Chapter One
Perran Castle
She could hear him coming.
Or, at least, she could hear someone coming.
In the lavish bower at the pirate stronghold of Perran Castle that had become her prison, Genevieve Efford stood next to her door, ear pressed to the seam between the door and the jamb, trying to listen to the noise beyond.
She’d become quite adept at deciphering the sounds of Perran Castle in the month that she and her sister, Vivienne, had been prisoners here. But, oh! What a strange situation they were in, held captive in chambers that were more lavish that what the princes of Arabia would demand. There were two adjoining chambers, not particularly large, but each had a sumptuous bed and a wardrobe full of clothing and shawls and the like. Then they shared an alcove between them that had a big copper tub in it and other things for a lady’s toilette, like exotic oils and mother-of-pearl hair combs.
In truth, it was beautiful and comfortable. But it was a prison, and they were prisoners. And like any good prisoners, Genevieve and her sister were determined to escape their silken confines. It was their right. Yet, the men of Poseidon’s Legion were clever – knowing they had wily captives, they’d put them in chambers that were virtually escape-proof. There was no way to crawl from a window with a plunging drop to the sea below, and the doors were massive oak panels reinforced with iron. And they were constantly bolted. Genevieve knew the sound of that bolt when it was thrown, and it was a sound that made her sick to her stomach. Somehow, she vowed, I shall get out of here! That was what she told herself.
But she wondered if she really ever would.
Vivienne, her younger sister, seemed far more apt to accept her fate. In fact, she frequently begged her sister not to become irate or combative, but it wasn’t in Genevieve’s nature. A petite woman with a fiery nature, she had often been called a banshee by family members, a less than kind term for a woman with a bold personality. Her father had lands in Ireland and that was where her mother had been born, making Genevieve half-Irish. Every ounce of that bold and wild country came through in her soul.
But she wasn’t foolish even if she was unruly at times. Genevieve was very bright, which was why she had been plotting to escape since the day she and Vivienne had been brought to the pirate stronghold of Perran Castle. She had a plan that had taken her these weeks to perfect, and now she was waiting to execute it.
But she needed a hostage.
Beyond the door, she could hear movement and voices, although she couldn’t quite make out the words. A ship had come into the cove. Genevieve knew that because she had heard the yelling of the men down on the sandy beach well below the castle. From the angle of the chamber windows, she couldn’t see the cove, but she’d come to learn the routine when the ships entered. She hadn’t seen the big, blond pirate leader in quite some time, nor had she seen the men she believed were his commanders. She thought there were four or five of them, but she couldn’t be sure.
All she knew was that usually, when a ship returned to the cove, they would bring something to her, some kind of booty they’d managed to steal from other ships. Once, she’d been brought a lovely brown cloak with dark rabbit-fur lining, and another time, she’d been brought a big tame bird. Even now, the bird sat on a perch in her chamber, squawking at the puppies she’d brought with her from Ireland.
Big Irish wolfhound puppies that the pirates somehow hadn’t managed to steal when they’d overcome her father’s vessel. They were Vivienne’s puppies, really, and the younger sister was thrilled to have had her precious possessions returned. But now, it was Genevieve, Vivienne, four puppies, and a big, noisy bird in the two small chambers.
Genevieve wanted out.
The first week of her captivity, she’d broken one leg from a small table next to her bed, bracing the table up against the wall so no one would notice that it only had three legs. Every morning and every evening, she was brought a fine meal and a spoon and dull knife to use. They were always left alone for her meal, her and Vivienne, and since the day she’d broken off the leg, she’d been using the dull knife at mealtime to carve away a sharp point on the table leg. She needed that sharp weapon as part of her escape plan and as of this morning, it was sharp enough.
Now, all she had to do was wait for her victim to come to her.
“Genni?”
It was Vivienne, sitting over by the window with the sea breeze lifting tendrils of her dark hair about. Tiny, frail Vivienne. Genevieve was standing by the entry door, sharpened table leg in hand.
“Aye?”
Vivienne sighed heavily as she petted one of her puppies, its head on her lap. “Are you really going to attack one of those men?”
Genevieve could hear the fear in her sister’s voice. “I am not going to attack them,” she said calmly. “I am going to subdue one of them and force him to help us escape.”
Vivienne shook her head. She didn’t think it was such a sound idea. “Escape where?” she asked. “Where can we run that they will not catch us?”
“Would you rather remain here for the rest of your life?”
Vivienne frowned and turned to her puppies for comfort, all of which were laying around her on what was essentially a long, slender couch near the window. It was a fancy piece of furniture, stolen by the pirates on one of their many raids of ships that did business in the Holy Land and beyond. This particular couch, called a mahila sophe, was from the strange and mysterious land of India, far beyond the Holy Land. The fabric was beautiful and intricate, with strange animals embroidered upon it.
“I would rather you not get yourself killed,” Vivienne said quietly. “We are two women against an entire castle full of pirates. Do you really think to fight them all, Genni?”
Genevieve was resolute; it was the Irish in her. “I will not go quietly,” she hissed. “We have been here almost an entire month, Vivi. I have marked the days on the wall next to my bed. Almost thirty days! I will not stay here another blessed day longer!”
“And go where?” Vivienne demanded. “Back to Father? Back to Ireland? Where would you go that Father would not find you and force you to return to England?”
Genevieve’s cheeks pinkened with anger, perhaps with embarrassment. She averted her gaze, unable to look her sister in the eye. “I will find a boat back to Ireland,” she said. “It is there I will remain.”
Vivienne shook her head. “How?” she asked. She wasn’t unsympathetic to her sister’s plight. But, in her opinion, Genevieve was being very stubborn and foolish. “There is no place you can go where Father will not find you. He will come and he will force you to return to Plymouth to marry Francis.”
A flash of distaste crossed Genevieve’s features. “Francis,” she muttered. Then, she spoke the name mockingly. “Francis de Noble, Lord Ermington. A very old man that our father owes a debt to and is using my marriage to pay for it. Does he truly think I will stand for this – this disgrace? I will not let him marry me to a man more than twice my age!”
Vivienne shrugged. “That was where we were heading a month ago,” she reminded her sister quietly. “You were going to go through with it then.”
Genevieve stiffened. “I was forced onto that ship and well you know it,” she said. “Father sent his men to hold a sword at my back to force me onto the ship. I am glad the pirates overtook it!”
Vivienne started to open her mouth but there were voices on the other side of the door, louder than before. There were men just on the other side now and the bolt rattled. Genevieve hissed at her sister, putting her finger to her lips in a silencing gesture, as she pressed herself back against the wall. Once the door opened, she wanted the element of surprise. So she pressed herself back as far as she could go, trying to make herself invisible to anyone who might come through the door with their focus on the room beyond.
She needed that split second of advantage.
It wasn’t long in coming. The heavy oak panel lurched open, creaking back on its iron hinges, and a big body walked into the chamber. There was no hesitation; the man simply walked in, telling the guard at the door to lock the door behind him. As he strolled in and the door was shut and bolted, Genevieve came up behind him, raising her chiseled table leg like a club. With all her might, she brained the man right on the back of the skull.
He fell like a stone.
Vivienne, still over by the window with her dogs, shrieked in terror and bolted up from her couch.
“You killed him!” she gasped. “Genni, they will kill us!”
Genevieve was quite calm as she gazed down at the man lying on his face, but there was a hint of excitement in her features. Excitement and possibly fear. She poked at him with the blunt end she’d hit him with.
“He is a big one,” she said. Then, her eyes narrowed as if recognizing the man simply from the back of his head. Reaching down, she grabbed his left arm and pulled him over onto his back. “It’s him!”
Vivienne was standing beside her sister now, looking down at the unconscious man fearfully. “Who?”
Genevieve was growing increasingly angry. “Him!” she insisted again. “The pirate who took me from Father’s vessel. The big brute who pushed me around!”
Vivienne didn’t recognize him but, then again, she’d been so frightened when they’d been captured that she didn’t remember any of those men, only the fear they’d instilled within her. But Genevieve had a much better memory than she did, especially for things like this. She never forgot someone who wronged her, and this man had evidently wronged her. Vivienne’s terror only increased when she realized the size of the man, and she huddled against her sister.
“It is?” she asked with some uncertainty. “Are you sure?”
Genevieve frowned. “Of course I am sure,” she said. “He is the biggest and ugliest pirate of all. A beast, in fact, and he is probably as stupid as a post.”
Vivienne wasn’t so sure. It seemed to her that the pirates had been rather clever since the day they’d been captured. “What do you intend to do with him?” she asked. “He is very big, Genni. He will easily be able to overpower you.”
Genevieve was fairly certain that was the truth, but her stubborn pride wouldn’t allow her to acknowledge it. She stiffened.
“Let him try,” she said, handing the sharpened table leg to Vivienne. “Hold this. I must make sure he does not have any weapons on him.”
Vivienne took the table leg as if it had the plague. She held it gingerly as her sister knelt down next to the supine man. Genevieve began to search him, starting at his shoulders and chest and moving to the belt around his waist. She wasn’t gentle at all, patting firmly at him and trying to move him around. But the moment she went to see if he had anything sheathed on his hip, the man abruptly came alive and his big arms suddenly went around her.
In an instant, Genevieve was trapped.
Vivienne screamed and dropped the sharpened table leg, running to the opposite side of the chamber where her dogs were and gasping hysterically. Genevieve, however, had no such recourse. She was wrapped up in arms that were like a steel vise and her sense of self-protection kicked in immediately. She began to kick and twist, fighting to break free of the grip.
“Release me!” she grunted. “Release me or you will be very sorry!”
The female captive was putting up a good fight, but Lucifer had a solid grip on her. The little minx! His ears were still ringing from the blow she’d dealt him and that, more than anything else, frustrated him. He didn’t like being caught off guard, by a woman, no less.
He was going to teach this one a lesson.
“Ugly, am I?” he hissed, moving his head aside as she tried to jab fingers into his eyes. “Stupid, am I? I was not so stupid that I did not trap you, woman. If you thought to knock me senseless, then you are the stupid one.”
Genevieve was infuriated. “Vivi!” she cried. “The leg! Get the table leg!”
Vivienne was cowering against the wall by the couch, unable to move a muscle. She was positively terrified. When Genevieve realized that her sister wasn’t going to help her, it was an effort to keep down her panic. She knew Vivienne to be a bit of a coward, a rather meek and mild girl who was frightened of her own shadow. But she thought, surely, the woman would come around if she saw her sister in danger.
“Vivi, please!” she begged.
Vivienne was nearly swooning with fright. She didn’t want to get into the middle of a fight, but she could see that her sister was in a losing battle. She didn’t want to disappoint Genevieve; not again. She knew she’d disappointed her in so many ways throughout their lives. As she stood there and debated her next move, Lucifer suddenly flipped over and maneuvered Genevieve beneath him, pressing her onto the floor with his sheer body weight. With Genevieve pinned, he eyed Vivienne.
“I would advise you not to listen to your sister,” he said evenly. “If you do, I will throw you in the dungeons of Perran and you can live there with the bilge rats for the rest of your life.”
The threat was enough to discourage Vivienne from moving towards the sharpened table leg. With the younger sister cowering over near her dogs, Lucifer turned his attention to the woman he had pinned beneath him.
She’d been right about one thing; he had been stupid. Stupid to enter the room before all of the occupants were accounted for, giving her a prime opportunity to come up behind him and try to bash his brains in. He’d deserved it. But he’d only been stunned momentarily and had waited for her to put herself in a position where he could easily capture her. In truth, it hadn’t been hard in the least. But she was a fighter, this one, and courageous. Foolish, but courageous.
There was something oddly admirable in that.
“As for you, woman,” he said to her. “I may be ugly and I may be stupid, but it was this ugly, stupid man who got the best of you. I would suggest you not try anything like this again because the next man might not treat you so kindly. The next one might hurt or even kill you should you move against him. Do you understand me?”
Genevieve was crushed beneath him, finding it difficult to breathe. “I… I will never stop,” she hissed. “I do not belong here. You have no right to keep us captive!”
Lucifer could see that she was bordering on panic because a rational woman wouldn’t have responded in such a fashion. She was threatening him and not being the least bit submissive. Perhaps, she really was a fool and simply didn’t know when she was beaten. Reaching out, he grabbed her by her hair as he removed his body weight from her. She gasped in pain as he yanked her head up, forcing her to look at him.
“You are chattel,” he said, fixing her in the eye. “As much as gold or horses or property, you are chattel and, as such, have no rights whatsoever. I captured you; therefore, you belong to me. The sooner you understand your place, the better for us all. If you cannot understand your place, then I will cease treating you and your sister as guests and I will put you both down in the dungeons where you will rot, forgotten and alone. I will not give you another thought. Is that what you want for your sister?”
He was being clever, using Vivienne as an example of what would happen should she not behave. He watched her expression turn from angrily defiant to a shadow of uncertainty. She was trying very hard to maintain her rebellious stance. But with thoughts of her sister decaying in a windowless cell, that rebellion was fading. In fact, Lucifer saw the opportunity to control her in the threats against her sister. Always a man to find the means to an end, he used that to his advantage.
“Listen to me and listen well,” he hissed. “If you make another move to escape or rebel, your sister will take your punishment. If you want to listen to her scream as I whip the flesh from her back, then continue your foolishness. For every transgression you make, she will pay the price. Is this in any way unclear?”
The defiance slipped away from the woman’s face. She gazed back at him with big, dark eyes, perhaps realizing that her stubborn rebellion was about to end. But she was proud, this one, and it took a few moments before she was able to respond to him.
“You… beastly, cruel…!”
“Is this in any way unclear?”
He barked the words at her, and she was forced to swallow her pride, which was considerable. After a moment, she nodded, but it was as if she were fighting the gesture with every fiber of her being.
“It is clear,” she muttered.
There was hatred in every word she spoke.
But that didn’t matter to Lucifer. In fact, he believed her. She may have been a bold, foolish woman, but he didn’t sense she was a liar. There was something in those eyes that stirred him. Beautiful eyes. But he quickly shook off that thought as he released her and quickly stood up, moving to pick up the table leg she’d whacked him with. As he picked it up from the floor, he made sure to move away from the woman, back towards the door. And he faced her the entire time, now knowing what she was capable of. She was not someone he wanted to turn his back on.
“Good,” he said. “Now, I originally came to inform you that your fate had not yet been decided, but I have since changed my mind. I was going to ransom you back to your father, but it is my suspicion that he will not pay a pence for you, given your intolerable disposition. I have a feeling your attack against me is not the first time you have shown that ugly, bold streak you have. Mayhap, your father will be quite happy to be rid of you.”
The woman was looking at him with a most loathsome expression. Her dark hair was severely mussed and her face was pinched with anger, but to her credit, she said nothing. She simply looked away and Lucifer took it as a sign of surrender. He grunted, perhaps with approval.
“So you can be quiet when it is crucial that you should be,” he said. “That is good. That means you can be taught. I will ensure the next man who owns you understands that.”
Her head snapped to him. “Owns?” she repeated, outraged. “What do you mean by that?”
Lucifer cocked a dark eyebrow. “Exactly what I told you,” he said. “I will auction you and your sister off to the highest bidder. Mayhap, there are men foolish enough to pay for your beauty, but they will be in for quite a surprise when the realize your manner is not nearly as beautiful as your appearance.”
The woman looked at him as if she could hardly believe what she was hearing. “You intend to sell me?”
Lucifer eyed her. He thought he might have seen some vulnerability in her shocked question. Still keeping his eye on her, he moved to a table near the door that held wine in a fine crystal decanter. It was heavy. He was surprised she hadn’t used it to smash him over the head, as it would have made quite a weapon. He poured himself a measure of wine as he spoke.
“What else am I to do with you?” he asked. “You are a commodity. You have value.”
She watched him as he lifted his wine to drink. “You speak as if I am nothing more than a piece of jewelry or a bit of porcelain,” she said. “As if I do not have a mind or a heart or a soul.”
He looked at her. “Clearly, you have a mind,” he said. “But you are also a woman. You mean no more to men than those dogs over there do. As I said, you are chattel.”
It was a blow to the woman. He could see the physical impact of his statement in her features. Instead of becoming angry again, as he expected, she appeared wounded. As if he’d somehow hurt her.
“My name is Genevieve Alexandra Efford,” she said, struggling with her emotions. “I have seen nineteen summers. I was born in Plymouth to Henry Efford and his wife, Matilda. I was educated at Minster Church of St. Andrew by the sisters, and I can read as well as write. I speak three languages, I paint, and I can sing. Therefore, I am not comparable to a dog in any fashion.”
Lucifer found some amusement in her indignation and, taking a second look at her, she was, indeed, a beautiful creature with her dark eyes and porcelain skin. If what she said was true, then she would be quite a prize, indeed, with her list of accomplishments. Such a woman was rare and not meant for an ordinary man. In fact, he found himself rather intrigued.
“Very well, Genevieve Alexandra Efford,” he said. “Since you have introduced yourself, I will do the same. My name is Lucifer and as you have been told, it is I who control your fate and the fate of your sister. Vivi, you called her?”
Genevieve was still tense with outrage. “Vivienne,” she clarified. “Vivienne Isobel Efford.”
Lucifer looked to the small woman sitting over with the snoring dogs, dogs who had virtually slept through the entire ruckus in the chamber. “Vivienne,” he repeated, watching the girl shrink from him. He returned his focus to Genevieve. “When we took you from your ship last month, you told us that it was your father’s vessel.”
“It was.”
“Your father’s sails are recognizable. They are seen frequently in these waters.”
Genevieve’s jaw ticked. “And you have taken more of your share of valuables from those ships,” she said. “I have heard my father’s men speak of the pirates of Cornwall.”
Lucifer lifted his eyebrows. “Not just any pirates, but Poseidon’s Legion,” he said. “We are the only pirates worth our salt in Cornwall, so do not confuse us with lesser fools.”
Genevieve eyed him. “It seems to me that is not something to boast over.”
“Why not?”
“Because… because you are thieves and cutthroats.”
Lucifer snorted. “And never forget it, Mistress Genevieve. You will live longer.”
Genevieve didn’t have anything to say to that. After a moment, she simply lowered her gaze. “So you intend to sell my sister and me,” she muttered. “I think I would rather live in the dungeons for the rest of my life.”
Lucifer fought off a grin. “I do not think you mean that. You’ve not seen our dungeons.”
Genevieve didn’t say anything for a moment. When she spoke again, it was quietly but with passion.
“It would be better to spend my life in a dark hole than the concubine of a man who bought me as if I were a prized mare,” she said. Then, she shook her head as if the irony of the situation was not lost on her. “Do you know where I was going when your ship intercepted my father’s? My father was using me as money to pay a debt owed. He was using me as a bartering chip, just as you are intending to do. I would have done better had you simply let me drown when my father’s ship sank. So in answer to your statement, it does not matter how terrible your dungeons are. It would be a much better place for me than as a possession of a man who views me as nothing more than property.”
Lucifer watched the top of her lowered head, pondering her words. He couldn’t be sure that she wasn’t trying to gain his sympathy somehow and he fought off the unfamiliar feelings of uncertainty.
“I would not say that,” he said. “Men who pay good money for something tend to treat it well. A man would not pay a good deal of money for you and then abuse you.”
She shook her head. “That is not the point,” she said. “No man should own a woman. It is not right.”
“By whose standards?”
“By the standards of common decency!”
“You are living a fool’s dream if you think so.”
Genevieve sighed heavily and turned away, heading over to the couch where the dogs were snoring and her sister was trembling.
“You do not understand,” she said. “Given your barbaric nature, I do not expect you to. But I will ask you this – put me in the dungeons. I do not want to be bought and sold by men. I would rather waste away in the darkness than suffer the indignity of being someone’s possession.”
He watched her stiff back as she walked away. She had a rather nice backside, in fact, but he refused to let himself entertain that thought. In fact, he was more than willing to clear the chamber at that moment, but something odd and unfamiliar stopped him. The more he tried to turn for the door, the more something inside of him wouldn’t allow it. What had the woman said? No man should own a woman. It was pure foolishness, but coming from her lips, she made it sound logical. He could almost believe it.
But it was the most ridiculous thing he’d ever heard.
… Wasn’t it?
His eyes narrowed.
“I do not think I like you,” he said. “Whoever fed these lofty ideas into your head should be drawn and quartered. What makes you think a woman isn’t a possession to be bartered with? Your father had the right idea when he betrothed you to a man to whom he owed a debt, and I intend to sell you to the highest bidder and glean what money I can for my troubles. God help the man who ends up saddled with you, woman. He is going to have to beat some sense into you.”
Genevieve turned to look at him, but it was with more than the loathsome expression she had used before. There was something darker there, something heavy and powerful. As he watched, she headed in his direction and he braced himself, waiting for a fist or little feet to come flying out at him. But she stopped a few feet away and suddenly pulled back the top of her gown, exposing her left shoulder and the upper part of her back. Immediately, Lucifer could see little score marks on her skin, scars that were faded but unmistakable. As he realized that the woman was damaged goods, she spoke softly.
“He would not be the first,” she hissed. “The nuns at St. Andrew’s tried. My father even tried. But so far, no one has been able to change my mind. Mayhap you would try, also?”
Lucifer looked her in the eye, perhaps seeing her in a new light. By damn, the woman was tough, tougher than he’d realized. She’d fought like a banshee when she’d been abducted shipboard and, even today, she’d tried to take out a man twice her size. It wasn’t a fluke on her part; it seemed as if her bold nature, and even her courage, was something that had a long history with her. The scars on her back proved it.
This was no ordinary woman.
A small seed of respect sprouted.
“Nay, I would not like to try,” he said, sounding somewhat subdued. Then, he scratched his head, wincing when he touched the bump she’d put there, and planted himself on the nearest chair. “It looks as if you have had enough beatings. Did the nuns really do that?”
Genevieve pulled up her gown, now slightly embarrassed that she had laid herself out for him to see. She didn’t know what possessed her to spill her guts out like that, only that he had somehow provoked her. Ashamed, she turned away.
“They did,” she said.
He watched her walk away, pulling at her dress. “All because they tried to beat some sense into you?”
Genevieve shrugged. “Sometimes,” she said. “Sometimes it was because I asked a question they did not like.”
“Like what?”
She thought on it; it all seemed so long ago. The early days of her life were something she tried to forget. “Once, I asked why God demanded we worship Him,” she said. “I thought it sounded very much like a king or an emperor who demands adoration from his subjects. It sounded very selfish to me.”
Lucifer fought off a grin. “And the nuns did not like that.”
“Not in the least.”
He found himself looking at her profile. She wouldn’t look at him, but he could still see the curve of her face. More and more, he was thinking how fine she was, and he had to admit that he was increasingly intrigued by her. Perhaps, he would come to know her some before he sold her off. Perhaps, she would make some man a fine dinner companion. He had to find out, didn’t he?
Rising from the chair, he forced himself to head for the door. Somehow, he didn’t think spending more time with her, as they were, was a good thing for him. Already, he was thinking strange thoughts, something he didn’t normally entertain.
She’s a fine woman…
But that didn’t stop him from thinking about continuing their conversation.
“I have duties to attend to,” he said, rapping on the door for the guard to unbolt it. “But seeing as you and your sister have been caged in this chamber for almost a month, I would like to invite the two of you to sup with me this eve. As my guests. Will you accept?”
Genevieve was surprised by the invitation; it was reflected in her eyes. Such a cordial offer in the midst of such anger and chaos. It seemed so strange, really, but it also seemed very genuine. Her first reaction was to refuse, but that was her pride talking. She didn’t listen to it because the cunning part of her, the more logical part, thought that if she was out of the chamber she might be able to figure out a way to escape. If she remained hostile, then her fate was sealed. But if she loosened up… became friendly, even… perhaps there would be an opportunity for her to break free of this prison and take Vivienne with her.
She was willing to give it a try.
“I will,” she said after a moment.
The bolt was thrown and the door lurched open. Lucifer’s gaze lingered on Genevieve for a moment before he stepped through the panel.
“Very well,” he said. “I shall return for you in a few hours. Dress to please me.”
“What does that mean?”
He gestured towards the wardrobe stuffed with clothing. “Find something beautiful,” he said. “I will not eat with a slovenly woman.”
With that, he stepped through the door and shut it. Genevieve heard the bolt thrown as she stood there and fumed. I will not eat with a slovenly woman. So, she had to dress up like a pony to be paraded through the streets? Her first instinct was to deny him, to wear something terrible and dirty, but that instinct only lasted a few seconds. Perhaps if I become friendly, I will discover a path to escape. She had to keep telling herself that. If he wanted her to dress to impress him, then so be it. She would. But she would hate every damned minute of it.
Just like she hated the arrogant pirate lord known as Lucifer.
The man was going to pay.