Love in Neverland: Book 2 in The Neverland Trilogy (11 page)

“You stupid man!” she exclaimed.

Nick wiped the remnants of potion on the back of his hand and glared down at her.  “Might I remind you that you are here because of my generous hospitality?” he asked her, his voice low so only she could hear.  Dangerous.  “If you ever disrespect me like that in front of my crew again, there is going to be an issue between you and I, are we clear?”  He perked his brow.

Magda opened her mouth to argue, stopped.  Paused.  Shook her head.

“Fine,” she said.  “You’re right.”  Her voice was shakier than she would have preferred, but she attempted to keep it low in the same vein as him.  “But that does not make your choice any less stupid.”

With that, she left the deck to go to her room.       

Chapter 11

At the end of Remy’s fourth week with James Hook, she was proud to say that all of the bodily injuries she had were gone.  She could walk as she normally would have, and the pain was only usual when it came to lacing up her corsets.  She still had yet to explore the entirety of James’s home – castle was probably the more accurate word, and a part of her believed that James had yet to do the same thing.  Observing him on the rare chances he honored her with his presence – usually during mealtimes – gave little to no new information.  However, it did not appear as though he preferred to remain dormant for very long.  His eyes looked darker, his frown was more prominent.  He might not be a pirate, but he was a Viking who thirsted for adventure.  And remaining in a lonely home was not an adventure in the slightest.

There was a question she had wanted to ask since she had first met Captain Hook, but she did not think it was appropriate: how did he lose his left hand?  She thought she might ask Pam, but there was hardly a chance the maid would share, if she knew at all.  She wondered if it had anything to do with Peter.  She paused for a moment, and instead of continuing to look at her reflection in the mirror in her – Magdalena’s – room, she thought back to when they first arrived.

Remy needed Pam’s assistance to walk her down the pathway and over to the waiting carriage.  She was thankful James owned the docks so his ship could pull up to it, and it would appear his place of residence was just up the hill, a short carriage ride away.  She had no luggage, she all she needed to worry about was ensuring the clothes on her back looked presentable on her person.

She and Pam were the first people to exit the ship, and once their feet hit the wooden dock, Remy nearly fell off of it and into the water.  There, holding a hard board and a pen was none other than Peter Pan, the very man who had beat her within an inch of her life.  He was dressed well – he always was – even for a dock master.  His clothes were pressed, his auburn hair was combed to the side.  Nothing was out of place.  Except the fact that someone like him would actually be seen working as a dock master.

When his dark eyes caught sight of her, his lips curled into a dark grin, as though he knew exactly what she was feeling on the inside, despite trying to hide it on the outside.  She knew it was too late but she turned her nose up at him, and prepared to head to the carriage without sparing him a second thought.

“Ms. Cutler,” Pan called after her.  She did not want to look, but she found she could not help it.  When her eyes met his, his grin turned wicked, and he said, “It’s good to see your recovery is going smoothly.” 

Pam glanced over at Remy, her eyes wary. Remy could not blame her. Even though she felt safe with James, even though she knew Pan could not hurt her, she could not help but feel a shiver of dread yank her senses within its grip and shake her spine out of alignment. She clutched at Pam a little tighter and Pam let her.

"Does he know you, mum?" she asked in a whisper, despite the fact that they were safely in the carriage. There was no way he could possibly hear them though Remy had a sneaking suspicion those dark eyes were locked on the carriage like he could see through the dark oak.

Remy swallowed, not sure whether to tell Pam just how well Peter Pan knew her. "He is the reason I could not walk correctly for the past four weeks," she said, staring straight ahead at the empty seat in front of her. It helped not looking directly at Pam. It was almost as though she were talking to herself. "Apparently, he and James had some kind of arrangement that involved me. James explicitly told him not to harm me, but Peter did not listen." Pam grabbed Remy's hand and squeezed. "James said something about him renigging on their deal, and then Peter just disappeared."

"If you make a deal with a ruler and you do not hold your end of the bargain, you forfeit your soul to them," Pam explained. "It is just odd James placed him here after everything he went through."

Pam frowned.  What he went through?  As in – what James Hook went through?  It caused her mind to race with thoughts.  Had Peter been culpable for James’s hand?  If so, why would James enter into a deal with a man who marred him for the rest of his life?  What could Peter do that others could not?  What made him so special?

Whatever it was,
a voice pointed out
, it probably made him just as dangerous.

Remy agreed but she did not say so. She respected Pam - she even liked the young girl - but she did not completely trust her. Not yet.

"Where will I be staying?" Remy thought it was best to change the subject. Her hands played with the wrinkles of her skirt, and her eyes were on the green pattern. She absolutely detested wearing the same outfit twice, especially in such a short span of time, but with such limited options, she did not have much of a choice. "Hopefully a room with a view of the grass? I've seen the ocean plenty these past few weeks; I'm ready for solid ground."

Pam rolled her eyes at Remy's snobbishness, which was perfectly fine with Remy.

“Pam,” Remy said, and this time, her tone was gentle.  Serious, even.  She looked at her maid.  “I’m going to ask you a direct question, and while I respect the fact that you may not want to answer it, it would mean a lot to me if you did.  I’ve been doing a lot of thinking lately, about the sort of woman I’m becoming and the sort of woman I want to be.  I realize I miss my home desperately.  I want nothing more than to go home.  I know you know I’m not dead, and I wanted to know if, perhaps, you knew of anyone like me.  Alive in this place.  Is there a way to return home?”

Pam’s eyes flashed, and Remy could tell there was something Pam knew that she was not telling her.  Not yet, anyway.

“I” -  She shook her head, her eyes starting to water, and for a moment, Remy worried that she offended the young girl in some way.  “I was like you.  Before.”

Remy furrowed her brow.  “I must apologize, Pam,” she said.  “I do not know what you mean.”

“Breathers are not supposed to be down here,” Pam explained.  “Yet here you are.  Everyone knows that Nicholas Grey is also a Breather, but not because he cheated death.  He was condemned here, forced to learn a karmic lesson he had not learned on earth.  How did
you
end up here?”

Remy paused, not sure what she should say and what she should keep to herself.  As much as she wanted to trust Pam, as much as she liked the girl, something stopped her from divulging too much information.  Not necessarily because she did not trust her, but because she did not want to be naïve.  How was Remy to know if Pam would not take the information directly to James?  What if it was not what he wanted to hear, and it ruined his plans?  What would he do then?  And, more frightening, what if it was exactly what he wanted to hear, and confirmed information he needed to know?

She cleared her throat.  “Nick took me,” she decided to say.  It was not a lie, but it was not the truth.  “I do not understand the mechanics of how he was able to walk amongst realms, but he saved me from an untimely death and brought me here.  The only problem is, now I’m uncertain how to get back, and he doesn’t seem to know, either.”

Pam’s eyes widened.  “You were taken, too?” she asked.  “It’s my understanding that Breathers can walk through realms because they are tied back to earth.  Nick must have the power to do so, but can’t seem to figure out how to get you back.”

“Wait a minute,” Remy said.  “You were taken?  By whom?”

Pam faltered and Remy watched as her face turned a noticeable shade of pink.

“I suppose it does not matter,” she said after a minute.  Her voice was bitter, her eyes even more so.  “I am here.  I was not supposed to be here, but then something happened, and I died.”

“How” –

“I fell,” Pam said shortly.  “And that’s all I’m going to say on that.”

“Pam,” Remy said, sincerity brimming in her tone.  “You have no idea how sorry I am to hear that.  Is there anything I can do for you?  Anything at all?”

“Why would you think you could do anything for me?” Pam all but spat.  The carriage pulled up to the house, the horses coming to a stop.  “I am here now, and that is all that matters.  James gave me this position.  I’ve been with him a long time.  I’ve seen women come and go.  You cannot help me.  Please do not even offer my help.  You are the last person I would ask help for.”

Remy pressed her lips together but said nothing.  She knew Pam was merely reacting to the memories currently flooding in her mind.  Despite the length of time she had been here did not mean she still was not fourteen still, at least sometimes.  All Remy wanted to do was reach out and hug her, but she refrained.  She did not think that would be the wisest of decisions.

“Of course,” Remy said instead.  “I apologize.”

Pam’s eyes softened, and she looked at Remy almost regretfully.  “I suppose I snapped,” she said.  “I’m sorry.”  She looked out the door when a man – probably one of James’s butlers – opened the carriage door for them.  Instead of leaving, however, she looked back at Remy.  “This place is a dark place, Ms. Cutler.  People look out for themselves first and foremost.  Offering help makes you look weak and pathetic.  I tell you this because I’ve come to believe there’s more to you than just your pretty face.  It would behoove you to take care.  The tides turn quickly here.”

And then she was out, leaving Remy no choice but to follow her.

The memory itself was long but filled with things that Remy took notes on.  Her reaction to Pan, Pam’s reaction to Pam, Pam’s warning, Pam’s reason for being her.  There were more questions than answers, and though she was in James’s library filled with books, she had a feeling she would not find any answers to those questions here.

Instead, she began to rifle through the fiction selection, looking for a cozy romance she could curl up with for a few hours.  She found she liked reading more than she initially believed and wanted to indulge in it as much as possible.

She must have fallen asleep.  It was the only explanation.  Because when she was starting to wake up, she felt pressure on her hips, and there, a man was awkwardly sitting on her, attempting to tie her wrists together.  When she tried to scream, she tasted the dry, rough material and she wanted to gag.

All right, Remy
, her voice said in her mind. 
Focus.  You need to figure out how to get out of this one.  No one’s going to come rescue you
.

She struggled underneath his weight, bucking her hips and shifting it side to side.  He seemed surprised, and she used that surprise to throw him off of her.  He was not able to tie her wrists down, so the minute she managed to get him off of her, she ripped off the rope from her mouth and let out the loudest scream of her life.

The man winced, giving her even more time to hop on top of him, and start beating him with her hands.  She tried to remember all that Adele had taught, the tips Nick had given her, but she could not.  All she knew was that she needed to subdue this man because, for whatever reason, he was kidnapping her.

The door to the library burst open, and in came James, a look of fierceness touching his features.  Despite the fine clothes he wore, the look on his face was pure Viking.  He had a sword in his right hand and stomped over to the pair.  He paused when he realized Remy was in control of the situation, but only for a moment.

“Get off,” he told her roughly.  Under normal circumstances, Remy would have been offended at his brusqueness, but given the current situation, she scrambled to listen to him.  Her heart was beating faster than she had ever felt it beat before, and her breathing was spotty at best.  Once she was up and away from her attacker, she felt herself calm down.  With James handling everything, she felt safe.

“You,” James continued, putting the tip of the sword to his neck.  “You know what I can do with this sword.  You know what will happen to you should I choose to slice your throat and watch you bleed all over my carpet.  As such, you have two options: you can tell me everything and survive or you can tell me nothing and die.  What say you?”

“I’ll tell!” he exclaimed.  “I’ll tell.” James did not remove his sword but made no move to harm him.  Yet.  “The Magistrate wants her.  I don’t know why. 
I don’t know why! 
All she told me was to get her unharmed and do it so no one would find out.  That’s it.  Please, I beg of you.  That’s all I know.”