Justified Treason (Endless Horizon Pirate Stories, Book 1)

by Taijeron, Cristi

  He was a terrible man, and one might think that he deserved to die, yet I could hardly believe I was the one who ended his life. With my mind wafting over the daunting visuals of the two men I killed, my stomach churned to the point of sickness. Knowing I would be facing the torment for all my life to come, I resisted the urge to vomit. I couldn’t be throwing up my remorse all the time. I had to learn to accept the actions I’d taken and cope.

  Putting my small dirty hands together for a prayer, I noticed all the bruises and cuts they were now adorned with. While hoping the scars would last, I prayed that God would forgive me for what I had done.

  As the carriage neared the property of The Royal Poinciana, I was greeted by the beautiful blooming orange flowers on the Poinciana trees. I was truly blessed to call such a beautiful place home. Yet, the wrought iron bars of the entrance reminded me of the wretched jail cell Sterling was locked away in, and when the swirling gates opened, I felt as if I was being locked away myself. Now that my spirit had tasted the wild freedom of the wind, and my soul had inhaled the freedom of the sea, the thought of being contained in heavy dresses and limited by proper etiquette seemed like an unbearable punishment. I was no longer a proper lady; I was a sailor, a quartermaster, and above all else, I was a pirate.

  It crossed my mind to fit and thrash my way off the property and run back to the harbor to commandeer the Wind of Glory, but there was no use in tormenting myself with such ridiculous fantasies. Just like the man I loved, I was a prisoner, and I settled into a slump of sorrow to resist my piratical urges.

  Lawrence reached to help me out of the carriage, and while he led me to the house, I thought about how odd it was to be so courteously assisted. Walking through the large double doors, I leaped over to hug Benson, the doorman. Though he seemed pleased by my outburst of love, he attempted to remain in his proper poise by merely hugging me back lightly. Father shook his head with irritation and led me in to the parlor.

  Hester was on the lounge reading a book, and when she looked up to see me, a brazen degree of shock lit her placid face. She was pretty as ever, yet I couldn’t help but notice the dark rings under her eyes. Dashing over to hug me, she squeezed me with a might I never would have expected while blubbering through her tumbling tears. “Oh, thank God you are home. I haven’t slept a wink since you left. I cannot believe you troubled us so, but you are home and that’s what matters.”

  Finally backing away from me she ran her hands through my shortened hair and huffed, “What in the world have you done to your beautiful hair?” Without waiting for my response she put her soft hand on my battered face. “Now is this the life that you dreamt of, my dear?”

  I thought of the raging brawl I endured with Paul Redding, and though I agreed the scene was terrifying, I had already promised myself I wouldn’t mope over it. In fact, I suddenly found a great deal of humor in the way the prisoners cheered as I pistol whipped Paul across the face. Containing my delirious bout of humor, I merely responded to Hester with a sorrowful nod.

  Hester called for Mary to give me a much needed bath, and when she entered the room, I ran over to hug my very best friend. I had thought of her so much along my journey it felt as if she’d been there with me, and I couldn’t wait to tell her about all the things I experienced while I was away.

  Following Mary up the stairs, I left Lawrence sitting with his face in his hands and Hester crying in my father’s arms. While father ran his hands through his wife’s long red hair I heard him exhale, “Whatever shall we do with this child?”

  I insisted upon helping Mary fill the bath. “You are my truest friend in the world, Mary. I cannot allow you to fuss over my care like a servant.”

  Mary chuckled and shook her head. “I have been caring for those who I love all my life, Charlotte. I don’t know what else I would do with myself if you didn’t want my help. At least let me wash your hair. I find the chore rather relaxing.”

  Sinking into the warm water, it felt as if I had landed in the pillowy clouds inside of heaven’s own pearly gates. As Mary washed my hair, I told her all the gruesome and passionate details of my seafaring adventure. While gawking over the action and the romance of the tale she sighed, “Oh, Charlotte, it is as if I am reading a novel.”

  I was sure to accentuate the details concerning Captain Faron Flynn, and once I let her know I told him about her love for him, Mary playfully slapped my arm. “Oh, you sassy wench, you. How dare you spill my secret.” Her gray-blue eyes gleamed a brighter shade of blue when she pressed, “Well, what did he say?”

  I told her how the ox of a man was speechless behind his saucy smile, and she teased that she didn’t believe me.

  Laughing as we carried on about the adventure, I was ever so thankful to have Mary with me upon my shameful return.

  Once I was out of the wonderfully warm bath, feeling clean as I ever had, Mary attempted to dress me in one of those wretchedly heavy dresses, but I insisted on a nightgown. As she carefully tended to the wound around my eye, she asked, “So how ever will you reunite with Sterling?”

  Wincing in discomfort I confirmed, “It is inevitable that I will be with him, but I am still not sure of how.”

  Mary was pleased to hear about our intentions to stay together, but I knew she would be shattered when I explained Faron’s fate. “Mary. Faron is sentenced to be hanged for his crimes.”

  I was sure I heard her heart hit the ground. As her body froze over with sadness, I felt the frost of the chill waft in my direction. I took her hands in mine. “You needn’t be sad, Mary. We could set them free.”

  Shaking her hands loose from mine she snipped, “Them? How many of them are there? You must have lost your mind out there on the sea, Charlotte Wetherby.”

  Continuing without mind to Mary’s concern for reality, I explained my reasonable loyalty to the men sentenced to death, and informed her, “The governor is having a celebration feast at sunset. All the important people in town will be there. While they are occupied would be the best time to strike.”

  “Holy Mary, Charlotte. You have not even napped, and you are planning to conquer the tower and free the prisoners.”

  Defending my motive, I continued with a somber tone, “I know the idea is treacherous, but so is the thought of Faron Flynn hanging limp at the gallows.”

  Tears brimmed in her cold gray eyes. “Perhaps you’re right, Charlotte. Though Faron walks on the wrong side of the law, he is a good man, and I understand his perilous way of life more than anyone, since I was there the day he chose it. There is no way I can let him walk to his doom while I wait here in this beautiful mansion. What ever shall we do?”

  X

  When I showed up for tea in my nightgown, Hester rolled her eyes at me, and Lawrence looked away as if I was altogether undressed. Father insisted I cinch up my robe before quickly leading me to my seat in the parlor without another word on the matter. Before he had a chance to begin the lecture I knew awaited me, Naomi came in to serve our tea. I jumped up to hug her as I blurted, “Naomi! I think I missed you and Edward the most. I have been eating with my bare hands like a deprived pirate for weeks. It was a miserable situation compared to his delectable cooking and your gracious service.”

  Father ordered me to return to my seat and took a deep breath before he began. “The governor had a report delivered to me while you were upstairs. I was informed that you have engaged in a life of piracy and stood with the wicked in a time of strife.”

  That was fast. I was hoping to relay my side of the story first, and fearing that Paul Redding had slandered my character far beyond reality, I inquired, “And who is it that gave this report, father?”

  “The good citizens that you turned your back on, if you must know.”

  “Good citizens?” I laughed, but father snapped, “You will not use such a disrespectful tone in my presence, Charlotte.”

  Attempting to keep my proper composure I asked, “Would you like to know my side of the story?”

  He sighed in
frustration. “Charlotte, I could ask you a million questions and scorn you a thousand times, but there is nothing to be said that will justify your treason.” He lowered his head in shame as he stuttered, “I especially dread to accept that you allowed your virtue to fall into the hands of a filthy buccaneer.”

  Standing up from my seat, I brashly interrupted my father’s authority. “I have had enough of that treacherous lie! For heaven’s sake, he would not allow that.”

  He gasped with wide eyes. “Oh? So now even a swashbuckling deckhand has greater manners than my own daughter?”

  “He is not a deckhand. He is a respectable navigator, and he has a name,” I defended.

  “Good heavens, child. Your daring disruptions are not compelling to your case.”

  “The only thing I am compelled to is Sterling Bentley’s love for me.”

  Everyone in the room seemed to gasp. My raging disrespect and blatant admittance of my forbidden love affair left them speechless. Father leaned against the wall, bracing himself from the blast of horror I had inflicted upon him. Hester sat with her eyes wide in shock, and Lawrence rested his head in his hands, sighing in disbelief.

  As for me, I was infuriated by my father’s lack of interest in my side of the story, and I let my hands flail to emphasize my dramatic detest. “This filthy buccaneer you speak so terribly of saved me from the good citizen that blasted my face in this shape. Had Sterling not come to my defense, that man would have killed me.”

  Looking angrier than I had ever seen him, father lowered his voice and firmly asserted, “I will not hear another word about your disturbing love affair, Charlotte. I have done everything I can to raise you as a proper woman, and it has become dreadfully apparent my efforts have failed in utter disgrace. My establishment in this society will be forever scorned by rumors that will spread concerning the piracy of my only daughter. This man you claim to love is said to have escaped, and I will forever fear that you will mutineer with him.”

  “He escaped?” I gasped in a dream like breath.

  My heart fluttered at the thought of Sterling finding his freedom, but before I could drift off into dreams of running mutinies with him, father firmly continued, “I cannot control the love in your heart, but I can control your place in this world. My only remaining option is to put you where this buccaneer cannot find you and leave you where you cannot reach for him…I am sending you to Barbados to live with your brother Amos.”

  I shouted no in a high pitched shriek of terror. Once again feeling as if I was being forced into a familiar and undesired darkened corner, I exploded in yet another fit of rage. Shoving a lamp off the table, I cursed the hell of my punishment, but before I could smash another object, Lawrence wrapped his arms around me and held me steady. At some point during my outburst, father and Hester left the room and as I tried to fight my way out of Lawrence’s gentle grip, he calmly attempted to tame my raging torment. No matter how I tried, I could not escape, and though I felt trapped by the situation, I felt comforted in his arms and began to wonder why I wanted to escape him. Succumbing to his pleasant assurance, I collapsed against his sturdy chest and cried like a helpless child.

  Chapter 14

  Glorified Deceit

  As told by the Wind

  With the island of Jamaica in sight, Willard Smith paced the deck of Wind of Glory contemplating his plan. He had been observing Paul Redding and Doctor Reedy’s distaste for Oliver Langston, and he watched silently as Paul bickered to Doctor Reedy. “Look at that clot-pole of a captain, bringing paper to the pirate slut. She shouldn’t get nothin’ but a slap to her face while she’s chained.”

  Doctor Reedy chimed in. “Not much of an arrest if you ask me. With any luck she’ll end up hanging with the rest of those disgusting buccaneers.”

  Willard smiled. The men’s slanderous perspective would grant him with just the leverage he needed to continue in his plan.

  Approaching his prospective allies with a humble stance, Willard attempted to state his proposition. “I have something that might interest you, if you are willing to listen to the thoughts of a defeated man.”

  When they allowed him to go on, he presented his wicked opportunity. “I know the crew has found great disappointment in me, but I would like you to understand the level of the corruption that caused this dismay. Oliver Langston had longed for my power and found the opportunity to override my position during the battle. Now that you have seen his interest in the pirates, I am sure you can imagine this has been his plan all along.”

  Noticing their interest, Willard reeled on. “It is not my place to override his authority at this time, but as we near the shore, I have a plan that might leave us ahead in this rewarding.”

  Doctor Reedy responded shrewdly through his nasally voice, “Us, as in who?”

  Willard smiled as he assured them. “As in the three of us. I see great honor in you two men, and I believe the three of us could run a swell crew.”

  Paul brashly grumbled. “Now, I understand yer use of us, but why would we be needin’ ye, Mister Smith?”

  Willard knew he would also have to entice them with a great reward after he had captured their attention, so he explained the speech he prepared with full confidence. “The governing authority of Port Royal assigned me delegation over this crew and this mission. Though the mission has been completed, it was by the hands of treachery and not in honor of England or Port Royal. If Oliver Langston stakes his claim over this reward, your hard works will be lost in the midst. I could bloody well see him sailing off for that treasure with his navigating partner, leaving you to rot outside his glory.

  “If we strike the stand to say Langston overthrew my power to befriend traitors and prisoners, we could unite under my relinquished power, and I will treat you in fair shares of the bounty and the fame. If you state this claim alone, they may not accept your truth for you shall be seen as power hungry shipmates. After all, Oliver was second command; the only higher power is that of the captain. That is why you need me, Captain Willard Smith.”

  Paul Redding nodded in agreement, but Doctor Reedy yelped, “That green eyed monster would eat us alive if he could. He did not take kindly to us threatening his whore. If Oliver is working with him, we will not stand a chance.”

  Willard rubbed his hands together and smirked. “So we have a team?”

  The men assented to the accord and Willard put his arms over their shoulders as he walked them about to discuss the details. Paul limped as he followed.

  Wind of Glory sailed into the harbor under a bright shining sun, and as the breeze died down the humidity thickened to engulf the salty air with a sweltering heat. Willard Smith and his men did their rounds in attempts to convert the crew for their last minute mutiny, and they found the exhausted men easy to persuade. Once the ship was docked the majority collaborated to overthrow Oliver Langston’s power. Arresting him for treason, they locked him in the brig with the buccaneers.

  Captain Willard Smith took Paul Redding and Doctor Reedy with him to meet the governor. Being thrilled with his spontaneous return to power, he stated his report with pride. Introducing Doctor Reedy as the only honorable man he could find in the heathen town of Tortuga, he told the governor about the doctor’s lead to Wind of Glory and esteemed his healing abilities. Since Paul Redding had unsheathed Charlie Bentley’s treason, Willard allowed him the claims of her great accomplishments, and told the governor all about how brave it was for Paul to kill the notorious Dedrick Morley. As for his own glorified deceit, Willard acclaimed the capture of the navigator as his good deed, along with all the compliments that were due to Oliver Langston’s bravery.

  Willard frowned as he mentioned Oliver Langston’s unexpected treason, and once he mentioned having him locked in the brig, Paul Redding quickly added, “Governor Morgan, we also ‘ave imprisoned a stowaway woman.”

  Before the men could continue in their bout of self-indulgence, the governor’s eyes grew large and he gasped, “Where is she? What is her name? My
best citizen is missing his daughter and it could be her.”

  Paul’s head dropped in discouragement, and Governor Morgan shouted for his guards to fetch Wallace Wetherby. He briskly turned back to face Captain Smith and demanded, “Take me to her this instant.”

  Governor Morgan stomped aboard the Wind of Glory in search of the lost girl. When he laid sight on the young woman who was beaten and tied to the mast, he didn’t recognize her as Charlotte Wetherby, but her unfortunate identity became apparent as he drew near. Stunned by the terrible sight, he began to scorn the men in charge for treating Mister Wetherby’s daughter in such a way.

  Being pressed by his newly converted crewmen, Willard attempted to report Charlotte’s crimes to the governor, but seeing Charlotte’s need for care, Governor Morgan had no interest in their account at the moment. Insisting for all matters of business to wait, he helped Charlotte up with the greatest of concern and sent her on with her father.

  Once the battered young woman was back in her father’s care, Governor Morgan returned to Captain Smith. “I should slap you upside the head for allowing that young woman to come home in such an awful condition. What on earth had she done to end up such a terrible mess?”

  Willard began to inform Governor Morgan about Charlotte’s affair with the navigator, and Paul Redding interrupted, “She gave the pirate a gun so he could kill me.”

  While Paul pointed out the gunshot wound on his leg, the governor snapped, “You will shut your vile mouth. It might have been better if he shot you in the heart for beating on that young woman as you did. Whatever the cause of her treachery, I have no mind to hear a lick of information from the likes of you. In fact, I’d prefer it if you’d take a few steps back, so I don’t have to look at that oozing eye of yours.”