In a Pirate's Debt

by Elva Cobb Martin

  “Travay, do you think the Lord has preserved us through all this danger to abandon us now?” Merle sloshed through the water to touch her niece’s shoulder, her voice strong and unwavering.

  Lucas put on his sternest but calmest demeanor. “Ladies, as fast as you can, gather what you must have to take in the longboat. By a true miracle, we have one left intact. And I believe an island may be nearby. Also, there are two water skins left. You’re welcome to partake.”

  “Yes, sir, Captain.” Travay’s voice was steady enough, but her eyes glistened.

  Lucas cast her a quick glance, then he and the other men sloshed through the water and up the steps to the deck.

  Travay grabbed items and stuffed them into a pillowcase Merle had pressed into her hand.

  “I believe we should dispense with our hoops.” Merle lifted her skirt dripping with water and pulled down her hoop. “They’ll be a problem in the longboat and of no use on an island.”

  Travay smiled at her practical aunt and blinked away weary tears. She lifted her skirt, stepped out of her wet hoop, and kicked it across the standing water.

  At the door, she turned to scan the cabin. She tossed her hair behind her shoulders and fingered the locket at her throat, her most precious possession.

  The two climbed to the deck, clutching their small bags of belongings. Thorpe handed Merle, then Travay, a water skin. They drank deeply and thanked him. Travay watched the men lower the longboat to the turquoise water. Lucas and Sinbad helped them down the side of the ship to the waiting craft, already loaded with the few supplies that had survived the storm.

  Travay, with Merle beside her, squeezed next to the canvas sacks foraged from the ship’s store, to make room for the three surviving crew members, whose odor had been lessened by the rain that had pounded them. Their eyes ran over her, and she tossed her head and lifted her handkerchief to her nose. Two of the pirates grinned. But the eyes of the younger one Travay had heard Lucas call Damon, held an apology. He frowned and punched the one next to him on the arm. The other man cursed then laughed.

  Lucas, Sinbad, and Thorpe, with their swords, cutlasses, and pistols strapped to their waists, boarded last.

  The men took up the oars, and the small boat skimmed across the now calmer sea, with a southerly breeze lifting Travay’s hair. Even though the sun shone down on them, she shivered as the cool air permeated her wet clothing. Lucas reached down in the supplies and dug out a blanket for her. Though damp, it provided some protection.

  “Thank you, Captain.” She drew it around her and Merle’s shoulders.

  A deafening crack caused all the survivors to turn and look back. They watched as the abandoned ship sank beneath the sea. The rowers fought the wave that rushed toward their small craft. Travay shuddered and fought dizziness as their boat rocked but remained upright.

  The slice of green on the horizon that Lucas had pointed out earlier became a beach with coconut palms at its border. The men rowed faster, and soon the longboat was close enough for its occupants to disembark. Lucas, Sinbad, Thorpe, and the other three pirates jumped into the foam and beached the boat on the white sand.

  Thorpe assisted Merle out of the boat, and Lucas lifted Travay. She had never known such tiredness. Her bones even seemed to ache. She let her head fall onto Lucas’ shoulder. He smelled of sea and salt and perspiration, but somehow his scent was right. He carried her in his thick arms with ease. How could he have so much strength left after the harrowing storm?

  When he set her feet down on the warm beach, in the partial shade of a palm tree, she lowered herself to the sand and stretched out. She sighed, enjoying the heat on her face and arms. Her clothes would soon be dry. The scent of tropical flowers and lush greenery seemed more pleasant than she could ever remember. But how were they going to survive on this island until a ship found them? She frowned and closed her eyes.

  Lucas dropped down beside her. “Travay, are you sick or injured in any way?”

  She opened her eyes and looked up into his troubled ones. “No, I am just tired. I was so afraid during the storm, and it took all my energy to keep from being slammed into the walls.” The relief in his face pleased her.

  Merle came to sit beside Travay. “What can we do to help, Captain?”

  “Stay here for now. Get your strength back. There will be plenty to do when we make camp.”

  Before sleep claimed her, Travay heard Lucas say, “How about staying near the ladies, Sinbad, while the rest of us look around for a suitable place to make camp?”

  Travay awoke, and her eyes widened when she saw a small shelter of palm fronds the men had erected for her and Merle at the edge of the trees. Both of them moved to sit in its open doorway.

  A few feet away, Sinbad laid dried branches around a hole dug for a fire. Thorpe lit them with a tinderbox he’d rescued from Low’s ship.

  Merle reached out and touched the long, tangled ringlets hanging across Travay’s shoulder. “Dear, I wish there was something I could do to help you manage these curls.” Her own hair had not escaped its customary tight knot at the base of her neck except for a few strands.

  Travay tossed her thick locks behind her back. “What does it matter, Aunt Merle? I am more worried about surviving on this island.” Her stomach rumbled like an echo of the tide slapping against the beach.

  Lucas and Thorpe walked up with fish they had managed to spear as well as several large crabs. The other pirates brought coconuts and palm fruit for the meal. Sinbad wrapped the fish and crabs in palm leaves and laid them on the coals. Soon a savory smell wafted toward Travay and Merle.

  Lucas crossed the sandy stretch toward them. “If you ladies will join us, I think you’ll find something to your liking in our first island meal.”

  Travay looked at him, squinting against the sunlight. His ripped shirt revealed hard, tanned muscles on his shoulders and arms, and dark curly hair on his chest. He smiled at her. Heat climbed up her cheeks—he had caught her staring. She stood and faced him.

  “I am so hungry, anything will taste good, Lucas.” She glanced into his eyes. That was a mistake. Her heartbeat doubled in tempo. She took a deep breath and turned to her aunt. “How about you, Aunt Merle?”

  “Famished. Thank you, Lucas, and we owe you and your crew thanks for a lot more.”

  They walked to the circle of men and sat down next to Thorpe.

  Sinbad looked at Lucas before passing the food he had piled on palm fronds. Lucas cleared his throat. “Let us thank God for this food and for saving our lives.”

  Travay bowed her head as murmurs of approval came from around the group.

  Lucas prayed. She opened her eyes to look at him. His strong voice rolled over them as if he were practiced at addressing God. What made him think God would hear the prayer of a pirate? God never seemed to hear hers.

  The hearty island meal refreshed Travay, but it didn’t relieve the uneasy thoughts clouding her mind. She sat just beyond the group, staring at but not seeing the colorful rays of the sun beginning its path toward the ocean. The shades of pink, blue, and lavender arching across the sky did not lift her spirits. Surely they were far from help of any kind unless it was the wrong kind of help—pirates of Ned Low’s sort. She shuddered and hugged her arms to herself.

  “Cold?” Lucas came to sit beside her.

  She shook her head.

  He brought her a coconut with the eyes pierced so she could drink the sweet milk. A spark moved up her arm as his callused hand touched hers. Though dark shadows circled his eyes, his handsome face still sent a familiar shiver of awareness through her.

  “Lucas, where do you think we are?”

  “I would guess we’re somewhere northwest of Jamaica and Cuba, probably in the archipelago called the Bahamas. We lost our compass in the storm and were blown who knows how far off course.”

  Lucas regretted being so blunt when he saw Travay stiffen and frown. “But I am not worried. We will be found, and this island seems to have plenty of fish, oysters, an
d crabs—not to mention coconuts and palm fruit.” He smiled down at her brooding face, wishing he could take her into his arms and soothe her. But he knew he must keep his distance. A relationship between them was out of the question. She was above his class, just as she always had been. And she hated pirates—including privateers. Despite this knowledge, she was still a temptation. He turned to see Merle watching them.

  Lucas stood and walked toward the sea. Sinbad came after him. When Lucas stopped and sat on a rock to watch the tropical sunset heighten its glory, the boatswain sat down near him. Lucas looked at the half African, half Arab he had rescued a year earlier when on a rare trip to African waters. He went seeking knowledge of his parents along Spanish trade routes, but found Sinbad instead, chained in the bottom of a ship Lucas captured. It was one of his luckiest finds—Sinbad proved to be a loyal friend to Lucas and a skilled crew member. He even spoke some English he had learned from other captives.

  The man’s red fez he had often worn had not survived their first shipwreck, so his large head looked even bigger with his curly, ebony hair exposed.

  “Cap’n, I … wants to ask you about that blow.”

  The question surprised Lucas. The giant of a man, once a slave warrior of a Moroccan Muslim ruler, had surely seen many storms in his years on the Mediterranean and African seas. Probably a lot more storms than Lucas had seen.

  “What do you want to know, Sinbad? I hope I have the answer you are looking for.”

  “You called on yo God, and he answ’d.”

  Lucas’ heart moved in his chest. He looked into the dark, searching eyes. “His name is Jesus Christ.”

  “He speak to you, this Jesu’ Chris’?”

  “Not in words out loud, but I know His voice and His power when it comes.”

  Sinbad straightened at the word power, a warrior coming to full attention. “I would know this God who speaks and gives you command to calm sea.”

  Lucas smiled, joy bubbling up inside. “And He would know you, Sinbad.”

  “What is the price required of me?” The man’s eyes gleamed in the falling darkness.

  “If you mean gold or sacrifice, there is none, my man.” Lucas took a deep breath, wishing Ethan Wentworth was here to explain. Instead, it was Lucas here on this deserted island with a man who needed an answer he could understand.

  Lord, help me help Sinbad.

  “It is required of you to declare that you know your ways have not pleased the true God of the earth. His Son’s name is Jesus Christ. He came to earth to save all men and help them live holy lives. And you must believe in Him and ask His forgiveness.”

  “His name not Allah?”

  “No.”

  Sinbad sat back and thought a moment. “After I join my master in the big mosque, we told must bow and pray every day to Allah and kill all who call themselves Chris’ans.”

  Lucas winced. “Yes, there has been much bloodshed over religion, Sinbad. But our God is a God of love, and one day He will bring all of us, of every tribe and nation, who love and live for Jesus, home to heaven where He is. And we don’t have to kill anyone to get there. Jesus Christ Himself died for us on a cross in the land of Israel, but He also arose from the dead. What we have to do is accept Jesus Christ as God’s Son and the only way to the Father. We have to pray and ask Him to forgive our sins and come live in our hearts.”

  Sinbad sat silent for a time as the sun slipped further into the ocean. “All these years, I never see Allah calm the sea or heard of one who rose from the dead.” He stood and strode a distance down the beach. His heavy steps pounded indentations near the lacy edge of the tide. Then he came back to sit again. He fixed his gaze on Lucas. “This act you say we must do, it seem too small.”

  Lucas leaned toward him. “That’s because the main act, the big sacrifice once and for all, already took place when Jesus died on the cross for our sins.”

  Sinbad bowed his head for several moments. Then he took a deep breath and looked up at Lucas in the twilight. A smile spread across his face, exposing his even white teeth.

  The next day, Travay sat beneath a palm tree and wove a mat from grasses. Sinbad had shown her how to do it to pass the time.

  Lucas strode up to her. She recognized his manly scent of sea and sun, and she could feel the heat from his body as he stepped into the shade, out of the hot afternoon glare.

  “Did you find more water?” She glanced up at him and then turned her eyes back to her work.

  “No, but I found something I want to show you.”

  The eagerness of his voice caused her to seek his face, now tanned deeper from the island sun. He had pulled his braids behind his head and tied them with a strip of red cloth. Her heart slammed against her ribs, and she looked away.

  “Will you come?” Lucas held out his hand to help her stand.

  Travay glanced around. Merle was having her afternoon siesta, as were most of the others, including Thorpe. Only Sinbad seemed alert. He leaned against a banana tree, squinting toward the ocean with his sword and pistol at his side.

  He turned to regard them as Travay took Lucas’ hand and stood. When Lucas looked at him and lifted an eyebrow, the African gave a slight nod and returned to his watch. Travay shook her head. It was uncanny the way the two of them communicated without words.

  About a half-hour later on their trek around the island, Travay wiped perspiration from her brow. More trickled down her back, dampening her gown. They had seen all kinds of fish in the shallows and a giant sea turtle sunning on a rock. Clouds of birds rose at their approach to a sandbar. She touched Lucas’ arm. “How much longer?”

  “You need to rest?” He stopped and pulled her under a palm tree. She sank down, pulling her long skirt around her feet. They sat for a few moments, and he made a fan for her from dead fronds scattered about the base. “It’s a little bit of a walk, but I promise you, you’ll be glad you made it.”

  She looked at him and his boyish enthusiasm. Was this just a ploy to get her alone? He had made no advances toward her.

  The next second, he stood and gave her a hand up. “Come, my surprise is waiting. Are you willing to walk a little farther?”

  “I am.” They started tramping again on no path Travay could discern, but Lucas led with confidence. It was all she could do to keep her garment free from the small bushes they brushed by.

  For a quarter of a mile, walking became difficult thanks to the marshy area they entered. Mangrove roots spread up in twisted forms to hinder their progress. Lucas took her hand. At times, the thick stems seemed larger than the stunted, umbrella-shaped trees themselves. Beyond, Travay could see level ground, and she took heart. Lucas kept her hand cradled in his until they stepped out from the risky path.

  She started to make a remark, but he put his finger to his lips.

  She lowered her voice to a whisper. “Where are we bound, Lucas Barrett?”

  He put his finger to his lips again and inclined his head toward the narrow path ahead.

  Travay saw a glimmer of water beyond some fronds. Lucas slowed their pace and led her through the grass at the edge of a lagoon. He drew her down beside him in the green overgrowth

  Travay took a deep breath of the fresh scent of the grasses. Birdsong and clucking sounds filled the air. She looked through the tall blades hiding them. Her eyes widened.

  The small body of salt water was a nesting ground, its entire surface covered by a flock of elegant birds. Some of them were snow white, others pink as a morning sky. All the birds were waders, but unlike gangly herons or cranes, their stilt-like legs were part of their beauty, along with their curving necks and black beaks.

  Some of the birds were guiding their young in uncertain flights that soared briefly above the trees and circled back to the nesting ground. Others still sat on nests in the grasses and overhanging tree branches. Still others seemed to move in an exquisite dance without music.

  “What are they?” Travay’s voice was so low, Lucas almost missed it.

 
; “I don’t know,” he whispered in her ear. “But isn’t it the most beautiful thing you’ve seen?”

  She turned toward him. “Yes. Thank you for showing me.”

  Her face was so close to him that her breath feathered his chin. He looked at the curls framing her face and hanging down her back in tangled glory. He touched a soft coil. Suddenly, he couldn’t breathe. She still looked at him with the eyes that often challenged him in his dreams. He traced his gaze around her face and stopped at her lips. Before he could check himself, he leaned down. His mouth brushed hers in a gentle, undemanding kiss. Her lips parted, and her arms reached around his neck. He drew her closer and deepened the kiss, tremors traveling through his body. He broke away and moved her from him before he lost all control.

  She sat very still, and then her hand came up to slap him. He grabbed her wrist.

  “Don’t tell me you don’t feel exactly as I feel, Travay.” His voice was hoarse, and he forgot to whisper, causing a huge response on the lagoon. Young and old birds alike rose from the water with a great whirling of wings and raucous honking. With a sentinel bird at the head, they flew in battle formation. Only the solitary nesters stayed at their posts.

  They both lifted their heads and watched as the birds winged north. In a matter of moments, the whole flock was lost from view.

  The moment ruined, Lucas stood and reached out a hand to Travay.

  She refused it and followed him back on the path until they reentered the mangrove trees with their difficult roots poking up in their path. Almost falling over once, she grabbed for his arm and held on until their path became easier.

  Two days later, Travay noticed Lucas, Thorpe, and Sinbad with their heads together just after breakfast. She and Merle sat at the opening of their palm frond home, dreading the heat they knew would soon beat down from the tropical sun. The three pirates whose names she couldn’t remember wrestled on the beach and shouted obscenities at each other.

  “I’d give anything for a good bath without salt water. How about you?”