The Pirate's Heart Read online

  They had also done all manner of things that were not strictly proper between an unwed young man and woman, but neither had cared. They were cohorts in crime, as it were, snitching biscuits from the kitchens of their respective houses. Climbing the rocks that bordered the harbor so they could watch the ships pass in and out of port of Bridgetown. Looking for pirates out in the far-flung reaches of the Caribbean Sea from the hills outside of Town.

  Coming close to sharing a kiss…and perhaps more, had sanity and common sense not returned.

  Katherine and Daniel had been the best of friends during those halcyon days here on Barbados. And, had things continued to progress, they might have been more to each other. Or perhaps she had been the only one who felt that way. Perhaps what she had once taken as interest on Daniel’s part had been nothing more than a deep friendship. Sadly, she would never know one way or the other so Katherine preferred to believe that the attraction between them had been shared. It was one of the few comforts she had left and she’d not deprive herself of it.

  “Daydreaming again, sweet? That will stop when you are mine for you will think of nothing but pleasing me.”

  At the sound of a male voice, Katherine spun around, her hand reaching for her hip to make certain the throwing knife that she now kept hidden there was still beneath the silken folds of her gown. Damn and blast! She had forgotten it! Again! Would she never learn?

  “Lord Wilds. Shouldn’t you be inside with my cousin?” He looked almost feral in the moonlight, his eyes glazed with lust – and something else she dared not name. This was the man who watched her. The man that Katherine feared above all others, even above The Reaper himself.

  This man might be betrothed to Lizzy, but it was clear to most that Katherine was the prize Richard Wilds truly coveted.

  The man gave an indolent shrug and took another step toward her. “I left her with a gaggle of simpering females. She is fine.” He smiled, though it was more of a baring of teeth than a friendly gesture. “Besides, she is not the woman I want, my dear Katherine. You are. You know this. Everyone does. Oh, that you were Lord Templeton’s daughter instead of that feather-brain he sired. Then I could wed you and not her.”

  “I would never be so foolish as to allow that,” Katherine snapped, wondering if there was anyone else in the garden. The presence she had felt before was still there. Though if it was Daniel, she doubted that a ghost – should they even exist – would be of much help to her.

  “Like your cousin, you would do as your father commanded you,” he countered. “Pity your father is gone. I need a live former lieutenant governor to advance my position, not a dead one. But you are, by far, a much tastier morsel than your cousin. Truly a pity that you are not available to me.”

  Katherine resisted the urge to lash out at him physically, for it would do her no good, though she had no problem cutting him with her words. She would likely be gone from Barbados soon, so she had no need of further complication in her life. “I would never wed you, Lord Childs. Never.”

  Another smile, this one more despicable than the last. “Never say never, my dear. I might bind myself to your cousin, but it is you that I will have in my bed when all is said and done.”

  If she had needed more reason to take her Uncle Charles up on his offer to return to England, Katherine had found it. She would even marry the first gentleman he put in front of her if that marriage would keep her safe from this man now leering at her as if he wished to devour her whole.

  “I would rather die first,” she spat, finding her strength again, “than spend a single night in your bed.”

  That elicited a chuckle from the man, a sound that snaked down her spine and chilled her blood. “Ah, sweet. You may not have a choice in the matter. In fact, I would be all but certain you do not.” He took another step toward her and Katherine backed up just a tiny bit. “You will be in my bed, sweet, naked and your legs spread wide for me, just like all the whores I fancy. I might be required to bed my wife, but it is you and your delectable body that I will fuck until I am stated. Mark my words.”

  Refusing to show fear, Katherine locked her gaze with his. She was stronger than this; she refused to allow him to cow her. “And I told you that I would rather die first!”

  “Why, you ungrateful little bitch!” he snarled, raising his hand as if to strike her. “I will teach you…” To her immense relief, Wilds paused as something rustled loudly in the bushes just then. “Who is there?” he demanded, a note of panic in his voice for fear he had been overheard. “Come out now! I, Lord Richard Wilds, your superior in every way, command you.”

  Katherine had heard the rustle of leaves as well and her skin had prickled eerily at the sound, the familiar, spicy scent of Daniel teasing her nose once more. Then again, Daniel had used sandalwood soap for bathing, as did many men. Perhaps Lord Wilds did as well. That would be a more rational explanation than ghosts. Still, she could not help but feel that the presence, whoever or whatever it was, would protect her from Lord Wilds. It was an irrational thought, but she could not shake it.

  “Come out, I say!” Wilds growled again, as loudly as he dared. After all, there was a ball underway not far from the edge of the garden. It was not inconceivable to think that someone might see or hear them. “Now!”

  The leaves rustled again but this time, a fat calico cat emerged from the underbrush, a rat caught firmly in its jaws. The cat looked at both Katherine and Lord Wilds, clearly deemed them unimportant, and then sauntered off into the night with its prize, unconcerned and unhurried, its tail twitching in annoyance at being disturbed while hunting.

  A cat. The rustling had come from nothing more fearsome than a fat, lazy cat. What a goose she was. The cat was also likely the source of the presence she had felt. There were no such things as ghosts, no matter what the locals said. And even if ghosts did exist, she was certain the ghost of the late Daniel Montgomery was not lurking about in this garden, hiding in the shrubbery, and waiting to protect her from despicable men like Richard Wilds.

  Still, Katherine was surprised to discover that she was holding her breath, but she let it out slowly for fear of showing Wilds just how terrified she had been. And to prove to herself that she didn’t believe in ghosts.

  For a moment, she wondered if the man might accost her again, but apparently the feline had shaken Wilds as well for he backed up a step and glared in the direction of the departed cat. “Do not mistake me, Katherine. I might wed your cousin, as I need her connections and her father’s influence, but it is you I covet. You will be my mistress and I shall plant a babe in your belly, one that your Uncle Charles will pay me handsomely to make all of it, including you, go away without a scandal. On that point, I will not yield.” Then he stalked off into the night in the direction of the beach, likely not wishing to be seen returning to the house from the same direction as Katherine.

  “I think not, my lord,” Katherine whispered under her breath. “As I said, I would rather die first.” Though she shivered when she said those words, wondering if she would be brave enough to go through with that kind of plan, if necessary.

  Given her fear of living life as Richard Wilds’ whore, it was quite likely that somehow, she would summon the courage. No matter the cost.

  From his position in the shrubs, the captain watched Katherine wrap her arms around herself as the bastard Wilds departed, scurrying away like the vermin he was. God above, but she was delicious. So beautiful with her thick, chestnut hair and, though he could not see them just then, what he knew to be sea green eyes. She possessed a body like Venus and the temper of a Gorgon when riled.

  He knew her face and body so very well by now. After all, he had watched her in secret these many months, waiting for the right moment. Watched and observed just how perfect she truly was. Small, pert nose and elegant cheekbones. Delightfully rounded hips. Lush, thick hair that reminded one of classically beautiful paintings. Mind as sharp as a whip with a wit to match but with an air of sadness about her that never seemed
to vanish, as if it was woven into her very soul. But she was beautiful. Almost tragically so.

  In short, she was perfect. And he wanted her. More than he had wanted any woman. Ever.

  The captain had done his best to remain quiet while watching her stroll through the garden tonight, but the allure of Lady Katherine was nearly overwhelming. She was impossible to resist. He’d wanted to be closer to her, just a bit. Just to watch the rise and fall of her breasts as she breathed. Just to imagine, even for a moment, what it would be like to taste her, to have her beneath him, her throaty voice calling out his name. To make her his in every sense of the word.

  God, he was every bit as bad at Wilds, at least in that respect.

  Except that he would seduce her into his arms and eventually into his bed, her lush body beneath his as he took her. He would never force her. Then again, with him, there would never be a need for such a thing. Because she wanted him as much as he wanted her. She simply didn’t know it yet.

  This overwhelming need for her had made him careless, however, and he had almost revealed himself to her and her would-be seducer. That would not have worked out well – for any of them.

  The captain had been fortunate that one of Lady Acker’s notoriously fat, rat-loving cats had chosen just that moment to make its presence known by emerging from the shrubbery and providing a plausible explanation for the noise the captain had accidentally made as he inched closer. Otherwise, he wasn’t certain how he would have slipped away into the night without being discovered.

  He was becoming careless. He knew that. He should be more careful. On the other hand, it seemed as if he would not need to continue spying on Lady Katherine and Lord Wilds for much longer. The man was growing restless to claim his prize and if the rumors that the captain had heard that morning were true, Katherine would be taken in a week’s time or less. The captain’s money was on “less.” Considerably less.

  The captain’s time was running out. As was Katherine’s, even if she was unaware of the danger she was in just yet. He had wondered if the rumors of what was to come had reached her ears. Given that she was out strolling Lady Acker’s gardens on her own, he would assume they had not. Otherwise, he doubted she would have been so careless with her person. She might be brash and bold but she was not, in general, reckless. Or she never had been anyway.

  Though people changed, he supposed. He certainly had. Katherine likely had as well.

  But how much? Why? And in what manner?

  Those were answers he did not have, though he very much desired them. Mostly because he desired her.

  “Soon, Katherine,” the captain whispered into the darkness as he shrank back and blended into the shadows again, still extremely thankful he had not been seen. “Soon you will be mine. And I shall glory in you. And you in me.”

  She might have heard him then, for she paused on the crushed shell path that led back to the house. But she only paused for a moment, shaking her head as if to dispel some wayward thought. Then she was gone, vanishing back into the light where she had come from. Back into a place where the captain could no longer go.

  Chapter Two

  “You were extremely rude to Richard last night,” Lizzy snapped peevishly as she and Katherine picked their way along the rocky shoreline. “He is about to become my husband. A part of this family. He was only trying to be nice, and you practically ignored him! Once he and I are wed, I won’t tolerate your rudeness.”

  Katherine and her cousin had been arguing this point since they had both come down to breakfast that morning. Neither one was willing to give in, and Katherine wished Lizzy would simply drop the entire matter. After breakfast that morning, her cousin almost had.

  However, when flowers had arrived for both young women as they were finishing their repast, Lizzy had once more taken up haranguing Katherine over the issue of Richard, his behavior, and the coldness Katherine had shown him the night before when they had both returned to the ballroom after the confrontation in Lady Acker’s garden.

  After a long morning of Lizzy’s constant picking at Katherine, Uncle William had suggested that the two women go for a walk and try to “hash out this girlish nonsense.” At first, Lizzy had been uninterested in doing anything other than continuing to hound Katherine about her behavior and about how Richard belonged to Lizzy – and not Katherine. The younger woman’s actions were hardly a shock. At one and twenty, not only was Lizzy immature, but she was also both young enough and insecure enough to feel threatened by the older and far more elegant Katherine. Even when Katherine did nothing more than exist.

  That particular battle had been going on from the moment Katherine had become Lord Templeton’s ward and taken up residence in the bedchambers next to Lizzy’s. Therefore, this sort of temper tantrum over an imagined slight was nothing new. What was new was the length of time that Lizzy continued to carry on over the matter. Usually, she was finished ranting in an hour or so, but today, the bickering had continued endlessly and for hours at a time.

  What was different?

  Had Lizzy seen Katherine and Richard in the garden together last night? Was that the true source of Lizzy’s anger? For everyone’s sake, Katherine hoped not.

  “As I have said, I was not feeling well, Lizzy, and I did apologize for my lack of proper enthusiasm when he asked me to dance.” The very thought of that man putting his hands on her made Katherine want to cast up her accounts. When the dastard had approached her for a dance last night after their garden exchange, Katherine had pleaded the chills and said she was leaving the ball early as she was not feeling well and did not want to infect others if she was coming down with an illness. She had been a bit rude, yes, but her abrupt departure had prevented him from touching her.

  “Yes, well, it wasn’t enough, apparently! The bouquet Richard sent you this morning was nearly as large as the one he sent me!” Lizzy set her chin in a stubborn manner, still belaboring the point.

  Which, of course, was the real problem. Despite what was said about her in many drawing rooms on the island, Lizzy was not some foolish, stupid chit. She knew very well that the only reason Lord Wilds had chosen to wed her instead of Katherine was because her father was still alive and thus, more able to advance the peer’s political ambitions. It was clear to her, just as it was to anyone with eyes, that Richard’s true interest actually lied with Katherine and not the dowdy and somewhat plain Lizzy.

  “I offered to send them back,” Katherine reminded her cousin, remembering the look of relief in her uncle’s eyes when she had made the offer. Sometimes, it seemed as if her Uncle William believed that Katherine truly was of a mind to snare Richard for herself – something that could not be further from the truth.

  When Katherine had suggested that she return the flowers, as they were a completely inappropriate gift, the look of relief in her uncle’s eyes had been palpable.

  “Yes, well there is that, I suppose.” Finally, Lizzy was able to offer that much, a change from earlier in the day when she refused to be placated in the slightest.

  Stopping, Katherine placed her hand on her cousin’s arm, bringing her to a halt as well. “Lizzy, you must know, deep in your heart, that I do not covet Lord Wilds for my own, don’t you?”

  With a sigh, Lizzy turned away, her distant gaze probably not really seeing the turquoise blue ocean spread out before her like a jewel. “I know. I also know that I am not Richard’s first choice. You were.”

  “But he is not my choice,” Katherine reminded her cousin gently, following her gaze to where two ships passed on their way into and out of the port at Bridgetown. “Nor would he ever be.”

  Her cousin rolled her eyes and let out a long-suffering sigh. “Yes. Yes. We all know. Everyone in the bloody West Indies likely knows! The saintly Daniel Montgomery was your one true love.” She barked out a laugh in obvious annoyance. “You might as well place a sign around your neck that says ‘Taken by a dead man. Do not touch.’ for all of the interest you show in living men. If you were to marry, th
en Richard might lose interest, you know.”

  Given that Daniel had been on her mind the night before and the memory of him still a bit tender, Katherine’s first inclination was to snap at her cousin. Instead, she took the time to collect herself before replying. “Whatever my relationship with Daniel was in our shared youth is beside the point now. He is gone. He will never return. In truth, I simply have not met any man that I fancy enough to wed.”

  This time, Lizzy snorted. “A man you fancy. Bah! Wake up, Katherine! Those sorts of notions might be acceptable in London, but not here! That is too far advanced for Barbados, and, I can assure you, will never catch on permanently! It is nothing but utter foolery to think that women can marry where they like and where their hearts lie! Not even in London, for it’s merely a passing fancy. Here, young women accept that they will marry the man of their family’s choosing and be done with it.”

  “Then perhaps I should return to London where my ideas might be more acceptable.” After last night, Katherine was almost certain that she would do just that. England might not feel like home, but neither did Barbados. Not any longer.

  “Perhaps you should.” Lizzy now looked entirely too smug for Katherine’s liking. As if this was what she had been hoping Katherine would say all along. “Perhaps there you can find a man to take the place of Saint Daniel.” Disdain dripped from her words and once more, Katherine had to stop herself from lashing out.

  Lizzy was worried and yes, perhaps a little jealous. Or more than a little. In truth, she had reason to be, though not on Katherine’s part. Anyone with eyes could see that Richard gazed hungrily at Katherine with lust-filled eyes. When he looked at Lizzy? There was, perhaps, mild interest at best.