VIVIENNE COULD HEAR the loud thump of her heart as it beat rapidly. She tried taking deep breaths to slow it down to no avail. Crouched on the dirty ship floor behind a stack of crates, she did her best to stay hidden. Vivienne could hear shouting, screams and thuds above her. Briefly, she wondered if she would even make it alive out of here. This was the last thing Vivienne had expected. She had believed that she would be travelling to Italy to reside with Lady Westmorland's sister. Instead, she was in the crossfire of military espionage between two powerful nations.

Her uncle hadn't had the chance to finish his story, but Vivienne understood what happened next. Her and James' father had evidently been murdered by the French because they knew too much. It was ironic that she was to face the same end as them.

She clutched the emerald pendant around her neck and slightly leaned her head towards the left. Vivienne saw her uncle holding his flintlock pistol to the side. Their eyes briefly met, and he frowned. She quickly moved back to the middle, until she was hidden once more. 

The rhythmic pounding of footsteps grew louder, as did the voices. Before she could decipher what was being said, there was a loud thud, and the cabin door was split apart. Broken pieces of wood scattered across the remains and more light filtered through the opening.

Vivienne heard the sound of a pistol firing, and she bit her lip to prevent herself from making noise at the shock. Her heart rate increased, and she forced her eyes open, removing her hands from her ringing ears. She didn't know who had fired the shot.

Curiosity getting the better of her, she risked peeking, and had to clamp a hand over her mouth from gasping out loud. A man lay on the ground in a pool of blood with her uncle standing above him. Another man entered the room, his pistol drawn at her uncle.

"Oswald," the newcomer said, finger brushing over the trigger of his pistol.

Her uncle gritted his teeth, "Pierre, you always were a coward. Sending in another man before stepping forward, it seems little has changed."

The man raised an eyebrow his dark voice giving Vivienne shivers. "It is called being intelligent Oswald. Something you evidently lack. Did you really believe that this measly little ship would keep us away?"

Pierre glanced around the cabin flippantly and Vivienne hoped that she blended enough into the wall that he couldn't spot her. Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw two other men coming in behind Pierre. Their sharp eyes travelled the room and the pistols they held glinted in the sun's rays.

Vivienne's fingers were clammy, her uncle was severely outnumbered. She glanced around her, there was nothing she could do to help him. Deep in her soul, she knew this was not going to end well. 

"Where are the letters?"

Vivienne saw her uncle's knuckles tighten over his pistol, "I do not know."

"Are you lying Oswald?" Pierre asked softly, the words even more chilling in his low tones.  "I received reports that your niece was onboard. Perhaps she may be a bit more relenting in revealing some information."

Vivienne shivered and she shrunk further into the wall.

"She doesn't know anything."

Vivienne was glad that her uncle was defending her, but she did not know what that meant for him.

"That remains to be seen." Pierre said, glancing at the other two men who stood silently. "One of you, search the boat, the girl couldn't have gone far."

Vivienne held her breath as one of the men passed by her. Thankfully, he seemed not to notice her.

"The letters could also be in this cabin," the other man said.

Pierre nodded, his eyes scanning the room. Vivienne shrunk further and shivered when his black eyes seemed to land on the crates where she hid. "Lucas, search for them while I keep Oswald entertained. He and I have much to talk about. We can reminisce about the old days where he would piss himself in fear, crying to end his pathetic life."

"I could kill you right now," her uncle said fiercely, ignoring the jib by the Frenchman.

Pierre waved his pistol in the air, seemingly unafraid by the threat. "You could, but there are two other men who would take you down in a heartbeat. Not to mention my other man who is watching Lady Westmorland and the young master Grayson. Beautiful boy, has the same eyes as his uncle..."

"If you dare lay a hand on that boy," her uncle snarled, "I'll tear you apart with my bare hands."

Pierre chuckled, unbothered by her uncle's threats. "I wouldn't need to resort to threats if you had stayed the obedient little spy we taught you to be," his voice hardened. "If you know one thing about me Oswald, I deal with the pesky little strings before they become larger knots."

Vivienne shivered at the threat. The situation was much worse than expected. The French had effectively tied up her uncle by threatening Grayson. She knew he had not wanted to disclose information to the British Home Office because he would be labeled a traitor, but her uncle was in much deeper than either of them had predicted. She saw why her uncle had looked so fearful the last couple of months. If she could somehow get a weapon, help her uncle...

Footsteps drew closer to her hiding spot and Vivienne held in her breath. She was sure that she was hidden well behind the crates, but she heard the heavy boots stop in front of her. Vivienne shut her eyes. Any moment now, Lucas would move past her, and she would be safe for a few minutes longer.

Only that did not happen. One moment everything was quiet and the next, the crates were toppled over her. Vivienne cried out in pain, unable to help herself. Her arm was pinned beneath a crate, and she struggled to get it out from underneath the heavy planks of wood. 

A large man with broad shoulders, narrow face and dark empty eyes loomed over her. He smirked, displaying his teeth. "Well, what do we have here?"

Vivienne tried pushing herself further into the wall, but the crate refused to budge. She was vaguely aware of the blood soaking the blue day gown she had worn. Her body felt cold even when she saw the beads of sweat falling from her face. The man kicked away the crate and Vivienne's arm was freed. She tried standing up, even as blood poured out from her wound. There were large gashes covering her arm and she swallowed. Before she could take another step and try to flee, the man grabbed her by her hair.

She cried out in pain. The man yanked her back to his chest and whispered in her ears. "A pretty bluestocking, you are. I would not try to flee if I were you. Pierre has plans and you've made things more interesting."

Vivienne squirmed, trying to make him let go of her hair but a metal piece touched her head, and she froze. She didn't need to turn around to see that the pistol was now kissing her hair.

"Move again without my permission, and I'll blow your brains out."

He moved her into the light, and she met her uncle's gaze. His eyes widened in horror as he saw her in Lucas' grip. She could not help it, tears streamed down her face, falling quickly into a puddle in front of her.

This was it, her life would end here, at the hands of the French, much like her father. An image of James flashed through her mind. She would never see his handsome face again, never run her fingers through his dark luscious locks, or cradle him in her arms. She would never feel the soft brush of his lips, nor the tingling that always accompanied it.

"Ah Lucas, it seems like another guest has joined the soirée," Pierre said upon seeing her.

What Vivienne had not seen from behind the crate was the dark scar that ran across his left eyebrow. She flinched upon seeing his face.

Pierre did not miss her reaction, "It seems as though the pretty princesse does not like my appearance. It's a shame, the pretty ones are always wretched inside."

Vivienne stood motionless, accepting her fate. There was nowhere to go, nowhere to hide.

"Let her go, your business is with me," her uncle reasoned.

Pierre waved his pistol casually in the air as if he was thinking about it before he shook his head, eyes hardening. "No, I don't believe I will. The princesse must know where the letters are hidden. After all, her papa was the one who took them."

Vivienne's voice was timid, "I do not know where they are."

"Ah, the petite mouse does speak." He took a few steps forward and Vivienne shrunk back, only to hit Lucas' hard chest behind her. She was trapped. "Even if you were telling the truth, little mouse, you know too much now. I simply cannot let you live. We could always carve out your tongue so you cannot speak, what do you think Lucas?"

She felt Lucas' chest rumble behind her. "I believe it would be wise to cut the hands as well so she cannot write to anyone."

Vivienne's eyes widened in dread, and she glanced back at her uncle. She saw that he was struggling to stand without his cane for support. It lay half a dozen steps away, shattered in half. She assumed that was because of Pierre. Her uncle put a finger to his lip and his eyes seemed to be communicating something to her, but she did not know what.

Second's later, a gunshot rang through the room. Blood was splattered on her gown, and she stood frozen in disbelief as Pierre swore, covering his stomach as crimson blood gushed on the cabin floors.

"Run Vivienne!" her uncle shouted.

His voice snapped her body into place, and she reared her back leg to hit Lucas' manhood. The man went down in a pain of agony.

Vivienne did not waste another second. She ambled forward, grabbing her uncle's arm, and putting it around her for support. She took a step forward, but her uncle did not move. "What are you doing?" she screamed, "We need to move now!"

She could feel Pierre's vicious gaze upon them. He was down but would be up soon again, as would Lucas.   

Her uncle shook his head, extracting her arm from his. "You need to leave me behind, you'll never escape with me dragging onto you," his finger brushed her temple and he pushed away the hair. "All I ask is that you take care of Grayson." 

Tears gathered into the corner of her eyes as she shook her head. While her uncle had not been exactly warming when she resided in his house, she felt guilty leaving him behind.

"Go Vivienne," he commanded steely. "I've made peace with the consequences of my decisions. I would never be able to face my brother in the afterlife if I let his daughter die."

Nodding once, Vivienne straightened and ran out of the room. She did not look back. Her eyes were focused on finding a hiding spot away from the French. She cursed as blood dripping from her arm continued leaving a trail of her whereabouts. Breathing heavily, she paused against a wall for a moment. She needed to be intelligent to outsmart the military Frenchmen.

A few seconds later she heard another shout and the unmistakable sound of a pistol behind her. She flinched, half expecting something to hit her but then there was nothing. She did not know if her uncle was alive anymore. But if he was not, that meant Pierre and Lucas would be coming after her.

Vivienne rounded the corner and slammed into a large body. She did not have anytime to gather her bearings before someone seized her injured left arm. She cried out in pain. She glanced up to see the man who had been sent by Pierre to search the ship for her. 

"You must be the traitor's niece," the man spat. "I'm sure Pierre will be delighted that you were found."

Vivienne's vision blurred with tears. She had been so close to freedom. She struggled to get her arm free to no avail. Her arm was already limp and weak and because of the excessive blood loss, the edges of her vision blacked slightly. She gritted her teeth, trying to stay awake.

The man dragged her across the ship floor and Vivienne was barely conscious to feel the pain anymore. It would all be easier to shut her eyes. Her parents were dead, probably along with her uncle. There was no hope nor help on the way. Closing her eyes would ease the pain, the tightness in her chest. Yes, that is exactly what she needed to do. She craved that peace; it was all too much now. It was time for her to join her parents wherever they were. It would be much better than all this suffering. Vivienne's eyelids fluttered shut as she stopped struggling and finally gave into the darkness.

---------------

Wow, a lot happened this chapter. Do you think Vivienne's uncle has redeemed himself? What do we think is going to happen to Vivienne now? Side note, unfortunately there will be no update next Friday as I'm going on vacation but there are only 5 chapters remaining!