Chapter Forty-Four
JAMES WAS TRUE TO his word. For the few remaining days that Damon was on The Maiden George with them, Jacqueline wasn’t left alone for a moment. Damon had been let out of his cell and given a cabin, but she might as well have been in the cell herself since even a guard stood night duty outside her door. During the day, one of her relatives or another guard was constantly at her side. If she tried to whisper something to Damon, she got dragged away.
It was intolerable! And what was the bloody point? But she was afraid she knew. She’d showed a little too much concern for Damon aboard his ship, and her father had decided their “friendship” was over. He might be willing to help Damon because of that ancient history they shared, but that didn’t mean he had forgiven Damon for his part in all this. She should just be happy for the resolution that had occurred and let it go at that since he had survived meeting her father, but—she wasn’t done with him, hadn’t enjoyed him nearly enough thanks to her brother’s interference.
When they neared St. Kitts, James directed the fleet up the coast to anchor at the home of Nathan Brooks, Drew’s father-in-law, which was on the beach but far from the main harbor. This precaution was in case any of Lacross’s men were in town, watching for them. Brooks wasn’t at home, but his servants welcomed his son-in-law and friends.
Only the family and Damon had rowed ashore to the beach house. Jacqueline wasn’t invited to join the war council that night, but of course Jeremy was! Well, at least he wouldn’t be eavesdropping with her outside a window this time, though here she was on a terrace with the French doors wide-open, a warm breeze blowing up from the beach—which ended up being a hindrance. Warren, Drew, Boyd, and Anthony were discussing strategy, but she wasn’t catching every word from where she stood leaning back against the wall next to the open doors because the strong breeze was blowing them right back into the large open room.
Damon said something so quietly that she caught only the word “tavern,” but in response, she definitely heard her father growl, “Why didn’t you tell me this sooner? Jack!”
She wasn’t going to try to hide that she’d been eavesdropping. She immediately walked through the doors and saw how furious her father was.
Damon was telling him, “It can’t be helped. His instructions were explicit. I have to give the tavern keeper the password and have Jack by my side when I do it to prove I captured her. The man won’t give me Pierre’s new location without both.”
“I refuse to put my daughter in danger,” James said adamantly.
“We could threaten the tavern keeper until he gives up the location,” Warren suggested.
“Unless he doesn’t know it,” Drew put in. “Pierre is a wily old bastard. One of his men might be waiting there for Damon, the tavern keeper only serving as a go-between to receive the password before nodding to the pirate. If there are a lot of people there, we’ll be flat out of luck figuring out who the second man is.”
“Then we hire a local woman to pretend to be Jack,” Jeremy said.
Drew snorted. “Good luck finding a blonde her age on this island.”
“We can’t risk that,” Damon put in. “The tavern keeper might question Jack to make sure it’s really her.”
Jacqueline understood now what Damon had meant when he’d told her, “This isn’t the end.” And they weren’t even asking her opinion.
“This is a simple matter,” she said. “I just need to stand there looking angry and coerced to prove Damon completed his mission. Once he gets the location, we leave. What could go wrong?”
“The tavern could be full of bloody pirates, that’s what,” James said.
Drew chuckled. “A handful, maybe. Lacross won’t leave too many of his men sitting idle for months waiting for Damon to show up, if he even stationed any there. But we can go in before Damon and Jack enter to check the place out, pretend to be customers, and be on hand to protect Jack. But not you, James. You would be recognized.”
“We will need to go in with just Reeves’s ship,” Boyd mentioned as if the plan were already agreed upon. “All of our ships arriving at once would be a red flag—in case there are more pirates there. And we should probably go in the morning. The tavern might be too crowded tonight.”
“Nathan has a small stable here,” Drew added. “Some of us can ride to the tavern and be there before Damon and Jack arrive.”
“And I’ll go with Damon and Jack as escort,” Jeremy said. “I can look the part of a pirate if need be. The tavern keeper won’t know the difference.”
“I will as well,” Anthony said, then smirked. “Father and son pirates.” James rolled his eyes at that because the two still looked so much alike, but Tony added, “You denied me the last fight, which ended up not being one. You’re not keeping me from any more, old boy.”
“Then it’s settled?” Damon asked.
James nodded. “I’ll sail with you and stay out of sight. But I’ll be close by if I’m needed. And you will protect my daughter with your life. I hope we understand each other?”
“Perfectly,” Damon said.
No one in the room doubted that James had just issued a polite death threat.