Harlequin Historical September 2014 - Bundle 2 of 2: Lord Havelock's List\Saved by the Viking Warrior\The Pirate Hunter (63 page)

Chapter Twenty-Two

‘S
top,' Mia repeated, unsure who she should be addressing.

Both men just stared at her in shock.

‘Mia?' Del Torres said with astonishment.

‘I'm so sorry, Jorge,' Mia said.

‘You helped them?'

She nodded and felt her heart contract in agony as the disbelief flooded over her brother's face.

‘Why?'

‘Jorge,' Mia said taking a step towards him. She raised a hand and stroked his cheek gently. The skin was rough and salty from the sea air.

‘Why, Mia?'

‘I love you, Jorge. Or at least I loved the little boy you once were.' She could still see the mischievous ruffian in the notorious pirate who stood before her and it made it all that much harder to do what she had to do. ‘But the things you've done...'

For a moment she thought he looked a little sheepish, but then his new persona took over and he smiled a winning smile.

‘Just doing what a pirate is expected to do,' he said.

‘You killed people, Jorge.'

He shrugged. ‘I don't place as much value on human life as you do.'

He snatched her wrist and drew her closer to him. Behind her Mia could sense Will tense and hoped he wasn't about to do something rash.

‘What about you, little sister, where was your family loyalty when they asked you to hunt me?'

Mia felt the tears stinging her eyes.

‘Family loyalty.' Will barked a harsh laugh behind her. ‘You speak of family loyalty, but where were you all those years your sister struggled on her own? Cast out by society, hunted by the authorities purely for the fact that she's your sister.'

Jorge had the decency to look a little ashamed, but only for a second.

‘They hunted you?' he asked gently.

She nodded, not knowing what else to do. This wasn't going at all how she'd imagined.

‘Did he hunt you?' Jorge pointed over her shoulder, seeming to want a focus for his rage.

‘Of course not,' Mia said, rolling her eyes at her brother. ‘He has protected me.'

‘He's used you,' Jorge said, ‘to find me.'

‘Mia helped me,' Will said, ‘but she did it because she's ashamed of what you've done.'

‘You let him poison you against me.'

Mia shook her head sadly, ‘He didn't need to poison me, Jorge. I know what is right and what is wrong. Just like you do deep down. Mama brought us up with good values.'

Jorge seemed to sag a little at the mention of their mother.

‘I never meant to leave you on your own,' he said quietly.

She didn't know what to say. There was no doubt he was a ruthless killer, but underneath it all he was still her brother and he still cared for her.

Suddenly he changed; he straightened and pointed an accusing finger at Will.

‘If you've harmed a hair on my sister's head, I'll kill you.'

It seemed a strange declaration for a defeated man to make. Will doubted Del Torres would get anywhere near him without one of Captain Little's men putting a bullet through his heart.

‘Oh, stop it, Jorge,' Mia said, finding it ridiculous that that was what he would focus on at a time like this. ‘He hasn't harmed me at all.' She dropped her voice. ‘Quite the opposite.'

Del Torres looked at her incredulously. ‘You care for this English aristocrat?'

‘I love this English aristocrat.'

She saw Will grin out of the corner of her eye.

Her brother took a step forward and dropped his voice, giving it a menacing quality.

‘You better not be toying with my sister's heart,' he said. ‘Tell me that you love her.'

Mia could see Will's eyes widen at the peculiar demand.

‘I love her,' he said.

Mia spun round in shock. She knew he was probably just saying it to appease Jorge, but she needed to be sure.

‘I love you,' he said again, this time directing his words directly to her. ‘This wasn't how I planned to tell you, but I love you, Mia Del Torres.'

Mia didn't know what to say. She thought her heart might burst with happiness.

‘You truly love me?' she asked, just wanting him to say it one more time.

‘I truly love you.'

She wanted nothing more than to bound into his arms and kiss him for evermore, but Mia was very conscious of her brother standing behind her and Captain Little's crew watching their every move.

‘I'm glad,' her brother said and Mia turned to face him. ‘Truly I am. I'm glad you will be happy.'

She felt the tears spring to her eyes and she stretched up to her tiptoes to plant a kiss on his cheek.

‘I don't want you to blame yourself, Mia,' he said softly. ‘You did the right thing.'

She looked at him, puzzled. He was regarding his ship, now in the hands of Captain Little's crew, and his comrades who were either lying dead or wounded on the decks or under guard, having surrendered. He looked deflated and lost.

‘I've committed terrible deeds these past few years and you were right. I needed to be stopped.'

Mia peered at him, confused. This sounded very much like a farewell to her.

‘You're a good girl, Mia, and I don't want you to feel any of this was your fault.'

‘Jorge...' she said, trailing off as he caught her around the neck and pulled her towards him.

Del Torres turned her round so she was facing Will and she saw the fear in his eyes.

‘Will, don't,' she pleaded. ‘He won't hurt me.'

‘I will,' Jorge said. ‘I'll squeeze her neck until she can't breathe any more.'

Will lifted his pistol and took aim. Mia met his eyes for an instant and silently implored him not to shoot her brother. She saw him hesitate, then lower the pistol.

‘You won't hurt her,' Will said.

Jorge gently kissed her head and Mia felt the tears start to stream down her cheeks. He edged back towards the rail of the ship, pulling her along with him.

‘I never meant things to get this far,' he whispered in her ear.

Mia suddenly felt herself being propelled forward. She stumbled and instantly Will was in front of her, holding her up. Before Mia could recover and turn to face her brother a shot rang out, followed two seconds later by a splash.

‘Jorge...' Mia whispered.

The next instant she was swept up into Will's arms and carried away before she could catch a glimpse of her brother sinking into the Caribbean sea.

‘It's okay,' Will murmured. ‘Nothing's going to hurt you now.' He nimbly traversed one of the planks of wood and took her away from
The Flaming Dragon
.

Mia sobbed, her whole body heaving. She'd just lost the last member of her family. Now she was truly alone.

‘I can't believe he's gone.'

‘I'm sorry, Mia.'

Mia looked up into Will's eyes and saw the sympathy in his expression.

‘He was sorry,' she whispered quietly. ‘In the end he was sorry.'

Will nodded, ‘I think you're right, and maybe it's better this way.'

Mia thought he was probably right. It would have been worse to see her brother paraded through the streets, bombarded with hatred from onlookers, then climbing the scaffold and dropping to his death with everyone cheering. At least this way it was quick and relatively private.

Will sat down on an upturned barrel but didn't set Mia back on her feet. She felt safe and secure in his arms and was pleased to have just a few minutes longer of security.

‘I meant it, Mia,' Will said as he hugged her closer to him. ‘I love you.'

She searched his face, barely able to believe it. This was everything she had wanted.

‘I love you and I want to spend the rest of my life with you.'

Her mouth fell open into a little O of shock.

‘Say something,' he murmured. ‘Or I'll think you've changed your mind about me.'

‘Never.'

She stretched upwards and kissed him, closing her eyes and just feeling the softness of his lips against hers.

‘I don't care how we're together,' Will said. ‘We can marry and live in England or we can live in sin and travel the world.'

Mia felt as if her heart were about to explode. He was her dream, her fantasy, and now he wanted to be her perfect reality, as well.

‘As long as I've got you I'll be happy,' Mia said. ‘We can work out the details later.'

‘Typical,' Ed Redding said hustling over. ‘We do all the bloody hard work and the Navy show up afterwards.'

‘The Navy are here?' Will asked.

Redding pointed into the distance and Will stood up, still holding Mia in his arms.

‘How did they know?'

Redding shrugged. ‘Glass must have got a message to them some time yesterday. They've probably been following at a distance ever since.'

‘I need to sort a few things out,' Will said to Mia. ‘Will you be all right for a few minutes?'

‘Of course.'

She would be glad of a few minutes alone if she was honest; she wanted some privacy to mourn her brother.

He set her down on her feet, kissed her gently on the cheek, then clapped Redding on the back.

‘Those men of yours are seasoned fighters,' he said. ‘I've never seen such a brave crew.'

Redding nodded proudly. ‘That's why the Governor asked us to accompany you on this mission. He knew you'd need a strong fighting force if you did manage to catch up with Del Torres.'

‘How many casualties do we have?'

Mia looked at the dead and injured sailors being carried from
The Flaming Dragon
and felt the tragedy of the loss of so many young lives.

‘Eight dead, many more wounded.'

Will nodded solemnly.

‘They fought bravely. I'll make sure their families know that.'

Will and Redding walked off and Mia watched them go. She couldn't quite fully grasp the events of the past few hours. Whenever she tried to think about any of it she couldn't focus. Instead Will's unexpected declaration kept popping back into her mind.

He loved her. She hugged herself. He actually loved her. And they were going to have a future together. Like him, she didn't really care where they were in the world, or how they lived, as long as they were together.

Mia knew the happiness that flooded over her would last for ever, so for a moment she turned her mind to the more distressing topic that was struggling for attention.

Jorge was dead. Her big brother had welcomed a swift end when he knew all was lost. She knew he'd partly done it for her, to save her the agony of watching his long, drawn-out death. And he had looked truly happy for her when Will had said he loved her.

She allowed herself a few minutes to remember their childhood, when they had been more innocent and carefree. That was the way she was going to remember Jorge, as the brother who had looked after her as a little girl.

She was startled from her memories by a large ship pulling up alongside theirs, its masts blocking out the sun. Mia shivered involuntarily. It was the Navy, coming to share in the glory after the fight, no doubt.

She watched as men poured from the big ship, most of them boarding
The Flaming Dragon
but a small group making their way onto Captain Little's vessel. Two officers approached the Captain, who was supervising the moving of the wounded.

Now the injured men were back on the ship Mia decided she would go and see what she could do to help. She didn't have any professional training but she was sure she could help dress wounds or bandage limbs.

Mia had just taken a step forward to help when two other Naval men approached her.

‘Mia Del Torres?' one of them asked.

There was no point in denying it; she rather suspected she was the only woman in a twenty-mile radius.

‘Yes.'

‘Come with us, please.'

She stood her ground, instinctively knowing it would not be sensible to go with the Navy men.

‘Why?'

‘You're a prisoner of the Governor of Barbados. Now this mission has been brought to a satisfactory conclusion we have orders to deliver you back into the Governor's custody.'

Mia looked around frantically for Will. He'd be able to sort this mess out. She had forgotten in the past few hours that she was still a prisoner, and she had honestly thought her help in catching her brother and
The Flaming Dragon
would have been enough to secure her liberty.

The Navy men took her firmly by each arm and led her forward. Mia wasn't strong enough to resist. They passed Ed Redding as she was propelled forward and she called out to him, ‘Get Will.'

He looked at her in alarm, seemingly puzzled as to why the Navy were taking her away. As she craned her neck he gave a quick nod and was immediately on his feet.

Mia felt herself being lifted across the gap between the two ships and her heart started pounding as she realised she was no longer a guest on Captain Little's ship but a prisoner of the Navy.

Chapter Twenty-Three

‘Y
ou need to come with me—now,' Redding shouted at Will, who was leaning down to close the eyes of one of his fallen comrades.

He straightened immediately, hearing the urgency in Redding's voice.

‘What's happened?'

‘They've got Miss Del Torres.'

He panicked. He looked around him in confusion. All the pirates had been subdued and now the Navy had arrived they would start to transport the prisoners to their custom-built cells for the voyage back to Barbados.

‘The Navy,' Redding panted, trying to catch his breath. ‘The Navy have taken her.'

Will moved quickly, wondering what on earth the Navy wanted with Mia. He was sure it must be some misunderstanding, but he couldn't help imagining how scared Mia would be feeling.

‘Permission to come aboard?' Will asked as they came alongside the big Naval ship.

‘Identify yourself,' demanded the man standing guard.

‘I'm the man who's just saved you from your most embarrassing failure by catching Del Torres.'

The man reddened a little at Will's tone but he didn't have time to feel regret. Somewhere on this ship they had the woman he loved. It was his duty to look after her, to keep her safe from anyone who wished her harm, and at the moment he was failing terribly.

Will stepped aboard the Navy ship and looked around him, scanning the deck for any signs of Mia.

‘Can I help you, gentlemen?' asked the clipped, cultured tones of a man in an officer's uniform.

‘Will Greenacre,' Will said, thrusting his hand forward. ‘Lord Sedlescombe. You've just taken my future wife.'

The officer looked stunned at this statement. He shook Will's hand and introduced himself.

‘Lieutenant Flame,' he said, ‘I have to admit, sir, I have no idea what you're talking about.'

Will felt a feral growl building in his throat.

‘I wish to speak to your Captain,' he said, ‘Immediately.'

‘I don't think that's going to be possible, sir,' Flame said politely. ‘The Commodore is very busy overseeing the securing of the survivors from
The Flaming Dragon
and organising a crew to sail the pirate ship back to Bridgetown.'

‘He'll speak to me,' Will said.

Lieutenant Flame hesitated, still maintaining his cool reserve.

‘As I said, sir, he is very busy. Perhaps I could be of some assistance?'

‘He's too busy to speak to the man who did what the entire Navy couldn't?'

Flame looked as if he was about to give some other excuse.

‘Mr Greenacre,' a voice boomed behind him. ‘Or should I be calling you Lord Sedlescombe now?'

‘Greenacre will do just fine,' Will said, turning to face Commodore Wilkins.

‘You have our heartfelt thanks,' Wilkins said, shaking his hand. ‘The seas will be a much safer place without Del Torres and his band of reprobates.'

‘Quite,' Will said. He didn't have time to make small-talk; he needed to get to Mia. ‘We can congratulate each other later,' he said. ‘Right now I want my fiancée back, and I understand your men have taken her.'

Fiancée was a little bit of an exaggeration—Mia hadn't exactly agreed to marry him—but he hoped the Commodore would see the folly of taking the future wife of a lord prisoner more clearly than the bedfellow of a lord.

Commodore Wilkins frowned. ‘You're speaking of Miss Del Torres?'

‘Yes.'

‘Come with me. We need to talk in private.'

Will followed the dignified man as he walked briskly walked across the deck and down into the Captain's cabin. The Commodore motioned for Will to sit on one side of a small table. He lifted a whisky decanter from a shelf and selected two glasses. Silently he poured two generous measures.

Will took a gulp of the burning liquid and looked Wilkins directly in the eye.

‘Tell me,' he said.

‘I am under orders to bring Miss Del Torres back to Barbados in custody,' the Commodore said. ‘She is to face trial on her return for aiding and abetting pirates.'

Will felt his whole world fall out from under him.

‘No,' he whispered. ‘She hasn't done anything wrong.

The Commodore grimaced. ‘It may all be a misunderstanding,' he offered. ‘And I am confident you will be able to argue her case in front of the Governor on your return.'

Will felt his heart squeeze. He didn't want to be apart from Mia for a single second, let alone have to endure an entire voyage not knowing if she was to be released at the end of it.

‘Without her we would never have tracked down
The Flaming Dragon
,' Will said, feeling stunned.

The Commodore nodded. ‘I understood as much.'

‘There's nothing I can do?'

‘Unfortunately I'm under orders. There isn't anything anyone can do until we reach Barbados.'

Will felt useless. Mia was his woman—his to love and cherish and protect. He was failing on the last point quite spectacularly.

‘Can I see her?' he asked.

The Commodore nodded. ‘I had her put in one of the smaller cabins. With a guard outside, of course.'

‘Thank you,' Will said, and meant it. It would have been much easier for the Commodore to have thrown Mia in the brig. He doubted she would have lasted the voyage with Del Torres's crew when they realised who she was and how she'd aided in their capture.

With a sinking heart Will followed Commodore Wilkins through the maze of the large ship. Men were hustling everywhere and Will supposed this was what they were good at: the clean-up after a big fight.

‘Good morning, Darcey.' Wilkins greeted a young man standing to attention outside a plain wooden door.

Darcey saluted.

‘Any problems?'

‘No, sir, the prisoner is settled.'

Will felt his heart lurch as he realised they were talking about Mia.

‘This gentleman is Mr Greenacre. We have him to thank for the defeat and capture of Del Torres and his crew.'

The young man's eyes widened and Will would bet anything he was wondering what Will was doing outside a prisoner's door.

‘Mr Greenacre has requested a few minutes with Miss Del Torres, and after all he has done for us this is the least we can do.'

Darcey nodded uncertainly.

‘We can give you ten minutes, Mr Greenacre,' the Commodore said turning to him. ‘And then we will be making ready to leave.'

Will nodded in acknowledgement and waited as Darcey opened the door for him. He stepped forward but paused before he walked over the threshold, steeling himself to be strong for Mia.

‘Will?' Mia asked from her position on the bed. She looked dishevelled and he could tell she had been crying.

He crossed the room in two quick strides and scooped her into his arms. Somewhere behind him he heard the door close and lock.

‘Have they hurt you?' he asked, scanning her body from top to toe for any sign of injury.

Mia shook her head. ‘I thought...' She trailed off as her voice caught in her throat.

‘It's all right,' Will reassured her. ‘I'm sure it's just a misunderstanding. We'll get this all sorted out when we get back to Barbados.'

‘I love you,' Mia whispered into his neck, where she had buried her face.

He lifted her chin gently and looked into her eyes. ‘I love you, too, Mia Del Torres. And I promise I won't let anything happen to you.'

‘I know you won't.'

Her blind faith in him made Will feel a tremor of panic. She trusted him so completely, didn't doubt he would be able to sort everything out. He never wanted to let her down. He always wanted to be the man she turned to with those beautiful, dark, trusting eyes.

‘I have something to ask you, Mia.'

Gently he set her down on the bed. The time felt right. Whatever trials and tribulations they had in store, Will knew they had to face them together. They were a pair now, a team, and if Mia was in trouble it meant part of
him
was in trouble.

He kneeled down in front of her and took both of her hands in his own.

‘I love you, Mia Del Torres,' he said, looking deep into her eyes. ‘I want to love you and cherish you for the rest of my life. I can't imagine a life without you in it, by my side. I want to dedicate my life to making you happy. Every morning I want to wake up and see your beautiful face on the pillow next to me and every night I want to fall asleep with you in my arms.'

Mia smiled at his declaration and leaned forward and kissed him quickly on the corner of his mouth.

‘Sorry,' she said. ‘I couldn't help it.'

‘Mia Del Torres, will you do me the honour of becoming my wife?'

She almost fell off the bed with shock.

‘Do you mean it?' she asked, all the blood draining from her face.

‘Of course I mean it. I love you.'

‘But...'

For a horrible instant Will thought she might refuse, and he got an awful glimpse of how terrible life without her would be.

‘No one would accept us,' Mia said. ‘You'd lose your place in society.'

He breathed a sigh of relief. She was worried for him. She was worried about what he would lose by tying himself to her.

‘I don't care if I lose my estate, my place in society. As long as we're together I don't care where we are or how we live.'

Mia's eyes welled up with tears.

‘Yes,' she said. ‘Yes, yes, yes. A thousand times yes.'

Will slipped the signet ring with his family's crest from his little finger.

‘I'll get you something prettier when this whole mess is sorted out,' he promised. ‘But for now I want you to have this.'

He slipped the ring on to her finger and watched her face light up as she admired it.

‘I love it,' she said. ‘I feel like part of your family.'

‘You
are
my family.'

He kissed her then, taking her face gently between his hands and pulling her towards him ever so gently. It was unhurried, the kiss of a man who knew he'd got a whole lifetime to enjoy kissing his wife.

A sharp knock on the door interrupted their intimacy and Will reluctantly pulled away. A couple of seconds later Darcey pushed the door open.

‘It's time to go, sir,' he said. ‘We are getting ready to sail.'

Will knew it was pointless arguing. He turned back to Mia.

‘Be strong, my love,' he said. ‘I will sort out this misunderstanding with the Governor as soon as we are back in Barbados.'

‘I'll miss you.'

She gave him one last kiss.

As Will exited the cabin he glanced back over his shoulder at the woman he loved and felt elation washing over him. She was a prisoner at the moment, but he was confident he could remedy that as soon as they returned to Bridegtown and then they would be married. They had a lifetime to enjoy each other.