His eyes gleamed with mockery. ‘I should then have had to carry you on board myself, for I would have no other lay their hands on you. As Captain I have first choice of the spoils—and you are my share, lady.’
‘You promised to ransom me…’ Maribel’s heart raced as she looked into his eyes. They were so blue that she thought of a summer sky and for a moment she was drawn to him, but there was ice at their centre and she shivered, sensing his anger.
‘Perhaps I shall…’ Justin did not smile. ‘Yet there is something about you that I think might be worth more than mere gold. So perhaps you should not tarry; I have work to do and you will be safe in your cabin.’
What did he mean? Her heart jerked with fright and yet her body tingled, making her feel more alive than she had for a long, long time. He might be a pirate and a rogue, but there was something compelling about Captain Sylvester—something that made her heart beat faster.
She turned and hastened towards the open hatch. Her pulses were racing as she climbed down the ladder taking her to the cabins below. She squashed the feeling that she might like him if she allowed herself to judge him fairly. No, she would not give in to weakness. The pirate captain was a devil! An arrogant, wicked, mocking devil and she hated him! Yet at the back of her mind a little voice was telling her that he had saved her from a fate that might have been far worse than her present situation.
Maribel stared out of the porthole at the calm sea. They had been at sea for two days and she had not left her cabin. She turned her head as her maid entered. Anna brought her food and wine each day and already knew her way about the ship.
‘The captain says you may come on deck for some air, my lady—but that you should keep your head covered for the sun is hot and he would not have you take harm.’
‘You may tell Captain Sylvester that I have no wish to come on deck or to mix with rogues.’
Anna looked at her oddly. ‘Do you think it wise to send such a message, my lady?’
‘How would you have me address him—as a friend?’ Maribel knew that her maid’s counsel was wise, but something inside her would not allow her to give in so easily.
‘We have not been treated ill…’
‘Indeed?’ Maribel’s dark eyes flashed. ‘If you do not think it ill to be abducted and forced aboard a pirate ship, I do. Sylvester had no right to take us captive.’
‘He had the right—’ tis the law of the sea. He might have sunk the vessel and all with it, but only those that resisted were harmed, and I think none killed. It is not always the case with pirates. Had we been taken by corsairs we should be dead or on our way to a slave market, where we should be sold to the highest bidder.’
Maribel wrinkled her brow. She knew that her maid spoke the truth; they could have fared worse. However, she had no intention of relenting towards the pirate.
‘You will please give my message to the captain, as I bid you.’
‘Yes, my lady—but should you not like to go on deck for some air?’
‘Not with rogues!’
Maribel turned back to her view of the sea. She was longing for some fresh air, tired of being cooped up in her cabin, and yet her pride would not let her give in.
After Anna had left her, Maribel ate a piece of bread and a mouthful of cheese. The bread was coarse and harder than she was used to, but the cheese tasted good. She sipped her wine, then put it down and began to pace the cabin. How long would it be before they made land? Where was the pirate taking her—and what would happen next?
‘Forgive me, sir. My mistress is proud and bid me answer you in her own words. She is angry because she was forced to come aboard your ship.’
‘Do not look anxious, Anna,’ Justin said, a wry smile on his mouth. ‘I shall not blame you for your mistress’s words. I shall leave her to her own devices for a few days and then we shall see.’
‘She needs to come up for some air or she will be ill.’
‘Is she unwell? Does she suffer from sickness?’
‘She is well enough, but I know she is fretting.’
Justin inclined his head. ‘I shall speak to the foolish woman myself.’
He spoke to his first officer and then left the bridge. The Spanish woman was proud and ill tempered. When he first saw her she had taken his breath with her exotic beauty. Her hair was dressed across her forehead and caught in ringlets at either side of her face in the Spanish style, her clothes heavy and ugly compared with the gowns his mother had worn, for Lady Devere’s gowns had come from France. Donna Maribel Sanchez was proud, cold and disdainful, as were most of her kind. Clearly she considered no one but herself and was furious at finding herself a captive. Her maid was concerned for her and would bear the brunt of her sickness if she fell ill. She deserved to be taught a lesson and yet he had seen spirit in her, something fine and lovely. He would not have her become sickly from lack of fresh air.
Outside her cabin door, he paused and then knocked. There was a moment’s hesitation and then the word ‘enter’ spoken in a way that made him smile inwardly.
‘Donna Maribel,’ he said as he entered the cabin, ‘I understand you are frightened to come on deck because you think us rogues and murderers.’
‘I am not afraid, sir!’ Maribel’s head came up with a flash of pride. ‘I simply do not wish to consort with murdering rogues…pirates.’
‘I shall not deny that we are pirates, for’ tis clearly our trade. However, my men are not wicked rogues. They were driven to mutiny by a cruel master and must now earn their living by roaming the seas in search of rich merchant ships to plunder.’
‘You do not consider that makes you rogues?’ She looked at him scornfully.
‘Did you see anyone murdered aboard Captain Hynes’s ship?’
‘No…’ She looked at him uncertainly. ‘You said your men wished to hang him.’
‘Yet I did not allow it. Some men in my position would have taken the ship as well as the cargo and hung or marooned those who would not join us.’
She was forced to acknowledge that he spoke the truth. When he spoke softly to her, she found herself drawn to him against her will, but she was not ready to admit defeat.
‘Very well, not murderers, but still thieves, for you took what was not yours.’
‘We are adventurers. We take what we need, but we do not harm innocent women and children; men are given the chance to surrender and join us or go on their way. Your maidservant has not been harmed and you may walk safely on our decks. I give you my word that not one member of my crew will lay a finger on you.’
‘The word of a pirate?’
‘My word is as good as any man’s.’ Justin moved towards her. She gasped and stepped back, her eyes widening as if she thought he would repeat the punishing kiss he had given her before. ‘You are quite safe, as long as you behave yourself, lady. I have never yet taken an unwilling woman…’ He laughed mockingly. ‘Most come willingly enough to my bed.’ His voice had a deep, sensual timbre that sent shivers down her spine. ‘I shall not deny that I think you desirable, but I shall never force you to lie with me. You must come to me of your own free will…as you may one day.’
‘If you imagine that I would lie with you willingly…’ Maribel’s manner was one of disdain, but underneath her heart was hammering wildly in her breast; the picture his words conjured up was disturbing. She suddenly saw him bending over her as she lay in silken sheets, his mouth soft and loose with desire, his breath warm on her face, and her throat closed as she was pierced with desire. She gripped her hands at her sides, controlling her feelings, as she had been taught from childhood. A high-born lady did not allow herself to be seduced by a pirate, despite his undoubted charm. It was a