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

Chapter Fifty Three

"That's enough."

Derek did not raise his voice. His tone was soft, unchallenging, understanding.

The dark skinned man in his tan breeches and blood spattered white shirt turned away from his unconscious former owner, the whip he held in his hand twitched once or twice, as he turned his eyes Derek's way. The anger, the suffering, pouring from the man's face was soul shattering. The man battled his emotions quite visibly. His jaw was set firm, his nose twitched and a vein in his forehead throbbed. It almost seemed as if the body before him held two beings; one man, one beast. It seemed as if the snarling beast inside this man was demanding his just revenge. The man's dark eyes glowed with an animal-like light, making him look mad. The eyes closed, the whip dropped to the floor at his side, before he turned and simply walked from the caverns.

Derek retrieved the whip as he watched the man go, a fleeting thought crossed Derek's mind of the berserkers of old. Walking to the racks, he placed the whip among the others. The sight of the whips turned Derek's stomach. Some had barbed tails, some had glass shards along the tails. There were long whips, short whips, chains, and even small trap-like contraptions that Derek did not even care to speculate upon. As he felt his mouth begin to water, as it would before one lost their stomach, he turned and looked at the man who owned them. Derek thought about the past, before he had saved a ship from a crew of pirates.

Catching Bailey had been 'the goal' then.

He had previously thought that he would feel... accomplished? ... satisfied? when he finally saw Bailey in chains. But now; as Bailey hung from his own chains, covered in his own blood, blood which had been drawn with his own whip when swung by the hand of his own slave; Derek still did not feel these things. No, he thought, searching his mind to determine his feelings. Now he felt disgust for the man before him, like he had never believed possible before.

Derek retrieved the bucket of water that stood next to the rack of whips and emptied it over Bailey's unconscious head. The man groaned but did not awaken. Derek spotted the full bottle of brandy upon a ledge higher up and he stretched to retrieve it. Opening it, he poured it over Bailey's head as well. As Bailey began to hiss at the pain of the alcohol stinging his wounds, Derek splashed some of the contents on the laceration across Bailey's face. Bailey screamed out in pain. Derek stared directly into the crazed eyes that lifted to his.

"A taste of your own medicine, as it were." Derek spoke softly once again. His eyes anything but understanding this time, however.

Bailey hissed in a few more breaths before gritting between clenched teeth, "You are a sick man, Trent."

Derek's demeanor hardened even further. "Your perception is horribly askew."

Derek stepped away from Bailey, his eyes finding the other men in the room. "Bring him along upstairs, if you will, men. Be gentle though, he has a long walk ahead of him to the harbor."

Nods of approval were Derek's answer, as the men moved to release the chains and lead Bailey out. Derek followed closely behind, ready to provide assistance should Bailey give them any trouble.

*****

Arianna stood on the deck of the Lady, at half past noon, as the wagon finally rolled around the curve towards the harbor. A man on horseback followed behind, it looked as if someone was tied to, and walking behind, the wagon. Bailey? She assumed it had to be Bailey, but the figure was not identifiable from this distance. Why was he not dead? Did she, and all the others who had been pawns in the man's game, need to suffer his presence any longer? Arianna felt her teeth clench with anger.

Arianna's eyes transfered back to the horseman. She was drawn by the man's easy grace in the saddle, it was if he and the horse were one, moving along the path, even at the awkwardly slow pace they were traveling at.

"My lady, who is their prisoner?" Betsy asked at Arianna's side.

"Marcus Bailey."

"Oh." Betsy turned to her mistress, bemused by her curt answer. Betsy did not understand the feeling in Arianna's voice, but she understood enough to know to not ask more information from her mistress at the moment.

Arianna watched as the wagon drew closer. It rounded the last turn and finally stopped before the docks. The man walking behind the wagon crumbled to his knees in the dirt. It was plain to see the lacerations across his face and cuts through his clothing from this distance. Arianna watched as Derek dismounted the horse and retrieved Bailey's tether. Using the rope to bring Bailey to his feet, Derek lead him aboard the Lady. A smile touched Derek's face as he passed by Arianna. Bailey's eyes held venom as they made contact with Arianna's.

"Your day will come, my lady." Bailey sneered, barely above a whisper.
Derek yanked on the rope, bringing Bailey's attention his way.

"Your day is here, Bailey. I suggest you do not issue empty threats upon my ship." Derek's eyes lifted to Carmelita's as she and the Duchess slipped up to Arianna's side. The Duchess placed a comforting hand upon Arianna's arm.

"Carmelita, would you like to take an inch of skin from your former owner?"
Carmelita's eyes locked onto Bailey's. She weighed her answer a few moments, before she shook her dark head. "Nay, my family is back together. I need no further recompense."

Derek nodded, but the Duchess huffed. "If you do not need further recompense, then I do."

"Mother!" Arianna cried.

"Your grace, I..." Derek stammered, but the Duchess simply waved him off.

"Have you ever been held captive for fifteen years, my lord? Kept from your family and those you love, locked in the same room?"

"I can't say that I have, your grace." Derek chuckled. He now understood where Arianna's tenacity came from.

"Then I suggest you lead me and your prisoner to the brig. Do you by chance have a cat-o-nine?"

"Aye, your grace, this way. My first mate's cat-o-nine shall be made available to you."

The Duchess nodded, Arianna finally recovered from her shock. "Mother, are you truly set on this? Are you seriously going to..." Arianna simply quit speaking. She had seen evidence of Bailey's cruelty upon Carmelita. She could only imagine what Bailey might have put her mother through. Arianna knew some of the emotional scars her mother bore, for she had her own that were caused by her mother's absence, but she had not been held captive at the will of a madman. Arianna shuddered off the thought before it became more in depth.

"Aye, daughter, and I suggest you remain above deck."

Arianna simply stared at her mother, Derek nodded to her in understanding, before he nodded to the Duchess to precede him. They disappeared into the stairwell that would lead them to the brig, Bailey in tow behind. His eyes never left Arianna's. They alone issued threats that assured her, whatever her mother did to him, would be taken out upon her... that is, if he got the chance.
Arianna exchanged glances with Betsy and Carmelita, just as bemused with her mother and Bailey's hateful stare, as they were.

"Cut the lines from the bollards and hoist sails, men! Let's get underway." Alejandro's call gained Arianna's attention and she drew a deep breath.

"Aye, aye!" The crew answered, they quickly moved about their tasks, bringing the ship safely from the harbor and out onto the open sea. Their journey was underway.

Arianna could not help the wave of worry that rose within her as she turned and made her way below deck.

*****

The Duke of Marlborough stood on the deck of his ship, the Merry Kathleen, with the wind at his back. He had the information he needed and he was on his way to collect his wayward daughter. When he found her and Trent, the Duke planned to see vows exchanged between the two, so that Arianna could return to England with her reputation intact. That would protect Arianna from being shunned, but marriage to Trent would quell rumors as well.

He had no illusions that it would be an easy task to get Arianna to exchange vows with Trent, if she did not want to. He had no illusions that this little escapade would calm her defiant demeanor. At least he hoped not. For though it frustrated him most times, the fire in his daughter was a source of pride for him. He would hate to see that fire extinguished, in any way. The possibility that she may be in serious trouble fueled the anticipation he felt.

His captain, Daniels, approached the Duke and clicked his heels in a shallow bow. "Your grace, if the winds continue, we should reach our destination in six weeks time. The southern currents favor our course."

"That is good, Daniels. Let the men know that any efforts on their parts to get us to our destination sooner will be compensated generously."

"Yes, your grace." Daniels dipped his head and shoulders again, before he moved off to inform his crew of the Duke's offer. It was highly probable that the journey could be made in less than six weeks. Daniels ran different ideas of how to accomplish the feat through his mind, as he made his way to the bridge. He made a rather decent living captaining the merchant ship for the Duke, but any opportunity to pad his pockets a little fuller, would be welcomed.

*****

Derek stood on deck late that evening with the first watch. Roman stood at his side and had been asking question after question about the ship. The boy was not overbearing with his questions in the slightest. He would nod as Derek answered one question, thinking over the answer, until another question formed in his mind. At times there had been minutes in between the questions, Derek was pretty sure the boy had the concept of sailing just about figured out. At the moment, a crew hand was tacking into the wind quite successfully, and the flapping of the sails overhead had started the boys curiosity.

Derek was amazed at how quickly things made sense to the young boy, as well as how the boy retained the information, immediately. Roman had a mind as quick as his father's. Derek wondered what it would be like to have his own son. He imagined a boy built much like he was, but with slightly darker hair and bright green eyes. He smiled at the thought. The boy he had seen in his mind's eye would never exist if he did not gain Arianna's hand of her own free will.

As if thinking of her had conjured her before him, she stepped from the shadows and joined them at the railing. She sent a small smile Derek and Roman's way, before she let her attention turn to the waves that captured the moonlight in their crested tips. Roman covered a yawn.

"Go on to bed, boy. We can discuss this more upon the morrow." Derek smiled at him and Roman gave him a small smile back.

"Yes, sir. Good night." He bid before he moved below deck.

Derek moved up to Arianna's side, leaning back against the railing next to her, his focus fully on her face. After a few moments, her eyes turned to his.

"I owe you an apology, Arianna."

Her right brow lifted but she did not comment. Derek reached out and lifted a curl that hung down over her shoulder.

"There are some things I must tell you and I only ask that you hear me out."

Arianna's brow knit in confusion.

"Would you join me in my cabin for a nightcap?"

Arianna looked into the blue eyes before hers. She saw sincerity and truth in their crystal clear depths as they caught the moonlight.

"Aye, my lord."

Derek extended his arm and she took it, following as he moved below deck to his cabin.

*****

The Duchess took one last look at the unrecognizable bloody heap on the floor of the brig. Good riddance, she thought, as she turned and closed the cell door, clicking the old, salt rusted lock closed, as Derek had asked her to. The Duchess drew in a deep breath, she felt slightly better. She knew she would not feel whole again until she was reunited with her husband and her son. She was very glad to have her daughter with her, though. And she was glad to see that Arianna had not suffered horribly for being all but present when she, the Duchess, was abducted.

In fact it seemed the 'spells' Arianna had told her about had quit as well. What did worry her was Arianna's relationship with Lord Trent. 'Twas obvious by watching them that both cared for one another. But the Duchess feared that Trent may have scared Arianna off with his brisk manner upon the island. She hoped not, for Trent was one of few men who could match Arianna's spirit. She could see her daughter being very happy with him if they could just speak plainly of their feelings for one another.

A smile touched the Duchess' lips as she stepped out onto the now moonlit deck.

Either way, 'twould be interesting to watch the two iron their differences out.