The Sea Owes Me a Fortune

Chapter 006

Seeing his brother and sister ready to defend him, Jasper felt a rush of affection.

Then he caught a sudden movement and shoved Anne aside.

Dick's punch missed her.

Anne stumbled back, white-faced with shock.

“You were going to hit my sister, you bastard?” Jasper's anger flared. “Have you got no fucking shame?”

Kyle started forward too, furious, but Kate caught his arm.

“Leave it to the boys. You're too old to get in the middle of that.”

She glared at the three brothers, her teeth clenched. “Just wait till I get my hands on Adeline. I'll claw that bitch's face off!”

With that, she stormed out of the yard.

The fight was already in full swing.

Years at sea had made Austin's sons strong, but Nathan was bigger than any of them. And Jasper had a lifetime of anger and resentment to unleash.

Even outnumbered three to two, the brothers were getting the better of their attackers.

“You don't touch my family! You don't come to our house looking for trouble! I'll fucking kill you!”

Jasper's blows grew more vicious. He lashed out at Dick and his brothers, landing punch after punch.

Before long, he could barely tell this life from the last. All he knew was the need to strike, to beat out every bit of anger and humiliation he'd swallowed for so many years.

Nathan froze.

Jasper had always been a little restless and impulsive, but underneath it he was decent and good-natured. Now his fists slammed into flesh with a fury Nathan had never seen. He hardly recognized his brother.

Jasper was driving all three of them back on his own.

“Get him off them!” Kyle shouted, snapping out of his shock. “He's going to kill someone!”

Nathan came to his senses and grabbed Jasper, hauling him away.

“Jasper! That's enough!”

“Are you all right?” Anne rushed over. The sight of blood all over Jasper's face and clothes made her heart ache.

Dick and his brothers looked no better. They'd come ready for a fight, but none of them had been prepared for someone who didn't seem to care whether he lived or died. Each had taken as much punishment as Jasper.

“He's mad. He's fucking mad!”

Dick had had enough. He fled with his two younger brothers close behind.

At the gate, Mike turned to glare at Jasper, his face twisted with hatred.

“Bunch of penniless losers. I hope the whole lot of you drown!”

Jasper gave a cold laugh. “We'll see who drowns first.”

Once they were gone, the fury keeping him on his feet drained away. His knees buckled, and he blacked out.

“Jasper!”

Anne's scream rang through the yard.

Word of the fight spread quickly. With little else happening in the village, everyone had something to say about it.

“Since when was Jasper so vicious? You should've seen the state of Dick and his brothers.”

“Serves them right. That family thinks having all those sons means they can bully whoever they like. Three against two, and they still got beaten. What a joke.”

“Didn't Adeline go over there and have it out with them?”

“What could she possibly say? The bet was her idea. Then she lost and sent her sons over to make trouble. You think Kate was going to let that slide? I heard she tore out a fistful of Adeline's hair!”

The women traded gossip as they gathered shellfish along the shore.

Sydney overheard them. Until that moment, she hadn't known Jasper had been in a fight.

She immediately thrust her bucket at Vicky.

“Can you take this home for me? I'm going to check on Jasper!”

She was already running before she'd finished speaking.

“Sydney!” one of the older women called, teasing. “Your father won't let you marry him, and you're still chasing after him?”

“It's my life, not his!” Sydney called back without hesitation. “Jasper's the only man I'll ever marry!”

The women laughed, then turned to another subject.

Vicky watched her sister-in-law run off, a bitter ache rising in her chest.

Before she'd married, she'd dreamed of love like that too.

At twenty, her family had all but sold her into marriage with Tim. For a while, she'd even been happy. Then, less than a year later, the accident had happened. Tim had grown increasingly withdrawn, lashing out at her with insults and blows over the smallest things. Her father-in-law had never had a kind word for her either.

She'd thought about leaving. Of course she had. But if she went back to her own family, they would only sell her off again.

She was better off staying with the Hunnams.

Watching Sydney now, she could hardly bear how much she envied her.

“Vicky, let me ask you something.”

The voice broke into her thoughts.

Ellie Sterling, who lived at the east end of the village, sidled up to her, eager for gossip.

“I was in town the other day, and I heard that just because a man's paralyzed doesn't mean everything stops working.” She gave Vicky a meaningful look. “How is Tim in that department?”

Vicky stared at her.

Ellie lowered her voice. “You're still so young, and you haven't even got a child. It can't be easy.”

“Ellie, that's… that's not something you need to worry about.”

Vicky had never been good at standing up for herself. Even now, uncomfortable as she was, she only wanted to change the subject.

But Ellie pressed on, assuming the earnest tone of someone offering much-needed advice.

“I'm only thinking of you. With a family like yours, you can't go home. You need someone of your own, don't you? Listen to me. Have a baby while you're still young. Things would be easier with a child.”

The thought caught Vicky's attention.

A baby…

She had thought about it before. She couldn't rely on her husband, and her father-in-law found fault with everything she did. He'd even come up with the scheme to drug Jasper. Wasn't a child what he wanted too?

But there was a problem, and her hesitation must have shown on her face.

Ellie was older and knew enough of life to read her expression. She offered a solution at once.

“If he can still do it, fine. If he can't, find another man to get you pregnant.”

Vicky's worry slipped out before she could stop it.

“But what if he knows the baby isn't his?”

“Oh, sweetheart. You've still got a lot to learn.” Ellie gave her a knowing smile. “Men will do anything to protect their pride. If he can't perform, that's between you and him, isn't it? Nobody else needs to know.”

She leaned closer. “If you get pregnant, everyone will think he's quite the man. Paralyzed, and he still managed to get his wife pregnant! And as far as the village is concerned, that baby will be a Hunnam. Your father-in-law will be waiting on you hand and foot.”

Ellie gave her a conspiratorial wink.

“I've been around long enough to know what I'm talking about. I wouldn't steer you wrong. I can see how hard things are for you—that's why I'm telling you this. A baby would give you something to look forward to, wouldn't it?”

Then she smiled again. “Think it over. If you can't find anyone, I might be able to introduce you.”

She picked up her bucket and left.

Vicky stood rooted to the spot.

For some reason, the scene from that night suddenly came back to her. Her cheeks warmed.

After a moment's hesitation, she bit her lip, picked up both buckets, and hurried away.