Chapter Thirty-Two
“Have you any doubts to share?” Maddox asked, as he lay back and watched Ivory bathe. The morning sun danced over every curve and edge of her now more blossomed form. The last time he’d seen her, he could count the vertebrae down her back, now they were barely visible. She poured the clean water onto a washcloth, rubbed it lightly with soap, and briskly drew it over her neck, down between her breasts, and onward until, finally, she rinsed and wrung it out. She continued to repeat the process until she felt clean.
“Of course I have many doubts. I, however, do not doubt that when we reach Port Royal, there will be a man o’ war awaiting us, loaded down with guns. What then?” she asked, blotting her body dry as she turned and faced him.
Maddox raised his arms and locked his hands together behind his head. “The Cat is following us. I’m sure you already knew, but I want to be completely honest with you. She is following to assist in your defense.”
“I’m surprised that I haven’t yet been informed!”
“Your man, Willy, was made aware of this entire plot, Ivory. Alphonse and I pledged our loyalty to you, and he was assured we are no longer on opposite sides. Thankfully, he is a wise old buzzard, and once Madame Cassandra was made aware as well…”
“Wait, Cass knows you’re here?”
Maddox rolled up from his back and sat with a groan. “Hopefully, she’s engaged much the same as we’ve been by now—depending, of course, on whether or not her own reunion was at least half as pleasant as ours.” He reached out his hand and took Ivory’s, pulling it to his lips.
“Thank you. However, even with the Cat on our side, I’m cautious.”
“We are always cautious, as it is our nature in our line of work to be so. We must remind ourselves, though, that we are capable and clever enough to survive. We are also wise enough to revise our plot, and perhaps change our course.”
“Change our course?” Ivory repeated. Maddox pulled at her hand and drew her closer against him, until his face gazed up at her from between her breasts. “And go where?” she asked, smoothing the messy mass of waves from his brow.
“Ocracoke.”
“Ocracoke? To what purpose?”
“That freedom you so desire—and I as well.”
“Ocracoke is teaming with pirates. What freedom can be found in a den of vipers such as that?”
“From there, I can find us safe passage north. Ivory, even you must confess we will not be welcomed warmly in any legitimate port.”
Ivory slid back out of his arms and pulled a fresh suit of clothes from her trunk. “How far are we from there?”
“Not far at all. Perhaps a day, if we turn around now.”
“I’ll need to address the crew, but I can tell you this; my purpose…our purpose... will not be what drives my crew. I’ll call them together at once. Get dressed.” Ivory buckled her belt and secured her arms. “Won’t you join me?” she asked Maddox as she looked back at him from the cabin door.
“It’s what I now live and die for, my love. As well as, perhaps, some new clothes,” he chuckled.
“Will you be returning to the Cat?” Ivory asked as Maddox nodded his head and approached her, brushing the back of his hand against her cheek. Ivory met his hand with her own, and pressed her face against it again. Her fingers then slid to his wrist and felt that colorful and unique bracelet. She turned her eyes to it. “Where did you get this?”
“It was a gift from Zara. It’s a reminder of how one’s errors and failures can become something more valuable than gold and precious stones.” He then reached out and loosened that shortened lock of hair from behind her ear and wrapped it around his other wrist. “As hair does grow, eventually this remembrance of my faulted past will disappear. This bracelet will, however, never allow me to forget.”
Ivory reached up and held his bearded jaw in her hands and brushed her thumb along the arc of his lower lip. “If I’ve learned anything in the past two days, it would be to let go of those incidents and memories that do not serve the direction for which you are aiming. Your loyalty and love have wiped clean any harm you’ve done. Besides, we were at war, where all things are fair.”
Maddox snatched her wrists and pulled her hard against him, consuming her parted lips one final time before allowing her to open the door and lead the way to the quarterdeck. Along their path, she banged heavily on both Keara and Cassandra’s cabin doors to call them. Richard came galloping up to her with unbridled excitement, offering his services to rouse and herd the crew. Ivory urged him on to that duty as he stopped for a moment and bowed with a knowing wink and a smile to his former captain. Then, he shot off, shouting, “Alright you lot, show a leg!”
“Who’s minding the Cat?” Ivory inquired.
“My bosun, as well as a couple of familiar faces.”
“Zara? Roman?” Ivory stopped and asked with a thrill in her voice.
“Sadly, no. However, your cousin Miranda was quite taken with the fact that Alphonse had pledged his undying affection for Cassandra, and she strongly persuaded my ex-carpenter, Sandy, to join our cause. She did, however, require a bit more convincing once she discovered it was I they’d be assisting as well.”
“Oh, you must certainly love me to have tolerated that inquisition,” Ivory smiled.
“Surely you must be playing me, Madame—excuse me, Captain. Knowing her as you do, you must admit her penchant for intrigue wouldn’t have allowed her to miss such a scheme for all of the farms in Jamaica.”
“I’ll just be pleased she chose to be close. I couldn’t bear losing any of them. Thank you, Maddox.”
Once the crew was assembled, Ivory took her place head and shoulders above them and called upon their undivided attention. Keara and James approached with Cassandra and Master Green close behind. Ivory’s eyes met Green’s as he exchanged handshakes with Maddox, and she nodded, emotionless, when she met his sparkling eyes.
“Hear ye! Cap’n Ivory’s ‘bout to speak!” Richard shouted from his perch on the main boom.
“First and foremost, we’ve a thief aboard this ship, and upon discovery of said thief, we’ll try them and commence swift justice. Any man or woman with knowledge may come to my cabin and disclose whatever information you may deem valuable in bringing this traitor to justice.”
Ivory’s eyes shifted back and forth across the shocked faces, and could not find one among them who appeared even slightly guilty. “My next order of business is that we’ve allied with Captain Maddox Carbonale and his crew from Kingston. As most of you are already aware, the Captain is, in fact, not dead, and the Cat has been following us since we cast off from Charles Towne, so none of this should come as much of a surprise. And, as I explained previously, Captain Carbonale proved himself our brethren when he released me in Nassau to rejoin you. Knowing what may await us in Port Royal, the good Captain has agreed to give us consort to the island of Ocracoke, north of our current location, in the waters off of North Carolina.
One of the crew called out. “What’s there fer us?”
“May I speak?” Maddox requested.
Upon Ivory’s nod, Maddox stepped up to her side. “A Royal Navy man o’ war ship will, without a doubt, be patrolling the waters off the coast of Jamaica. They’ll be hunting us—all of us. They’ll be hunting Ivory for the bounty placed upon her head, and hunting me for allowing her escape. We can, of course, stand and fight… but why? We have other means of staying alive that don’t involve at least fifty guns and three hundred British sailors aiming for our heads.”
“Three hundred?” the man shouted back.
“Yes, and I know this first hand, as prior to my now illustrious career as a pirate, I was a lieutenant aboard one of her Royal Navy’s more grandiose and well-manned vessels. Please allow me to share with you the fact that not even my Cat would last a single blast from such a ship. I have an associate in Ocracoke who will grant us passage to the island, will purchase what we have in our holds, and, should you choose, you may find
further employment among the many other ships available.”
“Other ships? What’s he talkin’ about, Cap’n?”
“Things are winding down,” Ivory answered. “The sea is becoming a more dangerous and uncertain place each day. If you continue to follow me, your lives are in as great of danger as mine.”
“He sunk the Diamond, Cap’n, and yet you’d willfully take him on his word?”
“Need I remind you that he gave all of you quarter? And, as we all know too well, what happens in battle is fair on both sides for all, no matter the victor. Yes, I choose to follow Captain Carbonale’s advice, as I have weighed our options, and I believe wholeheartedly that you should continue to follow me until you’re out of danger. Otherwise, at some point close at hand, we will all perish at the guns of this man o’ war beast. I choose not to sacrifice your lives for my own. The lives of you all far outweigh the bounty on my head.”
“Captain, may I speak?” Keara asked, and Ivory nodded.
“I have not yet revealed this to our Captain, but it is my decision that should we make land, be it in Jamaica or Ocracoke, and should you choose to remain together aboard this vessel, I wish to nominate James Roberts as your new captain.”
James stepped forward from Keara’s side and glanced up at Ivory through glaring streams of light. At Keara’s words, a thick grouping of puffy clouds blew east, exposing a bright yellow sun. James looked out over the crew with a stern expression and then turned his face up at Ivory, who was shielding her eyes from the glare.
“James, do you accept this nomination?” Ivory inquired.
“That I do, Captain. It’s been my honor and privilege to serve you, but I’m not finished yet.”
Ivory turned to Maddox with a look of surprise only he could acknowledge, and then back to James. “Let us first take a vote on Ocracoke, and should we all agree, James Roberts has my blessing once I relinquish command, as your new Captain.”
Upon her word, the ship erupted in “Aye’s” and howls in the affirmative. Ivory glanced down at her right hand, which was now covered in the embrace of Maddox’s left, and it grew tightly fixed as hats flew up into the air and men scampered to their posts. “Bring her about, lads!” Ivory ordered and then turned her attention to those closest to her. “James, plot the course. Master Shepard, may I please see you and Madame Randall in my quarters, immediately?”
Ivory stepped down from her perch and led Maddox back to her cabin. “Please give us a moment,” she said to her cousins as she and Maddox disappeared inside.
“We’ll pass the Cat on our turn to Ocracoke. Upon that meeting, I feel it would be best if you and Master Green returned to your ship.”
“My place is with you now but I admit you’re right,” Maddox said softly as he walked towards her.
“You’ll always be with me, but this journey, albeit brief, is not without danger. Having you as consort at the ready to assist me takes precedence over whatever needs my heart…” she paused as he stepped behind her and slid his hands around her waist, pressing himself close at her back. “As I said, your support against attack is far more important than my personal desires.”
“Duty above all.”
“Yes, duty. We’ll be together again very soon. Look at it this way,” Ivory whispered as she felt his breath on her cheek and his hands explored her. “I’m sure you have a clean suit of clothes aboard your ship. No offense, but you’re much more appealing out of those clothes than in them. They’re positively foul.” Ivory laughed.
“I can oblige you, Madame, when you’ve finished your meeting.” Maddox continued exploring, placing tender kisses from her shoulder to her ear.
“I wouldn’t have it any other way. Now, show yourself out, and I’ll see you then.”
Maddox peeled himself away from her a bit at a time, until he was finally gone from sight and she was seated at her desk, in front of her cousins. “Thank you all for everything you’ve ever done for me, and for us. I’m pleased that we now see eye to eye and can move forward in what directions life takes us.”
“We’re not quite eye to eye, but we’re getting there,” Cass said.
“What do we know about this Ocracoke?” Keara snapped.
“It’s a pirate colony. Maddox has travelled quite a bit more than we have, and he has associates there. Do you think we’d be welcome at some regular merchant port?”
“I believe you’re doing what’s best for all of us, Ivory,” Cass said. “Keara is suspicious because it is her nature. Alphonse and I plan to return to Jamaica once things have settled down. America is not the place for a pairing of our obvious differences.”
“I applaud your commitment to each other, Cass. And, Keara, all I ask is that we try. I must admit, though, I’m confused over this nomination of James. I thought you, too, wanted out of this business.”
“We do, but James is a navigator. What else can he do? Neither of us is good at anything other than sailing. We’re going to take the ship and go straight. With our experience, we’ll find a merchant company to work for, transporting goods.”
“I give you my word, we’ll do whatever is in our power to assist you in that effort.”
“As will we,” Cassandra added.
“Besides, with your pirate experience, you’ll stand a much better chance at success,” Ivory smiled.
“Ivory, there’s the matter of a rather well known pirate by the name of Teach who’s apparently made quite a camp at Ocracoke. He’s the worst sort, as Alphonse tells it.”
“We’re all the worst sort, I suppose, but nothing says we have to make a home there. We only need a place to lay low for a bit until we can all find our way to where that end of the line is.”
“Alphonse says this man, Teach—they call him Blackbeard.”
Ivory was silent for a moment, and then said, “I believe we have all heard that name before. It’s hard to believe the man still lives. But, either we face Blackbeard and his brethren, or we take our chances with the Navy. At this point, I’ll certainly face one of our own before I’d chance a meeting with that man o’ war.”
“Agreed,” Keara nodded. “Well, I suppose I’m off to see James and get this bucket of barnacles to North Carolina. Ladies, I’ll see you again later…hopefully.” She made her exit and Cassandra followed her to the door.
“Ivory, if this doesn’t go as planned, please know, I believe you are doing what’s best for us all.”
“I hope you’re right, Cass. I’ll do my damn best to keep us all alive.”
“I know you will.”
* * * *
“Sail!” the crewman in the crow’s nest cried out upon seeing the Black Cat coming towards them on the horizon.
“Slow her down, Willy!” Keara called out. “We’re to rendezvous for Captain Carbonale and Master Green to board.”
Back in Ivory’s cabin, Maddox lay dragging his index finger from her upper thigh, up and over her hip, and down through the valley of her waist, before circling her shoulder blade and traveling back the way he came. “I’ll miss this journey most of all.”
“Maddox, this Blackbeard…what do you know about him?”
“He’s quite the brute—prides himself on his ability to inflict insane levels of fear on his victims. Big bag of wind is all he is. Apparently he’s set himself up quite well on the island.”
“Do you know him at all?”
“We’ve crossed paths. Let’s just say we both started out in similar careers, yet have taken different waterways on our individual journeys.”
Ivory turned in her spot and faced Maddox, sliding her hands beneath her head. “Are you certain we’ll be welcome?”
Maddox rose up on one elbow and brushed the hair from her face, tucking it behind her head. “You’re not frightened, are you?”
She brushed his hand away and lowered her brow. “I’m not frightened. I’m never frightened. I simply prefer knowing to whom, and what, I’m taking my family and crew.”
“My love, I’m giving
you the lesser of the two evils. This evil is at least a devil with whom you are familiar. You have my word that no harm will come to either you or your family.”
“How can you give your word for so many other devils whose words may mean death?”
Maddox pounced on her, pulling her beneath him before she could resist, then pinning her arms above her head and parting her knees with his own. He arched his body over her as he inched himself inside and stared down at her face. “It took me years to find you, and weeks of silent misery to admit I love you. There’s not a man alive who can take this away from me. I’d die before I ever allowed that to happen.”
* * * *
“Cap’n Ivory, we’re coming alongside the Cat,” Richard called through the door as he knocked.
They had both washed and sent Richard to scrounge up a clean pair of breeches and a vest for Maddox. Ivory had ordered the others burned, citing there was no way they’d ever lose their foul odor. “Have you the clothes?” she asked.
“Yes, Cap’n.”
Ivory opened the door wide enough to accept the garments and then instructed Richard to advise Master Green it was time to go. She closed the door and turned to Maddox as he stood, naked and beautiful, awaiting his clothes. As she walked towards him, she felt a knot growing in her throat. She swallowed hard and took a deep breath as she placed the clothing in his waiting hands.
“I hope they fit.”
“Better that they don’t reek my dear,” he laughed as he dressed. “A bit snug I’d say, but they’ll do,” he chuckled. “How do I look?”
“I miss your long clothes—especially the blue velvet coat.”
“I’ll buy a new one and wear it on our wedding day, then. Shall we go?” he asked, walking by her to the door.
“What did you say?” Ivory stopped him.
The Blue Diamond (The Razor's Edge Book 1) Page 28