LITMIR.BIZ

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until I have considered more. Captain Hendry was brave enough to say that he would take the message.’ Justin suddenly grinned at her. ‘I told you once before, I do not fear Don Sabatini.’

      ‘Is there anything you fear—anything that causes you pain?’

      His eyes clouded, his manner becoming reserved. ‘If there were, I should not tell you, Maribel. Such things are best unspoken.’

      She felt a withdrawal in him and was sorry. Did he have a dark secret that he kept hidden?

      Justin frowned as he watched her go below. He thought that she had begun to trust him a little, but he was not certain how he felt about the beautiful Spanish woman. It was true that he found her desirable. From the first moment he saw her standing so defiantly in her cabin he had wanted to make love to her. Being close to her was enough to make him burn with the need to kiss and hold her, the need to feel her heart beating next to his, to have her in his bed—but there were so many barriers between them. She thought of him as a pirate and a rogue, and although she had accepted that he was her only hope of reaching England and freedom, he was not certain that she would ever like him.

      He had told her about the map to gauge her reaction, but she had no interest in it, and he was sure she thought it should be destroyed—that the blood of the murdered slaves tainted the mine. At first he had looked for something of her father in her, for a sign that she would betray him if she had the chance, but the more he spoke with her the more certain he became that she was innocent. She was certainly proud and wilful, but now that she had stopped fighting him, he found her too attractive for his peace of mind. Something inside him wanted to take away the look of anxiety from her eyes, to hold her and comfort her, and assure her that nothing would ever harm her again.

      A rueful smile touched his mouth. Justin had loved once with all his heart, but the girl he would have made his wife had died suddenly of a fever a few days before their wedding. He had vowed that he would never allow himself to feel that kind of love again, to feel the deep dark despair and the pain that had almost torn him apart.

      It was because of Angeline’s death that he had become involved with the wild friends that had talked of deposing Queen Mary and setting Princess Elizabeth in her place. His despair had led him to drink too much and become careless—and that was what had brought him to his present situation.

      Justin could never ask a woman to marry him, because he was a pirate and he had nothing to offer a decent woman…a woman like Maribel Sanchez.

      He should put all thought of her from his mind and make arrangements to restore her to her family as soon as he could. In the meantime it would be better to avoid her company. Being close to her made him think of what might have been—what might be in the future if things were different.

      Hearing the knock at her cabin door, Maribel looked up in surprise as the captain walked in. For a moment her heart pounded, but in an instant, she saw that he had not come with seduction on his mind.

      ‘I thought you might like this, to help you pass the time,’ Justin said, and handed Maribel a small book. It was bound in leather and looked as if it had been much used. ‘It is written in English, but I think you understand the language well enough to enjoy it.’

      ‘That is kind of you,’ she said. ‘Sometimes the days are long on board ship.’ Opening the pages, she saw it was a book of poetry and exclaimed with pleasure. ‘Oh, how lovely. I shall truly enjoy reading this, Captain Sylvester.’

      ‘I thought you might,’ he said and smiled. ‘I shall not keep you longer, but finding the book amongst my things made me think that it might please you.’

      Maribel stroked the worn leather with her hands reverently. The book contained an anthology of poems by different poets, but as she touched it, she noticed that it fell open at one particular place again and again. Glancing at the poem, she was struck by the title.

      ‘A Lover’s Lullaby’ by George Cascoigne, she read aloud in wonder, for she would not have thought that such a poem would hold the captain’s interest time and again

       Sing lullaby, as women do

       Wherewith they bring their babes to rest;

       And Lullaby can I sing too,

       As womanly as can the best.

       With lullaby they still the child;

       And if I be not much beguiled,

       For man a wanton babe have I,

       Which must be stilled with lullaby.

      Her eyes scanned the following verses, which told a sad but poignant tale, of a woman who, it seemed had borne children out of wedlock, and must pay the price.

      It was a beautiful set of verses, and yet Maribel wondered why it had drawn the captain to it so many times.

      Maribel had been taking the air on deck. The sun was very warm and she fanned herself lazily, looking out across the water. They had been at sea for several days now and the weather had remained fine all that time.

      She saw Captain Sylvester coming to meet her and waited for him to reach her. Although she had decided to trust him, Maribel never sought him out herself. She tried to keep a little distance between them—she was afraid that if she once let down her guard she would not be able to raise it again, and she suspected that he did the same.

      ‘Have we much longer to go until we reach the island?’

      ‘Are you impatient to get there?’ Justin raised his brows.

      ‘I am just curious. Where is this island?’

      ‘It is one of a group off the coast of Greece. You may know that there are thousands of islands in the Aegean? Some are inhabited, many are not. We have made it our own and a small community awaits our return.’

      ‘And is your community known to the wider world?’

      ‘The approach is through a channel of dangerous rocks that keep unwanted visitors at bay. One day we may be discovered, but for the moment it is a haven for us and others of our kind.’

      ‘You could not have taken me to England first?’

      ‘I must honour my word to my men. Once we have settled our business there I shall do as you ask me, Madonna. You have my word that no man will touch you without your permission. You are under my protection until I can get you to your family.’

      ‘I believe you,’ she said. ‘But I must ask, how long must pass before we can sail for England?’

      ‘There are things I must do at the island. Besides, we must wait until Hendry joins us. He will have given my message to your father—and he will bring his answer back.’

      ‘Are you certain of that?’ Maribel gazed into his eyes. ‘My father might decide to hang Captain Hendry and keep your ship.’

      ‘Hendry understood the risks, but he volunteered to take the message. I wanted your father to understand that there will be no truce between us.’ Justin frowned. ‘In return Hendry will own his ship and may sail where he wishes under his own command. Whatever happens, I shall take you to England—and find someone to care for you. You have my word.’

      ‘Why should you do so much for me?’

      ‘My word is my bond,’ Justin told her, a harsh note in his voice. ‘I think you have had little reason to trust the word of any man, lady—but I have told you you can trust mine.’ His eyes glowed with fire as he looked down at her, causing her stomach to spasm with nerves. ‘You tempt me more than you will ever know, yet I shall not force you—nor yet persuade you. You are as safe from me as any other man of my crew. Only if you came to me of your own free will would I make you mine.’

      ‘What do you mean?’ she whispered, a strange mixture of fear and hope spreading through her.

      ‘I

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