Hart's Passion (Pirates & Petticoats Book 2) (15 page)

Which was it?
 

She wanted so desperately to believe Landon cared about her and was trying to protect her but…She’d known him only a few weeks. Was he capable of such deceit and treachery? Was she so blinded by her attraction to him? Did his true nature hide behind his handsome features and charm, like Garrison’s had hidden behind his gentle demeanor and kindness?

Daniel waited patiently for her to turn her attention back to him. She’d known Daniel her entire life and could tell he had more to tell her. She immediately read the expression on his face.

“You already have a plan," she stated.

Daniel bit back a smile. “Yes, I do.”

She took a breath and released it. “And I can tell I’m not going to like it much.”

The corners of Daniels mouth twitched, before he grinned. “No, Mistress, you are not going to like it at all.”

“While I was loitering down at the waterfront gleaning information,” Daniel said, “I found out Mr. and Mrs. Schoen seem to have a network of informants in the area. They might be able to help us.” Daniel plucked his sack from the hook by the door and started looking through it. “I suspect the Schoens either harbor runaway slaves or provide information to assist them.”

“I wondered about that,” she murmured. There’d been something about Landon’s familiarity with the couple and a comment he’d made about gleaning information from them, that had her curious earlier.
 

“Mrs. Schoen told me she’d heard Gampo wasn’t the man in charge of Hart’s cargo theft or the kidnapping,” Daniel said. “Gampo has a silent employer, but no one seemed to know his name.”

Keelan paced the floor. “As hard as it is to believe, I strongly suspect Dr. Garrison is involved somehow.” His behavior these past few weeks changed. Drastically.

“He could have let the kidnappers into the house,” Daniel mused, nodding.

She paused as her mind began to make other connections. “He had access to the warehouse keys.” Daniel stopped rummaging and gave her his full attention.

She continued. “It would have been easy for Garrison to borrow any of Jared’s warehouse keys,” she said. “Uncle Jared kept a spare set in his desk at Twin Pines.” The full realization of what she was saying was overwhelming. She abruptly sat on the stool by her bed. Dread settled on her shoulders as a darker thought seeped into her mind. It was horrible. Ludicrous. Yet—made sense, somehow. “He’s too smart to get personally involved, which could explain why no one captured at the warehouse knows who he is by name.
 

“But why?” Daniel asked, shocked. “What would he do such a thing?”

The doctor had been pleased that she was of no blood kin to the commodore. Why was that fact important to him? “The passenger ship Papa accidentally destroyed,” she thought aloud. “The assassin began targeting Papa’s family shortly after the court martial.” She clasped her hands together until her fingers ached, not wanting to accept what her mind was thinking.

Daniel nodded. “Your mother’s carriage accident was first. The commodore’s brother’s family was killed shortly after. Then the commodore became ill.”

“Dr. Garrison mentioned something about losing loved ones at sea,” she said, certain now that she was correct. Daniel’s eyes widened and he finished her thought for her. “This is all about revenge, isn’t it?”

“If he had loved ones on the ship…” She understood.
 

Rachel.
 

More than once, he had called her by that name. He carried a tattered letter from Rachel in his coat pocket, expressing her happy anticipation of their wedding day. Keelan’s throat went dry. Good Lord.

“It has to be Dr. Garrison,” she breathed, glad she was seated.

“But what about the commodore’s older brother?” Daniel asked. “Garrison was here when he was killed.”

One didn’t have to be present to be involved, did they? “He had Gampo’s help here,” she said. “He could have had another man’s help in England.”

 
“True.”Daniel paced the small room. “When I spoke to Captain Hart, he said he suspected his ship was being watched. The other piers had spies as well, along with Mr. Grey’s house in Charleston.” He paused and looked at her, concerned. “That means that both Gampo and Garrison are searching for you.”

“I’ll wear my sparring clothes and boots and disguise myself as a boy.” She had fooled Landon Hart and Conal O’Brien the day she met them, hadn’t she? And at close proximity.

Daniel’s gaze lingered on her long auburn tresses. “You’ll have to cut it, you know.”

She sighed and waved her hand. “It’s hair. It will grow back.”
 

A quick knock broke into their conversation. Daniel stepped over to the door and opened it. Mrs. Schoen bustled in, bringing with her a strong odor of burned ham and carrying a bucket and several rags. She sat it on the small table. Straightening, she put her hands on her hips. “You haf’ to leave. Der is no time to wait for anudder ship to come going north to Philadelphia. You must leave now. I vill help.”

“What? Why?” The sudden turn of events was a surprise. She glanced at Daniel. The grim set of his mouth told her he wasn’t as shocked as she.

“Gampo’s men are downstairs,” Mrs. Schoen said in a hushed voice. “They asked to inspect the rooms for rent and I suspect if we deny them, they will make tings…difficult.”

Keelan pressed a hand over her thundering heart. Would the pirates insist on searching the attic? Either way, she wasn’t ready to find out.

Mrs. Schoen put the rags in the bucket and continued, “A ship leaves at sunrise in der morgen. My husband has arranged for yu employment. The captain, is a goot man. I vill tell yu more while I work to hide you better, so you can leave here safely.”
 

“I have a set of boy’s clothes and boots,” Keelan said, glancing at Daniel, hoping he was right and the Schoen’s could be trusted.

Mrs. Schoen lifted a strand of Keelan’s hair and shook her head. “Is not enough to change your clothing. Your hair is like a beacon. We must extinguish it or you vill be discovered.”

“Extinguish it, how?” What solution was the woman about to offer? Cutting her hair was fine, but she wasn’t about to shave her head.

“It’s too risky for her to try to travel as a woman,” Daniel said. “We could simply cut her hair and wrap it in a scarf or hide it under a hat.”

“Und if der wind took der hat? Her hair got out of der scarf? She would be spotted immediately, und turned over to Gampo,” Mrs. Schoen said. She pointed to the bucket. “I haf made a dye. It vill stain your skin for several days. You vill not be noticed.”

Keelan sat in silent surrender as Daniel trimmed her auburn mane up to her shoulders.
 

Mrs. Schoen merrily scooped up the fallen tresses. “Der local toymaker vill be so happy to haf dis beautiful hair for his dolls.”
 

She hoped he would pay Mrs. Schoen well for delivering the long red curls. It was the least she could do for the woman who had taken such good care of her and Daniel.

The next step was applying the dark brown stain to their skin. Mrs. Schoen told them she’d made it out of boiled black oak bark, black walnut hulls, a small amount of molasses and soot from a burned hog carcass. Daniel left to pack his things, giving Keelan and Mrs. Schoen some privacy to apply the dye.

Several times, Mrs. Schoen soaked a rag in the mixture and rubbed it over Keelan’s arms, legs, face and neck. She carefully dabbed the dye around the wounds on her shoulders and back then for good measure ran it through her hair.

“A little less like a flame, eh?” she had asked, grinning.

A little more like a tiger.
 

She had to admit, it did mute the auburn tones quite a bit. She picked up the rag and rubbed it through the rest of her hair.

When it was all said and done, Keelan could pass for any one of several nationality types, and she smelled very much like a charred ham.

Mrs. Schoen bade her a cheerful farewell and left to deliver the bucket of dye to Daniel.
 

She almost didn’t recognize him when he returned. “Well?” he said as he turned before her.

“You look like a Spaniard I once met,” Keelan had replied, grinning.

“We are Persian,” he corrected. “I am Kahlil, a horse trainer, and you are my son, Mahdi.”

Mrs. Schoen appeared at the door. “It is time to go. My husband has served Gampo’s men a sample of his new bier.” She grinned. “He is walking among them asking dem how dey like it. Dey are not noticing der back door now.”

Keelan and Daniel moved as quietly as they could along the upstairs hallway, but it wasn’t easy carrying the trunk from Landon. She looked at the narrow stairwell warily. Not only was it narrow, the steps were steep. Unfortunately, not only was it the only passage to the first floor it also ended at the back of the common room.
 

Mrs. Schoen went ahead of Daniel and waited at the bottom, holding open the kitchen door. Daniel heaved the end of the chest up and led the way, taking most of the weight. However, she, stooped over and panting from the strain, still struggled with the back end. Each step down was precarious and stretched the tender wounds on her back.

Daniel reached the lower landing and turned toward the kitchen door. They’d made it. She let out an audible sigh of relief when her foot touched the last step.
 

Except…it wasn’t the last step.
 

Her miscalculation threw her off balance and slammed her into the wall, jarring the trunk from her grasp. It fell to the floor with a loud bang.

She froze. The room became deathly silent. Scowling and scarred faces turned their way. Her heart hit the walls of her chest; she was too terrified to breathe.

Mrs. Schoen’s eyes widened.
 

What had she done?
 

Mrs. Schoen recovered first and stomped her foot, releasing her hold on the door. “Vat are you doing?” She reached over and slapped the side of Keelan’s head. “You clumsy boy! I told you to be careful! Now pick up dat trunk und pay attention or I’ll take my husband’s belt to yur hide!” She jerked open the door to the kitchen. “Git going! And have a care, dis time.”

The men’s attention shifted back to their drinks and conversation resumed. Daniel gave her a relieved nod. She grasped the handle and followed him into the kitchen. Mrs. Schoen held open the far back door leading to the back alley. Once they made it outside, they lowered the trunk to the ground for a moment’s rest.

Mrs. Schoen cast a furtive glance up and down the alley. “I tink you vill be goot from here.” She gave Keelan an apologetic smile. “I hope I didn’t swat your noggin too hard.”

“I’m fine.” She threw her arms around the woman’s neck. “Thank you for helping us.”

Mrs. Schoen patted the back of her head and kissed her cheek. “Yur velcome, child. God bless and goot luck. Yu vill always be welcome here.”

Keelan and Daniel could have been any light brown-skinned man and his son as they shuffled along the street. Both held tightly to opposite handles of the trunk. Daniel’s soiled gray sack was perched on the lid and tied with a short piece of rope.
 

It was a bright sunny spring afternoon in Charleston. King Street was a flurry of activity as hawkers scurried about setting up their carts with wares of every sort, vegetables, jams, wine, fruits, baskets, brightly colored yarns, meat pies, smoked hams, candles, livestock and a plethora of other necessities both big and small. Women tried to save the hems of their skirts by jumping over the slimy stream of malodorous run-off oozing along the curb, then stepping lightly across the slippery cobblestones, careful to avoid the piles of waste deposited by the various beasts of burden traveling the streets.

Daniel stopped at the base of a ramp leading up to a large ship. It had three tall masts and a variety of canoes and longboats attached to the sides.

“Must have been a whaling ship at one time.” Daniel tilted his head up and examined vessel.
 

The
Seeker
. Captain Conal O’ Brien’s ship, part of the same merchant fleet as Landon’s ship, the
Desire
.

 
Captain O’Brien probably planned to follow the
Desire
south to Harbour Town, so their fleet of three could reunite and sail together. She’d almost balked when she learned they’d have to travel on the
Seeker
. If Landon didn’t want her with him, why accept passage ship guaranteed to travel with his? He’d think she was chasing him like a loose duck, feeding his arrogance. Except, she
would
have chased him like a loose duck anyway. She wasn’t about to let him go south without her, or without telling her the truth about how he felt about her.

Anyway, the
Seeker
was not just their best choice, it was their only choice.

A stout grizzled sailor sat on a small wooden crate near the ramp. He raised a shaggy brow as they lowered the trunk, and Daniel straightened to full height. He withdrew a tattered handkerchief from his sleeve to mop his face. He replaced the cloth and approached the sailor.

“I beg your pardon, sir. We have come at the suggestion of Mr. Schoen to inquire about employment. Does this vessel require additional hands?”

The sailor scratched his chin thoughtfully as he eyed both of them.
 

Her fingers twitched nervously and she studied the sailor’s countenance. Was he wondering if their claim to have been sent by Mr. Schoen was true? If he rejected them, they’d have to travel by land, which would be much more dangerous. They’d be mistaken for runaways for sure.

She glanced at Daniel and perused his attire. They had dressed carefully. Their clothes were well worn but clean. Both wore sturdy leather boots. Daniel’s graying hair was pulled back and tied with a short yellow ribbon. Her now shoulder-length brown hair was secured in a similar manner. Mrs. Schoen had given her a worn straw hat. It flopped lazily on her head and she was glad for the protection from the sun as well as from prying eyes.

“Aye, Schoen mentioned ye. We’ll take ye.” He held out his hand. “My name’s Henry.”