Page 24 of Devil of the High Seas
“My brother wrote this. It seems he has taken Josephine.”
“Your brother?” Dominic growled, and his eyes narrowed. “Last I saw him was...” Dominic closed his mouth, realizing too late the mistake he’d made.
“What do you know of my brother, Dominic?” Griffin asked, his tone hard. As boys, the three of them had been friends. Not as close as Dominic had been to Nicholas Flynn, but they’d been close enough that they’d spent a great deal of time together.
Dominic exchanged a glance with his father before continuing. “I suppose you have a right to the truth... He was in the West Indies for many years. We met often. When I married Roberta and came home, he had just assumed the role of the Admiral of the Black.”
“The Admiral of thewhat?” Griffin had never heard of such a thing.
Dominic’s voice lowered to a whisper, even though no one but the four men could hear his words in that private room.
“The pirates in the West Indies are more organized than you might have heard. To keep them in line, one pirate is chosen to rule them. The Admiral of the Black. The previous admiral retired, and votes were taken to put a new man in his place. The last I had heard, that was Gavin. What was he doing here in Cornwall?”
Seeing that Dominic had been truthful with him, Griffin felt it necessary to be truthful with what he knew of Gavin’s situation. “Apparently, my brother was off the coast of Cornwall when his ship suffered a mutiny. He barely escaped with his life. He was injured and came through this passageway into our home. He sought me out, only I wasn’t in my old chambers. Josephine was.”
Camden scowled at this, but Griffin continued. “Josephine tended to his injuries that night, then brought me to see him. He told me he would be gone in a few days. He planned to take his ship back somehow. Perhaps he’s taken her with him.”
Lord Camden let out an aggrieved sigh. “So my only daughter has been abducted by a pirate. And not just any pirate, but one intent on revenge who just so happens to be the currentkingof pirates of the West Indies?”
Dominic met Griffin’s gaze, but the man’s look was unreadable.
“Cannoneof my children stay away from trouble?” Camden snapped. He shot Adrian a glare, as if expecting him to confess he’d taken up with a pirate crew too. The lad raised his shoulders in an innocent shrug.
“They can’t have gotten far if they have no ship,” Dominic said. “Why don’t we all sit down and craft a plan to bring Josie back?”
Camden gave his son a hard stare before he nodded at the jeweled dagger in Griffin’s hand.
“Is my child safe with your brother?”
Griffin clenched his fingers around the hilt of his blade. “I honestly don’t know. He wouldn’tharmher, but from what I understand, there may be some passion between them.”
“Passion?” Camden uttered the word in confusion.
“My brother is a charmer, Lord Camden. And your daughter spent the night in his company, tending to his wounds. I believe that it may have resulted in... feelings between them, however innocent for Josephine.” Griffin had gleaned enough from his twin’s reaction to Josephine and hers to him in that short time they’d all stood in this room to realize that Josephine was more than curious, if not attracted to Gavin in some way. Of course, she was far too innocent to realize her face and her words had betrayed as much to him.
“If he touches her...,” Camden began, his voice full of quiet fury.
“He will face the wrath of every man in this room,” Griffin promised.
Gavin, you damned fool. What have you done?
As the four men exited the secret passageway, someone called for them in the corridor. A messenger had arrived from Camden’s estate with a note for Dominic. Dominic rushed down to meet the young man holding the message at the bottom of the grand stairs. Dominic took the missive and read it, his face hardening as Griffin and the others joined him at the base of the stairs.
“It’s from my wife. My new ship, theCornish Pixie, which was anchored in St. Ives Bay, sailed out to sea last night.” He crumpled the note in his palm. “The crew I hiredapparentlyheard they’d been assigned a new master...”
“What was that you were saying about them not getting far without a ship?” Adrian asked, a hint of amusement in his eyes. “Castleton’s brother will have a decent head start on us.”
“This is no laughing matter, lad,” Griffin said. “Gavin once loved a woman who chose to marry me instead. Now he’s taken my intended bride, your sister. He’ll likely seduce her before we ever catch up to them.”
Adrian’s humor vanished as he returned Griffin’s look. “Yes, the bastard will likely try to seduce her, but he doesn’t know Josie like I do. She’s clever and stubborn. He’ll not find her a rose so easily tamed. If she’s there against her will, he will feel her thorns.”
“I hope you are right,” Griffin said. If anything happened to her because of Gavin, he would never forgive himself.
“So, what’s our plan now that they have a ship?” Adrian asked.
“We must go after them,” Dominic said darkly. “I once counted Gavin as a friend, but now he’s taken my shipandmy sister. He will pay for those transgressions.”
“Agreed,” Lord Camden said just as coldly. “No one takes my child without consequences.”
