Raven stared at the now quivering man, certain his imagination was providing far worse punishments than he would ever inflict. He was confident that the fact the ship had lost what was undoubtedly a valuable cargo would be enough to discourage the owners from attempting another voyage to Europe anytime soon. With one last evil grin, he and his boarding party returned to the Southern Knight, where they were heartily cheered.
The next day they repeated their success by capturing a bark in the morning and a brig in the afternoon. By the time a dozen ships had been forced to dispose of their cargoes and return to port, Raven decided they had pushed their luck far enough. Certain the Union must already have warships out searching for them, he had no intention of allowing the Southern Knight to be found, and he set a course toward Virginia, where they were to receive their new orders.
Shortly before dawn on the appointed day, a sloop appeared out of the mist and Raven waited at the rail as a messenger came aboard the Southern Knight. He did not like bringing the ship so close to shore and had no intention of extending their stay beyond the few minutes it would require to read and acknowledge the receipt of whatever the new mission might be. When the cloaked messenger came toward him, then drew back, he greeted him impatiently.
“I’m Captain Sinclair. If you have papers to give me, then hurry up about it.”
While Sarah could make out the silhouette of a man of Nathan’s height, the timber of his voice wasn’t right and she wasn’t fooled. “You are most certainly not my husband, and I’ll speak with no one else.”
Raven stepped forward then, and dropped the Southern accent. “Sarah? Is that you?”
Sarah could see him clearly then, but that a total stranger knew her name frightened her, and thinking she had stumbled into a trap of some kind, she turned to flee. When she slammed into Michael Devane, who had stepped up behind her, she cried out and then, recognizing him, demanded an explanation.
Michael looked to Raven. “I didn’t know it would be her. I swear I didn’t.” “What’s going on?” Sarah asked again. “Where’s my husband?”
Raven took the precaution of searching the mists for signs of another ship and, seeing none, gave Michael a terse order. “I’ll need no more than five minutes with Mrs. Sinclair. Tell Mr. Owen to be ready to give us all the speed he can when I give the order.” Raven reached out for Sarah’s arm then and hurried her back to his cabin.
Raven scarcely knew where to begin but decided he should attend to business first. “You do have the new orders, don’t you? I think I should read them first”
“Well I don’t, not until you tell me just who you are and where Nathan is.”
Raven inclined his head in a mock bow. Sarah had thrown back the hood of her cloak and he found her resemblance to her daughter striking. Not only were their features nearly identical, but Sarah also had the same honey blond hair. Her eyes were different, though. They were a cool, bright green rather than golden-brown.
“If you insist. I’m Raven Blade, your son-in-law. Your husband is recuperating from an injury he sustained last month. Both he and Eden are at my plantation on Jamaica.”
Sickened by that distressing news, Sarah sank into the closest chair. “How badly was he hurt?”
“He should be completely recovered in just a few weeks.” Raven could readily understand Sarah’s concern for her husband, but that she seemed not to care that he was Eden’s husband both confused and hurt him. She was holding a leather pouch, and assuming it contained his orders, he reached for it. “May I?”
“Yes, of course.”
Raven found an unmarked envelope inside. He tore it open and scanned the contents. The Southern Knight was to proceed at once to California and continue their mission of disrupting shipping on the Pacific Coast. That was most definitely not a voyage he would undertake in Nathan’s place and he shoved the brief message in his pocket.
“We’ve got to be under way before sunrise. Come on. You’ll have to leave.”
Sarah looked up at the dark-eyed young man. Other than her own dear Nathan, he was easily the handsomest man she had ever met. “You’ll be returning to Jamaica soon, won’t you? I want to go with you.”
Before Raven could reply, Michael came to the door. “There’s a ship approaching and I have little hope it’s one of ours. You’ll have to leave now,” he urged Sarah.
“Oh no, I’m going to stay,” the determined woman replied.
“That’s not a good idea,” Raven declared, and again taking his mother-in-law’s arm, he escorted her up on deck. The mist now only partially hid their identity. They could make out a steamship approaching and knew they had been seen. Before he could stop her, Sarah waved to the men in the sloop and they pulled away, heading for shore without her.
The steamer hailed them then. “What steamer is that?”
“I want full speed now,” Raven ordered, and as Michael conveyed that message to the engineer, he responded to the call to identify the ship himself.
“This is Her Majesty’s ship Princess Royal. What steamer is that?”
“The Sarah asked in a hushed whisper.Princess Royal?”
“
A Raven responded with a sly wink.ruse de guerre,”
“This is the United States steamer” The name was lost when the engines of the Southern Knight came to life and the whole ship shuddered as the twin propellers began to turn. Raven then sent men into the rigging to unfurl the sails to give them additional speed. The Union ship overtook them, however, before the Southern Knight could gain sufficient speed to draw away.
Raven had been hoping to avoid firing on a Union vessel, but now he had absolutely no choice and they managed to get off the first round of cannon fire. The volley hit the steamer broadside and echoed with a hollow ring that loudly proclaimed the ship was built of iron. He had no time to argue with Sarah as a hail of rifle fire came their way, but she did not need to be told to get below deck and ran back to his cabin of her own accord.