Lie to Me (Pearl Island Trilogy #4)(29)

“Really?” she asked in surprise. “You don’t think it’s too close to Pirates of the High Seas?”

“Not at all.” He turned to take in the angles of the roof, the gargoyles, and the peak of the turret. “I think a haunted mansion would go over big. Especially one that looks like this. With a shipwreck in the cove, no less. Tell me about Captain Jack’s ghost. Why was it trapped underwater?”

“His body went down with the ship, but I think it was more than that.” She moved to stand beside him at the rail, looking down at the cove. “When he sailed into the cove on that dark and stormy night—”

“Dark and stormy night?” He chuckled.

“Well, it was.” She gave him a shoulder bump for teasing her. “Just picture it. Black clouds and sheeting rain. Flashes of lightning illuminating white canvas as the Freedom comes sailing in. Marguerite was probably standing in her room when she saw him coming to rescue her.”

“Rescue her?”

“From her husband, Henri.”

“The shipping baron,” Luc interjected.

“The abusive bastard,” Chloe corrected. “Henri found out his wife had fallen in love with Jackson Kingsley, one of the captains who shipped cargo for him. He beat Marguerite savagely, then locked her in her room. She managed to get word to Jack through one of the servants.”

“Brave servant,” he muttered, repulsed at the thought of a man beating his wife.

“When Jack heard, he came charging to her rescue,” she continued. “She spotted him, and broke out of her room, racing for the stairs. Henri caught her on the landing. They struggled and she either fell or he pushed her, depending on who you ask. Either way, the fall broke her neck. Her death enraged Henri. Some say because he loved her so much, he was overcome with grief.”

“Who would say that?” Luc frowned. “Considering how he treated her.”

“I understand a lot of abusive men love the women they mistreat.” Chloe shrugged as if she found the idea twisted. “His relatives certainly bought his version of the story—including the part about Marguerite being a gold digger who had Henri completely under her spell.”

“What do you believe?”

Pain sparked in Chloe’s eyes. “That his supposed ‘grief’ was all about realizing he’d lost his good luck charm. It had nothing to do with losing the love of his life, because he never loved her. He only loved possessing her. In his fury over losing that possession, he charged up here to this balcony. Back then, there was a cannon mounted right here where we’re standing.”

She stepped back and looked down. A dark outline marked the spot. Hair rose on Luc’s arms as he imagined the scene that night.

“Henri fired on the Freedom,” Chloe said. “The first blast hit dead on, igniting some gun powder in the hold. Captain Kingsley ordered the crew to abandon ship. Rather than join them, however, he ran below and was trying to get to his cabin when another blast tore through the vessel.”

Luc glanced at the cove, which sparkled in the sunlight now, but he could picture it black and roiling, a ship burning, men screaming.

“According to a written account by the first mate,” Chloe told him, “that second blast killed Kingsley, but his spirit kept going. The first mate saw his ghost trying to open the door to the captain’s cabin, but of course, being a ghost, his hand passed right through the latch.”

“Why was he trying to get to his cabin? Why didn’t he abandon the ship with his crew?”

“He was trying to get to the pearl necklace Marguerite gave him.” Chloe leaned against the railing, facing him. The sun kissed her cheeks as the wind played with her hair. She seemed both intrigued and saddened by the story she told. “The necklace was given to her by a voodoo priestess who served as midwife at her birth. It was part of the blessing that made her a good luck charm, only no one was really certain if the necklace was the charm, or if it was Marguerite herself. We’ve pretty much figured out it was Marguerite, and still is.”

“What made y’all decide that?” He leaned against the rail as well, wishing he had the guts to tuck one of those wind-blown strands of hair behind her ear as an excuse to touch her.

“Well,” she said, “the necklace is no longer in the cove, or even on Pearl Island. After the ship was excavated, the St. Claire family convinced the State that it rightfully belonged to Adrian’s wife, Jackie, since she’s a direct descendant of Captain Jack.”

“Adrian?”

“The oldest of the St. Claire siblings. Adrian, Allison, and Aurora.”

“Wait a second. The family helped Jackie get ownership of the pearl necklace? How was that done?”

“Not easily.” She cocked her head for emphasis. “Fortunately for Jackie, the family has Marguerite’s diaries, documenting that Marguerite gave the necklace to Captain Kingsley, and Jackie had a letter from the Freedom’s first mate backing up her claim. Even so, the State of Texas does not easily relinquish its claim to any object found underwater.”

“Yes, I’ve, um, heard that.” Apparently the lawyer he’d hired was right. Having Chloe support his claim, the way the family had backed up Jackie’s, could help him win the case. What better opening than now to tell her about it?

Just do it, he told himself.