Ill Wind and Dead Reckoning: Caribbean Pirate Adventure (Valkyrie) (42 page)

I had stayed up all night until I was sure
Valkyrie
was out of danger, and I’d been treated to a fabulous display at sunrise. The departing clouds had created a vista worthy of van Goyen himself, using a full palette of oranges, yellows and pinks.

The wind had dropped off with the dawn, and I’d slept the four-hour forenoon watch through. Carib life was back to normal: beating sun, steaming decks (at least they were not sticky yet), and uncomfortable, salty clothes. Even the supposedly dry clothes in the cabin had acquired a stiffening layer of salt, and the rigging looked like a washerwoman’s line as everybody took advantage of the casks brimming with fresh rainwater.

Valkyrie
had ridden out the last vestiges of the storm well, and the crew looked and acted like a crew. Thanks to a Carib storm and Ed Hornigold,
Valkyrie
was a different vessel. Leo would be impressed.

Once the day’s work was done and I had a vague idea of where we were, I was presented with a steaming plateful of roast pork – Klara had decided we needed to replenish our strength and had butchered one of the pigs as soon as it had been safe to relight the galley hearth on the maindeck. I hadn’t realized how hungry I was until I started eating, and I didn’t want to stop. Coupled with pint after pint of cool fresh water to wash away the salt, it was a meal fit for Neptune himself.

Halfway through, Carmen joined me in the cabin with a heaped plateful of her own.

‘What news?’ I asked her.

‘The usual chafing,’ she replied. ‘And the forestay needs to be re-rove.’ If that line between foremast and bow snapped, we would lose the foremast. ‘I’ve got Butler and Bess on that as a priority. The damage to the timber is only superficial, Mr Gaunt can take his time. One of the gun truckles is damaged, which Andy can sort out, but there’s nothing to trouble
Valkyrie
unduly.’

‘Very well,’ I said, relieved.

‘St Vincent is still in sight, although only just. We must have been blown a fair fetch south overnight, but we can get the fores’ls flying as soon as Butler and Bess are done with the stay, and we’ll soon leave it in our wake,’ she continued. ‘The crew are full of blisters and bruises, but they’re used to that – there’s no serious injury.’

I nodded. I was tormented by aches and pains myself.

It was not good that the island was still in sight, I could only hope
Freyja
was busy making her own repairs, and that the St Vincentians would not be too accommodating to their visitors.

Carmen finished her meat and sat back, taking out her pipe and tobacco.

‘What happened to your pipe?’ I asked – it was much shorter than the last time I’d seen it. ‘Did you sit on it or something?’

‘Nr
.
’ She laughed in return. ‘The long stems don’t do so well in a blow – they don’t last long.’

I laughed along with her but wondered if it had really broken in the weather and fight, or had it broken when she lost the captain’s vote? I wasn’t going to risk our newfound camaraderie by pressing the matter though, and the laughter died away.

‘I want to get the crew working better.’ I turned to more serious matters. ‘I want them drilled on the guns and sailhandling, and I want Andy to find the best sharpshooters, too.’

‘Ja, everybody knows their trade, but they’re not working well together yet. We were lucky yesterday, but I’ll admit they’re all keen enough now, it won’t be difficult to arrange. We should plan and rehearse some set manoeuvres too – that’s how we were so successful with
Awilda
with such a small crew. We did the unexpected and took advantage of the confusion.’

‘You certainly did!’ I laughed. ‘That’s a good idea,
Valkyrie’s
strength is her handiness. You’re right, we should make the most of that, what do you propose?’

*

An hour later, we had a page of ideas and Gaunt stuck his head through the door. He nodded.

‘Good to see you two lasses working together,’ he commented. ‘The new forestay’s rove and holding if one of thee wants to come up on deck.’

‘Very good, Mr Gaunt, thank you.’ I noticed his smile didn’t quite reach his eyes and realized he was still wary of my Danish quartermaster.

‘Will you make a start with that, Carmen, while I get us underway? I want to be ready to attack the next likely prize we spot. I promised everyone gold!’

‘They’ll be ready; they’re halfway there now, just choose your prize wisely.’

I have to admit, I was impressed with Carmen and Andy. The crew was working together well on both guns and sails, and we’d figured out a number of set manoeuvres and signals. Baba, in particular, had proved to be a crack shot and would join Annika in the rigging with the muskets when we came to attack. Now all we needed was a suitable prize.

I leaned over the starboard forerail and stared out to sea, then down at
Valkyrie’s
stem cutting through the waves, and enjoyed the feel of spray on my face. The white water flung aside to swirl and torment in our wake mirrored exactly how I felt. Leo had done the same thing to me.

When Leo had turned on me, my heart had broken and so had, briefly, my spirit. I hadn’t seen Leo threaten me, I’d seen Erik, and I was not having it. I would not live with him again, not in any guise. I told myself that Leo would snap out of it and come chasing after me, and I couldn’t help but take a good look at the horizon in all directions every time I came on deck, even climbing into the tops – just in case. But of course there was no
Freedom
, and I’d sit up there for hours at a time, legs and arms gripping the trunk of the mainmast with the wind screeching in my face, reminding me there were many more reasons to live than Leo, and after a while it worked. I convinced myself I didn’t care, that I didn’t need him or want him by my side. I was terrified of living with another Erik. I was starting to believe that I preferred being alone than risk being hurt again, than risk trusting a man I loved.

The baby was a reminder of all that, a reminder of all, of
whom
, I loved, but I didn’t know if it would ever meet its father. I couldn’t go back because I’d be showing him his behaviour was acceptable, yet the further we sailed, the further away he was and, despite everything, that still mattered. Alone in my cabin, feeling the tiny movements inside me, in spite of my crew who were now my family, in spite of Klara, the one person who’d always been true to me, I knew I’d always be lonely if Leo wasn’t with me, and I was slowly admitting this to myself, if not to anyone else.

Even if, somehow, Leo found me and still wanted me, how could I trust him again? My heart and body ached for him, but at the same time I dreaded the thought of seeing him.

At the moment I could deny these feelings. I could wear my cloak of anger and pain, and insist I was better off without him, but what about when the baby came? What if it was a boy and had his eyes, his face? How could I love a child that reminded me of so much pain? Of betrayal and violence – his father?

Yet I’d never wanted to do this without him. If I was honest, I hadn’t wanted to become a mother at all.

‘Damn you, Leo, damn you to Hell!’ I turned back to the decks before the tears threatening my eyes overwhelmed me, just as a cry came from the tops.

‘
Sail oh
, off the starboard bow, heading east. Two leagues off.’

My heart leaped.
Freedom
? Angry at the hope I felt, I studied the horizon with my glass and could just make out topsails. Big. A three-master then, but not
Freedom.

‘Bring in the tops’ls and harden up, Mr Davys,’ I called, walking aft. ‘Let’s take a closer look.’

*

The bell clanged again, a double ring. Two bells, a half hour past noon. The ship was a league and a half off now – we were catching, despite having had to tack – and I could just make out her topsails from the deck.

‘Spanish built, you see that narrow stern?’ Carmen observed from my left shoulder. ‘But she could be a prize, especially in these waters, and she’s not showing any colours.’

‘Yes,’ I agreed. ‘Or she could be exactly what she looks like: a rich Spanish merchantman running to the home country. Let’s find out.

‘Break out the Burgundy Cross,’ I shouted at Bess who was already at the mainmast having anticipated my order. ‘If she’s Spanish, she’ll heave-to for the Garda Costa. If not, she’ll run for one of the islands. Either way, we’ll have our answer,’ I added to Carmen.

*

Four bells, an hour and a half into the afternoon watch, one league off, still running for the open sea.

‘What do you think?’ I asked Carmen and Gaunt, both of whom had joined me on the quarterdeck and all of us on tenterhooks.

‘I must admit, I’d expected a reaction to the Spanish colours,’ said Carmen, thoughtfully.

‘Aye, she must be pirate – or freebooter,’ Gaunt added.

‘Umm,’ I mused. ‘Well, I suppose if she’s pirate, she’ll turn and fight at some point. We’d best be ready.’

‘And if she’s a smuggler?’ Klara had joined us. ‘What would she do then?’

‘Then she’ll run, lass,’ Gaunt answered. ‘And hope some ill befalls us or that she can stay ahead until nightfall and give us the slip in the dark.’

*

Six bells. We were steadily overhauling her, and it was clear we would weather her in time. If she was going to do something, it was time to try it, but she carried on heading east. She didn’t have a choice. If she bore off, we would follow, get the weather gage and catch her. If she tacked, we’d tack after her and do it faster with our fore-and-aft sails. All she could do was coax as much speed as she could from her square sails and hope. We were faster and more weatherly, and, in Gaunt’s words, if no ill befell us such as a sudden squall or a rigging failure, we’d catch her to windward in another couple of hours, well before dark.

*

Eight bells, half an hour before the start of the first dog watch at four of the clock. Half a league off, just one and a half knots away.

*

One bell. One knot. I could see her clearly from the deck, but still had no idea who she was. She was of a similar size to
Freedom
, but with less sail. She carried square course and topsails on the main and foremasts, and a lateen-rigged spanker on the mizzen. She was fairly long and low in the water for a Spanish ship, and had a well-decorated stern with an overabundance of carvings and gilt, and still she flew no colours.

‘Andy, ready the starboard guns,’ I called to her, to be greeted by the black look I had expected. The guns had been readied hours ago, and I nodded my acknowledgement. She had her six-pounder as well as a couple of two-pound rail guns in the bows, two more swivel two-pounders on each rail and another five guns on each side of the gundeck.

‘I hope she has six-pounders aboard her,’ she said and I jumped. She rarely made any spontaneous comment, and I remembered she wanted all the guns to be of the same calibre.

‘Let’s hope,’ I replied. ‘You can have the pick of her guns once we’ve taken her.’

Another look. She wouldn’t have accepted anything less.

‘It concerns me that we’ve seen no reaction,’ Carmen said. ‘They must be planning something. It’s clear we’re faster, and we’ve been weathering her for hours. He must have something in mind.’

‘Aye lass, but don’t bend theesen in knots over it. Thee keep thy mind on thy own plans, and don’t give him a chance to carry his out. Thee has to have faith in theesen and thy crew, we’ll deal with whatever that captain heaves our way.’

‘Thank you, Mr Gaunt.’ I smiled. I trusted his advice and didn’t know how I’d have coped without him. I wished my father had been more like him.

‘Annika, prepare your muskets. Baba, it’s nearly time to show us what you can do.’ I raised my voice to address the whole crew.

‘You’ve all worked hard the past few weeks, and it’s time to put it into practice. You can do this;
we
can do this. When you voted me your captain, I promised you I’d fill this boat with gold and coin – well this is where it starts! We’ll catch her in another hour and shortly after that we’ll be rich. This is why we’re out here. This is what we’ve been working for, practising for. We are Valkyries, every single one of us! Now let’s introduce ourselves to that ship!’

This was the worst part of being captain for me, addressing the crew before a battle, desperately hoping I chose the right words, and that they wouldn’t be the last any of my crew would hear. But my words, thank goodness, were greeted with cheers. We’d been on the chase for over four hours and their blood was up. My Valkyries were ready for a fight.

Three bells. Almost in range. Just a little closer, a little nearer.

‘Fire warning shot!

‘Break out the true colours!’

Andy’s big bow cannon fired at the same instant my flag broke out proudly at the masthead in place of the Burgundian Cross. I watched Andy reload and wondered that there was still no response from the Spanish ship.

‘Harden up!’ Carmen shouted.

‘No!’ I suddenly realized something. ‘Bear off, we’re doing exactly what he expects. He’s waiting for us to come to windward of him! Tell Andy to ready the larboard guns!’

Klara ran forward whilst Carmen protested, ‘We’ll lose the wind! We’ll struggle to get alongside!’

‘We’ve enough way on and firepower in the bows. Don’t you see? He’s ready for us to lay his larboard side – that’s why he’s not reacting. He’s waiting to get us in the way of his guns. If we move quickly, we’ll rake his starboard side before he knows what’s happening! It’s our best chance!’

‘Andy wishes you to understand that all guns are ready to fire at all times when we sail into battle,’ Klara reported very carefully, having rushed back from the bows, and I laughed, imagining how Andy would have actually phrased it.

‘Bear off, Mr Davys, bring her alongside to windward with as much speed as you can. Tell the gundeck to stand by to fire to larboard.’ Klara ran off again. She would stay at the waist now to relay my orders forward.

‘Bow! Target the rudder! Fire when ready! Keep firing!’

Butler and Bess manned both two-pounder bow chasers and fired at the Spanish stern, working hard to sponge and reload despite the new cant of the deck as
Valkyrie
swung downwind, whilst Andy supervised the gun crew on the bow six-pounder.

I trained my glass on the decks of the ship ahead. I couldn’t see much beyond the high stern, but as we came closer I grew aware of frenetic activity. I’d been right, they’d been waiting for us to windward.

‘Fire as soon as they can be sure of a hit!’ I shouted to Klara, and the most forward guns boomed, ejecting clouds of putrid smoke which blew aft to envelop the whole crew before clearing.

‘Larboard rail, fire when ready!’

The smaller swivel gun was loaded with swan shot – a canister filled with musket balls – and targeted the sails. The bow cannon fired again – chain shot now. Two small cannonballs linked by a foot of chain would do a lot of damage to wood, and I cheered as the Spanish ship lurched at the hit to her rudder. Her bows began to swing off the wind.

‘Bear off! Bear off!’ I screamed at Davys, full of visions of the larger ship crashing into us.

‘No, belay that! Harden up!’ Carmen bellowed. ‘Let’s not give him a chance to organise himself or his guns,’ she said more quietly. I looked at her then repeated her order.

‘Are you sure we’ll make it?’ I asked as Davys put the tiller over and our bowsprit closed on the slim and elegant stern. I stared up at her nameboard,
Santa Anna Maria
.

The two ships were close, and I held my breath as they lined up. If the bowsprit caught what was left of her rudder, we’d lose it, the foremast too, and be at the mercy of the Spaniard, instead of the other way round.

‘Steady, steady,’ Carmen chanted, and silence fell on
Valkyrie’s
deck as all eyes were drawn to the tiny gap between the two vessels.

I held my breath, and I expect Carmen and everyone else did as well. The bowsprit connected with the Spanish rudder. Then it was free, and still in one piece.

‘Fire bow cannon.
No
, not you Bess!’ I shouted as Bess picked up the lit linstock and Klara repeated my order at the top of her lungs. If Bess fired, she could well take out our forestay and accomplish what the Spanish stern had not. She heard, and only the six-pounder fired. Their rudder was in splinters; they were dead in the water.

‘Starboard gundeck, ready to fire!’ Klara echoed again, and Andy and her forward gun crew moved to starboard.

‘Sharpshooters get ready!’ I bellowed up into the rigging.

I took a moment to look at my decks. Greenwoode, Obi and Jayde worked the sails, trying to keep up with the course changes, knowing we couldn’t afford to lose any speed. The whole deck was misted with smoke, and the air stung with the hellish stink of black powder.

The Spanish ship towered above us and we crept around her.

‘Fire starboard guns!’

Another broadside rocked
Valkyrie
and splinters flew from the other ship. Andy had aimed for her waterline, knowing she didn’t have a hope of taking out any Spanish guns, and had scored four out of five direct hits. Our aftermost gun had just missed her stern.

Without steerage and taking on water, still unable to get us into her cannon’s sights, surely she’d surrender?

Maybe, but not yet. Men lined her rails and sent down a hail of pistol and musket shot. The message was clear; they weren’t giving up easily. That meant she was likely a rich prize. Whatever she was carrying, I meant to have it. She
would
be mine. And I must admit – I did enjoy attacking a Spanish ship.
Take that, Leo!

Andy fired again – more hits on stern and rudder. Surely she’d strike soon – she had no steerage, was starting to settle by the stern and had no big guns far enough aft to return fire. The best they could do was musketfire, but their musketeers now had to lean around the high stern or fire at too steep a downward angle from their rigging, where sail was now being taken in.

‘What was that?’ Carmen exclaimed and ran forward. I ran after her. ‘She’s stopped drifting to leeward, look, she’s dropped her windward anchor, she’s club-hauled!’

Dropping anchor would stop her bows swinging round, and I was sure the Spanish captain hoped it would be enough to keep her head-to-wind. Whether it did or no, we had a problem.

‘Davys,’ I shouted, running aft again. ‘Harden up, she’s club-hauled!

‘Gunners, keep pounding the stern!’ I screamed.

‘Starboard rail, aim for their cannon! Try and knock them off their truckles, they’ll soon have a bearing on us!’

As I shouted, the Spanish aftermost cannon fired and her shot went high, decimating our fore-topmast. Then Carrie fired her rail gun – direct hit! The next cannon skewed up at an angle, we were safe from that one.

‘Good shot, Carrie. Reload!’

The bow cannon fired, Butler had waited until the sea helped his aim – his timing was perfect and a six-pound ball splintered the Spanish bulwark, sending iron and fragmented wood into the gundeck.

‘She’s dragging her anchor!’ Gaunt shouted in my ear. ‘Her stern’s too heavy, she can’t hold it!’

‘She’s hoisting colours – finally! The Cross of Burgundy!’ Carmen laughed. ‘And striking!’ She cheered loudly and everyone joined in, myself included.
We’ve done it!