His to Hold (Regency Scoundrels Book 1) (16 page)

“Chastity is a well-known pirate, and she has terrorized many of His Majesty’s ships. The Captain of the HMS warship,
The Resolve,
didn’t realize that she was a woman until the last possible moment. By that time, one of Chastity’s allies was on their way to aid her.
The Resolve
was boarded, and any of the men that weren’t killed in the ensuing battle left the Royal Navy, and joined in with Chastity.”

Another volley of cannon fire was shot off at them and, to Mallory’s horror, a shell rolled onto the deck.

“Rafe!” Elizabeth cried, pointing horrifically at it. His men were running away from it, and cries of panic consumed the ship.

“Hells Bells,” he swore, without thinking, he ran toward it, ripping off his still damp shirt as he went.

The shell’s fuse sputtered out, before Mallory could reach it. Amazed that it was defective, he picked it up, and tossed it a far distance away from the ship. He turned back to smile at Elizabeth, and then it exploded. He heard ringing in his ears, and he was thrown forward. He crashed against the deck, and heard the soft patter of Elizabeth’s feet as she ran toward him.

“Rafe, don’t you dare be dead!” she screamed, falling to her knees. She rolled him over gently, so that he was staring up at her. “Speak to me!”

“What would you like me to say?” Stars surrounded her head and he felt as if his head were about to explode. “Would you please tell Harold to stop ringing the ship’s bell?”

“You buffoon! No one is ringing the ships bell. I do believe that the explosion has caused the ringing in your ears.”

“Well, then it shall pass,” he muttered.

“Sir,” Harold said, running toward him. “They are running up the flag of surrender.”

“I do not believe it.” Mallory tried to push himself to his feet. “Chastity would not give in so easily.”

“I don’t know about that. Perhaps she would.” Elizabeth bit her lip.

“Or perhaps the crew was able to regain control of the ship.”

“Highly unlikely. Though I do appreciate the positive attitude, Harold. Give the order to bring us alongside
The Valiant
and assemble a boarding party.”

“Aye, aye, Captain,” Harold said, saluting him and went to carry out his orders.

“I thought that your crew was made up of criminals and undesirables.”

“As a matter of fact, to my knowledge no members of my crew have ever committed cold-blooded murder. But yes, some of them have been accused of certain petty crimes. However, numerous members of my crew have at one time or another been in the service of His Royal Majesty. So, in essence, I suppose that you would say old habits die hard.”

“And which rank did you hold in the Royal Navy? I would suspect that perhaps you were just a master of the ship or below.”

He narrowed his eyes, and bit his lip. If he told her that he had been a distinguished commissioned officer, she would probably laugh in his face. For on the High Seas, he was far away from the Royal Court, and his circle of friends. He had the ear of many influential people when he was playing the part that he had been given at birth.

“Let’s just say I was very close to the Captain of my ship.”

“You were his steward, then?”

He coughed, and smirked when she inhaled sharply at the sudden turn of the ship. The wind had picked up, and the sheets on the sails were all still blessedly intact. Men climbed the riggings quickly so they could maneuver in an expedient manner. He glanced down at the corner deck and smiled when he noticed how quickly his men had assembled. Resting his hand, on his Royal Navy Cutlass, he smiled at her and then quickly ran down the steps to join his men.

“Where do you think you are going?” she asked, scurrying after him.

“I, dear miss, am going to reclaim what is rightfully mine,” he shouted.

“That ship isn’t rightfully yours!” she shot back, quickly pounding down the steps. “I wish to accompany you.”

“Out of the question.” His voice had a finality to it, which inspired her to crook her one eyebrow.

“I wasn’t asking.” She scowled at him. Her eyes were alive with burning anger, and he nearly smiled.

“You are too tired. You must rest.” He winked at her, and then moved on. But unfortunately, nothing he could say was going to dissuade her.

She was close on his heels, and when he suddenly turned around, she nearly bumped into him.

“Do you not know the meaning of no?”

“This is coming from a bloody kidnapper and pirate?” She stamped her bare foot on the wooden deck.

“Look across,” he said pointing toward the nearby ship. “This could all be a ruse to instigate a boarding party. If Chastity is indeed pulling a fast one, she will no doubt give me one hell of a run for my money. There will be hand-to-hand combat that will scare the very wits out of you.”

“I don’t scare easily. You do not scare me, and Antonio did not scare me.”

“Oh, I think that maybe Antonio might have frightened you a little bit. He brings out the very worst in people. I’ve heard grown, battle seasoned men shriek when they know he is approaching.”

“I wish to be there by your side. If you give me your sword, I shall be able to defend myself.”

He nearly laughed at the ridiculousness of their situation. He didn’t want to take her with her, but if he left her behind, he might just have another encore performance that mimicked what had gone on when Antonio had boarded
The Valiant
.

“Very well,” he sighed heavily. “You shall swing across with me.”

Before he knew what had hit him, she was in his arms. “You know, a man could get used to this. Next time, though I shall not allow you to sweet talk me. You are a stubborn little lady. You should be in bed. You will catch your death waltzing around chilled as you are.”

“I have a hearty constitution.”

“We shall see how hearty that constitution is once the blood starts flying.”

“I do not have an aversion to blood.”

He didn’t say anything further, but he still had his reservations. With his crew by his side, they embarked upon
The Valiant
. Men and woman rushed out at them, with swords raised, and pistols cocked.

He drew his own cutlass, and engaged one of Chastity’s men. Pulling his pistol, he shot another. He looked wildly about for Elizabeth, but she seemed to have disappeared. He heard a commotion going on behind him, and turned, just as a little boy came rushing at him, with a belaying pin held in both of his hands.

Lovely, now he was forced to fight mere children. At this rate, his day was bound to go straight to the dogs.

Elizabeth picked up the discarded sword that lay upon the deck. Checking to see if the coast was clear, she wandered away from Rafe, and quickly made her way below decks. She could see that the only way she would be able to help was to free the men that were imprisoned below.

She found them in irons, and rushed to Seamus first. “Seamus, are you hurt?”

“Nothing that a good stretch and a wee bit of sunlight won’t heal,” he said brightly. “We did lose some men in the ambush. Terrible woman, that Chastity is.”

She nodded her head, and looked wildly about for the key. “You don’t suppose she would have left the key down here, do you?”

“As luck would have it, the man that imprisoned us, seems to be related to the village idiot. He left it on the wall over there. We would already be free except that our legs are shackled,” Ethan muttered.

Elizabeth riveted her eyes on Rafe’s first mate, and let out a shocked exclamation.

“Dear God, Ethan, what happened to your face?”

“I seem to have hit it against the floor of the bridge a few times,” he grimaced, and she felt her heart soften toward him. She could understand why her mother had been so infatuated with Ethan. He was a very handsome man, even for his advanced years, and he had a most pleasing personality.

“I shall have you all free in no time at all.” She hurried over to the key, and grabbed it off of the wall. “Quickly, now, we must hurry. Do you suppose any of the weapons will be left in the armoury?” It didn’t take her long to free them all, and soon, the twenty or some odd men were up and about stretching their limbs.

“You stay here, miss,” Ethan said, coming up next to her. “Give me that sword. I will go up on deck and help the Captain.” She wanted to tell him to shove it and get his own sword, but suddenly she didn’t quite feel like the trouble it would cause her. She handed him the sword, and pretended that she was doing a mock surrender. But instead of following his order to remain behind, she pursued Ethan.

Yet nothing could prepare her for the sight that met her once they reached the quarterdeck.

“Oh, no!” she muttered.

Rafe lay motionless on the deck, and she feared that he was truly dead. Battle was still being engaged all around her, but everything seemed to move into slow motion as she dodged her way between combatants to reach Rafe’s side.

“The little bugger got me on the knee cap,” he muttered, his face almost purple with pain.

“Can I help you?” she asked, trying not to laugh. She touched him gently, and noticed him grimace.

“Have you spotted Chastity, yet?” His voice returned to its normal timber, and she took that as an encouraging sign.

“Fortunately, no,” she whispered. The sound of a man falling from the rigging met her ears, and she buried her face in Rafe’s chest so that she wouldn’t see the broken body. “When we get back onto good dry land, I do believe I shall kiss the ground beneath my feet.”

“I shall greatly anticipate that moment,” he said, slanting his mouth into a lopsided grin.

“And when we get back onto dry land, you shall release me. This foolish idea of forcing me into a marriage just shall not sit well with me.”

“You, miss, are a most obstinate woman. Once I have obtained victory, everything will be as it once was. I still need your money, and you, well, in due course, you shall come to see that you need me.”

“I do not think that will be as shortly as you believe. And as to the money matter, you would have been far better off leaving me in Baltimore. My father is right at this moment on his deathbed, and I have no way of knowing if the will shall be tampered with or not. By the time we reach England, I may discover that I am not the kind of heiress you think I am. My grandpapa left me a sizable inheritance, but it is nothing compared to what my papa will leave me. You must be a very greedy man, for even I cannot fathom why you need my wealth. You are a free spirited man, and you have no responsibilities to speak of.”

“You do not know what you are saying. There are things about me that you cannot even imagine. Why perchance didn’t you just tell me when we were in Chesapeake Bay that your father was on his deathbed?”

“I wasn’t exactly given the time, was I?” she shot back, as she helped him to get to his feet. Rafe’s men were doing an admirable job of keeping the fighting away from him, since he had fallen. She could see Seamus through the fray of battle, and she was happy to see that the Irishman was as good with his fists and a sword, as he was with a ladle and an oven. “You were hell bent on kidnapping me, and nothing I could say would have convinced you otherwise.”

“Well, if you had told me that there was a possibility of you losing your inheritance, I would have definitely reconsidered.”

“Next time it happens, I shall be sure to tell my kidnapper the whole story.”

“There won’t be a next time. I’m never going to let anyone take you away from me.”

“My, my, aren’t we a bit possessive. You do know that you will have to tell me who you are eventually, as I will find out when we are married.”

“Now, you want to get married,” he said, giving her a triumphant grin.

She scowled back, and shrugged her shoulders. “I try to make the best out of any situation. You say that you will not let me go, so why should I expend the effort of fighting a losing battle?”

“Why, indeed.” Elizabeth looked up, just as the first star appeared in the clear sky. “Would you like your coat back?” she offered, waiting to gauge his reaction.

“I do believe that you have wanted me to take you from the very beginning. After all, you did have that pistol in your reticule.”

“It was hardly worth wasting my shot on you.” She watched with delight, as he winced. “You needn’t compliment yourself so much. I didn’t want you to take me. I just didn’t see the point in fighting you. Besides, I’m used to it—men only want me because of my money.”

“How many men have wanted you before me?”

“Oh, dozens,” she said flippantly. “In light of my current situation, I should have married my cousin Raleigh. He is a fine figure of a man, and has the face of an angel, indeed, I would have been quite fortunate to have him as my husband.” His face was becoming mottled with colour, and his eyes looked as if they were about to pop out of his head.

“Now, let me try to recollect some of the other lords and gentlemen who set their cap on me. There was the Baron of Redford, and the Earl of Shepperton, then, the Viscount of Danby, and…”

“Enough, I get the idea.”

“But not to fear dear, Rafe. None of them had the charisma that you possess. The baron was short and fat, and didn’t know the meaning of body hygiene. The earl had one foot in the grave, and the viscount had a penchant for men, if you get my drift. Yet, they all shared the same trait. They were all penniless titles.”

“You don’t say.” A funny gleam had entered his eyes, and she wondered about it. Leaning in further, she touched his cheek gently.

“Indeed, the best one of out of the lot was my dear cousin. He was neither short, nor fat, and he wasn’t old, and…most importantly, he likes the fair sex, perhaps a bit too much. But I do not think I shall have to worry about discovering that you are some penniless earl, viscount or baron.”

“Miss Elizabeth, I can assure you wholeheartedly that I am by no way of the imagination, an earl, viscount or baron. I’m not even a baronet.”

“Does your knee still smart?”

“It is passing, but I appreciate your concern.”

“Then why do you have that pinched expression on your face?”

“Does social position matter much to you?”

“Of course not. I am not a shallow person. No matter what your former opinion was of me. By the by, if you did marry me, we wouldn’t have to stay on your ships all of the time. I would be happy to have all of your sisters and mother live with me. I do believe I would take great pleasure in having a family around me again. I have a lovely mansion just outside of Brighton, and a lovely townhouse that boast a wonderful view of the Channel. I would love having a large family around me.”

“Would you indeed?” He smiled softly, and her heart skipped another beat. “I think that my sisters and mama would keep you on your toes.”

“Of course. They’d have to get used to living a life befitting that of the idle rich.”

“Would they?” he remarked, raising one eyebrow. “I shall have to tell my mother that in my next letter to her.”

“Where does your family reside?”

“We have had numerous residences, during my lifetime. But I’ve lived for the most part between London, and….” He seemed as if he was catching himself before he revealed an important bit of information. “And…West Sussex.”

She smiled. “So that was probably how you got mixed up into joining The Royal Navy, wasn’t it? You were probably caught wandering the docks.”

“Let’s just say, The Royal Navy was an interest shared both by my brother, and I.”

“So you have a brother as well.” She was finally beginning to learn a bit about his past, and he was opening up to her in the middle of a battle of all places.

“I
had
a brother.”

His eyes darkened with sorrow, and she closed her mouth suddenly. “I’m so sorry.”

“You shouldn’t be. He died a hero.”

“Of course he did. His captain must have been very proud.”

“The whole damn Royal Navy was proud. He took down three French warships before he lost his own life.”

“Then he manned the cannons?”

“Let’s just say he did a little bit of everything on the ship.”

“Jack of all trades, then.”

“You could say that.”

She drank him up with her eyes, for he was a sight to behold without his shirt. “Well, we got a bit sidetracked. I take it that you do not want your coat back?”

“I’m fine, for now,” he muttered, training his eye on the distance. She followed his gaze, and her mouth gaped open when she caught sight of a boy not far off, training a pistol on them. He was holding it with both hands, and seemed about ready to fire.

“So, would I be right in assuming that’s the little bugger that hit your kneecap?”

“You would be correct. Get down!” he shouted, just as the boy discharged the pistol.

She crashed to the ground with his body thrown protectively over her. Her hand slipped and brushed against the rippled muscles of his chest. She swallowed thickly, and tried to pretend that the close contact had not affected her deeply. She peeked out over his shoulder, and watched as Chastity appeared out of nowhere and ripped the pistol out of the boy’s hands.

“Charles, you should watch your manners. After all, if you shot and killed your father it would not look good, now would it?”

“Father?” Elizabeth asked, as a dreadful roaring noise echoed through her ears.