute him as soon as he sets foot on English soil.”

“Papa!” Jane cried, terror sharpening her cry. “No. He would
never
…how could anyone even
think
that of him?” She no longer needed to be guided to the small boat—she was fairly running. Her father—her gentle, absentminded, brilliant father—must be terrified by now. Had they put him in the brig? Was he chained up?

And what about Effie? Was she with him at least, comforting him in Jane’s absence?

“I will tell you all about it once we are safely on the ship.”

“When did it get here? When is it leaving?”

“It’s only by your good fortune you’ve arrived just in the nick of time, Miss Clemons. I had come back ashore one last time to make certain you hadn’t returned—and that’s the only reason we are still here. The ship is leaving immediately—as soon as we set foot on the deck. The captain has already pulled up the anchor.” He helped her into the small boat, which rocked as she climbed in.

“Oh, my poor papa,” she said, wiping away a tear as one of the sailors pushed them off.

Then with a horrified start, she remembered. “Zaren!” Jane bolted to her feet and the small boat rocked crazily even as the sailors began to row. “I must go back! My—there is a man…he’s an Englishman, he must return with us…I can’t leave without telling him goodbye.”

“I’m afraid it’s too late, Miss Clemons,” Darkdale said as the boat sped across the water. The men had put their muscles into the rowing, and the shore was falling away more quickly than Jane would have imagined. “There’s simply no time to go back.”

Just then, Jane heard Zaren’s wild cry echoing through the jungle. He’d heard her call and came to find the disaster at the treehouse.

“Zaren!” she screamed, standing up again in the boat. “Zaren!”

“Sit down, Miss Clemons, or you will overset us,” Darkdale said. “Who is this Zaren?”

“It’s the Englishman I spoke of…please, can’t we wait for him?”

By now—amazingly—their rowboat was brushing up against the side of the ship. As Darkdale urged Jane toward the dangling rope ladder that led up to the main deck, she looked back at the shore.

Just then, Zaren swung into view, landing on his feet in the center of the beach. “Jane!” he bellowed, staring after her.

“Zaren!” she cried, hesitating at the top of the wavering rope ladder. “I love you! I—”

“Hurry it up now,” Darkdale said, pushing her none too gently onto the deck of the ship. She tripped over a coil of rope and fell onto her hands and knees; then he was behind her, nudging her out of the way.

Someone was shouting commands. The massive white sails rose, filling immediately with a healthy sea breeze, and she felt the vessel shift.

“
Jane!
” Zaren’s voice was louder and filled with distress.

She dragged herself to her feet and ran to the rail. “Zaren! I have to leave! They have my papa! I’m going back to London!” She cupped her hands around her mouth, screaming as loudly and clearly as she could. “I will come back!”

“Come with you!” He was already past his hips in the water.

“Oh, yes!
Yes!
Hurry!
” she screamed, hope rising inside her. “Wait!” She whirled, looking for someone to command. “Stop! Wait for him!”

Zaren had dived into the ocean, and she saw him swimming furiously after them. His powerful arms and legs cut through the water like a machine, and she stood, clutching the rail. “Please! Wait! Stop the ship!”

Darkdale was there next to her, and he seemed suddenly, inexplicably, satisfied and relaxed. “He’ll never catch up to us.”

“Won’t you make them stop?” Jane begged, turning to face him. She reached for his arms, grabbing at them, ready to plead…but the expression in his eyes froze her.

“He can drown for all I care.” Instead of pushing Jane away, he reached down and took her by the chin. “Either way, now I have you all to myself.”

She wrenched away. “You do
not
!” Spinning back to the rail, she looked out again, anxiously searching for Zaren.

His bobbing head was so far away…becoming smaller and more distant by the moment. He had no chance of catching them. Her heart cracked and a wave of grief washed over her.
Swim back, Zaren. Don’t drown. Please go back.

“I’ll come for you!” she shouted, knowing he couldn’t hear her. “I love you! I’ll come back for you!” She spun back to Darkdale, tears glistening in her eyes. “How dare you leave him. You will never touch me again.”

He looked down at her with strange smile. “I feel quite certain you’ll change your mind about that.”

Jane’s breath caught. “What do you mean? Never mind. I want to see my papa.” She whirled away, but a strong hand yanked her back.

“Your papa isn’t here.”

“
What?
” she cried. All feeling drained from her body, leaving her cold and numb. “No! You told me—”

He was shaking his head. “I told you the ship came for him—and it did. But he was smart enough to escape deep into the jungle with that fat woman of yours. He knows what will happen if he gets back to London. He’s already been convicted of murder, and it’ll be the noose for him.”

“You tricked me!” She could hardly breathe…it was as if the world was falling away beneath her feet. Why would he do this? “You told me he was here—being taken away.”

“Not at all, Jane. You merely assumed he was on the ship. Everything I told you is true…and the one thing I didn’t tell you is that I have the evidence to clear his name.”

“You do?” Her heart thudded in her chest. Hope lifted her heart…just a little.

“I do. That is why I was going to return to London—but it’s even better if you come with me. Together, we can prove he’s innocent.” He smiled down at her, then reached to brush away a curl that fluttered in the breeze. “You and I.”

Jane swallowed hard. There was something in his eyes that made her uneasy. “Thank you, Mr. Darkdale. I—”

“But, of course, if I’m to save your papa from the hangman’s noose, then you must do something for me.” Now his eyes filled with heat and his fingers curved under her chin again. “I’ve become obsessed with you, Jane Clemons. Wholly enamored.”

“I won’t marry you,” she said, stepping back, away from his hand. “I love Zaren.”

He chuckled softly. “I don’t require your hand in marriage, Miss Clemons. I merely require you in my bed, back in London.”

“What?” Heat rushed up over her throat to her face, and all at once her knees felt unsteady. She gripped the railing. Her mouth had gone very dry.

“It’s very simple, Jane. If you wish me to save your father’s life, you will become my mistress. My very accommodating, very
submissive
mistress.”

~*~*~

~*~

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Jane’s Erotic Adventures in the Jungle

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