Chapter 12
Belle awoke with a terrible pain pounding against her skull. Her mouth was dry and her body ached all over. What on earth had she done? Gotten into her brother’s brandy supply? No, that wasn’t it. Was she ill? No, not it either. Her throat burned when she swallowed and her chest hurt when she breathed.
Then it flooded back to her.
Explosions.
Edgar.
The plank.
The ocean.
Memories of the previous night filtered through her fog-filled brain. She recalled acting as bait to lure out the man that once tried to kill her. But he’d bested them, knocked her out and she’d awoken on a ship.
This time when Belle lifted her lashes, she was greeted by an empty room that smelled of flowers. Heaven, perhaps? It certainly smelled as though it might be. But her mind rejected the possibility. She was in too much pain to be dead.
Her eyes flickered to the door, then to the armoire, not recognizing the room. Had she been saved? Or was this another trick of Edgar’s, meant to lull her into a false sense of security?
By all accounts she should be dead, so it was hard to imagine that monster of a man not lurking just outside the door, his thin lips pulled into a cruel smile.
Against her will, her eyes started to drift closed, even though she tried to fight against the exhaustion. Darkness prevailed once again, plunging her into a dreamless sleep.
When she next woke, the soft murmur of voices reached her ears. She recognized Jo’s and Evelyn’s among them. Her eyes fluttered open and she saw the familiar faces of her friends. She watched them as they stood huddled together, speaking in hushed tones.
Evelyn was the first to notice she had awakened. “Belle! We are so glad you’re all right. I was worried you might never wake up.”
That caused her to frown. “How long have I been asleep?”
“Two days,” Jo answered. “I nearly took Damien’s head off for letting you get captured. You almost died. Again.”
Belle tried to remember how she’d been saved, but there were only black spots where her memory should be.
“How?”
“Simon saved you,” Evelyn answered with a proud smile. “He dove into churning seas and pulled you out.”
Jo rolled her eyes. “Of course that is the version you prefer,” she came over to take Belle’s hand. “He did do all that, but it was James that initially saved you from drowning.”
“James?”
Jo nodded. “He followed you and snuck onto the ship. You were never alone, though it took a while to find you once you jumped from the plank but he followed, jumping after you with a piece of driftwood. That was very brave, what you did.”
“That man’s resources know no bounds,” Evelyn muttered.
“Well, he is a Shaw,” Jo pointed out.
“He will be looking for me.”
Her friends’ worried eyes met hers. “And this time we will be ready,” Jo declared.
Belle swept the room with a curious glance. “I’m not at home.”
“No, I ordered the driver to take you straight to our residence, since it was closer,” Jo replied.
Belle nodded. “Is he all right?”
“Simon?” Evelyn nodded. “Oh, he’s fine. He collapsed from tripping over his own feet with you in his arms, but swears it was from the water consumption.” Evelyn smiled, choking back a laugh.
