Page 15 of Dominating the Duke
"How long do I have to decide?"
"The tide turns back out to sea in four hours, and your carriage waits outside the mews." Obadiah swept out the door and snicked it shut behind him.
El moved back toward the window of her aerie atop Goodrum's and stared out over the London rooftops glistening with the rain pattering down on her own roof tiles. Midnight in London had to be the loneliest place on earth. She wondered how many people beneath those roofs were happy, well kept, well fed, well loved. How many were used and abused, finding a sense of peace for only a few hours each night in a mean pallet beneath the eaves of one of the fine houses to the west in Mayfair.
She knew one house, in Berkley Square to be precise, that would be missing an arrogant, lofty peer of the realm. She had no idea what she'd do with the impossible man. She somehow had to convince him to leave be her elaborately constructed empire of liberated slaves. If she explained what she was trying to do, she couldn't trust him to keep her secret. If she couldn't convince him, perhaps she'd have to make him disappear like all the rest of her enemies.
* * *
Percy movedaround the comfortable cabin aboard the strange ship, feeling like nothing so much as a bird imprisoned in a gilded cage. They'd provided him with comfortable clothing, a banyan and silken trousers. There were also plates of succulent meats, potatoes, and puddings. Fresh dates and pineapple were piled high on a porcelain platter emblazoned with the name of the beautiful ship that was now his prison - theLady Muirgen.
It was difficult to relax and enjoy the lavish pleasures his captors provided since his one ankle was chained to a heavy lead ball in the center of the cabin. Escape was impossible. Moving about the cabin was literally painful. When he'd tried once to leave the cabin, lurching against the door whilst holding onto the lead ball, he was immediately shoved back inside by a burly crewman guarding the passageway.
A screened area in a corner of the large cabin at least allowed him some privacy to tend to personal needs. Bookshelves with long pieces of wood lapping provided a safe haven for a variety of tomes with which he filled his time once he realized there was no plausible escape.
He'd begun to work his way through Plutarch'sParallel Livesthat he'd found on one of the shelves. Percy had been absolutely nonplussed when he'd discovered many of the pages were marked by scraps of paper, and a feminine script lined a number of the margins. He was having difficulty aligning the weighty tome with the flame-haired beauty who dominated an infamous house of pleasure, not to mention key parts of his own fickle anatomy.
He had to admit the caressing of his person by the silky attire he'd been provided did lend itself to more fantasies than were prudent for a man of his station. And all of that nonsense seemed to begin and end with said flame-haired beauty. Fortunately,Parallel Livesseemed to be just the thing to dull his lustful thoughts. That and dragging the heavy cannonball around the cabin kept him well exercised both in mind and body.
* * *
El pulledon the trousers and tunic over her flowing shirt and topped all with a warm, woolen cape in a dark blue to cover all. Her bright auburn curls she stuffed beneath a dark felt top hat. Her high leather Hessians did little to disguise the feminine curves of her legs, but most of what made up the legend of the fearsome Captain Goodrum was well hidden beneath her heavy, flowing cape.
When her footman pulled open her carriage door a little past three in the morning and she climbed inside, Obadiah was already patiently waiting inside on the seat opposite her.
"You knew I'd come." There was a tinge of resignation in her voice.
Obadiah simply nodded his assent and reminded her, "Tide turns at four bells sharp."
She shook her head wearily in acknowledgement.
"Do you know where you're going to take him? Somewhere beyond the reach of the Royal Navy, I hope."
"You know as well as I do there is nowhere the Royal Navy will not go if the lure is strong enough."
"I assume you have a plan, of course." Obadiah leaned forward as if awaiting confirmation.
"Ceuta."
"The free port?"
"Yes."
"Why Ceuta?"
"Because anything can happen there, and I have access to the equivalent of a small fortress where we can safely, um, explain his options to him."
"A fortress?"
"Yes. I relieved a very wealthy smuggler of his fortified Ceuta abode in exchange for his losses in an unfortunate card game...for him."
Obadiah leaned back against the squabs of El's luxurious carriage and gave her an intense look while crossing his arms across his chest. "How long do you think you have before all the broken men in your wake will join forces to bring about your demise, Captain?"
"Yes, there are at least a hundred men who would like to force me to abdicate my dominance of the Mediterranean, um, special trade."
"And?"
"That's why I pay you and the rest of my crew so well. You won't let them."