She frowned. “My sense of time is still muddled. How long have I been here?”
“A day and a half, nearly two.”
“Then it was five days prior to the night you made your exchange when he seized our ship. He forced Lexley—that’s Papa second in command—to thrust Papa overboard. He imprisoned me below. I was permitted no visitors, food, or water. He tied me to a chair and left me in my cabin. Hence, I was privy to very little of what occurred topside, until the night when they dragged me up and shoved me into that sack.”
Hope died in Slayde’s eyes. “So there’s nothing you can relay.”
“I didn’t say that.” The screaming pain in her skull was back, but Courtney refused to succumb to it. “First of all, I can describe the scoundrel from head to toe. He was broad and stocky, with curling black hair, black eyes, and a thickening middle. He wasn’t young—about forty, I should say. His nose was scarred. It had definitely been broken—my guess is more than once. He wore a silver ring on the little finger of his left hand. It was engraved with the letter A.”
Slayde’s brows rose. “You certainly scrutinized him closely.”
“Very closely.” Courtney’s chin jutted forward. “I memorized his features, his walk, his voice. I intend to identify him the precise instant I next see or hear him, at which point I intend to kill him for what he did to Papa.”
“I see.”
“Yes, I believe you do.” Courtney swallowed. “In any case, he made repeated trips to my cabin to ensure I was properly bound, muttering about how I was worth a fortune to him and about how much smarter he was than the two of them—whoever ‘they’ are.”
“I assume he was referring to my great-grandfather and Geoffrey Bencroft, the late Duke of Morland.”
“Morland—wasn’t he the other nobleman who vied with your great-grandfather for the recovery of the black diamond when it first disappeared?”
“I’m impressed.”
“Don’t be. I’ve spent many years at sea listening to Papa’s crew spin their yarns. And your family is legendary.” Courtney shifted a bit, the resulting slash of pain across her ribs nearly making her cry out. “Where was I? Oh, the pirate kept boasting about the wonderful hoax he’d engineered, a hoax that would win him his treasure.”
“Indeed.” Slayde’s mouth thinned into a grim line. “And that hoax was you.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Aurora—my sister. You bear an uncanny resemblance to her. At least in all the ways that would matter to that greedy snake: your slight build, your diminutive height…and the most crucial thing, your hair. Not only its texture, but its extraordinary color. Even I was fooled.” Slayde slammed to his feet, began pacing about the room. “Oh, that bastard knew exactly what he was doing when he sent me those ransom notes.”
“Ransom notes?” The pounding in Courtney’s head escalated. “What ransom notes?”
Slayde gave her a measured look. “You’re in excruciating pain.”
“What ransom notes?”
“I’ll answer this question, and this question only,” he said firmly. “The conclusion of our conversation will have to wait until later.”
“All right.” Courtney couldn’t help but agree; the pain was too agonizing.
“From the minute Aurora disappeared, one week ago today, I’ve been receiving letters promising me her life in exchange for the black diamond. Most of them were clearly hoaxes. But the two I received from the pirate holding you were chillingly genuine—and more than persuasive. They each contained strands of Aurora’s—your”—Slayde corrected himself—“hair.”
“Where did he get—?”
“From your brush, your pillow, any one of a dozen places. ’Twas only a few strands. But given the color, it was enough to convince me. So I took the risk and gave him what he wanted.”
“The stone? But now you have…nothing to bargain with.” Courtney could scarcely speak, much less think.
“ ’Tis time for your laudanum.” Slayde had already taken up the pot of tea and poured a cup, adding the requisite dose of medicine. “If I hold your head, can you drink this?”
She attempted a nod.
“Good.” He perched beside her, easing her up just enough to press the cup to her lips, offering her the tea, drop by drop, until it was gone.
It took mere minutes for the pleasant haze to settle in, surrounding the pain and holding it in faraway abeyance.
“That tasted dreadful,” Courtney announced.