Devils Highlander (Clan MacAlpin 1)

“I'll say,” Aidan mumbled.

The ladder creaked with someone's weight. “Is it safe?”

They stood frozen, staring up to see who was descending. All but the bailie's wife, who continued to writhe in pain, keening a single, high note. Aidan gave her a disgusted glance. “Cease, woman. ”

“Ahoy there!” Black-booted feet emerged into view. “I say, is it safe?” Adele, Marjorie, and Cormac spoke in unison, just as the bailie reached the floor of the forecastle. “Malcolm?”

“The bailie?” “Forbes?”

“Aye,” he said, scanning the room with narrowed eyes. “I went to Saint Machar to pay Archie a visit, and he alerted me there might be some trouble down by the docks. ”

Marjorie looked baffled. “But I thought the ship was under way?” Though she'd directed her question to Cormac, it was Forbes who answered. “Aye, and so you were. But it's a slow-going vessel, and I could get myself rowed to Ireland with enough coin. ” He stared disdainfully at his wife.

“But it seems all the coin at my disposal was never enough for you, was it, Adele? Fortune was within my grasp, but you couldn't wait. ”

“You don't seem surprised to find her here,” Marjorie marveled, taking in the disaster around them. “Your wife, among pirates and kidnappers. ”

Adele moaned. “Jack was no pirate. ”

“Pirate, smuggler, what's the difference?” The bailie walked to his wife and squatted by her. “When Archie mentioned how he'd treated you for your pregnancy, I knew. Seeing as pregnancy with me is impossible. Isn't that right, precious?” He brushed the hair from her brow in a mockery of tenderness. “I followed you to the docks once, saw this fine schooner. I'd thought perhaps you'd found yourself a plantation owner. But a common brigand?” He shook his head. “Well, dear heart, you'll have plenty of time in which to acquaint yourself with thieves, seeing as I

'll be arresting you for murder. ”

Adele flinched away from his touch, keening more loudly.

Marjorie looked uneasily to Aidan. Cormac knew she wanted to trust his twin as badly as he did. “But I still don't understand why you're here,” she said.

Aidan flashed them a cold smile. “That happy to see me?”

“Don't be preposterous. ” Marjorie reached her hand out, touching his arm tentatively. “Of course… I'm beyond happy. You must understand it's a shock—”

Aidan flinched away. “Spare me your treacle. I'm here to find the man who took me thirteen years ago. I've worked, and I've watched, and I've waited. ” He pinned his brother with a flat stare, declaring, “Many years, I've waited. And nothing — not you, not our family — will stop me. I will find him. I'm close now. He profits from the sales of this ship. ”

“Not for much longer,” Cormac said, just as there was a long, shuddering groan.

Marjorie reached for Cormac. “Are we moving again?”

“Perhaps,” he said, furrowing his brow thoughtfully.

“Perhaps?” The bailie pulled his wife up to standing. “What say you, perhaps? I'm taking her ashore,” he said, with a disdainful nod to Adele.

“Aye, I think we'd all best get to dry land. ” Cormac turned to Marjorie. “You wanted the ship destroyed. And so I decided on a wee bit of… insurance. ”

Brisding, Aidan holstered his pistol at his back. “Insurance?”

There was a sharp creak and then an unearthly moan as the ship pitched sharply, canting the deck to an uneven slope. A lantern on the wall guttered out, sinking them in near darkness.

Cormac gave them a broad smile. “She's sinking. ”

Chapter 38

“How?” Aidan was smiling widely, and in it Marjorie spied the first flicker of warmth she'd seen since their reunion.

“I punched out the rudder pins,” Cormac said proudly.

“You sabotaged the rudder. ” Aidan nodded appreciatively. “The moment we left port, she'd have begun taking on water from the stern. ” He thought for a second, then asked, “But why aren't the pumps working?”

“I fixed those, too. Pumps don't work without their handles. ” He winked at Marjorie.