Fortune Trilogy 1 - Fortune's Mistress (25 page)

“James! I was so worried,” she said, getting to her feet. “Oh, James, I was afraid Matthew’s men had killed ye.”

Her hair was all down around her shoulders in wild disarray. The expression on her face, what he could make out of it in the shadowy cabin, gave the illusion of joy.

Don’t fall for her innocent show,
James’s inner voice argued.
How many times has she deceived you? She took the treasure, and she means to keep it for herself.

“Where’s the gold, Lacy?” he demanded. His tone was low and controlled ... as cold as the ashes of the fire pit.

“I couldn’t meet you on the fifteenth,” Lacy said. “I sent Kutii as soon as I could, but ye were gone. We hoped ye’d find us.”

“Liar,” James accused.

Kutii uttered a guttural snarl, deep in his throat.

“I’ll have my rightful share of the gold,” James said to Lacy, “or I’ll have your neck.”

“Let’s go outside and talk,” she replied, absently smoothing back her tangled locks. “If ye’ll give me but a minute to dress.”

She sounded to him like a hurt child, and her pain cut him deeper. It was Lacy who had betrayed the pact, not he. “There was a time when you didn’t care if you wore anything at all in front of me,” James reminded her.

She sighed heavily. “Go outside, James. I’ll follow.”

“No tricks,” he warned.

“We’ve no weapons. Kutii’s been hunting meat for us with a spear.”

“Why are you living like this?” he demanded. “Are you trying to tell me you lost the treasure?”

“No, we didn’t lose the gold. We have it safe. We’ve kept it buried for safety. Can ye just give me a little time?”

“No more time. I know you’ve been here in Maryland at least since June. I don’t know what the two of you are up to, but I’ve come for my share.”

Something was terribly wrong. He sensed it, but he didn’t know what it was. Guilt over trying to betray him? This wasn’t the Lacy he knew. She sounded almost defeated ... like an old woman.

“Were you hurt when you escaped from the
Adventure?”
he asked her.

“No.” She pulled a homespun gown over her head. “Kutii took a ball in the chest. At first I thought he would die. It left him with a weakness of the lung.” She sat down on a blanket and wiggled her feet into leather moccasins.

“You’re sitting on a fortune in gold and you’re living in the woods like a savage?” he asked sarcastically.

Lacy stiffened. Her head went up, and her jawline firmed. “How long do ye think I’d have kept the gold if anyone knew I possessed it? Have ye coral for brains, James Black?”

“All I know is that you promised to meet me to divide up the gold, and I was left waiting on the dock, mouthing empty promises to a harpy-tongued tavernkeeper’s wife. By the archbishop’s cod! I had to steal a boat to get here.” He’d left a note promising to return the sloop and pay for the use of it, but if he didn’t get his hands on the gold, they could still hang him for thievery.

“I’ll give you your fair share of the treasure,” she snapped, “but I need you to do something for me first. No one wants to sell land to me because I’m a woman without family or background. A woman with a convict’s mark.” She shook her head and anger crept into her words. “Don’t be an ass, James. Do ye honestly think I can walk into Annapolis and tell the governor that I have a chest of gold and I want to buy as much ground as he’ll sell me?”

“You mean you’re just squatting here?”

“The hell I am!” She planted her palm in the center of his chest and shoved him hard. “This is my land! One hundred acres, from the bay to the cedar swamp, bounded on the north by the Choptank and on the south by Edward Smith’s grant.” She shoved him again, and he backed out of the hut into the bright morning sunshine.

When Lacy stepped into the light, James’s heart sank. There was no mistaking that she’d been ill. Her face was as pale as buttermilk, and her eyes seemed overlarge in her drawn face.

“Sweet Jesus, woman, you look like hell,” he said.

Her cinnamon eyes flashed dangerously. “This one hundred acres I bought from a man who had given up farming and was returning to England. Fortune’s Folly, he named it. He was glad to get anything for the land. I paid him with disks from one of the necklaces—three pieces of gold. This is mine, and I won’t give it up. I’ve renamed it Fortune’s Gift, and I’ll hold it until hell grows potatoes. And if ye won’t help me buy more farmland, then to hell with you, James Black. Go back to England and suck up to them what didn’t want ye afore your pockets were heavy with Incan gold. Go back and marry the first sheep-faced lady who’ll have ye. See if I care!”

“Why should I help you?” he flared. “You tried to cheat me out of my gold. I’ve nothing invested in this land or in your future.”

Kutii laid a hand on his arm. “Jamesblack. I, Kutii, tell you—”

“No!” Lacy protested. “Don’t tell him anything.” Her face was taut and so white that her freckles stood out like rusty spots against her skin. “Don’t,” she repeated.

“You come,” Kutii said. “You say you have nothing in this ground. Not true.”

Lacy turned away and covered her face with her hands. Her shoulders trembled, and James heard her sob.

“Lacy ...” he began.

“You come,” Kutii insisted.

Reluctantly, James followed him back through the trees to a spot overlooking the river. Beneath a four-hundred-year-old oak tree was a tiny mound covered with wildflowers. At the head of the grave stood a hand-carved wooden cross.

“Jamesblack have blood and bone in this land,” Kutii pronounced solemnly. “This son of Jamesblack and star woman.”

James went numb from head to toe. It was impossible to think clearly. “A baby ...” he stammered. “Lacy had our child?” He tried to add up the months in his head, but he couldn’t. He touched the little cross, and his eyes clouded with tears. He swallowed hard, wondering at how he could feel such loss when he’d never known of the child’s existence.

“We come to Chesapeake,” Kutii explained. “Star woman say we buy land. She work hard, cut trees, carry log. Baby come too quick. Too small. Live only two days. Kutii bury him here. Star woman say spirit of son like to see water. Watch for father come by water.”

James shook his head. “I didn’t know,” he murmured. “I had no idea Lacy was pregnant.”

“After baby die, star woman lose heart. She sick one moon. She say time to go St. Mary’s. No can go. She say, Kutii go. Kutii no leave. When star woman better, Kutii go St. Mary’s. No find Jamesblack.” The dark almond-shaped eyes met James’s gaze. “Star woman no betray Jamesblack.”

“God help me, what have I done?” James whispered. The numbness retreated, leaving an awful emptiness and the knowledge that he’d only added to Lacy’s hurt. “I have to talk to her,” he said. “I have to try and make this up to her.” He plucked a handful of honeysuckle from the tiny mound. “What can I do, Kutii?”

“A man must do as his heart bids.”

“Yes. You’re right.” Quickly, James retraced his steps to the clearing. Lacy was standing where he’d left her, and her cheeks were streaked with tears.

“You saw where we buried him,” she said.

James held out his arms to her.

“No ...” she said proudly. “I’ll not have you pity me for the babe’s sake.” She forced a wan smile. “I named him Charles, for his grandfather. He had your black hair, a great thatch of it.”

“I’m so sorry, Lacy. I didn’t know.”

She exhaled slowly. “I didn’t want ye to know. He was mine ... ours. He was a part of you I could keep when you returned to England.” She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. “I’ll miss him, James. I’ll miss holding him and watching him take his first steps, and I’ll miss seeing him grow into a man. But this is his land, and I’ll hold it for him. I swear I will.”

“I believe you will,” he answered huskily.

“I’ll not blame you for Charles’s death,” she said. “ ’Twas my carelessness. Kutii told me not to lift the logs.”

“No,” he said. “You can’t blame yourself either. I know little of babes and childbirth, but I do know that some are always lost. It’s no fault of yours.”

She nodded. “So Kutii says. He says such things are written before we are born, and that the child will be born again into another body soon.”

“The least I can do for you is to buy your land for you,” he said. “No doubt the governor will sell as much as I can produce gold for. Just tell me what you want and where.”

Lacy’s eyes widened in surprise. “Ye mean it, James? You’re not just leadin’ me on? One hundred acres isn’t nearly enough, ye know. The real plantations run to thousands of acres. Edward Smith will sell his grant, I know he will. I—”

“I’ll buy your land for you under one condition.”

She grimaced. “I might have guessed. And what is that?”

“That you do me the honor of becoming my wife.”

“What?” Her eyes grew even wider. “Have ye taken leave of your senses? I’ve lost the babe. There’s no reason for ye to—”

“No reason but the best. I love you. I think I’ve been in love with you since the first moment I laid eyes on you.”

She took a cautious step toward him. “I love you too, James,” she whispered. “God, I love you more than I love my own life. But I won’t leave Maryland ... I won’t.”

“I’m not asking you to.”

“But ...” Her voice cracked. “Your dream of going home to England ...”

“That was a boy’s dream. It’s different in the Colonies.” He grinned at her. “Here, a pirate can marry a witch, if he pleases.” He moistened his lips. “Besides, Lacy Bennett, you are the greatest lady I’ve ever met.”

“If I agree to be your wife, you promise we’ll stay here? You’ll help me build a plantation?”

“Aye, you foolish wench. Haven’t I just said so? Hell, I’ll do better than that. I’ll even take your name. If I’m going to be a respectable planter, I can’t go by James Black. Someone’s liable to serve a warrant on me for piracy and high treason.”

“You’ll really marry me, James?”

“I want to make other children with you, a houseful of them.”

“You mean it?”

“Yes or no, woman?” he demanded sternly. “I haven’t time to stand here all day arguing with you.”

“Yes!”

And then she was in his arms, kissing him, crying and laughing all at once, and holding him as though she would never let him go. And he knew that he’d found the fortune he’d hunted for all his life, and he had no intention of losing her ... not ever again.

 

T
he four-year-old girl wiggled out of her shift and petticoat, and waded naked into the refreshing waters of the Chesapeake Bay. A frightened crab skittered away, and the child squealed and plopped backward into the shallows. She threw back her head and giggled as her tousled mop of red-gold curls floated around her.

“Did ye see it, Kutii? I chased that crab, I did!” She kicked her bare feet and splashed in the gentle waves. “Come back here, you silly ole crab, and I’ll cook you for supper!”

She took a deep breath, rolled over onto her belly, and put her head under the water. Air bubbles trickled to the surface as she inspected the bay floor with wide eyes before popping up again. “I saw a fish!” she called to her companion. “I saw two fish!” She spread her chubby hands apart. “I saw a zillion fish!”

Scrambling to her feet, she ventured out a little farther, then glanced back. Kutii shook his head in disapproval. “Just a little more?” she pleaded. But her guardian’s fierce features offered no reprieve. “I can swim,” she bargained halfheartedly. “I can so.”

The Indian pointed emphatically to the beach. With a sigh, she obediently turned toward the damp sand and began searching for another crab.

“Bess! Bess, child, what on earth are you doing here alone?”

She looked up in surprise. “Grandpapa James! Grandpapa James!” she cried. Laughing, she ran out of the water and up the beach toward the big man on the prancing bay horse. “You’re home! Did you bring me something?”

James swung down from the saddle and caught her in both hands. He swung her high over his head, then kissed her on the tip of her upturned button of a nose. “Where’s your nurse, Bess?” he demanded. “And where are your clothes? It hardly behooves the heiress of Fortune’s Gift to scamper around as naked as a squirrel.”

She giggled, clearly not intimidated by his frown. “Did you bring me something? Can I see it?”

“March right over there, young lady. Make yourself decent. Presents indeed! A little girl who goes swimming alone when she should be taking her nap doesn’t deserve any presents.”

“I’m sorry, Grandpapa James.” She sighed, resting two small hands on her hips and tilting her head. “If I take my nap, can I have my present now? Please?”

James pointed toward the discarded clothing. “You know you aren’t allowed to come to the water alone, Bess. That’s very bad. I’m ashamed of you.”

Slightly subdued, she stepped into the shift and tugged it up over her damp bottom then picked up the sandy petticoat. “I’m sorry, Grandpapa James, but I didn’t come alone. Kutii is with me.” She looked around. “He was here. Honest.”

“None of that now,” James said sternly. He picked her up and sat her in front of the saddle, then mounted the horse himself. “Where’s your Grandmama? I suppose she’s in the tobacco fields again.”

Bess gathered the leather reins between her hands and pretended to be guiding the horse. Her back was as straight as an arrow, her bare toes wiggling with excitement. “Graveyard,” she replied. “Planting flowers.”

“In August?”

“Umhumm. Can we go fast, Grandpapa? Can we? Make Lancer trot.” She shook the reins, but the animal didn’t break his smooth stride.

“God save us, child,” James exclaimed. “Have you learned to ride from the cook’s brats? A horse has a tender mouth. There’s no need to shake the reins as if you’re beating a rug. You let a horse know what you want him to do by applying pressure with your knees, like so ...” He nudged the gelding, and the animal broke into a high-stepping trot.

“Ohhh,” Bess cried. “Make him canter. I like to go fast.”

“This is quite fast enough,” James said as he guided the horse up a path between scattered beech trees to the enclosed family burial plot. “Lacy!” he called, reining up beside the cedar fence. “Look what I found on the beach.”

Lacy dropped her trowel and scrambled to her feet. Not bothering to brush the dirt from her sturdy homespun gown and apron, she ran toward the gate. “James! James! You’re home!”.

“I should go away more often, if I’m going to get such a reception,” he answered, grinning. He lifted Bess and passed her to Lacy. “I found this young lady ankle-deep in the bay.”

“Elizabeth Bennett. You know better than that,” Lacy scolded. “You’re never to go to the beach alone.” She set the child on her feet and stooped down to look directly into her eyes. “Water is dangerous for children. You don’t go without me, or your Grandpapa, or your nurse. I mean it, Bess. I’m very angry with you.” She pulled her against her and hugged her tight. “I have only one Bess in all the world, and I don’t want her to drown.”

“Won’t drown,” Bess answered with a pout. “‘Sides, I didn’t go alone. Kutii was there.”

“There she goes, starting that nonsense again,” James said. “I’m gone for two weeks and—”

“Kutii or no Kutii,” Lacy said, “we’ll have no disobedience from you, miss. What did I tell you before about talkin’ about Kutii in front of people who can’t see him? It’s not polite, Bess. Don’t do it anymore. Now, promise Grandpapa that you won’t disobey him again and go swimmin’ without one of us.”

The child extended one dainty arched foot and scuffed the dirt with her toe. “I’m sorry, Grandpapa. I’ll be a good girl.” Her pink lower lip quivered. “Can I have my present?”

“Go to your nurse and tell her what you did. After supper, you can have what I brought you from Delaware.”

Bess’s blue eyes sparkled, and her lips turned up in a wide smile. “Yes, Grandpapa James. I’m going right to bed like a good girl!” Spinning around, she darted off toward the imposing two-story brick manor house.

“And as for you,” James said with a grin. He dismounted and took Lacy in his arms and kissed her soundly. “I missed you, woman.” He wiped a spot of dirt from her chin. “Fifty-two field hands on this plantation, and you can’t find any of them to pull weeds out here?” He kissed her again and patted her backside affectionately.

“Did ye get him to sign the deed?” she asked, ignoring his sarcasm. “Did ye?”

James pointed to the leather bag on his saddle. Signed and sealed. Another six hundred acres, east of the cedar swamp. Sweet Jesus, woman, you’re a greedy wench. You’d have made a good pirate. There’s never enough land for you, is there?”

It was her turn to grin. “Do ye know what prime tobacco’s bringing in Annapolis this year? If we ship it ourselves to London, we’ll cut out the profit that the—”

“Enough. Enough, already.” He kissed her forehead. “You’re as dirty as ...” He stared beyond her at the mossy mound of Kutii’s grave. “What’s . . .” He shook his head.

“What is it, James?” She turned to where he was gazing intently.

“Have we got a one-eared cat?” He frowned. “For just a moment, I thought I saw ... No, it must have been a shadow.”

Lacy smiled. “We’ve lots of cats, husband. The white cat dropped seven kittens a week ago.” She took hold of his arm and led him away from the graveyard. “Ye must be starved.”

“You’ll have to get a new nurse for Bess. Your granddaughter is obviously too much for Maggie.”

“Nan. Maggie was Bess’s last nurse,” Lacy corrected. “And why is she always my granddaughter when she’s into mischief, and yours when you’re proud of her?”

“I’m always proud of her.” He took hold of Lacy’s shoulders. “I dote on the child, and you know it. We all do. That’s why I’d not have her drowned or have her break her neck sliding off the barn roof.”

“She’s not likely to drown, James. She swims like a fish. You’re too protective of her.”

“She’s all we’ve got to inherit this.” He waved a hand expansively to take in the lush pastures and fields of tobacco. “We’ve built a great plantation here, sweet. With Bess’s mother the way she is, our son is not likely to give us more grandchildren any time soon. Bess will be a wealthy woman. She needs to be cared for and educated to take her place in society.”

“One living son in thirty years of marriage,” Lacy murmured. “I’ve not been a fecund mare, have I?”

He pulled her close against him. “One son never lived long enough for me to know him, but the other is enough for any father. He’s a gamecock, our David, and I’ll match him with any.”

“But he’s a rotten farmer.”

James chuckled. “Aye, I’ll give you that. David’s first love is the sea. He’s a young man to make captain, but he knows what he’s about. He’ll increase your wealth, madame. Never doubt it. The money’s in ships and shipping.” He tilted her chin up and kissed her mouth tenderly. “You’ll have to make a planter of Bess. And if she takes after her grandmother, she’ll manage well enough.”

“Mmm.” Lacy sighed. “‘Tis good to have ye home, darlin’. I hate sleepin’ alone.” She stood on tiptoe and ran the tip of her tongue along his bottom lip. “Even old ladies have yearnings of the flesh, ye know.”

“Lacy Bennett,” he said huskily. “You’re not old. You’ve not changed a day since I first laid eyes on you, stepping up into that Newgate gallows cart.”

She laughed and her heartbeat quickened. “Liar,” she accused. He still made her feel like a lovesick girl. She guessed he always would. “But ye can tell such lies to me as long as we live.”

James ran his fingers provocatively around the back of her neck, and she pressed against him. “What did ye bring our Bess?” she asked.

“I’m thinking the child had a good idea,” he said. “It’s hot, and I’m all sweaty from the ride. What if the two of us go for a dip?”

Lacy slid her hands up under his shirt and stroked his bare chest. “Did ye find her a gentle mount? One that won’t toss her into a hedgerow?”

“I bought that piebald pony off of John Ridgeway, the one his little boy always rode to church. Young Jack’s outgrown it; it’s hardly bigger than a mastiff and John says it’s got the disposition of a lamb. John’s having his groom bring the pony over tonight. Now.” He kissed her again. “Will you swim with me, Mistress Bennett, or shall I ask another lady?”

She chuckled. “I remember what happened the last time I went swimmin’ with ye, sir. That fisherman spied us, and we were the scandal of the Eastern Shore for weeks.”

“And you mean to let that stop you?”

“Hell, no.” She threw her arms around his neck. “I’d swim naked with you in the Thames, Jamie, and that’s God’s truth.”

Laughing, he mounted the horse and pulled her up behind him. He turned the animal’s head toward a secluded cove on the river, and Lacy put her arms around James’s waist and hugged him tightly as he kicked the gelding into a canter.

And as they rode away from the graveyard, she glanced back and saw a familiar figure standing in the shadows.
Ye promised him to me, Kutii,
she whispered inwardly.
Ye said ye would, and ye kept your word.
Then she closed her eyes as happiness swelled up inside her and bubbled over.

“I love ye, James,” she said.

“And well ye should,” he teased, lifting her hand to his lips for a kiss. “For it’s not every Cornwall wench who finds a fortune and gets to marry a prince.”

“Nor every maid who would want to,” she retorted. And their bright laughter mingled and floated back on the warm August air to bless the green fields of a dream come true.