The companionway outside was empty, and she blinked in some surprise. She was used to seeing Mr. Fellowes or another sailor standing guard. Since the attack by Johnson, she’d seen the measure as a protective one. Now it seemed not a man could be spared. With a frown, she made her way to the deck, where she spotted Nick immediately. Without her saying a word, he turned toward her. When his blue eyes landed on her, her heart jumped into her throat, and she had to gulp it back down.
So much for not falling in love with him. She feared she was halfway in love with him already. She made her way to where he stood on the foredeck, expecting him to chastise her for being out in the open, but he merely nodded at her and turned back to the water. “The men will row in search of wind,” he said to her when she was beside him. His tone was informal, as though he had been sharing this sort of information with her all along.
“I thought silence was of the utmost importance,” she said.
“Mr. Chante spotted another ship. Now escape is at the top of my list.”
“Is it another navy ship?”
He shrugged, his eyes on the water. “I couldn’t identify it in the dark and fog, but when you’re a pirate almost every ship is an enemy ship.”
“What have you done to anger so many other captains?”
He laughed, the sound rich and almost dissonant in the quiet of the night. “I’ve been successful,” he said. “The navy wants to take me as a prize, and other pirates want the privilege of saying they sunk the Robin Hood. I’m sure they wouldn’t mind conscripting a few of my men as well.”
“So you don’t always run,” she said more to herself than to him.
“No. My men are rich from the treasures we’ve liberated. You shouldn’t have any illusions about me, Ashley.”
She glanced at him, and his gaze was on her. “I’m no hero. I’ve killed and I’ve stolen and I’ve done what was necessary to stay alive.”
This was more than he’d told her in all the time they’d spent together. She would take advantage of his sudden eagerness to speak. “What about the rumors that you give half your wealth to the poor?”
“Those are just rumors. People like tales of adventure, and the exploits of the captain of the Robin Hood have been greatly exaggerated by storytellers hoping to earn their supper. I’m neither as good nor as bad as the rumors would have you believe.”
“But why become a pirate at all?” she asked. “You come from a noble family and don’t need the money. You were once in the navy. Why did you turn?”
He did not answer. When he turned back to study the row boats, she did not think he would answer. His low voice surprised her. “Revenge.”
“Against whom?”
“A Barbary corsair named Yussef. He killed someone I cared for, and the navy would not allow me to go after him. I took matters into my own hands.”
“He’s the reason we’re sailing to the island?”
He nodded. “I should have killed him years ago. Instead, I followed orders. Now I give the orders.” He narrowed his eyes on the horizon. “Mr. Chante!”
“I see it, Cap’n. Wind! Retrieve the boats and prepare to man the rigging.”
Nick turned to study the activity, overseeing it as he seemed to do with all of the operations on board ship. But Ashley watched him. His blue eyes were sharp and his mouth set in a grim line. She almost found it difficult to believe this was the man who’d held her in his arms a few hours ago. This was a man who loved fiercely and was loyal to the end.
But who was it he had loved? A woman? It had to have been. Ashley felt her cheeks heat with something suspiciously like jealousy. Ridiculous considering the woman—the person—in question was gone. Still, what would it be like to have this man love her? She feared she would never know.
Worse, she feared she was going to go ahead and fall in love with the rogue anyway.
Chapter Nine
Streaks of orange and pink fought their way through the gray of early dawn as Nick stared off the bow at the tiny land mass. The Robin Hood sailed at a fast clip, the wind whipping her sails, and Isla de las Riquezas was only a few hours away. Despite the obstacles, they’d made it in less than three weeks, which considering the poor weather, had to be some sort of record.
The small island near Gibraltar had long been a haven for sailors and pirates, but Nick and the men of the Robin Hood had claimed it for their own. They’d fought for it, and every pirate knew better than to defy Nick’s No Visitors policy. They left men to defend it, and the two 32-pound cannon set high on the hills overlooking the beach punctuated Nick’s command. That Yussef had the gall to attack, and that he was successful, made fury rise in Nick’s gut. He would kill the men stationed to defend the island. If they were not already dead.
He wanted answers, and he wanted the Barbary corsair’s head. But first he would see Rissa. If she was dead...he did not want to think of that. He would go on. He would have to, but life would hardly be worth living without her. He should have taken her to England long ago. He’d known she wasn’t safe here, but England was so confining, so regimented, and she was such a free spirit. The last thing he wanted was to see the laughter and spirit methodically crushed out of her by Society.
No, the last thing he wanted was to see her small, lifeless body, withering on the beach, food for crabs and seagulls. He would take her to England, to safety. It was time he gave up his adventures on the sea and did his duty. He had a wife now. Nick raked a hand through his hair, thinking of Ashley. Lovely Ashley. What would she think of Rissa? Of Zorah? Would she condemn him? Probably, but then again, one never knew with Ashley.
She was one of the few women in Society who had not had her spirit crushed. Perhaps that was why he’d always been drawn to her. She was beautiful, of course, but beauty would not have held his attention for more than the time it took to dance a set with her at a ball. She’d had his attention for far longer than that.
He would take her back to England and be a true husband to her. Jack would welcome his brother’s help managing the Blackthorne estates. And Nick was ready to submit to the yoke of that duty—as soon as Yussef was dead. True, he’d been chasing the pirate for years now, but Nick’s search had not been consuming or focused. He was a pirate. Pirates made their fortunes and those of their crew. But he found he cared little for fortune any longer. He wanted something else, something more than the quick rush of a sea battle or the adventure of sailing to parts unknown.
