Page 54 of The Pirate Lord
The man held a scepter instead.
Torn between relief and shock, Petey gawked at the golden, jewel-encrusted rod that winked and sparkled.
As if he knew exactly what Petey had been fearing, Captain Horn smiled and twisted the scepter in the air almost as he would a sword. “Have you ever seen something so beautiful, Hargraves?”
Unable to do more than shake his head, Petey continued to stare at the scepter. Surely it was merely the lamplight that made it shine like a handful of fallen stars. Petey knew such things existed, but he’d never thought to see one with his own eyes.
Without warning, the pirate tossed the scepter in the air toward him. As it twirled, the hundreds of tiny facets reflecting the glow of the lamp, Petey sprang to snatch it from the air, barely saving it from hitting the rough plank floor. It was cold and heavy in his hands, and the metal gleamed so brightly he knew it must be solid gold.
He rubbed his fingers over it in wonder. A diamond the size of his thumbnail marked one end of the rod. Then a seemingly endless string of perfectly rounded pearls spiraled up the longrod to the ball embedded with rubies and emeralds the size of walnuts. He was so enraptured that it took him a second to realize that Captain Horn was speaking again.
“I ‘acquired’ it during my days as a privateer.” The pirate sipped his rum, his eyes intent on Petey. “One of your English ambassadors was carrying it to the Prince Regent. It was a gift from an Indian rajah, I believe. No doubt the rajah thought to appease the English thirst for land with such a gift, but we both know it would take more wealth than that to satisfy your lust.” The captain gave a smile as wide as it was wicked. “And since rumor had it that George would soon have a scepter of his own, I decided he didn’t need another.”
Only with an effort did Petey swallow his outrage at such blatant disrespect for His Majesty. The pirate was baiting him, and Petey dared not rise to it. Fingering the facets of a pigeon-blood ruby, he asked, “Why are you showing this to me?”
“It’s yours.” Petey snapped his head up only to find that the pirate was no longer smiling. “I have no use for it. What good is a scepter in paradise?”
Setting the scepter down carefully on the table, Petey eyed the pirate with suspicion. “And why would you be givin’ it to me?”
“Can’t you guess? I want you to relinquish your claim on Miss Willis.”
Stunned, Petey shook his head to clear it. The man would give a solid gold scepter to have one troublemaking Englishwoman in his bed? Either he was mad … or he was already wealthy enough to buy ten scepters. Or even more likely, this was some sort of game in which Petey would be the loser regardless.
“And what am I to do with it? As you say, what good’s a scepter in paradise?”
“Ah, but you won’t be in paradise. You’re leaving. Tomorrow. When my men sail out for Sao Nicolau, you’ll be traveling with them.”
Hope leapt in Petey’s chest, but he fought it down. “You’d truly let me leave?”
The pirate shrugged. “Why not? If you abandon your claim to Miss Willis, such as it is, you can leave the island and go wherever you wish. I know you told me you couldn’t return to England, but there are plenty of other places where you can live quite comfortably once you sell that scepter.”
God help him, the man meant it. For a brief moment, Petey actually considered taking the blooming thing and heading out for parts unknown.
But his sense of responsibility wouldn’t let him. What good was all that gold if it meant betraying his family and Miss Willis’s trust in him? He had to live with himself after all.
A shame that he couldn’t use the pirate’s offer to get Miss Willis off the island, but Captain Horn obviously wouldn’t allow that. So he was stuck here. He couldn’t leave her to the mercies of the Pirate Lord when the man was clearly determined to have her.
Petey started to hand the scepter back, then hesitated. Did he dare pass up this chance for escape? The longer he and Miss Willis stayed here, the more likely the pirate captain would get his hands on her anyway. She might pretend to be immune to the man, but Petey could tell she was more than a little enamored of him. The balmy air, the intimate living circumstances, the isolation … all of it would soon lead her to succumb, with or without Petey around. And if the pirate was willing to offer a golden scepter just to get Petey away from her, the man would never allow her to marry Petey.
Indeed, with that being the case… “Why are you givin’ me the chance to leave? Why not just kill me? It’s not as if anybodywould stop you.” When the pirate cast him a sinister glance, Petey added hastily, “’Tisn’t a suggestion, mind you, but a question. It seems to me that pirates being what they are?—”
“Cruel, bloodthirsty killers, you mean.” The captain propped one booted foot on a chair, his eyes glittering. “There are all sorts of pirates roaming the sea, just as there are all sorts of sailors. I don’t know what you’ve heard of me, Hargraves, but I don’t murder men in cold blood, and certainly not for a woman. I’ve killed in the heat of battle, ’tis true, but even that was before I became a pirate, when I served my country as a privateer.”
“But the things I’ve heard, the things they say?—”
“What else would you expect a baronet to say after he’s been shown to be a coward? He says the pirates drank blood and ravaged innocents and that’s why he didn’t lift a finger to stop them when the ship was taken.”
There was an unmistakable thread of bitterness in his tone. “The truth is, my reputation for taking prizes against high odds during the war made it easy to be a pirate afterward. When merchant ships saw my flag hoisted, they didn’t put up a fight. They knew they were outgunned and outmanned, and they didn’t intend to risk their lives for a few caskets of silk. If you recall, that’s exactly what happened with theChastity.”
His eyes narrowed to menacing slits. “But that doesn’t mean that if you refuse my offer and stay, I’ll stand by and let you have her. I won’t. In the end you’ll lose, and you won’t even have the consolation of my gold.” He took his foot off the chair and leaned forward, planting his hands on the table as he eyed Petey with suspicion. “Why all the questions, Hargraves? You’d give up any hope of riches and adventure just to marry Miss Willis?”
“No, of course not,” Petey said hastily, before the pirate’s suspicions could be further roused. “You can be sure I’d prefer this scepter and the chance to be off this island to Miss Willis anyday.” He paused, weighing his words. “I just don’t understand why you don’t feel the same.”
Captain Horn drew himself up with the bearing of one of those nobles he so disdained. “That’s none of your concern. Do you want the thing or not? Because if you don’t—” He broke off as he reached for the scepter.
Petey jerked it back. “I want it.” He wasn’t sure if he was playing this rightly, but it didn’t look as if he had any choice. “I’ll be off your island tomorrow.”
For a moment, Petey could’ve sworn he saw relief in the captain’s face. Then the man’s expression hardened. “One more thing. You’re not to speak to her of any of this, you understand? You must promise to leave tomorrow without a word to her.”
