Lady Pirate (32 page)

They had arrived midmorning, given the men their orders, left Richard in charge of assigning the men leave, then had sent Meg and Henry back to the town house they had rented from Beecham, to keep up appearances. Her aunt and uncle could hardly just disappear, and certainly would not move in with them at the Thurborne town house—not in any normal course of events. So until Daniel could clear everything up and they could return to Thurborne Castle, those two were to continue to stay at the Beecham rental. Which meant that Skully, One-eyed Joe, Pete, and Bull were all there, too—back in their pink livery and continuing the masquerade.

Daniel and she had continued on to his town house. There he had given her a tour, introduced her to the staff, had luncheon with her, and sat in horror as she
announced her intention to make some purchases while they were in town. It wasn't that she wished to spend money that horrified him. It was what she had told him she intended to buy: all the equipment she would need to start a honey-making operation of her own.

She smiled to herself now as she thought of it. From his reaction that day, and the two since, she was beginning to think that Daniel had more than a usual dislike of bees. He really was not reacting well to the idea of her having thousands of them. Not that she had let it stop her. Valoree had been leaving the town house every afternoon since their arrival, and returning just before supper every night with more stacks of things she would need to run an apiary. She could hardly wait to get home and get started on it. Just the thought of all that sweet honey—

The carriage came to a halt, drawing Valoree from her thoughts. Leaning forward, she peered out the window to see that they had arrived back at the town house, and she smiled in anticipation as the footman opened the door for her to get out. She could hardly wait until her husband saw her latest purchases. He would turn green, she knew, and, oddly enough, she looked forward to it. She was finding Daniel's distress quite amusing for some reason.

That was probably a shameful thing to admit; no doubt enjoying torturing one's husband really wasn't a good thing. But for some reason, the more upset he got at the idea of all those bees buzzing around, the more she enjoyed the idea. It was rather like the satisfaction she had experienced as a young girl when she had eaten pickled cucumbers dripping with raspberry preserves, all to make Jeremy—who had always suffered terribly from seasickness—run for the side of the ship. This was probably a flaw in her personality, this enjoyment of torturing those she loved.

Valoree paused halfway up the walk to the house,
her eyes growing wide as she realized what she'd said. Those she loved?
Those she loved?
She loved him. She loved Daniel. Didn't she? She had just thought that. She had. Right? Would she give her life for him? She'd rather not, but probably would. Could she see growing old with him. Happily? Oh, dear Lord, she could! She could see herself torturing and making love to him by turn until he was a randy hundred-year-old with no teeth. She loved Daniel.

The door to the town house opened and Bawden, Thurborne's butler, peered out, reminding her that she had stopped halfway to the house. Flashing a beaming smile at the older gentleman, Valoree rushed forward, nearly flying into the house.

“Good afternoon, my lady. I trust you had a good day?”

“Yes, thank you.” Valoree laughed, tugging her gloves off. “Is my lord husband back from his club yet?”

“Aye, my lady,” the man said in his dignified voice as he took her gloves. “He asked that I inform you that he has gone above stairs to change; then he shall join you for supper.”

“He is already finished with his dress and is ready to join his beautiful wife at their supper,” Daniel corrected, coming down the stairs and smiling at Valoree. “You may tell Cook she can start serving now, Bawden.”

“Very good, my lord.” The servant headed off in his dignified walk as Daniel stepped off the last step. Valoree launched herself at him at once, throwing her arms around his neck and kissing him passionately as he closed his arms about her.

“Mmmmm,” Daniel murmured, rocking her gently from side to side as the kiss ended. “I missed you, too.”

Valoree chuckled softly, then sobered. “I have something to tell you.”

“Oh?” He cocked an eyebrow with interest. “And what would that be?”

“I—”

The front door opened, interrupting her, and they both turned to see the footman come in carrying several packages. Daniel groaned at once.

“More?”

Grinning, Valoree nodded, then took his hand and led him down the hall to the dining salon. Tugging him inside, she whirled to lean against his chest and reached up to caress his face softly. “Now, as I was saying. I—”

They both turned as the door to the kitchen opened and Cook entered carrying a large platter bearing stuffed fish.

“Mmmmm. That looks delicious,” Daniel flattered the flushed woman, who smiled her pleasure at the compliment. His gaze slid back to Valoree apologetically and he urged her toward the table, then held her chair out for her. “Sit down, darling. We—”

“My lord?”

“Aye?” Daniel turned from pushing Valoree's chair in for her, looking questioningly at Bawden as the man hesitated in the door.

“A gentleman to see you, my lord,” the man explained the intrusion. “I told him you were at dinner, but he said it was important. I put him in the salon. Shall I tell him he will have to wait?”

“Nay. I shall see to it, Bawden.” Daniel gave Valoree another apologetic smile, then bent to press a kiss to her forehead. “I won't be a moment,” he assured her, then slid from the room.

The clank of the platter being set down drew Valoree's gaze back to the table, and she found herself gazing down at a whole fish, stuffed. Eyes, scales, fins,
everything had been left wholly intact. Valoree felt her stomach roll in protest and abruptly stood.

“M'lord, I thought you should know—”

Valoree stiffened as she recognized Henry's voice before it was silenced. Frowning, she hurried out into the hall. The salon door was closed, muffling the conversation coming from inside. Rushing to it, she reached for the doorknob, then hesitated, and pressed her ear to the door instead.

“What? How did it happen?” she heard Daniel ask in amazement.

“The fellow was hiding in Valoree's room,” Henry responded. “Skully went in to collect the rest of Valoree's things as ye ordered him to, and surprised the fellow.”

“What fellow?” Valoree muttered to herself.

“Is there something I can get you, my lady?”

Straightening abruptly, Valoree turned wide-eyed to face Bawden. “Oh, I—” Thinking of no excuse, she simply shook her head. “Nay, thank you.”

The man hesitated, then nodded and turned on his heel. As he took himself off, she turned back to the door to listen again.

“Is he all right?” Daniel was asking with concern.

“He broke an arm in the tumble down the stairs.” Henry sounded upset.

“Great,” Valoree sighed. “Another broken limb.” London was turning out to be far more dangerous to her crew than the seas. She could almost believe that they
were
cursed. Then she realized that Henry had asked to speak to Daniel, and she frowned. He should have asked to speak to
her
. He hadn't. He was bringing the news to Daniel. And Daniel wasn't calling her in on this. So much for the man's not taking over.

“And the other fellow?” Daniel asked inside the salon.

“Dead. Broke his neck on the way down the stairs.”

They went down the stairs together, Valoree guessed, frustrated that she had to do any guessing at all. Skully must have surprised him, a struggle ensued, the fellow got away and made a dash down the stairs, and Skully'd gone after him.

“Do you recognize him?”

“Nay,” Henry's answer reached her through the door. “Never seen him before, though Bull says he looks like the chap what was driving the carriage that crashed into ours.”

Valoree cursed under her breath at the same moment as Daniel.

“Then that was not an accident.” Her husband sighed almost too quietly for her to hear.

“It would seem not.”

“Then the fire probably was not either.” Daniel cursed again. There was a moment of silence; then he asked, “Is there anyone in London who might bear a grudge against Valoree or a member of her family?”

Valoree rolled her eyes at that. Just like a man. The fellow was in her room, so he had to be after her. He didn't even consider that unless he had been in the house before, he wouldn't know whose room was whose. That he would have to search around. Or that maybe he hadn't meant to go into that room at all but had been in the hall, and had ducked into her old room to hide when Skully had come up the stairs.

“Nay. She was just a child when she left England aboard the
Valor
. This here husband-hunting trip was her first trip even to London,” Henry said.

“The rumors said that the Spanish killed her brother.”

“Aye. Some Spanish bastard did him in.” Henry's bitterness was clear.

“How? And why?”

“Didn't she tell ye?”

“She has not talked of it at all.”

Silence, then: “It was after he went to meet with you for the assessing. He left, heading back to collect us, but the Spanish had found out that Jeremy'd be meetin' with ye. One of our crew was feeding them information in various ports, I reckon. They lay in wait, thinking he would leave you, collect the rest of his treasure, then head back to join us. But he headed right back for us. He wanted all the men present to collect the treasure.

“The Spanish lay in wait, then stopped and boarded them, none too pleased that the Valor had so little on her. The captain offered them all quick deaths if they gave up the treasure. Jeremy said no, but he changed his mind once they started to torture the crew. He told them then, but the bastard was enjoying himself. He had fun with the men, doing horrible things to them.”

Valoree shuddered where she stood, recalling the sight that had awaited them when they had finally found the spot where Jeremy lay. She and the rest of the crew had collected all that they needed for the trip back to England, then relaxed at a tavern, checking infrequently down at the docks for their ship's return. They hadn't at first worried at how long it was taking. But when night fell and Valoree's brother still had not returned, they had begun to fret.

The next morning, while it was still dark, they had hired a piragua and set out to look for the
Valor
and its crew. And they had found them in a cove not unlike the one where Valoree and Daniel had consummated their marriage. They had spotted the mast first. The Spanish had sunk the
Valor
in that harbor, but it was not deep enough to cover the ship. The main mast had stood out of the water, its Jolly Roger waving sadly in the breeze. They had rowed the dugout canoe to shore, silent and grim as they had passed body after body floating through the water. Yes, the Spaniard had done horrible things to those men. Not one body had been
unmutilated. But none of the bodies they had passed had been Jeremy's.

Valoree had leaped from the dugout canoe as soon as they had reached water shallow enough in which to walk, nearly losing her pants as they were dragged at by the waves. She had been wearing a set of Jeremy's clothes, as she had just had another growth spurt and had outgrown all her own. Holding Jeremy's breeches up impatiently, she had waded ashore and begun checking the bodies strewn about like so many dropped chess pieces. Checking face after face of men she had known and lived with for eight years, she had desperately searched for her brother.

It had been a nightmare. She had been able to read, quite clearly, the horror in each man's glassy eyes and open mouth. A little piece of her heart had broken away with every friend that she found. And then she had come upon Jeremy.

Valoree had been amazed to find him still alive, and then horrified at his state. They had staked him out in the sand, naked. His body was cut from one end to the other, none of the wounds more than an inch apart. Then they had poured honey over him and left him for the insects and animals. She guessed that the way they had decided to kill him was the reason he still lived when they arrived. It must have taken hours to cut him like that.

She still had nightmares where she held him in her arms. He gasped, “Spanish…bastard…Ohhhh.” Sobbing, she had clutched him close as he cried out, telling him to hush, to rest, to save his strength. But he had known he was dying. He'd gasped out, “Question-mark shaped scar…neck. Told them where treasure…Lost all. So sorry. Val—”

“Then he pressed the family ring into Valoree's hand and died,” Henry's sad words drew her back to
the conversation in the room beyond the door, and Valoree closed her eyes, shuddering.

“My God,” Daniel's horrified words reached her.

“Aye. She hasn't been the same since. Closed herself up and didn't care 'bout nobody or nothing except finding and killing the bastard who did that.”

“She never found him?”

“Nay. We never did.”

“How did you convince her to give up the hunt?” Daniel asked.

Henry gave a dry laugh. “Didn't
convince
her. Voted on it.” She heard his sigh through the door. “We had regained the money needed to set Ainsley to rights last summer. But she didn't want to stop and we…” There was silence, then: “But, finally we had a vote. The men were ready to retire. It seemed to us that we were just giving the bastards more of our time. We were giving up a portion of our lives for them. Still, the captain was obsessed. We talked about it, and the men—well, they still thought her a man at that time, a lad really—but they decided it was for the captain's own good. So we voted, and once we voted, she had no choice.”