A Pirate's Heart (St. John Series) (26 page)

“Max,” she complained with exasperation.

“Don’t ‘Max’ me. I need to make sure you can defend yourself in case we are attacked. Again,” he said as he took another weak swing in her direction. She easily blocked his blow and returned it with one of her own. She gave a small triumphant giggle at her accomplishment.

“Beware, pirate,” she teased as she swung her sword at him again. “My father made sure I knew how to use a sword with deadly precision. Although that was many years ago. Come to think of it, I haven’t held a sword since then. Not that I had any use of one at the mission. But it would have come in handy when I was stolen. Where is
Gato
? Did you bring her? She’s just—“

Max grinned at his wife’s rapid talking and changing of subjects. “You’re babbling. Afraid you won’t be able to defend yourself?”

“Hardly,” she replied as she took a swing at her husband.

Unbeknownst to the couple, they had drawn a small audience. Slim and Smitty just rolled their eyes at each other as they joined the crowd. She held her own with Max. Smitty cringed when she took a swing at Max with her sword and turned, accidently hitting Max in the mouth with her free hand.

Her eyes grew wide in disbelief that she had struck her husband. She brought her free hand up to her mouth. “Oh! I’m sooo sorry!” she cried as she looked at her husband.

She watched as Max ran his tongue over his busted lip and spat out the blood. He took the back of his hand and wiped the remainder of the blood from his mouth. Slim and Smitty waited for Max’s rage to appear, knowing from experience that even smaller blows could send Max over the edge. But they both stood in disbelief as they watched him. Max laughed—and not an evil laugh, but a true belly-churning laugh.

“I’ll be damned,” Smitty said as he looked at Slim. “She has tamed the beast.”

Slim had a similar thought. “Either dat or she knows how ta control ‘em,” he countered.

“Did I hurt you?” they heard Kristina ask as she dropped her sword and headed towards Max.

“No I’m fine, wife,” he replied as he wiped his lip again on his sleeve. “Pick back up your weapon and let’s continue.”

She nodded her head and bent over to pick up her cutlass. Smitty chuckled as he watched Max eye his wife’s backside. Never in all his life would he have dreamed that such a tiny little woman could control the dark goliath before him.

Chapter Twenty-Three

Kristina stood on the deck of
The Abyss
watching the activities on the docks of Nassau. She chuckled as she watched one of the prostitutes smack a sailor over something he said to her. She turned her eyes and looked at Max.

Ever since her rescue from that horrid ship he had behaved strangely. He watched her every move constantly, like an overprotective guardian. He did not attempt to touch her, not once. They slept in the same room, but he returned to sleeping on the pallet on the floor. She had tried to make him angry several times, but to no avail. He was in a constant mood of being . . . happy. Kristina knew why he was in such a good mood; just as soon as they reached Nassau, he would finalize the divorce. A sad expression crossed her face at the thought. Placing her hand on her stomach, she sighed. Closing her eyes, she fought back the tears. She loved him, she loved his child inside her, but her love would never be returned.

“Yer thoughts are not here,” she heard a voice behind her. She turned to find Smitty and gave the old man a caring smile.

“Hello, Mr. Smitty. Are the docking proceedings going as planned?”

Smitty eyed her suspiciously as he watched her hand mindlessly rub her abdomen. “Yeah. Max asked me ta take ya ta Slim. He said he had some business ta attend to, but would catch up ta you two in a little while.”

Kristina nodded her head and followed Smitty. She knew Max’s plan. He was going to the solicitor’s office before returning to Alex’s home. When they reached the docks, Smitty placed a protective hand on Kristina’s back and escorted her to Slim.

“She’s your responsibility until Max joins ya,” Smitty told Slim.

The tall black man nodded his head. “Dis way, Miss,” he said as he walked off the dock.

Kristina wrapped her hand around Slim’s arm. He looked down at her with worry. She grinned toothily up at him. “What?” she asked.

“People will talk.”

“Fooey,” Kristina replied as she grasped his arm tighter. She had to look way up to see his face. Slim was very tall; he even towered over Max and Alex. “Let people talk. If they have an issue with my friend protecting me, then shame on them.”

“It’s no dem I worry about. It’s what will get back ta Max.”

Kristina snorted. “Let it.” She changed the subject quickly. “How tall are you, Slim?”

“I da not know,” he replied as he kept walking towards the shore.

“Well,” Kristina said as she kept looking up at him. “When I was first taken, there was a woman on the ship with me almost as tall as Max. If you are ever at Tortuga, you try to find her. I don’t know who she was sold to, but her name was Montie,”

“She wuz a slave den?”

Kristina nodded her head. “Yes. But she had accepted her fate and was fine with it, which I think strange. Anyway, you would like her.”

Slim ignored Kristina, but she kept talking, chattering on about nothing in particular. When they reached the stables, Slim assisted her onto her horse and headed south towards Alex’s house.

“So, how did you become part of
The Abyss’s
crew?” Kristina asked Slim.

Slim repositioned in the saddle. “I wuz on a slave ship. Da capt’n attacked it and rescued me and da others. He took da others ta some island. I could not stay der. I owed him a life debt.”

“Surely you have repaid your debt to the captain? You have been with him for a while.”

“Nine years. And yes, I haf repaid my debt ta him, mony times.”

“Sooooo, why are you still with him? Do you not have a family who are worried about you?”

“I do not know wot happened ta ma family. I wuz taken away from dem when I wuz a boy, not much older dan Samuel. Ma mother wuz all I had. I stay wit da capt’n because he is ma friend, because he pays me well, because we travel to mony places. I keep hopin’ dat I will see ma mother at one of des places.”

“You stay to look for your mother or you stay out of loyalty?”

“Both. Da capt’n is good ta me. He treats me like family. He knows I’m lookin’ for ma mother. He even had people look for her up in da Carolinas. He knows dat if I eva find her I will leave.”

“I will say a prayer for you, hoping that your mother is being treated well and that you will find her soon.”

“Tank ya, Mrs. Krestena.”

The pair rode in silence after their conversations. Kristina found it hard to believe that she had so much in common with the crew of
The Abyss
. Like Samuel, her mother was murdered by the Commodore. Like Slim, she had been a slave. Like James, she was a cook—well, actually better than James. She thought of Smitty as a fatherly figure and the captain as a friend. She was lost in her thoughts when Max caught up with them. When she heard her husband approach, anger set in. She had become attached to the crew, her new friends, fallen in love with Max and now he was taking it all away from her. This was all she had and he was ripping it away from her like a thief.

“Get your business taken care of?” Kristina asked with hostility.

“Yes,” Max replied, ignoring her barb.

The trio rode in silence to Alex’s home. When they reached the front steps, they were greeted by Alex.

“Where the hell have you been and what have you done with
my
ship?!” Alex yelled at Max.

Max ignored Alex as he assisted Kristina down from her horse. He watched as Slim disappeared around the house with their steeds before he addressed Alex.

“I thought you would still be at Governor’s Harbour,” Max replied.

“Well, I never did get there. My ship was delayed, and just before it sailed, Samuel found me and told me that you stole my ship!”

“So I take it your mother doesn’t have her present?”

“No, thanks to you. Once I have dealt with your insolence, I will travel to Governor’s Harbour on
The Abyss
. That way I know you won’t steal my ship again.”

“Let’s discuss this issue inside.”

“By all means,” Alex replied with annoyance.

Alex led the way into the study. He held open the door as Kristina and Max entered. Kristina jumped when Alex slammed the door closed behind them with a loud bang.

“Explain yourself, Max.”

Max said nothing as he headed towards the liquor cabinet. He pulled out a bottle of brandy and sat down in one of the large leather chairs. He propped his feet up in the opposite one and took a drink.

“Oh, by all means make yourself comfortable. Ruin my furniture while you’re at it. Why would I want to discuss the fact that you tied up my son and stole my ship?”

“Hawkins,” was Max’s one word reply.

“You’ll have to elaborate, Max,” Alex growled.

Max looked up at Alex. “He kidnapped Kristina. There was no time to locate you. That is why I took your ship without your permission. And I tied up Samuel so he wouldn’t follow.”

“I take it you succeeded in your mission?” Alex asked as he studied Kristina.

Max nodded his head. “We will not have to worry about him any longer.”

Alex looked at Max and then back to Kristina. Before he could reply, there was a faint knock on the door.

“Enter,” Alex ordered.

Mrs. Potts entered the room. “Mr. Henderson is here.”

Alex looked at Max. So Max planned on going through with the divorce. “Show him in,” Alex ordered.

Kristina watched as the overweight middle-aged man entered the room. He had his glasses perched on the tip of his pudgy nose. With each step he took, his jowls moved. His hair was brown with gray streaked throughout and a little on the shaggy side. He was not what Kristina expected a solicitor to look like.

“I have the papers for legal separation that you requested, Mr. Hart,” the portly man said.

“Legal separation?” Kristina asked.

“Yes. Um . . . divorce from bed and board is another term. You see divorces are sticky messes,” Mr. Henderson explained. “They can take years to procure and are quite expensive. With you residing in the Caribbean and Parliament in London it would take even longer for the paperwork to be filed. Legal separations are much quicker. With a legal separation, Mr. Hart must provide for you financially and you are not required to live together. It also keeps your reputation intact. However, should you find love with another and wish to marry, you must divorce and thus be labeled a concubine.”

“I see,” Kristina sadly whispered. She looked to Max, hoping he would see how much she did not want this. His face was expressionless. He just sat staring out the window.

“Shall I use the desk?” Mr. Henderson asked.

Max looked to Mr. Henderson and nodded his head. He looked at Kristina. “Ladies first.”

Kristina reluctantly nodded her head and followed Mr. Henderson over to Alex’s desk. He opened his brown leather satchel and pulled out several papers. She watched as his stubby hands pulled out a quill and the ink. He opened the lid to the container with the ink and dipped the tip of the quill into it several times.

“Sign here,” he told Kristina as he pointed to a line at the bottom of the page.

She took the quill out of Mr. Henderson’s hand and stared at the line. She could feel Max’s eyes on her. She chewed on her bottom lip and maneuvered the quill around in her hand several times. She quickly laid the quill down and looked up. “I need a minute to speak with Max before I proceed.”

“Mrs. Hart I do not have time t—”

“Leave us,” Max commanded in a voice not to be questioned.

Alex looked at Max. “Come, Mr. Henderson. I’m sure Mr. and Mrs. Hart need a few minutes.”

“Yes, Mr. Sinclair,” the solicitor replied, not wanting to make the Governor’s son angry.

Kristina watched the two leave. She heard the soft click of the door closing as she watched Max. He said nothing; he just sat staring out the window.

“Is this what you really want?” she questioned.

He took another drink from the bottle of brandy and stood up. He walked to the window and rested his arm on the frame. “Don’t you?”

“I . . . I . . .”

Max turned to her before she could reply. Crossing the room to her, he took her by her upper arms. She watched the turmoil cross his eyes. “Don’t leave me,” she heard him whisper.

“But I thought you wanted a divorce? To be rid of me?” she questioned with disbelief at his admission.

“No,” he said, shaking his head. He watched as her eyes filled with tears. “I cannot imagine my life without you. You are my life, Kristina. I cannot breathe without you. Without you I feel broken . . . lost. I’m not whole when you’re not around.”

“Then why did you say all those vicious things to me before I was taken?”

“I wanted you to hate me. These feelings surging through me are new. They scare the hell out of me. I know I can never give you the life you deserve. I was afraid that I could not keep you safe. If something were to happen to you because of me, I could not live with myself. I figured if you hated me you would willingly divorce me . . . without remorse, without emotional involvement. If you were no longer with me, you would be safe. But . . .” he stopped. The words he needed her to hear were lodged in his throat. He had never spoken those words to anyone and was afraid his confession would be met with rejection.

“What?” she asked as her voice quivered.

He took a shallow breath. “I love you.”

She nodded her head, but said nothing. She pulled free from his grasp and walked over to the desk. Max felt his heart being ripped apart. He had told her how he felt and she said nothing, acting as heartless as his mother. His words were met with the rejection that he feared. He watched her as the most excruciating pain he had ever felt in his life surged through his chest. It was as though he couldn’t breathe. Anger began to build up inside him, consuming his soul like a raging fire.

She stopped in front of the desk and picked up the paperwork Mr. Henderson had brought. A look of shock, followed by relief, crossed Max’s face as he watched her rip the papers. He quickly crossed the room to her.

“Are you sure?” he questioned, still in disbelief of her actions.

“Yes. I love you, Max,” she said as she caught his hands and brought them to her abdomen. “We love you.”

Max’s mouth slightly lowered in shock. He dropped to his knees in front of her. He gently touched her abdomen as if he were touching something fragile and then kissed it. “I promise you, little one,” he whispered to their unborn child. “I will always be here for you. You shall never want for anything and I will never let any harm come to you.” He kissed her belly again. She wrapped her hands around his head. “Are you sure you still want me?”

“I always have. From the moment I first spotted you at the horrid tavern in Tortuga, I vowed that I would make you mine,” she admitted with a sheepish smile.

“I told you women always have a planned outcome,” he told her as he stood and gently took her face in his hands, kissing her tenderly.

Alex looked in the small window of the door at that time. He turned towards Mr. Henderson. “I think your services are no longer needed. I will compensate you for your time and have your belongings sent to you. But I think you should leave . . . now.”