Destiny of the Heart (Viking Destiny) (27 page)

"I gathered that by the way Kristen slapped you. She
doesn't usually slap open-handed, you know. Usually it is a
closed-fist. I'll have to think on what that means exactly, but I
don't think it's good." Derrick stated.
Tristan gave him a sour look as he resumed his seat in
the chair by the fire place. He took a long sip from the brandy,
buying himself some time, but Derrick was having none of
that.
"Good lord, Tristan. Is it really that bad?"
"I came across her ship near a small island called
Puerto Rico. I had some crew members who had been with
actual pirates before me and thought to do things differently.
There was even talk of mutiny. I had to show a strong front, or
risk everyone on that ship being killed and myself being
marooned. So, we boarded the ship and looted it, which is
fine. But, one of the crew took a fancy to Chelsea. He wanted
to keep her as spoils of war, and you can just imagine the
horrors she would have seen at his hands. So, I challenged
him for her." Tristan leaned back in his chair.
"And?" Derrick prompted.
"And nothing. I won."
"Yes, but surely you could have returned her to her
family when you dismissed those crew members. You did
dismiss them, didn't you?"
"Yes, of course." Tristan snapped.
"Very well, why didn't you return the girl?"
This was the part of the story that Tristan had tried
many times to understand himself, but each time it became
less and less clear to him. He swirled the brandy in his glass,
wondering if Derrick would even speak to him after this next
part.
"I didn't want to return her. I wanted to keep her here,
with me. I don't really know why, but I did. And, when we got
back, one thing led to another and now she is staying."
Derrick sat forward. "What do you mean, 'one thing
lead to another?'" He asked sharply.
Tristan frowned. Well, Derrick hadn't come right out and
accused him of rape or anything, but it was damn close. Still,
Tristan felt a little uncomfortable with this part of the
conversation and didn't wish to continue it.
"It's of no import - "
"Please tell me you didn't." Derrick said sternly.
"Didn't what?" Tristan asked, defensive.
"You didn't rape her, did you?" Derrick asked, not
wanting to believe his brother was that far gone.
"I coaxed her. But, she cried all night after that." Tristan
said, disgusted.
Derrick leaned back. That was toeing the line and he
didn't know what to say. Being out to sea was changing
Tristan in ways that Derrick wasn't certain was good for him.
Though it was obvious that Tristan and Chelsea liked each
other, Tristan hadn't acted as a gentleman and that bothered
Derrick. He frowned.
"Well, say something." Tristan snapped after several
moments of silence.
"What would you have me say, Tristan? I don't believe
you acted in a gentlemanly fashion, but this is your life. You're
not a gentleman anymore, you're a pirate. So, in accordance
with that, I think you acted the part."
Tristan nodded. Derrick had always been the
gentleman of the family. The others followed the social
decorum, but Derrick never mistreated a woman. Even those
he saw for pleasure were treated with respect and he never
made promises he couldn't keep. Derrick was often
disappointed with Tristan's harsher decisions, and he had
stopped speaking to Tristan during the fiasco where he had
purposely gotten caught with Lady Cecilia Renault. To be fair,
the woman was spreading vicious rumors about Charlie.
Tristan thought it was only fair to show her how a little gossip
could quite ruin a person if they weren't careful. But, it was still
a lowly pirate sort of thing to do.
"I didn't hurt her." Tristan insisted.
"I'm sure she feels differently."
"Fine. I'm a horrible human being. Perhaps you should
denounce me just as Scott has."
Derrick shot out of his chair. "Don't you dare use that as
an excuse for your behavior, Tristan. You were a cad before
you left. I'm sure you remember Cecilia Renault. Some things
are unacceptable brother, but don't guilt me because I
understand the line."
Tristan shot out of his chair and came nose to nose
with Derrick. "And don't you walk into my home and presume
to lecture me as if you were my elder. I didn't take it well from
Scott, and I'll not take it well from you."
"Fine. We're leaving."
Derrick spun on his heel and set the brandy glass down
on the table, then stalked to the door. Derrick was positively
fuming inside, and he had no idea what had happened. One
minute he was glad to see his brother and the next he was
angry and ready to beat some sense into him. That was the
way it had always been with Tristan. He was capable of being
a decent fellow, but there was certainly a dark side in him that
made him deliberately cruel. It went far deeper than Charlie,
and Derrick wasn't sure if even Tristan knew what caused it.
"Alright, alright...you bloody well win." Tristan grouched
miserably from his chair.
Derrick stopped at the door and took a deep breath. He
turned back to Tristan.
"It would be better if you didn't tell the rest of the family
that particular story." Derrick said evenly.
"I know."
"What do you plan to do about it?"
"I don't know."
"May I suggest you do the honorable thing for once?"
Derrick asked, his tone laced with reproach.
"Watch it, Derrick."
"Fine, but I know you are a better person than you let
on to others. This isn't you, and I suggest you figure out what it
is you want in life before you destroy the people who care
about you most. I think I'll adjourn to the library for awhile."
With that, Derrick left Tristan sitting in his chair with his
miserable thoughts.

***
"Alright, when Tristan comes toward you from the front
you can most likely surprise him with a simple hit. Take you
palm and thrust upward like so." Kristen demonstrated the
move to Chelsea. "Aim for his nose and put all of your strength
into the hit. This will cause him to tear up and buy you a little
more time."

Chelsea imitated Kristen's movements and practiced it
on her own while Kristen watched.
"Good. Now, you need to make sure that your stances
doesn't give you away as he approaches. You will lose the
element of surprise, and then the move can be easily
deflected."
"But, how am I to keep my balance and hit him if I am
standing incorrectly?" Chelsea asked, confused.
Kristen smiled. "It will take some practice, but it is
possible. Try standing as you normally would and hit my hand.
The strength of the hit should come from the movement of
your waist, not your shoulders."
She held up her hand for Chelsea to hit. Chelsea wasn't
so sure about it, but she took a deep breath and relaxed her
shoulders as Kristen had taught her to do. Then, she struck
out and hit Kristen's hand. It connected solidly and there was a
loud smacking sound.
She was only slightly disappointed to see that Kristen didn't
even flinch.
"Good, but you're still preparing your stance. Tristan will
recognize it immediately and have you flipped on your back in
record time. Just stand as you normally would, but perhaps a
little sideways. It may help your momentum with the blow."
Chelsea nodded and turned to her right in a sideways
stance. She repeated her previous steps and swung around to
hit Kristen's palm. There was another loud crack. Kristen still
didn't flinch, but at least she smiled brightly.
"Much better!" Kristen exclaimed. "You definitely should
be to the side with this one, it just looks more natural. Now,
let's say he comes at you from behind. He will most likely wrap
his arms around you like so." She stepped behind Chelsea
and embraced her intimately.
Chelsea blushed, knowing it was one of Tristan's
favorite things to do. Also knowing that when he did reach for
her like that, she could tell herself he wasn't all bad and
actually believe it. She shook her head. Now was not the time
to doubt herself when help was at hand. Kristen released
Chelsea and launched into an explanation on what she
needed to do. When she finished explaining it, Chelsea
gasped and looked at Kristen in disbelief.
"Kristen, I am not sure that I could hit him there. When I
was young, I accidentally hit my brother there and it sent my
father into a rage. He told me to never hit a man there, no
matter the reason."
"Well, I'm sure your father would change his mind in
this case. Trust me, alright?" Kristen smiled and Chelsea
nodded hesitantly. "Excellent. Now, let me see you do the
move. Pretend I'm Tristan and I'm coming in to wrap my arms
around you."
Kristen moved toward Chelsea, and she took a deep
breath to prepare herself, relaxing her shoulders and stance.
When Kristen made contact, she did what Kristen had told her.
She bent her knees, dropping her weight and leaning to the
side, jabbed an elbow into Kristen's stomach, stomped on her
food, and then lowered her fist into Kristen's groin area.
Kristen took each hit in stride and felt good knowing she was
helping someone help themselves. “Not bad. Just make sure
the groin hit is more forceful. The harder you hit, the longer
Tristan will leave you alone. Now, let's see it again.”
Chapter 29

"You did the right thing by coming to me, my pet."
Adrian slid a finger down Alice's cheek as she stood before
him.

Once Lady Atchkinson had given Alice the information
she needed, she returned her home with the promise to return
and finish the job if the lady so much as breathed a word
about what happened. Alice knew Lady Atchkinson was a
resourceful lady and would find a plausible excuse for her
absence, but Alice's bigger issue was that with Kristen out to
sea with Derrick, Alice wouldn't make her deadline...again.
The only option had been to do to Adrian and tell him the
circumstances in hopes that he would give her and extension.

Adrian slapped her hard across the cheek he had
moments ago been caressing. Her head snapped to the side
with the force of the slap, and when she looked back at him,
anger sparked her vivid green eyes.

"Your time has come and gone, my dear. The king's
plans have changed. I suggest you gather whatever you wish
to take with you because we leave at dawn."

Alice's heart slammed against her ribs so hard she was
sure everyone in the room had heard it. Her window of escape
had closed, and she would be stuck with this man forever. It
was enough to weaken her knees, and she almost fell over.
Instead, she took a seat and stared at Adrian in horror. He
smiled at her, and she wished for just a moment, he could be
as charming as he looked when he smiled. But, she knew
better.

"It pains me to see you look at me with such fear, my
angel." He sat in the chair next to her. "What can I do to make
that go away?"

"You can die a slow death and leave me in peace." The
words tumbled from her lips before she could stop them.
Alice knew she was in trouble the moment she said the
words, but there was no taking them back. She meant them,
and her life would be a living hell anyway. She solaced herself
with the thought that he knew she hated him with every breath
she took. Adrian was arrogant enough to believe that every
woman, no matter how he treated them, should fall madly in
love with him.
What Alice didn't know was that Adrian had a reputation
to uphold, and it wasn't that he enjoyed treating his girls so
horribly, but it was a matter of making them useful for the king.
If they failed to be useful, they died. He would rather they live
and hate him, not knowing all that he did to protect them, than
to die at the hands of the king. And, since there were guards
surrounding them, he was forced to be cruel so the king would
not catch on to his plans, either. He slapped Alice hard
enough to knock her to her knees, then knelt down beside her.
He leaned in and whispered in her ear.
"Stop fighting me."
Alice looked up and searched his eyes. For the briefest
moment, there was a softness there that she had never
known. She couldn't be wrong about Adrian, could she? Was it
all a show? No, she would be stupid to believe that, to believe
anything that came from him. She had believed him once and
that turned out to be a grave mistake. She stood up and
moved away from him. But, she noticed several of the guards
were taking an active interest in her. She heard Adrian sigh.
"Take her to my rooms and tie her up." The cold,
calculating tone to his voice returned. "We leave at dawn."
Several of the guards stepped forward. Two of them
grabbed her arms rather roughly and shoved her forward. She
glanced at Adrian, and again she swore she saw the briefest
emotion in his eyes before the mask of neutrality slipped into
place. She narrowed her eyes at him but remained silent.

Some time after his fight with his brother, Derrick went
to find Kristen as they still needed to sort out their earlier
argument. He found he didn't enjoy fighting with her. He
happened across a maid and asked where he could find
Kristen, but frowned rather severely when she directed him to
Tristan's rooms, of all places. It never ceased to amaze him
how quickly his anger flared where she was concerned. That
she would even dare step foot in another man's rooms while
she was with him was unacceptable. It didn't matter that those
rooms were the most likely place for Chelsea to be, or that the
man in question was his brother, who had his own lady
problems and wouldn't pose the slightest threat to Derrick. It
was the principle of the matter.

He stalked up the stairs and down the hall that lead to
Tristan's room. He was extremely familiar with Tristan's house
and didn't need directions, though the maid had offered. When
he reached the door, he slammed his fist onto it repeatedly
until Chelsea opened it, alarmed from all the racket he was
making.

Chelsea opened the door wider to show Kristen sitting
comfortably in one of the chairs. She looked up and furrowed
her brow at his brusque manner.

“Derrick, what
- ?”
“Let's go. Now.” He demanded.
Chelsea shrank away from the rage emanating from