Once Upon a Pirate Anthology

by Merry Farmer

  She had given him the ability to see himself as more than a pirate, more than a man who lived off the fortune of others, who was only as good as his reputation and his last plunder.

  She had given him unconventional affection, had shown him what it meant to have someone care for him.

  She had given him more of herself than he deserved — certainly more than he ever should have accepted.

  And she had stolen his heart.

  “Enough of this,” he said gruffly, turning from Bastian. “Time to find Ortego.”

  Bastian knew his captain well enough to sense when he was done speaking of something.

  “Very well,” he said. “Let’s find this island of his.”

  Joey had been as obliging as ever, though Penny could sense how worried he was about her.

  “I can stay with you, you know,” he said, his voice both hesitant as well as eager. “I could come with you.”

  “That is very kind of you,” Penny said, laying a hand upon his, trying to speak to him from her heart. “But this is not the way for you, Joey. Your place is upon The Raven’s Wing.”

  “You know what,” he said, leaning in toward her as though he was sharing some secret, “so is yours.”

  She only wished it was.

  She shook her head. “That is not your captain’s wish.”

  “He doesn’t know what he wants.”

  “Don’t let Ramsay hear you say that. Thank you, Joey, for all that you have done for me,” she said, smiling at the boy. “I wish you well.”

  He looked as though he wanted to say more, but Penny knew the truth. There was nothing else to say. She had a ticket in hand, her berth secured on a ship that would take her north are far as Las Floridas, where she would then have to find her way up the coast to Boston. She would worry about that later, however. The truth was, right now she didn’t care one way or another. Even if she had to walk across America, no longer did her destination matter. For where she really wanted to be was behind her.

  She sighed. Her life was one mistake after another. What she needed right now was a drink. The tavern wasn’t hard to find. She knew there was likely a great many in San Juan, but this one would do. As long as they had drinkable alcohol.

  Penny didn’t miss the many stares directed her way when she entered. Some of the conversations around her briefly paused as she asked for a glass of rum and took a seat at the end of the bar. She supposed most single women who frequented places such as these were those of some disrepute, who were here to earn their coin.

  Ramsay would likely tell her that this was no place for her. She thought of him, with his hulking form and near-permanent scowl, finding her here and she smiled for a moment. Until she remembered that the image of him was now only a memory that she would forever carry with her.

  She should be angry with him. He had said despicable things to her, had proven himself the tyrant he had always claimed to be.

  But now that her initial ire had fled, all Penny felt was sadness. She wasn’t an idiot. She knew now that he was only trying to place distance between the two of them, knowing she had to go. He had been harsh with her only to ease their separation.

  That didn’t make hearing such things from him any easier.

  “…Capitán Ramsay y sus hombres…”

  Penny’s ears perked up at the conversation from the men on the stools next to her. They were speaking Spanish — this was San Juan — but she could have sworn they were talking about Ramsay. She knew some phrases from a variety of languages from sailing with her uncle and the studies her father had arranged for her, but she didn’t know enough to understand what they were saying.

  Well, there was one way to find out.

  “Perdóneme,” she said, leaning over toward them. “Habla usted Inglés?”

  The men stopped suddenly and stared at her. They were slightly older than she, and their dress suggested that perhaps they were sailors themselves.

  “Yes, we speak English,” one said, though his words were heavily accented. “You need help?”

  “Not help,” she said, doing what she hoped was an admirable job of batting her eyelashes at them. “I just couldn’t help overhearing you speaking about the feared Captain Ramsay. He is certainly a man who a woman such as myself should be fearful of. I thought I heard you say something about him. Oh, I do hope he has been captured, for then I no longer need to worry.”

  The man closest to her leaned in and placed a hand over hers where it rested on the bar. Penny’s first reaction was to jerk her hand back, but she knew better. She needed to know what this man knew, and flirtation was her best method for discovery.

  “Good news,” he said with a smile, leaning toward her, his eyes dipping ever-so-slightly to the front of her too-tight bodice. “The Captain is to be captured soon. Thanks to Captain Ortego.”

  “Oh?” Penny asked innocently, though her heart began to race.

  “Sí,” the man said. “He set up one of his men, told him lies about a hideaway on the coast of Isla de Tarifa, then had him captured by Ramsay. He was sure to torture him and now Ramsay will be sailing into a trap. The Spanish will be waiting!”

  “Oh, good!” she said with a forced smile, but it must not have been very believable, for the second man eyed her with suspicion.

  He began speaking in rapid Spanish to his friend. Penny didn’t catch much except, “Inglesa.”

  If Ramsay was caught by the Spanish, he could hang. She had to warn him.

  But how?

  Chapter 15

  Ramsay and his men were still and silent as they approached the island in the tiny rowboat. He had insisted on being a part of the scout team. This had been his plan, and if something was going to go awry, then he wouldn’t let others take the fall for him.

  “Do you think we can be seen from here?” Joey asked from his place next to him.

  “If we can see them, they can see us,” Ramsay said in a near-whisper. “But if anyone is present, they are well-hidden.”

  Ramsay recalled his conversation with Bastian before leaving the ship.

  “If Ortego was here now, he would have already attacked,” his quartermaster had said. “It’s not his style to sit back and wait.”

  “Unless it’s a trap,” Ramsay said, running a hand through his beard, which had become rather ragged over the crossing. “Something doesn’t feel right.”

  “I’d ask you just what makes you think that,” Bastian said, looking troubled at Ramsay’s words, “but I learned long ago not to question those instincts of yours.”

  Ramsay was relying on those instincts now as they neared the island. In well-practiced form, the six men jumped out of the boat and tied it securely to a rock before venturing forward on foot, all of them as armed as could be. If they were happened upon, they would go down fighting.

  Ortego’s man had said the hideaway was around the first outcropping of rock, hidden deep within a cave. They could have rowed up directly to it, but Ramsay had thought it would be better to approach stealthily on foot, in case Ortego had left some of his crew behind. He motioned his men forward with a quick signal of his fingers, and they began to creep ahead ever so slowly. Ramsay moved to the front of them, inching his way around the rock. He peeked around the outcropping, ready for darkness.

  And saw dozens of soldiers and pirates alike, lined up and waiting.

  She was too late.

  Penny urged the man who had agreed to sail her here to row faster, but his small sloop was hours behind The Raven’s Wing. Night had fallen, but the sky was cloudless tonight and she could still make out the silhouette of the ship as they began to near it.

  She could also see the torches that suddenly lit the island’s shore just beyond, as though a fire had broken out. But it revealed the figures of men. Men who were waiting for Ramsay.

  “Hurry!” she said to the captain as they approached The Raven’s Wing. But then she decided that going to the ship would do nothing. “To the shore,” she commanded, and the cap
tain of the small boat looked at her as though she was daft.

  “Yer not paying me enough.”

  “I am paying you plenty!” she said, aghast. She had sold her ticket north and had paid this man the same amount to take her just miles away. “Deposit me on shore and then you may go back to San Juan without me.”

  “Leave you here, miss?” he said, looking pained. “I’m not sure I can do that, either.”

  “Well, make up your mind,” she said, looking at him pointedly. “But you will leave me on shore, or I will jump out and swim in.”

  He breathed a heavy sigh but then seemed to admit defeat as they changed direction toward the island.

  “Very well.”

  “Captain Ramsay!”

  Ramsay’s insides twisted as his hated enemy stepped forth from among the men. “Let me introduce you to Capitán Morales. He’s been looking forward to meeting you.”

  Ramsay pulled his cutlass from his belt. Looked like they would be going down fighting after all.

  “I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” Ortego said, stepping forward in the light that now glowed off of the torches his men had quickly lit the moment they had seen Ramsay.

  “If I’m going to go out, Ortego,” Ramsay growled, “then you’re coming with me.”

  He couldn’t help but see Penelope in his mind. The last two months had been the best of his entire life. A shame he hadn’t long to live with those memories, but at the very least, he had had that time with her.

  He loved her. The realization poured over him like a deluge of rain. It took reaching the end of his life to put aside his stubborn pride and allow the knowledge that had been within his heart to invade the rest of his soul.

  There was nothing he could do about it now, but ask God for forgiveness for all he had done in his life in the hopes that he could see her again someday.

  Ortego grinned wickedly and then lifted his torch. It was only then that Ramsay saw the cannons — all pointed straight toward where he had left The Raven’s Wing.

  “What are going to do with those?” he asked, grateful that he and Bastian had planned for The Raven’s Wing to move once nightfall hit, in case they had been watched during the day.

  “I’m going to hit the ship that is currently coming to your rescue.”

  A muttered curse crossed Ramsay’s lips as he turned to see the silhouette of his ship nearing the island. They must have seen the torches. The water before the ship was now filled with his remaining boats. His men were coming to fight. Of that, Ramsay was grateful — but he was also aggravated, for it meant that he couldn’t fight Ortego without his enemy taking out his men.

  “Not to worry, Ramsay,” the Capitán said, stepping forward. “We won’t kill you now. We’ll wait until we’ve taken you back to San Juan, where we will hang you for all to see.”

  Ramsay’s lip curled as he ignored the Spanish official and turned to Ortego.

  “You’ve broken all our codes.”

  “I never had a code with you,” Ortego said.

  “With all pirates.”

  “I’d rather be alive.”

  “You are lower than a bilge rat.”

  “That may be so,” Ortego said with a laugh. “But I’d prefer that to hanging. I’d take my hand off the handle of that sword, Ramsay, or else these cannons are going in the side of your ship, and your men will all be dead. It’s your choice.”

  Penny closed her eyes as she listened to the exchange on the other side of the rocks.

  Ramsay’s choice — to exact vengeance, or to save the lives of his crew. Neither scenario ended in him coming away from this alive. His crew was coming straight for him, which was brave but rather foolish, was it not? If they made it to shore, Ortego’s men and the Spanish would likely slaughter them while destroying The Raven’s Wing at the same time.

  Unless…

  Unless they were distracted.

  She looked up above her. If she climbed over the rocky outcropping atop the cave where they waited, perhaps she could trick them into thinking there was more here already than just her. Perhaps she could bide some time. Perhaps…

  She was running out of time. If she was going to act, it had to be now. She scrambled up the rock face as fast as she could in skirts and with the lack of grace she had been born with. When she reached the top, she looked around to see if there was anything to help her with her aim. When she knelt to look over the edge to see who was directly below her, sharp bits of shale that had flaked away from the ground bit into her knees.

  “Ouch,” she said softly as she saw that Ramsay and Ortego were standing below her, facing off. Heat from the flames of the torches below kissed her face. As tiny trickles of blood seeped through her gown from the new scratches on her legs, she had a thought.

  She gathered as many rocks in the folds of her gown as she could possible find. Then she lifted one in her hand, reached back… and threw it below her at Ortego as hard as she could.

  And hit Ramsay in the head.

  She scrambled back before any of them could see her, but began to rain down the rock as quickly as she could. She heard shouts from below, and soon the sound of men beginning to climb reached her ears. She ran back from the rock, into the thick brush nearby. She pulled her cutlass from her belt, thrashing the branches around her to make as much sound as she could, hoping they would think that she was not one woman but, at the very least, a handful of men.

  And in the meantime, there would be fewer men waiting for Ramsay’s crew upon the shore.

  She hadn’t gone far when she was grabbed from behind around the waist, and she let out a yelp as she swung wildly with her cutlass.

  “Well, well,” came a voice in her ear as her nose was filled with the stench of a man who hadn’t bathed in many a day. “What have we here?”

  “Let me go!”

  “A little surprise,” said the man, and Penny was soon surrounded by more of them, torches in her face. “Should we take you to the captain, or have you here?”

  “Best take her to Ortego,” came a slow, lazy voice from her left. “Too many have seen her. The captain wouldn’t be pleased if he knew we held out on him.”

  “Where are your friends, lass?” the man asked, but Penny just shook her head, refusing to tell him anything.

  “Argh,” the man holding her said in frustration. “You fellows keep looking. I’ll take her down.”

  “I’m coming with you,” said the second. “Someone has to make sure you don’t keep her for yourself.”

  They laughed at that as they started down, despite Penny’s struggle to free herself. She knew her efforts were useless, yet she couldn’t help but try all the same.

  When they reached the beach, Ortego called to them before they came into the light.

  “Who was up there? Did you find them?”

  Penny saw that Ramsay now had his hands tied behind him, a cutlass held at his back. The cannon had not yet fired — it seemed Morales was true to his word not to destroy the ship, though it was likely only because he wanted whatever was on it or the ship itself.

  He would be disappointed on that account. The ship was empty, in wait of the treasure that was, in reality, a trap.

  A line of men stood at the beach, awaiting the rowboats. Penny was pleased to see, however, there were slightly fewer men than had originally been lying in wait.

  “Ah, what have we here?” Ortego asked when Penny’s captors finally pushed her toward him. “Well, well, this is quite a pleasant surprise.”

  He walked over to her, running a hand along her cheek and jaw. Penny recoiled. She flicked her gaze toward Ramsay, who was watching them with murder in his eyes, but his mouth remained shut. Penny understood. Admitting to knowing her would only make her more desirable to Ortego.

  His eyes ran up and down her.

  “Who are you with?”

  “The English,” she said, holding her chin up high defiantly. “They will be here at any moment. You best run while you can.”

&nb
sp; Ortego laughed.

  “Do you think we are scared of an English ship? I think not. And why would they leave a woman like you all alone upon this island?”

  “I ran away,” she said, her story, with its half-truths, coming to her as she spoke. “My father is an Admiral in the Royal Navy and he wishes me to be wed to an officer stationed in America. They received word the feared pirate Ramsay was in San Juan and have been chasing down his ship. I have no wish to marry the man my father has chosen for me so I am attempting to escape them. But they will be here in moments to claim their prisoner.”

  “They will be too late,” Capitán Morales said. “We have him now.”

  Just then there was a resounding boom, and all heads swiveled to where The Raven’s Wing was now anchored. But there was no corresponding flash of light. No, that light came from the east.

  And now more men were pouring out from over the back of the outcropping, just as Ramsay’s men neared the beach. The Spanish and Ortego’s pirates attempted to man the cannons to hit the approaching pirates but were quickly overtaken by the newcomers.

  Penny’s arms were freed from the men who held her, and she rushed forward.

  She had only one quest now — the man she loved.

  Chapter 16

  Ramsay had never witnessed such impeccable timing in his entire life.

  His crew — those who had remained on The Widow Maker after they had captured it — had caught up.

  And had arrived at the exact moment that he had needed them the most.

  But first, there was Ortego. The man was racing to him with all the speed he could muster, cutlass extended, his purpose of slicing it right through Ramsay obvious.

  Until Penelope Carstairs stuck out her foot and tripped him.

  Ortego hadn’t seen her coming, so focused he had been.

  Ramsay had never loved anything more than Penelope standing with one foot on Ortego’s back, the other holding a cutlass to his neck.