Page 28 of To Claim His Highland Bride

“You are right.” Marcus looked beyond where they stood, watching the forenoon watch change places with the morning watch. “The crew needs more observation than Rowena does. Gold obviously did not buy loyalty from some of them. One of them severed that rope. I need to find out if that action was directed at Rowena, or if someone wants to disrupt our attempt to retrieve the secrets deep within the Cave of Gold.”

“We should reach our destination by this evening.”

“Any chance we could slow our journey down and give me a chance to figure out who amongst us might be the saboteur?”

“Our journey is already slowed without our mainsail.” Eck shrugged. “I could tell the men to repair this sail instead of raising a spare.”

Marcus nodded. “That would be best. It gives us both time to observe the goings-on of this crew.”

“Aye, aye, Captain.” Eck smiled and saluted his friend. “I’ll find us the longest route possible to our destination.”

“I will start by casually interviewing the men and seeing if any of them hold a grudge against me or, as you said, the misfortune that has befallen us lately.” Picking up the gauntlet of his new challenge, Marcus turned and strode towards the men gathered about the mainmast, discussing the damaged and missing sail. He’d start his interviews with them and do everything possible to keep his mind from drifting back to the woman in the treasure room two decks below.

*

Bryce leaned back against the railing of the main deck, released a deep, gratified sigh, and looked at the deck he’d finished swabbing for the second time. Now that the storm had eased, he’d made real progress. The wood was not only clean, it shone from his efforts. He’d had no idea that swabbing the deck with saltwater kept the wood watertight and the mould and fungus away until that bossy first mate had told him.

He hadn’t expected to have to work on the ship while they sailed to retrieve his treasure. At first, he’d been furious to have to stoop to the level of every other man on this ship and he’d let everyone around him know that fact. But while he’d been swabbing, his anger had faded and a sense of accomplishment had filled him. Bryce would never tell his cousin he had liked the hard, physical work.

In the fold of his own clan, he’d never felt like that. He was always too clumsy, too slow, too timid. Today when he’d worked amongst the others, he’d felt a part of something bigger. The other men had laughed, making him the brunt of many jokes while he’d been swabbing away the swells that had come over the railing, but none of the jokes had been personal, only about the futility of the task. After the seas had settled, they’d complimented him on his perseverance.

No one had ever acknowledged him in such a manner before. In turn, he had worked harder, until he’d finished the entire upper deck of the ship from bow to stern. Bryce’s gaze shifted to the men overhead on the riggings and to those on the forecastle with the maps and charts and sextant. They knew how to man this ship, and suddenly Bryce wanted that more than even the treasure they would soon retrieve. He’d never been that good with a sword, but perhaps he could learn how to work aboard a ship. He frowned. Would his cousin allow such a thing? Bryce hadn’t exactly endeared himself to the man with his prior actions.

Perhaps if he swabbed the deck again, Marcus would see he was willing to do menial tasks with pride, so that perhaps he could move on to others with more responsibility. Gathering his pail of saltwater, he started swabbing one more time.

*

It had happened again. Rowena watched Marcus leave the hold and disappear into the darkness beyond. How could she have let Marcus kiss her again?

She smothered a groan. What was she going to do? There had always been an overbright attraction between them. Denying that it existed was getting both of them nowhere. For their current arrangement to be successful, they had to keep each other at arm’s length and Marcus had to stop giving her gifts worthy of a queen.

Or, another voice inside her countered, give in to the temptation. She paused. Once tasted, would the desire between them burn out as quickly as it always came over them? She had her doubts, but it was something that deserved consideration.

More confused about Marcus than ever, Rowena reached up and unfastened the heavy necklace, fingering once more the emeralds that were bigger than any she’d ever seen before. He’d wanted her to keep this one treasure for herself, but how could she when every time she looked upon the priceless gems she would think of Marcus and remember their breath-stealing kisses?

How could she not, when its value could pay for an entire new life, a whole new freedom?

She would have no need of something so refined in her new life after this voyage had ended. It would make far more sense for her to sell off the emeralds one at a time as a means of income over the coming years, yet she doubted she could do that either. Marcus meant too much to her to destroy the only thing he had ever given her that had been his own. Her gaze dropped to her wedding ring and the winking emerald there. He’d given her a symbol of his love and affection that wasn’t true. When their marriage was annulled, her mother’s ring would be returned to Alastair and at least that wrong would be righted.

With a sigh, Rowena placed the necklace amongst the treasure once more. Perhaps while she was counting gold coins she would think of a solution to keep herself from reacting every time Marcus drew near.

At the desk, she withdrew a sheet of parchment and placed it on the flat surface of the desk, dipped a quill in ink and wrote in script An Inventory of the Treasure of Marcus MacDonald. She tipped over one of the barrels of coins and watched as the gold pieces jostled across each other to settle at her feet. Then, using the barrel as a seat, she started counting.

Hours later she was so engrossed in her calculations that she startled when the lantern extinguished and the door of the treasury snapped closed, pitching the chamber into total darkness. “Nay,” she cried first with shock, then with a flash of agitation as uncounted coins slipped from her fingers. She’d have to recount her most recent barrel all over again.

With an effort not to trip over the haphazardly stored loot, she made her way to the door and gave a tug on the handle, only to find it had been locked from the outside and she had the only key inside the chamber. It might take hours before Marcus took notice of her absence.

A shiver of fear raced down her spine. This was the second time something strange had happened to her on this ship since they’d set sail. Someone or something did not want her on this vessel.

Her grip tightened on the handle, and she gave it a hard shake. “Is anyone out there? Can you hear me?” Her stomach clenched. The treasury was far back in the bow of the ship—too far away from the main areas of the vessel for anyone to hear her. With shaking fingers, she shook the door handle again. She knew her efforts were futile but rattling the door helped keep her mind off her fear. She’d seen the lock from the outside. It was stout and no matter how ruthlessly she rattled the door, the lock would hold.

With a sigh of frustration, she released the door handle as despondency set in, weakening her limbs, and forcing her to find her way back to the tipped barrel. She would have to wait for either the person who locked her in to come back and finish her off, or for someone to free her. Her eyes had adjusted to the darkness enough for her to make out dark shapes but no detail. But just to be prepared, she rummaged for a pile of gold and silver bullion she’d seen earlier. When her fingers closed around something heavy and hard, she lifted it, then placed it in her lap. Better to be prepared in case . . .

When a soft clink of coins sounded behind her, Rowena stiffened. Could someone or something still be in there with her? Rowena’s heart raced at the thought, as she held her breath listening for any sound other than the waves lapping against the hull. She heard nothing, and she settled in to wait. She’d already ruled out anything supernatural extinguishing the lantern’s flame. Her experience with her mother had taught her there were telltale signs when a spirit was near. She’d felt no chill, seen no mist, felt no otherworldly presence.

A real person had done this. Someone who was light of foot and quick of hand. She thought back to when she’d first boarded the ship and had seen four men high above on the footropes as they prepared to lower the sail. They had to be not only strong, but also light-footed. Perhaps one of them did not want their current voyage to succeed or were adamantly opposed to a female aboard their ship.

A sudden flush of heat came to her cheeks as anger knotted her stomach. She had as much right to be on this ship as any of the men aboard. Rowena reached down and picked up a handful of coins. She flung one at the pile, hearing it bounce off the other coins, and then flung a second and a third.