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Jake gave her a quick kiss on her cheek. “Go on with you now, wench. I’ve some nasty things to do to make him presentable.”
“I’m not your wench,knave, and I would beg you to reconsider, but I know firsthand how very obstinate you are.” And with those words spoken, she turned about and took Nicholas back to the house.
Jake motioned for Ushakii and Cookie to drag Morgan out of the wagon and up toward the house. “We’ll need to bathe and sober him,” he said half to himself and half to them.
“That’ll be a task,” Cookie said. “I’ve not seen him sober since she left.”
“Me, neither,” Barney agreed.
Well, that didn’t matter, because Jake knew a surefire way to sober Morgan.
The man was in for the shock of his life.
Morgan sputtered and cursed at the thick, smelly concoction Cookie was forcing down his throat. “I’ll kill the lot of you,” he snarled.
But as before, his threats went unheeded.
“Quit your blustering,” Jake said. “You ought to be grateful to us. You’ve no idea what a chore it was cleaning you up. I ordered your clothes burned, by the way. I swear I’ve seen rags in better shape.”
Morgan glared at him. He’d strangle the man, but at some point the four of them had tied him to a chair and he wasn’t able to do more than curse them all.
And that was the one thing he was doing admirably well. “You better pray I never get free from this.”
Jake just smiled at him. “C’mon, men. I think we’ve earned a break from the good captain. Why don’t we go below and get a good stiff drink.”
They left the room, with Jake trailing behind.
“Don’t you leave me here, Jack,” Morgan shouted.
Jake stopped and turned to face him. “The name’s Jake,” he said, then pulled the door closed behind him.
Morgan rattled the chair with his fury and effort to break free. The Lord better take a liking to them, because when he got out they would suffer for this betrayal.
Suddenly he heard footsteps coming down the hallway outside.
“It’d better be one of you come back to free me,” he muttered between clenched teeth.
The door handle rattled an instant before the whitewashed door swung open.
“Lorelei, I was…” Serenity’s voice trailed off as she looked up from the watch pin she’d been checking and met his gaze.
Morgan froze, too stunned to even breathe.
Could it be?
Her own face mirrored shock. “What are you doing here?” she gasped.
He held his hands up so that she could see the ropes that held him in place. “I’m sitting in a most uncomfortable chair,” he said, and for the first time in a year, he felt the corners of his mouth lift up into a smile.
Bless Jake’s soul.
But curse his twisted sense of humor.
Serenity arched one brow. “I suppose you think I’m going to free you.”
His smile grew wider. “I would be obliged.”
“And I would be a fool to do such a thing. Good day, Captain Drake.”
