Page 15 of A Countess Captured for the Captain
Chapter Eight
The days that followed were an agony for Samantha. Her father gloated over having caught the most dangerous pirate in all the Caribbean, and soon the ton was awash with gossip of Samantha having been returned home aboardThe Rosa Mystica.The ship itself was impounded, the crew – what could be found of them – arrested, and the periodicals spoke of the Duke of Hampton as a national hero, reclaiming the seas for law-abiding sailors.
But Samantha knew differently, and she could only lament for having caused Nox’s demise. There was much guilt on her part, mixed up with feelings for him, feelings which seemed most unusual but were all too real. She discovered he was being held in Brixton Prison, and that the hanging would take place the following Saturday, his trial having been brief and merely for show. They charged him with offenses too long to list, and condemnation came swiftly from the hands of witnesses who claimed to have been his victims.
The ton delighted in this spectacle, and Samantha and her adventures were the talk of every fashionable salon from Kensington to Billingsgate. Regina, of course, delighted in seeing Samantha so miserable, and even invited her own friends to take tea at Hampton Manor, so that they too might see her misery. Samantha confined herself to her chambers, though the destruction of her books by vengeful Regina meant that even in the pages of fiction she could find no solace.
The only light in this otherwise dull and abysmal time was Catherine, who came to visit Samantha as soon as she discovered she had returned. The two women ignored Regina and her cronies, taking tea upstairs in Samantha’s sitting room, where Samantha recounted her adventures from the point that Catherine had sealed her into the crate until her return to Hampton Manor in the previous days.
“But he is nothing like all ofthemmake out,” Samantha said, pointing in the vague direction of Regina’s salon below.
“It is just too awful; I should never have suggested it. I feel quite terrible for making you go along with my plan,” Catherine said, wringing her hands, as though in despair.
“Catherine, you did not force me into the crate. It was an excellent plan, and certainly it made my father take notice, which was the desired effect,” Samantha said, sighing, as she thought of Nox in Brixton Prison.
“Rebecca and I were so worried about you,” Catherine said, and reached out to take Samantha by the hand.
Rebecca Lowood was married to Nicholas, Marquess of Somerset, and the three of them had been friends for many years. Samantha had always vowed that she would not marry, nor court the attentions of men beyond mere playthings.
But her feelings for Nox had come as a sudden surprise, and she could not merely rid herself of them as she had so easily dismissed others in the past. She cared about Nox, and she felt terribly guilty for leading him into such a trap.
“I suppose she thinks I have caused a scandal,” Samantha replied.
“Not at all. Neither of us thinks that. If what you tell me is true then he has acted with complete chivalry… it is true though, Samantha, is it not?” Catherine asked, and Samantha raised her eyebrows.
“I assure you, Catherine, he has acted at all times with complete propriety, though he is certainly enamored by the company of women,” she said, smiling to herself.
“Did he make an advance upon you?” Catherine asked, and Samantha shook her head.
“There were some playful scenes, but I am as responsible for teasing him as he is for teasing me,” she said, thinking back to the first evening of their encounter, when Nox had chased her mischievously about the cabin.
“Really, Samantha, you are quite terrible,” Catherine said.
“But what does that matter if he is to hang? I cannot allow it, but I am powerless to stop it,” Samantha cried. As tears welled up in her eyes.
To think of the fearful Captain Nox brought to the gallows was too awful to bear. She had heard his tale, she knew he would not kill innocent men – the encounter with the merchant ship was proof enough of that – but none of that seemed to matter, and now his fate was sealed thanks to her father’s influence.
“How much money do you have?” Catherine asked, and Samantha looked at her curiously.
“I have my allowance, some money and jewelry which my mother left me. Why? What does it matter? I shall be married off to this Marquess – and find myself a miserable woman for the rest of my life, though I admit I shall never want for anything,” she replied, sighing, as a tear ran down her cheek.
“We could buy his freedom. Think about it. The guards at the prison cannot care tuppence for a pirate from the Caribbean. It is not as though he is some vicious murderer who has stalked the streets of London. What will it matter to them if he is set free? Bribe them, disguise him, and let him escape. It is surely worth a chance,” she said, and Samantha looked at her in astonishment.
For a timid and shy woman, Catherine always seemed to have the most outrageous plans. But this one might just work. Samantha pondered for a moment, imagining herself freeing Nox from his cell. Where would they go? How could they escape? Would they return to the Caribbean somehow?
The alternative was to remain at Hampton Manor, enduring Regina’s taunts and jibes, knowing that her fate was soon to be decided and that Nox’s was sealed. Or she could take a risk.
“Will you help me?” she asked, and Catherine nodded.
“Of course, I will, it will be great fun,” she replied, smiling at Samantha as the two of them now concocted their plan.
* * *
“Filthy pirate scum,” the guard muttered, tossing a stale piece of bread into the cell where Nox was being held.
He had been there for three days, ever since his conviction at the hands of a hastily convened court, a string of witnesses stepping forward to testify against him. There had been no opportunity for defense, and Nox had been swiftly condemned.
“He is responsible for half a dozen of my ships sinking in the Caribbean,” the Duke of Hampton had told the court. “I demand recompense. This man is a robber, a murderer, a pillager, and is responsible for abducting my daughter.”
