Mistress Below Deck (14 page)

Rowena began pacing rapidly up and down; as her thoughts grew wilder, so her steps accelerated. ‘I will not go home without her. Even if it means working as a slave, under the lash, even if I have to undergo torture,' she uttered fiercely, loudly, ‘I shall go there myself and seek her out.'

‘Stop it, Rowena,' Tobias retorted sternly. ‘You are being irrational. If you want to go there, it would be as well not to shout it from the roof tops.'

Overwhelmed by the terrible feeling of defeat and helplessness creeping over her, Rowena stared at the sea below. She realised suddenly, from the anguish that clawed at her heart, just how close and yet how far removed she was from Jane, even now—more so, because without Tobias she did not have the strength to go to Meknes alone, and if she did succeed, she did not have the means to negotiate a ransom.

Turning from him, she clenched her hands by her sides and closed her eyes so that he would not see the tears that started into them. How could she bear this, knowing that—that devil would soon have Jane at his mercy, that he would take her good, gentle, innocent, beloved sister to be used for his sordid pleasure? She felt sickened at the thought of Jane in the hands of a monster like that.

When Tobias had brought her to this house, like most English people she had very little understanding about Islam, and she'd felt a strange fascination about the Islamic culture. But now she was beginning to see beneath the surface of the frightening world of Barbary, a cruel, dark and sadistic world, and she longed to see the back of it.

‘N
o matter where she is, I shall go to her. I shall go to the den of that evil creature who has her.'

Tobias could see that Rowena's nerves were strung tightly and that any more strain might cause her to snap and send her over the edge into hysteria. She had not for one moment believed that her venture to get Jane back would fail, until now, and she could not accept it. For a moment he hesitated. Then he reached out and grasped her shoulders, pulling her round to face him. The sight of her wet cheeks sent a physical pain through his heart and made him speak with more violence than he had intended.

‘Don't be a fool, Rowena. Do you imagine for one moment that you will get through the sultan's guards and come out alive with Jane? It simply is not possible.'

‘Are you saying that she might be lost to us?' she cried, shrugging his hands away and stepping back.

‘Tragically that is precisely what I am saying.'

‘No,' she cried. ‘I will not accept that—not ever.'

‘For God's sake, Rowena, be realistic.'

‘Realistic?' she flared, her eyes wide with anger. ‘You dare say that to me? I have been nothing but realistic since the day I learned that Jane was taken from that wretched boat. If that beast harms one hair of my sister's head, I swear by my mother's memory that nothing will keep him from my vengeance. I will kill him with my bare hands even if I die for it. One way or another I will go to Meknes, Tobias, so don't you try to stop me.'

Tobias flinched before the cold fury in those glittering eyes and the pallor on that lovely face, the anguish so clearly marked. But when Suleiman reached the sultan's palace and Jane was installed into the harem, he had to make Rowena see the futility of what she still hoped for. His face hardened with his resolve.

‘You will not go to Meknes. I forbid it.'

Recoiling as though he had struck her, she stared at him wide-eyed, as though seeing him for the first time. He was a towering, masculine presence. Never had he looked so tall, so handsome—or so inflexible.

‘You forbid it?' she gasped. ‘You, of all people, cannot
forbid
me to do anything. Go to hell, Tobias Searle. I would never have set out on this mad journey if I'd thought I would have to admit defeat. You promised you would help me. You promised. I might have known you would renege on your word. I should have known better than to lay my trust in a man who would hound a cripple for an unpaid debt. Have you so little honour that you would do that?'

With a haughty toss of her head, turning on her heel she stalked up the path, away from him. She did not see the way his rigid shoulders bunched, nor the way his hands clenched into fists, for her whole body was rising in revolt against this monstrous place that no longer held any appeal to her, where people were held as slaves, thrashed and worked until they died.

Anger blazed up in Tobias; heedless that there might be watching eyes, he strode after her, and, grasping her shoulders, jerked her round to face him so that he towered above her with all his great strength, his face white and his expression hard and implacable.

Never had Rowena seen so much rage, so much fury, in any man. He had a way of wiping all expression from his face when he wished and, as she looked at him, she had no idea what he was thinking. She soon found out. He had been angry a moment ago, but now he was incandescent and she knew she had gone too far. But it was not in her nature to draw back. She tensed to meet his wrath as his face was thrust into hers.

‘Honour, you say? Aye, Rowena, I have it.' His eyes were brittle. ‘I have more honour than the man who set fire to my ship and burnt the crew while they slept—the same man who has continued to elude me these past four years. He is the one who must be reckoned with.'

‘What are you saying?'

He laughed shortly. ‘Mason knows what happened on the night your father was shot. Let him tell you. Or you can ask some of the witnesses who were present that night. I don't need to defend myself to you or anyone
else.' His eyes glowed in the dim light and he gave her a lazy smile. ‘I never claimed to be an innocent, Rowena, but neither am I your black-hearted villain.'

His words brought Rowena up sharp and for a moment she simply stared at him, before recollecting herself. ‘Whatever the truth of what happened on Antigua, that is not what this is about. It is about Jane, and I will not be dictated to by you.' Rigid with fury, turbulent tears streaming down her cheeks, she glared at him. His smile vanished and his eyes narrowed and began to glitter dangerously. She did not flinch beneath the barely concealed menace.

‘You dare say that to me?' he flung at her. ‘Are you not forgetting something? You should be on your knees in gratitude for my forbearance and mercy. When I found you on my ship I could have turned it around and taken you back to your father at any time. It was never too late.'

‘But instead you took me along, intending to abandon me at the first obstacle that arose.'

‘Believe me, Rowena, the sultan is not an obstacle. He is much more than that. But enough of this.' His voice was hard, flat and biting. He had his own knowledge of the sultan and the situation and he didn't hold out much hope for getting Jane back once she was in his harem, but somehow he must rebuild Rowena's self-esteem, and relax those vibrating nerves. With an effort he restrained the urge to move closer, and put every ounce of conviction he could muster into his voice as he said, ‘You are upset—rightly so—but listen to what I say and try to think about it rationally. I am sorry about
Jane, and I will seriously consider the situation. If there is anything to be done to get her back I will do it, but whatever we do, you must calm yourself. No young girl's wiles will see you safe from Moulay Ismail.'

Rowena stepped back. Fear rose within her, not of him but of herself, for in spite of her cruel, accusing words about her father, she wanted him to help her in this more than anything. But she realised exactly what she was asking of him. To go to Meknes he would be placing not only himself, but others he would have to take with him in danger. Little wonder he was concerned and reluctant to do it. Wrapping her arms round her waist and drawing herself upright, she gulped down her tears and nodded.

‘Yes—you are right. Does—does that mean you will not abandon Jane?' she asked hesitantly, hardly daring to hope.

He raised a dark eyebrow. ‘Perhaps.' He eyed her blandly. There were lines in the corners of his mouth, but his gaze was steady.

Rowena looked at him, conscious as always of an unwitting excitement. Feeling the heat in her cheeks, she averted her eyes. Then looking back, she met his look with a little frown, her body taut, every muscle stretched against the invisible pull between them.

‘I'm sorry, Tobias. I do appreciate everything you have done for me—even though it may not look like it.'

His smile swept for a brief instant across his face, but there was a world of warmth in the blue eyes that had seen so many storms, so many days of gazing in the sun
and wind and the sky from a heaving deck. He had told her to be rational and realistic, and yet how could he expect her to be wise at her age?

‘Your apology is accepted. To abandon Jane would be to abandon you, Rowena, and I will not do that. I would like to be your friend to my last breath, so I am obliged to help you. If it is in my power, I will free your sister.'

‘You will? Thank you,' she whispered, her anger draining from her.

‘Besides,' he murmured, his hands closing round her upper arms and drawing her close, his cool manner now ripped away, ‘we made a bargain, you and I. You have not forgotten?'

‘How can I, when you constantly remind me? It would no longer stand if we do not find Jane.'

His face was in the shadows, but his eyes seemed to glow, laughing at her, gently mocking her. ‘Listen well, Rowena. If our mission fails, one way or another I will see it out. I promise you that.'

‘I don't work like that, Tobias. No Jane, no deal. That is the arrangement we made.'

He smiled assuredly, bringing her closer to his chest, his arms going around her and tightening. ‘We have a long way to go. Whether we succeed in freeing Jane or not, I shall have my night of love. I promise you that.'

In the next instant his lips were on hers and his fiery kiss warmed her to the core of her being. All her restraints broke as she felt again the fierce thrill of being in his arms. He kissed her with ardour and passion and she could think of nothing but the exciting urgency of
his mouth and the warmth of his breath and the feel of his strong muscled legs against her own.

When Tobias felt her melt against him, with iron control he released her lips and straightened his body, and through the haze of heated passion, Rowena was aware of his strong, surprisingly gentle hands trailing down her back. Beneath the fine fabric of her clothes, her skin felt the warmth of them. That one kiss had been too much and too little, leaving her hungering and aching for more.

Ever since the day of their interlude on the beach something new and miraculous had sprung up between them, growing like a tender shoot into some as yet unknown and lovely flower. There had been no repeat of the intimacy, but everything between them had changed. Slowly but surely she knew they were both lowering their guard. But she would have to be careful and even though she would like to go on kissing him whenever the opportunity arose, she must not forget that as far as she was aware she was promised to another, a man her father approved of—Tobias Searle he did not.

Recollecting herself, she looked up at him and he chuckled softly, his eyes holding hers in one long, compelling look.

‘Don't look so aggrieved, Rowena. Your virtue is safe with me—for the time being.'

‘Safe?' Tension rode heavily on her words. ‘Already you have taken too many liberties. When you are with me I feel as if there's but one thought in your mind.'

‘Because that's exactly how it is.' The whisper came
close to her ear as he smoothed her tumbled hair from her brow. ‘Of late, watching you has become my favourite pastime, and you don't know how hard you make it for me to resist you.'

‘What do you suggest we do now?'

‘Go and change out of those clothes. I will take you back to the ship.'

‘And what then?'

‘We will go to Sale. Suleiman hopes to purchase more captives from ports along the way. If he has left for Meknes, then we will try to apprehend him. Time is of the essence. We must act quickly.'

Just then they heard a pair of slippers slapping along the tiled walkway and suddenly Ahmed appeared in a white robe, an enormous silver-and-blue turban and crimson Moroccan slippers. A heavy gold chain hung round his neck, and his fingers were adorned with an assortment of rings with different precious stones.

Tobias considered this man a close friend, he had said, and while Rowena didn't understand why—each coming from such different backgrounds and cultures—she had to admit a definite, different quality to the man, a mixture of the savage and civilised world she found altogether disquieting.

Ahmed's black eyes sparkled as he looked from Rowena to Tobias. ‘I apologise for not being here when you arrived, Tobias. I've been busy on your account.'

‘Oh?' Tobias's eyes lit with interest.

Ahmed's gaze went over Rowena appraisingly and he smiled broadly, his white teeth gleaming in his brown
face. ‘Do you not think Rowena looks handsome—like a rare pearl—lovelier than an houri in paradise? Her transformation from cabin boy to an exotically beautiful young maiden of Algiers is astonishing.'

‘Yes, Ahmed, I agree, but I'm afraid I must take her away.'

‘Then that is a shame. When must you go?'

‘Tonight. We are to go to Sale.' He looked at his friend with a sombre frown creasing his brow. ‘So, what have you been up to on my account?'

‘I thought you might be interested in knowing where Mason went when he left Algiers.'

Tobias became alert, his eyes hard, his body taut. ‘Where?'

‘His intention is to cross the Atlantic to the West Indies. He is heading for Madeira to pick up the northeast trades.'

‘How do you know this?'

‘Oh, I have my informers. So you are on the point of leaving for Sale—but now you know where Mason is heading, you will follow him into the Atlantic, I think?'

Tobias sighed and his shoulders slumped. ‘No, Ahmed. We are to go after Rowena's sister—which could take some considerable time.'

A puzzled expression creased Ahmed's brow. ‘But you have been hunting Mason for four years. Are you saying that you will allow him to slip away when at last you have him within your grasp?'

Tobias nodded and when he spoke his voice was tight. ‘That is precisely what I am saying, Ahmed.
Suleiman, the sultan's agent, is sailing to Sale. From there he will take his captives overland to Meknes. I am hoping he is in no hurry and that he will languish a while in Sale, in which case there is every chance I can catch up with him before he leaves.'