Skye drew in a deep breath and tried to stop her mind from creating a mental image of what Kelley might do. “No.”
Upon hearing that word and the determination still behind it, Kelley reached the limit of his patience. If that girl thinks she’s seen the worst of what I can do, she’s gravely mistaken, Kelley raged inwardly. He looked at the two pirates on either side of Skye.
“Bind her hands to the mast,” he ordered.
He stormed off toward his cabin as the pirates shoved Skye to the mainmast with an eerie rush of anticipation. Tightly, they bound her wrists so that she was facing it. With a prickle of apprehension, she turned her head to look back at Kelley’s cabin. He burst back out with something in his hand. Just as Skye had feared, it was a whip. Her heart pounded rapidly as he drew near.
When Kelley stood over her, seeming taller and more intimidating than usual, he warned in a low voice, “This is your last chance, girl. It’s either the treasure or . . .” he held up the whip, “this.”
Skye stared at the fearsome instrument of torture, coiled up like a snake about to strike. She swallowed hard and turned her eyes away. For once, her words caught in her throat. She could not bring herself to speak.
“Fine,” Kelley muttered, stepping behind her.
Skye took a shaky breath and prepared herself as best she could for the agonizing pain she knew would follow. Please, God, help me, she prayed desperately, her spirit quailing.
* * *
Taking a step up to the bow of the ship, Will stared out at the sparkling blue water that stretched out in every direction as far as he could see. Skye was somewhere out there in that immense, seemingly empty space. Nearly every waking moment, Will prayed for God to guide their ship to her, knowing that without His help they could never hope to find her.
Finally, Will took his eyes from the ocean and glanced over his shoulder to where Matthew had taken over at the helm, giving John some time to inspect his ship. John erupted in laughter and Will could not help but smile as he wondered what Matthew had said that John found so funny.
But in the midst of that easy humor, Will’s smile disappeared. Quite suddenly he was struck by intense worry for Skye as though something were not right. Looking back out to sea, Will knew only one thing could be done. He closed his eyes and prayed quietly. “God, I don’t know why I feel like this or if Skye really is in trouble—only You know. But if she is, please protect her. Please don’t let Kelley harm her . . .”
* * *
Kate shifted uneasily. She stared at Skye as Kelley raised the whip, amazed at the young woman’s fierce determination to stay true to her promise. Kate knew from experience just how much resolve was needed to stand up to Kelley. At the last moment, though she knew interfering with Kelley was a very unwise move, everything inside her told Kate that she could not just stand by and let Skye go through with this.
“Captain!” she called just as Kelley was about to bring the whip down.
Kelley spun around furiously. “What do you want?” he snarled. “Do you want a taste of the whip next?”
Kate cringed inside. She had already experienced the force of his anger before and had no desire to experience it again.
“I need to speak with you.” She spoke boldly, hiding any doubts that clawed at her.
Kelley only glared. “Well?” he demanded after a long moment.
“In private,” Kate informed him.
Kelley’s glare intensified, but finally, muttering curses under his breath, he turned and stormed toward his cabin, expecting Kate to follow. She did so slowly, wondering just what she was getting herself into and why. Stepping inside the cabin, Kate closed the door and waited, watching Kelley, whose back was turned. As soon as he heard the door shut, Kelley spun to face her.
“Whatever is so important that you would dare interrupt me?”
“I was thinkin’ about the girl,” Kate said, keeping her voice calm. “What if she doesn’t tell you anything? She could die. Either from the beatin’ itself or from infection. If she dies, the location of that treasure’ll be gone forever.”
“She may last the first couple lashes, but once she’s had a few, she’ll start talkin’,” Kelley stated confidently.
“But how do you know?” Kate stressed, trying to worry him. “I’ve heard you mention how stubborn Daniel McHenry was and obviously the girl is the same way. She hasn’t said anything up to this point. What makes you so sure she’ll tell you now?”
“Well, I guess we’ll just have to find out,” Kelley snapped. He was about to leave the cabin, but Kate stopped him.
“I’ve got a better idea. Let me gain her trust and I bet she’ll tell me where the treasure is.”
“Just how do you plan to accomplish that?”
“Let her stay with me. She’ll think I talked you into it and that’ll make her trust me.”
Kelley’s eyes narrowed shrewdly as he considered her words. Finally, he decided, “I’ll give you a week. If you don’t find out by then, I’m takin’ the whip to both of ya.”
Kate wasn’t given a chance to respond before Kelley continued.
“But I’m not about to let her get off with nothin’. If she ain’t gonna be in that cell then she’s gonna work. She’s gonna work until I get that treasure or until she drops. Now go out there, get her changed into somethin’ she can work in, and get her to work, do you understand?”
Kelley stormed out of the cabin before Kate could answer. She watched him go and contemplated the deal. A week was not much time. Feeling a grave burden, she left the cabin as well and walked toward Skye.
“The captain has decided not to continue,” Kate informed the pirates who still stood waiting. They groaned in disappointment before going back to their work, leaving Kate and Skye alone.
Skye raised her eyes to Kate. This pirate had saved her, at least for the moment, from the beating she wasn’t quite sure she wasn’t still going to get. However, she was an answer to prayer, and Skye silently thanked God.
Kate pulled a dagger from her belt and sliced through the ropes that bound Skye.
“Come with me,” Kate instructed once she was free.
Confused, Skye followed her below deck and into a little, private cabin, which was bare except for a small bed at one end and an old trunk at the other.
When Kate had closed the door, Skye finally asked the only question on her mind. “Why did you stop Kelley?”
Kate said nothing at first, but then she softened. “I feel sorry for anyone who gets a beating like that, unless I think they deserve it.”
“And you don’t think I do?”
Kate looked Skye full in the eyes. “No, I don’t.”
“Thank you, Kate,” Skye said, very grateful.
Kate didn’t answer, but nodded. For a moment, she looked Skye up and down. “You need to change outta that dress.”
Skye glanced down at her clothes, wondering what was going on. “What do you mean?”
“The captain has decided that instead of puttin’ you back down in that cell, you’d be more beneficial doin’ some work and you can’t very well do that in a dress.”
Kate went to the trunk and pulled out clothes. “Here, these oughta fit,” she said. “Put ‘em on.”
Removing her old dress, Skye could hardly believe that Kelley was not going to lock her back up, but she wasn’t about to question it. Taking the clothes from Kate, she put on the dark breeches that ended just below her knees, then the clean white shirt and dark brown waistcoat over it. She buckled a thick leather belt around her waist and finally slipped on a pair of leather boots that came up to where the breeches ended. It was the first time in eleven years she’d worn anything but a dress.
“Amazing what a change of clothes can do to your appearance,” Kate remarked. “I never could picture you as a pirate ‘til now.”
“Well,” Skye began thoughtfully, “I never considered myself a pirate. My father and the rest of the crew only stole from other pirates, and we returned what we could to the
people it had been stolen from.”
Kate simply nodded and a brief silence followed before she said, “We’d better get back on deck. Captain expects you to be workin,’ so if you don’t start soon he may change his mind.”
Skye followed Kate back out of the cabin. It turned out that Kelley was waiting for them on deck. He glared furiously at Skye.
“Listen up,” he barked. “I want you to scrub every inch of this deck. You won’t be gettin’ any sleep ‘til ya do.” He narrowed his eyes at Kate. “And since you dared to interrupt me before, you can help ‘er. I don’t care if you’re up all night; this deck had better be sparklin’ by mornin’. Do you understand?”
“Aye, Captain,” Kate answered quietly.
Skye remained silent. Kelley threw one last glare in her direction before storming off. With no desire to press their luck, Skye and Kate quickly went to work. As they began scrubbing, Skye glanced at Kate.
“I’m sorry that you had to do this too,” she apologized.
Kate shook her head. “Don’t be. I would’ve been the one to do it whether I interrupted the captain or not.”
“Why you?” Skye asked.
Kate sighed. “Well, I’m not a willing member of his crew. I guess ya might say that I’m a slave.”
Skye nodded, figuring as much. “How did you come to be here?”
Kate glanced around and then answered in a hushed voice, “I think that’s a story to save for when we’re alone. Captain doesn’t like to hear me talk about it.”
Skye nodded again and focused on her work.
* * *
A short time after Will prayed for Skye, he left the bow and walked back to where Matthew now stood alone at the helm, John having disappeared somewhere below deck. Matthew greeted him and was silent for a few moments, his eyes trained on the sea. But when his gaze turned back, Will knew clearly that something was on his mind.
“Will, there’s something I have meant to tell you since we left Kingston. I guess now is as good a time as any, but I’m sure it’s going to be quite a shock to you.”
Will frowned, concern in his expression. “What is it?”
“You don’t know my last name, do you?”
Will thought about it for a moment and realized he didn’t. He and Skye had only ever known Matthew by his first name. “No, I don’t. Why do you ask me this now?”
“Because that means you don’t really know who I am.”
“What do you mean?” Confused, Will wondered if his world was about to be rocked yet again. “Who are you?”
Matthew sighed. “Will . . . my last name is McHenry.”
Will’s eyes went wide. “Are you related to Skye?”
Matthew nodded. “Daniel McHenry was my older brother. I am Skye’s uncle.”
Will stared at Matthew in stunned disbelief, not sure what to say. When he didn’t speak, Matthew continued. “The reason I didn’t tell you and Skye before this is because I had heard about the treasure and was afraid something like this would happen. I thought that if I kept my identity a secret, I could better keep Skye safe and no one would suspect me. If I could have, I would have adopted Skye. I’ve tried the best I know how to keep her safe, but as the years have passed, I let my guard down unintentionally and now the very thing I feared has happened.”
Will knew now that Matthew struggled with the feeling that he was partly responsible for Skye’s abduction.
“Matthew, it is not your fault that Skye was kidnapped. There was nothing you or I could have done to save her. Kelley attacked and left so quickly there was no way anyone could have known what was happening and been able to stop him . . . no matter how badly we wish we could have.”
* * *
Bent over the heavy holystones, scraping them back and forth to rid the deck of dried-on salt was exhausting, but Skye actually found it preferable to being locked in her cell. It also helped that she was so used to scrubbing the floors in the orphanage, though scrubbing salt off the deck was a lot more difficult. However, what she had done in the orphanage made her a faster worker than many would have thought. Kelley had expected Skye and Kate to be at work late into the night, but they finished shortly after eight o’clock and were sent below deck to rest. Kate offered to share her cabin with Skye, which she gladly accepted.
As Skye lay down on the bed she’d made on the floor, she looked up to where Kate lay in her bunk.
“Can you tell me now how you came to be here?”
Kate sighed, staring up at the ceiling. “I am actually the captain of a ship called the Half Moon.”
Skye propped herself up on her elbow so she could see Kate better. “Really?”
Kate nodded. “One night me an’ my crew went ashore to replenish supplies. Kelley was also there. He had lost some of his crew in a storm, so he was tryin’ to find men to replace ‘em. They must have seen me at one of the taverns and decided that they wanted me as part of the crew. They caught me alone, captured me, and brought me here.
“My crew tried to come after me. I saw the Half Moon behind us once a couple of days after I was captured, but she lost us in a storm, and I haven’t seen ‘er since. That was eleven months ago. I keep tryin’ to find a way off this ship, but Kelley keeps a close watch on me.” She shook her head. “I haven’t set foot on land since I’ve been here. Kelley never lets me go ashore when we make port.”
“I’m sorry, Kate,” Skye said after a moment, feeling sympathy for her. “I hope you find a way to escape.”
Kate sighed again and thought about the deal she had made with Kelley. “So do I.”
Chapter Nine
The days slipped passed as Skye was permitted to work as part of the crew. Kelley worked her hard; however, Skye didn’t complain. Though most of the work was exhausting, in a way she enjoyed it. The fear of Kelley overshadowed everything, but Skye loved sailing and could not help but feel at home again on the sea. Everything she had learned as a child came back to her quickly. Within a day, she was working with the swiftness and incredible ease that could only be achieved by her years of practice and her own natural gift for sailing. As cruel and heartless as the rest of the crew was, they had grudgingly become quite impressed with her.
Kate came to be a very close friend to Skye and that friendship was invaluable. Not only did she not feel as alone on the ship, but Skye also realized that Kate was the first woman she’d had to talk to as a friend since her mother died.
Six days after Kate saved Skye from Kelley’s beating, the two of them returned to their cabin for the night after the long day’s work. While she prepared for bed, Skye glanced questioningly at Kate. She had been unusually quiet throughout the day, and Skye had yet to find a reason.
“Is there something wrong, Kate?” she asked finally.
Kate stopped what she was doing and sighed heavily. She turned to Skye, her expression hesitant. “Yes, there is,” she answered in a quiet voice.
Skye frowned. “What is it?”
“I meant to tell you this, and I should’ve before now. The day Kelley was gonna whip you, he only stopped ‘cause I made a deal with him.”
“What kind of deal?”
“I told him that I’d gain your trust and have you tell me where your treasure is.”
Skye stared at her, wondering for a moment if Kate’s friendliness had all been an act.
“But that was never my true intent,” Kate quickly explained. “I only made the deal to buy us some time, but now our time is up.”
“What do you mean?”
Kate looked at Skye gravely. “Kelley gave me one week to find out where your treasure is or . . . he’d whip both of us. The week ends tomorrow. I’ve been tryin’ all week to find a way for us to escape, but how can you get off a ship in the middle of the ocean?”
Skye exhaled heavily and bowed her head in despair. She then looked back up at Kate. “I’m so sorry you ended up to be part of this. You should never have stopped him.”
Kate shook her head. “No, I’m glad I
did. I’m not afraid of him and can take whatever he gives me. He’s beaten me before, and I know he won’t be that severe because he wants me to keep workin’. You’re the one I fear for. Kelley won’t hold back with you. As long as he gets what he wants, it doesn’t matter if you die in the end. That would only please him more.”
“I will not tell him,” Skye said determinedly.
“Are you sure, Skye?” Kate asked. “Are you sure that in the end you’ll be able to hold out?”
For the first time, Skye truly considered just how much pain she could endure.
“Skye, as a friend, I think you should just tell Kelley where the treasure is. Is it really worth goin’ through all this?”
“It is not the treasure that’s important to me, Kate. It’s the promise I made to my father. It’s the last promise I ever made to him, and I just can’t break it,” Skye said earnestly, helping Kate to understand. “And now, even more than that, I realize that promise is what’s kept me alive. If I tell Kelley where the treasure is, he will have no need for me anymore, and he’ll surely kill me. For that reason I must not tell him.”
Kate realized Skye was right and didn’t know what to say. It all seemed hopeless.
Neither Skye nor Kate could sleep that night. Kate stared at the ceiling silently from where she lay in her bunk, as her mind worked desperately to form a plan to stall Kelley. A couple of feet away, Skye sat on her little bed on the floor, head bowed and hands clasped before her, asking God to save both Kate and herself.
“I wish I had my Bible,” Skye murmured sadly after a while. “Reading it always comforts me during my most difficult times.”
Kate glanced at her but said nothing.
Skye’s hand went to a little metal object that hung on a black cord around her neck. It was something she had managed to keep hidden all the time she was on the Finder. Carefully, she unhooked the tiny clasps at the end of the cord and held the object out to look at it. A small, metal cross glittered in the moonlight that filtered into the room through the tiny, round window. With a faint, wistful smile, she fondly ran her fingers along its smooth surface. She took her eyes from it when Kate’s voice broke through her faraway thoughts.
The Pirate Daughter's Promise (Pirates & Faith) Page 7