Only With Your Love (Vallerands #2)(97)

They grinned. “We hoped you warn’t,” Sans-Nez said.

The irons dropped from his bruised wrists. “You’re certain Aug has the woman?” he asked.

“Aye.”

They were all looking at him expectantly. Justin assumed command automatically, snapping out instructions to the men. As he spoke, his mind raced with options. Risk was dead, Celia was in danger, and Aug was doing God knew what. The plans Justin had made would have to be carried out, but with a few alterations. Before he did anything else, he had to find Celia and make certain she was safe.

“A naval squadron of eight or more ships will be approaching,” he said rapidly. “Get to the cannon on the two main batteries of the fort and fire on any pirate vessels in the harbor that aren’t dismantled. Legare’s men will be trying to assume battle stations. Don’t turn the guns on anything flying an American flag. Set fire to the tavern and the munitions warehouses.” He paused before adding gruffly, “I’ll find Legare.”

“Look sharp, Griffin,” Duffy advised him. “We set the spring guns in the places ye wanted, and aimed ’em high. Trip over one of them wires and ye’ll be shot in the belly.”

Justin glanced down at his already battered body and the cigar burn on his chest. “I’m not sure I’d notice,” he muttered, and gestured for them to split up. Duffy handed him a knife and a rapier. Justin sheathed the knife in his boot and examined the sword. It was a simple and well-balanced weapon, the hilt constructed of a short grip and a guard that was little more than a rimmed saucer of steel.

Justin moved toward the corridor, and they all scattered to their tasks. He was aware that Duffy lingered behind, watching him. Justin swiveled to face him. His limp, nearly undetectable most of the time, was sharply pronounced. “What is it?” he growled.

“I’ll go after Legare with ye, Griffin.”

Justin stared at him with penetrating blue eyes, half his face lit in torchlight, the other half in shadow. “Nay, I’ll do it alone. The devil himself couldn’t stop me.”

Duffy turned away, evidently satisfied with what he saw in Justin’s face.

Requiring no urging to keep pace with Aug, Celia scampered after him down a dim, sloping passageway. He stopped, causing her to slam into him with a muffled sound. With exaggerated care he pointed out a strange contraption mounted in the center of the floor. It looked like part of a gun. Glinting wires were stretched outward from the wooden casing, blocking off the passageway. Aug stepped over the wire and beckoned for her to do the same. Hitching up her skirts to her knees, she followed suit.

The passage went ever deeper into the ground, and ended in a honeycomb of caves. As Aug led her into one of them, it took a minute or so for her eyes to adjust to the semi-darkness. The cave was filled with empty crates and barrel staves. There was a gaping hole in the floor, about two feet wide. Aug pushed her toward it. “Down there,” he said. “It leads away from the fort. Go to the end, and hurry.”

Celia stared at him blankly. He wanted her to crawl into that dark hole in the ground? “I can’t do that,” she said.

“It is safe. Quickly, now.”

Her stomach twisted sickly. “There must be another way, somewhere I could hide until…” She fell silent as Aug reached his hand to her.

“Take hold.”

Miserably she clasped his proffered hand, dangled her feet over the edge of the opening, and allowed him to lower her down. Her feet encountered smooth stones and a steeply graded incline. She stared up at the dim outline of Aug’s head. “Take care of Justin,” she said desperately.

“Yes.”

Then he disappeared. Surrounded by darkness, Celia sat on the slope and gave a few hysterical sobs. The thought occurred to her that if Risk had betrayed Justin, perhaps Aug had also. Perhaps Aug was not on their side. She reached up toward the opening, but her body only began to slide deeper into the pit, stones and sand cascading all around her.

Screaming, she tried to stop the downward plunge, and finally came to the bottom. She stood up clumsily and explored her surroundings. The sound of her breathing created a hollow echo.

Somewhere ahead, a few thin shafts of daylight broke through the ceiling, dimly illuminating her surroundings. She was in a cool, dank cave that was more than large enough for her to stand in. The floor was covered with an inch of seawater. Walking forward with outstretched arms, she encountered a wall and tested the rough surface with her fingertips.

She was still, listening to the muffled clamor from up above. Perhaps she should stay here and wait. The noise of another explosion rumbled through the walls, causing her to flinch. Pebbles scattered around her. She could not wait alone in the darkness or she would go mad. Biting her lip in concentration, she walked alongside the wall, trailing the flat of her hand against it. She was terrified, but she was even more frightened for Justin.

Remembering the sight of him hanging from the chains, she began to cry. How badly had they hurt him? And the explosion—had he been caught in it? She clung to a thread of hope. Justin was strong and tenacious, he had survived much danger. But she was afraid that even if he had been rescued from the cell, his worry for her would distract him from watching out for his own safety. Step by step she splashed forward through the tunnel.

Justin knew that Legare would be quick to gather his own men and devise a strategy for dealing with the small battery of vandals wreaking havoc within the fort. But he anticipated that many of Legare’s own men would seize the opportunity to loot and pillage the storerooms and supplies, contributing to the chaos. With luck, Commander Matthews’ force would attack soon, which would force Legare to confront the threat from the harbor as well as the one from within.