Wringing her handkerchief, she got up from her chair but snuffled some more. She was pathetic. She hated him; she loved him. He had betrayed her and the Towers. It was unforgivable, unforgettable, and just plain despicable.
The hours passed, and just as the afternoon was about to be put to bed, her fiendish father called on her. It was an inopportune call—for him—for Eve was still in her nasty mood. She had cried until waterlogged and screamed until hoarse. She had bemoaned Adam's betrayal with a shattered heart and wrung hands. Her feelings were bloody, raw, and aching as she left the dark cellar, and everyone in the asylum was walking on eggshells—with the exception of her father, who came strolling into her study with a happy swagger.
Captain Bluebeard stopped in the doorway, instantly noting the redness around his daughter's eyes. Her despair reached out and grabbed him by the throat, and he felt something he hadn't felt in a many a year: guilt. He didn't like it one bit.
"You cutthroat privateer! You meddling menace! How could you? You saddled me with a husband whom I didn't want and I didn't need. Only to find out that I did need and want him, wanted him more than anything, even my degree in psychiatry. And you know how hard I worked for that. I'd like to shove your blasted boots down your throat. I hope your ship capsizes in a maelstrom!" She wanted to say more, but felt that if she did, tears would come again. Adam was gone, along with her dreams and trust. "I tasted heaven in his arms. He made me laugh. He helped me and listened to me. He complimented my life and my work. But then he left me and stole Fester's pots of gold."
Her father donned an aggrieved expression. His expression was one of humility, a look he wore uncomfortably, his legs braced apart, his hands useless at his side. "Now, Evie, all's not what it seems."
"I was perfectly fine alone. I didn't know what I was missing, but now I do. How could he barge in here and upset my apple cart, only to desert me when I just discovered how much I needed him? My patients love him too. He not only betrayed me; he betrayed them! Poor, poor Fester. How can I ever forgive that?"
Bluebeard sighed. "So, lassie—you love him," he remarked. Then he opened his arms for his much-beleaguered daughter. After a slight hesitation, she ran into them.
Her father's arms and stocky body were warm. He smelled of wintergreen pipe smoke and the salty sea. It was a comforting memory of childhood. "How could he leave like this?" she asked. "How could he betray me? I thought he loved me."
Yes, she had given her mind, body, and soul to Adam. His betrayal would destroy her. Not literally, because she wouldn't lie down and die, but the woman she was—or rather, had been last night—was right now struggling in her death throes. Gasping her final breaths. And what would take her place would be bitter and distrustful, perhaps too mistrusting ever to seek love again.
"Oh, Da—why?"
Shaking his head, Bluebeard held her tightly. Awful as it was, it was better to let Eve know the truth than imagine Adam would betray her. "Buck up, lass. Adam hasn't left you. And he didn't steal the leprechaun's gold. Ben's got his hooks in him, I'm afraid—along with the gold."
Startled, Eve pushed back and stared at her father. "How?"
The Captain shook his head. "Me spies told me that Hook left his ship last night with a motley crew of wererats. Not long ago Mrs. Holly, the bartender at the Neverland Tavern, came to see me. Her house is near where Hook keeps his landing boats. She saw Hook and his crew hauling a bunch of little pots and a man aboard. Then they rowed out to his ship. The man was bound and gagged, but she saw his hair color. Brown like the earth, she said. She knew they were kidnapping him. Didn't concern her much, since she's seen it before. But something about the man stirred her memory. She said that she thought she'd seen us together at her tavern a few weeks ago."
Eve's soul filled with worry, despair, hope, and fear. "Hook? This isn't good at all. He'll maim him or kill Adam to pay me back for scorning him—and to pay Adam back for their fight last night."
"Aye," Bluebeard agreed. "And I'm afraid I'm much to blame. I pushed the competition between the two. I told Hook that Adam might not be the man ye needed, to not lose heart until I could judge. I lied to Adam, telling him that I intended to have him disappear from your life so that you could marry Hook—after a decent mourning period, of course. Afraid I've been hoist by me own petard."
"Why?" Eve asked, confused, gritting her teeth against the urge to give her father a well-deserved boot in the arse. She pushed away from him, her eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Why both men?"
"I've known Adam for a long time. He comes from a fine family that was destroyed by betrayal and tragedy. Many men wouldn't have survived. Others might not have survived with honor and a sense of humor—not to mention courage. I wanted him for you. But knowing how stubborn ye are, I decided to throw a little smoke into the mix. I also knew Adam is about as stubborn as ye be. If he knew I wanted him in wedlock with ye permanently, he might not have been so willing. I used Hook to make him jealous. And it worked."
The captain began to pace as he tried to explain. "I always intended for Adam to be your husband, not Hook. Ben would make a bad mate for any lassie, since he can't keep his breeches closed. And his temper's too fierce. I thought it was a sound plan."
"Aye, such a cunning plan that the love of my life may soon be out of it," she growled. "I never thought the serpent in my own home would be my father!"
"You wound me, lassie; you truly do. I had only your best interests at heart. I can't believe Hook turned on me like a rabid dog! 'Tis mutiny, I say, mutiny!"
Eve could tell through his bluster that her father was deeply hurt. He valued loyalty highly, and Hook's betrayal was quite a blow.
She headed toward the door. Hook was an insane monster—and not because he was hairy or liked to clean too many things, but in the bad way, like being cruel, ruthless, and hating anyone to best him. She had to act.
"Where be ye going, Evie?" her father called.
Glancing back over her shoulder, she snapped, "Hurry up. I know you must have some plan to rescue Adam, since you came here. Well, don't you?" she asked in exasperation, her legs braced, her hands on her hips.
"Aye. That I do, that I do," he agreed.
"Then let's ready the deck, for this is war!"
Opening the door to her study, Eve was surprised to find a row of faces. The owners were all milling about the hallway, both staff and patients looking to her for answers. Evidently they had been eavesdropping. She really should scold them, but she didn't have the heart.
Fester cleared his throat, looking both apologetic and guilty. The guilt was for blaming Dr. Adam, she supposed, not for digging holes in her cellar.
"We want to help you rescue Dr. Adam," the sometimes starched butler stated emphatically, his head tilting up and down.
Fester nodded with a grunt. "And it's me gold. That dastardly Hook ain't got no right to it—or to our Dr. Adam."
"Why did you all eavesdrop?" Eve asked, her eyes narrowed.
"Because Adam would have never disappeared without somebody taking him," the somber Teeter replied.
"He lovezzzzz you," Mr. Pryce buzzed, still not quite used to his voice. But then, he had been playing a fly for a long time. "He lovezzz us too."
"Aye, and he loves ye in his bed, Dr. Eve," cackled Mrs. Fawlty. "He'll have forgotten them foreign women, he will. A fine man he is. A fitting mate for our Dr. Eve. All bite and no bark."