I know it's been a while since I updated. I have been busy with my move and going back to school, among other things, and then I was going to wait and see if I got any more reviews. I know I offended some people with the sex scene in my last chapter. I would like to apologize for offending anybody. But I personally don't think that there is anything wrong with two people in love having sex. It was just a way for me to have them express their love. And I warned everyone at the beginning of the chapter, so…. Well like I said I'm sorry, and I hope it wasn't too detailed for this site. I didn't think it was, but I don't read every story here with sex in it, so I don't really know the limits. I hope that's not way the reviews have suddenly stopped. Anyways, the next chapter will be the last I think. Either that or the next. But I went and saw Dead Man's Chest a few weeks ago, and it gave me a few ideas for a sequel. I might write it if I get some more reviews. So please review. I really appreciate it even if it's criticism.
Chapter Seven
Today was the day. It had actually taken five days instead of three, but this evening they would attack at Blackeye's lair. James was worried for Isobel. Not only because of the risk they were both about to take, but she had been acting strange the past few days. She had been extremely sad, and he didn't know why. Last night, after they made love, she had burst into tears, crying harder than he had ever seen her cry. When he asked her what was wrong, she told him that it was only because she was so happy. He had decided not to press and just held her in his arms, but he knew that she was not telling him the truth. Something was the matter. He needed to know. He couldn't let her fight while she was so distracted.
Now he watched her from where he was standing on the deck. She was talking with Jon, arguing was probably a better word. She was gesturing frantically while he stood, arms crossed, shaking his head. They had been arguing on and off for the past two days. Jon did not want Isobel to confront Blackeye personally, by herself. He said it was too dangerous. James definitely agreed. But Isobel would not be swayed. Despite his love and worry for her, James understood. This man had killed her father. It was only right for her to be able to take her revenge. James sighed. What if she doesn't get her revenge? nagged a little voice in the back of his head, What if he kills her first? James shook his head to dispel the thoughts. That little voice had been there for a few days now, always asking the inevitable question: What if Isobel is killed? He shook his head. He could not think about that now. Besides he would be there to guard her back and fight off the other pirates, as would the other men aboard Traveler. Everything would be fine.
Then he realized that she was walking over to him. Her face was downcast, and she had her arms wrapped around herself as if cold. This was her frequent stance of late, another reason he knew something was amiss. In all their time together she had been sure of herself, strong and determined looking, always walking with her head held high. She looked up at him, and he barely suppressed a wince. She was still the most beautiful woman he had ever seen, nothing could take that away from her, in his opinion at least. But her eyes were red-rimmed and puffy, from crying no doubt, and her face was even more pale than usual. She also looked exhausted, which was no surprise to him. He knew she had not been sleeping. She had shared his cabin these past five nights, and he could only recall her sleeping a little. At first he thought it was because she could not sleep with someone else in the bed, but when he suggested that she go back to her room to rest she protested vehemently, stating that she would not leave him. He had not gotten much sleep either, but he was not worried about himself.
"You need to go get some rest," he said before she opened her mouth to speak, "I won't have you fighting with almost no sleep. You're exhausted. Don't try to deny it."
Her eyes narrowed a moment, and she opened her mouth angrily, but she snapped it shut and her eyes widened back to their normal size. That was something else that was odd. She had stopped arguing with him almost entirely. She would look as if she was about to give him a tongue-lashing, and then she would just force herself to calm. Once, he even heard her mutter under her breath, "I will not be angry with you." He wondered what that was about- she had no trouble with getting angry at anyone else- but decided to leave it alone. "I am tired," she admitted quietly after a moment's silence, "But there are other things more important than rest right now. I have to prepare. I have to be ready."
He shook his head. He was not going to back down from this. Maybe he would even have the satisfaction of seeing her get angry at him again. "Part of being ready is having enough sleep," he told her a little more calmly than he was feeling, "You have hardly slept at all lately. You will never be able to fight on what little sleep you've had. Go to your room. Lie down. Take a nap. I will take care of anything you ask me to." He crossed his arms and gave her his most firm look.
"James!" she growled in a low voice. Then she took a deep breath and let it out slowly, closing her eyes as she did. "I am tired," she said again, "Maybe you're right. I will go lie down for a little while." She pointed her finger up at him. "Only a little while, mind!" She paused to look at the sky. "We have about three hours until sunset. I will sleep for one. That should give me ample time to make preparations. I will be refreshed then." James wasn't entirely satisfied. He would have preferred her rest a while longer, but an hour's sleep was better than none at all.
"Agreed," he said as he put his hand on the small of Isobel's back and pulled her against him. He bent and kissed her. He had meant for it to be a small kiss, to bid her goodbye, but she deepened it. It certainly didn't bother him at all, and he savored her touch. When she pulled away, she smiled up at him somewhat sadly. He bent and kissed her forehead softly. "Sleep well."
She hugged him fiercely for a moment. "I love you," she whispered, then turned and walked away, not even giving him time to reply.
"I love you, Isobel," he said quietly to no one. That was another strange thing about her actions lately. She became deathly serious in an instant, repeating over and over again that she loved him or clinging to him like it was the last time she would ever touch him. He did not mind the extra contact with her; on the contrary he was always happy when he was touching her. It was just strange.
"Yer makin' that woman lose her head," growled Jon as he walked up to him. It was no secret to the other men on the ship that Isobel and James were sharing a bed, but no one made anything of it except for Jon. James tried to understand- the man thought of her as a daughter- but it was still rather irritating, not to mention embarrassing at times. Two nights ago he had barged into the cabin looking for Isobel without so much as a knock. It had been an awkward and mortifying experience for all three of them. He furiously objected to the relationship.
"She's just tired," James replied defensively, "With a little rest she'll be fine." God, he hoped so.
Jon shook his head. "You know I don't like you much," he grumbled, "But Isobel seems to think you're something. Even though I don't know what she sees, I'll put up with it." He rolled his eyes as if their relationship was just some foolishness. He should know by now that it was not. Then his voice took on a menacing tone, and he pulled on James's collar, bringing his face close to his own. "But if you do anything that will put her in danger tonight, I will kill you."
With a little disgust, James pried Jon's fingers off of his collar. "How could you even think I would do something like that?" he hissed angrily. Then he took a deep breath. "I love her, man! I love her. I would never- never!- do anything at all to harm her! She is my life."
Jon studied him for a few moments. He sighed after a moment and stepped back. "I guess you do care for her, lad." James barely suppressed an exasperated sigh. Really? "But don't forget what I said." With that he turned on his heel and walked away.
James shook his head and stared disbelievingly after him. He still seemed to doubt James's feelings for Isobel. How could he make the old man understand? He pushed thoughts of Jon out of his head and went to go see to some things. He needed to be prepared for the task that lay ahead of them tonight.
With a yawn, Isobel stretched and sat up in the bed. Instead of going to her cabin, she had gone to James's. She wasn't exactly sure why. Maybe it was because she had become so used to sleeping there. She liked the way the sheets smelled like him. It had soothed her and helped her to fall asleep faster. She had actually slept considerably well. Now, she looked around to see what had woken her. James stood a few feet away putting on his sword belt. He looked over at her and smiled.
"I'm sorry," he said as he walked to the bed, "I didn't mean to wake you."
She shook her head dismissively. "It's fine," she replied, smiling up at him affectionately, "I needed to get up anyway." Then she suddenly became aware that her clothes lay piled up at the foot of the bed. Even though he had seen all there was to see, she still felt a little self conscious. She pulled the sheet up over her breasts nervously. He sensed her thoughts and grinned. "How long have I been asleep," she asked quickly, trying to rid herself of the awkward moment.
"A little over an hour," he replied still grinning at her, "You could sleep a little longer if you like. You still have plenty of time."
"No," she said after a moment's thought, suddenly becoming serious, "I don't think I want to sleep right now." She let the sheet drop and pulled James onto the bed with her.
Almost an hour later, Isobel and James dressed and emerged from the cabin. Isobel was glad that they got to be together again before she killed Blackeye. No matter what she did, that bad feeling would not go away. It was dark now. She moved from James's side and went to stand at the bow. She could see Blackeye's ship now docked in front of a cave- his lair. Her hand opened and closed on the hilt of her large belt knife. That was her only movement. She stared with unblinking eyes at the small cave opening. Revenge was just through there, and then she could start over. Before they had come out of his cabin, she and James had talked about what their life would be like when they went to Ireland. Even now as she thought about it, her lips formed a small smile. They would be married first thing, and then they would start a family. Her hand left her belt knife and went to rest on her stomach. Maybe they already had it started. It was too early to tell, but if she was with child, she would be exceedingly happy. She wanted very much to have James's children.
"Are you ready to do this?" James came to stand beside her. He put his arm around her waist and pulled her to his side.
Isobel took a deep breath. "Yes," she answered firmly, "I have to do this, James. I can never be at peace while this man lives. After tonight I will be free to go to Ireland with you and start a new life."
He sighed and nodded. "Well, I hadn't expected you to turn back now."
"No, not when we are right here." She took another deep breath. "Are Jon and the rest of the crew ready?" James nodded. "Then we need to go. Blackeye will have sentries posted so we'll have to be quiet. Remember that, not a sound! If Blackeye is alerted of our presence, then all could be lost. We have to…" James cut her off with a finger on her lips.
"I know, Isobel," he said soothingly, "Everyone knows. We have been over this. Everyone knows what to do. Don't worry." She squeezed his hand affectionately and pulled out of his grasp. She wished she didn't have to leave the comfort of his embrace, but it was now or never.
A half an hour later Isobel, James, and her crew were wading in the shallow waters at the mouth of the cave. James, Jon, and Isobel led the way with half of the crew following behind. The other half was waiting on the ship in case they needed to get away quickly. Isobel held her knife out in front of her, James carried his sword in one hand and his pistol in the other, and Jon carried two short swords. A few yards ahead, Isobel could just make out the figure of a man in the half light of the cave. One of Blackeye's sentries. She pushed ahead of James and Jon, planning to come upon the man with his back turned and slit his throat. He would die silently and would not draw any attention. But the man turned toward them almost as soon as the thought crossed her mind. He opened his mouth to call out, but her knife was already out of her hand. It hit his chest with a sickening thud, and he fell to the ground with a soft grunt. She stood for a moment, silent and still, waiting to see if anyone else appeared. The only sounds she heard were the beating of her heart and the soft breathing of James and Jon. When she was sure that another man was not going to pop out from around a corner, she motioned for the men to follow and waded briskly to where the dead man lay. She pulled her knife out of the man's chest and then peered around the corner. What she saw took her breath away. Gold and jewels and treasures of all kind made a path way all the way to a whole heap of valuables. Her father's finding- plus many others- was here. This was Blackeye's lair. As James and Jon came to stand beside her, Isobel had another thought. Where was Blackeye?
"Hello, Miss Bryant. We have been waiting for you." And suddenly Blackeye and his men began appearing out of the shadows.
At the sound of that raspy voice, James stepped in front of Isobel, his sword held out in front of him. He pointed it straight at the tall dark man standing directly in front of them. How had he known they would come? No matter what happened, he would keep her safe. The big man's tangled black beard shook as he laughed boisterously. James took him for Blackeye.
"Is this what you have brought to defeat me?" he roared, "Really, Isobel, I would have expected better from you."
James took a step forward, but Isobel grabbed his arm. Not taking her eyes off Blackeye, she said to him quietly, "Don't, James. This is my fight and mine alone. I have to do this on my own." He nodded but didn't step back. Whatever she said, he was not going to stand by and watch if something happened to her.
Still not taking her eyes off Blackeye, Isobel bent and cleaned her knife on the dead man's shirt. "How did you know I was coming, Blackeye?" she asked calmly.
Blackeye chuckled. "I can't reveal my sources, now can I?" he said. He took a step forward, toward Isobel. James's hand tightened on his sword hilt. "It doesn't have to bee like this," he continued with a smile, "You've grown into a lovely woman, Isobel. We could be… friends." His smile became all too suggestive for James with that last word. He stepped forward again with a growl, but Isobel wordlessly stuck her arm out.
"This is my fight, James," she said softly still not taking her eyes from Blackeye. Then in a louder voice, "You killed my father, Blackeye. You killed him, and you stole what was rightfully his. I am her for revenge."
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