Page 26 of The Black Lion
“Everything that is mine is now yours,” he’d said, standing back to study her, much preferring her in thin silks as opposed to constricting stays and layers of petticoats. “I give you the world, my Bella.”
“I never needed the world, Drew. You were all I ever wanted.”
She had kissed him then, coming up on tiptoe and cupping his face. Drew fell into the kiss with unquenched ardor, nearly forgetting the task he had set for himself for the day. Now that he’d set things right with her, there were two treacherous snakes to be dealt with.
“Enough,” he had rasped, tearing his mouth away from hers. “If we go on this way, we’ll never leave this cabin. As much as I would like that, there is another matter for me to tend to. Then, we are going home, together.”
So, here they now stood on the deck of his ship, ready to mete out punishment for the misdeeds of the two men who had nearly torn them apart. Drew’s chest swelled with pride at the awe-filled stares Bella attracted. The eyes of his crew settled on her with respect and appreciation instead of scorn and lascivious intent. He supposed they could be allowed to keep their eyesight.
Nothing pleased him more than seeing Will’s dismay at the vision of Arabella at his side, one arm around his waist. Drew draped a possessive arm over her shoulders, smirking at the way Will’s jaw ticked when his hand fell against Arabella’s breast. He left it there, and she seemed content to allow it.
“Brother, Archibald, today you stand before the crew ofThe Sea Lionto answer for your offenses against their captain. While nothing would please me more than tending to you myself, I never act without the leave of my crew.”
“String ‘em up by their balls, Cap’n!” shouted a man perched on the yardarm, a bit of rigging twined about his arm.
“Give ‘em a taste o’ the cat o’ nines!” cried another.
“Nay! Keelhaul the bastards!”
Archibald whimpered as cheers and shouts of agreement rang out through the crew, while Will remained as stone-faced and defiant as ever. His brother never broke his gaze, chin jutting out in a show of rebellion. His bruises were hideous in the bright light of the afternoon—some starting to turn green and yellow, while the fresh ones had just darkened to deep purple.
Drew held one hand up for order, and the crew fell silent. “In due time, gents, in due time. First, my lady must be allowed to have her say, for these men not only betrayed me, they also wounded her.”
Sounds of dissent and scorn rippled over the deck, a few men even going so far as to spit on Archibald. His cabin boy delivered a swift kick to Will’s ribs. Will doubled over but did not fall, shoulders heaving as he struggled to catch his breath.
Rory stepped forward, one fist raised as he roused the men to chant, “Bella! Bella! Bella!”
Arabella glanced about with startled eyes as the men took up the call, her name echoing through the air with the force of nearly one hundred male voices.
Bracing a hand at the small of her back, Drew lowered his head to whisper in her ear. “They love and accept you, because you belong to me. By harming you, they have harmed me, and the men won’t stand for it. Speak your mind, Bella. The men will listen and take it into account in their judgment.”
She lifted the hem of her gown and stepped forward, head held high like the regal creature she was. Staring down her nose at her father, Arabella looked upon him as if thinking him a pitiful sight.
“I have always wrestled with myself as it pertains to you,” she said, her voice strong and her words sure. “I have felt affection for you, but also a great deal of wariness. How can a man who makes his fortune on the labor of slaves claim to love me, or have loved my mother?”
Archibald sobbed, his mottled face and chapped lips making him an unsightly mess. His balding pate had begun to redden and blister under the unforgiving sun.
“It was for love that I did this, poppet. He isn’t good enough for you … he never was.”
“That is for me to decide,” she countered with a shake of her head. “If this is what your love brings, then I want none of it. What you did to Drew was so cruel that my own pain can never compare. I do not know if I want you to die for it, but … you should suffer as he has suffered. You should know what it is to be helpless and preyed upon, to be hurt and unable to defend yourself. Perhaps then you will learn compassion for your fellow man.”
“Hear, hear!” Rory called out, prompting a galvanizing cry of agreement from the men.
When they fell silent again, she turned to Will, her eyes blazing with fury. “As for you …”
Will met her gaze, his expression a muddle of derision and lust. “What a fool you are, Bella. You could have had a real man, but have chosen to give yourself to this degenerate. I pity you.”
Rory lunged for Will, but Drew held him back with a heavy hand on one shoulder.
“Let me at him, Cap’n,” his quartermaster growled, face as red as his hair in his fury. “I’ll have his foul tongue for that!”
“It is Bella’s turn to speak, Mr. Walsh. We will have our time.”
To everyone’s surprise, Bella merely smiled at Will, the gesture heavy with her own derision. “It is you who should be pitied. Were you areal man, you wouldn’t have found it necessary to resort to lies and trickery to have me. All the riches in the world weren’t enough for you, were they? You couldn’t stand for Drew to have the one thing that could never be yours. And for all your scheming and plotting, in the end you have lost. You will die—perhaps today—and face eternal judgment, while Drew and I will go on to be happy and forget about you entirely.”
Will’s mocking smile melted into a black scowl, embarrassment and fury twisting his features until he was nearly unrecognizable. This was his true face, the one he hid behind a mask of politeness, his forked tongue dripping honeyed words when it suited him.
“You ungrateful, spiteful whore! You could have been a grand lady, but you’ve chosen to become the bed wench of apirate.”
