Princess at Sea (41 page)

Jeck's motions to set a piece of wood on the fire hesitated. Dropping it to send up a flurry of sparks, he stood and turned, looking dangerous and dark in his leather jerkin. “Where?”

His eyes pinched and worried, Duncan ran his hand down his clean chin. “I don't know for certain,” he said, his second finger rubbing his thumb in worry. “They don't trust me that far.” He turned to me, seeing my hope burn to ash in my eyes. “I'm sorry, Tess. I haven't seen them since most of the crew left with them yesterday. They could be anywhere by now.”

“Anywhere within a day's ride,” Jeck said intently. “We can find them.”

Duncan was suddenly pale. “Don't,” he advised. “They'll kill them. I know it. I've been listening, and they have no reason not to. Some have even started currying the favor of Captain Rylan to be the ones to do it. Contessa . . . Contessa is being very difficult. She thinks you're dead, Tess.”

I tried to swallow, failing. I stared at Kavenlow in fear, and he put a calming hand upon my good shoulder. “Duncan, can you give us any idea where they dropped them and the crew?”

“If I had a map, maybe.”

Spinning, Kavenlow strode to the racks of charts tightly scrolled and shelved neatly. He chose one from memory, his gaze hazy in thought as he slapped the roll of parchment down onto the low table before the fire. My heart pounded, and I scooted forward when Jeck shoved his hat off the table and set the weighted boxes of sand at the corners to hold the map open.

“Where?” Kavenlow said tersely, his gaze riveted downward.

Duncan's brow creased as he looked at the detailed map. It showed a small section of the coast a day's sail in either direction. He pressed his lips together as he oriented himself. “Here,” he said, pointing to a small cove where a river ran from inland to the sea. “Or maybe here,” he added, pointing to a smaller rivulet closer to Saltwood. “I can't say for sure. But it was at a river.”

Jeck leaned closer, and I forced myself to make my motion slow as I eased back from the smell of leather. He didn't notice, intent on the map. “You don't know?” he demanded.

“No, I don't.” Duncan's voice was indignant. “It was late at night, and they had me working in the galley most of the time. But Contessa, Alex, and most of the crew dinghied to shore and didn't come back. The best I can guess is that we then retraced our path back to the capital and anchored in the harbor. That's all I know.”

Kavenlow's motions were quick and sharp as his finger stabbed down to a third river. “That's where they are.” Looking up, he fixed upon Duncan. “There's a shallow river that no one lives upon. But the cove it empties into is deep enough for a shallow-draft boat. At full tide, they could row a dinghy up to here.” He pointed again, far inland. “Then ride the outgoing tide back down to the sea with the ransom. The road from the capital to Saltwood crosses it here. That's where they are. That's where they'll stay.”

My heart leapt into my throat. “Are you sure?” I whispered.

Duncan's brow furrowed. “I didn't think it was that far north, but it could be. And it goes along with what I was supposed to tell you about the ransom.”

I put my hands on my knees to hide that they were shaking. Duncan put his fingers atop mine, feeling them tremble. “I'm sorry, Tess,” he said softly. “They want the money in a wagon headed to Saltwood tomorrow at sunrise before they leave to rejoin the ones holding Contessa and Alex. They can see the gate from the harbor, so they'll know if you don't. You're to keep moving until they're sure no one is following, then they'll come and collect it. After they have the money, they'll tell you where your sister and Prince Alex are. No wagon tomorrow means one less royal. You miss the next sunrise, they'll kill whoever is left and send you both their heads.”

My stomach churned, and I couldn't seem to breathe. “I'll take it,” I said quickly. “I'll be the driver.” The tingle of venom coursed through me, pushed into my blood by my pounding heart. Not a breath of wind stirred inside my head or out. I was too frightened to wonder why.

Kavenlow's face was expressionless as he watched me from over the map. “No,” he said firmly. “We will find them while the pirates are distracted by the promise of ransom and steal them back.”

“I agree,” Jeck said. “We can put men on the wagon instead of money.”

“I'm taking the wagon,” I repeated, louder, and Kavenlow frowned. “And there will be money on it.”

“Tess,” Kavenlow said, the irritation in his voice tightening my fear. “We know where they are. We'll get them back. And we can't give the pirates what they want. It will only invite other attempts. You know it.”

“We'll retake the money after we get my sister safe,” I said, my knees going loose. “You don't even know if that's where they are. Duncan hasn't seen them since they were dropped off yesterday. They could be anywhere by now, even the capital itself. And why would they send Duncan to us knowing he might tell us everything he knew? If you go up that river or road with guards and soldiers, you'll find nothing. And then they'll kill my sister for our having tried to rescue them!”

Jeck shifted back a step, his gaze on Kavenlow decidedly mocking. Seeing it, Kavenlow's frown deepened. “Tess,” he warned, “that is enough.”

“It's not enough!” I exclaimed, fear making me reckless. “I will
not
sit here and listen to you two plot and plan when all we have to do is give them the damned money and get them back. This is my sister's life, not some foolish game!”

“Tess!”
Kavenlow thundered.
“Sit down!”

My breath caught, and I realized I was standing. Duncan was staring at me, and Jeck's brow was raised as he leaned against the mantel, watching me find fault with my master's game and probably wondering how Kavenlow could control his pieces if he couldn't even control his apprentice. My jaw clenched, and I refused to be ashamed.

“Sit,” Kavenlow repeated roughly, his face creased in anger as he pointed.

“Excuse me,” I said abruptly. “I find I am in need of some air.”

Flustered and angry, I gathered my skirts and fixed my gaze upon a dark archway. Duncan rose with me, and Jeck pushed himself from the mantel. Kavenlow was already standing, but I thought he would have remained seated in an unspoken rebuke that I had not been acting like a proper lady, shouting at him like that. Ignoring them, I headed to the archway that would lead to the palace grounds. My steps were loud in the tension-filled air.

“I need to get back,” Duncan said, and I heard him start after me. “I've told you everything I know. They'll want a response. What do you want me to tell them?”

I paused at the archway, turning to see that Kavenlow had already bent himself over the map. Jeck, though, was watching me, which I didn't like at all. “Tell them we will be doing what they ask, though there will be nothing on that wagon but sand,” Kavenlow said, and my heart seemed to clench. He had told Captain Rylan that the ransom would be paid.

Duncan hesitated, and when Kavenlow said nothing more in farewell, he turned and headed after me. His head was down in worry, and his pace was fraught with indecision as he came even with me. My throat closed when his hand slipped familiarly about my waist, and we continued down the torchlit hallway together.

Judging we had gone out of earshot, I dragged my feet and brought us to a halt beside a window yet unshuttered for the night. The moon was behind the low clouds threatening rain, and I kept my gaze fixed upon the lights of the city, glowing from the haze of a thousand cooking fires. They blurred and cleared as I forced the tears away. From the gardens below came a rush of wind in the green leaves of spring, then nothing.

It was chill by the window, and Duncan's hand was warm upon me. I could hear him breathe, and I longed to feel his arms about me again. But I couldn't bear it. He was leaving. My entire world was falling in on itself. “Do you have to go?” I asked, thinking my voice sounded very small.

“You know I have to.”

“I know,” I whispered, eyes closing as I swallowed the lump in my throat. “You'll come back?”

He put his arms about me, pulling me to fall back into his chest. His lips brushed my ear in a whisper as he said, “I'll try to help, if I can. When Kavenlow and Captain Jeck come to rescue them.”

“I know,” I said, my face resting against him so I could hear his heartbeat. I should have left with him the first time he asked. I should have told Captain Borlett to sail on past the island and risk the shallows at Yellow Tail. I should have never suggested we invite that foul man on board our boat, my beautiful boat now wrecked on the sandbars. My sister was in ropes and going hungry. My life was twisted and turned until there was nothing left.

“How did this happen?” I asked, wiping a clean hand under my nose.

“I don't know.” His voice was a rumble through me. He didn't move, and we stood for a moment, just taking strength from each other. My eyes were on the lights of the city below us, and they flickered when a gust from the bay visibly flowed into the streets. The zephyr in my head heard it coming, and I held my breath and forced it to be still. With an excited chatter, the wind in my head settled.

“I have to go,” he said softly, his grip tensing for a moment, then releasing. “If I'm not back soon, they'll become suspicious.”

“What about you?” I asked softly, stifling my worry lest the wind escape me. “What happens to you when we steal them back, and they find nothing in that wagon?”

Fear flashed over him, quickly hidden behind a rakish grin that I could see through easier than springwater. “I'll be fine,” he lied. “I'll be on the boat. How could I have anything to do with an empty wagon?”

“But they'll know you told us where they were,” I protested, frightened. “When Captain Rylan realizes there's nothing on that wagon, he'll know you told us. He might kill you!”

Duncan pulled me close so I couldn't see the fear in his eyes. “I'll slip away,” he said evenly. “Right before you steal them back.”

“What if you can't?”

A sharp cadence of boots on tile pulled my eyes up to see Jeck. In his hands was a tightly rolled scroll of paper, and that awful hat was again on his head. His eyes met mine, and I fought the urge to push from Duncan at the disapproval in his gaze.

“Duncan,” I said, as Jeck turned a corner and vanished, “what if you can't slip away? What then? What happens then?”
To you? To us?

The wind from the bay finally reached the palace, flowing in a hush over the wall, across the gardens, and climbing the palace walls finally to slip in the window before which we stood. It brought the scent of fish and smoke to me, and a strand of hair that had escaped my topknot caressed my cheek. Heart pounding, I made sure the zephyr in me was silent lest it provoke a whirlwind.

Duncan put his hands atop my shoulders and eased me back until he met my eyes. The corner of his eye twitched, and his smile became forced. “I'll be fine,” he said. His gaze went past me and into the night. “I need to go.”

I could say nothing. Miserable, I pulled from him. Arms wrapped around myself, I stared out the window, not seeing anything as the salt-laden air pushed gently on me. From farther inside the palace, a door slammed. Kavenlow wasn't going to put any money on that wagon, and princess or apprentice, there was nothing I could do about it.

“Tess,” he whispered.

“You'd better go,” I said, bowing my head and pushing my fingers into my temple.

He touched my shoulder, and I didn't respond. If he tried to kiss me again, I would fall apart. Duncan's hand fell away, and I listened to his steps move away from me, slow and reluctant.

“Duncan,” I said. My head pounded, and I refused to look at him. A thread of venom slipped into me. Outside, the wind soughed in the trees. Inside, the wind in my head promised lies if I would only let it go. It made it hard to think, but I knew if there was no money on that wagon, they would kill Duncan. It was that simple. I wondered if this was Kavenlow's plan, then dismissed it as being far too ignoble of him.

“I'll make sure that there's money on that wagon,” I said softly, and the voice in my head fell to a soft, insidious chitter. “If they get their money, they won't care if you told them where they were and they are stolen back.”

“Promise?”

The fear and relief in his voice pulled me around when nothing else could. Five steps from me, Duncan stood with his arms slack at his side. His red boots were ruined from salt, and the rings on his fingers glinted dully. The time spent at sea had left him thinner, the excess pared from him to leave a different man. He was stronger of body and will, but more vulnerable in his heart. More vulnerable because of me.

The fear in him for what he would be returning to was well hidden, but it was there. He was braver than I was—going back knowing he would be blamed when we stole them away. There was nothing keeping him from running away, from not returning to the ship as planned. He was putting his life in jeopardy for my sister and Alex. For me.
Money,
I decided,
is a small price to pay for the life of someone you love.

“I promise, Duncan,” I whispered, and the wind in my head gibbered to be free. “It will be there.”