| CAPTAIN'S MATE PART 2
Abducting the pampered Alexandra was almost to good to be true.
Angus had spotted the "quality" miss seemingly slumming around
the unwholesome docks. On a hunch, he discretely inquired as to
whom the obvious "fish out of water" was holding court with hardened
sailors, whores, stevedores, cut-purses, and the like.
The wealthy Mistress Hope had single-handedly started a food
kitchen for dock workers, lonely sailors, indigent travelers,
and down-on-their-luck ladies of the evening; providing a hot
meal for any and all in need of sustenance. On her terms, of course,
and under her rules. She ran a tight little ship; only the best
of supplies were used: no cast-offs, damaged goods made it into
her kitchen! She demanded good behavior and mutual respect under
her roof. If you had a gripe-take it outside. Or Mistress Hope
might lead you out herself. By your ear! Angus informed Rory of
his intuition about the girl, and so continued his observation
with Rogue Thunder's grateful approval. The old salt watched keenly
the unaware young woman's comings and goings. Who she surrounded
herself with-and whom she didn't. Angus' ear was low to the ground,
and wasn't he right on the money? This fearless young woman, the
bossy little beauty, was none other than the richest young woman
in town!
The heiress to the wealthiest family in the whole county! 'Alex',
as she was commonly called on the docks, ran her kitchen with
a firm hand and a welcoming smile. She made sure no one went away
hungry, and if the weather was wicked, why she made sure her "customers"
had a warm spot in which to keep dry. Time was running out, and
after the fiasco with the British frigate, 'Raven's Blood' needed
a sure score. A hefty ransom would generate the desperately needed
funds for their special friends to the South. An important kidnapping
would force the Hope family to waste no time in fulfilling their
demands, especially when her guardian is the town scion, Sir James
Hastings Hope III. That had been the plan: snatch Miss Hope, deliver
the ransom note with explicit directions for delivery, and return
the girl to the bosom of her family. Nobody would be the wiser.
"Boyo, we'll steal out o' port like a thief in the night!" Rory
didn't care for Angus' choice of phrase. As far as he was concerned,
others needed money far more than this haughty daughter of privilege,
and he'd do what he must to help those unfortunates get their
share!
"Steal from the rich, give to the poor," English legend had it,
and Rory and his band had taken the phrase to heart. And nothing
was going to get in their way of success this time! Angus soon
became a regular at Miss Hope's kitchen, even helping her open
and close her establishment in exchange for food. The wily Scot
was very surprised to find the wealthy young woman, not the spoiled
girl they'd all assumed she'd be, but a very pleasant, considerate,
albeit, maybe a little too trusting of strangers. But a warm,
beautiful girl with a heart of gold--and a will of iron! Old Angus
regretted that what was to come would alter her out-going, friendly
nature, but too much was at stake for all those of 'Raven's Blood'
not to attempt their share of the Hope family fortune.
It had been a long, harrowing 72 hours. Still no word of their
ransom demands from James Hastings Hope, Rory had no choice but
to spirit the sullen heiress aboard ship, and slip out of harbor
before questions fell across their bow. During the anxious wait,
faithful Angus and midshipman, Tim, held their rich prize in an
old abandoned storage hut, with Rory visiting the second day to
see how his men fared. The restless captive had the seasoned sailors
apologetic, and considerate to a fault! Angus had gone so far
to make the hut as comfortable as possible for their prisoner,
but the young woman practically spit in the old man's eye. Rory
wanted the ordeal over. He wanted nothing more than to pack the
hornet-hide harridan back to her uncle. After they got their money.
But Sir James was in no hurry to barter. So, they waited. And
Alex bided her time...
Day three, Tim was guarding her while Angus caught forty winks.
But the strain of the last several days had caught up with him
also, and Alex saw her chance. When Tim's head bobbed down to
his chest, the girl crept silently through the locked window She
jumped down trying to adjust her eyes to the night, and was inches
from escape when Rory spotted her. Alexandra kicked up her heels
and fled as fast as her little legs could carry her. The desperate
pirate captain caught up to her quickly, but she had reached the
edge of the busy docks, and she yelled like a banshee as his strong
arms lifted her in mid-flight. "OH-NOOOOOOO--HELPPP!!!" Mistress
Hope struggled violently, so Rory thought quickly, and silenced
the damning scream with a heart-stopping kiss. Several kisses.
Every time she struggled for breath, Rory kissed Alex quiet.
Passersby gave no more thought to the tussling couple than to
a working whore with an eager client. The Rogue earned his nickname.
Saluting passing strangers jauntily, he feigned drunken lust for
the sensuous spit-fire in his arms, carrying her as if swept away
by a grand passion. Passion ruled, all right. The mere thought
that Angus and Tim had almost been caught, sent Rory into a paroxysm
of anger. "You little fool! You could have been hurt--or worse--running
off like that!" He dumped the staring girl flat on her bum on
the dirt floor of the hut, Tim and Angus looking half awake and
sheepish in the face of their captain's ire. "Hurt?" Alex sat,
defiantly rubbing her aching bottom after its hard contact with
floor. "Pardon me, sir, but out there I'd be free! You are all
pirates, and thieves, and knock-abouts, and I'd be better off
on the streets, than in here with the lot of you!" "Ah, lassie,
no one's going ta harm you," Angus soothed. "The Cap'n here means
no harm!" Rory exploded. "She almost had you arrested, Angus!
She was alerting anyone within hearing what we are up to. 'Raven's
Blood' would have been seized. Have you gone daft, man? Have you
forgotten what we're doing here?" "No, I haven't forgotten. But
Rory, lad, wouldn't you have done the same? Mistress Hope is only
doing what comes natural..." "Taking her side, eh? You're going
soft, old friend. She's doing what every spoiled, little rich
girl does: crying for someone to get her out of trouble--and damn
the rest of the world to hell! "...Girl, you try to escape again,
or get my men arrested or hurt, and by Heaven, you'll regret it
till the day you die!" His eyes blazed blue as the horizon, and
Alex shivered with the force of his gaze. The back of her hand
rose involuntarily and she touched her lips.
His warmth still lingered; the delicate skin tingling, and maybe
a touch bruised. "You kissed me, you brute!" was all she could
think to say. "Don't flatter yourself, girl, I've had better!"
They ignored each other after that, Alex only talking to Angus,
and Rory impatiently pacing up and down the cabin with passing
each hour Sir James didn't respond to their demand. What was wrong
with the man? It was as if he didn't want Alexandra safe and sound!
Rory Thunder glanced at the unkempt, pouting prisoner curled up
on the floor, sleeping like an orphaned child. Suddenly, he gleaned
the obvious: she, Alexandra, was the Hope heir. When she turned
twenty one, by law she would inherit the bulk of the vast estate
left by her dead parents. Currently held in trust until she was
of age--and managed solely by dear Uncle James.
Rory looked at Angus. "You knew?" he whispered. "Aye, lad, I
figured Sir James had the look of a scoundrel about him, he did.
He stands to get everything if, God forbid, his only niece departs
this world. Aye, Rory, the poor lassie has been an accident waiting
to happen, as far as her greedy uncle is concerned. "And here
we are, playing right into his hands. I fear we lost again, Rory,"
the older man sighed. "What do we do now? We can't let her go,
not if we're still in port. And, blast it, man, her uncle will
have to get rid of her soon to gain her inheritance!"
The concerned sailors couldn't leave Alex behind to Sir James
evil machinations, so they loaded the poor, little rich girl unceremoniously
aboard ship: bound and gagged, and wrapped up in a dusty carpet
that was slung over Rory's strong shoulder.
THE END
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