Mystery in the Moonlight (30 page)

So the man she loved was sending her away, after all, and as soon as possible! “Don’t do us any favors, Captain!”

“Caitlin, honey—”

Babs froze in mid-sentence when Caitlin warned her with a look before venting her anger on Bryce. “You think that because you give your men orders, you can give them to everyone else too! Well, forget it! We’ll get home on our own.”

“I’m not giving you orders.”

“That’s right. You’re not.” Caitlin struggled to pick up as many pieces of luggage as she could. “Babs, get the rest of your suitcases so we can get out of here.”

Babs opened her mouth as though to protest. But in the end she picked up every remaining bag, more than Caitlin had ever seen her friend carry. Somehow they safely got down the narrow metal steps to the launch, where they handed the luggage to Perry before climbing into the rocking skiff.

“I assume there’s got to be at least one hotel in town, right, Perry?” Caitlin asked when she got herself settled.

“Take them to Mansfield’s,” Bryce said tersely. “That is an order and one you
will
follow, milady.”

Caitlin’s spurt of anger had already died down, so she didn’t bother to protest. After he unloaded his illicit cargo and brought it to the authorities along with the treasure and the location of Moreau and his men, Bryce would undoubtedly sail off into the sunset—literally—never to be seen again. At least not by her.

Wanting one last look to remember him by, Caitlin stared up through tear-filled eyes. With the ship as his stage, the wind ruffling his sun-burnished hair and the loose shirt he wore, he looked magnificent, every inch the pirate lover, despite the lack of outlawish beard. It was the way she wanted to remember him. She quickly shifted her focus toward St. Vincent because she was unable to stop. hot tears from slipping down her cheeks.

“My, my. I do think there’s a thing or two missing from that story of yours, Caitlin, honey.” Babs waited for a response, then looked back to Perry. “I guess you know more about it than I do.”

“That’s for Miss Caitlin to say.”

“I don’t feel like saying anything right now.”

“Well, just remember that you have a best friend who has an unwaveringly sympathetic ear.” Babs seemed to be talking to herself when she softly added, “I realized you had changed, but I couldn’t figure out why exactly. Amazing the things love can do to a normally sensible person.”

Amazing, Caitlin agreed silently.

Lying alone in the large antique four-poster, Caitlin stared into the silent darkness of the immense bedroom. At least the room seemed immense after she’d experienced living in the small but efficient quarters of a ship. How long was it going to take her to get used to being on land again? She was still listening for the murmur of the sea and imagining that the floors were rocking beneath her in the natural rhythm of a sailing ship.

She wished that imagined motion were enough to lull her to sleep. As it was, she lay wide-awake. She’d been tossing and turning for what had seemed like hours, twisting the white, lace-edged sheets around herself and watching moonlight seep through the bedroom’s deep-silled windows. It must be long after midnight.

Turning on her side, gazing out through the nearest pair of open shutters, she glimpsed the full moon in the sky. Was it casting its silvery net of enchanted light over Bryce right now? Was he on watch, observing the sky from the deck of the
Sea Devil
? Was he thinking about her at all?

Probably not, she thought morosely, throwing the sheets aside and rising. Damn the heartless scoundrel! Why couldn’t he have been nicer when they’d parted? Why couldn’t he have said good-bye properly? Better yet, why couldn’t he have fallen in love with her, so they wouldn’t have had to part at all?

Struggling against tears, Caitlin paced across the floor, almost stumbling over the long cotton batiste nightgown Mrs. Mansfield had loaned her. She skirted the rattan chaise longue and its matching side table to seat herself on the cushioned window seat. The sight of the lovely garden in the moonlight outside would surely help her to relax. She should be more appreciative of the exotic beauty the Mansfield estate and its eighteenth-century house had to offer. She wouldn’t have another chance, since she’d be leaving the Caribbean tomorrow.

Taking a deep breath, she inhaled the scented air. Her second-story perch overlooked a trellised veranda and the walled garden below. Cabbage palms rose majestically among flowering shrubs and breadfruit trees, while vines of allamanda, yellow trumpet-shaped flowers, climbed the trellises off to one side of the large house. A swimming pool sparkled in the moonlight.

Owning acres of rich, terraced land on St. Vincent, the Mansfields were definitely well-to-do. They were also kind and gracious, having prepared a feast for Caitlin and Babs and providing each of the young women with luxurious bedrooms. Too bad Caitlin hadn’t been in the mood to converse more with the pleasant older couple. Instead it had been all she could do to present a normal facade and answer questions. She knew Babs hadn’t been fooled by her act.

But surely she’d get over all of this…

She suddenly started as she caught sight of a shadow flitting along one of the garden walls. Gone as quickly as it had appeared, the dark shape had resembled a human figure. Blinking, Caitlin peered around intently but noticed nothing else unusual. Except for the sound of a light wind moving through the leaves of the tall palms, the flickering shadows they cast in the moonlight, the garden was quiet. Had she imagined the figure?

Probably. Hadn’t Bryce complained about her penchant for conjuring up colorful images? Would he have loved her if she’d been a different sort of person?

Would she ever be able to stop thinking about him? Groaning irritably as she made her way back to the bed, she flopped down and determinedly pulled a pillow over her head. She’d force her eyes to stay closed if she had to. And she’d forget about Bryce if it was the last thing she ever did!

But she still couldn’t sleep. Too quiet before, now the night seemed filled with noise: the vines and branches outside the bedroom window scraped at the building’s brick walls; the wind sighed sadly; the breakers rushed in on the beach nearby. Thoroughly aggravated, Caitlin threw aside the pillow, ready to rise and close the shutters, when a dark figure hoisted itself through the opening and onto the window seat. Eyes widening, breath catching in her throat, she could only stare.

And she needed no scrap of imagination for this vision. Carrying a large-brimmed feathered hat in one hand, the man wore a wide-sleeved shirt, breeches, tall boots, and carried a sword at his side. Although his face was shadowed, she instantly recognized the sharp profile outlined against the moonlit sky.

“Bryce!”

“Shh,” he whispered huskily, leaping from the window seat to stride to the bed.

“What are you doing here?” she hissed, hoping that her rising excitement wouldn’t be too obvious.

“Looking for you, milady.” He sat down on the edge of the bed, his cutlass clanking, and leaned over her to help himself to a kiss. “I want you.”

Knowing that she’d be unable to keep from responding to his kisses, she moved away, focusing on her hurt feelings. “Well, I don’t want you,” she lied. “And I’m trying to sleep. I have to get up early to go to the airport tomorrow—”

“Think you’re going somewhere?” One of his hands snaked across the bed to pull at the satin ribbons of her nightgown. She slapped at it.

“You know I’m going somewhere, Bryce. You probably ordered the Mansfields to place me bodily on the plane.”

“Then I’ll change my orders.”

“Change them? Why?” she asked, her heart beating faster.

“I’ve decided I’m not quite through with you, milady,” he said teasingly. “Captain Wicked Winslow, Scourge of the Seas, has a few other plans for you. And they’ll take some time—at least several more days.”

Before she could say anything, he made a sudden lunge for her across the bed. Catching hold of her, he drew her against him. In spite of her murmured protests, he placed moist kisses along her throat, then covered her mouth firmly with his own, his stubbly chin scraping against her soft skin.

“Mmm,” she murmured, managing to move her face to one side. “Why did you shave your beard?”

“Miss it? It’ll grow back again. I shaved so I’d look especially clean-cut and law-abiding for the island authorities. Although I think you’d still prefer me as a pirate.”

The fine material of the nightgown was thin, making her feel as if she were naked against him. Her traitorous nipples hardened as his large hands moved over her, one managing to slip beneath the ribboned opening of her garment. She squirmed more when that hand sweetly covered her swelling breast.

“Stop it!” she exclaimed, pushing at him. “I’m not about to play ‘pirates’ with you at the moment, acting out some erotic scenario.”

He scowled, loosening his hold a little. “I thought you liked this… That’s why I wore my costume.”

“But it’s not time for play. It’s time for serious talk.”

“I’ve had more than enough talking for today. I’ve spent hours being questioned by the St. Vincent authorities.” He gently smoothed her long hair back over her shoulders. “Your hair’s so soft, Caitlin,” he whispered, winding a strand of it around his fingers. “I just want to hold you. Aren’t you the least bit happy to see me? It’s a miracle I’m not sitting in jail. In spite of the things we’d done—especially me—my rapscallion brother and I got off with official reprimands and our agreement to give testimony at Moreau’s trial.”

“You thought you’d be imprisoned?”

“I probably deserve to be locked up.”

“You certainly do.” After all, he’d stolen her heart, then broken it.

He let her go, sitting up straighter on the bed. His expression was solemn. “I guess you can file charges for kidnapping if you want.”

“I don’t care about the kidnapping.”

“What’s the matter, then? It’s obvious that we love each other.”

“It is?”

“And don’t be your usual stubborn self and try to pretend you never told me so,” he said gruffly.

Anger mixed with the thrill she was feeling. He was the one who’d been stubborn! The least he could do was try to win her back with sweet words. “Well, at least I told you I cared directly,” she said emphatically.

“Enough.” He rose and leaned over to place his arms beneath her body to lift her.

“Enough what?” she asked in surprise, reaching back to anchor herself on the bedpost. “Now what do you think you’re doing?”

“Will you lower your voice?” He detached her hands. “You’ll wake up the Mansfields. We can talk all we want back at the ship.”

“I’m not going anywhere at the moment. I’m not even dressed.”

“I know.” His teeth flashed. “Though I’d prefer you in even less.”

“Bryce!” she complained as he lifted her, anyway.

“Will you be quiet?”

“No, I won’t!” She kicked her feet and pushed at him.

“We have to go to the ship.”

“I’m not going anywhere!”

“Then I guess I’ll have to take stronger measures,” he muttered. “Such a feisty little wench.”

Tossing her on the bed, he pulled the top sheet out and wrapped it tightly around her upper body, completely covering her from head to knee.

“Bryce! What do you think you’re doing?” she demanded as he threw her over his shoulder and strode from the room.

Being carried down the stairway of a Caribbean great house and out into the moonlit night by a gorgeous man in a pirate costume was definitely a romantic idea. Unfortunately Caitlin couldn’t see any of the details. Continuing to complain vociferously in spite of the way he ignored her, she kicked and tried to pummel his back through her confining covering. Though she was angry at his high-handedness, she wasn’t afraid. And whatever Bryce intended, at least she was with him again.

By the time they reached the
Sea Devil
, after having ridden on his shoulder to the estate’s strip of beach, then been plopped into the bottom of a skiff, she was thoroughly aggrieved. She glared daggers at him when he finally unwound the sheet that covered her.

“Now you can shout all you want,” he told her, helping her out of the small boat and onto the steps that led up the ship’s side.

“Would it do any good?” she fumed, wrapping the sheet around her thin nightgown and struggling up the narrow steps.

“I’m willing to listen now that I know you want to stay with me,” he said, climbing up after her. “Lars told me what you said.”

“Lars has a big mouth.” She faced him when they both stood on the deck. “I hope he told you I complained because you gave me no choice. Why didn’t you ask me to stay
then?
I may have changed my mind.”

The ship was quiet, and no crewmen were visible. Moon shadows slipped in and out between the shrouded masts, seeming to play hide-and-seek. Bryce touched Caitlin’s cheek softly with a callused hand.

“I thought I might have to go to jail, or I would have asked you to stay. You have every right to change your mind now if you want…but can you change your heart? Don’t you love me?”

“Yes, I love you,” she whispered.