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“Why don’t you two go on deck,” Ellis suggested, and Devin lifted his coat and made his escape with very little in the way ofcourtesies.
He made his way to the bow and lifted his face to the spray. Damn. What he’d give to be able to feel the currents the way Mia could, a knot or two faster and they could catchher.
“I didn’t teach Mia to behave in any criminal manner, but I wasn’t the only one to influence her,” Dekker said, stepping up to search the waters beforethem.
“She’s not a criminal, just a bit of a pirate… sometimes,” Devin said, and heard the man snort. “You’re not a criminal either. I know why you’ve done what you have. I suppose if someone hurt Mia, I wouldn’t leave the earth until they suffered. Love makes mencrazy.”
“That it does,” the commodoreagreed.
“Tell me, would you have committed piracy to avenge Molly? ProtectMia?”
“I don’t know what I might have done to see Mollyavenged.”
“If I’d have refused to wed her, would you have killed the governor? Theothers?”
“If you had been willing to risk it, you wouldn’t have been the man I chose as a husband to my daughter or a father to mygrandchild.”
Devin nodded. “I have to admit, their lives hardly mattered, nor did my career, after I set eyes on her.” Again, the older man chuckled. “When you said she was special you spoke thetruth.”
“Are you hoping for a boy or a girl?” Dekkerasked.
He’d been floored by the news Mia was pregnant and under different circumstances likely would have gone and bought a new ship to celebrate and christen after thechild.
“I haven’t thought about it,” Devin admitted. “She doesn’t even show. I suppose a son would be commonplace to hope for. But adaughter…”
“She was born with those green eyes,” Dekker said. “Most babies have blue eyes when they are born, not Mia. Green like they are now from the first day.” He folded his arms across his chest. “Mia, itmeans—”
“Rebellious, I know. I looked it up,” Devinadmitted.
“She was that too from the day she wasborn.”
“She a fighter,” Devin said as much to state the fact as to reassure himself she wasn’t lost tohim.
“She’s strong,” Dekker too sounded as if he was reminding himself of Miaattributes.
Devin felt a heavy drop of water hit his face. Glancing skyward, he noticed the darkening. The water too began to roll with more force. Turning, he faced Dekker as the skies opened up and a downpour began. “Does she control the weather too?” he yelled and when the man threw his head back and laughed, Devin felt the first real surge of hope fill him. Mia might not control the weather, but she’d had some damn good fortune withit.
By morning even with the waves surging up over the decks they came up on theBlack Tide. She was riding quite low. TheBritoncame along broadside keeping its distance in the strong waters, but close enough they didn’t need a glass to see Mia being dragged on deck and held at gunpoint. The crew looked to be in the middle of abandoning ship. Devin almost laughed wondering if Mia causedthat.
With the waves and the winds, there’d be no verbal communications possible and neither ship would dare put a boat out to pass messages in the surge as it would get tossed and possibly smashed between the ships. All that was left was theflags.
“He’ll know the basic English codes,” Dekker said. “We all do.” That earned him a scowl from every navyman.
“Raise flags, order his surrender,” Captain Ellis put out and men scrambled to send the message up the mast. They waited, rocked harder now by the sea which seemed determined to bring the ships closer together. From the other ship the reply was for them to surrender,unconditionally.
“Do we fire on them, Captain?” One of theBriton’screwasked.
“No,” Devin, Dekker and everyone that came with them, for them,shouted.
“No,” Captain Ellis confirmed and glared at those who were only guests on the ship. “She’s disabled but it’s hard to tell how much.” He was about to say something else when something flew over and hit the deck. One of the crew picked it up and ran it to the captain. A glass bottle in a cork sleeve and in the bottle amessage.
Captain Ellis pulled it free of the protective casing and broke the bottle on the rail and pulled the message. He laughed but there was no humor at all in his voice. “He wants us to abandon ship and surrender it to him. Then he’ll let the girl go.” He looked at both men who found Mia to be the most precious thing in their lives. “I’m not surrendering a royal ship to anyone; I don’t care who sheis.”
Devin stepped to the rail and braced as the wave washed up. The ships were pulling closer and Devin watched Mia struggle towards the rails as well. He watched as she turned and argued with the man holding the gun, saw her working to reason or such then saw him lower the gun and step forward with her to therail.
“Devin,” she yelled out over thedistance.
“Mia,” he yelled back, acknowledging he could hearher.
