The Blue Diamond (The Razor's Edge Book 1) (29 page)

“It was here he caught me.
Right here in the doorway. If I hadn’t stopped, I’d have made it.”

Cassandra turned to Keara
and placed a finger to her lips in warning for her cousin to be quiet. She
moved closer to Keara, and both stood down and listened. Ivory spoke as if she
were entranced, and she motioned with her hands and her head as if she were
re-enacting the tale. “Once I’d placed you three securely in the cellar, my
intention was to run as fast as I could to the stables for a horse. It wasn’t
until I reached the back door that I realized they’d already taken them all,
and the stables were completely engulfed in flames. I stopped, in shock at the
sight of it. It was right here in this spot I first felt his hand in my hair,
pulling me back, dragging me from my feet. He pulled me so hard I came out of
my shoe. I struggled as hard as I could—as hard as a thirteen year old child
could. He hurled me there.”
 
She pointed
to the spot.
 
“He was a soldier…a man. I
was but a rag doll tossed to the ground. I remember him staring down at me when
I turned over and peered up at him from the dirt. The fire from the stables
reflected in his wild eyes… or perhaps it was just the opposite.”

“Ivory, don’t, please. You
don’t have to do this…” Cassandra reached out and grabbed Keara’s hand and
pulled her to her side.

“I watched something twist
in his soul at that moment, as if I were looking right through him. It changed
from a bitter and brutal sense of duty to something self-serving and perverse.
I knew immediately what it was.
 
I don’t
know how I knew, but, oh, I knew alright, and I scrambled to my feet to get
away.
 
But he was already on me, dragging
me to the side of the house.”

“Ivory, you stop this right
now! We should have never come here!” Cass cried.

“What the hell is she
talking about, Cass?” Keara said slowly.

“I fought him,” Ivory
continued.
 
“I clawed and I kicked and I
tore the hair from his head, but I couldn’t stop it from happening. I couldn’t
make it stop.” Tears poured from Ivory’s eyes and her voice had taken on a
higher pitch as it rose and fell with ragged breath and pain. Cassandra could
take no more, and she grabbed Ivory and spun her away from the house. “We’re
leaving right now.”

“Why won’t either of you
explain any of this to me? I’m still here—remember? And I think I deserve some
sort of answer.” Keara stood in her signature bossy way, but tears of sympathy
welled in her eyes.

Ivory collapsed onto the
back step of the house and took Cassandra down with her. “When will it ever go
away, Cass? When can I sleep? When can I finally be rid of this… forever?”

Cassandra wrapped her arms
around her cousin and pulled her in tight. “It’s already gone, Ivory. You have
to believe that. You were a child.”

“I was a fool to think I
could save us.”

“But you did.”

“No, you saved my life that
night.”

“I only wish I could have
saved you sooner. It’s a miracle we’re even here talking about it. When we
leave this place, you need never think on it again. You were a fawn with an
arrow aimed at you. There was nothing you could have done to change it.”

“Wait, I remember now!”
 
Keara exclaimed.
 
“Cass, you were our look-out. You were
watching from the cellar door over there.”

“Yes, and when I saw that
bastard Spaniard dragging Ivory away, I had to do something.”

“All of that blood. All of
that blood on the both of you. Oh my God… you killed him, didn’t you?” Keara
hissed and smiled.

“The damn fool left his belt
lying there on the ground.
 
So, I pulled
his dagger and…”

“Goddamn, Cass! Bloody
brilliant you were.”

“She still is,” Ivory
sniffled and pulled the scarf from her neck to wipe her face.

“Give me that damn thing,”
Cassandra said, as she pulled the small shoe from her cousin’s hand and tossed
it back into the weeds.

Ivory nodded, and Cass
pulled her to her feet and handed her the pink rose. “What’s this for?”

“I wanted to give you
something sweet to remember in this place. If we allow that one horrid night to
taint our memories of living here, we lose the beauty of every day leading up
to that night.”

“I understand.
 
And you’re right, of course.”

“Yes…we had some of the
happiest days of our lives here,” Keara said with a huff. “Come along,
ladies.
 
Now that we’ve successfully slit
our wrists and lived, I’d say that ale is waiting.”

Chapter
Thirty

The
Black Cat
was doing seven knots for days on end. She blew through
the southern coastal waters past Florida and onward to South Carolina. Maddox
was relentless in his pursuit, and having Master Green to lead the way put them
far ahead of schedule. They were now but a day behind the
Carolina Cutlass
.
 

Maddox stood at the bow as
the wind whipped his hair straight and filled his shirt with sun-kissed air.
The
Cat
danced over the approaching
waves as if she’d been seated far too long at the ball, and he held tight to
the lines like her partner, more than willing to allow her to lead. The weather
had been fair but for a welcome and brief summer shower, and he hadn’t had a
drop of spirits to drink since they’d left Port Royal. His wits were as sharp
as a newly forged blade, and he believed he could see as far as an eagle. His
prey was not yet in his sights, but he knew where to find her.

“Maddox, we shall reach the
port in Charles Towne at dawn. Have you decided how we will approach?”

“
We
will not approach. I will go alone.”

“You do not believe this a
foolish thing to do?”

“Of course it’s foolish,
which makes it all the more sensible to this fool.”

“Madame Ivory will spot the
ship immediately.”

“Madame Ivory is here to
relieve herself of those diamonds. I know if it were I on such a mission, I’d
be focused on the matter at hand and not looking over my shoulder for...well,
me. Besides, there’s always the chance that word of my demise has preceded our
arrival. In which case, she’d be watching for a ghost.”

“You do not know her as I
have known her.”

“Funny you should bring it
up. I’ve been meaning to ask you about that.” Maddox turned away from Green,
took several steps away from the bow, and then turned back, facing his friend
with a suspicious squint. “Your knowledge of her…behavior, shall we say… seems
quite researched. It was upon your advisement that I sack the
Diamond
into oblivion or else we’d never
take her. It was also upon your word that her crew be given full quarter, if
possible, and that Ivory not be harmed at any cost. I don’t know why I hadn’t
thought to ask until now, but I believe it’s long past the time for an
explanation, Alphonse.”

Green leaned back against
the rail and sighed. He stared back into Maddox’s eyes as if he were relieved
to finally give the explanation for which he was being pressed. “Ten years ago,
I was but a sailor aboard the
Demon Sea.
”

Maddox balanced his stance
as the ship danced on and folded his thick arms tightly at his chest. “Go on,
then.”

“When we came upon Charles
Towne, it was under the dark of night, and we had been at sea for quite some
time. Captain Barclay promised us we would raid the homes along the riverbanks
and then be on our way. He gave the order to kill anyone who stood between us
and our purpose, and to take anything and everything we could carry. His
intention was to fill our hull and then head out after much larger prizes. We
longed for land, but we were starving and would never make it back to Port
Royal alive without following his orders.”

“Which explains how you so
easily knew the route to Charles Towne, as well as the fastest waters to get us
there.”

Green nodded. “Although we
had briefly made land in Florida, there was not much there to sustain us, and
we were given direction northward by a fellow who had just signed on and
subsequently advised us that Charles Towne was filled with wealth easily
accessed by way of the river. However, upon our arrival at dusk, I was sent
ashore with several others to raid a few of the farms along the riverbank. The
first farm we came upon belonged to the Shepards. They killed all but me. I ran
through the night and reported what happened. Barclay took out a group at first
light, but word spread quickly that it was Ivory herself who had bested Barclay
that morning, and all four of the women were brought aboard.”

“Correct me if I’m wrong
here,” Maddox interrupted, “but if Ivory bested Barclay as you say, how the
hell were they brought aboard?”

“Perhaps I have phrased it
incorrectly. They were brought aboard as guests, not to be touched upon pain of
death. They were to be delivered, unharmed, to Port Royal and given passage to
carry on. However, our journey back took a turn when Barclay spotted a merchant
ship and gave no quarter, despite the surrender of the merchant captain. Most
of the men boarded the merchant ship, but I, and a few others, stayed behind to
man the guns. Soon after Barclay gave the order to cease fire, I crept up on
deck in case my services were required. That is when I watched Madame Shepard
neatly remove Barclay’s arm and then kill him, taking the
Demon Sea
right out from beneath his feet. I looked on as her
cousins quickly, and quite easily, killed the others who had stayed behind—all
in self-defense, of course.”

Maddox took a deep breath
and had already begun a ten step pace back and forth in front of Green as he
spoke. He had heard every word, and at the same time, he imagined the scene in
his mind as if he were seeing it all through Green’s eyes. “What of Barclay’s
crew? And you?”

“I had seen enough. I
surrendered. Ivory instructed me to bring the ship about and welcome aboard any
man who would follow her, as well as any of the merchant crew who would do the
same. Instantly, she was voted Captain by order of the code, but once we
reached Port Royal, many refused to follow a woman… even a woman such as Ivory.
I stayed. Having seen her through my own eyes, I knew not a man before her who
deserved my respect more, and with no disrespect to you, I have known none
since.”

“And the one with the golden
hair?”

“Aye, my one true love. When
I chose to leave and come to Kingston to seek out new employment, it was
because of that love. You see, there could be no love or happiness during that
time. I selfishly believed Cassandra should give up the sea and all of this
violence and greed to stay safe and settled in a home ashore, waiting for me
like some helpless girl. I was surprised when she agreed. I was the happiest I
could have ever been. That was until I allowed her demand that I too let go of
this life, foolishly push me away. My pride drove her from me. I have now
decided that once all this is done, I intend to at last abide by her wishes and
make the choice I should have made long ago. That is, of course, if she will
still have me.”

 
“I suppose my final question would be; what
drove the remaining men to follow her—outside of what happened with Barclay,
that is?”

“She was brilliant—still is.
She had the ability to transform young, foolish, and petulant boys into men—men
who could fight and sail. Men of good spirits and morale who not only followed
her because they knew she was an earner who paid well, but more importantly
because they wanted to. To change the ways of older sailors was a waste of time
for her. She preferred to raise them from youth. Orphaned or young men lost and
alone flocked to her and they longed for her orders, and then climbed over each
other to follow them.”

“Yes, she is indeed a
formidable woman…I would agree. What can you tell me of her…personally?” Maddox
inquired as he scratched the stubble on his dimpled chin and eyed Green
sideways.

“How could I possibly know
more of her than you…personally? You have known her far beyond what I was
permitted, or even desired. However, I am certain there were a few who braved
her.” Green smiled.

Maddox flew back to the bow
and snatched the lines again, not having received the answer he was searching
for in Green’s memories. Green smiled again at his friend and walked to his
side. “If what you are seriously asking is if she has had other lovers, I would
have to tell you of that I do not know. She is a powerful woman, Maddox. I
would imagine such a woman does not easily find lovers who are her match.”
Green patted Maddox on his shoulder and walked off, leaving his friend alone
with his thoughts.
    

* * * *

“It’s about time we should
be going,” Keara said as she buckled her belt and checked her pistol.

“I believe you were right
about Carrington. Tobias, James, and a couple more will be joining us. I’m also
not convinced Jackson isn’t lurking somewhere.” Ivory declared.

“I knew you’d come to your
senses.”

“My senses are fine. Let’s
go.”

Ivory sent Tobias and the
others ahead by thirty minutes. She instructed them to blend in as best they
could, but upon her entry of the store they were to position themselves near
the side of the building and gain entry at any cost—not to rescue her, but to
reclaim the diamonds should she and Keara be overcome.

As with the prior evening,
the streets had morphed into a more sinister monster. Loud music roared and
riotous men, staggered from the pub to the street and back again. Keara glanced
warily over at Ivory as the horses trotted, but Ivory stared forward as if she
were alone. When they finally turned the corner, they came upon a group of
rowdies engaged in the instigation of a drunken brawl. At last, Ivory turned
her eyes to Keara and nodded, signaling her to pick up the pace. She pulled ahead
as the horse balked at the mob, which had grown to more than twenty, and the
horse sidestepped, nearly losing its footing on the cobblestone.

“Well, hellooo ladies,” a
ruddy skinned man missing his top front teeth slurred as Ivory motioned to
Keara to carry on.

“Yah!” Keara shouted at the
animal and slapped it with the reins. The horse bucked and gathered itself
before leaping forward and off down the street.

“Back up, you bilge-sucking
bastard!” Ivory ordered at the man as he advanced.

“Now, is that any way fer a
lady ta’ talk?” he asked, laughing, as she swung the horse around, knocking him
back a foot. “Now ye wait a minute, ye bitch!”

Ivory slapped the horse
across its hindquarters and took off to the roar of jeers and laughter. She met
up with Keara in the shadows as she stood holding the horse by the reins,
waiting. “What a shit pile,” she grumbled.

“We’ll need to figure out
another way around if that bunch hasn’t scattered by the time we’re through.
Are you alright?”

“Of course I’m alright,”
Keara answered as she walked ahead to the store.

The little man peered at
them from the window and gave them the wave to come in. Keara’s head turned
quickly upon hearing a brief but familiar whistle, and she spotted James
peeking from behind the left side of the building. Once inside, the little man
again locked the door and pulled the shades. “I know it’s none of my beeswax,
ladies, but it ain’t fittin’ for young women like yourselves to be up to no
good.” The little man appeared anxious and rubbed at his high forehead.

“You’re right,” Ivory
remarked. “It’s none of your business.” She stopped and waited for the man to
announce their arrival, then shifted her eyes back at Keara with a furrowed
brow.

“Welcome back, Captain
Shepard…Master Shepard.” Carrington greeted as Keara and Ivory were led into
the back room.

“We lost time avoiding a
fray. Have you reached a decision on your offer yet?”

“The stones?”

Ivory motioned to Keara to
produce the bag. She reached cautiously into her leather satchel and dragged it
into view. Again, Ivory moved her eyes to guide Keara forward until they were
both standing at the edge of the poker table, looking down at the four men.
They were still dressed and seated as if they’d not moved since the night
before.

Ivory pulled the bag towards
her and opened it. She gently tipped it forward, spilling the diamonds a few at
a time onto the table. She pressed the fingers of her right hand lightly over
them and spread them out, while cradling the bag in her left. She heard Keara
take a deep breath, and she looked up to find all four men leaning in for a
closer look.

“The egg?” Carrington asked,
as he lifted one of the stones between his thumb and index finger and pulled it
to his eye.

Ivory tipped the bag again,
and when she did, she heard a crack when the egg hit the table.