“Of course not,” I said. “You’d have to be some kind of hero.” William dropped his fork. Emily froze mid-bite. Captain Ashley just smirked.
“You’re angry at me for the way I greeted you earlier,” Captain Ashley said. “You’ll have to excuse my abruptness. It’s been an exciting day. I just arrested a small group of pirates who docked a sloop this morning.”
“No,” William gasped. I shot him a look that quieted him for the rest of the meal. He hadn’t said much so far and I wanted to keep it that way. I didn’t know if Captain Ashley caught on to William’s comment, but Emily certainly did. She visibly stiffened.
“Indeed,” Captain Ashley responded. “I have no doubt that there are more of them. They refuse to talk, but I’m sure our interrogators will get something out of them before they’re hanged tomorrow morning.” His eyes never left mine. He was searching for something. Guilt? Remorse? As it was, William’s fidgeting gave our guilt away faster than a full confession. Why was Heath Ashley so interested in my reaction?
“They put up quite a fight,” he added. “I had to rap one over the head with the hilt of my sword.” I was curious to ask which, but couldn’t without giving myself up. Although none of them were my favorite person, there wasn’t one I’d favor less than Captain Ashley.
“A sloop is a small vessel,” I said. “However did you know to look for her crew over any other ship?”
“Interestingly enough, the information came to me,” Captain Ashley said. “An innkeeper gave me this.” He tossed the gold coin down on the table in front of me. I stifled the appearance of recognizing it, but it was undoubtedly my father’s coin. I could tell by the markings. “He told me that the dockworker paid his tab with it. Once I spoke to the dock worker, I had all the information I needed to make the arrest.”
If he spoke to the dock worker, then surely he was given a description of the two men who negotiated the price. He’d know how many men were on the ship and how we were eager to change our time of arrival. Still, there was something that was bothering me.
“What’s so important about that coin?” I asked, genuinely curious. “It could be from anywhere.”
“No, it can’t,” he said. “It’s your father’s. Besides, one of the pirates had this.” He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled a familiar gold watch. My father’s watch. The watch that Smee took from me the day he brought William and me aboard the Queen Anne’s Revenge. “The coin and the watch are your father’s, which means that these pirates were a part of Jesse Labette’s crew at the time of his death and can lead me to him.”
Whatever the story was behind the coin, there was no denying the connection I had to that watch. If he was telling the truth, no one else would have had possession of either item aside from my father. Even the possibility that any pirate on Labette’s ship had stolen them seemed unlikely while two pirates were missing and William and I were seated in front of him.
Then my mind snapped to attention. This was his game. He didn’t want to tell Emily of our deeds. He knew that would never work. He wanted us to admit it to her ourselves so that we would be forever ruined in her eyes.
“Which reminds me,” Captain Ashley said. “You never did tell us of your harrowing rescue and return to Port Royal.” The trap was sprung and we were caught in his net. Emily’s eyes shot back and forth between William and me. I could tell by her stares that she’d figured us out. It was over. I opened my mouth to talk, but she interrupted me.
“Excuse me,” she said. “There’s work around the house that must be done.” Her voice was nearly as shaky as her attempt to stand.
“Of course, my dear,” Captain Ashley said. He released her hand and we all rose as the lady left. She did not look back at us as she went. Once she was gone, I gave in to my curiosity.
“How would you know that the coin is my father’s?” I asked.
“It’s from a rare chest of native treasures that only three men know about.” He pulled his shirt open to reveal an identical gold coin dangling from a silver chain. “We each keep one as a reminder. Terms of our fortune, you can say.”
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“It’s unclaimed treasure, so we claimed it. Swearing to secrecy, of course,” he smiled wickedly. “Every so often, we take a little to further our careers or our properties.”
“Piracy?” William stammered.
“Opportunity,” Ashley corrected and turned to me. “Your father and I ambushed and sank a small armada of pirate ships not too far south and west of here,” he told me. “Some of the savages swam ashore and we took boats to follow.”
“My captain and I found it first. Jonathan stumbled upon us already dividing up our stakes. He insisted that we bring it back to the ship and pay our share to the crown. Always procedures with him. Still, my captain is a very convincing man and, in the end, your father wasn’t as noble as he let on.”
“That’s not true,” I growled. My fists clenched at the thought of what he was suggesting.
“Oh, it most certainly is,” he sneered at me. “In fact, since that day, every pirate ship we took, we added to the pile of our fortune.”
“And now you have a much larger cut of that pile,” I snarled at him. “My father’s death has played out well for you, hasn’t it?” He looked at me with a newly heavy seriousness.
“I never wanted your father dead,” he told me. “I just wanted him to admit to himself the man he was.”
“Wait,” William said. “My father knew about this?”
“Harrison knew nothing, which was his role in life,” Heath said. “A big, dumb, reliable ox for Jonathan to order around. If Jonathan actually respected him, I’m sure he would have told him.”
“I won’t let you slander my father’s name,” I told him.
“Neither of you are in any position to clear it,” Captain Ashley stepped over to the fireplace and shuffled through some papers. “I hope you understand the gravity of your actions,” he said over his shoulder before placing a note on the table. I picked it up and read it in disbelief.
Emily,
I have found William and James, or rather, they have found me. They are alive but there is something you need to know.
They were on the ships raiding Charles Town. James is using the name Hook and looks every bit the pirate. I barely recognized him or William. They’re both so hardened and cold.
James told me that they are trying to get back to Port Royal, but I don’t see how anyone can return from such a life.
I’m sorry. I wish I had better news.
Regrettably,
Thomas Darling
“As caretaker of the Jukes’ estate,” Captain Ashley said. “I receive all mail sent to this residence. I spared Emily from reading it. Sadly, I didn’t get to your poor mother in time.” My heart sank. I looked up at the man who had beaten me.
“So,” he said, “does the dread pirate, Hook, prefer his hanging in the morning or in the evening?”
Before I had a chance to respond, William leapt onto the table and dove at Captain Ashley. They tumbled to the floor and I was left dumbfounded. I quickly came to the conclusion that when all civilized action was exhausted, the savagery that lies within all of us was the only answer. I folded the letter into my pocket and joined the tumble.
Our advantage was short lived. William was strong and we were two to his one, but Captain Ashley was a trained killer. We both wound up lying on the floor, backs to the fire, with an enraged Captain Ashley standing over us. He pulled out his pistol and took a steady aim.
“There will be no noose for you,” he said, “no crowd to view your deaths. You will die alone and uncelebrated, like every pirate should.”
I stared him down boldly, knowing that this was the end. I had traveled this far only to be shot by the man who abandoned my father to his death. I knew that similar thoughts were going through William’s mind as well.
As I awaited the click of the hammer and the burst of gunfire, I heard the u
nexpected crash of glass. Heath Ashley slumped to the floor and my Emily rushed to us.
“Hurry,” she said, “there are more on the way.” In our shock, she grabbed us both by the wrist and led us to the window. We saw five men breaking down the front door. I grabbed my father’s coin and watch before we opened the window and climbed down the grate to the side.
“Why?” I asked once we reached the ground. I tried to come up with more to say but failed.
“When your mother died,” she said, “I thought I lost the last part of you. I’m not losing either of you again.”
“What about Captain Ashley?” I asked her.
“He’s after the estate,” she said. “If he wants it, he can have it.” She mounted one of the horses left by the soldiers. “So, what are you waiting for? Let’s go get your ship back.”
“Not yet,” I told her. William and I mounted horses of our own. “If we’re sailing, we’ll need my crew.”
“Fine,” Emily said. She sidled over to Heath Ashley’s horse and threw me the ring of keys on his saddle. “You’ll need these.”
“We’ll meet up at dusk,” I said. “You know where.”
Chapter Thirty-Two
My mind chased ideas that came and went as fast as our horses rode into town. I didn’t need to think about how to get to the holding cells. I’d seen them a dozen times in my youth. My mind was occupied with how William and I were going to overcome British soldiers.
We approached the jailhouse without one shred of a plan. We couldn’t run in shooting, we’d surely end up dead. Nor did we have the time for anything fancy. However, I did remember something that could help. William and I dismounted and crept around the back of the building. I remembered a small grating in the alley where one could look in and see the prisoners.
Captain Ashley was telling the truth. The entire crew was in this cell. Starkey, the gentleman, and Cecco, the Italian, sat in one cell. Noodler, with the backwards hands, was in the second with the others. I didn’t see Smee right away, but found him lying in the cot behind Cecco.
There were two guards in the lower area. One seated. One standing. There were always two at the desk, plus the interrogator, made five. I felt the edge of paper in my pocket and the seed of a plan formed in my mind. I waited for one of them to look over. Cecco saw me first and elbowed Starkey quietly. He motioned to Noodler, then slid over to catch the keys as I dropped them through the grate. I pointed to the two guards and then back at Starkey, letting him know that they were his responsibility. I turned to William and told him, “Follow my lead.”
Dressed as we were, we looked respectable. That should get us through the door. I pounded my fist against the heavy door. Metal scraped against the wood and a man peered through a slat.
“What is it?” he asked.
“I have a message from Captain Ashley,” I told him. William shot me a surprised look but I continued, “He has captured the two missing pirates at the Jukes’s household and requires the presence of the interrogator.” The bolt slid and the door opened with a creak.
William and I stepped through and were greeted by three men. Two were husky soldiers. The other was a sharper, leaner man, who had to be interrogator. I pulled Thomas Darling’s letter from my pocket and waved it in the air.
“This correspondence demands your presence at the Jukes’ household with your instruments immediately,” I told him. Captain Ashley must have garnered an impressive reputation at my father’s expense because the interrogator nearly jumped out of his skin as he bolted through the door. One of the husky soldiers followed him out, leaving only one soldier behind the desk.
“Hand it here,” he said. I must have looked at him blankly because he said it again, this time more forcefully. “The letter. Hand it over.” I gave it to him. I watched as his face twisted with confusion. “What is the meaning of this?”
As the echo of gunfire sounded from the cells, the soldier turned and William and I lunged at him. William held him as I wrestled his pistol away and fired. The bullet hit him high in the chest and dropped him to the floor.
William and I rushed to the cell. We found one soldier already dead at the feet of Cecco, who now held the soldier’s pistol. The other soldier was being held against the bars by Noodler and the others, while Skarkey attempted to unlock their cell door.
There was no time to waste. Someone must have heard the gunfire. On the table next to me were the items that were confiscated during the arrest. Of the selection of knives and tools was a single boarding hook. I grabbed it and swung a hard overhand strike to the soldier being held against the bars. The hook sank deep in the soldier’s chest. I must have hit the heart, because blood gushed out onto the floor. It wasn’t clean, but it ended quickly.
“Round up the men,” I shouted. “It’s time to leave.” The satisfaction of giving orders was only dulled by the feeling that something was wrong. Something was missing. It took me a moment to figure out what it was.
“Where’s Smee?” I asked. It wasn’t that I didn’t notice his presence. What I noticed most was the absence of his objection to me being the one to give orders. Noodler pointed a backwards finger at the far cell.
Smee was now sitting upright on his cot. As I walked towards him, I saw that his head was wrapped with cloth and there was dried blood down the side of his face, staining the hair that was starting to grey slightly at the sides. And then I remembered what Captain Ashley said about having to strike one of the pirates with the hilt of his sword. Somehow, I never expected it to be Smee.
“How bad are you hurt?” I asked. Smee turned to me slowly and smiled. This smile was not that of a predator. There was no hidden intent. This was a true smile and considering the man supplying it, it was far more terrifying.
“What are my orders, Captain?” he asked. Confused, I looked to Starkey for an answer. He just shook his head. Cecco, Noodler and the others did the same.
“We have to go now, Smee,” I told him. Obediently, he nodded and stood. He stumbled and I caught him. I surprised even myself that I didn’t let him fall. After all the beatings he gave me, Smee didn’t deserve my sympathy. But then I’d never seen him so weak and defeated.
“It’s me,” he stuttered quietly.
“Yes,” I told him. “Your name is Smee.”
“No, IT’S ME!” he yelled. “What I was saying when they found me.” He turned his glassy eyes up to meet mine. “It’s me.” I looked at him for a moment before remembering Jesse Labette’s story of how Smee came aboard the Queen Anne’s Revenge.
“I was on a freighter with my parents. We were attacked by pirates,” Smee began. “There were so many. They killed my father and the captain.” His breath was shallow between statements. “I managed to throttle one to death. I grabbed for my mother to take her below deck. She turned and ran me through the gut.” He wrenched over and held his stomach as though the wound were still fresh. “I heard her cries as I tumbled overboard. ‘It’s me,’ I kept saying. ‘It’s me.’”
Until now, the idea of leaving him behind had been very real. Now, I couldn’t seem to bring myself to let him fall. So much of his life was taken by pirates and even more was taken by Heath Ashley. If there was such a thing as justice, abandoning Smee would not serve its purposes.
“Do you remember your name?” I asked him.
“What good is it?” he said. “I’m Smee just like you’re Hook.” He looked at me with glassy eyes and began to blubber. I covered his face and shook him.
“Look sharp,” I barked.
“Is the ship where we left it?” I asked. Smee regained his composure before he answered.
“Y—Yes, but there are soldiers on her now.” I looked down at the bodies of the three soldiers at our feet.
“I’m sure I’ll think of something,” I told him. Then, shakily, Smee put one foot in front of the other and followed me out of the cell.
Chapter Thirty-Three
Recovering the ship was easier than expected. William set fire to the
jail cell, drawing most of the soldiers and local officials away from the pier. The two adjacent buildings went up in minutes. By the time we reached the sloop, that whole block was engulfed in black smoke. We killed the two soldiers aboard the ship quickly. We took our time with the dock keeper.
We took the sloop around the island to the spot where I was to meet Emily. You know where, I told her. Though small, the ship was still too large to take safely into the lagoon. We dropped anchor off-shore and I prepared a boat.
“Wait here,” I told them. “I’ll be bringing back another.”
“What makes you think we won’t leave you?” Cecco said with a smirk. William and Smee visibly tensed, but one look from me settled them. I pulled a boarding hook out of my coat pocket and held it up to my eye.
“By now I’m sure you’ve learned better,” I joked. No one laughed. “There are treasures to be found and more cities to burn,” I told them. “Besides, I’ll be but a moment.”
With that, I began rowing to the shore. I left William behind. He didn’t need to be a part of this. This was between me and Emily.
Thinking of her brought back all the same worries over whether she could truly accept me. Yes, she chose me over Captain Ashley back at the house. That should be enough, but I needed to know. Questions ran through my mind with each stroke of the oar against the water. Did she save me because she knew Captain Ashley was about to kill me or because she knew me and wanted me just the same?
I reached the shore and looked up at the growth hanging over the rocky wall. The climb up the steep side of the cliff was hard, but I remembered the way. Of all the changes I had seen, this was the one place that remained the same.
More thoughts burned in my mind with each step. What if she did accept me wholly and completely? The life I had dreamt of returning to was long dead. As I reached the top of the rocky overhang, with blood pounding in my ears, I realized that all the days of my future depended on the next few minutes.
Captain James Hook and the Curse of Peter Pan Page 11