“What irony? That you walked into my house believing you were just going to take what you wanted, go back to your ship, and move on to the next? Obviously there’s irony in the fact that I now hold you hostage.”
“The irony, my dear, is you calling me a pirate when you’re the one holding the knife and forcing me to give you passage on my ship. Just between you and me, Madame, it appears there is more than one pirate in the room.”
Chapter Twelve
Cassandra was a brilliant organizer, manager, and the unofficial mayor of their little community, but she had no desire to captain a ship. Miranda was their accountant and keeper of the trade of goods, but she was more comfortable on land and negotiating the value of plunder…as well as the value of a good time. However, neither of them was unable to rise to any occasion when called upon, and both had joined Willy on deck to assist with their voyage home.
Keara was back on her watch and had stepped inside only for a moment when she heard James call from the beach, “Sail!”
It felt like an eternity before the crew of the Carolina Cutlass was finally reaching the shore. Keara and James waited as the longboats unloaded and Miranda and Cass were safely on the beach.
“Where’s Ivory? You didn’t find her?” Keara asked.
“It’s a long story, but she’s aboard the Black Cat, or Le Chat Noir as that pompous ass, Blacksnake, calls it. We need to load up the Cutlass again and go after them, Ke. He’s headed for Nassau to collect a bounty that’s been placed on Ivory’s head,” Cass explained as they rushed up the beach to the house.
“What a strange name for a ship,” James remarked.
“Oh, he’s eccentric, that one, and has ice in his veins,” Cass replied.
“But to name a ship after a black cat? Any pirate knows that a black cat aboard ship is bad luck.”
“Well, let’s hope for Ivory’s sake that any bad luck aboard that ship falls upon him and leaves her be,” Miranda said.
“Let’s get inside, and you can fill us in. I’ll have Willy get the Cutlass ready, and we’ll need a consort now that we no longer have the Diamond. There’s no way in hell the Cutlass can take on Blacksnake’s ship,” Keara stated.
Cassandra and Miranda shared their stories of what transpired in Kingston, which both shocked Keara, as well as confirmed some of what she had surmised, except that fifty thousand pounds was nothing compared to what they had hidden away in their house. She explained to them what her suspicions were, but they all agreed that regardless of the bounty, or the diamonds, they needed to set sail by sundown to either catch Blacksnake or save Ivory before the Royal Navy got their hands on her.
“We need a captain for the Lady Jade. Any suggestions?”
“Jesus, Ke, is she even seaworthy?” James asked.
“The Cutlass needs a consort, and she’s all we’ve got.”
“She’ll do just fine. She could use a careenin’, but there’s no time fer that,” Willy said, entering the room.
“So we still need a captain. Ke, you were quartermaster of the Diamond, so it’ll be acceptable to the crew for you to take over the task as captain of the Cutlass,” Cass said, clearing off the kitchen table and rolling out the navigation maps. “James, map us a course to Nassau. Willy, you’re a damn fine bosun, and you’re highly respected by the crew. What say you of taking on acting captain on the Lady?”
“I’m too old fer that. What about Phineas Jackson? He lost his ship a month ago off Florida in a storm. I figure if God seen fit to spare his life, He must a’ had a damn good reason fer it.”
“Where is Phineas now?” Cass asked.
“He’s right here in the Port. Last I heard, he was drownin’ his sorrows at a pub in town. Shall I send out a search party?”
“Just go find him and bring him here. I don’t care how you do it, but I need him here and sober before nightfall,” Cass stated, leaning over the table at Willy with fire in her eyes. “Fucking pirates drive me insane,” she murmured. “Present company excepted, of course.”
“Ke, may I have a word with you outside a moment?” James asked from the doorway.
Keara rose and followed him outside and down to the beach. “What is it James? We have a lot to do, and there’s no time for nonsense.”
“I’m very worried about this Blacksnake. His reputation, as well as his record, is untouchable. He’s never pursued a prize he hasn’t won, and he’s certainly never pursued a ship he didn’t board or sack. I don’t want you going out there and getting yourself killed.”
“Seriously, James, you act as if I’ve never done this before,” she replied, turning to head back to the house when James reached out and snatched her by the arm.
“I…I don’t want to lose you. I feel absolutely ridiculous, Ke, but I have this knot in my stomach, and I’ve learned to listen to it. It’s telling me if we attack him at sea, we’ll be blown out of the water.”
“You should feel ridiculous. No, the Cutlass isn’t the Blue Diamond, and the Lady Jade… well, we both know she’s seen much better days. But, what are we to do James? Just leave Ivory to die?”
“You’ve told me yourself that you’d still be back in Charles Towne feeding chickens and farming if Ivory hadn’t risked all of your necks and taken the Demon Sea from Barclay all those years ago. How are you responsible for a mess she made in the first place?”
James had no sooner uttered the words when a hard slap hit him across the right side of his face. “That’s enough! I know how you feel about Ivory, and that’s none of my concern. However, just because it gets rough here, or the bugs are biting, or, God forbid, I’m just having a lousy day and I want to blame someone for it, don’t take me to heart. This is the life we chose. The life I chose. I love you to death, James Roberts, but I’ll bury you if try to stand in the way of this!”
“I’m not standing in your way…I just don’t want to stand by and watch you die!” he shouted, taking her by the shoulders and pulling her up on her toes against him.
“Then don’t watch me die. Do your job and fight at my side, and if it’s our day to meet our maker, we’ll do it together. I don’t need your protection, James. I need your loyalty, and above all, I need you at my back if things go badly. Now let me go, and don’t ever let me hear you speak against Ivory again. Love her or not, she is your Captain and, as such, that kind of talk can get you killed. And if I must say it, I don’t wish to watch you die either.”
The setting sun was but an hour away when Phineas Jackson was finally found and brought to the beach. The ships were loaded and ready, but he was in foul shape and not yet suited for minding a skiff, let alone a full crew, even on a small sloop like the Lady Jade. Jackson was disheveled and still wearing the clothes he wore the day he went into the Gulf with his crew. They had been out for weeks searching for the wreckage of the Santa Margarita and the Nuesta Senora de Atocha, when the storm blew them off course, and they were hit broadside by what he described as a wave as high as a mountain. There was no doubt amongst those who knew him that this was an exaggeration, but the fact remained his ship did capsize as they raced to shore. He and what remained of his crew were left hanging on for their lives for a day and half before they, and the ship, washed ashore.
After acquiring a small sloop with what he had stuffed in his pockets when the storm blew up, he gathered the stragglers—less than ten of them— and headed back to Port Royal.
“What is this about captaining one of your ships?” he shouted at them as Willy led him up to the house where Cass and Miranda were still organizing the voyage and the crews were tendering out to board.
“Exactly as you said, Captain Jackson. We need a consort for the Carolina Cutlass, but unfortunately, we’re fresh out. At the current time, you’re all we’ve got,” said Cass as she handed a bag to one of the sailors to carry on board.
“Women pirates. What a waste of a good piece of ass.”
“Well, I’m sorry you feel that way. However, since we’ve no time to argue, and you’
re without a ship, I suppose this is not only your best offer, but the only offer you’ll get today. Take it or leave it, sir. And, by the way, who says anyone’s ass is being wasted? Seems to me you’re the only wasted ass on this beach,” Cass remarked, raising chuckles from anyone within earshot.
“Alright, alright then…what’s her crew?”
“She’s forty men on most hunts, but for this one, she’s only twenty, as we need at least forty on the Cutlass. Based on the size and needs of the Jade, that will be more than enough. I’m sorry she’s not the galleon to which you are accustomed, but she’s all we’ve got for now.”
“What’s in it for me, then, if you don’t mind me asking?”
“We must reach the Black Cat and board her, or reach Nassau in time to save Captain Shepard. However we manage to do that, as long as we succeed that is, then…the Jade is yours.”
“What’s that you say? You’re after Blacksnake?”
“I thought you knew that, sir.”
“Fucking brilliant! I despise that Blacksnake son of a bitch. I’ll take those terms with one condition.”
“What might that be? We are in a bit of a hurry,” Cass said, turning and heading down the beach with Jackson following closely behind.
“If we board the Black Cat and take her, I keep her; lock, stock, and barrel. You can keep the Jade. I’m sure she has quite a bit of…sentimental value.”
“Fine, we have no use for that beast of a ship anyway. Once Ivory is in our possession, safe and in one piece, we’ll no longer require your services, and you can be on your merry way.”
“I’ll take that as your word, then?”
Cass turned around and glared at Jackson. “You can sink the blasted thing for all I care, once we have Ivory back. Yes, that’s my word. She’s all yours, but keep in mind, sir, you work for me, and you don’t make a move on that ship unless I say so. Understood?”
“It’s a pleasure, Madame. Now, point me to my ship and let’s go find your captain.”
“There’s your crew, to the east on the beach. Come on, I’ll introduce you, and by the way, she is not only my captain, she is my cousin—my blood.”
“Madame, may I inquire as to how you intend to get those men to follow me? Most of these men are barely half my age, and by the looks of them, half of those don’t even speak English.”
“The Diamond was a big earner, Captain Jackson. We buy our crew’s loyalty, and we aren’t ashamed to admit it. Don’t read me wrong, these men follow Ivory because they’ve been on the hunt with her many times, and they know they can count on her to fill their pockets. They rely on her for their rum and whores, and they aren’t about to stand idly by while she has her neck stretched. They’ll follow you if for no other reason than to get their captain back.”
“Cass? We’re almost through loading!” Keara shouted from the shoreline where she and James were handing off the last of the bags of food and barrels into the longboats.
“Gentlemen! May I have your attention, please!” Cass shouted, calling for the crew of the Jade. “I’m sure some of you are familiar with Captain Jackson here. He’s been kind enough to lend his services to our cause. If you wish to collect on the reward I’ve offered you all for Captain Shepard’s safe return, then I expect your utmost loyalty to Captain Jackson until we’ve reached our goal. Any questions?”
“I have a question,” said a familiar voice in the crowd.
“Who said that?” Cass shouted.
“’Twas me, Madame; your old friend, Sandy.” Sandy stepped around the other men and came forward. He was carrying what appeared to be everything he owned on his back, and although it wasn’t much, he wore the expression of a man with purpose.
Cass stood straight and crossed her arms beneath her bosom. “What the hell are you doing here?”
“Sandy!” Miranda cried as she bolted towards them. “Where the hell did you come from?”
“Well, I come from that skiff over there, but I’m here for ye, lass,” he said, lowering his head and looking up at her.
“I’ll be damned, sir, that just isn’t good enough!” Miranda shouted as she turned away and headed back down the beach, with him running close behind.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” he called out.
Miranda spun in the sand and shouted, “You knew it all along and strung me on! You knew Ivory was in that house, and you knew he had her the whole time. I should run you through and leave you for the birds!”
“Now wait a minute there, Miranda. That be the other reason I’m here. Don’t ye see? I came ta’ help and ta’, well…”
“Well… what?” she asked, flipping her head towards the horizon.
“Ta’ beg yer forgiveness… and help you get Ivory back.”
“How do you propose to do that?”
“Look you redheaded pistol, I’ve never deserted a crew or chased down a woman in me life, so I deserve at the very least a bit a’ respect for this!”
“Oh! So, I’m just supposed to believe you did all of this for me?”
“Goddamn it ta’ hell, woman, are ye blind? Why else would I do such a thing?”
Miranda struggled to stay put as much as she could, but a moment later, she ran towards Sandy and leapt onto him, throwing her arms about his neck and knocking him flat on his back in the sand.
“So does this mean you’ll take on an old fool like me?” Sandy asked with a grin.
“Oh, shut up, and go help load that boat,” she said, looking down at him. Then, she pressed the first gift of a kiss on his salty lips.
“What the…Miranda, who the hell is this?”
Miranda rolled off of Sandy and found a very disturbed looking Tommy Boston standing over them. “Hello, Tommy. I swear I can explain.”
Chapter Thirteen
Ivory had finally dozed off when a light tap came at her door, followed by the familiar turn of clanking keys and the click of the lock. “Who’s there?” she asked with a heavy sigh, balling her fists at her sides. The sudden anticipation of who her visitor might be caused her to straighten her dress as she jumped to her feet and pressed the backs of her legs against the cot.
The door pushed open and Master Green ducked his head to step inside. “Madame, I hope I am not disturbing you.”
“Surely anything that disturbs me is of no concern to you,” she said as she lowered her head and waved him off.
“Aye, but you are wrong. First, allow me to assure you; we only do what we must, as would you given the same circumstances.”
“I wouldn’t turn on a fellow fortune hunter, sir, especially one who saved my life once and delivered me to the doorstep of your captain. So, please do me the favor of not comparing your circumstances to mine,” Ivory said as she sat down and leaned back on her hands.
“This business is never clean. We all do what we must to survive. Yet, you threw yourself into muddy waters last night, with no misgivings… and you still smell of the rose,” he said as he took a seat in the lone chair and folded his arms at his wide chest.
“And you smell of a snake in the weeds. What do you want? As you said, I’ve given all of myself, so you’ll find none of me left to offer,” she hissed through her teeth as she sat up.
“You must not flatter yourself. It is beneath you to do so.”
“Then what do you want, Master Green?”
“Do you know why these people have put this bounty upon you?”
“I don’t know, nor do I care.”
“Yes, you do,” he insisted and leaned towards her. “The captain believes there was something more valuable than slaves and rum aboard that ship when you took her.”
“Well, he’s wrong.”
“No, he is right. And if you have a brain in that head of yours, you will do what is best for yourself and offer him something more valuable than your body against fifty thousand pounds…and save yourself.”
“If he wants to know anything he can come down here and ask me himself.”
“He is not goi
ng to do that.”
“Then, I suppose we are at an impasse.”
“You can simply relay the information through me. I have no reason to betray you.”
“You’ve already betrayed me, Alphonse. You betray me yet again by being his messenger, and you betray yourself as a fool for thinking I would concede. He can fight his own battles, can he not?”
“This is not a battle, Ivory. This is a war to him.”
“I haven’t backed down from any battle or war, and I don’t intend to start now, even when I’ve but days to live. Do you know that feeling when you line up, with guns, swords and pikes in hand, and the air is filled with the burning smell of flesh mixed with gunpowder, and that rush washes over you like a wave of cool water while you lie in wait for the call to board? That’s how I feel every second of my life now. I’m just waiting to board. And when the time is right, and when I hear that cry to go, that cool wave of anticipation will be replaced with the fire to fight. And make no mistake, Master Greene, fight I will…until my dying breath.”
Throughout her speech, Ivory hadn’t realized she was now standing, looming over Master Green, no more than a few inches from his face, and his cutlass blade now poked through the material of her gown, puncturing the thick brocade of her bodice.
“Please, sit down. I do not wish to harm you.”
Ivory gathered herself and backed away. Slowly, she lowered back onto the cot. Green rose to his feet and placed his cutlass back in his belt. “When I told you this was not a battle to him, but a war, I did not mean a war against you, or even his conscience. I was referring to the war within his heart.”
“What heart?” Ivory laughed. “He has no heart; he told me so himself. And what do I care of his heart anyway? He certainly cares nothing for anyone else’s.” Ivory turned away from Green and watched as the water rose and fell outside her window.
“Perhaps you are right, but…perhaps you are very, very wrong.”
The Blue Diamond (The Razor's Edge Book 1) Page 10