Page 146 of An Imperfect Scoundrel

“Shethoughtmy husband was dead,” Alana said in a calm tone, moving between the pistol and Cedric. “As I had.”

“I heard her yell ‘Captain Shaw.’” Wallace refused to lower his weapon.

“We informed her Captain Shaw was aboard the ship,” Cedric replied, leaning around Alana.

It annoyed him that she’d positioned herself between him and the gun, making it impossible for him to lunge at Wallace, which he assumed she’d done on purpose.

“She screamed before we could explain that it was his body that was discovered, not that he’d followed us.”

Alana flicked her gaze to Mrs. Parker, widening her eyes in the hopes that she understood what Alana was attempting to communicate.

Wallace glanced at Mrs. Parker as well. “Is that correct?”

“It is.” Mrs. Parker nodded, her head bobbing in a violent confirmation.

“I see.” Wallace holstered his pistol.

“Mr. Dubois, if you would follow me, we’ve found another corpse, and we’d like you to identify him. We think he could be another hostage.”

“It might be Mr. Woodford or Mr. Annesley,” Alana said, her voice barely a whisper.

“Mrs. Dubois,” Wallace began, but Cedric cut him off with a shake of his head.

He gathered Alana in his arms and squeezed her tightly, speaking to Wallace over her head. “I remember what they looked like. I’ll verify the body.”

Alana lifted her face, her eyes shining with tears.

“Thank you,” she mouthed.

He nodded, hugged her once more, then passed her to Mrs. Parker and followed Wallace onto the deck.

The man they had pulled from the ocean was Mr. Annesley. It appeared he’d been struck in the head and fallen into the water, drowning while unconscious.

As Cedric—perhaps he should refer to himself as Sebastian to become accustomed to the name—was returning to his cabin, another body was located off portside. Per Wallace’s request, he waited until the man was pulled from the water.

“Do you recognize him?” asked Wallace.

Sebastian was faced with the decision of revealing he knew the man to be Northcott or withholding the information and claiming ignorance.

“Pirate.”

That word was enough.

He stayed on deck for several hours, identifying bodies as pirate—of which there were many—and hostage—of which there were none, save Mr. Annesley.

“How many hostages were on the ship with you?” Wallace grumbled when Sebastian classified Mr. Wickes as a pirate.

Sebastian paused, counting on his fingers. “Ten women and as many men.”

“And only three of you survived?” Wallace whistled.

“The women were released. Mrs. Parker and my wife were the last two female hostages aboard.”

“What happened to Mrs. Parker’s husband?”

“He was shot by Captain Shaw,” Sebastian said, shifting his eyes to the ocean. “As was Mr. Harris Cheswick. I witnessed both murders.”

“I’d heard that report from some of the surviving witnesses from the Crescent Rose.” Wallace fell silent a moment and clasped his arms behind his back, watching the waves roll back from the ship’s hull. “Where were you heading before the attack?”