My Lady Vixen (27 page)

Several ayes hailed her words, encouraging her to continue. “What I am about to propose might seem strange at first but I beg you to consider me on my merit alone. Do not allow my femininity to sway your decision.”

“What is it you are trying to say, Lady Alexa?” Drake finally asked.

“I intend to sail my own ship and I want all of you loyal men at my side.” There, it was out, and Alexa watched closely as shock followed disbelief across the faces of those men she had come to know so well.

Beggs was openly skeptical while Drake’s admiration was clearly displayed for all to see. A scattering of disjointed conversation flew about her while the men stared incredulously into the face of their idol. “Lady Alexa, have ye thought of the danger?” asked Beggs in an attempt to dissuade her from her foolish course.

“I’ve considered everything, Beggs, and my mind is
made up. I fully intend to be at the helm when
Star Chaser
leaves Nasau—with or without the lot of you. Of course,” she allowed sweetly, placatingly, “I’d much prefer to have each one of you at my side.” She paused dramatically to allow her words time to sink in.

Abruptly, she whirled to confront Drake. “Well, Drake, what say you? Are you with me? Will you be my first mate and right arm? I need you, I need you all.”

That’s all Drake needed to hear. Already halfway in love with Alexa, he fell completely and irrevocably under her spell. A confirmed bachelor in his late thirites, Drake would have gladly followed Alexa to the ends of the earth and back for one of her special smiles. If he didn’t know her to be Fox’s lady, a man whom he respected enormously, he would be tempted to win her for himself. Realizing such a thing to be impossible, he would be honored to fight by her side and protect her for as long as fate allowed.

“I’m with you, milady,” he shouted to the heavens. “For as long and as far as the winds and the tides and the fates take us.”

“Aye, count me in,” added Beggs, not to be outdone by Drake.

One by one the others joined in until every man present swore to serve their lady till their death or the end of the war. “Then hear me, men,” shouted Alexa, floating on a cloud of euphoria. “Henceforth I shall be known as the Vixen. I will wear a mask at all times so no man may know my identity. I charge you under penalty of death to forget my name, forget my face and address me only as Vixen or Captain. Only you few, my trusted crew, shall know the truth and thereby hold my life in your hands.”

A profound silence met Alexa’s words as each man mulled over all that Alexa had imparted to them. To be
the recipient of such trust filled them with awe. If by chance they hadn’t been entirely with her before they were now, body and soul. To a man they would allow their tongues to be torn out before they would betray their lady Vixen.

The cheer that met her ears brought tears to Alexa’s eyes. At long last everything she had toiled so tirelessly toward for these past three months was about to be fulfilled. “We sail in a week, men!” Alexa shouted above the din. “As of now the
Star Chaser
no longer exists. Behold,
My Lady Vixen
!” Her slim hands stretched out to encompass the ship beneath her feet.

“
My Lady Vixen
! May God guide her path! English beware! To our captain, the Vixen!” All this and more echoed across the placid water of the bay as the Vixen came into being.

Afterwards Alexa conferred with Drake and Beggs, instructing them as to the refurbishing of the ship, the painting of the new name on the hull and signing on men to fill out the crew. Smiling complacently. Alexa immediately set out to complete her transformation from lady to vixen.

Lana was delighted to have Alexa back safe and unharmed. It took a whole day for Alexa to tell of her exploits during the past three months and Lana sat bug-eyed with excitement during the telling. Lana became truly animated when Alexa confided her newest venture and once again asked the girl’s help in creating the Vixen.

Though Lana expressed the desire to accompany Alexa. Alexa felt obligated to deny her request for she would not be so cruel as to deprive Trini and Hunter of their only child. Instead she involved the girl in every phase of her transformation.

The first thing Lana did was seek out a reputable chemist and instruct him as to what she wanted. Slightly startled but willing enough to comply, the chemist soon sent Lana on her way with several bottles tucked in her basket leaving him a good deal richer. Several hours later Alexa’s luxuriant black hair had been bleached a silver blond, the color of moonbeans reflecting off the sea. Alexa was startled by the effect and hardly recognized herself in the mirror Lana held up to her. Donning a mask and changing the timbre of her voice. Alexa was convinced no one would recognize her. All in all, she was more than delighted with her appearance.

Her attire was next to come under her scrutiny. Because she wished to present a far more flamboyant picture, someone who would not so easily be forgotten. Alexa abandoned her sailor garb as being unsuitable for her purposes. When she met the English in battle she wanted to be noted and remembered. Lana fashioned skin-tight breeches of shimmering black silk, specially designed to display the long curve of Alexa’s shapely legs and thighs. A sheer white silk blouse with billowing sleeves was left partially unbuttoned to provide enticing glimpses of her firm, unconfined breasts. A bright scarf tied about her slim neck provided the finishing touch and lent her a rakish air. She and Lana made several sets of the daring costumes and added two capes of varying thicknesses.

Last but no less important was the mask. Following Fox’s example, Alexa fashioned several half masks from black silk, spending several hours painstakingly embroidering the features of a vixen upon the material. The effect was startling, to say the least. By the end of the week
My Lady Vixen
was ready to sail and meet her destiny, and so was her daring captain. What Alexa couldn’t know was that in a surprisingly short time the Vixen would become a legend among men, an enigma
of unmatched courage. Her beauty and cunning would precede her from port to port. There was not a ship afloat which did not recognize
My Lady Vixen
, but she was feared by no one save the British and occasionally a hapless Spanish galleon which chanced to cross her path.

Surprisingly, the Vixen was not without mercy. Her prisoners were rarely killed outright unless in the heat of battle, but set adrift in boats or sent to port to be ransomed. The legend of the Vixen grew, was embellished upon, and told and retold with great relish until the price set upon her head by the enraged English nearly matched that of her counterpart, the Fox.

When Fox learned of the exploits of the Vixen, he merely smiled mysteriously, but in truth his curiosity was piqued, for she sounded like a woman after his own heart. He knew one day destiny would bring them together; it was inevitable, for wasn’t a fox created to tame a vixen?

An excited cry quickly aroused the Vixen from her ruminations and she raised her masked face upward to where the lookout posted in the shrouds pointed and gestured wildly. “Ship ahoy!” he called down to those below. “To the starboard, Captain!”

Immediately Alexa brought the glass to her eye to scan the horizon. At first she saw nothing, then slowly a full set of sails came into view above the rise of the sea. From the crow’s nest, the sailor, whose vision was more encompassing than that of his mates below, yelled out. “She’s English. Vixen! A warship from the looks of her.”

Immediately Drake was at her side. “She’s probably well-armed, Vixen,” he said, following her progress with his own glass. “What are your intentions? Do we engage her in battle or run?”

Alexa eyed him contemptuously. “Have we ever run away from a good fight. Drake? This ship is no different from the other three we’ve taken in as many months.”

Drake grinned. In truth he’d never known Vixen to turn tail and did not expect her to do so now. She seemed to
come alive during the heat of battle, and thrived on life at sea. Even now his breath caught in his throat as he watched her, blond hair swirling about her slim form like dancing moonbeams, enticingly displayed in the daring costume that had become her trademark.

“I’ll distribute the weapons, Vixen.” Drake saluted as he turned on his heel. Alexa nodded distractedly as she continued her tracking of the English warship.

As the ship drew near Alexa saw that she was a ship of the line and appeared to be swift and well-armed, just as Drake predicted. The name on the hull proclaimed her to be the
Avenger
and no doubt out to rid the seas of American privateers. A small frown puckered Alexa’s smooth brow. Where had she heard that name before? she wondered as she searched her memory for some hint as to why the name should cause the sudden feeling of unease. Some niggling memory tugged at the outer edges of her brain but failed to materialize. Shrugging her shoulders Alexa concentrated on the approachng ship, quickly discarding any other diversions from her mind.

All about her her brave crew were already springing into action, loading and priming the cannon lining the upper deck and quarterdeck. Each man wore a brace of pistols as well as a cutlass strapped to his waist. It took over two hours before the warship came within range of
My Lady Vixen
and Alexa was gratified to see that her own ship was lighter and possessed of greater maneuverability.

Ordering the crew to strike the colors, Alexa watched proudly as the Stars and Stripes were hoisted, followed by her own personal pennant, the head of a vixen transfixed on the body of a shapely woman. In reply the British ship ran out her own Union Jack, followed by a warning shot that fell short of
My Lady Vixen’s
bow. In
retaliation
My Lady Vixen
fired a volley of her own.

Employing the expertise gained during the past six months, Alexa ordered the sails brought into the wind, coming up unexpectedly upon the enemy. With a slash of her hand the upper deck guns roared and belched fire. When the smoke cleared away Alexa rejoiced to find at least one of their eighteen pounders had found a home on the deck of the
Avenger
. Almost upon the heels of the eighteen pounders came the thunder of the nine pounders. But the battle was far from over.

The English captain was evidently experienced and cunning for he deftly tacked in a zigzag course at the same time firing his own cannon. But the English captain was not so sly as he thought for he allowed
My Lady Vixen
to come up almost to the prow of the
Avenger
, which could not fire their guns because of the proximity of
My Lady Vixen
. It was a tactic she had learned from Mac and it now served her well. As she came up against the hull of the
Avenger
she ordered the sails lowered and grappling hooks employed. With the ships anchored together and the boarding planks run out, Alexa and her crow bounded onto the deck of the
Avenger
, cutlasses drawn, pistols primed.

In the beginning Alexa was too engaged to take more than a cursory notice of the English captain. When he finally came under her scrutiny her steps faltered and she nearly dropped her guard. A warning shout from Drake who rarely was out of shouting distance from her during battle alerted her just in time to deflect a killing blow. Swiftly dispatching the sailor who was an inferior swordman. Alexa leaped before the captain who was gaining the upper hand against one of her own men. The sailor, Sykes, quickly stepped aside as his captain moved in to replace him.

“Aha, Captain Whitlaw,” Alexa growled throatily, “I
believe I am better suited to your skills than Sykes, good man that he is.” The moment Alexa had recognized Charles Whitlaw, her ex-fiancé, she knew why the
Avenger
had plagued her when she first saw the name painted on the hull. It was the ship Charles had been given to command, as well as one of those involved with trapping the Fox several months ago near Savannah.

“You know me?” asked Charles, eyeing Alexa warily as they measured one another over their drawn swords. “I’m certain, Vixen, had I met you I would remember it, mask or no.”

Alexa laughed, feinting to the right as Charles neatly sidestepped. “Beware, Englishman,” she warned light-heartedly, “for the bite of a vixen can prove fatal!”

Charles gritted his teeth. “I’ve never been bitten by a lady yet. Vixen. I expect I’ll be highly honored for ridding the seas of a menace. The world will never miss you. A woman’s place is at home doing her husband’s bidding and raising his heirs.”

Bright dots of rage exploded behind Alexa’s eyes as Charles continued to express his arrogant views. The bastard! she cursed beneath her breath. He’s of the same ilk as Fox who expected her to remain meekly at home while he and others like him romped merrily from one adventure to the next. But she’d show them both! she vowed. Charles would soon learn just how dangerous it was to tangle with a vixen. As for Fox, one day he too would feel the Vixen’s fangs!

Concentrating on Charles and his flashing sword, Alexa slowly and methodically employed the skill she had honed during the previous three battles and months of training to thoroughly humiliate Charles, who fancied himself quite accomplished in the art of fencing. Alexa proved to him otherwise as she drove her sword through the fleshy part of his arm. Charles yelped,
cursing loudly, but somehow he managed to retain his stance and parry her next thrust, which might have proved fatal had it landed.

Then something happened to bring a quick end to the skirmish. One of Charles’s chance thrusts flicked across the front of Alexa’s silk blouse, accidentally slitting the sheer fabric. The edges parted and Alexa’s full breasts tumbled free, so stunning Charles that he momentarily dropped his guard. That moment was all Alexa needed as she brought the sword up and inward as hard and fast as she could, putting all her strength and weight into the blow. The edge of her blade caught his sword just below the hilt, jarring it loose from his hand and sending it slithering across the deck out of reach. His eyes flew up to find a sword pointed at his throat.