Sophia swallowed the sigh that had welled in her throat. She skirted after the other philanthropists, moving through the keeper"s house and past the lodges for the turnkeys.
The group cut through the chapel, located in the center of the gaol. William had offered her a printed map of the interior, and Sophia had memorized the layout of the prison.
She pa.s.sed through the men"s quadrangle, a vast stone courtyard. Female felons were housed to the south and debtors to the north. She had only a few minutes to peruse the male convicts, housed in the east wing, and locate James before the humanitarians moved on to the other inmates.
Sophia quietly tailed the ambitious matrons as the party entered the poorly lit men"s ward. She quickly gasped as the putrid stench of sickness and unwashed bodies filled her lungs, making her choke, and she tamped the urge to vomit into the bowel of her belly.
The floor was greasy, and the pitiful whimpers from the chained prisoners resounded throughout the tunnels.
Sophia shivered. She set to work, handing out the loaves of bread and cuts of cheese through the small rifle slots in the iron cell doors. The eager convicts- men and boys alike-reached their grimy hands through the openings, fingers trembling with hunger.
Sophia was br.i.m.m.i.n.g with compa.s.sion. But she wasn"t here to set all the wretches free...just one.
James.
He was in the dark h.e.l.l, trapped. But where? She glanced through the tunnels, peered into the dank wards. How was she going to locate him in the labyrinth?
"Thank ye, miss."
Sophia glanced at the frail hand clutching the rye bread. It was a child"s hand, and she crouched, peering through the square portal. "What is your crime, young man?"
A set of gloomy eyes observed her. "Pickin" pockets, miss."
Sophia sighed. "What is to become of you?"
"The colony, miss."
Australia, she thought grimly, patting the boy"s hand in support, about to move off, when she thought to inquire in a whisper: "Is there a new prisoner? I have bread for him, too."
"Aye, miss." The lad stuffed his gaunt and sallow cheeks with the fare, mumbling, "He come through last night, thrashin" and hollerin"."
That sounded like James, she thought dryly.
"Did you see where the gaolers took him?"
The urchin pointed a sharp and bony finger through the portal. "There, miss. Up them steps."
She smiled. "Thank you."
Sophia lifted off her haunches and traversed the pa.s.sageway. Curved steps spiraled between the two male wards-and one cantankerous-looking guard defended them.
James had to be secured apart from the other convicts; his notorious reputation warranted the segregation. But she had to be certain before she summoned the rest of his brothers inside the gaol. If she was wrong, if the brothers aimlessly fumbled through the prison looking for the captain-and were captured-it might mean all their necks in a noose.
Sophia meshed her lips together. She steadied her thumping heart with a few measured breaths before she coolly approached the sentry.
The surly devil moved to curtail her steps. He obstructed her ascent with his wide shoulders-and belligerent glare. "Where do you think you"re going?"
Unflappably she lifted the basket. "I have food for the prisoner."
"No." The man"s words clipped. "No food for this one."
"Yes, sir."
Sophia quickly retreated. If she pestered the gaoler, he might suspect something was amiss, and yet she was convinced James was secured upstairs. How to reach him and be sure?
Sophia spotted the hairy ball. It scuttled across the slick stone floor. She smirked, an idea popping into her head.
She tiptoed after the vermin, glanced from side to side, then scooped up the rat by the cool, slick tail, gently setting the wriggling rodent into the basket of a pa.s.sing matron.
Sophia swiftly skirted off. She ensconced herself in the shadows...and observed as the woman reached inside her basket.
The scream bounced off the walls in the long and cavernous pa.s.sage.
A whistle shrieked. Sentries circled the woman, perhaps convinced the convicts had accosted her, but the kerfuffle would last only a few seconds before the truth was revealed.
Sophia glanced at the stairwell. The stationed guard had abandoned his post to a.s.sist the philanthropist, just as Sophia had surmised. She slipped out of the shadows and briskly climbed the winding steps. On the second level, she found another ward. She whisked through the tunnel, past the empty cells, and headed for the one sealed door at the end of the pa.s.sage.
Sophia hunkered. She opened the rifle slot and peeked inside the room. "James?"
A large, dark figure rested in the opposite corner, surrounded by dank-smelling straw.
"James?" she hissed, tongue parched. She licked her lips again and squinted, the portal small. "James, is that you?"
"What are you doing here?"
Something quivered in Sophia"s belly at the sound of his raspy voice. It was a profound sentiment that stirred her blood and swelled in her veins, making her heart throb and her muscles clench.
"Shhh." She glanced over her shoulder, but the pa.s.sage remained empty. "I"m going to fetch your brothers."
"No."
She huffed. "What?"
"Get out, Sophia. And stay out! Don"t bring my brothers back here. Do you want us all to hang?"
She mulled that over. "You"re right." She set aside the basket and reached for the small dagger tucked between her b.r.e.a.s.t.s. "I"ll get you out myself."
"Sophia..."
She ignored the man"s growl and slipped the shiny blade into the keyhole. She then yanked a hairpin from her bun and inserted it into the pin and tumbler device, counting the pins and judging their length. She pressed the knife against the shorter pins and...
"I"ve got it!"
Sophia tucked the dagger back into the sheath between her b.r.e.a.s.t.s. She grabbed the basket before she opened the cell door and slipped inside the chilly room.
Her heart seized.
The pirate captain squatted in the corner of the cell, ankles manacled, arms listless at his side. There was thick, dry blood smeared across his handsome features. Bruises scarred his cheeks and swelling lips.
Sophia closed the door. "They beat you?"
He grunted. "I"m not very well-liked."
"You mean Black Hawk isn"t very well-liked?" She dashed across the cell and settled beside him. "You don"t sound too incensed over the thrashing."
He shrugged. "I wanted to fight."
It was that one little word-"wanted"-that had her scowling. The man might be in a sour mood about the strife with his brothers, but he wasn"t suicidal. A good duel with fisticuffs had cooled his frustrations.
"I think Quincy"s feeling guilty about your strife." She set the basket aside and lowered her hood. "He was sure you were feeling melancholy, that you might even confess your true ident.i.ty in court because you wanted to hang."
"Quincy"s an a.s.s."
With tender taps, she fingered his jaw. "Is it broken?"
He jerked his head away. "No."
"Well, you"re welcome," she said tersely.
He glowered. "What are you doing here, Sophia?"
"Your brothers beseeched me for help."
"I"ll kill them."
She snorted and reached for her knife again. "I can take care of myself." She examined the shackles. "I can"t believe they chained you, too!"
But James ignored her peevish cavil. He pressed on with "They had no business placing you in harm"s way."
She slipped the blade between her b.r.e.a.s.t.s again. The steel tip was too wide to fit inside the narrow keyhole. She burrowed through the lock parts with the hairpin instead.
"I placed myself in harm"s way."
She stiffened. He stroked the loose curl at her temple, winding it around his b.l.o.o.d.y knuckle. The tender ministrations made her shiver, and she dismissed the growing ache that fil ed her belly and squeezed her heart.
She furrowed her brow in studious regard, jammed the hairpin...
The clip-clop of boots resounded.
She looked at Black Hawk, spooked.
He gnashed his teeth. "Get out!"
"It"s too late," she whispered.
"d.a.m.n it, I told you-"
She placed her finger against his plump and battered lips. "Quiet."
Swiftly she crawled toward the door and wedged herself in the corner, hugging the basket against her breast.
She murmured, "Look miserable."
He scowled.
The footfal s rested beside the door.
Sophia stopped breathing.
She sensed the gaoler"s eyes peering through the rifle slot, but she was hunched in the nook beside the door. It was impossible for the man to detect her presence at that angle...unless he discovered the door was unlocked-and stepped inside the cel .
One.
Two.
Three.
Four seconds later, the footfalls retreated.
Sophia sighed. Blood rushed into her head. To be sure it wasn"t a ruse, she mouthed silently: Is...he...gone?
Slowly James nodded.
Sophia dropped the basket and scurried across the cel floor once more. She knelt at the captain"s feet and inserted the hairpin in the manacle"s lock.
James grabbed her wrist. "Get out, Sophia. Now!"
"I"m not leaving without you." She wrenched her fingers loose and defeated the first shackle. "Hold still!"
She fished for the right pins. As soon as the second lock snapped, James bounded to his feet. He grabbed her arm and hauled her toward the door.
She s.n.a.t.c.hed the basket and trailed behind him, trapped in his robust grip. Even after the b.l.o.o.d.y scuffle, the pirate lord still possessed enough strength to secure her...and she resisted the impulse to let his vigor seep into her bones.
He was still the rogue who had shattered her heart. He was stil the villain who had wanted her to suffer, to feel despair. That he"d bewitched her senses was moot, for he had also devastated her dreams. And she would not forgive him for that.
"There"s a guard stationed at the bottom of the steps, James."
He looked at her sharply. "Stay here."
He vanished.
The "oomph" and m.u.f.fled thud that followed seconds later snagged her attention, and she waited with bated breath as a figure mounted the stone steps.
But the hulking shadow was James. She recognized the man"s stout form. He hauled the unconscious gaoler up the uneven steps, then dragged the limp body across the pa.s.sageway and into the cell.
Sophia maintained a vigil, her heart in her throat. The din from the gathering rabble was growing more dense and vociferous. It was almost eight o"clock. It was almost time for the executions. If the mob discovered Black Hawk escaping..."Hurry!"
James snapped the manacles around the man"s ankles and piled the straw next to his head, concealing his features. He then closed the cell, leaving the rifle slot opened. The gaoler carried no key on his person, for only the turnkeys possessed them, so the door remained unlocked. But the mock prisoner would offer them more time to escape, as no one would sound the alarm if they believed the pirate still secured and chained.