"My God, I shot his-"
"You're getting her all worked up, Jimbo," Matthew muttered.
"Did I shoot that poor man's nose completely off his face?"
"Poor man?" Jimbo scoffed. "He's the devil's own, that one. Do you know what would have happened to you if-"
"The bastard's still got a nose," Matthew interjected. He gave his friend a dark scowl. "Quit worrying her, Jimbo," he ordered before turning back to Sara. "You just put a little hole in his nose, that's all."
"You saved the day, Sara," Jimbo told her then.
That remark did cheer her up considerably. "I did save the day, didn't I?"
Both men nodded.
"Does my staff know I…" She quit her question when they nodded again. "Well, then, they can't think me cursed any longer, can they?"
Before either man could answer that question she asked another. "What details did Nathan have to see about?"
"Retaliation," Jimbo announced. "It will be an eye for an eye, Sara. They were going to kill us-"
He never finished his explanation. Lady Sara let out an outraged gasp and ran out of the cabin. Both Jimbo and Matthew chased after her.
Nathan was standing by the wheel. The pirates who'd tried to take over their ship were lined up across the deck. Nathan's men surrounded them.
Sara hurried over to her husband's side. She touched his arm to gain his attention. He didn't look at her but kept his gaze directed on the leader of the pirates standing a few feet away from him.
When Sara looked at the man she instinctively took a step forward. The villain had a rag in his hands and was holding it against his nose. She wanted to tell him she was sorry she'd injured him. She also wanted to remind him that it was all his fault, for if he hadn't struck her, the pistol wouldn't have gone off.
Nathan must have guessed her intention. He grabbed her arm in a hold that stung and literally jerked her up against his side.
"Go back below," he ordered in a soft don't-you-dare-argue-with-me tone of voice.
"Not until you tell me what you're going to do to them," she announced.
Nathan might have been able to soften the truth for his gentle wife's benefit if he hadn't glanced down at her first. As soon as he saw the swelling on the side of her face his rage returned full force. "We're going to kill them."
He turned back to his crew before giving her his order again. "Go back to our cabin, Sara. It will be over in a few minutes."
She wasn't going anywhere. She folded her arms in front of her and stiffened her posture. "You will not kill them."
She'd shouted that command. She'd gained her husband's full attention, too. And his wrath. He looked like he wanted to kill her.
"The hell I won't," he countered in a low growl.
Sara heard several grunts of approval from Nathan's men. She was about to repeat her disapproval, but Nathan took the bluster right out of her when he suddenly reached out and gently touched the side of her face. He leaned down just a little and then whispered, "He hurt you, Sara. I have to kill him."
It all made perfectly good sense to him, and he thought he'd been very reasonable by taking the time to explain his determination to her. She didn't understand, though. The incredulous look on her face indicated as much.
"Do you mean to tell me that you would kill everyone who has ever struck me?" she asked.
He didn't care for the censure in her voice. "Damn right," he muttered.
"Then you're going to have to kill half my family," she blurted out.
Lord, she really shouldn't have said that, she realized. He looked bloody furious again. Yet his voice was surprisingly mild when he gave her his answer. "You give me the names, Sara, and I'll retaliate. I promise you. No one touches what belongs to me."
"Aye, m'lady," Chester bellowed. "We mean to kill every last one of these bastards. It's our right," he added.
"Chester, if you use another blasphemy in my presence, I'll wash your mouth out with vinegar."
She gave the seaman a hard glare until he nodded, then turned back in time to catch Nathan's grin. "Nathan, you're the captain," she said. "Only you can make this important decision. Since I'm your wife, I should be able to sway you, shouldn't I?"
"No."
Oh, he was a stubborn one, she thought. "I won't have it," she shouted. The urge to stomp his foot was fairly overwhelming. "If you kill them, you're no better than they are. You'll all be villains then, Nathan, and since I'm your wife, I would also be a villain."
"But m'lady, we are villains." Ivan the Terrible made that statement.
"We are not villains," Sara announced. "We are all law-abiding, loyal citizens of the crown."
Sara's distress finally penetrated Nathan's fury. He put his arm around her shoulders. "Now, Sara-"
"Don't you dare now-Sara me," she interrupted. "Don't use that condescending tone of voice, either. You aren't going to be able to soothe me into allowing murder."
He wasn't in the mood to soothe or discuss, but he knew he was going to have to get her to go below before he unleashed his anger full force. He thought about ordering Jimbo to drag her down the stairs, then changed his mind and settled on an alternative plan of action. "Democracy will rule in this instance," he announced. "I'll put it to the vote of my men, Sara. Will that appease you?"
He was fully prepared for an argument before she gave in and was quite surprised when she immediately nodded. "Yes, that will certainly appease me."
"Fine," he replied. He turned back to the crew. "All those in favor-"
The hands were already going up into the air when Sara interrupted. "Just one minute, if you please."
"Now what?" Nathan growled.
"I have something to say to my staff before this vote is taken."
"Hell."
"Nathan, did I or did I not save the day?"
That question caught him off guard. Sara pressed her advantage. "Jimbo said I saved the day. Now I would like to hear you admit it, too."
"I had a plan," Nathan began. "But… hell, Sara, yes," he added with a sigh. "You saved the day. Happy now?"
She nodded.
"Then go below," he ordered again.
"Not just yet," she replied. She turned and smiled at her staff. She couldn't help but notice how impatient the men looked. That didn't deter her, however. "You all know that I was the one who untied Nathan," she called out. She realized that statement not only sounded like a boast but also made her husband sound a bit incapable. "Though, of course, he would have… untied himself if I hadn't beat him to the task, you see, and he did have a plan-"
"Sara," Nathan began in a warning tone of voice.
She quit rambling, straightened her shoulders, and then said, "And I shot the leader, though I'll admit to you that I didn't mean to hurt the man. Now he'll carry a scar for the rest of his days, and that should be enough punishment for anyone."
"It was a paltry hit at best," one of the men called out. "The shot went clean through his nostrils."
"She should have blown his head off," another shouted.
"Aye, she should have blinded him at the very least," yet another called out.
My God, they were a bloodthirsty lot, she thought. Sara took a deep breath and tried again. She waved her hand toward the pirate's leader and said, "That man has suffered enough."
"Yes, Sara," Matthew interjected with a grin. "He'll be thinking of you every time he's wanting to blow his nose."
A hearty round of laughter followed that remark. Then Chester took a threatening step forward. His hands were on his hips when he bellowed, "He won't be thinking about anything much longer. None of them will. They'll all be fish bait if the vote goes the way I'm thinking it will."
The vehemence in his tone unnerved Sara. She instinctively backed away from him until she was literally leaning against her husband's chest.
Nathan couldn't see her face, but he knew she was afraid. Without a thought as to why he was doing so he put his arm across her shoulders. She rested her chin on his wrist.