“To what point? There was an eyewitness to your abduction,” James said. “Tony caught up with me to give me an account of it.” Then James noticed Percy approaching. “Good to see you’ve weathered this adventure well, Alden.”

“Oh, indeed, Lord M, though I’ve a much better appreciation for my valet now. Going to have to give the chap a raise when I get home.”

“When you get there, do thank your mother and your driver for me. They let my family know what happened near the London Docks.”

Jeremy pulled his father aside to give his own account of that, ending with “Yes, we were utterly foolish to think we could capture him. But he was willing to relinquish his upper hand just to protect Jack from Lacross’s men. And if you have his ransom note, then you know—”

“I don’t have it.”

“Ah, well, that explains it.” Jeremy nodded toward the still-unconscious captain. “He wrote the note this time, requesting a meeting with you in St. Kitts. He took Jack for leverage because he didn’t think you’d cross the ocean again without incentive. Ironically, he wants your help to put Lacross back in prison.”

“This isn’t the way to ask for help.”

“I agree.”

“And I was already going to deal with Pierre.”

“To be fair, he obviously didn’t know that. He got stuck with the pirate’s men this trip, so he had to pretend he was still following the same orders, when he wasn’t—well, he says he wasn’t. I’m not sure what to believe when he never gave any reasons for his own involvement in any of this—though I assume he won’t be so reticent with you. But then the damned pirates aboard wanted Jack for themselves and were making attempts to get at her. The captain was fighting them off, but it was getting close to a mutiny, so he asked for my help in dealing with them.”

“So it was just a temporary truce?”

“To last until you say otherwise.”

James nodded. “Take your sister to The Maiden George. You’re both done with this ship. And try to ignore Tony. He’s been an utter pain in the arse this week since he joined me.”

Jeremy grinned. “I was wondering why he didn’t row over with you.”

“And now you know why I didn’t let him. I know he’s just worried about Judy, but he’s dealing with it by provoking me. Good God, I’m never going through that with Jack.”

“I don’t see how you can avoid—”

“By bloody well denying my blessing to all of her suitors, that’s how.”

Jeremy laughed. “Jack will probably have something to say about that, but at least you won’t find out until next year what a colossal pain in the arse she can be.” Then Jeremy went over to his sister. “Let’s go, Jack.”

She stood up, but reminded him, “I have trunks here that will need to be—”

James cut in, “You packed for your own abduction?”

She swung around to her father. “Of course not. Damon supplied me with clothes and other amenities. He prepared ahead. We didn’t prepare enough. But we’re allies now and—”

“Not anymore.”

She gasped. “Jeremy gave his word!”

“That it would last until I arrived.”

“No, that it would last until Damon gets to talk to you, and then you decide. And not the damned talking you already did with your fists.”

James lifted her chin. “Is this gratitude because he protected you from the pirates on his ship—or more?”

She gave her brother a hard look before she said, “I hated him. I even tried to kill him. But that was before we found out he didn’t really mean us harm. He was just trying to lure you into helping him dispose of Lacross. He didn’t think simply asking you to help would work. Aren’t you the least bit curious why?”

“He’s twice abducted you, poppet. No, there’s nothing he can say to absolve himself of that.”

Despite the endearment, her father’s tone was utterly unrelenting. Even Jacqueline knew not to argue when her father was like this. Yet she still said, “You’ve met him before.”

James glanced down at the unconscious man. “If I have, it wasn’t remarkable enough to remember.”

“It was for him. ‘For reasons better left buried, I don’t like your father.’ That statement of his clearly implies you’ve met before, but he wouldn’t say how he knew you, or from where or when. Yet whatever occurred between you, it affected his decisions in this long chain of events. And as the pawn that was used as the lure, I still want to know why, whether you do or not.” She marched to the railing, climbed over it, and yelled before she disappeared down the ladder, “Don’t hurt his face!”

James tsked before he turned his full attention to Mortimer. “Your captain doesn’t look familiar, but you, on the other hand . . .”

Chapter Forty-Two

DAMON AWOKE BEHIND A wall of iron bars. He pushed himself off the floor where he’d been dumped. The small cell had two benches, a chamber pot, and nothing else. There wasn’t even enough room for him to stretch out. He definitely wasn’t on his ship, but this one was actually moving. The wind that had pushed Malory’s fleet into the calm before changing directions must have veered back and filled the sails. Or had several days passed since the cannon was fired at Damon’s ship? He couldn’t tell how long he’d been unconscious, though his jaw hurt like hell.

Trying the cell door to see if it was locked, he saw two guards blocking the entrance to the little corridor outside the cell. “What’s going on? I demand to be released!” he shouted. “It’s imperative that you fetch Lord Malory!” Neither guard answered his questions or fetched Malory for him, even though he bothered them about it for quite a while. Frankly, he was surprised the man wasn’t there demanding answers of his own, but with the ship so quiet, he guessed it was the middle of the night.

Hours passed and the only sounds he heard were the creaking of the ship and an occasional cough from one of the guards. He wasn’t tired, but he did bend his knees to lie back on one of the benches and must have fallen asleep. Metal clanking against an iron bar woke him, and he shot immediately to his feet when he saw who was making the racket with a dagger.