The Duke's Daughter -Wattys2014 Collector's Dream Award Winner-

Chapter Fourteen

Hensley looked up into the pretty visage before him and knew that this was all her fault. It must have been her door that had opened in the hallway this morning. She must have seen him.

"What'ch'a want, wench?"

Derek's fist connected with his cheekbone. "I said show some respect!"

Hensley lifted his head back into an upright position, spitting the blood from his mouth towards Arianna. It landed on the floor in front of her feet. Derek drew back his arm to deliver another crushing blow to Hensley's face, but Arianna placed a hand upon his shoulder to stop him. He looked askance at her but she did not notice, her attention focused on the bound man before her.

"I am here in an attempt to save your life. You have three options." She spoke slowly, enunciating each word clearly. "One, I can allow the Señor to tear the flesh from your limbs with his whip and then feed you to the sharks like he wants to. Two, I can allow Captain Drake to beat you to a bloody pulp before giving you over to the Señor." She paused, stepping farther back out of his spitting range. "Or, you can comply, and answer our questions and they will see you turned over to the authorities once we reach New York."

Hensley laughed, "You be one stupid bitch if'n ya think I'm gonna tell ya anythin'." No sooner had the words left his mouth before they were replaced with a solid fist that collided with his jaw at a high rate of speed.

Hensley lifted his head once again, his mouth was swollen and his lip split, blood fell from the cut. His eyes lifted to Derek's. "You'll pay fer that."

It was Derek's turn to laugh. "I highly doubt that."

Arianna bent down, sitting upon her heels, so that she was at eye level with Hensley. "Have you made a choice then? If not the third, then the first or second?"

"What'ch'a wanna know, miss high'n'mi'ty bitchtress?"

Arianna looked up at Alejandro. "One lash every time he calls me that or anything else."

"Si, Señorita." Alejandro pulled his arm back and let the barbed tails fly. They lodged into the the flesh of Hensley's chest and abdomen, and Alejandro ripped them back, bringing the flesh with them.

The scream of pain that filled the air sent a cold rush through Arianna's body. She drew in a breath to keep herself calm. The smell of the fresh blood filled her senses but she fought down the unease in her stomach and closed her eyes. Shaw's dead body floated by her mind's eye and she found the fortitude to carry on.

"Why did you murder the doctor?"

"I didn't murder the filthy witch!"

"I am going to ask you one more time, with the warning that every time I feel you lie to me, you will earn yourself another lash." The anger in his eyes grew in intensity. Fresh blood seeped down his shirt from the most recent wounds, joining that which had previously stained his shirt. "Why did you murder the doctor?"

Hensley's eyes remained locked on hers. Anger, pain and hate radiated from the orbs. He did not speak for a few moments, he simply expressed his feelings through his stare.

"Answer, swine." Derek struck him with the back of his hand, bloodying the other side of the man's face, leaving matching blood trails from the corners of his mouth.

"She was in the way." It was nothing more than a mumble escaping on an exhaled breath, but they all heard his words.

"In the way of what?" Arianna asked.

He shook his head, letting it fall so that his chin rested on his chest.

He began to laugh, blood flew from his bleeding mouth and he looked crazed. Arianna wondered if it wasn't herself, Derek and Alejandro that were truly crazed.

His laughter faded into a sob and he went lax against his binds, allowing his torso to hang forward. "She shouldna o' been in yer cabin."

Arianna felt cold fear run down her spine. "Then your attack was pointed at me?"

"Aye, bitch. There'd've been no 'ttack had ye been there 'stead o' her. I was only tryin' ta scare ya. 'Twas her fault she caught me! 'Twas yer fault she had ter die, whore!" The moment his mouth shut, the whip snapped, and tore wounds in his exposed back that matched the wounds on his chest. He cried out in pain, a stream of curses spewing from his lips, followed quickly by uncontrolled sobs. Alejandro flicked the whip in his hand, the tails hissed and cracked in the air, but he did not strike the man. Instead his eyes awaited Arianna's decision.

She shook her head at Alejandro's unspoken question. "Nay, Alejandro. I do not mind his language as long as it is not directed at me."

A smirk twitched the corner if the Spaniard's lips and he nodded to her, letting the whip rest at his side.

Arianna once again dropped down in front of Hensley, who had stilled most of the sobs that shuddered through his body during. His shirt was still white at the shoulders, but the half below his wounds was red, save for a few white patches that grew smaller with every second that passed. The shirt was tattered and torn over the wounds, Arianna watched as the blood pumped slowly but consistently from the torn flesh.

"Tell me why you are here. What do you want from me? Who sent you here?"

A muscle in Hensley's cheek twitched. When he spoke, his words were as harsh as his jaw was tense. "His lordship put a price on ya lady. A hefty sum ta whoever brings ya to 'im. It won't be me now, but someone'll getcha." His face lifted fully to hers, his lips were twisted into a snarl that bared his teeth. Muscles around his nose danced, turning his features into frightening visage. "It's only a matter o' time 'fore someone catches ya, ya stupid li'le bitch. An' then his lordship'll teach ya ter be a good li'le whore."

Alejandro's whip struck across Hensley's thigh, tearing an animalistic howl from the man's throat. Chunks of flesh hung from the whip now hanging at Alejandro's side once more. Arianna spun on her heel, presenting her back to the wounded man and the offensive whip. Her hands pressed into her stomach trying to still the organs urge to empty itself. The back of her throat burned and she closed her eyes, taking slow deep breaths and holding them, attempting to quiet her reaction to the gruesome reality she had brought upon herself. It took a few moments before she could turn and face the scene behind her.

"Damn it, Alejandro! You hit an artery!" Derek was pressing his own shirt to the man’s thigh, attempting to slow the bleeding, before his life spilled out upon the floor. The linen in Derek's hand was changing colors before their eyes as the blood continued to gush in a heavy flow from Hensley's thigh.

Hensley's breathing became more labored but his head was slack upon his chest, his eyes closed. He was unconscious.

"Is he going to live?" The words were a whisper that barely passed Arianna's lips. Derek's attention turned to her, even as the man's body fell completely limp against his binds, his forehead now resting in the puddle of blood that formed around his knees.

Derek moved his hands to Hensley's throat, feeling for a pulse. He moved his fingers, pressing into different spots before he turned to her, his lips pressed into a flat line and he shook his head.

"He is dead."

************

Arianna rose from her bunk and lit the candle in the fading evening light. She took a deep breath and washed the last trace of her tears from her face. This day had been extremely trying for her.

After Derek had pronounced Hensley dead Arianna had run from the brig. It had been difficult for her to retain her composure, under the watching eyes of the crew on deck, as she made her way to her cabin. Her stomach had no longer been willing to set aside it's natural reaction to empty itself after the sight and smell of Hensley's life's blood that had drained across the floor in the brig. Tears had flowed freely down her face once she finally reached her cabin, and for the first time in years she had not fought them, but let them fall.

She had collapsed across her bunk and simply wept out all the days, weeks and months frustrations. She had wept for her old life at home, realizing that she did indeed miss it. She had wept for Shaw, for Betsy. She had wept for the man who had just died, even though he had murdered Shaw. All this had happened because he had planned to kidnap and sell her. She had wept for her part in his death. She'd wept for all the choices she'd made that had led her to this moment.

And then, finally, she had run out of tears. Her solemn mood remained, but her breathing was even and her eyes were dry. Almost painfully so. At some point during her expression of self-pity, there had been a knock upon her door. She had not been able to get herself to rise, to see who it had been, or what they had wanted. She had been too busy.

She had been busy playing the last two months’ events through her mind. She examined every waking moment since that fateful night that she had left her aunt's home, up to this present moment here upon her bunk. She could not find her mistake, she could not pinpoint her exact decision that should have been replaced with another.

She wondered; had she known what would have happened eight weeks ago, would she still have boarded the Seahawk and left England.

Even the Viscount recognizing her had turned out to be a good thing, or so it seemed. She had acquired not just one, but two fearsome protectors, through that encounter.

Both Derek and Alejandro were allies she was very blessed to have.

Finally, she allowed herself to examine this day's events. The interrogation and... Had it been murder? Or justice? He had killed two others, surely his own demise was necessary to ensure the safety of the rest of the souls aboard the Lady.

"His lordship put a price on ya, lady. A hefty sum to whoever delivers ya to 'im. It won't be me now, but someone'll getcha."

His lordship? Good lord, that could have been anyone who somewhat seemed like a gentleman, to a lowly crew hand like Hensley.

How much was a hefty sum, exactly?
Could she somehow buy it out? Would her jewels be enough, if she could?
Why did 'his lordship' want her in the first place?

Ugh! All she had gained from the day's experience had been a horribly vivid memory of the damage a cat-o-nine could inflict and more questions. The only real answer she had gained was that, yes, someone was after her and yes, she did need to be watching over her shoulder.

This was something she had definitely not planned for. But if she had learned one thing over the last two months, it was that life outside of her high society ballrooms, did not revolve around her plans.

Arianna stood from her bunk and breathed in a cleansing breath. It was time to stop wallowing in her self-pity. She did not know what was in store for her in the future, but she knew she would have to face it with all her wits gathered about her, and probably a healthy dose of Derek's and Alejandro's as well.

She began to peel the clothing from her skin, the smell of blood once again assaulting her nostrils. Her stomach clenched but did not threaten to act up again. Arianna held her breath as she finished stripping her gown and undergarments.

She quickly washed herself from her face to her waist, once she was finished she turned to move to her wardrobe cupboard to don another gown. It was then that she saw it. A white envelope had been slipped under her door. Fear swept through her at first, remembering Hensley's declaration that he had wanted to scare her. There was only one way to know for sure.

She moved to it, and picked it up. Her name was neatly penned across the front. She broke the wax seal and pulled out the single folded white piece of parchment. Unfolding it, she began to read;

Arianna,

It would please me immensely if you would join me for dinner in my cabin this evening. I would like to discuss our next plan of action.

Yours,

Trent.

Arianna breathed a sigh of relief. She had fully expected a threat of some sort. She read through the letter once again.
Staring at the note in her hands, she wondered if the man who had held her this morning; brushing her face, her hair, whispering comforting nothings to her until she had slept in his arms and held her longer still; had truly penned this impersonal note. It was not even a note! More of a bidding. Aye, 'twas no order as he had not signed it as 'captain' but was a request from an Earl not as good as an order from a sea captain? After today was this how he would be with her?

Had the interest she had seen in his eyes since their very first meeting, been extinguished by her actions today?

Perhaps she was allowing her frazzled emotions to lead her to conclusions.

She knew not what to think, but the only way to know for sure, would be to dine with him.