Jaded Tides (The Razor's Adventures Pirate Tales) (21 page)

“What could be in our favor by losing sight of her?”

“She ran.”

“How many guns is she?”

“From the distance, it was hard to say, but we estimated at least twenty.”

“And yet she ran. What do you know of Woodley that makes him such a coward?”

“A coward? I assure you, Ivory, nothing could be further from the truth. Rasmus said that some ships run because they have something to hide or something of value they don’t wish to share. Perhaps the Captain decided this wasn’t the time to pursue her, or… ”

“Why didn’t we? They murdered Francis, for Christ’s sake,” I could feel that familiar fury growing in my chest.

“You honestly don’t need to hear me answer that, do you?” James asked, stepping back and leaning against the gunnel.

“No, I suppose I don’t. Of course it’s because of me.” I flattened my lips and then said, “Do you have an idea as to where she’s headed?”

“I’d say either Tortuga or perhaps even Jamaica.”

“Why in the hell would she head to Jamaica?”

“You give Woodley too much credit. How would he know where we were headed? His objective was to flee and live and nothing more. He knew you’d find Francis on the road, and he knows our dear Captain well enough that he couldn’t let such a brutal act against an innocent girl go unanswered.”

“Rasmus is a bloody genius.” I couldn’t believe my ears and how my hardened thoughts of Woodley escaping had blinded me. “His patience is a virtue born of the highest intelligence.”

“I beg your pardon, my lady, but it was my idea to allow him to believe he’d escaped us,” James said over a hearty laugh.

“Here, take my arm and help me. I must speak to Rasmus.”

“Now, why don’t you just wait and allow him to do what he does best?”

I paused and fell deeply into my thoughts for a moment. James was right. I had to have faith in Rasmus that he knew exactly what he was doing and that nothing I could say, and certainly nothing I could do in my condition, would help him in any way. In fact, my injury had done nothing but hinder him. “You’re right. Of course you’re right.”

James knelt down before me and took my hand. “Trust him, Ivory. Do as he says, and I promise you, you’ll not regret it.”

“Just tell me if he plans to attack Woodley before or after he leaves me in Port Royal.”

“After, but it’s for the best. Woodley isn’t a coward, and as you now know, he’s a cold-blooded killer. He’d of thought nothing of taking down this ship and everyone with it, if it meant ridding himself of Big Red Bergman for good—as if he’d be man enough for the task.”

“What happens to men to turn them so evil and cruel?” As the thought of Francis’s fate reached my heart again, the realization that James was most likely right about Woodley brought me back to my senses.

“I choose not to believe any man is born this way. I imagine a great many evil things must have been done to them to harden them so. All men and women, for that matter, have choices to make. Either we fight against those evils or find it easier to allow them to turn our souls black from the pain. For some, inflicting that pain onto others helps to release it. Bearing pain is something we all must do. The struggle is not falling so deeply into that abyss that you can’t turn back.”

His words resonated within me like an echo. I’d allowed my own pain and suffering at the hands of men like Barclay, Rip, and now Woodley, to dictate my actions. I’d unknowingly let them change me for the worst, and in doing so, I’d caused immeasurable pain to others, namely the man I loved. I squeezed James’s hand hard and breathed deeply to relieve the pressure of my own angst at realizing that, as strong and stealthy as I was, at the core of my spirit I was weak. I’d allowed my anger at the world to dictate my actions time and time again and had proved nothing except that, at best, I was unpredictable and brazen. 

“Sometimes your brilliance blinds me, James. I’ve been blind in so many ways, but now I clearly see the flaws in me that, deep inside, I’ve always known. Although I’m long on determination and the ability to defend those I love, I am very short on the method in which I have conducted myself in my endeavors to right the wrongs of those who would seek to destroy what little light is left in this world.”

“Rather philosophical of you, one might say. However, knowing you now as I do, I believe you’ve always had the capacity to find your way to this revelation. Although I’d like nothing more than to take the credit, if I didn’t know better, I’d swear you’re growing up.”

James helped me to my feet and slid the crutch beneath my arm. He walked at my side and assisted me when I needed him. For once, I didn’t allow my pride and stubbornness to interfere with what was best for me. I believed, as Cassandra had said, I’d at last handed my shield to someone else to carry for me. Not having to bear the weight of it was freeing, and James, my dear, dear friend, bore my burden without complaint. I believe he actually enjoyed seeing me so vulnerable for once.

TWENTY-FOUR

READY THE GUNS OF FATE

“Weigh anchor, mates!” Rasmus called out as the lines were tossed over to the pier, and the
Lady Jade
settled in the pale blue, calm waters of Port Royal harbor.

“Kenny? Avast, lad. Carry this letter to the harbor master and hire me a wagon for Missus Bergman.” I watched from my perch upon a barrel as Rasmus shoved a note and coin into the boy’s hand, and Kenny raced down the gangplank immediately as it was lowered.

“Captain, shall I have Missus Bergman’s medical things packed up and brought ashore with her to the Chandler’s?” Master Green asked upon approaching him.

“We’ll be at sea again by nightfall. Leave things as they are for now. We’ve no doctor, but we may need some of those things.” Rasmus turned and looked at me, knowing I’d hung on his every word, and yet I didn’t so much as flinch. He patted Green hard on the back and walked towards me with a smile.

“Well, hello,” I said and smiled up at him. “Will you be coming ashore with me, or will Jonathan be escorting me to the Chandler’s?”

“Why, my lady, I would certainly never ask a boy to do the job of a man.” He winked at me and carried on with his work. I sat there, clutching my journal and staring off over the town, as memories of my journey passed through my mind. I’d written down as much as my hand would allow, and as I read back through it the night before, I was grateful that I could see myself through new eyes—eyes that were now washed clean of my own anger and immaturity.

“Come along, you little pirate queen. I’m to help you to your chariot,” James said as he held out his hand.

“Pirate queen indeed, you smart-ass scallywag. By the way, you’re going to meet the love of your life today. Did you know that?” I asked him as he helped me to my feet and then to the gangplank.

“Aye, yes. One of your ugly cousins, I presume.” He chuckled.

“Not nearly as ugly as you, I can promise you that,” I quipped.

“Robertson, get her in the wagon, and I’ll be along in a moment,” Rasmus called out as James grew impatient with my wobbly pace and scooped me into his arms, carrying me the rest of the way.

I threw my arms around his neck and whispered, “Not worried about those sharks anymore, are you?”

“Don’t be ridiculous. Of course I am, but I’ve come to realize that you, my lady, are more dangerous than any shark I could encounter in the sea.”

I burst into laughter and kissed James on the cheek. He’d become more like a big brother than a friend now, and I adored him. I also secretly prayed he’d find one of the girls to his liking, simply so I could torment him for being wrong. I also wondered at the difference in my relationship with Rasmus as compared to the open and playful nature of my feelings for James. I wanted the same laughter with my husband but feared, due to his position of authority and the heavy burdens he had to carry, we might never laugh so loudly, nor feel so free of cares.

I sat in the back of the wagon and watched as my husband—my hero and my heart and soul—walked down the gangplank to join us. He stopped only to give instruction to Kenny to get into the wagon, as he wanted him to see to my needs ashore, and he promised him quite a reward upon his return. Kenny nodded and hopped into the back of the wagon next to me. He kept peering over at me as if he was going to burst. I couldn’t help but hand him the pin to pop. “What is it, Kenny? You’ve obviously something on your mind.”

“You’s on me mind, Missus. That’s all they’s talkin’ about.”

“All who’s talking about, and what are they saying?” I asked him as the wagon’s wheels began to turn.

“The men. They’s all sayin’ what a pip ye are and how they ain’t never met a woman like ye.”

“Well no, I suppose they haven’t, since I don’t imagine they’ve seen any women aboard a ship.” I didn’t know what to say. Having heard James’s version of the men’s opinions, and now this bit of it from Kenny, I had even more hopes of someday serving alongside of them as a woman and being treated as an equal. I pressed on. “Kenny, did they say anything about sailing with me again?”

Kenny looked back at Rasmus and James and then at me, but he didn’t answer. “Kenny, I asked you a question. We’re not aboard the ship anymore. You can speak freely with me now.” I turned and looked at Rasmus and noticed his right ear turned back towards me.

“Not all, but most said they’d seen enough of ye to know you’s a better sailor and fighter than most of ‘em. They all say they’d want ye back as soon as yer able. That there’s the honest truth.”

“Really?” I asked, watching Rasmus turn his full attention back to the road.

“Aye, oh… and they said you wasn’t foolin’ nobody pretendin’ to be a man, but the way I figure it, most of ‘em just didn’t want to admit they’d been tricked.”

“Yes, I suppose that makes perfect sense,” I said with a wink.

“Captain Bergman!” a man shouted as he approached, seemingly out of nowhere, on horseback.

“Whoa,” Rasmus said, pulling the horses to a stop.

“Captain Bergman, thank goodness I caught you. Your note, yes. Yes, she docked a day after you sailed.”

As the man dismounted, Rasmus leapt from the wagon and rushed to his side. I strained to hear what they were saying, but all I could discern through their actions and Rasmus’s look of surprise was that something important had happened concerning a ship.

“Kenny, can you hear them?” I asked in a whisper.

“No, but that’s the harbormaster. He’s the man I gived that note to.”

“Be still, Ivory. The Captain will inform us of this, I’m sure,” James said.

He didn’t. He shook the harbormaster’s hand and bounded back to the wagon. “We’ve no time to waste.”

“What is it, Razz? What’s happened?”

“Let’s get you to the Chandler’s first. We’ve no time to waste.”

Everyone was silent as Rasmus ran those horses all the way to our destination. The only sounds we heard were hoofbeats and the turning of the wagon wheels. Before I could conjure in my mind what had set him so ablaze, we were turning onto the road to the Chandler’s, and my heart pounded with excitement at seeing my cousins again.

“Is this where you live?” Kenny asked.

“For now, until the Captain returns and until this wound heals. Then, I’ll be back living upon the sea with the rest of you.”

“I’ve never seen the inside of a house.”

“Well, you’ll get used to it. Just don’t steal anything, or I’ll turn my cousins loose on you.” I smiled at him, and a minute later, the wagon stopped.

“It doesn’t appear anyone is at home,” James said.

“They’re most likely around the back. It is about time for the noon meal, and they usually take it in the garden when the weather is agreeable. Help me down,” I said to whomever would listen, and Rasmus answered my request. He scooped me effortlessly into his arms and raced up the front steps of the house as James knocked on the door.

We waited a few seconds, and he knocked again, until finally, the housemaid answered. “May I help you?”

“Step aside, lass. I need to bring this sack of sugar in and put her to bed right away,” Rasmus said.

The woman, who was unfamiliar to me, stood back as Rasmus pushed through the door and carried me inside, with James and Kenny behind us. “Where is everyone?” he asked.

“The Chandlers are at the chapel. Shall I go and get them?” she answered.

“Where are the girls?” I asked as I motioned to Rasmus to set me on the sofa.

‘The girls? Why, they’re gone, Miss. They’ve been gone for days.”

I looked up at Rasmus and felt my heart begin to pound in my chest. James appeared shaken as well and immediately turned to Rasmus for orders on what to do.

“What do you mean gone? Gone where?” I shouted. “How could they just be gone? Rasmus,” I said, pleading through my widened eyes for him to spring into action.

“Now let’s not imagine the worst, Ivory. Kenny, run to the chapel and fetch the minister and his wife right away.” Kenny bolted from the house as I sat trembling with worry.

“Where could they have gone?” I pleaded.

“You know they can take care of themselves. Don’t fall to pieces. We’ll find out soon enough.” Rasmus no sooner spoke the words than Mister and Missus Chandler burst through the door and ran to my side.

“Ivory, we’re so relieved you’re all right. You are all right, aren’t you?” Missus Chandler asked, taking my hand when she saw my crutch resting next to me.

“Where are they? Where did they go?” I asked.

“About a week ago, I overheard them talking about a ship. They saw it in the harbor. They said it was named
Grand Fortune
.”

“The pirate ship from Barclay’s log.” I gasped.

“They said they were going to do some exploring to see what they could find out about the ship, so they could tell you when you returned. When I overheard what they were plotting, I told Pastor Chandler, and we decided to confront them. They promised us they wouldn’t go, but when we awoke the next morning, they were gone. We haven’t seen them since.”

“I see it runs in the family,” James remarked, pacing back and forth.

“Is the ship still in the harbor?” I asked, frozen in terror at what may have happened to them. I turned and looked at Rasmus. He was staring across the room at the front door as if he wanted to bust through it and go. “You knew the ship was here. That’s what the harbormaster told you, isn’t it?”

“She was a week early, according to the log. Yes, he told me she’d been here, but I had no idea the girls would do anything like this,” he answered.

“I’ve looked every day for them since they left, and two days ago, when I went down to the port to search, the ship was gone. Since then, we’ve been at the chapel night and day praying for their safe return, and yours,” Pastor Chandler said.

“Ivory’s injured and needs to be cared for. James, come with me. We’ll need a couple of horses, and we ain’t got time to unhitch those two from the wagon.”

“Take any two you want from the stable. We’ll care for Ivory until you return,’ the Pastor said. “Come, I’ll help you.”

The pain in my chest from worry was far worse than the one in my hip. I wanted desperately to run behind them and go looking for my cousins, but I was helpless to do so. For the first time in my life, I had to allow someone else to do what needed to be done, and I hated it. I wanted to scream. What would possess them to do such a foolish thing? I knew they were capable of protecting themselves, but not against an entire ship full of pirates. I was angry and sick with worry at the same time.

Missus Chandler brought me some tea and set a plate of fresh baked biscuits on the side table next to me. “We’re so sorry, Ivory. You entrusted those girls to us, and we failed.”

“You didn’t fail. I raised them to be independent and strong. No one could have stopped them. Believe me, I know. We all have the same blood running through us.”

“Do you believe Captain Bergman will find them?” she asked.

“I believe if anyone can find them, it’s him.”

Several hours had passed, and we hadn’t heard anything. Rasmus and James were gone off to God-knows-where, and all I could think about was my cousins in the hands of those pirates, on their way to some port to be sold off.  I tried to eat, but when I took a bite of food, I felt sick, and the pain in my hip was coming back. I begged Missus Chandler to bring me some rum to help the pain, and she swore she had none. I handed Kenny a few coins and sent him out to buy some.  I drank three glasses while we waited for word, until I could no longer hold up my own head.

“Ivory, let’s get you into bed. I want to check those bandages,” Missus Chandler said as she and the Pastor helped me up the stairs and into bed. Once she’d tended to Rasmus’s handiwork, she tucked me in like a child and said, “I promise we’ll wake you, should there be any word.”

“I don’t expect much sleep, but I will rest with the knowledge that they aren’t helpless. I also trust my husband. He and James will find them, or at least, find out what happened to them.”

When I awoke, the bedroom was covered in darkness. I pushed myself up and lit the candle by my bed to find Kenny asleep on the floor, swaddled in a blanket. Having not been awakened with news of the girls, I lay back down and stared out the window at the night. I wondered if our lives would ever resemble an existence of calm and peace. I knew it wouldn’t. I knew none of us would ever be satisfied in that world. I’d months ago resolved inside of myself that I was, and always would be, a pirate; whatever that meant in the world. To me, it meant I would be free. It meant I could use that freedom for good, even if that meant being very, very bad.

I reached over and pulled my journal from the side table and opened it to the passage I’d written the morning after we arrived in Nassau at Valentina’s, as Rasmus had slept.

September 17, 1707: Sometime before the dawn

Rasmus reminded me again that we cannot save them all. I believe he tells me this to protect me from the disappointment I am destined to face. I sometimes forget he’s been doing this for quite some time alone and that my joining him on his quest is a gift, not a right, regardless of my freedom.