Part 6 (1/2)
”It is a plantation named Belle Mer. The princ.i.p.al crop is sugar cane. The house faces the bay. You will love it there, Miranda. Things are different on the island. Society is not as rigid, and the natives use black magic - what they call voodoo - frequently.”
She drew a pattern on his chest with her fingernail. ”Will you continue to sail?”
”Not for awhile. I plan to eventually settle down and become a staid plantation owner.”
Miranda's laughter was light and seductive. ”I cannot picture you as being staid, my darling captain. Many other14.
things, yes. But never that. Thank you for the jewels.”
”There will be more later,” he promised. ”You will have jewels to wear every day.” He kissed her, allowing her to pull him into the berth beside her.
Judah stood ramrod straight on the raised platform, his eyes, cold and dark, staring ahead. There was a circle of people surrounding this place of death. Some were his followers.
The executioner held out a black hood. Judah shook his head, refusing it. Master of darkness. Help your faithful servant to defeat his enemies. Help me to show them the strength of your power. Help me, master of my soul, my mind.
Judah went to his knees and bent forward, placing his head on the block. Directly in his line of vision stood Miranda at Aaron's side. His gaze locked on their faces.
Aaron felt that dark gaze and placed an arm around Miranda to try and s.h.i.+eld her from it. But she did not move. She seemed in a trance, her eyes locked with Judah's. ”Miranda. Look at me.” Still she did not move.
You will pay for your betrayal, said Judah's voice in her mind. For helping my enemy. This will not be the end. We will meet again. And when we do, I will be the victor.
”No,” Miranda moaned softly. ”NO.”
”Miranda,” Aaron spoke, shaking her gently. Her hold tightened as the axe fell. At that precise moment, Miranda collapsed like a marionette when the strings have been cut. Aaron lifted her into his arms, then took a final look at the lifeless body being moved away. ”d.a.m.n you, Judah Zachary. May your soul rot in the h.e.l.l that sp.a.w.ned you.”
Miranda woke in Aaron's cabin, feeling his chest beneath her cheek, noted the moonlight coming through the porthole. ”Aaron?”
His hand caressed her waist. ”I was beginning to fear that you were not going to wake.”
”Judah?”
”He is dead. You fainted.”
”I remember now. Is the s.h.i.+p moving?”
”We set sail immediately. I wanted to get you away from there.”
She shuddered. ”Judah's eyes. They seemed to be staring inside me. I could hear his voice in my mind. Saying that we had won this time, but next time--”
He felt her shudder. ”It is over, Miranda. Judah is dead, and can no longer harm you. Think about me and our future in Martinique.”
”What will it be like?”
He laid back, tangling his fingers in her blonde hair. ”We will have a dress ball to introduce you to island society. Everyone will come to meet the mistress of Belle Mer.”
Miranda's voice was dreamy. ”I have never been to a ball.”
”You will on Martinique. There is a ball at least once a week.”
”Will your neighbors accept me, do you think?”