“I have been thinking, aunt. I don’t want to go back to that life. I want to stay with you. So instead of giving me a share of your treasure, I would rather you keep it. I would like an interest in the profits of the new ship you’re getting. I want to invest this gold back into you,” the niece offered.
“That is a very wise idea, niece. Once you spend this gold it will be gone forever, but buy a business and the gold never stops coming. I will work out a fair offer for you,” April Read smiled.
The group loaded into the jolly boat and returned to the Robin. They did their best to hide the chest and covered it with a large cloth, but the crew obviously saw something heavy being lifted and loaded aboard. The four tried to carry the wood box to the captain’s quarters without attention, but failed miserably. Once the swag was safely in her quarters she beckoned for Sam Scurvy and Isaac. The men ran down into her chambers in excitement. Isaac looked around confused and asked, “Where is Julius?”
“Oh it was terrible, the gators got him” Nina smiled slyly.
April cut in “Now, Sam, tell me where I can buy a good ship!”
* * *
Marian was startled at the sound of the pounding on the door. Heather ran into Marian’s room and sat on the bed with her, armed with a pistol and a few items from her growing collection of blades. The twins ran to the door. Amos was armed with a musket and cowering behind a chair, while Maximilian stood at the ready by the door. He had his left hand on the door handle and his dirk in his right hand in the air ready to strike. In his best, deep voice Maximilian called, “It be a late hour, stranger! What be your business with us now?”
“Lad, it be your Uncle William! Lemme in before da lobster backs get here!”
Maximilian lowered his dirk and hastily opened the door. “Redcoats?” he asked in shock, “What are the English doing heading here?!”
William burst in and before he could say another word he noticed the twins’ positions. The two were ready to take out anything unfriendly on the other side of the door. “Aw, me nephews! Know dat yer dad is proud of you two for being on your toes like dis!” Amos emerged from behind the chair as Maximilian closed and locked the door. “Amos,” William continued. “Get yer mum and your sister. Hurry up now!”
Within two minutes, the family was sitting around the table as William explained what had happened and how they were found out. The large bounty on their heads that Kingsley put up attracted many loyalist eyes. Someone had seen and recognized Isaac working on the farm a few months back. A mammoth of a Jewish man in a Scottish village was pretty hard to hide. The redcoats shook down some fur traders who have traveled to the colony of Argyll and they fingered Isaac.
“I got word that the lobster backs were on their way and I came by sea to beat them here. I did not beat them by more than an hour, now hurry!” William explained.
With his story finished, William ordered the girls to pack only the bare necessities that could be carried on their backs. He then ordered the twins to gather the Dandridge and Quinn families. “Make haste, everyone!” he exclaimed as he began to pack pouches with gunpowder and shots.
Maximilian ran to the Quinn house and raised everyone. He spared the details only saying the redcoats were on their way to arrest and execute everyone for murder and treasonous acts. They wasted no time in jumping out of bed and grabbing bags they already had packed. They always feared that at some point this dream life would come crashing to an end. The British intended to ensure the whole world was ruled under England’s thumb, no matter the cost.
Amos ran to the Dandridge home and pounded on the door. “It’s Amos! Wake up!”
Mari Anna opened the door and yawned as she asked, “What is it, Amos?”
“It’s the redcoats, Mari Anna!” Her eyes popped open, wide-awake, as Amos burst through the half-opened door and began gathering their weapons for them. “They're comin’ for us for murder and treason. Go! Wake your family and grab only what you need! We’re leavin’ now!”
Within about ten minutes, all of the fugitive families were standing in front of the Freeman home. Heather looked back at the home she had learned to love and the life of freedom she had grown accustomed to. She began to cry as Prudence and Mari Anna grabbed each of her hands. The inseparable trio walked together as the Quinn’s cart and horses began to move to the path leading to the nearby coast. The twins walked out in front, fully armed and fearless, nothing would take them from their solemn duty of protecting this hurriedly-packed group of families. They had lost their dear father and would lose no more!
Marian stood, staring at the moon. William walked up to her side and put a reassuring arm around her shoulders.
“Dat baby o’ yours will do fine, lass,” he said.
“Oh, of that I have no doubts,” she smiled at William. Her gaze turned back to the silvery moon high in the night sky. “I can’t decide if I want to bless or curse the moon for being full tonight. I’m grateful for a light for our journey, but I fear it’ll make us easier targets for the British.”
“T’is a blessin’, Marian. Never forget Duncan is always watchin’ over all of you! He will guide you when you need guidance and protect you when you need protectin’.” The two hugged and Marian fought back the tears welling in her eyes. “It will be alright, lass. Now, let’s go.” The pair began to walk away from the house when Marian stopped and ran back without a word.
“Marian!” William shouted after her. “Come back! What ‘er ya doin’, ya crazy lass?!?” He followed her and grabbed her by the arm.
“Turn me loose, William! The books! I left the books! I have to have those books!”
He let go of her arm and nodded. “Aye, but make it quick!” William suddenly felt a chill run up his spine and he made his firelock ready. “Thanks for the warning, Duncan,” he muttered under his breath, taking aim at the brush he had first emerged from when coming to evacuate the families.
Marian grabbed the leather bag containing the now sacred books of liberty, baptized in Archibald’s blood. She, too, had received the chill, the omen from her dead husband of danger looming. She quietly stepped on the porch to see William aiming at something on the edge of their property.
“William,” she whispered.
“Stay put, lass,” he said quietly. “I’ll draw ‘em out. When they get their first round shot, you run fer it and out leg um.”
“I’ll not leave you, William!” she shouted through a whispered tone.
“No, you won’t. I will be right behind you, I swear it!” William stepped off the porch and into the moonlight. Marian watched helplessly and she rubbed her stomach, as if to tell the baby that it was going to be alright. The baby knew something was amiss and would not stop moving inside her. With her other hand, she clenched the bag of books tightly and held them to her chest, as if to tell the books that it was going to be alright, also.
“FIRE!” came a disembodied command from the tree line. CRACK! POW! CRACK! BANG! There came a series of shots with puffs of smoke rising into the moonlight. William fired his musket simultaneously and heard a man scream in agony.
“Ha!” William shouted as Marian ran past him. “Got one of you pathetic bags of rat shit!” he shouted, taunting his dropped target. He ran behind Marian, with his claymore drawn, trying to escape the next round of shots. Marian and William ran hard and cleared the field in time. As they approached the group, Marian felt a sudden rush of panic as she suddenly realized that she could very well soon be watching her children die just as Archibald had died in front of her. “Run!” she screamed, tears now streaming down her face. “Run! They’re here!”
“We heard the shots,” Mr. Dandridge said as he met up with William and Marian, carrying an extra loaded musket for William. “Mari Anna, take this and hop in the cart. Get it reloaded quickly,” he commanded his daughter, handing her William’s musket.
“We’ve got such a long push to the coast, we’ll never make it,” Prudence began to weep.
“Now is not the ti
me for panic, dear,” her father said as he embraced her with a free hand. "Now, let’s get that musket loaded and get these horses runnin’ faster.”
* * *
Patrick stood in awe of the swamp before him. “I can’t believe this, Isaac! Another damn swamp! I will be more than happy to spend the rest of my life aboard the new Ship of the Line and never have to see another bug or swamp again!”
“You really need to stop whining,” Isaac said. He was no more thrilled to be traipsing through the swamp than Patrick was but whining was not going to accomplish anything. “We’ll all be happy to be together again and to welcome that new child to this world, so let’s get moving before we miss the birth.”
Patrick let out a big sigh. “You are right, my old friend.” With a pat on the back, he began to fight his way through the swamp trying to find some higher ground. April and Sam were back at the Cape Fear dock trying to buy a larger ship. The model was called a Ship of the Line and had aboard it more cannons than the Robin did, the Robin only being a mid sized Galleon. The two ships would hopefully be able to comfortably fit the increasing number of people that were being taken in by April or, in other words, her collection of social outcasts that she called a crew.
“I do miss playin’ ‘hush puppy’ with our mutt version of Garland,” Patrick said. He remembered their days of living in the swamp, stealing arms and cannons from Oglethorpe’s clumsy attempt on the Spanish.
“That was a good dog indeed Patrick, but I must tell you, I like the real Garland much better!” There was no concealing the smile on Isaac’s face now.
“So I’ve noticed,” Patrick said, half smirking. “I know that should it go that way, you’ll be good to my sister.”
“I have your blessing to court her then?” Isaac asked.
“My blessing?”
“Yes. Her father, your father, is dead. You are her guardian, her protector, but she would have to convert.”
“Ah, good luck getting her to do that!” Patrick laughed. He stopped and turned to Isaac and put his hand on his hulking shoulder. “Yes, Isaac. You have my blessing.” They embraced for a moment but were quickly interrupted by the sounds of hooves coming at them.
“Oh, this isn’t going to be good, is it?” Patrick asked, getting his firelock pointed in the direction of the noise with Isaac following suit.
“Hold fire, Patrick!” Isaac said as he saw a cart carrying the Quinns approaching in full canter. “Whoa! Sovereign Quinn!” Isaac held up his hand and waved them down.
“No,” Quinn stated breathlessly. “No stopping! The bloody backs have found us out! William got us out in time but they are right behind us!” Gun shots could be heard through the swamp.
“Where’s Marian?” Patrick asked. His gut filled with worry about her and the baby. Quinn pointed behind them.
They watched as the trio of girls ran toward them followed by the twins and their mother. The large Quinn and Dandridge families followed next in line. Last, but certainly not least, was a Scot, dancing around in his kilt and shouting in his native tongue as he dropped another soldier.
Amos had a wound to his shoulder, but he shrugged it off. “It’s only a flesh wound,” he said without skipping a beat, reloading his musket and pistol. Isaac and Patrick ran out to meet William in what was now a battlefield for the safety of their extended families.
“Aye! Be damn good seein’ ya, boys!” William exclaimed as he saw Patrick and Isaac run up to him.
“Good thing you are already heading to the Cape,” Patrick said. “We have a plan!”
“Good!” William shouted. “’Cause I’m shit out of ideas!”
“Just keep pushing toward the Cape Fear docks!” Isaac hollered at the group in front of him. They began their mad race to the Cape to escape certain torture and death at the hands of a mad and vengeful lot of soldiers.
* * *
Sam buried his face in his hands. Seeing this woman haggle like she was, would have been embarrassing for a man to do, but for a woman? It was not a usual sight. He didn’t know if the poor bastard selling his Ship of the Line was tolerating it because he badly needed to sell it, or because she was a woman. Normally, April wouldn’t have been looked at twice, but this was Captain Read after all. Nobody messes with her and gets away with it, or so the rumors say.
Sam heard a ruckus in the distance and saw smoke slowly rising over the tree tops. The echo of gun fire was all too familiar.
“Um, Cap’n,” Sam started. “Cap’n, I think we better be wrappin’ dis up now. I can hear the powder music approaching.”
“Quiet, Sam! You’ll be cleaning the barnacles off me keel after another outburst like that!” April continued to argue with the man selling the ship and Sam stepped closer and closer to the gunfire, pistol ready and scabbard drawn. He saw a cart approaching with a bloody Isaac driving it hard. He then surveyed a group of people in the cart, some bloodied, some crying hysterically. Following closely behind on foot was Patrick and a cursing Scotsman. The two kept turning and firing as quickly as two younger boys in the cart could reload their firelocks. The refugees finally reached Sam.
“Please, tell me that boat is ours, loaded and ready to go!” begged Isaac.
“No, not yet. Da cap’n be barginin’ fierce fer it,” Sam replied.
Patrick heard Sam’s reply to Isaac and he curtly stated, “Not for long, not if I have anything to say about it!” He ran toward April and stated commandingly, “Captain, let’s wrap this up! We need to leave. Now!”
April turned to him, aggravated that he would dare speak to her like that in front of business. “Me wolf, I go when I am damn good ‘n ready! Not one moment sooner!” She turned back to the seller of the ship, who had taken notice of the bloodied group and gunshots in the not-so-distant distance.
“Alright then!” the man shouted. “Fine! Just get the hell away from my docks before you cause me grief!” The seller wasted no time and dragged the heavy bag of gold off the ship, disappearing into the darkness.
April grinned and turned to Patrick with a smile of victory on her face. “Nice timing, my husband. So what the bloody ‘ell is goin’ on?”
“Redcoats! C’mon! We have to get everyone on board now. We have some serious injuries to tend to!”
“No!”
“No?”
“No.” Patrick stared at her in disbelief. The British troops emerged and were within range again and the gun fire volley began again. April coolly pulled out a bottle of rum from her purse. “We ain’t gettin’ on me new ship till it be renamed and done it right. If you don’t follow proper tradition, it will curse the vessel for all time!”
Patrick snatched the rum out of her hand and ran to the massive ship’s bow. “I name thee ARCHIBALD’S VENDETTA!” He smashed the bottle and rum ran all over the side and down into the salty water of the Atlantic Ocean. “There! It’s done! Now get on with it! We are leaving NOW!”
“You are so handsome when you try to exert authority, but no not yet. You only poured rum into the sea and never poured it on the deck. We need more rum,” she citied.
“For shit’s sake, where am I going to get more?” her husband belted back.
As if on cue a British bullet struck a cargo barrel full of rum sitting on the deck. It sprayed the sweet spirits all over the deck boards.
“There! The bloody lobsterbacks helped us out. NOW COME ON! EVERYBODY CLIMB ABORD!” he shouted. April shot him daggers out of her eyes in response.
The rest of the group was already clamoring on board as April and Patrick had what was sure to be the first of many disagreements. Sam and Isaac ran below the deck to ready the cannons as the families tried to take cover from the gunfire coming at them from the dock.
Patrick and April continued back and forth, a heated debate over the name of the ship while the crew prepared to fire a cannon at the dock as they departed. Mr. Quinn unleashed the sails as quickly as he could and Sam joined him. The cannon was loaded and Isaac was ready with the linstock for the
command to fire. The large vessel was pushing the limits of the shallow docks as is and the sailing master would have to be very careful not to run her onto a hidden sandbar. The ship creaked and moaned as it moved into the water and April swung the wheel to turn it broadside. “But I wanted to name me new ship for me best cat, Regan! I wanted it to be Regan’s Lore!”
“Stop it, woman and tell Isaac to fire at them already!” She glared at him. She hated it, but he was right. It was time to end this silly onslaught of British shots coming at them.
“Very well,” she said moving her hateful gaze to the shore. “FIRE!”
BOOM!!! Isaac covered his ears from the blast of the 18 pounder Armstrong. The concussive force and vibration knocked him off his feet.
The group on the deck began to shout and celebrate as they watched the redcoats fall and suffer a painful and grotesque death at the hands of such a force. Their muskets were no match and they had no cannons to fire back with. Archibald’s Vendetta was now too far out of range for their firelocks and they had no choice but to retreat. Patrick surveyed the British men through a spyglass and just for a second he swore he saw an irate Byron Kingsley yelling at his men.
Chapter 23
Checkmate
“We need to find safe harbor and hide for a bit while we fit our new ship. Do you have any ideas where we could go that is unwatched,” April queried.
Sam spoke up, “Cap’n, I would suggest that Spanish chain of islands around the tip of Florida. The locals call it Cayo Hueso.”
Audrey added, “Yes, that literally means ‘bone key’ because the island is littered with unburied human skeletons. Because of its dark nature, I have heard some sailors leave the word ‘Bone’ out of the title, simply calling the islands ‘The Keys’. If you ask me, I have a theory about the culture that left all those bodies. What I think-”
April cut her off saying, “If you want us to shelter there, you best not tell me anymore about the dark energy or presence of a dead culture that inhabits them. Sam, take us to ‘The Key’ islands right away.”
Pirates of Savannah: The Complete Trilogy - Colonial Historical Fiction Action Adventure (Pirates of Savannah (Adult Version)) Page 33