Silver Angel Read Online Free PDF Page A

me—”
    “Certainly you.” His grin widened. “You will bring us a fortune in—”
    “Don’t be absurd,” Chantelle cut him off sharply. “You don’t know who I am. You can’t know if I have the wherewithal to be ransomed or not.”
    “Ransomed?” He chuckled, a sound of genuine amusement. “No, lalla , women are rarely ransomed, at least not one as beautiful as you.”
    Chantelle stepped back a pace, as if his words hadliterally pushed her. She didn’t understand. She was afraid she did understand.
    “This ship—what is it doing here? Why have you brought me aboard?”
    “There is no need to fear,” he tried to assure her. “You will not be harmed.”
    She wasn’t reassured. She was reaching full-blown panic. “ Who are you? ”
    She jumped back when he took a step toward her, so he came no closer. Her fear disturbed him. Hakeem Bektash had never been called on to deal with a captive before, and this was no common captive. His first look at those aristocratic features told him that; her imperious manner confirmed it. She was a lady. But who she was didn’t matter, not even her name, for she would be given a new one by her eventual master. Still, he was not used to having any dealings at all with ladies, which was why he had been intimidated into calling her lalla , the title for a wellborn woman, even though she was to be a slave.
    He simply didn’t know how to handle her. Rais Mehmed, his captain, insisted the truth should never be delayed, that captives needed as much time as possible to adjust to their new circumstances. Allah help him, why did he have to be the only one aboard who spoke English?
    Before he could say anything, the ship shifted as the anchor was released. “What was that?” Chantelle squeaked, reaching for the wall behind her to brace herself.
    “We are sailing.”
    “No!” she cried out, and then, “To where? Damn you, tell me what’s happening!”
    “We are corsairs, lalla .”
    The word was so well known and feared, there wasno need for further explanation. But she seemed not to understand.
    In fact, Chantelle had heard the word “corsair” before; she was just so upset the meaning eluded her for several long moments. When it finally clicked in her mind what he meant, the remaining color in her face drained away.
    “Pirates? Turkish pirates?”
    He shrugged. “Pirates, merchants. It is the same on the Barbary Coast.”
    “The devil it is! Corsairs are white slavers!”
    “Occasionally.”
    “Then you are…No, by God, not on top of everything else!”
    He was so fascinated by the bright color rushing back into her cheeks, he gave no thought to what she meant. Nor was he prepared for her sudden leap forward. He was pushed aside so forcefully he lost his balance and landed on the floor, the candle flying out of his hand to become extinguished. In blackness, he just barely saw her disappear through the door. Panicked, he leaped up to follow. If she jumped ship, Rais Mehmed would probably throw him over as well.
    He was too late. Running onto the deck, he saw her just ahead; saw a man dash forward to stop her, only to crash empty-handed to the deck behind her; saw her not even bother to climb the rail but simply dive over it. He rushed to the rail himself in time to see her silver head break the surface of the water, and miracle of miracles, she could swim. Few men aboard could claim the same, himself included, or he would have immediately jumped in after her.
    Beside him, his shipmates were shouting, as amazed as he was that the English girl wasn’t drowning but was heading for shore. And then Rais Mehmed bore down on him.
    “You stupid piece of shit! I give you the simplest of tasks to do and you bungle it!” The captain’s fist accompanied this setdown, and Hakeem skidded across the deck. Rais Mehmed came to stand over him, murder in his dark eyes. “I ought to—”
    “Go after her.”
    “So you’re crazy, too?” Mehmed shouted incredulously. “Go after