"I'm not Pagan."
"What?"
She almost fell down. Caine grabbed her. "I said, I'm not Pagan."
"Just who in thunder are you then?"
They'd reached his carriage but she refused to let him assist her inside until he'd answered her question. She kept slapping his hands away.
Caine gave in. He tossed her satchel up to the driver, then turned back to her. "My name really is Caine. I'm the Marquess of Cainewood. Now will you get inside? This is neither the time nor the place for a lengthy discussion. When we're on our way, I'll explain everything to you."
"You promise?"
"I promise," he answered with a low growl.
She didn't look like she believed him. Jade folded her arms across her chest. "Shame on you, Caine. You've been pretending to be the noble pirate all this time…"
"That bastard's a lot of things, Jade, but he sure as hell isn't noble."
"How can you know if you speak truth or fancy?" she demanded. "I'll wager you never even met the man. Is your own life so unhappy that you must pretend to…"
The look on his face turned as stinging as his hard grip on her arm, interrupting her speech. While she watched, he tore the flower from his lapel and tossed it on the ground. He wasn't at all gentle when he half lifted, half tossed Jade inside the vehicle.
Once the carriage started moving, the interior was thrown into darkness. She couldn't see his scowl and was most relieved.
He couldn't see her smile either.
They rode in silence a short while. Jade used the time to regain her composure. Caine used the time to calm his frustration.
"Why were you pretending to be Pagan?"
"To hunt him down," Caine answered.
"But why?"
"Later," he snapped. "I'll tell you all about it later, all right?"
He was sure his hard tone of voice would discourage her from asking any more questions. He was mistaken.
"You're angry because I made you quit your hunt, aren't you?"
His sigh indicated his impatience. "You didn't make me quit my hunt. I might have failed thus far, but when we've taken care of your problem, I'll go back to my hunt. Don't worry, Jade. I won't fail."
She wasn't at all worried, but she couldn't very well tell him that. Caine hadn't failed at all. No, he'd
gone into the tavern to draw Pagan out.
And that's exactly what he'd done.
She'd done her task well. Her brother was going to be pleased.
Chapter Three
The tears had been a nice touch. Jade had been almost as surprised as Caine appeared to be by the spontaneous show of emotion. It hadn't been in her plans to use such a weak ploy to get him out of the tavern. Yet once she saw how upsetting it was for him to see a woman in such a pathetic condition,
she'd cried all the more, of course. Caine had looked so helpless. Jade had no idea she had such a talent. Wailing on command took concentration, however, but she quickly adapted herself to the problem, and thought she'd conquered it rather quickly, too. Why, she could probably burst into a full fit of tears
before a gentleman could drop his hat if she really put her mind to it.
She didn't feel at all ashamed of her conduct. Desperate times always called for desperate measures. At least that's what Black Harry liked to say. Her adopted uncle would have a good laugh too. In all their years together, he had never seen her cry, not even when his enemy, McKindry, had used a whip on
her back. The lash had hurt like fire, but she hadn't let out a single whimper. McKindry only got in
one good lash before Harry tossed him over the side. Her uncle had been in such a spitting rage, he'd jumped overboard to finish the bloke. McKindry was a much stronger swimmer, however, and was
last seen backstroking his way to France.
Of course, Black Harry would be in another good rage if be knew what she was up to now. He'd have
her hide, he would. Yet it hadn't been possible to explain her plan to him. No, there simply hadn't been enough time to sail all the way to their island to inform him of her decision. And time was of the essence. Caine's life was at stake.
Jade knew all about the Marquess of Cainewood. He was a bit of a contradiction, too. Caine was an earthy, downright lusty man, but he was also honorable. She'd read his file through from start to finish, and every bit of it was memorized in her mind. She had the uncanny knack for recording everything in her mind the first time she read it. Although she thought that was a rather odd ability, she had to admit that the gift had certainly come in handy upon occasion.
Obtaining Caine's impressive record from the War Department had been tricky, but not impossible. The information had of course been sealed and locked away. It was a point of pride with Jade that she could undo any lock ever fashioned. She'd succeeded in getting Caine's file on her third attempt.
It was a shame that none of the information in his records mentioned the disturbing fact that he was
such a handsome devil. The term "ruthless" had been sprinkled liberally throughout each account of
his activities, yet never was "compelling" or "appealing" put to his name. The file didn't mention what
a big man he was either.
Jade remembered how uneasy she'd felt when she read his operative name. He was called Hunter by
his superiors. After reading the file in full, she understood why he'd been given that name. Caine never gave up. In one incident, when the odds had been overwhelmingly against him, he continued to stalk his adversary with the patience and the tenacity of an ancient warrior. And in the end, he had succeeded.
Caine had quit his duties the day he'd been informed of the death of his brother Colin. According to the last entry made by his senior advisor, a man by the name of Sir Michael Richards, the resignation had Caine's father's full support. The Duke of Williamshire had just lost one son to his country and wasn't about to lose another. It was also noted by Richards that until that day, Caine had had no idea his
younger brother also worked for the government.
Both Colin and Caine came from a large family. Caine was their eldest child. In all there were six
children: two sons and four daughters.
The children were all very protective of each other and of their parents. The one fact that kept repeating itself in his file was that Caine was a protector by nature. Whether he considered that fact a flaw or a virtue wasn't significant to Jade. She simply used it to get what she wanted.
She'd been prepared to like Caine, of course. He was Colin's brother, after all, and she was very fond of Colin, since the moment she'd fished him out of the ocean and he told her to save her own brother first. Yes, she'd been prepared to like Caine, but she hadn't been at all prepared to find herself so physically drawn to him. It was a first for her, a worry too, for she knew he could overwhelm her if she gave him the opportunity.
She protected herself by pretending to be everything she thought he disliked. When she wasn't crying like an infant, she tried to remember to complain. Most men hated ill-disciplined women, didn't they? Jade certainly hoped so. She would be forced by circumstances to stay by Caine's side for the next two