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“And remember, we are all here, standing beside you as you confront him.” Tzip’s heart thumped as she watched Abigail prepare herself to face her abusive husband. The emotional strength she displayed as she took the knife in her trembling bandaged hand was stunning. Abigail’s little whimper when Lord Coxspeckle vaulted over the side of The Lady Gin didn’t detract from her bravery.
“You weren’t kidding when you said he was fit.” Tzip quipped to hide the sudden rise of bile in the back of her throat as Lord Coxspeckle strode across the deck towards Abigail. Tobias and Hiram grabbed his arms, but their attempt to slow his progress was met with disdain. Lord Coxspeckle simply continued to march towards Abigail. Having two equally strong men holding onto him only seemed to make him surge forward with more determination. He stopped, only a couple of steps from Abigail. She nodded to the side and Hiram released Lord Coxspeckle’s arm to stand closer to Abigail. Tobias copied him so they all surrounded Abigail in an obvious show of support and strength.
“Come home.” Lord Coxspeckle boomed.
“No.” Abigail’s voice squeaked and she cleared her throat. “I ... I ...”
“Stop prevaricating and get off this boat. This ridiculous farce ends now.”
“I don’t want to.”
Lord Coxspeckle laughed and Tzipporah wanted to kick him. “Not relevant. Wife.”
“I refuse to be married to you.”
He lunged at her. Tzip flung out her arms to grab him, to stop him from attacking Abigail. Lord Coxspeckle made an odd gurgling sound and clutched at his throat. Tzip grabbed the back of his shirt and pulled him backwards, nearly tripping over Tobias and Hiram as they joined the affray.
“I did what you said.” Abigail’s whisper was the only thing that mattered, and Tzip scrambled away to rush to her side. She stood there, pale and shaking, with the knife in her hand. Blood dripped down the blade onto the deck.
“Yes. You stabbed him.” Right in the throat. “Well done.” Tzip took the knife from her hand and tossed it across the deck. She would deal with it later.
“You told me to aim for a soft part.” Abigail swayed and Tzip gathered her into a hug. With a glance over her shoulder, she checked that Hiram and Tobias had Lord Coxspeckle restrained, and then she guided Abigail into the captain’s cabin. Abigail’s face had gone as white as the sails on The Lady Gin; making the faded bruising on her face looks gothic.
“You are safe now.” She guided Abigail onto the slender bed and lifted her legs so she could lie down easily. Abigail let out a fluttery breath, staring up at her with shimmering eyes. “He heard your refusal. You’ve done a good thing, Abigail.” Tzip leaned forward and pressed a kiss to Abigail’s forehead. She had never been more beautiful than in that fraction of a moment when she’d stabbed her abusive husband. It’d been reflex; a symbol of Abigail’s real needs and wish to be rid of him. She had accidentally done a rather excellent job, judging by the way Lord Coxspeckle had grabbed his throat. Tzip kissed Abigail’s forehead again. Abigail’s eyes fluttered shut and her body shook. The shock of the moment was obviously having an impact on her.
“Try and rest.” Tzip tucked a blanket tight around Abigail’s shoulders and left before she decided to spend the rest of her days with this beautiful woman who had begun to learn how to value herself. She cleared her throat and glanced over her shoulder once more, back at Abigail who had rolled so she faced the cabin wall, then Tzip pushed open the cabin door. It was time to see how much damage Abigail had done and figure out what to do next.
“He’s dead.” Tobias stood over the body.
“Well, shit. Now what?”
“This is a disaster.” Hiram paced around the deck. “She’s killed an Earl, for fuck’s sake.”
A laugh caught in Tzip’s throat—completely inappropriate—and she tried to swallow it away. “Since when do you care about the wellbeing of the haut ton? Tobias aside.”
“It’s not about him. Don’t you see?”
“No?” Tzip didn’t know what bothered her brother. Abigail’s abusive husband was dead; and at Abigail’s hand too. Justice had been served. They should just dump the body in the sea and no one would be any wiser.
“There will be an investigation. If he was no one, no one would care and we could all go about our business without the magistrate and all that fuss.”
Tobias slung his arm around Hiram’s shoulder. “I’m the local magistrate.”
“I know. That’s why I know that if this was anyone else, you’d simply cover up your sister’s involvement and that would be the end of it. But what happens when you inform your peers that an Earl is dead with a suspicious neck wound?”
Tzip held her breath. Fuck. She didn’t want London authorities to get involved and not for her own sake, because... “We need to protect Abigail.”
Tobias raised his hands. “Give me a moment.” They all waited; not because Tobias was Lord Pencarrow, but because he was a former spy and of anyone on this lugger, he would know what to do.
“Shove a tree branch in the wound and throw him off a cliff, then report him missing, saying that he was staying at your house and went for a walk after a late-night drinking brandy,” Dinesh said. He’d been at the wheel, continuing their progress out towards the sea, throughout the whole altercation.
“Who are you?” Tobias asked.
Tzip relaxed. “Don’t ask my crew questions like that. Dinesh has worked for me for a while now and I trust him. Besides, it’s a good plan.” Better than any plan she might think of and if Tobias—who knew how the fancy people lived and operated—had no answers, they shouldn’t look a gift horse in the mouth. A couple of years ago, she’d sailed into Gibraltar with Esteban to collect some cargo. It was the middle of the Peninsula Wars and they’d done a roaring trade in providing goods to British soldiers—probably French ones too given Esteban’s background. She didn’t think about it too much; war was none of her business except as a vehicle for opportunist income. From the deck of The Lady Gin, they’d seen two men being beaten up on the street and had jumped in to rescue them; Francis and Dinesh. Every now and then, Dinesh would say something that made her wonder if he hadn’t grown up wealthy somewhere on the subcontinent.
“It is a good plan.” Hiram whispered something in Tobias’ ear, and he nodded.
“I agree. Let’s get him into the rowboat and tow him along the coast near Pencarrow House. We’ll need to work together to carry him up the cliffs.”
“Can I push him over?” Tzip tried not to grin. She didn’t want to make light of a grim situation. “No, scratch that. Let’s ask Abigail if she wants to help.”
Tobias shook his head. “Tzip; stop being a damned pirate for a moment. I need you to sail to Italy and visit our mother in Naples, like the original plan. It will be much easier to shift the blame onto Lord Coxspeckle’s evening drinking habits if Abigail is known by everyone to be visiting her mother.”
“Yes. You and Hiram can row the body ashore and sort out all of that, and we will head directly to Italy.” She hugged Hiram. “I suppose I’ll see you in a few months’ time when we return. Good luck and tell Mother not to worry.” She ignored the urge to rub her belly, instead easing out a short breath. It would take over a month to sail to Italy and another to return; by then her situation was going to become rather obvious.
“I won’t need luck,” Tobias said. “I spent the war dealing with situations like this. Convincing people that Lord Coxspeckle went for an ill-advised walk in the dark will be easy. Everyone knows he is an arrogant type who wouldn’t listen to a local’s advice about the danger of our clifftops.”
Tzip nodded. “Yes, I’ve seen you in action before. I trust that you and my brother will resolve this, while we are far away.”
“Keep her safe.” Tobias shook his head. “I haven’t been the best brother. Hopefully she can learn to forgive me for not noticing her marriage was so dreadful.”
“I think she will.” Tzip winked. “Especially if you convince the world that her husband foolishly fell to his death. Oops.”
The lugger shifted suddenly with a change in the wind. They’d finally made their way out into open water. It was time to put this plan into play. She had some planning to do; she’d need to stop in Roscoff and get supplies for their unexpected journey, as well as find out how to get around the British blockade at Brest before heading into the Mediterranean. Soon enough, they were close enough to one of the small coves near Pencarrow House, and she helped Hiram and Tobias lower Lord Coxspeckle’s body into the rowboat.
“I wish you Godspeed.” Hiram gave her one last hug before he dropped over the side of The Lady Gin into the small rowboat. Tzip waved to her brother and his lover as they rowed their nasty cargo towards the shore. Godspeed, indeed.