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Brilliant, he congratulated her silently as the pirate captain came over the sidelast. That, he thought, was telling. The man wasa coward. Daniel had heardvery little about Valoree's days of high-seas robbery - by hisown choice, for while Valoree was quiet on the subject, the men had been eager to regalehimwith talesof their daring. But after learningthat she always ledthe attackand wasthefirstover the side of the ship, he had shied off hearing more. Perhaps when he was in his dotage, and already gray, he would bebetter equipped to handle hearinghowshe had putherself in danger. But nowhis poor heart could not bear it.
At that moment, however, he felt a thrill of pride at the fact that, captain or not - and having that choice - still she had always led the attack. This mandid not have thatcourage, and while thatlowered him in Daniel's estimation, it alsomade Daniel extremely wary. There was nothing more dangerous, in his opinion, than acoward. One never knew whatlengths they would goto to save their ownskin.
These thoughts running through his head, he watched grimly as the pirate captain slowlyperusedtheship, takingineach man, thenthe women, before settling onDaniel andHenry. He moved toward themat once, asupercilious smileonhis faceashe took in Daniel's matching maroon velvet waistcoat and the silly beribboned knee breeches Valoree had insisted hewear. She had said it would make him look more fey and less threatening.
Danieltried not to grimaceas theman's gaze thendropped tothe pinkhose she hadalso insistedhe wear. He had recognized them at once as part of the livery the men had sported while they paraded as her house servants, but had donned them without argument, knowing therewas apurpose behind her every order.
Promising himselfhe wouldwipe that smirk off the man's face at the first opportunity, hebegan to wave the hankie she had pressed into hishand, in what hehoped would appear a nervous fashion. Thenhe pressed it to his upper lip and tried to look as small and"fey" as a six-footman with broad shoulders could as the fellow paused before him.
"Ye'd be the captain of this herevessel, " the fellow decided, addressing Henrywitha barely discernible Spanish accent.
"Aye, "thequartermaster calmly lied.
The fellow accepted that readily, then nodded in Daniel's general direction without bothering to look at him. "Owner? "
"Aye, "Henry said again. "And ye are? "
There was a tense moment of silence; then he smiled. It wasn't avery pleasant smile. "Have your mendrop theirweapons. "
Henryhesitated, then gestured with hishand, andthere was a brief symphony of clumps and clangsas themen dropped their pistols and cutlasses.
The pirate captain made a similar gesture, and several of his men began to move around, collecting thedropped arsenal. Once that was done, he turned back to Henry. "What are you carrying? "
"Linen, taffeta, silver, iron, and a bitof gold, but not much, "
Henry said - exactly what Valoree had told himto report as their cargo. Furnitureand food might have justangered thefellow and gotten someone shot before they were ready for fighting.
Claiming toomuch of value might have made him suspicious, however.
The pirateseemed satisfied with the list. He merely nodded, then held out ahand, palmup. "Your weapon. "
**** Valoree watched silently as Henry pulled out the flintlock pistol she'd hadhim put in thetop of his pants. He handed it over slowly, laying it inthe man's palmbefore reachingto remove his cutlass. Itwas while hewas distracted with the second task that the pirate captain struck. She saw himswing the gun at Henry and stiffened, but before she couldutter aword, an alarmed cry fromMeg piercedher ear. It was too lateforHenryto avoidthe blow, however, and he went down like a stone beneath it. He fell unconscious tothedeck.
Meg immediately tried torush pasther then, no doubt to help Henry, but Valoreegrabbedher arm and held her back, stepping in frontof her when the pirate captainpeered curiously toward them. Their gazes met briefly, and she found her chin rising despite her best effortsto appear frightened. Thenhebrokethe glance andturnedto address hisnow unarmed captives.
"I am Captain Alvarez of the Bastardo. Thisismy ship now.
Andyouwill nowhave your choice: a slow death or a fast one.
Thosemenwhocooperate andhelpustransfer the cargo will die quickly and as painlesslyaspossible. Those who do not, but ask questions, or aretooslow to follow orders" - he glanced down and kicked the unconscious Henry viciously, then smiled pleasantly ashe finished - "willbe sportfor mymen. That means keel-hauling, eating your owntongues, things of that nature, " he explained ina boredtone, thenshrugged. "Iwould offersome of youtheopportunity to join my crew, but I have just taken on several from anothership, andso need no moremen. "
"Now, Captain? "
Valoree heard One-Eye's hissedwords. He sounded furious. Of course. But then, all the men would be outraged. Itwasone thing to killa man, quite another to torture himtodeath. And really, offering tokill himquickly if he sweated to help the people who wereaboutto kill him was just a touch toodamned evil. This Alvarezneeded tolearn a lesson.
"Nay, "she whispered back. "Wait. "
Alvarezturnedtoward her again, and sheatfirstthought he had heardher admonishment to One-Eye, but when shetookin hisexpression, shedecided he hadn't; he was justnowturning his interestto the women.
"You ladies, ofcourse. . . " he saidashe walkedtoward where they weregrouped together midship. "Youshall not die . . . right away. " Hesmiled at Valoree, whowas in front, asif he hadjust done themthe greatest offavors;then hisgaze dropped to her stomach. He grimaced. "We shall have to dispose of that. "
She sawtherage flash overDaniel's face and knewher own no doubtmirrored it, but merely turned herheadaway from Alvarez, avoiding hiseyes to glanceover the position of the various men aboard her ship, then toward the Spanish vessel and the sea between. The small dinghy they had used to bring the first load of cutthroats overwashalfwaybetweenthe ships, headingback for reinforcements.
She caught movement out of the cornerof her eye, andturned backin time tosee Alvarezcatch Helen by the arm and drag her againsthis chest.
"You are a pretty little thing. Youcan entertain me personally, si? " Alvarez told the girl, chuckling as she began to struggle againsthim.
"I donotthink so, "Valoreeansweredpulling hercutlass out andslidingit againsthis throat. "Not rightnow. "
If thepiratecaptain was startled to suddenly find himself on thebusiness end ofa sword, he managedto hide it well; heeven smiled as he regardedher.
"A woman withspunk, "he commented, apparently amused by the situation. He nodded back towardwhere Daniel stoodstiff andsilent besidetheunconsciousHenry. "Hiswife? "
Valoree nodded silently.
"Well, you are too much woman for him. I will showyou what areal man is like, yes? "
He released Helen then, and Valoree tensed to see what he would donext whenexplosions rang out nearly directly behind her. The cannons, of course. It seemed One-Eyehad understood her emphasis on theword now. She hadbeen so distracted, she hadn'theard orsmelledthe burning fuses. She saw shock suffuse the pirate captain's face, thenunderstandingas he realized why the women hadbeenstanding where they had, andwhat they had been hidingwiththeir many skirts. There was a second set of boomsas the cannonballs foundtheir target.
Ahorrible rending sound rang out, and everyone turnedto see themain mast of the Spanish craftsuddenly crash ontoits deck.
The screams of its sailors were drowned out, however, by the roarof Valoree'sown crew. They began pouring out of every doorandhole in theValor and leaping from beneathcanvases laid over apparent cargo. One fellow even rose straightup out of anempty barrel, its lidflying off as if under the impact of an explosion. The deck suddenly crawled with men, all releasing bloodcurdling screeches.
Valoreeturned back to Avarez, aware as shedidthat Daniel was approachingthe man from behind. But the satisfied smile on herface died, replacedwithshock asa movementtwisted the kerchief at the pirate's throat, revealing the top of a scar. A buzzi
ng suddenlyfillingherears, she reachedouttosnatchthe kerchief away. Her eyes glazed over with a combination of rage and horroras she saw the questionmark-shapedscar at the base of the man's throat. She could hearJeremy's raspy breathin her ear again, could see hisbloody body she'd held inher young arms.
"A question-mark-shaped scar . . . throat. Spanish bastard. . .
ohhh, " hehad said ina gasp. She hadthought hewas callingthe man a name, then gasping in pain. But, nay, he had beennaming the ship. Dear Lord, all this time - Asecond setof explosionsshook herout of her shock intime to see Alvarez raise a pistol towardher. Her eyes widened atthe sight ofitand the man'sother hand reachingfor her, ignoringthe cutlass at his throat, but before she could react, the pirate suddenly stiffened. Valoree never heardthe shot; her ears were still ringing from the boom of the Valor's cannons. She just saw the way Alvarez's eyesdilated, painand surprise flashing across hisface; then a thin trickle of bloodspilled from the cornerof his mouth. Hestumbled forward, falling againsther. Valoree tried to step away, but her feet tangled up in her skirtsinher hurry to avoid him. Shestumbled, andwould have fallen with the manif theother women hadn't caught her, butthey did and held her up as he went down.
Daniel lowered the flintlock he had used to shoot Alvarez.
Dropping the spentweapon to the deck, he reached inside his now open waistcoat for the second pistol he had stowedinthe top of his breeches and moved quickly forward, prepared to shoot the managain. Butone glance at the pirate captain told him therewas no need. The man was dead. Daniel's gaze slid to his wife then, and concern filledhim at her pallor.
"Valoree? " heasked taking her in his arms andholding herstiff body close, "Are youall right? "
She nodded silently in response, but he could feel her tremble in his arms. Hefrowned as heheld herclose, his gaze shifting questioningly to the other women. Blank confusion and small shrugs were his only answer. None of them knew what was wrong.
"Histhroat!"
Daniel glanced around to see that Henrywas up and walking about, assisted by Meg. The oldermanloweredthe hand that had beenrubbingthe side of his head, then pointed to Alvarez. "The scar. "
Daniel glanced down at the villain's throat, confused. Squinting at the scar atthe base of the dead pirate's neck, hesaw that it looked very much like a question mark. At that, he stiffened, his gaze shooting back to Valoree. "Your brother's murderer? " he askedincredulously.
Nodding silently, Valoree stared at the man, watching unmovingas his blood seeped out, staining the deck.
"Well, "Henrysaid after a moment. "Whenthis bastard's ship was spotted, I figuredthat we might be havingthat same bad luck thatweran across in London. But it seemsyouwereright after all, Captain. "
When Valoreetoreher gaze from the pirate'scorpse to give himaquestioning look, the quartermaster shrugged slightly. He winced asthemovement caused pain from his wounded head, but he explained. " 'Tweren't bad luck at all. Wewon. " His mouth curved into abiggrinas he spoke, then he added more solemnly, "And this here aboutcloses the door onthe past. Don't it? We vowed for life and vengeance, and Jeremy now'sgot it. Hecan resteasy. "
"Aye. Thathe can, " Valoree agreed, and Danielcouldhear that she wasfighting tears. He knew that she would nevercry in front of her men, butalsothat this moment meantvery muchto her.
"Captain? " One-Eye'svoice broke in.
"Aye? " Valoree answered at the same time as Daniel. He squeezed her arm, giving him her strength - if she wanted it.
"Whatdo you want we should dowith the pirates? "thefirst mate asked. Daniel stiffened as he waited for Valoree's decision.
Thesewere the men who had murdered her brother. Would she resist avenging herself uponthem?
His wife stared blankly at One-Eye for amoment, thenglanced over the deckof theValor II, takingin the factthat every last Spaniard waslying on the deck. Those foolishenoughto fight had been killed or injured, and thosewho hadsurrenderedatonce hadbeenorderedto lie ontheir stomachs on thedeck. They were now guarded by several of her grim-faced men. Her gaze slid over toward theBastardo. With satisfaction, she saw thatit was sinking fast. "Is the dinghystillafloat? " she asked.
One-Eyeraised aneyebrow. "Aye. "
"Then throw them over. Those still alive can swim to the dinghy. Thosedead" - she shrugged with disinterest - "let the sea have. "
Daniel remained silent, onlynodding in mute agreement. Then heswept Valoree into his arms.
"You are in charge, One-Eye, " Valoree announced as he headed forthecabins with herinhis arms. "Clean the ship ofthis slop, thenhead us for Ainsley. Henry, " sheadded, catching his upset, "you're to letMegtendto your head - and noargument about it. "
The older man made aface, but nodded.
Relieved itwas over, Daniel starteddown the stairs with his wife in hisarms. "Your plan worked, " he saidwith a combination of prideand loveas hecarried herthrough the opendoor of their cabin. Pausing inside, he kickedthe doorclosedwith onebooted foot, thencarriedheroverto the bed. There, he deposited her gently.
"As didyours, " she murmuredback, sitting up on thebed and leaning against the wall. He began to disrobe. "What are you doing? "
"Getting out of these damn clothes. I feel like a dandy in them. "
Valoree grinned. "You don't look like a dandy in them. If anything, my lord, I think pink emphasizesyour manliness. "
Daniel gruntedashe stepped out of the awfulknee breeches, leaving onlythe pink hose and white linen shirt. "Somehow I do notthink Alvarezagreed with you. "
"Alvarez was nota woman, " she murmured, herfacestiffening slightlyat thename. The man would be a rawtopic for quite a while.
"What did you mean, my plan worked? This wasall yourplan. "