Chapter Two
Pirates ate very well.
That was the first thing Genevieve thought when she was brought into the great hall of Perran and faced with more food than she had ever seen in one place in her life. Vivienne was clinging to her right arm as they entered the hall, flanked by three pirates who had been acting as their guards the entire time they’d been at Perran Castle. Genevieve didn’t even know their names, but she didn’t care. She wasn’t here to make friends.
Her focus was on Lucifer and three other men who were sitting on the dais at the far end of the hall. The hall itself was quite magnificent and it was an effort for her to not gape at her surroundings; fine furnishings, great tapestries on the walls, carpets from exotic places. All of it was like something out of the halls of heaven, riches that had never before been imagined. But she kept her eyes on the dais and on the men seated there. Genevieve was facing her enemy and she would face them head-on.
“Welcome, ladies,” Lucifer said as she approached the table. He indicated two seats at the end of the table, near him. “Please, sit.”
Genevieve did as she was told, practically towing Vivienne with her. Vivienne was so petrified that she could hardly move. But with her sister’s encouragement, she took her seat at the table. As Genevieve peeled her hand out of Vivienne’s fingers and rubbed the flesh where her sister had squeezed the blood from it, servants immediately rushed forward with warmed rose water so the ladies could wash their hands before eating. When Genevieve was finished washing, the same servant provided a towel to dry her hands.
As those servants moved away, more servants took their places and trenchers were brought forth. There was a man whose sole purpose was to place whatever dish the women preferred upon their plates, so he moved back and forth between Genevieve and Vivienne, scooping up some of the dishes on the table and putting large portions on their trenchers.
And what a feast it was. There was a savory baked dish of lamb, prunes, and cinnamon, and roasted and baked fish of all varieties. There was also a selection of boiled vegetables as well as eggs stuffed with cheese. Soon enough, Genevieve’s trencher was loaded up and placed before her. She gazed at the food, rather daunted by the task in front of her.
She’d never seen so much food in her life.
Unbeknownst to Genevieve, Lucifer had been watching her the entire time. In truth, he’d been rather shocked by her beauty when she’d come through the door, clad in a silk garment the color of wine. He’d told her to dress to please him and, indeed, she had, but when he saw her hesitate to eat her food, he spoke up.
“Is the food not to your liking, Mistress Genevieve?” he asked.
She looked up at him, startled that he had addressed her. “It… it looks delicious,” she said. “I was simply trying to determine where to start. There is so much of it.”
Lucifer watched her as she picked up a spoon and took a bite of the stuffed eggs. “That is understandable,” he said. “I hope you enjoy it.”
Genevieve nodded as she chewed. The eggs were, in fact, delicious. She swallowed. “I should not wonder that you eat so well.”
“What do you mean?”
She looked up from her trencher, indicating the magnificent room with a wave of her spoon. “Everything about this place screams of luxury,” she said. “Even our chambers. There are more possessions in our chambers than I have ever seen in my life. It would, therefore, stand to reason that the table you set would be equally lavish.”
Lucifer sat back in his chair, wine in hand, as he observed Genevieve. He wasn’t entirely sure what he expected from her behavior this night, given his encounter with her earlier in the day, and was pleased to see that she was mild in temperament, at least for the moment. She was being quite pleasant, which was good. He didn’t want to do battle with her again.
In fact, his curiosity in her was growing.
He’d had duties to attend to over the past few hours since leaving her locked away in her chambers with her sister, but he’d found himself thinking of the woman as he went about his tasks. Her unrepentant boldness, her obvious intelligence, and her list of ladylike accomplishments lingered on his mind, no matter how much he’d tried to push her away.
The truth was that Lucifer hadn’t thought of a woman since the last woman who had driven him right into a monastery. God, he’d been so young and foolish at that time. He hadn’t always been a pirate. His first post after being knighted had been to serve the great Duke of Richmond. But the old duke had a young wife who had greatly fancied the strong young knight in her husband’s service and, before he knew it, Lucifer was bedding her regularly. He’d also believed himself in love with the woman, making the situation unbearable when she became pregnant with his child. The old duke had claimed the lad as his own and, in the midst of Lucifer’s heartache, his own father had come to remove him from Richmond’s service.
It made matters worse that Lucifer was the eldest son of the Earl of Wolverhampton and the child born by the duchess should have been the heir to Wolverhampton and not Richmond. Lucifer’s given name wasn’t, in fact, “Lucifer” – it was Rhoan Wyndham Aramis de Wolfe and, as the eldest son and heir to the Wolverhampton earldom, he also bore the title of Viscount Essington. At least, he had up until his father had removed him from Richmond and committed him into a priory in Wales to repent for his horrific behavior. His father kept calling him “Lucifer himself” for his sins. And when he’d entered the priory, he’d simply assumed that name to protect the de Wolfe reputation. He was quite certain his father would think worse of him for the life he lived now, the life of a thief and a killer, so the Lucifer nickname remained with him.
Perhaps it always would.
So, it was with good reason that he didn’t want to become interested in another woman, and most especially a woman like Genevieve Efford. It had been ten years since he’d last thought of a woman in any capacity, so thoughts of Genevieve had him angry and somewhat rattled until he saw her again. Yet, she was now sitting in front of him, looking utterly beautiful. That anger and uneasiness was fading very quickly.
“Perran Castle is, indeed, well appointed,” he replied belatedly to her statement. “But you are correct; we eat well. We spend so much time in less than desirable conditions that when we are on land, we demand comfort. Good food is part of that comfort.”
Genevieve simply cut up her stuffed egg and scooped up the pieces. “My father also sets a fine table,” she said. “His cook is from France. She makes many fine dishes.”
Lucifer could feel the conversation warming somewhat. Before he could reply, however, Curtiz spoke. Seated to Lucifer’s left, he had a mouth full of baked fish.
“There is no cooking like the French,” he said. “They can take the hide of a cow and turn it into a delight. Much better than the Scottish, who eat parts of the animal that no sane man would eat, or the English, who want to boil everything until it is tasteless.”
Lucifer glanced at the man, displeased that he had entered the conversation between him and the lady. But he remained cordial. “Mistress Genevieve, this is Curtiz d’Evereux,” he said. “Evidently, he has an opinion on regional cooking. The other two men at this table are Remy de Moray and Felix d’Vant. They are excellent warriors and you would do well not to cross them.”
Genevieve looked across the table. Curtiz was a big, blond man with big, weathered hands, while Remy was rather young and dark and handsome, and Felix was young and fair. They all looked like perfectly normal men except for the fact that they were not. They were killers and thieves. You would do well not to cross them, Lucifer had said. She remembered at least one of them, the man introduced as Remy, as having been present when she was captured. And Curtiz had been her jailor her first week at the pirate stronghold. She had no opinion about him other than he had a hard look about him. Her attention returned to Lucifer.
He’d cleaned up since she’d last seen him, and the shadow of stubble on his face had been shaved away. He had very dark hair hanging to his shoulders, golden eyes, and a square-jawed appearance that was quite handsome, in her opinion. He was also very tall, perhaps taller than any man she’d ever seen. Everything about him was big and imposing. He had a way of looking at her that implied intimidation and death, for there was nothing soft or warm about him.
In short, the man was terrifying.
But she would not show any fear. She wouldn’t allow herself to show weakness in any way.
“It seems to me that some of your men are missing,” she said, turning back to her food. “I recall other men when I was captured.”
Lucifer watched her shove more eggs into her mouth. “You are probably speaking of Constantine le Brecque,” he said. “This is his castle. The ships belong to him. He is our leader.”
Her eyes flicked up to him. “And the woman I met when I was captured?” she asked. “The one in his cabin? I remember she told me she was not a pirate but, somehow, I do not think she told me the truth.”
Lucifer thought back to that turbulent day last month. Having excellent recall, he remembered it in detail. He remembered how they’d extracted Genevieve and her sister from a damaged vessel, and how the sailors of the vessel fought valiantly for their ladies and their ship. But it had been to no avail. In the end, Poseidon’s Legion claimed yet another victim.
“The woman you speak of is Lady Gregoria,” he said. “She is Constantine’s wife and, nay, she is not a pirate. She simply married one. In fact, they are on their wedding trip now.”
“Just the two of them? Is that not strange for so important a man to travel without his men?”
Lucifer nodded faintly. “You needn’t worry,” he said. “He took some men with him, for protection.”
“Other pirates?”
Lucifer nodded, glancing at the other men sitting around the table. “I wonder if Kerk and Augustin are having the time of it in France,” he said, watching Remy grin. “At least Augustin was able to take his wife with him. Surely he is having an enjoyable time.”
He was speaking of fellow pirate commanders Kerk le Sander and Augustin de Russe, men who were as close to him as brothers. He’d missed them while they’d been away, especially Augustin’s doom-and-gloom personality that was always great fun to taunt. Across the table, Remy spoke to his concern.
“As long as his wife is with him, Augustin will enjoy himself,” the young pirate said. “And Kerk can entertain himself anywhere. I would be more concerned that Constantine focuses on his new wife and not the fact that he is not back at Perran, doing what he does best.”
Lucifer had to admit that he’d thought of that, also. One could take the pirate out of the waters and put him on land, but one often could not take the pirate out of the man. That kind of life was ingrained into a man’s soul. Constantine had been at sea so long that being on land any length of time tended to make him irritable. But with a new wife to focus on, Lucifer was hoping that wasn’t the case.
The man deserved some joy and peace.
“Con needn’t worry,” he said, returning his focus to Genevieve as she listened to the conversation. “I am in command while he is away. This is my domain now.”
Genevieve had been listening to them discuss men, and the situation in general, but it seemed to her that the last statement was directed at her. Perhaps, it was a subtle threat. Perhaps not. In any case, she swallowed the bite in her mouth and took a long drink of the sweet red wine. It was delicious. She wanted to make a comment about a pirate lord on his wedding trip, perhaps giving in to the pirate instinct when he was supposed to be celebrating a marriage, but she kept her mouth shut. She didn’t want to start trouble because she had an ulterior motive in mind. She maintained the hope that good behavior might earn her some favor with these cutthroats.
“I have never been to France,” she said. “I have always wanted to go. Surely, you and your men must travel a great deal in the course of your… duties.”
Lucifer shrugged. “We do not go there with a purpose in mind. But if there is a task to complete, then we have found ourselves on their shores,” he said. “Our domain is the sea between Cornwall and Ireland, all the way up into Scotland. These seas are ruled by the Pirates of Britannia.”
He sounded very dominant, very warmongering. She wasn’t surprised. “But these seas are also traveled by peaceful men,” she said pointed. “Merchants and fisherman. What of them? Do you not allow them to have peace in your domain?”
Lucifer sensed that the conversation was going to take a negative turn with her question. Her tone was taking on an indignant edge. He wanted to steer the focus away from what could become volatile because he was truly trying to keep the situation pleasant.
“What is peace?” he asked rhetorically. “Does any man truly have it in this world? But let us not speak on such things for they will only bring about sorrows. I wish to speak of you. You mentioned earlier today that your father was using you to pay a debt he owed. I will admit that I am curious to know what you mean. Will you indulge me?”
Genevieve looked at him. Her first reaction was to deny him. But upon further consideration, she thought, perhaps, that it might be a good idea to seem as if she were being compliant. All the better for her to get what she wanted out of him in the end.
“My father is a wealthy man, but he has two fundamental problems,” she said. “He likes to hoard his wealth for the most part, but he also likes to gamble. I know that sounds strange, but Father is not generous with his money to others. He is only generous with himself, and that means that he indulges a gambling habit. When I said he was using me to pay a debt, I meant a gambling debt to a man he owes a great deal of money to. His name is Francis de Noble, Lord Ermington, and he is the captain of a privateer vessel. Mayhap you have heard of it? The Resplendent?”
Lucifer lifted an eyebrow. In that explanation to satisfy his curiosity, he’d gotten more than he’d bargained for. “I know it, indeed,” he said. But he went no further. The Resplendent was a vicious warship out of Southampton, with ties to the king. Poseidon’s Legion had a few run-ins with the vessel. So this was de Noble’s betrothed? “Surely, your father believed it to be a good match. I am sure de Noble is… worthy.”
Genevieve was in the process of drinking more wine, now snorting rudely to his statement. “Francis de Noble is not what you would call a desirable man,” she said. “The last time I saw him, I had seen eleven summers and, even then, he was old enough to be my grandfather. I cannot imagine what he must look like eight years later. Nay, my lord, I want nothing to do with Francis de Noble.”
“But you were returning to Plymouth to marry the man.”
“De Noble’s men came to Ireland and made Genni board the ship by putting swords to her back!” Vivienne abruptly piped up, causing everyone at the table to look at her. Appalled to realize she was now the center of attention, her face flushed violently. “She did not want to go but they forced her.”
She shoved bread into her mouth so she couldn’t speak anymore, head lowered. Genevieve couldn’t help but grin at her sister. Vivienne didn’t say much, but when she did, it was usually something she shouldn’t be speaking of. She blurted things all over the place sometimes. She was not a brilliant conversationalist, but that was part of her youthful charm.
“Nay, I did not want to go,” Genevieve said, returning her focus to Lucifer. “But I was forced onto the ship by de Nobel’s men, men who were lost when you attacked us. I cannot say that I am sorry for them.”
Lucifer was beginning to understand the situation a little more. Genevieve was being forced back to England to marry a man she wanted no part of, caught in a circumstance of her father’s making. He remembered again how valiantly the sailors aboard the merchant vessel had fought for her. It wasn’t chivalry at all.
They’d been protecting their prize.
Nay, this was no innocent betrothal or happy return to England, and any man who bartered a daughter to pay his gambling debts was an unscrupulous man, indeed. Even Lucifer, with years of piracy behind him, didn’t approve of such a thing. There was thievery and piracy, and then there was the betrayal and piracy of one’s own flesh and blood. Lucifer couldn’t say he would so willingly give his daughter away to pay a debt. In truth, Genevieve’s tale explained a little of why she was so belligerent – evidently, she had some right to be.
“Then mayhap, we did you a favor,” he said after a moment. “You are no longer destined to marry de Noble.”
Genevieve was watching him closely, already finished with one cup of wine as a servant poured her another. She didn’t usually drink wine that wasn’t watered, so the full force of the drink was already pulsing through her veins and loosening her tongue.
“I am not,” she said. “But mayhap, you will understand when I say I would rather spend my life locked away in your dungeons than sold off to the highest bidder. Do you still intend to sell me?”
Lucifer could see her forceful nature pushing through with her honest question. She had put him on the spot, something he didn’t particularly like.
“Do you truly wish to discuss this now?” he asked. “We are having a pleasant meal and a pleasant conversation. Surely, you do not wish to ruin that.”
Genevieve took another swig of wine, unaware that the wine was not only loosening her tongue, but also causing her to feel her emotions – like fear. Looking at Lucifer, she was suddenly more fearful than she had ever been since her arrival.
“All prisoners are offered one last meal before they lose their lives or their freedom,” she said. “Is that what this is? My last meal before you consign me to the nameless horror of my future?”
Lucifer could see that the conversation was taking a downturn. He didn’t want a battle with the woman, not now when the evening had been going so well. But perhaps, it had only really been going well for him. Why had he invited Genevieve to his table? Because he couldn’t get her off his mind? Because he was intrigued with the woman? It was both, and he knew it, and he certainly didn’t want a fight on his hands, not when things had been pleasant up until this point. There was disappointment in the thought of it going back to the way it was earlier, when they had nearly come to blows in her chamber. Nay, he didn’t want that at all. He found himself wanting to ease her.
Abruptly, he stood up.
“Come,” he said to her as he came to her chair and practically pulled her to her feet. “Walk with me, lady.”
Genevieve found herself being pulled along. Her wine was still in her hand, but Lucifer removed it from her grasp and set it on the table. Before Genevieve realized it, she was being forcibly escorted from the hall as Lucifer had her by the arm. By the time they hit the keep entry, she began to struggle.
“Wait!” she said, digging her heels in even as he tried to pull her forward. “Where are you taking me?”
Lucifer almost lost his grip on her as he took her into the bailey. “Out here,” he said. “It seems to me that you have been held captive for too long in a confined space and need to breathe fresh air. I believe you are losing your mind.”
“I am not losing my mind!”
“You are clearly unbalanced.”
Genevieve was outraged. “I am unbalanced because you told me that my sister and I are to be sold to the highest bidder,” she fired back. “Put yourself in my position. If you were me, would such a future not unbalance you?”
He came to a halt and she yanked herself from his grasp, slapping at his hands when he tried to regain his grip. Rather than get into a slapping fight with her, he stopped his attempts to reclaim her. Instead, he faced her. But facing her meant he was looking at her. And beneath the nearly full moon, her beauty was exquisite, enough to cause him to pause and stare. Truly, he didn’t want to fight with the woman. But he would reason with her.
“I am not at issue here,” he said. “We are speaking of you. Tell me, my lady. If you had your choice, what would you have me do?”
Genevieve blinked at the question, that he should ask such a thing. “Do?” she repeated, almost dumbly. But she quickly recovered. “I would have you release me, of course.”
“Release you where?”
“Back to Ireland,” she said firmly. “I want to go back to Ireland.”
He nodded as if that was reasonable enough. “Back to your father’s properties?”
“Aye.”
He cocked his head. “Correct me if I am wrong, but if I send you back there, won’t your betrothed go looking for you there again?”
“What do you mean?”
He shrugged. “I mean that he forced you onto a ship to bring you back to England, once,” he said. “If I return you to Ireland, won’t he come for you again? This time, he may actually succeed in forcing you to marry him. Pirates might not be around to save you from your fate.”
Genevieve thought on that seriously, mostly because Vivienne had said the same thing. In her heart, she knew it was true. But could she admit that to him? Would she? Suddenly, her view of her world turned into a crushing, confusing thing. There was nowhere she could go that de Noble wouldn’t find her, and he had every legal right to do so. But what had the most impact on her was one thing Lucifer had said – pirates might not be able to save you this time.
God’s Bones, he was right. Pirates had saved her.
Sighing heavily, she looked away.
“Vivi also said that de Noble would find me in Ireland again,” she muttered. Then, she shook her head in resignation. “I have three choices for my life and none of them are appealing – I can return to my betrothed, I can be imprisoned in your dungeons, or I can be sold to the highest bidder. Is… is that truly all I am to be? Is that truly all I will ever become?”
Lucifer heard such hopelessness in her tone. Coming from such a strong woman, it was a sad thing to hear, even for him. Oddly enough, he felt some guilt for it. Even if she was bold and unruly, still, she at least had strength enough to stand for herself and, in his own way, he was coming to admire that.
“It seems to me that the best of those choices would be to return to de Noble,” he said quietly. “At least you could live as his lady wife, with some freedom and wealth.”
She looked at him, them. “Are you saying you would return me to him?” Before he could answer, she shook her head firmly. “Nay, I will not go to him. I told you before – I would rather be imprisoned in your dungeons before I would go to him. But tell me something, Lucifer… if this is about the money because, as you said, I have some value, is there some way I could buy my freedom from you? Mine and Vivi’s?”
Lucifer wasn’t even offended that she’d called him by his name. In fact, he rather liked it. But her question not only surprised him, it amused him.
“Do you believe you have enough money to buy your freedom?” he asked.
Genevieve shook her head. “Not now,” she said, “But I could work it off, couldn’t I? Would you let me do that? I can manage a house and hold, and I can do many things. I could be of value. I… I could also go on your ships and take care of the cooking. I can even fight. Could I become a pirate to buy my freedom?”
Lucifer fought off a grin. He thought that was about the most ridiculous offer he’d ever heard, but it was an earnest one. He could see that she was serious.
“You would make a fine pirate, no doubt,” he said. “From what I saw in your chamber earlier today, you would make a very cunning one.”’
“Then you will let me become a pirate?”
His grin broke through, then. The woman was quite determined, and he sincerely had no doubt that she would become a pirate if he permitted her to, but he also had a suspicion that Constantine would have his hide if he let her. A female pirate? Ridiculous!
“Mayhap it is something we will discuss,” he said, noncommittal. “But if you are serious about buying your freedom…”
She cut him off. “I am! I truly am!”
He eyed her, seeing that she was totally sincere, and it gave him an idea. More and more, he was reluctant to sell the woman off. As he’d observed before, she was a fine beauty. If her accomplishments were real and not simply a boast, then she was too good for the rabble that would buy her. A woman like Genevieve Efford deserved a husband of some strength and quality.
Her suggestion had put thoughts in his head, thoughts he was wholly unfamiliar with, but Genevieve was unlike any woman he’d ever met before. The more time he spent with her, the more she intrigued him. It was a curiosity that was beginning to overwhelm him. After a moment, he simply nodded.
“I will think on it,” he said. “Meanwhile, let us return to sup and a more pleasant conversation. Will you at least allow for that tonight? I have no desire to do battle with you. And if we can come to an equitable arrangement for us both, then I see no reason to fight. Is that acceptable?”
For the first time since her capture, Genevieve felt some hope. She truly did. “Aye,” she said. “It is.”
Lucifer extended a hand to her. “Then shake my hand and call it a bargain.”
Quickly, Genevieve did. “A bargain is struck, my lord.”
Lucifer’s attention lingered on her, the soft shape of her face, her big eyes. And her hand… he was still holding it long after he stopped shaking it. With a faint smile, he tucked that same hand into the crook of his elbow and led her back into the great hall of Perran Castle.
The rest of the meal progressed as smoothly as a windless sea.