What if he thought she wanted this wedding? Even she’d convinced herself that marrying Fraser was her only option, that he’d provide financial salvation for her and her father, saving them from the poorhouse.

Even so, Aidan would still come for her. He’d sweep her into his arms, and steal her away, telling her with a kiss that she belonged to none but him.

But they disembarked, and they were whisked into a carriage, and they were taken to Fraser’s property, yet there was no Aidan.

“The minister will be here soon,” Fraser said. He’d set her up in a dismal salon in his so-called grand Arbroath estate, which was naught but a dank, drafty seaside manor.

She pulled her arisaid tight around her shoulders. “You’ve never seen reason to take a bride before. Of all women, why me?”

He gave her an oily smile. “You’ve the mind of a man, but the body of a woman.”

She recoiled. “You don’t seem to think much of the female sex.”

“I’ve never seen the need for a wife before, no. But despite your plain ways, you strike me as brighter than the others. Over time, you’ll come to see how like-minded we are.” His gaze slithered down her body, then back up again. “I imagine we’ll be well matched in other ways too.”

She’d agreed to this union to save herself and her father from the poorhouse. But surely there was no worse fate than the one she faced now. “Do you expect me to take your words for a compliment?”

“Aye, and to be grateful for it.”

She no longer took pains to hide her disgust. She’d spent a lifetime being grateful for scraps, now she was expected to be thankful for casual indignities as well? This man was a louse, a scoundrel. She’d not marry him, even if it meant she’d have to end her days as a charwoman on a faraway plantation.

She needed Aidan. Surely he’d come to stop this madness, to save her. She only hoped he’d forgive her. What she’d done was dreadful. In thinking this union was the only way to get free of debt, she’d sold Aidan short. Because they could figure anything out, if only they were together.

But her life would end the moment the minister arrived. He would perform the ceremony, even though the banns hadn’t been proclaimed. And then she’d be wed for good.

She’d not make a second mistake—she wouldn’t let it happen. She’d trust Aidan was coming for her, and she’d hold on until he did. She’d be a worthy pirate bride and help save herself.

Stall him. She racked her brain for an excuse to keep Fraser talking. “What if I’ve changed my mind? What if I don’t want to marry you after all?”

Fraser laughed. Looking bored, he stood to take a turn around the room. “You’ve no choice.”

“What if I do?” As long as Aidan was alive, she had a choice. They could sail away, live off the fruits of the sea, docking in uninhabited isles and charmingly exotic ports.

“Are you thinking of someone else?” He stopped his pacing to give her a pointed look. “I assure you, I am the only man with means enough to save your family.”

Fraser spoke the truth, and she hated him for it. In destroying her home, he’d taken her options. He stepped closer, putting words to her thoughts. “Only through our marriage will your father be spared the poorhouse.”

She shot upright in her seat. “A poorhouse you put him in yourself.”

“A man does as he must,” he said with a rueful shrug. “But now I am ready to pull you from the ashes, as it were.”

“Does as he must?” Her eyes widened. “So you confess it? You set the fire?”

“I am capable of many things. Think of it as a lesson. And I’ve another one to teach you tonight, after we’re wed.” Fraser stroked a finger down her cheek.

She shuddered and looked away, unable to bear the sight of him.

He thought she had no choice, but she did, and she would make it. The greatest of heroines endured tragedy and overcame. And so would she.

“Thinking of our wedding night?”

Standing, she strode around him to the window. “You could say that.”

Keeping her back to him, she dug her fingers down the front of her bodice, tying a few extra knots into her laces. And a little insurance never hurt.

He came to stand at her back, and she gripped the sill, staring blindly out the window. He traced a finger down her spine, making her flesh crawl. “You must relax yourself, settle into the notion. I always get what I want, Elspeth.”

Not everything he wanted. Not this time.

Her eyes snapped into focus. There was a boat on the horizon. Could it be Aidan? She just needed to hold on.

A bell rang on the floor below, and voices carried up to them.

“The minister,” he said with a smile. Fraser proffered his arm. “Are you ready to become the Lady Fraser?”

Her heart thundered in her chest. The moment was upon her. She strained, looking back out the window, but saw nothing but a white-and-gray haze.

What if that were Aidan, coming for her on his sloop? She needed to wait for him. Needed to delay, for him.

She sidled away from Fraser. “You won’t get everything you want, you know.”

His expression narrowed. “And what is it I’m to be denied, Elspeth?”

“My maidenhead.” She swooped behind an armchair, bracing herself on its back as if it might guard her. “I’m no longer a virgin.”

“So I’ve gathered.” He shook his head, looking amused. “I’m no fool.”

“Even now, I might carry his child.”

Anger hardened his features. He stalked toward her. “Then we’ll find a way to slip the babe.”

She dashed to the door, leaping for the knob. “I’ll escape.”

He cut her off, slamming and bolting it shut. “Do I need to teach you your lesson before we’re wed? I can be quite an unforgiving teacher, ready to school you all the day long.”

A gunshot rang out. Aidan. It had to be him. He’d arrived. He was coming for her.

She heard voices raised in the hallway. She hadn’t been the only one to hear the shot.

“You think he’s coming, don’t you?” Fraser prowled closer, reaching out to grab her arm. “But he can’t save you now.”

She ran to the hearth, but the only tool at hand was a bellows. She snatched it up, holding it before her like a shield. “I’ll fight you.”

He laughed. “Little fool. The time has come. There’s no avoiding it.”

She felt like a caged animal. Her eyes flicked to the locked door. “The moment you open those doors, I’ll run.”

Slowly, he began to remove his overcoat. “Then I’ll simply have to restrain you,” he said, his voice gone steely. “I’d feared this, and so borrowed a little something from our good captain.”

He picked up the heavy suitcase he’d been carrying and opened it. Dull metal glimmered within.

Shackles? “You wouldn’t.”

“What I do is up to you. Will you succumb willingly, or must I bind you to make you say the words I do?”

There was another gunshot. The voices in the hallway grew louder. Someone jiggled the doorknob. Fraser glanced from his suitcase to the door, weighing his next move.

Her body trembled with desperate energy. There was nothing left to her but extreme measures. It seemed Fraser wanted her to bow to him, so bow she must.

She let the bellows slip from her fingers and fluttered a hand over her brow as she slumped against the back of the sofa. Inhaling deeply, she lent a dramatic quaver to her voice. “You win. I shall yield.”

Growing eerily still, Fraser gaped at her, looking as though he didn’t trust his ears. “You surrender to me?”

Her face flushed hot. Never. But she had a charade to maintain, and so forced herself to speak the words. “Yes, you may begin your … lesson, if you must.”

Chapter 35

Aidan steered into Arbroath harbor, and though it was far smaller than Aberdeen’s, navigating the waterway was simple. Since it was not nearly as thriving a port, dockage was easily had—found just next to a ship he’d recognize better than his own face in the mirror.

The Endeavor.

He tied up his sloop, feeling eyes upon him. Rather than glance up, he prolonged the moment, letting the gaze bore into him, steadily going about his work. Because he knew whom he’d find when he looked up.

He’d felt the gaze as a child, and recognized its stillness now. Dead eyes that’d bored into him, raking his soul. But now he was a man, and he knew who he was and what he was about.

Aidan glanced up, finally, his work finished. The man with the black pearl stood at the bow of his ship, docked not twenty feet away, silent as a sphinx and just as unreadable. They stared at each other.

It was his one chance. Captain Will’s crew bustled about, readying to cast off. Aidan needed to kill his enemy now—it was what he’d dreamed of doing for most his life. He could lure him away, take him in a sword fight. Aidan had spent the past thirteen years growing bigger, stronger, faster—he knew he’d best the man. Or he could watch him sail away forever, bound for God knew where, never to be seen again.

He could kill his enemy, or he could have Elspeth.

He waited to feel the familiar thirst for vengeance, but found the rage had burned through him. All he wanted now was his Beth.

His choice was clear. Exhilaratingly simple. He’d regret not killing his enemy. But even more would he regret losing her. There was only one thing for him to do. He needed to stop her wedding, before it was too late.

Because he refused to lose her.

Captain Will touched a finger to his head in a mockery of a salute. Only then did their gazes unlock.

Aidan jogged up the harbor, scanning for a likely source of information. He needed to find Fraser’s home, and quickly. It was while a dock rat was pointing him in the right direction that he sensed the Endeavor get under way at his back.

“I’ll just have to avenge you in hell,” he murmured, and then raced to find Elspeth.