Free A Wedding by Dawn by Alison Delaine Page A

chance he would wake up and think he fell and hit his head?” India asked.
    Millie answered with a look.
    “You confronted him?”
    “I went to ask him a question. ”
    “And knocked him unconscious? ”
    “I didn’t care for his answer! Hold his head higher.”
    William’s slackened features were terrifying. “What if he dies? How can you be certain he won’t die?”
    “Stop asking questions and help me put a pillow beneath his head!”
    “What good will a pillow do us now?” None. A pillow would do them no good. But India stuffed one beneath him anyhow and grabbed up the pistol and shot.
    * * *
    N ICK AWOKE TO the sharp pounding of a hammer.
    What the devil—
    He pushed himself upright in the darkness, realizing at the same time that the hammer was pounding against his door. He bolted out of bed and tried to wrest the door open, but something on the other side held it fast.
    Bang! Bang! Bang!
    “What the devil is this about?” No answer. “Jaxbury! Jaxbury, you sodding bastard, open the bloody door! ”
    The hammering stopped, and it wasn’t Jaxbury that answered.
    “How does it feel to be locked away, Mr. Warre?” Lady India’s voice singsonged through the door.
    The implications raced through his mind. “Where is Jaxbury?”
    “William is none of your concern. From now on you shall answer to me as your captain.”
    “Tell me what’s happened to Jaxbury.” Lady India, and presumably Miss Germain, could not have taken over the ship unless—
    “You need not fear for your safety, Mr. Warre, as long as you cause us no trouble. You shall be let off at Sicily—it should be easy enough for you to find passage back to England from there.”
    Nick’s blood ran cold. “Is Jaxbury dead?”
    “I do not care to answer any questions. You will remain in your cabin. Of course, that shouldn’t present any additional hardship for you with your ill health. But I intend to keep the door locked just in case.”
    “So you will put me off at Sicily, and then what? You and Miss Germain will sail the Mediterranean in a stolen ship? Once the line of piracy is crossed, it can’t be undone.”
    “If I tell you I fully intend to cross that line, will it make you less inclined to marry me? Only imagine what shame it will bring upon Taggart to have a pirate as its mistress.” Nick did not bother to answer. “Ah, well,” she said after a moment. “I thought not. But only consider, Mr. Warre, how much you could profit by piracy. More than fifty thousand, I daresay.”
    “You and Miss Germain are as good as dead, Lady India. And anyone else out there—” he thought of the crew and called louder, in case any might be listening “—do you imagine you’ll not be counted as pirates, too?”
    “Enjoy your voyage, Mr. Warre,” she called, and he heard her footsteps fading down the passageway.
    He stared at the door.
    A wave of nausea rolled through his stomach, and he breathed deeply through his mouth until it passed. When it did, he lurched to the dresser for another piece of candied ginger and stumbled toward the pot in the corner of the cabin.
    God, he hated ships. Despised them and everything they stood for.
    With just enough moonlight to see, he slid the pot aside with his foot, gripped the wall for balance, and retrieved the pistol he’d hidden there. Loaded a ball, and replaced the pistol behind the pot with his reserve of shot and powder. Under these circumstances, having an extra pistol hidden away could become very useful.
    He returned to the bed, sinking into the mattress and staring at the ceiling while his stomach threatened another rebellion.
    In the space of—what, half an hour? Longer?—he’d gone from stroking her breasts, God damn it, to being imprisoned in his cabin with Jaxbury possibly dead. They couldn’t actually have killed him. Could they?
    Whatever they’d done, Lady India would have had the opportunity for none of it if he had alerted Jaxbury and returned her to her cabin like he