Page 7 of Ruthless, But for Her

It seemed she would not find out.

“Put them in the captain's hold,” he said, and turned away.

Nell screamed. A man twice her maid's width lifted her as though she weighed nothing, and Nell's opinion of that act was immediate and loud and thoroughly English. Cassia moved without thinking.

She ran.

Not toward the boarding plank. Not toward safety. Toward Nell, with no plan beyond reaching her, no thought of what she would do when she got there.

“Separate them.”

The order came from the same man, and then his hands were around her. The fight went out of her all at once, everything leaving her in a single moment, and the world after that was dark.

CHAPTER 5

Ashton

Despite their unexpected guests, the boarding and subsequent tax collection proceeded as planned. While Leif remained on The Einar, the remainder of the operation executed to perfection.

Now that one of the unexpected guests had been safely secured in the captain's hold, he looked down at the other, now lying limp in his arms.

She was light, despite layers of garments that proclaimed her a lady, a noble, or both. And she seemed to be breathing normally. Reluctant to lay her on the filthy deck, he positioned his other arm beneath her knees and lifted her clear off the ground.

She failed to stir.

He hadn't expected her to run.

That was the thing that stayed with him, even now, with her limp in his arms and her hair loose against his sleeve. She hadn't run toward the boarding plank or the open water. She'd run toward the maid... a woman twice her age, half his height, bellowing in English at a man who outweighed her considerably.

He looked down at her.

She'd held herself together with remarkable precision for a woman who had just been sick over the rail of a merchant vessel in front of men she didn't know. He'd seen seasoned sailors handle less in ways they would rather die than admit to.

Instead, she'd folded the cloth.

Folded it. What did one do with a woman who faced The Einar's men, and Ryker's glare, by losing her breakfast over the side of the ship and then folding the cloth so prettily?

“She ran to the maid.”

As Ryker joined him, Ashton made no comment since he'd registered that information already.

Loyal, despite danger. Beautiful, though in an entirely different way than any of those he had encountered at Margot's place. The women there sometimes used kohl and tinctures to enhance their beauty. This woman needed none of that. She was fine-boned, with full lips, and lashes darker than the auburn of her hair. Hers was a more delicate beauty.

“What will we do with her?”

Her lids fluttered, as if some part of her had registered Ryker's question.

He'd been thinking of that as well.

“Her leverage may cost us.”

Ashton knew Ryker would care little for the repercussions. A gift, of sorts, had been laid at their feet, and he would no doubt be reluctant to hand it back.

“Everything has a price. She comes with us,” Ryker said.

He could argue, but he’d come to the same conclusion himself. As her eyes fluttered open, the woman in his arms immediately struggled to get free.

“If you continue that,” Ashton said calmly, “I will be forced to toss you over my shoulder.”