The Pirate Ruse (15 page)

Cristabel Albay looked up to Navarrone at last, and he could not keep from smiling at her. She wore an expression of profound bewilderment. He knew she was yet overcome with having killed the pirate—that she was more uncertain of herself than ever she had been since he had acquired her. His heart softened a bit, and he fought to keep it unfeeling.

“James Kelley,” he said.

“Aye, Cap’n,” James replied.

“Have you gathered the clothes
for our prisoner that I requested?”

“Aye, Cap’n!
The best I own, they are,” the boy said with excitement.

Cristabel frowned
. “Clothes?” she asked. “But you already allowed me my trunk.”

“If you are going to wander the deck, love
—parade before pirates and whomever we might encounter otherwise—I think it best you do it dressed…differently than you are now.”

“What?” she asked
, entirely confused.

Navarrone snapped his fingers
, and the poor boy—who he knew was enduring the worst pain of his life thus far—got to his feet and gathered the clothing.

“Your pirate togs, love,” Navarrone said as James offered the pile of garments to her.

“Pirate togs?” Her expression was delicious—that of entire ignorance.

“Yes, love,” Navarrone explained.
“Trousers, a shirt, boots, and even a hat…all contributed by James Kelley.”

“Trousers?” she asked, wrinkling her nose.
Baskerville and the others chuckled—amused by her expression of distaste.

“Yes.
This way you can roam the deck without offering too much distraction to the men…or to any ship we might encounter,” he explained. “Agreed?”

Still she frowned
, and Navarrone struggled to keep from bursting into laughter.

“You wish me to dress
as a man?” she asked, the indignation he liked in her so making its reappearance.

“Yes, love,” he answered.
“That is, until your Richard pays the ransom and I return you to him…if I return you to him.”

She sighed
, unconvinced.

“It is the only way I will allow you to roam the ship,” he added.
He leaned forward, lowering his voice and provocatively whispering, “Let us save your delicate curves for the captain’s pleasure, shall we? No need for all the men to relish the delights of your feminine figure.”

Her eyes narrowed
, and he knew he had her once again.

“Very well,” she said.
He fancied her posture straightened. “It will be well worth it…to have some semblance of freedom from being isolated in your company.”

Navarrone chuckled
, amused by her dramatics.

She looked to James.
“These are yours, James Kelley?” she asked.

“Yes, miss,” James replied.
“The best and cleanest I own.”

“The
n I thank you, James.” She turned to Navarrone, glaring at him. “If you will excuse me, Captain Navarrone. It seems I must attend to my wardrobe.”

“Of course, love,” he said.
He bowed slightly and gestured she should move past him. He smiled as she lifted her nose to the air with her now familiar determination, grasped the clothing and boots James had offered to her bosom, and started toward the cabin.

His eyes widened
when she paused, quickly taking hold of one of his trouser laces and tugging on it to release the tie.

“You’re an appallingly immodest man, Captain Navarrone,” she scolded.

“I’m a pirate, love,” he told her. “I have no need of modesty. It’s the nature of my trade.” He reached out, taking hold of her arm and pulling her close to him. Leaning toward her ear, he quietly spoke, “As is plundering ships…and seducing women.”

Her eyes narrowed
, and he knew he had got her temper up. She puffed a breath of disgust and hurried toward his cabin.

“Now who’s pricking whose temper, Cap’n?” Baskerville asked, smiling with amusement.
Navarrone grinned and nodded to his friend. The quartermaster chuckled to himself and mumbled, “Emotive sensibilities. What a way with words you have, Cap’n Navarrone. What a way indeed.”

Cristabel leaned on the railing of the quarterdeck—gazed over the side of the ship into the waves of the sea. Baskerville had told her only that morning that Navarrone’s schooner should be nearing them at any moment, sailing out to meet them from “the bay.” In the five days she had been aboard the
Merry Wench
, Cristabel had gathered enough information from Navarrone, James Kelley, Baskerville, and the others to surmise that the crew of the
Merry Wench
made their homes and community on an isolated shore somewhere in Lake Borgne. She knew the ship had already entered the mouth of the lake—that one of Navarrone’s schooners was sailing out to meet them. The schooner would take Navarrone and several of his crew to the secret meeting with the governor, regarding the
Chichester
and the British sailors.

Navarrone had explained to Cristabel
that she would wait aboard the
Merry Wench
. He would meet with Governor Claiborne, perceive whether William Pelletier were in attendance, and then decide how to proceed where ransoming her was concerned. She sighed, discouraged at having to wait. She wondered if Richard would pay a ransom for her. Part of her hoped he would not, for she held no affection or esteem for him and did not wish to return to marry him. In truth, the thought made her nauseous. Yet she had decided weeks before that for her mother’s well-being, she would endure a life with Richard Pelletier—forsake any home of true love and happiness herself. Still, what would become of her if he did not pay the ransom Navarrone would demand? She owned Navarrone’s promise that he would not kill her—but what would he do with her?

With all her heart
, Cristabel wished she could attend the secret assembly between the pirates and the governor—if not to simply observe the goings-on, then at least to set foot on dry land. Yet she most wished to attend in order to witness William Pelletier’s response when he discovered there was no longer any treasure cached aboard the
Chichester
.

Cristabel
smiled—giggled in slight—as she thought of Navarrone’s clever plan to best William Pelletier. Navarrone had ordered the crew to remove the jewels, gems, gold, and silver from the barrels and crates—to replace them with stores from the
Merry Wench
. Thus, when Governor Claiborne’s men opened them to investigate their contents, William Pelletier would either reveal his treasonous ways in inquiring after the riches he knew were once there or keep silent and live all his life in knowing he had been bested by a pirate!

Cristabel thought of her mother
again—as ever she did—and struggled to keep from weeping. Oh, how she hoped her mother was well and safe—that perhaps William’s ill-treatment of her had lessened since Cristabel had been taken. Shaking her head, she determined she would not think on it. She would anticipate only one event at a time. The schooner would arrive soon and take the pirates to meet the governor. Then, if Navarrone were able to locate Richard, the pirate captain might collect a ransom, and she would be freed. Again she felt discouragement threaten to overwhelm her at the thought of marrying Richard Pelletier. But she would see her mother again—and she so longed for that.

It was then that thoughts of Captain Navarrone intruded her
musings. She gritted her teeth with aggravation, for it seemed the rogue was ever lingering in her mind. In truth, Cristabel had begun to wonder if she truly wished she could accompany the land party in the schooner in order to see William Pelletier bested and to discover her fate—or for the sake that she was wildly unsettled each time she thought of being without Navarrone’s presence.

“Bloody pirate,” she mumbled as she thought of him—as she felt a blush rise to her cheeks at the memory of his lips caressing her shoulder
when he had held her bound in his arms in his cabin. She closed her eyes, determined to cast the scoundrel from her thoughts. Yet with no more visions of the sea before her, her mind was pummeled with images of the handsome rogue! She thought of the breadth of his shoulders—the sun-bronzed tone of his torso when he was roaming the ship without his shirt, which he did often. She thought of his finely trimmed mustache, goatee, and side-whiskers—of the charming manner in which his dark hair would tumble over his forehead to veil one smoldering eye. She thought of his adeptness with a cutlass or other weapon—of how he had now twice saved her life.

“Miss!
Miss!”

James Kelley’s enthusiastic call drew Cristabel from her
disquieting thoughts. She turned to see James ascending to the quarterdeck, a jolly smile on his youthful face.

“Hello, James,” she greeted, smiling at him
, for he was a cheerful boy.

“The
cap’n’s allowing me to go…to the meeting with the governor!” he exclaimed.

Cristabel giggled.
The boy fairly beamed with delight.

“That’s wonderful, James!” she said.

“Yes, miss,” he sighed, nodding with pure pleasure.

Cristabel wistfully looked to the horizon. “I wish I could go as well,” she mumbled.

“You, miss?
Why, whatever for?”

“To
witness the dumbfounded expression on William Pelletier’s face when he realizes he has been bested by Captain Navarrone,” she explained. She looked to him, adding, “And to see if my fiancé will truly pay a ransom for me.”

“Oh, there’s no doubt in that, miss,” James assured her.
“Why…any man would give all his earthly possessions to win you back.”

Cristabel giggled
, touched by James’s earnest and very complimentary declaration.

“You’re so good to me, James…so kind and thoughtful.”

“It’s you who’s good to me, miss,” James said. His smile faded. He seemed thoughtful for a moment. “You saved my life.”

Cristabel shrugged.
“You would have done the same for me. You were doing the same for me, in fact—facing pirates…risking your life.”

“Naw
, it was Captain Navarrone who saved you, miss…not me.”

Cristabel put a hand on James’
s shoulder. “You championed me first, James. I heard you from my place behind the panel in the wall. You battled the Devil Wallace for my sake. I can never repay you for that.”

James frowned
, again thoughtful. Cristabel wondered what was in his mind, for his jaw was clenched, his brow deeply furrowed.

“I might be able to repay you though, miss,” he mumbled.

“You have nothing to repay me for, James.
You owe no debt to me.”

“Yes I do, miss,” he argued, however.
His expression had turned very solemn, and Cristabel was saddened that it had, for he owned such delight a moment before.

James
studied her; his eyes narrowed. He carefully considered her from head to toe, and more than once. Yet it was not a lustful sort of perusal—rather one of ponderous scheming.

“Dressed as you are, miss
, I’d wager you could pass for me in low light…if the brim of your hat was pulled low on your brow and your hair hidden down the back of your shirt…maybe a sailor’s scarf wrapped ’round your neck,” he mumbled.

“What are you s
uggesting, James?” Cristabel asked, nearly taking offense that he had suggested she resembled an adolescent boy.

His face brightened
, his cheerful smile returning.

“I’ve thought of a way to repay my debt to you, miss,” he said.

“James, I told you, you are in no way obligated to—”

“Cap’n Navarrone says he’s never seen a woman as fearless and wild for adventure as you,” he interrupted.
He lowered his voice, his eyes fairly gleaming with excitement. “Are you up for it then, miss?” he asked. “And be sure of your answer before you give it…for the cap’n will have me and you both flogged with the cat if we’re caught.”

“Am I up for what, James?” she asked—though the anticipation welling in her
bosom already whispered to her of what James was planning.

“I think you should take my place on the schooner tonight,” he whispered.
“Cap’n has told us we won’t sail until the sun’s set. They always set sail at night…so it ain’t so easy to be seen. They’re to meet the governor at a small settlement north of here in order to gift him the
Chichester
and the British sailors while the
Merry Wench
waits near Alligator Bend.”

“James,” Cristabel began, lowering her voice to a whisper, “are you suggesting that I pose as you in order to accompany the away party tonight?”

“Yes, miss,” James admitted, still smiling.

“Oh no, James,”
she said. “I could not possibly do it!” Yet in her thoughts and heart she was wildly provoked to attempt it.