The Pirate's Willing Captive (15 page)

‘Yes, I see.’ Maribel nodded. ‘You would set up your trading station there instead of on the island as you planned, but—’ She had questions concerning such trading, but she broke off as she saw a man coming towards them. Chills ran down her spine as she saw the look of hatred on his face. ‘Go inside, Anna.’

‘And leave you alone with that pig? I shall stay with you.’

Maribel faced the pirate. One hand moved to the place in her skirts where she had created a pouch to keep the knife that Peg had given her. Her heart was pounding wildly as he came closer.

‘Why have you come here?’ she asked. ‘You tried to have Sylvester murdered. You are not wanted here.’

Pike’s eyes narrowed to menacing slits, his mouth curved back in a sneer. ‘I came only to tell you that the
Defiance
is back in the harbour. People are demanding that you leave immediately. I have some business with Sylvester that he might want to hear.’

‘Do you imagine I shall let you near him after what you tried to do?’

‘You?’ He laughed harshly. ‘What will you do, my lady? Kick me, perhaps, or scratch my eyes out—if you can?’

‘Go away. If you have business, you may return
when Higgins is here…’ Maribel gasped because she had revealed their vulnerability.

Pike grinned evilly. ‘Oh, do not distress yourself for betraying your weakness. I saw Higgins on the waterfront not twenty minutes ago. I know he is not around to save you or your precious Sylvester, whore.’

‘I am no man’s whore.’ Maribel flashed.

‘Are you not? Then I might as well amuse myself a little before I complete my business with…’

Maribel moved back a step as he came towards her. Then she stopped, determined to stand her ground. If she ran or showed fear, he would have the advantage. She could not let him into the house because Justin was not yet strong enough to fight him off.

Pike laughed mockingly and reached out to grab her. Whipping her knife out, Maribel struck his right arm, making him yell out in shock. His left hand moved to cover his wound. He stared in disbelief at the blood running between his fingers.

‘You bitch! I’ll teach you a lesson—and then I’ll pay your lover a visit.’

‘You will have to get past me first.’

Maribel held her knife in front of her the way Peg had taught her. She circled him warily, her eyes never leaving his face. He made a move to grab her once more and she flicked her wrist, stabbing him swiftly on his hand and darting back. He swore, looking at his hand as if he did not know what had happened.

‘You asked for this,’ he grunted and drew his cutlass. The sunlight glinted on the wicked blade as he
advanced on her. ‘I thought to have a little fun before you died, but it is not worth the bother. I’ll be rid of you once and for all!’

Maribel held the knife in front of her, but she knew a knife could not compete with a cutlass. Peg had told her to keep the knife secret and wait until her target was close enough to stab him in the stomach, but she had struck too soon, inflicting only superficial wounds. The element of surprise had gone. She had wounded him, but not sufficiently to stop him. He would kill her and then Justin.

Maribel was vaguely aware that Anna had run into the house. She retreated slowly towards the house, her gaze holding his as he advanced on her, knowing that it was only a matter of time before he killed her.

‘Stay away from her!’

Hearing Anna’s voice, Maribel glanced round. Even as she saw the pistol in her hand, Anna fired. Her shot hit Pike in the chest and he fell, clutching himself. For what seemed like an eternity, he writhed in agony on the ground, his eyes wide and staring at them. Anna came towards them, her hand shaking. She looked sick and shaken as she watched the man twitching on the ground.

‘Have I killed him?’

The twitching had stopped at last. Pike lay still. ‘Yes, I think so,’ Maribel said. Anna dropped the pistol. She was shaking, clearly upset by what she had done. ‘Do not look so guilty. You had no choice. If you had not shot him, he would have killed us all.’

‘I meant to stop him, not to kill him.’ Anna looked
frightened. She turned away to vomit on the ground, then wiped her mouth on the back of her hand. ‘Will they hang me?’

‘No, they won’t hang you.’ Justin’s voice spoke from the doorway. ‘It was in self-defence, Anna—but no one will know, because we shall bury him out there.’ He jerked his head towards the back of the house. ‘I can’t do much to help you. There is a spade in the lean-to at the rear. You will have to drag him there between you. I’ll help to dig the hole.’

‘No, you will not,’ Maribel spoke decisively. ‘You have told us what to do. Go back to your room and rest. We can do this between us.’

Justin set his mouth stubbornly. He took a step towards them, then hesitated, his face white.

‘Go on, then. I will make sure there is no sign of the blood here—and I’ll keep watch and warn you if anyone comes.’

‘Yes,’ Maribel agreed, because she knew that he would only follow them if she refused his help. ‘As soon as it is done you must go back to bed and rest. Pike told us that the
Defiance
is in the harbour. When it is provisioned we shall leave as intended.’

Justin nodded, his mouth set in a grim line.

‘Come, Anna,’ Maribel said. ‘You have to help me drag him. I can’t do it alone. Take one leg and I’ll take the other.’

Anna shuddered, then did as she was told. Pike was heavy and it took both of them to drag his body across the front yard and out behind the house.

Maribel chose a spot where the earth looked softer. A tree had been cleared to supply timber for the house and the earth had been disturbed, making it easier to dig. When Anna fetched the spade, Maribel started the digging. She dug out an oblong large enough to hide the body. After the first few cuts were made, Anna went to the lean-to and came back with a chopper. She used it to dig down into the earth and then scraped the dry earth out with her hands.

The women worked in silence for what seemed like an eternity. At last the hole was deep enough and between them they placed Pike in his grave and then started to scrape the earth over him. When they had finished Maribel looked at Anna.

‘He was a wicked man, but I think we should say a prayer for him.’

‘Yes…’ Anna was pale and penitent. ‘You are right, Maribel. I did not mean to murder him, only to stop him.’

‘You did what you had to do—we both did,’ Maribel said. She felt sick and a little faint, but forced herself to continue. ‘God keep and forgive this man. He was not a good man, but we pray that his soul will find peace.’

‘You can see the earth has been disturbed,’ Anna said when the prayer was done. ‘We should lay branches over it to hide it for a while. The grave may be found, but it will not matter once we are gone.’

‘You will not be able to return here now.’ Maribel remarked as they finished their work and returned to the
house. ‘But you should not feel guilty, Anna. You saved my life—and Captain Sylvester’s.’

‘And my own. He would not have let me live to tell the tale.’

‘No, he could not have risked it, for Higgins would have demanded justice.’ Maribel saw that Anna was still pale, still shocked by what she had done. She reached out and kissed her cheek. ‘Forget what happened, Anna. You must put it behind you.’

‘He was a bad man.’ Anna met her eyes, seeking reassurance. ‘I do not believe I shall burn in hell for what I did, do you?’

‘No, of course not. It was the only way,’ Maribel replied. ‘I shall never forget that you saved my life, Anna.’

‘I could not let him kill you.’ Anna smiled, oddly shy and uncertain. ‘We have something in common now, Maribel. We share a bond that can never be broken—it is a secret we must keep to the grave.’

‘Yes, it is.’ Maribel took her hand. ‘We are friends, Anna, truly friends. What has happened here has changed us both for ever. I am no longer the lady you served. I am different and I can never go back to what I once was.’

‘We both need to wash and change our gowns,’ Anna said, looking at the dirt beneath her fingernails. ‘You should speak to Captain Sylvester, ask when we are leaving.’

‘Yes, I shall.’

Maribel pushed her hair back from her eyes. She was damp with sweat, her clothes sticking to her. There
were blisters on her hands and her back ached. The hard labour had exhausted her, but she had a feeling of satisfaction, because she would never have believed herself capable of doing what she had just done.

A part of her felt ill at ease because a man’s life had been lost, but Pike was evil. He had tried to have Justin killed and would have succeeded this time if Anna had not stopped him. Maribel knew that she would not have known how to shoot the pistol. Anna must have learned it from Higgins, just as she had learned to use a knife from Peg. So although she felt uneasy that a man’s life had been taken, she believed it was inevitable. Pike had been their enemy from the beginning. It was always his life or theirs.

She went into the house, then knocked at Justin’s door. He was sitting on the bed. He invited her to enter, looking at her face as she did so.

‘Is it done?’

‘Yes. We put branches over the grave. It is not deep enough and it will be found, but perhaps not just yet.’

‘We shall leave in the morning with the tide. Higgins has instructions to see the ship provisioned immediately. ’

‘Anna had no choice but to shoot him. He would have murdered us all.’

‘I should have seen to it before it got this far,’ Justin said. ‘You both did what you had to do, Maribel. Put all this from your mind.’

‘I shall try.’ She brushed the damp hair from her brow. ‘Your shirt has blood on it. I think your wound
has opened,’ she scolded. ‘You have done too much. I saw that you brushed away the marks we left when we dragged Pike into the woods.’

‘I wish I could have done it all.’ He reached up to trail his fingers over her cheek as she sat beside him. ‘You have dirt on your face and your gown is muddy. You must wash and change it for another.’ He took her hands and looked at them. ‘Rub some ointment into your hands; they will be sore for some days.’

‘Let me tend your shoulder first.’

‘No!’ He caught her hand as she attempted to push his shirt back. ‘I can manage for myself. Wash and rest, Maribel. You should drink a little rum or some wine. You have had a shock.’

‘We buried a man,’ Maribel said. ‘Anna is feeling guilty. It will take time to forget.’

‘I know. It is something you learn to live with. I’ve never been able to accept it, which is why I didn’t just kill Pike at the start—but it might have been better if I had.’

‘Yes, perhaps.’

Maribel turned away. She needed to wash and change. The dress she was wearing would be discarded, because she could never wear it again without remembering.

She had told Anna to forget what had happened, because to dwell on Pike’s death would cast a shadow over their lives. She shuddered, because she knew it was something she might never forget. They had done what was necessary and they must put it behind them and move on.

* * *

Maribel could not sleep. The night was hot and stuffy and in the morning they were to leave the island for ever. In a few short weeks they would be in England and she would be with her mother’s family. She might never see Justin again.

Rising from her bed, she dressed in a thin gown, pushed her feet into light slippers and went through to the main room and then outside. Here it was a little cooler. Maribel knew that she was taking a risk to leave the house, but Pike was dead and she did not think anyone else was likely to come looking for her. Most of the men on the island respected Justin, even if they blamed her for what had happened here.

Was it her fault? She had done nothing wrong and yet it might be because of her that the island had been attacked. She tried to put all the terrible happenings of the past few days from her mind. Soon now she would leave this place and perhaps…

Maribel heard a twig snap behind her, but before she could turn something thick and heavy was thrown over her head. She screamed, but the sound was muffled and the blanket filled her mouth, making her gag on the coarse wool. Fighting and kicking, she felt herself being tossed over someone’s shoulder. She was being carried away. As she realised that she had been kidnapped, panic swept over her.

Justin would think she had run away! He would think she did not care. He would never know that she loved him. She might never see him again; it would break her
heart, but she was just another woman to him. He would find someone else and forget her.

It was unbearable beneath the blanket. She found it difficult to breathe and after a while she ceased to struggle because she no longer had the strength to fight. She could only wonder who had captured her and where she was being taken.

After a while, Maribel heard the sound of the sea. She knew that she was in a rowing boat and that she was being taken to a ship. Was it her father’s ship? It was the only explanation that occurred to her, because surely no one else would have come to the island to kidnap her. Her father must have sent someone to steal her back. He had sent Captain Hendry to bring the information they needed so that he knew where to find her and now she was a prisoner.

What was going to happen to her now? Justin was angry with her. He would not rescue her a second time—why should he?

* * *

When Maribel opened her eyes again she found that she was lying on a bunk. Her mouth tasted dry and she knew that at some time after being brought to this cabin she had fainted. As yet she did not know whose ship she was on or who had captured her.

Hearing a key in the lock, she looked fearfully at the door, her heart pounding. It opened slowly and she saw a man standing in the opening looking at her. When she saw the man’s face she shrank back, feeling frightened, but determined not to show it.

‘Why have you brought me here?’ she demanded. ‘Are you taking me to my father?’

‘Your father has no more use for you, Donna Sanchez. He has given you to me in return for a contract for his wines—and favours rendered.’ An unpleasant smile touched his mouth.