The Prize

Her mind scrambled and raced. “I had to lie to Captain Horatio to get passage,” she said, and she thought her explanation brilliant. “Obviously he would not let a child travel to Britain alone. I told him I was eighteen—”

He cut her off, his eyes cold. “You did not look fourteen in your wet gown, Miss Hughes.”

She stiffened.

His smile was a mere twist of lips. “Do sit down. As interesting as this conversation is, I am here for a purpose. A storm threatens to catch us, and if so, a long night ensues.” He moved swiftly to the table and held out her chair.

Virginia found it hard to sit down. Oddly, she hated her deception now; she did not want him to really think of her as a child. But did he even believe her? She did not quite think so. And he wasn’t a pirate, oh no! Some of her anger at being duped—and pointlessly frightened—returned. “Why didn’t you tell me that you are a captain in the royal navy?”

He shrugged. “Do you care?”

“Of course I do!” she cried, facing him earnestly now. “Because I thought I was your prisoner, although I could not fathom why. Now I know differently, although I still do not understand why I am on your ship and not the Americana. I know that the British navy thinks nothing of seizing American ships, as you have clearly done, for your country has no respect for our rights! But we are not at war with you, and you are not a pirate! In some ways, we are allies. Clearly you will release me in Portsmouth!” For this was the conclusion she had drawn upon finding his naval uniform in his closet. An officer in the British navy was not about to ransom an American citizen. But what was he about?

“We are not allies,” he said harshly.

This was not the reply she had expected and she did not like the look on his face or in his eyes.

“And I am not releasing you in Portsmouth.”

“What?” She was shocked. “But—”

“In fact, I am taking you to Askeaton. Have you ever been to Ireland, Miss Hughes?”

CHAPTER FIVE

VIRGINIA WAS DISBELIEVING. “Ireland? You think to take me to Ireland?”

“I hardly think it,” he murmured, “I plan it. Now, do sit down, as I also intend to eat.” He held out her chair.

Confusion overcame her. “I am not sure that I understand.”

“Good God!” he shot. “What is there to understand? I am taking you to Ireland, Miss Hughes, as my guest.”

She was truly trying to comprehend him. “So I am your prisoner,” she managed to say hoarsely.

“I prefer to think of you as a guest.” He became serious. “I will not harm you—not even if you are eighteen.”

“Why?”

“It doesn’t matter. Now, sit.”

Virginia had believed her terrible predicament over. She shook her head, refusing to take the offered chair. “I have no appetite. Is it a ransom that you seek?”

“How clever.” His smile was cold.

“I have no funds. My inheritance is being sold in bits and pieces as soon as possible, and the proceeds go to the repayment of my father’s debts.”

He shrugged as if he did not care.

Virginia became very alarmed, but managed to breathe slowly, evenly. “You let Mrs. Davis go. She was rather wealthy.”

“If you think to starve, so be it.” He sat down and began serving himself from the platter, where a hearty mutton stew was revealed.

Unfortunately, the sight and smell of the stew caused her stomach to growl loudly, but he did not seem to hear. He began to eat, and quickly, as if eating were a mission and he were in a rush to accomplish it.

Finally he took a sip of wine and saluted her with his glass. “Fine contraband, indeed.”

Virginia did not reply. A terrible inkling was dawning upon her. He intended to ransom her and he couldn’t care less about her inheritance.

He had known her name from the moment they had met.

He must know of her uncle, the earl.

She sat down hard on the chair he had left pulled out from the table. That action caused him to glance up, although he never ceased eating.

But now she was safe enough, was she not? The man was in the navy, even if about to be discharged, or worse—and she hoped he hanged from the nearest gallows. He was no common outlaw. He wanted a ransom, one that would surely be paid, and considering all circumstances, she doubted he would return her to her uncle blemished in any way.

Virginia wondered what the ransom would be and if her uncle was wealthy enough to pay her ransom and her father’s debts. Her dismay was infinite.

“You seem distraught,” he remarked, leaning back in his chair, apparently having finished his meal.

“You have no morals, sir,” she said tightly. “That much is clear.”

“I have never said I did.” He eyed her. “Morals are for fools, Miss Hughes.”

She stared. Impulsively, she leaned forward. “How can I make you change your mind?” She could hardly believe herself now. “There cannot be a ransom from my uncle, Captain O’Neill. I am eighteen, not fourteen.” His face never changed expression. “I will do whatever I must to be freed.”

He stared for an interminable moment. “Is that the offer that I think it is?”

She felt ill…breathless…ashamed…resigned. “Yes, it is,” she croaked.

He stood. “The storm is upon us. I am afraid I must go. Do not leave this cabin. A chit such as yourself would be blown overboard instantly.” He tossed his napkin aside and strode across the now-rolling floor of the cabin as if it were still and flat.

That was his reply? She was incredulous.

At the door, he paused. “And my answer is no.” He walked out.

She collapsed on the table in tears, all of which now flowed purely from desperation. She already knew her uncle didn’t give a damn about her. He would never pay both a ransom and her father’s debts.

Because of the damned Irishman, she would lose Sweet Briar.

Anger exploded and she leapt up, racing across the cabin. As soon as she had swung the door open, a huge gale wind sent her forward helplessly across the entire deck. She had never felt such a force in her life; Virginia saw the raging, frothing sea beyond the railing and it seemed to be racing toward her. She couldn’t even cry out and then she was slammed hard, midsection first, into wood and rope.

Pain blinded her. The sea sprayed her, while the wind wanted to push her overboard. Panic consumed her—she did not want to die!

“You damnable stubborn woman,” O’Neill hissed, his strong arms wrapping around her. And she was cocooned against his entire hard, powerful body, the sea and the wind now relentlessly battering them both.

She inhaled, unable to look up, her face pressed against his chest. His grip tightened, and then he was dragging her with him as he confronted the wind, walking fiercely, determinedly into it, a single man against the elements.

He shoved her into the cabin, and for one moment stood braced in the doorway, pounded by the wind. “Stay inside!” he shouted to make himself heard.

“You have to let me go!” she shouted back. Oddly, she wanted to thank him for saving her life.

He shook his head, lashed her with a furious look and began running across the deck, finally leaping up to the quarterdeck. It had begun to rain, pounding and fierce.

Virginia stayed safely within the cabin, out of the reach of the storm, but she made no move to close the door, which had become nailed open by the wind. Now she realized how serious the storm was. The ship was riding huge tidal waves the way the tiny dinghy had earlier, cresting to each huge tip, only to plummet sickeningly down again. She glanced around and saw sailors everywhere, straining against ropes, crawling in the masts. They were hanging there, too.

Then she looked back up and cried out in horror, because a man was hanging from a middle yardarm, and she knew he had fallen and was about to careen to his death.

She had to do something, yet there seemed to be nothing that she could do.

She glanced toward the quarterdeck. She was too small to even cross the space between O’Neill’s cabin and where he stood, to tell him what was happening. She looked back up—and the hanging man was gone.

Vanished…drowned.

Her insides lurched terribly. He was gone, and she hadn’t even been able to hear him scream.

As the ship bucked violently, Virginia saw that all of the sails were tied down save one. She quickly realized that the sailor who had fallen had been sent up the first mast to reef a single sail that remained taut and unfurled.

And the huge ship instantly began to turn over on its side.

Virginia was thrown against the floor and carried all the way across it, downward, until she slammed into the opposite wall, her shoulder taking the blow, and then her head. For a moment, as the ship lay on its side—or nearly so—she remained there, incapable of moving, stunned.

She then realized that the ship was going to capsize if it didn’t become righted again. She looked at the doorway, which remained wide open, and now was oddly above her, like the ridge of a hill, the angle severe, perhaps forty-five degrees or more. The black sky shimmered in the open hatch.

They were all going to die, she thought wildly.

Virginia began to climb the floor, using the bolted table legs to help her, then the leg of the bed. Once there, she managed to stretch flat and reach high up to grab the ridge of the floor where it adjoined the door. Her arms screamed in protest, her shoulder joints felt racked. Virginia slowly pulled herself to the doorway, and once there, her back pressed into one wall, her feet into another, gazed wildly around.

The sailors on deck were also fighting the terrible angle of the ship, and its lowered side, while still not submerged, was being pounded with whitecaps. Virginia looked up at the masts and froze.

There was no mistaking Devlin O’Neill, a dagger in his teeth, climbing up the first mast, another man behind him. Above him, the huge foresail billowed, begging the storm to capsize them.

He was going to die, she thought, mesmerized, just the way that other man had. For as he climbed, using sheer strength and will to fight the pitch of the ship, the huge winds and the rain, the frigate rolled precariously even further to its side.

Virginia watched in horror. Even if he didn’t die, they were surely doomed, as no man could defeat the wind and the bucking ship in order to cut the sail free.

She watched as O’Neill paused, as if exhausted, the man beneath him also stopping. Virginia could not remove her gaze. She prayed as both men took a brief respite, clinging to the swaying mast.

He started back up. He’d reached the yardarm from which the sailor had fallen and he began to slash at the rigging. The other man joined him. Virginia watched them avidly. A few brief moments passed into an eternity when suddenly the huge canvas broke free of its rigging, sailing wildly away into the night.

The huge ship groaned and sank back evenly into the water.

“Oh, my God,” she whispered, watching him begin a precarious but nimble descent. It was obvious he had just saved his ship and crew, and it was also obvious he had dared to do what few others would even contemplate.

She began to shake. The man knew no fear.

She realized she had never been more afraid in her life.

She wasn’t sure how long she sat there when a sailor shoved his face at her. “Get inside, Captain says so.”

Virginia had no time to react. She was shoved back into the cabin, while the sailor used all of his strength to pry the door free from the outside wall, fighting the gale and eventually slamming it in her face.

This time, she heard the click of a lock.

Virginia stumbled over to his bed, where she collapsed and lapsed into unconsciousness.

SUNLIGHT WAS STREAMING brightly through the portholes of the cabin when she awoke. Every part of her body ached and her head pounded, while her eyes felt too heavy to even open. She had never been so tired in her life, and she had no wish to awake. She snuggled more deeply beneath the covers, cocooned in warmth. Then a mild irritation began—only the back side of her body seemed to be covered.

She groped for the blanket…and realized there were no covers and she was not alone.

She stiffened.

The length of a hard body lay against her, warming her from her shoulders to her toes. She felt a soft breath feathering her jaw, and an arm was draped over her waist.

Oh God, she thought, blinking into bright midday sunlight. And trembling, a new tension filling her, she looked at the hand on her waist.

She already knew who lay in bed beside her and she stared at O’Neill’s large, strong, bronzed hand, which lay carefully upon her. She swallowed, an odd heavy warmth unfurling in the depth of her being.

How had this happened? she thought with panic. Of course the explanation was simple enough and she guessed it immediately—sometime after the storm died, he had stumbled into bed just as she had, too tired to care that she lay there. That likelihood did not decrease her distress. In fact, her agitation grew.

Then a terrible comprehension seized her.

His hand lay carefully on her waist.

Not limp and relaxed with sleep, but carefully controlled and placed.

Her heart skipped then drummed wildly. He was not asleep. She would bet her life on it.

She debated feigning sleep until he left her bed. But her heart was racing so madly it was an impossibility, especially as she felt his hand tighten on her waist. Virginia turned abruptly and faced a pair of brilliant silver eyes and the face of an archangel. Their gazes locked.

She didn’t move, didn’t breathe, and could think of nothing intelligent to say.

Then his gaze moved to her temple, which she now realized truly hurt. “Are you all right?” he asked, also still. His gaze slipped slowly to her mouth, where it lingered before moving as slowly back up to her eyes.

His gaze felt like a silken caress.

“I…” She stopped, incapable of speech. And she could not help but stare. His face was terribly close to hers. He had firm, unmoving lips. Her gaze shot back to his. His face was expressionless, carved in stone and impossible to read, but his eyes seemed bright.

She wondered what it would feel like, to have his hard mouth soften and cover hers. “You saved my life,” she whispered nervously. “Thank you.”

His jaw flexed. He started to shove off of the bed.

She gripped the hand that had been on her waist. “You saved the ship, the crew. I saw what you did. I saw you up there.”

“You are in my bed, Virginia, and unless you wish to remain here with me for another hour, at least, leaving the last of your youth behind, I suggest you let me get up.”

She remained still. Her mind raced. Her body burned for his touch and she knew it. It was foolish now to deny. Somehow, his heroism of the night before had changed everything. Anyway, he was perfectly capable of getting up, never mind that she had seized his wrist. She found herself looking at his mouth again. She had never been kissed.

Abruptly he lurched off of the bed and before she could even cry out, he was gone.

Virginia slowly sat up, stunned.

There was no relief. There was a morass of confusion, and more bewildering, there was disappointment.

VIRGINIA REMAINED ON THE BED, sitting there, beginning to realize what she had almost done.

She had been a hairbreadth away from kissing her captor—she had wanted his kiss.

Disbelief overcame her and she leapt to her feet as a knock sounded on her door. O’Neill never knocked, so she snapped, “Who is it?”

“Gus. Captain asked that I bring you bathing water.”

“Come in,” she choked, turning away. O’Neill was the enemy. He had taken her against her will from the Americana, an act of pure avarice and greed. He was holding her against her will now. He stood between her and Sweet Briar. How could she have entertained, even for an instant, a desire for his touch, his kiss?

Gus entered, followed by two seamen carrying pails of hot water. He set a pitcher of fresh water on the dining table, not looking at her. Both sailors also treated her as if she were invisible, filling the hip bath.

How kind, she thought, suddenly furious with him—and furious with herself. She had never even thought of kissing anyone until a moment ago. This had to be his fault entirely—she was overwrought from the crisis of the abduction, of the storm, the crisis that was him! He was somehow taking advantage of her state of confusion, her nerves. In any case, the entire interlude was unacceptable. He was the enemy and would remain so until she was released. One did not kiss one’s enemy, oh no.

Besides, kissing would surely lead to one certain fate—becoming his whore!

“Is there anything else that you need, Miss Hughes?” Gus was asking, cutting into her raging thoughts.

“No, thank you,” she said far too tersely. Her cheeks were on fire. She was on fire. And she was afraid.

Gus turned, the other sailors already leaving.

Virginia fought the fear, the despair. She reminded herself that she had to escape. She had to convince her uncle to save Sweet Briar. Soon, this nightmare that was O’Neill would be only that, a passing bad dream, a memory becoming distant. “Gus! Where are we? Are we close to shore?”

He hesitated, but did not turn to face her. “We were blown off course. We’re well north of England, Miss Hughes.”

She gaped as he left, before she was able to demand just how far north they had been blown off course. Her geography was rusty, but she knew rather vaguely that Ireland was north of England. Being taken to Portsmouth was far better than being taken to Ireland, and ironically, now she was afraid he’d change his damnable plans and not take the Defiance to Portsmouth first.

She ran to his desk and glanced at the map there. It took her a moment to confirm her worst fears. Ireland was north and west of England, and if they had been blown far north enough, Ireland would be smack in their way. But could a mere storm have blown them that far off course? To her uneducated eye, two hundred miles or more were required for them to be on a direct line with the other country.

She glanced at the map of England. Portsmouth did not look to be far from London. She tried to estimate the distance and decided it was a day’s carriage ride. At least that one point was in her favor, she thought grimly.

Now what? Virginia’s gaze fell on the steaming bath. Instantly she decided not to waste the hot water. She bathed quickly, afraid of an interruption, scrubbing his touch from her body. Leaping out, she barely toweled dry, afraid he would walk in and catch her unclothed. She braided her hair while wet, in record time donning the same clothes. A glance in his mirror showed her that she was frightfully pale, which only made her eyes appear larger. She looked terribly unkempt—her gown was beyond wrinkled and torn at the hem, with a bloodstain on one shoulder. But even worse was the abrasion on her temple. It looked like a terrible gash, and when she touched it she found the wound sensitive.

She looked like a washerwoman in a fine lady’s clothes, one who’d been in a fistfight or other battle.

But then, she had been in a battle, she had been in a constant battle since the moment O’Neill had attacked the Americana.

Virginia walked over to a porthole, which she levered open. It was a beautiful spring day, the sky blue and cloudless, the ocean almost flat, and she was amazed at how serene the sea was after the horror of the night before. She strained for a glimpse of land or even a seagull, but saw neither. Virginia left the porthole open and stepped out onto the deck.

She espied him instantly. O’Neill had his back to her, standing with an officer who was steering the ship, his legs braced wide apart, his arms apparently folded in front of his chest. She felt an odd breathless sensation as she stared at him, one she did not care for. He turned slightly—the man had the senses of a jungle tiger—and their gazes locked.

He nodded.

She ignored his gesture and walked over to the railing, only too late realizing that this was very close to the spot where she would have been washed overboard if he hadn’t rescued her.

She clung to the rail, closing her eyes and lifting her face to the warm May sun. But inside, she was shaken to the core. Last night, she had almost died. It was an experience she hoped never to repeat.

A distinct recollection of the feel of his strong arms wrapping around her, and then the sensation of being pressed deeply against his body, overcame her. Virginia stood very still, allowing her eyes to open, reminding herself that he was the enemy and that would never change—not until he let her go free.

“A fine spring day,” an unfamiliar voice said cheerfully behind her.

Virginia started, turning.

A plump man with curly gray hair and dancing brown eyes smiled at her. He wore a brown wool jacket, britches and stockings—he could have been strolling the streets of Richmond, except for the lack of a hat, cane and gloves. “I’m Jack Harvey, ship’s surgeon,” he said, giving her a courtly bow.

She smiled uncertainly, sensing that he was a good man—unlike his superior. “Virginia Hughes,” she said.

“I know.” His smile was wide. “Everyone knows who you are, Miss Hughes. There are no secrets on board a ship.”

Virginia absorbed that and helplessly darted a glance at O’Neill. He seemed oblivious to her presence on his deck now, his back remaining to her and Harvey.

“How are you holding up?” Harvey asked. “And should I take a look at that temple of yours?”

“It’s sore,” she admitted, meeting his gaze. “I am holding up as well as can be expected, I think. I have never been abducted before.”

Harvey met her gaze, grimacing. “Well, you may know that as far as Devlin is concerned, this is a first for him, as well. He’s taken hostages before, but never women or children. He always frees the women and the children.”

“How wonderful to be an exception,” she said with bitterness.

“Has he hurt you?” Harvey asked abruptly.

She started and stared. An image of his silver gaze as she turned in bed to face him filled her mind. She hesitated.

“You are very beautiful,” Harvey said in the lapse that had fallen. “I have never seen such extraordinary eyes. I do not approve of Devlin sharing that cabin with you.”

Did she have an ally in the ship’s surgeon? She inhaled sharply, her mind racing. Then, carefully, she summoned tears—a feat she had never before performed. “I begged for mercy,” she whispered. “I told him I was a young, innocent and defenseless woman.” She stopped as if she could not continue.

Harvey’s eyes widened in shock. “I don’t believe it! The bastard…seduced you?”

He would be an ally, she could feel it. “Seduced? I don’t think that is the right word.”

He was pale beneath his coppery tan. “I will make sure he finds accommodations elsewhere,” he said tersely. He glanced over his shoulder at O’Neill, who remained with his back to them, facing the prow of the ship. “Not that that will change what he has done,” he said, clearly distressed. “Miss Hughes, I am so sorry. Clearly you are a lady, and frankly, this is entirely out of character for Devlin.”

She was certain she had won him over. She pretended to wipe her eyes, making certain that her hands trembled. “I am sorry, too. You see, I have terribly urgent affairs in London, my entire life is at stake, and now…now I doubt I will be able to solve the crisis I am in. Are you his friend?” she asked without a pause and without premeditation.

He started and then became thoughtful. “Devlin is a strange man. He keeps his distance from everyone. You never really know what he is thinking, what he is intending. I’ve been aboard his ships for three years now and that should make us friends. But the truth is, I know very little about him—no more than the rest of the world. We all know of his exploits, his reputation. I do consider myself a friend—he saved my life in Cadiz—but frankly, if we are friends, I have never had a friendship like this before.”