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.Don’t let him take me away.”Her plea was met with stony silence.Her struggles were subdued, and the carriage rattled off down the street, on the way to hell.Or so Sophia assumed, for anywhere Sir Oscar lived had to be hell.Somehow, some way, she had to get word to Chris.Surely he wouldn’t allow this travesty, would he?Please, God, don’t let Chris abandon me.Chris finished his business at Headquarters House and was ready to return home to Sunset Hill.Mundo, driving the wagon with the newly purchased supplies, had already departed.As Chris wheeled his horse along Duke Street, the devil inside him made him turn toward the King’s Arms.Despite his resolve to wash his hands of Sophia, he wanted to make sure she had boarded the South Wind as planned, and that her stay in Kingston had been uneventful.Chris dismounted in front of the King’s Arms and walked inside.He was taken aback when a serving girl ran up to him and fell on her knees.“Captain, sir, you have to help her.He took her away; there was nothing I could do.”Chris’s eyes looked into the woman’s chocolate-brown eyes, and his heart plummeted.Her plea could only refer to Sophia.Damnation! What kind of trouble had the woman gotten herself into now?“What is your name?”“Kateena, sir.”He lifted her to her feet.“Tell me what happened, Kateena.”“Sir Oscar came and took Mistress Carlisle away.He said she was his slave.Tell them it ain’t true, Captain.”“Kateena, I thought I dismissed you.Why are you bothering Captain Radcliff?”“She’s not bothering me, Ludlow.What is amiss here? Did something happen to Miss Carlisle?”“Ah, my lord.I fear we’ve both been hoodwinked by that impostor.She’s really a slave named Selena and she belongs to Sir Oscar Rigby.I know this comes as a shock, but—”“Fool!” Chris shouted.“How could you have been so gullible? I admit Miss Carlisle should have guarded her skin against the tropical sun, but she is indeed an Englishwoman, albeit a foolish one.I’ve known her and her family for many years.”Ludlow turned a sickly green.“Dear God, if what you say is true, I’ve done the woman a grave injustice.”Chris made a chopping gesture with his hand.“This is no time for regrets.Although I don’t know Rigby personally, I understand his plantation lies just north of mine.How many days ago did he take her?”Chris had heard a great deal about Rigby’s cruelty to his slaves, especially female slaves.If he hurt Sophia, or subjected her to his brand of brutality, Chris vowed to kill him.“Why, they drove off in Sir Oscar’s carriage not an hour ago.”That surprised Chris.He’d assumed the reason Sophia hadn’t boarded the South Wind was because Rigby had claimed her first.“But Miss Carlisle was supposed to leave with the South Wind.”“She didn’t want to return to England.She said she’d fallen in love with Jamaica.She hoped to find a governess position with an English family.”Sophia didn’t need to return to England to find trouble, Chris thought, trouble had found her.Spinning on his heel, he left the inn.If he expected to intercept Rigby before he reached his plantation, there wasn’t a moment to lose.Sophia cringed in the corner of Sir Oscar’s carriage, his leering smile turning her insides to jelly.Of all the ships she could have chosen on which to hide, why did she have to pick one sailing to Jamaica? Though she recalled Rayford telling her that Sir Oscar owned a plantation in the West Indies, he hadn’t specifically mentioned Jamaica.What a cruel twist of Fate.Suddenly Sir Oscar laughed—a not particularly comforting sound.“Good things come to those who wait.You’re the last person I expected to see in Jamaica, but a welcome sight nonetheless.Your negligence in letting your skin tan worked to my advantage.I had no difficulty convincing Ludlow you were an escaped slave.”He tore off her bonnet and ran his hands through the richness of her black hair.Sophia jerked away.“Don’t touch me!”“I’m going to do much more than touch you, Sophia.I’m going to chain you to my bed and keep you there until I’ve had my fill of you.”Reaching out, he dragged her against his chest.Sophia screamed as he grasped her head between his pudgy hands and tried to kiss her.His strength, far superior to hers, won out.But Sophia wasn’t ready to become his victim.Clamping his lip between her teeth, she bit down hard.Sir Oscar made a gurgling sound in his throat and thrust her away.“Bitch! You’ll pay for that.”He raised his arm as if to strike her.But before the blow fell, the carriage rolled to a stop and the door burst open.Rigby was dragged bodily from the carriage and shoved roughly to the ground.Sophia gave a cry of gladness.“Chris! Thank God.”Chapter SixHis face a mask of fury, Chris stood over Rigby, who lay sprawled inelegantly in the dirt.Rigby’s two slaves stood nearby, doing nothing to aid their master.Attacking a white man could mean their death.“Who are you?” Rigby sputtered.“Your worst nightmare,” Chris growled.“If you’ve hurt Sophia, you’re a dead man.”“I’m fine, Chris,” Sophia called from inside the carriage.Rigby pushed to his feet and dusted himself off.“Whoever you are, you have no authority to interfere.Selena is my slave, she belongs to me.”“The woman you call Selena is Miss Sophia Carlisle, and well you know it.If there ever was a Selena, which I seriously doubt, Sophia is not she.”Sophia stepped down from the carriage.“Sir Oscar knows full well who I am, Chris.”“Then why did he.” Confused, Chris shook his head.“I understand none of this.Why did Rigby tell Ludlow you were his runaway slave?”“I’ll explain everything, Chris.Just take me away from here,” Sophia pleaded.Chris turned the full force of his scowl on Rigby.“I am Captain Radcliff.Miss Carlisle traveled to Jamaica aboard my ship.She’s no more a slave than I am.If you bother her again, I’ll see you punished to the full extent of the law.”“Captain Radcliff,” Rigby said disparagingly.“Aren’t you the new owner of Sunset Hill? I understand you won the plantation in a game of chance.”“That’s correct.”“A gambler,” Rigby sneered.“You have no authority to challenge my rights to this woman.She belongs to me.”Chris shot a look at Sophia, one brow raised.“Is that true, Sophia? Do you belong to Rigby? Are you married to him, perchance?”“Married! To that perverted creature? Not in this life or any other.”Grasping Rigby’s coat lapels, Chris gave him a rough shake and backed him against the carriage.“Listen carefully, Rigby.I don’t care what kind of hold you think you have on Sophia—it’s not going to work.”“I have proof that I bought Selena before my visit to England,” Rigby shouted, sounding desperate.“Like hell! I have a full complement of sailors who will attest to her presence aboard the Intrepid.”Rigby smirked.“I understand the Intrepid left port some time ago.You’re going to have a difficult time proving anything.”Chris’s temper was hanging by a slim thread.“Lift your skirts, Sophia.Show Rigby your legs.”“What?”“You heard me.The only way you can prove to him that you’re not a mulatto is by baring some white flesh.Your legs will do.No higher than the knee, please.”Sophia stared at Chris for several heartbeats before lifting her skirts to her knees, baring flawless, white flesh.“You can lower your skirt now, Sophia.I think Rigby has seen enough.”Rigby ogled her legs.“Very nice,” he complimented.Another word out of that smug bastard and Chris was going to rearrange his face for him.“I don’t ever want to hear another word about Miss Carlisle being anything but an English lady.Do you understand?”“You’ve made your point, Captain.”“Good
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