The Ruthless Redhead's Revenge

by Morrel, Amy

“I'll help you carry the bags Geoff, there is no need for you to have to make several trips.” offered Roberta.

  “That is not the way a young lady should comport herself.” snapped Annabelle.

  Roberta's only answer was to pick up several of her bags and wait for Geoff to lead the way. Once they were out of earshot Geoff spoke to her:

  “Do you need to antagonize her so?”

  “Have you paid attention the last three days? She was unfailingly polite to all the men in the house, me she snapped at and ordered about. I won't tolerate that. I don't want this marriage and I certainly won't tolerate the person who is escorting me to my new prison treating me like dirt.”

  “I thought you'd feel that way. Evidently she is waiting for me to come back and escort her so I suggest looking in the bottom of the dark brown bag once we get them into your cabin. I left a little gift for you there.”

  They found spaces in the cabin for the bags to be out of the way and as Geoff returned to escort Annabelle aboard, Roberta rummaged through the bag he had pointed out. At the very bottom of the bag was a knife, nearly the size of a dagger. It rested in a leather scabbard with a floral pattern tooled into the leather. A leather belt, of a type to support the knife, was wrapped around the scabbard.

  Roberta grinned for a moment. At least one of her family knew her well enough to gift her in a manner she would appreciate. Her grin fled when she realized that she might never see Geoff again. When he returned escorting Annabelle, she waited until he was ready to leave and clutched him in a hug. She whispered her thanks for the gift in his ear:

  “Thank you Geoff, I love your gift. I'll miss you desperately. Perhaps one day your new business will take you to my new home. Otherwise I fear that I may never see you again.”

  “You're welcome. Do try not to use my gift on your escort though, please. I'll miss you as well Roberta, out of our family, it was only you who I was comfortable with when we were together. I'm horrible at good byes though, so I'll simply take my leave now.”

  Roberta reluctantly released her hold on him. He gave her one last squeeze, kissed her cheek, then turned and departed. Roberta turned as well, to look at Annabelle:

  “Let's get this over with. I behaved myself at the house, but I'm not going to tolerate your insolence and scolding during the voyage.”

  “Little girl, you will do as I tell you, when I tell you.”

  “If your behavior to me is odious, I shall inform Master Gutren that you were intolerable and that I wish to never see you again. I've gathered from your conversation that you do odd jobs for him. That these jobs are necessary for your financial safety. If you wish to lose these jobs, then continue to treat me as you have. If you wish to keep them, all you need to do is treat me as an adult and an equal.”

  “Ahh, so the little sprite has a backbone after all. I had wondered if that red hair were simply a color. It seems that you have a redhead's attitude as well and some intelligence to boot. Perhaps we can get along better now. I was told to find out if you had the temper to match the hair and now I have.”

  “You old crow. You could have just asked my father or brothers.”

  “Would they have told me the truth, though? It seems that they are more interested in the gold than in you and would not have done anything to endanger that.”

  “Geoff would have either told you the truth or not answered. The others? You may be right about them.”

  “And so I did as I did. Now I know for sure, having heard it with my own ears.”

  “Just so we're clear here, this means you'll curb your tongue from the way it has been the last few days?”

  “Indeed. I'll just try to keep you out of the trouble which, on a ship full of sailors, surrounds us.”

  “Then I will also try to keep a civil tongue in my mouth.”

  It was several hours before the ship was to set sail. The two women could hear the sailors and deckhands loading the ship. There wasn't much of anything to do except talk with each other and so they finally, now that they could hold a civil conversation, got to know each other a little better.

  Roberta was still irked at Annabelle over how she had been treated. She understood why the ploy had been done, but it still annoyed her. She tried to get over her irritation though, deciding that perhaps Annabelle was someone she could get along with. She would never be much of a friend, as Madeline had been, but she was also not someone Roberta would go out of her way to avoid.

  The ship eventually began to move sometime in mid-afternoon. The conversation faltered as Roberta moved to stare out the single small porthole in the side of the cabin. This was something new to her and her fascination overcame her fear for the time being. It grew boring quickly though. Once the ship was out of sight of land, all she could see was an endless vista of ocean. The boredom allowed her fears to surface again.

  “So, what can you tell me about Master Gutren?”

  “He is a hard man. He has been civil and polite most of the time that I've seen him. I think that his attitude is what allowed him to get rich. His first wife died five years ago. He had two surviving children from that marriage but they've moved out and are on their own now.

  Sometimes he frightens me a touch. There are days when he is all smiles with his mouth, but his eyes suggest a different mood. Rumor has it that he wants a young, virgin wife so that he can do all the things that his first, respectable, wife wouldn't do. I don't know if that rumor is true or not but I can easily make it fit with what I know about him.”

  “Thank you for your honesty.”

  “If I am to be truly honest I must also say that his wife's death was surrounded by questionable circumstances and that since her death there have been a stream of young women visiting his estate and that not all of them leave in the same condition they arrived in.”

  “Are you telling me that he is abusive to women?”

  “There is no evidence of such that is not merely circumstantial.”

  “So you are warning me without making accusations.”

  “I see you understand.”

  “I will have to give this some thought. I did not wish to be married to him in the first place. My desire to do so decreases even more so with your words.”

  “I do not see that there is anything you can do to prevent it though. My words are merely to prepare you for the possibilities of what may occur.”

  “Thank you for your words then. There is always some other option though. I could always go up on deck and throw myself into the ocean. That is one possibility. I have no desire to meet death so young though, so I shall explore other possibilities first.”

  The cabin stayed silent for some time after the last statement. Eventually the women departed the cabin for a rough dinner of the same foods the sailors ate. When they returned to the cabin Roberta immediately prepared for bed. Once she crawled beneath the rough blanket she inquired:

  “How long does the journey take?”

  “Two more days after today and we'll arrive, assuming neutral weather.”

  “So I've two days to prepare myself. What shall I do?” she mused to herself. She fell asleep still pondering the question.

  The following day when she awoke, she recalled the dream that had plagued her sleep. In the dream she had somehow managed to seduce a man, despite knowing nothing of the arts of seduction, and he had taken her virginity. Master Gutren had no longer wanted her when she wasn't a virgin. She was free and no longer living in her father's house. Daydreaming about the fantasy allowed the morning to pass quickly but reality set back in after lunch time. Idle chat with Annabelle revealed that she knew nothing else of import that could help Roberta in her goal.

  The boredom was struck dead in mid-afternoon when an alarmed call sounded on the deck of the ship.

  “Ship ho! She's flying the Jolly Roger!”

  “Break out the arms, all men on deck!”

  The ship's bell began ringing the alarm, calling all the sailors to positions on deck to defend the ship.


  Annabelle blanched:

  “Quickly Roberta, we must hide ourselves.”

  “As if that would matter. They'll either crew the ship and take it or simply sink it if they are victorious. In either case, hiding will not help us in the slightest. You hide if you like though.”

  Roberta began rummaging through her bag, removing the dagger that was a gift from Geoff. She unrolled the belt, donning it over her dress with the dagger partially concealed in the folds of fabric. Having not actually drawn it yet, she drew the dagger to test its balance. A quick check showed that the blade was admirably sharp and its balance was identical to the one Geoff had trained her with. The ball of blood on the thumb she had tested it with attested to its keen edge. Moving slightly, she realized that her dress was too confining. She quickly used the dagger to cut slits down the base on both sides, allowing her to lengthen her stride enough that she could lunge. Then she sat herself on the bed and waited.

  Throughout all of this Annabelle simply stared at her:

  “Where, exactly, did you get that? One of the things Master Gutren told me to make sure that you did not have was weapons.”

  “It was a gift from Geoff. I assume he slid it into my luggage when he was loading it onto the coach.”

  “Well, I'm glad I didn't get you delivered with that in your possession. Give it here!”

  “Why?”

  “So I can get rid of it.”

  “Exactly what will we do to defend ourselves from the pirates then?”

  “You think you're going to defend us against a shipload of pirates with a simple knife?”

  “You know nothing of tactics and strategies, do you? Do I need to defend against a shipload, or simply one? How many men can fit through that tiny door at one time? I think one alone, and he'll need to turn himself to fit through. That causes a vulnerability that I can take advantage of.”

  “Silly twit, you'll only anger them. Who knows what they'll do then.”

  “You utter moron, what is to keep them from doing whatever they want even if I don't anger them?”

  Annabelle was stumped by this last question and remained silent.

  The sounds of combat up on the deck of the ship did not allow the silence to rule the cabin though. The clash and scrape of metal on metal rang throughout the room. The occasional blast of noise signified that one side or the other had pistols in use as well as cutlasses. The sounds died away as one side or the other slowly edged towards victory.

  Roberta glanced out the porthole and was sorry that she had. There were many men in the water, men from both sides. Some were wounded and the blood had drawn sharks. She turned her head away from the sight as a man thrashed and went under, the fin of a shark showing that he wasn't simply drowning.

  Now, silence ruled the cabin. For several minutes there was no noise to be heard. Then heavy footsteps echoed from out in the hallway. Someone was coming down into the belly of the ship. The dull thud of wood on wood filled the cabin again and again as someone threw open door after door. Roberta positioned herself beside the doorway, on the side that the door would not open into, drew her dagger, and waited.

  * * *

  Chapter 4 – Captive

  The door flung open, smashing into the wall, yet still Roberta held her strike. As she suspected, a pirate leaned into the room to look around, his throat exposed like that of a shoat ready for slaughter. Just as she would have with a shoat, she quickly drew her dagger's keen edge across his throat. She stepped back to avoid the spray of blood that followed. The habit was ingrained in her from the last several years. During these years, if the family were to have meat on the table, she or Geoff would have to butcher it themselves. Her father had angered the local butcher with non-payment of a debt.

  The pirate collapsed in a heap at the threshold of the door, her cut having been deep enough to prevent him from drawing breath to yell. She used a foot to push him back out into the hallway, closing the door behind him. This would only buy them a few minutes, but she couldn't think of what else to do.

  “Jonsey! Where are ya? ya pustulent pig!” a voice rang through the hall. The insult fit well as the face of the corpse was covered in boils.

  “Ah Jonsey ya bastard, ya owed me money.” the softer sound of the voice came from right outside the door, “now where's the right bastard that put ya down? Maybe in here?”

  The voice stopped as the door swung open once again. This time there was a pause before anyone entered.

  “Well, what have we here? A wench all in tears. I guess she knows what's going to happen next.”

  The pirate had seen Annabelle on the bed. She'd been crying now for several minutes. He had not, evidently, seen Roberta. He stepped through the door eagerly, heading for Annabelle.

  Roberta waited as he passed her and hoped that she remembered Geoff's lessons correctly. He had told her that stabbing someone in the kidney was painful enough to give you several seconds before they would react. The pirate's right side was facing her so she struck just above the waist, slightly towards the back portion of his torso. She was worried about the strike penetrating deeply enough as the man had rolls of fat on his lower torso.

  Geoff had been correct though. The pirate stiffened with pain and he even drew a deep breath as though to cry out. Instead of yelling, though, he remained rigid, at least for the two seconds it took Roberta to, once again, draw her dagger across a throat. This time the spray of blood filled the small cabin, reducing Annabelle to an even more hysterical state as she was coated by the spray. Roberta had been standing behind the pirate and remained blood free. The pirate's body fell and this time it was in a position where Roberta couldn't easily clear it from the cabin and the door.

  She resigned herself to not being able to surprise any more pirates and set herself a couple of feet inside the doorway, the door held in her hand to swing in front of her as a shield should someone try to stab her. Once again she waited. It was a brief minute or two before she heard voices:

  “Smythe! Jonsey! Where are you two bastards? You trying to get your own bits of loot before we split out? Captain'll have your heads if you try that and you know it!”

  “Jonesy, Smythe!”

  The voice was growing closer.

  “Ah Jonesy, you poor sot.” The voice was in the hallway just outside but she couldn't see the owner yet. A knee came into view, the man was kneeling down beside the corpse in the hallway. She shifted her position slightly and the rest of the man came into view. This man looked nothing like the other two she had slain. He was younger, perhaps in his late twenties. Unlike the other two he was neither grotesquely fat nor covered in boils. His face was lightly tanned and had a growth of hair that couldn't quite be called a beard. It was all even in length so she guessed that he normally shaved but hadn't done so in a few days.

  The man must have caught her movement out of the corner of his eye since he turned his face to her as she completed the shift that allowed her to see him. When he noticed the dagger in her hand, his own hand dropped to the cutlass on his belt. They held the standoff for at least a minute. The man's eyes glanced farther into the cabin.

  “Is that Smythe in there?” he asked.

  “Only if Smythe was grotesquely fat. How would I know who it is?” she answered, her voice dripping with scorn.

  “That'd be Smythe then. Well, at least I found them both like the captain ordered me to.”

  The man came up of his knees and moved towards the door. Roberta brandished the dagger at him.

  “No closer or you join the two of them.”

  “I don't think so lass.” he said, drawing his cutlass.

  “What use do you think that will be to you? Perhaps you haven't noticed that the quarters are far too close to use it.”

  “Perhaps, but I don't think so. Besides, you have a weapon to hand, why shouldn't I?”

  Roberta shook her head:

  “Poor fool. You've never had proper training with a sword, have you?”

  “And you
have?” the man's voice was taking on a hint of anger.

  Geoff had counseled her years back that an opponent who fought in anger was easier to defeat than one who fought with a cool head. They were less likely to plan things in advance and more likely to fall for feints or other tricks.

  “Why yes, at least more than you have, to all appearances anyhow.” she continued her efforts to anger him.

  “Fool of a woman. You are arrogant and easily distracted.” the man stared over her shoulder and gave an exaggerated nod.

  She looked. She couldn't take the chance that he was bluffing and not look. As her head turned, she caught sight of him beginning a lunge. She changed her head turn into a full body turn, pivoting around the edge of the door farther into the cabin. As she did so, she also slammed the door as hard as she could. The tip of the man's cutlass protruded from the wood when the door stopped. She instantly wrenched the door open again with all her might. The man's cutlass stayed with the door but when he saw himself being drawn towards her dagger's point, he released the cutlass so as not to be dragged onto the dagger.

  “As I said, I've had more training than you apparently.”

  “Bitch! I could call my mates and they'd overrun you.”

  “Feel free to do so, I wonder what they'd say about you after you called for help because a woman managed to defeat you.”

  “You're a canny one, I'll give you that. Do you have a suggestion then?”

  “A pirate open to good sense. Will wonders never cease?”

  “Don't bait me woman or I'll take my humiliation and call the rest of the crew.”

  “Okay, well then. You didn't find us here. You drag this body out” she pointed to Smythe, “and you can have just found them both in the corridor out there. You'll have followed your captain's orders and I won't have to kill you.”

  “I'll have to come in there to drag the body out.”

  “I'll be holding my dagger at the ready all the while you are in here so you'll want to keep that in mind if you decide to try anything tricky.”

  The man came, slowly and cautiously, into the cabin. He took Smythe's arm and dragged the corpse out into the hallway. Roberta gestured for him to go back up the hallway and he moved that way. She took a quick moment to pry his cutlass out of the door and then shut it.