“Do you really need to ask?”
She grinned at him. “But don’t expect me to be giving you any apologies in return. Nearly three weeks wasted when we could have been having that delightful time sooner if you—” Her eyes flared with sudden realization. “You weren’t going to, were you? Ever?”
“Resisting you has been the hardest thing I’ve ever done, but I actually wanted your father’s blessing—”
“Oh, good God. Now you’re talking about never!” She rolled her eyes at him. “It’s a good thing I forced your hand then, isn’t it? So we’ll have some fun for the duration, then go our separate ways afterward, and you will never think again about doing the noble with my father. Really, he’s not a normal parent by any means, and I don’t want you dead anymore.”
He leaned over and kissed her hard before he got up and walked to the chest at the foot of the bed. “It’s adorable that you think you can control my actions, Jack, but you really can’t.”
She would have frowned at him, but she’d just gotten dazzled by the sight of his bare arse, such a manly shape, nicely rounded, tightly formed.
“Latch the door behind me, change into your usual, then meet me on the quarterdeck for breakfast.”
She huffed as she got out of bed. They weren’t done with that conversation, but they didn’t need to have it today. She rinsed off at the water bowl, then dressed in her clean britches and tossed the pair she’d worn yesterday on the bed for Jackie to wash with the sheets. She stared at those sheets for only a moment, deciding she’d pull Jackie’s ears if he mentioned the blood.
Stepping out of the room a while later, she was just in time to see Jeremy and Percy coming up the stairs from below. Two guards preceded them, and Mortimer and another guard came up behind them. Once they came up to the quarterdeck, the guards stationed themselves at the top of both sets of stairs leading up there. Well, of course it would need to appear that Jeremy and Percy were being let out under armed guard. She glanced across the main deck and saw no pirates on it yet, so she gave the two a bright smile when they reached her.
“Good morning!”
“We shall hope,” Percy replied.
“Join the captain, Percy,” Jeremy said as he put an arm around Jacqueline to detain her. “I need a word with my ‘happy’ sister.” That should have given her a clue, but he added the moment Percy left them, “I know that look.”
“What look?”
“Of a sexually fulfilled woman. I’m going to have to kill him now.”
His expression told her he meant it, but she still snorted at him. “No, you aren’t, since I’m the one who started it, and I’m not the least bit sorry that I did. It’s not going to be the last time, either.”
“The devil it won’t be. The alliance didn’t include you as the spoils.”
She chuckled. “You need to rephrase that since he’s the spoils, not I.”
He narrowed his cobalt eyes, warning her, “You can’t keep him like a pet, Jack. That’s one mutt Father won’t let in the house.”
“Good grief, is that what concerns you? I don’t want to keep him, I just want to enjoy him for a while. There’s nothing permanent about a dalliance. So stop being a hypocrite, or do I need to remind you that I’m our father’s daughter and he was the most notorious rake ever? You were a womanizer of the extraordinary sort yourself. If you think only men can—”
“You know bloody well it’s different for a woman.” His tone was quite angry. “I get called a bachelor, you get called—”
“Don’t say it!”
“And yet there’s a reason why there’s no female equivalent for the masculine term rake. I rest my case.”
She rolled her eyes. “Lucky for me it’s not your decision, it’s mine. So stop begrudging me this little bit of fun, Jeremy, and let it go.”
His answer was to go over to the wheel and punch Damon in the gut. “You should have resisted, mate.”
Damon grunted, bent over. “I tried—and failed, so I’ll allow you one.”
“I know she was the instigator, but there’ll be more’n one if it happens again.”
Jacqueline ran over to them. “You win, Jeremy. For the sake of peace, I’ll stay out of his bed.” She didn’t blush, neither did her brother. But Percy did, which almost made her laugh. But Jeremy was giving her such a doubtful look that she was forced to add in a growl, “You have utterly ruined my mood, thank you very much. And don’t think I’ll forgive you for this interference. Now can we form a plan before Lacross’s men come on deck and try to eavesdrop or, worse, put their own plan in motion?”
Chapter Thirty-Eight
SO DO WE JUST grab them as they come on deck?” Jeremy asked.
“That would be ideal except ever since they started making attempts to get at Jack and I’ve had to fight them off, they’ve become wary of me and Mort. They never trusted me, but now they are fully alert, watching and waiting for me to try something. They might entrench themselves down there in the crew’s quarters if any of their mates don’t return, and we definitely don’t want that to happen. They’ll have cover, weapons, all our food, and they can hold my helmsman hostage. As long as they have him, they can sail the ship without me.”
“So we have to get all of them up here. I see three of them now.”
“Take a stroll with your guards,” Damon suggested. “They’ll stay close to you for the sake of appearances. The pirates need to think you’re only up here for exercise. They should steer clear of you after you took down so many of them in London. Then again, they are an aggressive bunch of thugs and might want a little payback, so be careful.”
“Or I can knock a few out just on principle. I’m due some payback as well.”
Damon grinned. “Feel free to knock out as many—actually, don’t. That could backfire on us. If it looks like you want to fight, they might shoot you before you reach them. Lord Percival, on the other hand, won’t concern them.”
Percy quickly squared his shoulders and tried to scowl. “Did I just get insulted?”
“D’you think you could knock one out if you took him by surprise?” Jeremy asked his friend.
Percy made a fist and stared down at it before he shook his head. “You know that ain’t my cup of tea, dear boy.”
“I can,” Jack volunteered. “Never mind objecting, you know I can.”
“You could,” Damon allowed. “Except that would put you too close to them. All it will take is for one of them to get their hands on you, Jack, and the rest of us will lose. You stay right where you are.”
“I’ll be back in a minute.” Jeremy headed down to the main deck with Percival and the guards.
“Is he going to start something?” Damon asked.
Jacqueline grinned. “Possibly, but more likely, just make them a little nervous. Are we going to do this today?”
He shook his head. “No, today we plan, and before we do anything, I need to lock Mr. Thomson safely in my cabin. We won’t make much headway afterward if he gets injured or captured.” Damon brushed back a lock of Jack’s hair that had fallen over her face. “So . . . we’re back to separate beds?”
She glanced around to make sure her brother was still walking on the main deck, then put her hand on Damon’s buttocks and squeezed. “What do you think?”
“So you lied to him?”
“Course I did. He’s being a hypocrite. He never denied himself any woman who cast her eyes his way before he married, and that was pretty much any woman who crossed his path. For him to deny me the same sort of pleasure is absurd.”
“He was being protective and I’d expect no less.”
“Are you going all noble again?”
He gently caressed her cheek. “As long as you want me, I’m yours.”
She smiled brilliantly. “That was rather sweet—”
“What was?” Jeremy asked as he came up behind her.
She swung around to complain, “I thought you were getting some exercise.”
“I was passing out nasty
looks in preparation.”
“For?” she asked.
“Our foolproof plan.” Jeremy glanced at Damon. “Tell them to send up two of their men to fight me—hell, make it three. Say the crew is due some entertainment.”
“That’s not a bad idea, but challenging two should be enough.”
“No, three. They have to think they can win, or the others won’t come up to watch.”
“You’re assuming they will all show up, but what if they don’t?” Jacqueline reminded Damon, “I thought you wanted to secure your helmsman first to keep him safe?”
“That won’t be necessary if this impromptu fighting match that they can wager on lures all of them up here. But if it doesn’t, we won’t proceed beyond the fight and we can try again tomorrow. They might not be happy when your brother wins, but they shouldn’t interfere. And at least we’ll be able to count two or three of them sore or disabled for the next round.”
“There are still fifteen of them,” she told Jeremy. “How are we getting rid of the rest?”
“I’m going to be clumsy so a few of my swings will go wide and take out a few of the onlookers, and I’ll keep it interesting so their eyes stay on me and won’t be watching what the rest of you are doing.”
“With the pirates gathered around your brother,” Damon added, “we can take down the ones on the fringes before the others notice. It’s a good plan.”
It was, yet she couldn’t help thinking about what would happen if they failed. They’d probably be killed and she’d be . . . She shuddered.
Noticing her expression, Jeremy chucked her chin. “You see any flaws in this plan?”
“No, but I’ll need a weapon.”
“You’ll need to lock yourself in the cabin,” Damon said adamantly.
“Not a chance! And before you disagree, they will expect me to be by your side as I’ve been all week. If I’m not, they will be suspicious and then nothing will go as you wish.”
“She’s right,” Jeremy said. “Just try to stay out of the way, Jack. If even one of them gets their hands on you, it’s all over.”
“Exactly my point,” Damon said. “You can stay on deck until the fight starts, but then you have to get behind a locked door. If you don’t agree to that, Jack, then I’m not delivering Jeremy’s challenge.”
She glared at Damon for a moment before she mumbled, “Fine, I’ll use the latch on the door. But you’re going to miss my help.”
Chapter Thirty-Nine
AFTER CALLING MORTIMER OVER and relaying the full plan to him, the first mate went below to issue the challenge and wake up any sleeping pirates, promising a fight they wouldn’t want to miss and taking wagers. Jeremy went down to the main deck, removed his wrinkled coat, and started stretching and jabbing at the air, typical preparations for a round of fisticuffs. Jacqueline stayed with Damon, trying to figure out a way to help without hindering. But she doubted she could knock out anyone with a single punch; disable, yes, but she didn’t dare leave any of the pirates able to get back up before most of them had been captured. She wished she had some sort of weapon, but none was being offered to her.
Then Damon slipped her the little pistol he’d taken from her at the start of this voyage, saying, “Just in case.” Knowing that he now trusted her with it gave her such a warm feeling she couldn’t resist thanking him with an ardent kiss, even if it had to be brief. She knew the pistol was only for her own protection, not to be used in taking out any of the pirates, but she still felt more confident now that she had it and slipped it into the pocket of the britches Jackie had loaned her.
Jeremy’s preparations were drawing the attention of the three pirates on deck. Jacqueline moved to the top of the stairs when one of them yelled at her brother, “Wot are you up to, toff?”
Jeremy motioned the pirate forward, his expression making it a dare. “I’ve offered some entertainment in the form of a challenge, and your captain thinks it will be amusing, so he’s agreed.”
“You’re fighting him?”
“Eventually, but today I want any two of you who beat me down in London to dare try it again. Weren’t you one?” The pirate’s snort had Jeremy add, “No? Well, your mates have been invited and will join you shortly. Decide amongst yourselves who’s brave enough to give this a go.”
“Yer a bleedin’ giant. Two to one ain’t soundin’ fair for our boys.”
“Oh, come now . . .”
“Three maybe.”
“Three it is.”
Jeremy had probably agreed too quickly because one of the pirates snickered, “But four’s a nice even number, I’m thinkin’.”
Jack could see that Jeremy hadn’t expected that, so his reply was deliberately insulting. “It’s a cowardly number, but if that’s what you think of your fellows, so be it.”
That got him some nasty looks, but more pirates started appearing on deck, and the three who had haggled with Jeremy went over to confer with them. Jacqueline started counting heads, but it wasn’t necessary. Mortimer came up the lower-deck stairs last and stood where Damon could see him, nodding and giving the signal that all the pirates were present. She saw Dr. Death, still wearing sinister black. She hadn’t seen him since he’d treated Damon’s wound. His deathly pale complexion was proof of his dislike of the sun. Next to him was Bart Satin, still carrying four pistols tucked in the waistband of his britches. She hoped that particular troublemaker would be one of Jeremy’s contenders. And Scar Face and the other pirate who’d snuck into Damon’s cabin to get a good look at her were laughing at the notion that Jeremy thought he could take down four of their brethren.
The rest of Lacross’s men, all flamboyantly dressed and heavily armed, blended into one gang. She tensed when most of the pirates started toward Jeremy. The normal sailors got out of the way, many of them climbing the masts for a better view, though others gathered around with the pirates for a closer view of the fight that was about to get under way. She wished they would help her brother instead, but she supposed their not taking sides was better than helping the wrong side.
She gasped when she heard her brother say, “Five? Really? No brave lads among you a’tall?”
“No stupid lads.”
She ran back to Damon. “You have to stop this. Now the challenge is up to five against one.”
He gave her a grave look and a nod of agreement and pulled her forward to take the wheel. “Just until I get this under control,” he said before she could ask, and he started down the stairs.
It was the first time he was trusting her with the wheel, but he’d picked a lousy time to do it because she didn’t have a good view of the main deck from there. But no sooner had he started down the stairs than Mr. Thomson came up the other set that led to the quarterdeck. Looking tired but quite awake now, the helmsman was hurrying toward her, and the moment he reached her, she ran after Damon.
She’d only just bumped into his back when she heard Jeremy tell the prospective fighters, “Four, and you get to pick. Five and I pick. You decide, but keep in mind, there’s at least one of you that I could flick over with a finger.”
That got some laughter out of the pirates, and the shortest one among them had gone red in the face. But Jeremy’s solution solved the numbers problem because the pirates chose the first option, and Damon turned around to whisper, “All eyes are on your brother. Now go lock yourself in the cabin.”
Before the fight even began? She would have laughed at the suggestion if he didn’t look so serious, so she merely reminded him, “That wasn’t the deal.”
He swore under his breath, something about stubbornness, but said, “You’ll stay behind me, and the very moment I crack someone’s head, you run to the cabin.”
Mortimer pushed his way through to the center of the ring of pirates that was forming around Jeremy and ordered, “The contenders must hand over their weapons to me. This is going to be a—somewhat fair fight.” But by the time five pistols and two daggers were dropped by his feet, he added, “Bloody hell, I n
eed a sack,” which drew even more laughter.
Still, he managed to stuff seven pistols around his waist and picked up the eight daggers from the four pirates who had stepped forward to participate. Finally, he raised his hand and said, “On your mark—”
One of them threw a punch at Jeremy before Mortimer could finish. The blond got out of the way and joined Percy behind the ring of onlookers, slipping him one of the pistols.
“Four is still a lousy number,” Jacqueline whispered to Damon.
“Your brother must not think so, but you know him better than I. Can he do it?”
“Certainly—but he might not get in those missed swings we were counting on.”
Three more swings toward Jeremy, all three misses. Jeremy was playing with them, apparently. Jack wished she had a better view, but at least she could still see her brother, taller than all the others, to know that he was enjoying himself!
But then Jeremy took his first swing at the pirate who was trying to slip behind him. A bystander went down instead and Jeremy complained, “Now see what you’ve done. That’s what happens when you don’t stay in front of me.”
Jacqueline started to worry. Jeremy might have all their attention on him, but he should have taken down one of the four contenders first so he’d just have to face a manageable three, especially when the four could converge on him. She hoped he didn’t think pirates would actually fight fairly. But she realized when another bystander went down that having the four contenders still standing was possibly keeping anyone else from interfering yet, if they planned to.
Two down, thirteen to go, and what was Damon waiting for? He wasn’t. He hit the man in front of him with the butt of his pistol, helping him to the deck so his fall wouldn’t make much noise. That was her cue to leave and she did, running back up to the quarterdeck and straight to the short set of steps leading down to Damon’s cabin. Instead of going inside the cabin, she turned to the center railing in front of his cabin.
It was the perfect place to watch the fight because it provided an unobstructed view of the main deck and was only a few feet from Damon’s cabin. She could still get behind his locked door if she had to, but she didn’t think she’d have to since she also had a good view of both stairways leading up to the quarterdeck. If any of the pirates broke away from the fight on the main deck and headed toward her, she’d see it. She even put her hand in her pocket so she could quickly reach the little pistol if she needed it.