Ill Wind and Dead Reckoning: Caribbean Pirate Adventure (Valkyrie) (21 page)

Blackman and Gaunt were supervising the lading of anchors, spare rigging and other gear we were running short of by the time Rafael and I arrived on deck lugging a chest full of coin and charts. I was pleased with the haul for a twinmaster – there was definitely enough to cheer the crew after our disastrous and unprofitable stopover at Sayba. Alonso hurried to take my end of the chest, and I turned my attention to the people milling about the maindeck.

Apart from my own crew there were a couple of dozen sailors from this boat and about the same number of slaves. And the two women. I took a deep breath and walked forward. I already knew from the captain’s papers that he’d sold the African women and half of the men at Sankt Tomas, and had been heading south with the strongest of the men, hoping for a higher profit.

‘Do you speak English?’ A couple of dark heads nodded. ‘I’m looking for volunteers for my decks. I can offer you a life as free men with equal shares of the plunder we take, as much meat and rum as you want – and no irons.’

I waved Blackman over and pointed at the fetters binding the men. He called for his tools and started to prise open the manacles.

‘And if we say no?’ one of the men asked.

‘You’ll keep this boat and a few of her crew to sail her, and take your chances.’

‘Where would we go?’

‘I’d advise St Vincent. There’s a colony of Black Caribs settled there and no white man is welcome. It’s a hard life, but you’d be your own masters.’ I waited whilst my words were translated for the benefit of the others.

‘With a vessel you may be tempted to sail east to Africa. I wouldn’t advise it. Too much can go wrong on an ocean crossing, even with an experienced crew and master, and that continent put you aboard a slaveship to begin with. Your best bet is with me. I need the hands. You’d be well treated.’

I waited whilst Blackman finished releasing everyone and handed his tools to Smith, who took them back to
Freedom
for him.

‘Well?’

The man who had translated my words looked at the man next to him and they both looked at Blackman, then stepped forward. Another half dozen followed their example. I looked them over and nodded. They would do. They’d soon learn to fire a gun and set a sail.

‘Anyone else?’ I asked. Nothing. Then a couple of the crew stepped forward. I nodded and jerked my head. They joined the others, looking nervous. The Africans glared and stepped away from them.

‘Who are the ship’s officers?’ I asked the two ex-slavecrew, and one of them – Cartwright – pointed them out. Davys motioned with his flintlock towards the boats. I’d set them adrift and let them take their chances. Blackman led my new crew across to
Freedom
and started to get them organised. They’d need to make their mark on the ship’s articles to sign on to our account.

‘The rest of you are now under the command of these men. Get them to St Vincent in safety and, if you’re lucky, you can go on your way. I hope you haven’t mistreated them on the passage so far.’ I grinned.

I gave the remaining Africans the weapons the slavecrew had dropped to the deck earlier.

‘There’s a body in the cabin you may want to deal with fairly soon – they start to smell quickly in this heat. Good luck.’

They had a lot of challenges ahead, but it would be up to them to meet them. I turned to the women. They were
my
problem.

‘What about us? Are we free too?’ Gabriella asked. I noticed she was looking at the marks her nails had left on my jaw. I resisted the urge to put my hand to my face. I sighed.
What about them?
If I controlled her, I controlled van Ecken, and he controlled Blake and Hornigold. But the ship’s articles were clear: no women aboard the
Sound of Freedom
. She’d be useful, but she’d also be trouble. I grew aware of my crew staring at the three of us.

‘Please help us. If my husband finds us, he will kill us slowly and painfully.’

The words were stated calmly and I had no doubt as to the truth of them, but she wasn’t begging. I looked at her with more interest. She reminded me a little of Magdalena with her wild curls, and she seemed to have an inner strength to match my former sweetheart. She still stood tall, after whatever she’d endured on Sayba, her escape, and time in the hold of a blackbirder. I made my decision.

‘You’ll be safe enough aboard my ship,’ I said. ‘But you’ll have to earn your keep.’ She stiffened and scowled.

‘Not like that! The only fare due aboard
Freedom
is a sailor’s, and I want to know everything you can tell me about your husband – and Captains Blake and Hornigold.’

‘You’re that Spanish pirate,’ she said. ‘The one that killed Tarr! The one that’s angered Erik so much. He wants to kill you, you know, and he won’t rest until he does. Neither will Blake or Hornigold.’

‘We’ll see about that. I plan for them to feel the blade of
my
sword and the lead of
my
guns, not the other way round.’

She hooked her arm through her companion’s. ‘We’ll do everything we can to help.’

We?
I looked at them both for a moment, then nodded. Two couldn’t be any more trouble than one.

‘Very well, but time now to get aboard.’

*

I didn’t have time to sort out a cabin for them until the two ships were separated and we were underway, so they stayed close by me on the quarterdeck, watching everything with interest. They seemed particularly interested in Blackman and Jean-Claude.

I shouted at Blackman to set sail as soon as we had water between the two vessels, and he marched down the deck shouting orders, whilst Jean-Claude organised the cleaning and stowing of the guns and their dunnage. Gabriella and Klara looked at each other and I had to laugh at the expressions on their faces.

‘Ashore, and in that ship, black men and women weren’t even treated as human, yet here those men look to have authority over white,’ Gabriella said in amazement.

‘Aboard pirate ships, everyone is equal. Black stands shoulder-to-shoulder with white. The colour of a man’s skin does not dictate his position on these decks,’ I said.

Gabriella looked at her friend and smiled.

‘So if everyone is equal, does that mean women stand shoulder-to-shoulder with men on your decks?’

I looked at her in surprise and laughed.

‘I hope you know what you’re doing, Leo,’ Frazer muttered, loud enough for the women to hear, and saving me from having to reply. ‘The only woman aboard ship should be half-naked, made of wood and nailed to the bow. It’s bad luck to have those two aboard.’

‘Oh, I don’t know, Frazer, our luck may have changed.’ I smiled.

I’d always loved the water. Virtually a prisoner on my husband’s estate, I’d stare out to the horizon from the cliff tops or my secret beach, thinking of all the possibilities the sea promised; daydreaming of just sailing away, catching the wind and riding it to the ends of the earth. I imagined the distance between me and my ship and the next living person could be so vast, and so unexpected. But I’d seen enough storms to know the sea could turn in an instant. You couldn’t forget her power nor her viciousness. The difference was that her brutality was avoidable; it could be harnessed and managed in a way my husband’s could not. If she did hurt me, at least it wouldn’t be personal, nor out of hate. A sailor’s life was to live on the edge and never be fully in control, never knowing what would come next. Living at sea, I’d be living in the midst of a squall, yet free from the torturous chains of my marriage. I’d be free; both of us would. I looked at Klara and smiled. She didn’t look quite so pleased at our situation.

‘You have the quarterdeck, Frazer, it’s time for me to show these ladies to a cabin,’ the Spanish pirate said.

I recoiled from the Scot’s glare as we walked past him and up the steps to the structure built at the back of the boat and raised above the tiller. I passed through the door the captain held open and held my breath as I brushed past him. My heart jumped as my arm touched his, but I didn’t think he noticed. Once in the cabin, I turned to look at him, but couldn’t think of anything to say. My thoughts had shrivelled and hidden with that touch, and I looked at him, sure that he at least would know what to do or say next.

‘If you’ll excuse me, my ship needs my attention. Please, make yourselves comfortable.’

He was gone. I stared at the closed door then looked at Klara, and the ship picked up speed. We’d done it, we’d escaped Sayba. At last we were safe from Erik and we smiled at each other. Then I felt the knot of terror in my stomach twist tighter. What had we done? We were two women alone on a ship of pirates.

I sat on the cot heavily as the reality of our situation sank in. I’d thought that last night with Erik was the lowest point of my life; now I wasn’t so sure. Was this vessel an escape or another prison? Had we swapped a life of constant fear at the hands of one man for a life of constant fear at the hands of a shipful? The captain was a pirate: a violent and brutal man who spread fear wherever he and his crew of cut-throats sailed. What did he plan to do with us? Had he rescued us from that slaveship, or taken us hostage himself? We were sailing away from Erik, true, but towards what? What did Captain Santiago want from us?

My heart had missed a beat when I’d looked into his eyes in that slaver’s cabin, and I’d thought he had the same reaction to me. What if I’d been mistaken, desperate for a way out? If he’d truly taken us with him out of some deep, if brief, connection, we’d probably be safe, but what if he hadn’t? What if it had just been the imaginings of a lonely, trapped woman? What if he’d taken us to use as pawns against Erik? To amuse himself, or worse, his crew? What did he expect from us?

I looked around me; at least the cabin was nice enough for a pirate’s cabin, not that we had much to compare it to. It had its drawbacks, the most apparent being the very low ceiling – the deckhead – which forced us to stoop. We had to brace ourselves against it and the floor, which moved so much beneath our feet we struggled to stay upright, and were forever grabbing hold of each other to keep our balance. It had all the essentials crammed into it, though: a cot suspended from the deckhead on chains; a small chair; table; even a forbidding black iron cannon, which I viewed with mixed feelings –
is this the symbol of our new life?
Once I could look past the great gun and its rack of iron balls, I saw a number of interesting ornaments: jewellery; a rich chalice; a carved orb of gold; a wonderful gold facemask with emeralds for eyes – stolen over the years I presumed. Klara and I amused ourselves over the coming nights by making up stories of their origin and how they came to be here, with us. I wondered if we were the same – more ornaments for his collection.

*

Eventually, there was a knock at the door. I jumped and looked at Klara, who came and sat next to me on the cot, but I said nothing – suddenly I wasn’t so eager to know the answers to my questions. He knocked again and opened the door. He was a powerful man, and seemed taller in the small space than he had outside, but it was obvious that his bulk was muscle. He moved like a man completely at home in his own skin, with an easy yet undoubtable self-confidence.

He held up a hand, recognizing our fear, and sat on the chair opposite. ‘You’re in no danger from me. No one will hurt you – you’re guests here, not prisoners. I spoke true when I said the only fare due aboard this ship is a sailor’s, and you’re both free to come and go as you wish; my crew have been instructed not to harm you. That said, I advise you to be careful all the same. Don’t put yourselves in a situation where you’re alone with someone, other than me of course.’ He smiled.

‘Most are good men at heart, but are inclined to be somewhat impulsive, and they haven’t been this close to women for some time. Here, take these keys for the door and keep it locked.

‘Now sleep, it’s been a long day. Come up on deck in the morning, and I’ll show you around the ship.’

‘What’s she called?’ I asked.

‘Qué?’

‘What’s she called? The boat.’

‘Ship,’ he corrected with a smile. ‘
Sound of Freedom
.’

‘
Sound of Freedom
?’

‘Yes. Listen.’

I did and could hear a gurgling swish of water somewhere below marking our passage through the seas, and understood what he meant. The sound of freedom. My smile mirrored his.

‘I need to collect some belongings,’ he added. ‘Then I’ll leave you in peace. If you need me, I’ll be on deck or in the chartroom.’ He pointed to the bulkhead and the cabin on the other side of it. ‘Now get some sleep, it’s been a long day,’ he repeated.

I nodded, he was right, we were exhausted. ‘Some belongings, you said, is this your cabin?’

‘Not any more,’ he answered. ‘Goodnight, Gabriella van Ecken, Klara.’ He smiled again and left. I walked to the door and locked it, then shoved the back of the chair under the handle just to make sure. After all, I didn’t know how many keys there were.

‘So what now?’ Klara asked.

I could see how scared she was and sat back down on the cot. I put my arm around her shoulders and hugged her.

‘Now we learn to sail, and make ourselves a part of this crew. Erik will never stop looking for us – his pride won’t let him – and that man hates Erik and the rest of them as much as we do. Staying aboard this ship is our best chance of freeing ourselves from my husband and his pirates. You heard the captain; he wants them to feel the blade of his sword and the lead of his guns. If we help him do that, then we can find somewhere to build a new life.’

Klara smiled. ‘I saw the way you looked at that Spaniard, Gabby, you want
this
life!’

‘I just want to be free of Erik, Klara, forever. That’s all I’m thinking about at the moment.’

*

Sleep wouldn’t come thanks to the swinging of the bed on its creaking chains and the sounds of the ship. I lay for what seemed hours, envying Klara her slumber and jumping at every new noise: the wind howling through the rigging above; the water smashing against the thin wooden hull. It didn’t sound like freedom now, more like threat.

If that wasn’t bad enough, a bell rang out regularly, sometimes once, usually more. I counted up to eight just as I was finally dropping off.

I must have fallen asleep because I woke to the same bell being rung madly, accompanied by shouting and stamping. Even the ship’s movement had become violent – doing its damnedest to throw me off the cot – although Klara still slept.

Suddenly I realized what all the fuss and noise was about, we must be sinking! I woke Klara, struggled back to my feet and immediately fell. I tried again, this time with more care. The deck beneath my feet was bucking and lurching from side to side, and I could only keep my feet by bracing my hands against the low deckhead. At this rate the ship would be on the bottom before we even got out of the cabin.