With that, the two Hispanic servants left the room and locked the bolt behind them. Burke stood over Cori’s bed and ran his fingers through her long black hair. He covered her up with blankets and pushed his chair closer to be by her side. The Count of Calais ran his fingers over the pirate princess’s bruised skin. He woke up to check on her many times through the night, feeling an overwhelming guilt for causing her to be treated so badly. Burke understood why she had no choice and he hated the pirates for her harsh treatment. He vowed to help her escape, one way or another.
During the night he felt the pull of the ship and realized that it was turning around. He wondered why they were headed back towards Hispaniola but no one came to inform him of anything. It would take another two or three days to get back to the island and he hoped that The Heart of Calais would rescue him by then. When morning finally came and Burke’s night of restless slumber ended he awoke to find Cori painfully turning over in bed. As she opened her eyes she gasped and jumped up in agony. “I am late for work!” she screeched.
“Shhh, shhh, it is okay! I think you will be locked here for a few days…” Burke consoled.
Remembrance of the night before flashed through her mind and she sorely lay back down, “Oh yeah.”
“Cori, I am so sorry. I apologize from the bottom of my heart. I truly did not know anything like this would happen to you. Are you alright?” Burke asked.
“Yes, I shall be fine. Do not worry about it. I hope you are not hungry,” Cori sighed as she stood from the bed, wrapped in her sheet. She knew Burke had been in her room and saw her skimpy gown but she did not want to subject herself to any extra indecency. Walking carefully to the far side of the room, she pushed her dresser away from the wall, stood behind it, and changed into her long, covering nightgown.
Burke smiled and answered her as she changed, “Nah, I can make it if you can. For some reason I think we are headed back to Hispaniola.”
Cori nodded her head and walked back to her bed, “We won the battle last night but they really took a fierce toll on our ship. Zeeman can fix it but we need more supplies. We cannot make it all the way to Africa as we are so I am sure we are going back to Hispaniola to make the repairs before trying again.”
“My ship should be following; we will probably run right into them! They shall take down The Beloved Loss effortlessly. I will not leave without you, Cori. You may come along and I promise to take you wherever you want to go. I must arrest your father and his crew, but I shall set you free somewhere along the way. Name anywhere you want to live and I will take you there.”
Cori understood that if Burke’s ship took The Beloved Loss down then they would arrest her father to make an example out of him for the rest of the pirates around. That Burke had been searching out The Beloved Loss for the sole purpose of arresting them in the name of the King of France was something Cori would not know or fully understand for quite a long time. Pondering her options, she replied “My Aunt and Uncle, Novia and Guillermo, they are from Cuba. Can you free them, too?” She asked, as always thinking of others before herself.
“Yes, anything you wish. I shall take them back to Cuba. Is that where you want to go also?” He asked, strangely hoping she would choose somewhere closer to France.
“No. I want to go somewhere that I do not have to ever deal with pirates again. Where should I go?” She asked.
“France, England, the Netherlands. Pirates tend to stay away from Europe,” he suggested.
Burke surely knows where pirates like to avoid, since he is a pirate himself, she silently considered. “Falco is from the Netherlands so I do not want to go there. My father is French, I will go there. Maybe I have family I can find.”
“That sounds perfect. I am from France, as well. I can show you around,” he agreed.
“Alright,” Cori whispered. Her arms were black and blue and she was in a lot of pain. They always tried to leave her face unmarred, so she would remain attractive enough to bring in enemy ships.
It took all the restraint Burke could muster to not pet the girl lying next to his chair. She was absolutely beautiful and he felt so sorry for her and the pain he had inadvertently caused her. Her tired body stilled and she drifted back to sleep. Burke could not take his eyes off of her. She is everything a man could want for a bride, Burke reasoned. He did not ever want to get married but even he could imagine how blessed a man would be to have her as a wife.
Now that she was sleeping again, Burke let himself run his fingers across her bruised arms and brush through her long hair. He wondered what kind of life she would have if she married Falco, what her life might be like if she married someone loving, kind, and generous in France, and if she would be happy married to someone like himself. That thought made him wonder what Odelia was doing and how she was taking his absence. It hurt him to the core that someone as sweet and honest as Cori might be forced into a horrible life with a man like Falco, when someone deceitful and vicious like Odelia would inherit a life of ease with a man that she only used as a bank account.
Burke knew he had to help Cori get away. He had to make this mission as successful as possible, bringing the crew of The Beloved Loss back to King Louis XIV. The plan was more important than ever. Even if it means I must marry Odelia sooner than I wanted to, it shall be worth it to just get Cori to safety.
Maybe Odelia will go back to France before I am found. It would be wonderful if she thought I was dead and set her sights on some other poor soul. When I returned it would be too late, she would be married, and I would be free. If that happened, he wondered, would Cori consider someone like me for a husband?
Burke could not believe what he was saying to himself. He had always wanted freedom, not a life tied down at home with a boring woman. No, I must find a way to get her to safety. She shall marry someone who can keep her satisfied and I will have my career back, he decided. He could not understand why that resolution seemed so unlikeable.
The morning ticked slowly by and Burke still sat by Cori’s side, waiting for her to wake back up. When she finally did, it was close to noon. “Are you feeling alright?” He asked caringly.
She sat up in bed as carefully as she could, “Yes, I am fine. Have you been sitting here beside me all morning?”
“Yes, and all night too. I am just worried about you,” he explained.
“I will be fine, this is not the worst I have had,” she said with a forced laugh.
“I do not even want to hear about it,” Burke stated angrily. “You do not deserve this.”
“Life is not fair. Maybe my new life shall be so wonderful when we escape that it will make up for it, right?” She asked optimistically.
“Yes, I hope so.”
“How long have you been sailing?” She asked, wondering if he had been born into pirating like she had been or if he chose it later in life.
“I bought my first ship when I was eighteen, your age. I am thirty now, so about twelve years,” he answered.
Curiously, she replied, “Really? What is life like on land?”
“Stable. Safe. It is sometimes quite boring,” he chuckled. “The best life, in my opinion, is one like I have. I can go back and forth between my home on land and my home on the water.”
“That would be exciting!” Cori liked the ocean and knew no other home, “I just do not want to deal with pirates anymore, no offense.”
“Oh, none taken! I do not want to either.” He answered. Burke wondered why she might think he would take offense to that; he was no pirate, after all. She had visited with Falco for over an hour the day before and Burke had noticed several glares in his direction, so he knew their conversation had been about him. Surely Falco explained to her that I am not a pirate, which is why she felt especially bad for luring me in.
Cori, on the other hand, wondered what Burke meant when he said he did not want anything to do with pirates either. Does he dislike his life as a pirate, like I do? If he gave up his illegal pirating career it would put him in a whole
new league of men. That league is one with men who Cori would happily consider for marriage.
SIX
Without notice their conversation was interrupted. No knock was heard but the loud bolt on the outside of the door was noisily unlocked. Burke’s quick thinking gave him time to move his chair several feet away from Cori’s bed. Without a moment to spare, he plopped back into his seat and closed his eyes, as if sleeping. The door opened and Falco entered dominatingly. “Mevrouw, how are you feeling?”
“I am alive, no thanks to you, Falco.” She answered.
Falco sat down on the bed beside her and she scooted as far from him as she could. He reached out and laid a hand on her leg as he explained, “You deserved punishment. You cannot expect to act so defiantly and get away with it, you are a woman nonetheless. Your job is to be submissive, why can you not learn that the easy way?”
“Maybe I believe that marriage should be about love. If I respected you I would want to listen to your words. If you appreciated me minding you, you would only ask me to do things that are fair. You do not appreciate me, respect me, or even love me. Why should I bow down to you? Give me a reason to be submissive and maybe I will do it, Falco,” she retorted, staring him in the eyes.
“Listen, you have a chance to redeem yourself and get out of trouble. Do you want to eat again, my Mevrouw?” He questioned, staring at Burke’s suspiciously sleeping form. “Why does he sleep during the day like this?”
“Um, well, he is probably bored. Since we are locked in this room and not trusted to speak to each other,” Cori lied.
Falco shrugged, “Well at least he is obeying my orders. Now, do you want to redeem yourself or not?”
Cori watched Burke’s purposely limp form stiffen in his chair, cringing at the thought of obeying anyone. Trying to keep Falco’s attention off of Burke, she replied dryly “Depends, what is it?”
“A ship is coming toward us from the direction of Hispaniola,” he began. Cori was listening to his words but staring at Burke. When Falco mentioned that a ship was coming towards The Beloved Loss, Burke’s foot twitched, Cori caught his sign and hoped Falco did not. “Your father believes it may be The Heart of Calais, Captain Belcourt’s ship. If that is the case we can expect a fight. We will leave him locked in this room; if we go down he is going down with us. I need you to get dressed and do your job. No complaints this time, do you hear me?”
Cori did not know what to say but wanted to be alone with Burke so he could give her appropriate instructions. “Yes, just leave me in peace for a few minutes to get dressed, alright?”
“Take your time, they are still a distance from us and we are not even positive that it is The Heart of Calais yet. Just get ready and I shall return for you within the hour,” he commanded.
Feigning submissiveness, Cori replied “Yes, Sir.”
As soon as the door was closed and the bolt sounded, locking them back in, Burke jumped to life in his chair. Cori leaped from her bed and raced to his side. “What should I do?” she asked with a rush of excitement. This could be my big chance to escape!
“He plans to leave me locked in here. I know Acel, he is my First Mate, best friend and cousin. He could blow this ship to pieces but he will not risk harming me. My men shall wave a surrender flag and pull right up to the boat, as if to give it away. Your father is smart enough not to fall for that but let’s hope he does not start firing at a distance. When Acel comes to you to demand my release you need to give him a message without anyone from your ship being able to hear. Can you do that?” He asked.
With her nod, he continued. “Tell him I am okay and locked in your room. You must tell him to distract Marin and Falco while you sneak to get me. When they come to the deck to talk to Acel, you run down and unlock this door for me. I’ll figure out what to do from there, but when we get safely to The Heart of Calais we will attack The Beloved Loss, understand?” Burke’s plan was decisive and Cori could not see any flaw.
“Yes, that sounds good. Close your eyes while I change clothes,” she commanded.
Closing his eyes, he let her change with respectable privacy. He wondered in those moments, not about the upcoming battle, but about what it would be like to be Cori’s husband and be the only man to see her in see-through nightgowns.
When she was finished dressing she paced the room nervously. It was only minutes later that Falco burst back into the room. Burke, feigning sleep again, did not seem like a threat to Falco. “Mevrouw, are you ready?” he asked with something large weighing on his mind.
“Yes, I am. I thought you said it would be awhile?” she questioned in confusion.
He looked at Cori in fear, “Your father just confirmed that it is The Heart of Calais, but it is not alone. There is another ship following behind it. We must assume that Burke’s crew brought back-up. We cannot afford a battle right now; our ship is already in a poor state due to last night’s fight. Finish getting ready, I shall be back in a few minutes.”
When Falco was out of the room again, Burke looked at Cori. She was smiling and he was not. “Did you hear that, Burke? Your ship brought reinforcements; we will have no problem taking The Beloved Loss down!”
“No, Cori. We know no one from Hispaniola, and they are all loyal to your father. I highly doubt that my crew could have found help,” he replied cautiously.
Cori was nervous as well but she was too excited to be negative, “Surely they did. Maybe they found help from an island not loyal to my father, like Cuba!”
“Let’s hope so,” Burke sighed doubtingly.
“Are you going to behave now, Corisanda?” Sharlene asked as Cori anxiously walked to her usual position on the ship.
“Yes, Sharlene.” Cori looked into the distance and could easily make out the two ships coming toward The Beloved Loss. The big, elegant ship that belonged to Burke was getting closer quickly. The other ship was still a ways into the distance but definitely following The Heart of Calais.
The minutes seemed to drag by for Cori as she paced the deck of her father’s boat. They went by in the same manner for Burke as he waited impatiently in Cori’s quarters.
“Cori!” Marin yelled from the helm. “Get up here!”
“Yes, sir?” Cori asked as she reached him.
Marin glanced at his daughter, scanning his eyes across her bruised arms. “You are alright, I presume.”
“Yes. I am fine,” she replied. For a moment Cori felt bad. She knew she would not miss her father, but she loved him more than she had ever been able to tell him. Burke would undoubtedly arrest Marin, Sharlene, and Falco. Cori did not resent that, but she pitied her father for his loneliness.
“Cori, I do not know what is about to happen. I will need your help, do you understand?” He questioned, looking his daughter in the eyes.
She tried to seem as innocent as possible, “Yes, Sir. It is The Heart of Calais coming after their captain, right?”
“Yes, that is Captain Belcourt’s ship in the front. There is a ship following though, and I have reason to believe it is not with Burke’s ship. Falco believes Burke’s crew found a ship for back-up and they are all against us. That could be true, and if both team up against us then we shall easily be taken. If it is not with The Heart of Calais, then it could attack either one of us, who knows!” He answered.
Cautiously, Cori asked “Why do you not think it is with Bur… I mean, Captain Belcourt’s ship?”
“It is following at a strange distance.” Marin pointed out, “If it was with Captain Belcourt’s ship it would be close to it to help immediately with a battle or it would be far enough behind that we still cannot see it, like a surprise attack. However, it looks as if it is trying to catch Burke’s ship and being cautious about ours as well. Perhaps it is not on either side. If that is so, it could be neutral. It might sail by as we wage war with The Heart of Calais. Or it could attack either ship.”
“Oh, I see,” Cori whispered, becoming even more nervous.
“Just do your part, lure The
Heart of Calais in and ask the First Mate to come aboard. Tell him we shall give Burke to them if he comes on the ship, do whatever you have to in order to make their ship as weak as possible. We cannot take many blows right now. That is why we are not going to fire at them until they are in close proximity. Our ship is in desperate need of repair as it is and if we are close enough to reach out and touch them it will be a gun fight, not a cannon fight. However, if a fight breaks lose, help Laron, Yvet, Klaas, Zeeman, Falco, whoever needs you,” he dismissed.
Cori nodded her head and answered with a shaky, “Yes, Sir.”
Moments later The Heart of Calais was pulling up side by side to The Beloved Loss, as Cori waved her white flag beckoningly. A man who looked much like Burke walked to the side of the ship, only a few yards from Cori. The man was definitely younger but not much. Just like Burke, the man was noticeably taken with Cori’s supreme beauty. “Acel Belcourt, Mademoiselle. I am here after our captain,” he said hostily.
“Yes, Ace.” Cori addressed Acel with the nickname Burke used for him, letting him know that she was on their side. “Listen, I must talk quickly and quietly so no one hears. My father is the captain of this ship and has Burke held hostage. He and I have been locked in my quarters since he was detained. My father wants me to talk you into coming aboard the ship to further weaken The Heart of Calais so we can wage war, so whatever you do, do not come aboard! Burke wanted me to tell you to call my father, Marin, and my fiancé, Falco. You must hold their attention while I find a way to release Burke. The two of us will try to escape to The Heart of Calais then you can blow this piece-of-trash pirate ship to shreds. Understand?”
“Um, yes Mademoiselle. Alright. That could work,” Acel stuttered in confusion. “What should I do to distract them?”
“Just yell their names, I shall run away and leave them standing here. Ask them for Burke back, or whatever you can think of to get their attention off of me. Okay?” Cori asked decisively.
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