Devil's Ballast

by Meg Caddy

  33

  BONNY

  The William had sailed out a short way to keep clear of fire damage but she still lay close to shore. We took to the underside of a jetty, waiting there until the cover of dark was upon us and the rain was coming down in sheets. Then we pushed a stolen jolly-boat out onto the water and struck out for the William. It didn’t take long, but even that short length was too much for some of the lads. Dobbin and Old Dad were in a bad way. I could hear the breath whistling in their lungs and there was something I didn’t like about the set of their eyes. Paddy Carter had a dirty bandage about his leg; he limped all the way to the beach, helped along by George Fetherstone. Isaac was stoic but I could see he was struggling to keep our pace. In the end the rowing was down to Read and me, and the solid Richard Corner.

  Calico sat nearby and even when I wasn’t looking I felt his eyes on me.

  The waters were rocky but quiet. Everyone was picking for salvage at the shore, trying to recoup their losses. We made short work of the distance to the William and climbed aboard, lugging Barnet’s limp form after us. The boys weren’t gentle with him; they dumped him on the decks and Isaac stood over him with a gun in case he roused.

  The two men on watch weren’t even on the deck. I had seen a crate of wine in the captain’s cabin when the mate showed me through earlier and I didn’t doubt they were sampling it while the owner was ashore. I took my pistol and Barnet’s sword, which was a fancy thing, but sharp enough. Richard Corner led the lads around the ship, getting us underway. Calico gave orders in a low, terse voice. Once the boys were scattered and working he looked at me.

  ‘There are guardsmen?’

  ‘Just two. Read and I can manage them.’

  His face hardened and he jerked his head in a nod. I exchanged a glance with Read and we went down together towards the cabin. Read knocked my shoulder. I slammed open the door to the cabin.

  ‘On your feet!’ I shouted. The men lurched up, startled. Read was over my shoulder, ready with a gun in case there were any surprises. I showed my teeth. ‘Let’s make this nice and easy. If either of you tries to resist, I’ll blow out your brains.’

  They didn’t have weapons and they were wine-softened. One started to protest but the other dug him hard in the ribs and they fell to silence.

  ‘Delightful.’ I jerked the pistol. ‘Out you come. Read, the wine can go to our lads when we’re done, wouldn’t you say?’

  ‘Seems fair.’

  ‘You.’ I waved the gun between the two men. ‘We’re reasonable. You do as you’re told, don’t stir an inch, and we’ll set you off safe when we’re in the clear. Not a sound, understand?’

  They were honest merchant sailors and they didn’t give us any sort of a fight. We locked them in the brig, which wasn’t much more than a few feet in either direction, and then we went back above to join Calico and the others. Richard Corner stayed behind on guard. We didn’t need a large crew to get the William underway, and that was a lucky thing. Half the lads were sitting on the deck with their elbows resting on their knees and their heads cradled in their hands.

  ‘Haul in the anchor and let loose the other cable,’ Calico said to Isaac and Richard Corner. He didn’t need to say anything to me. I was already in the rigging, Read at my side, to let the sail out a fraction. Not much—just barely enough for steerage. We went south-west, sliding through the harbour and past the fort. If I’d had my way we would have had no lanterns but in the rain and darkness we needed them, especially in the shallow harbour waters. There were guardships close. It would look to them as though we were simply drifting, perhaps in some fix, but I didn’t want to take any chances. If we sped out of the harbour we would rouse suspicion. If we went too close to the fort we’d be stopped and possibly searched. And if they knew about our escape there was no way they’d let us sail away from Nassau.

  ‘Annie.’

  Calico didn’t need to say any more than my name. Read and I stayed as we were in the rigging, hands on the ropes. Isaac was at the helm, his feet planted and his hands on the wheel. He guided the ship subtly, letting the waves carry us in a gentle weave. Richard Corner was below on the guns. We wouldn’t last in a firefight but we weren’t going to be taken again. Better to go down than be strung up.

  The air still smelled of smoke, though the rain had dampened the scent and the fires were all out now. Calico stood at the prow, straight-backed despite the driving sheets. Somewhere along the way he had lost his coat. He looked strange going into danger without it.

  ‘Bonny,’ Read murmured in my ear. ‘Pay attention.’

  I jumped, then shot him a foul look, blinking rain out of my eyes and adjusting my grip on the rope.

  ‘You’re too close!’ The voice came to us over the waves from one of the guardships. My heart stammered, then beat hard on my ribs. It was cold in the rigging, under the onslaught of the rain, but I was sweating.

  ‘We know!’ It was Calico who called back, leaning on the rail. ‘Anchor cable parted. We’ve drifted all the way through the harbour. We’re working on it!’

  If they didn’t believe us, we were all dead. If we made a single wrong move we would be fired upon by all three nearby guardships and we’d be nothing more than a pile of charred boards and broken bodies at the bottom of the harbour. A feast for the same fish that had fattened themselves on my husband’s corpse. My chest was tight. I looked to Read for reassurance. He watched with unshaken focus, his hands wrapped tight on the ropes.

  A rough laugh sounded across the waves. ‘Not a good night for you, is it?’

  I caught my breath, shaken with relief. Read’s shoulders eased. I could hear the warmth in Calico’s voice when he called back to them.

  ‘Can you help us?’

  More laughter. ‘Not likely. You got yourselves into it, and we’ve had enough problems tonight. Mind, you’re headed out to sea, lad. Make sure you right yourselves, or you’ll bump into Florida before you know it.’

  They laughed again as we drifted past them. The sound of their mirth carried as we floated towards the mouth of the harbour. I waited until Calico looked up at us. Then Read and I worked fast, letting out the sails. They snapped out and filled instantly, taking with the strong winds.

  And the William sped past the lip of the harbour like the word of God.

  She was faster than I could have imagined, her smooth hull shearing through the water and scudding ahead of the waves. As the rushing air filled my lungs I was taken with the mad, giddy desire to laugh. I scrambled down the rigging to Calico. I wanted to touch him, to kiss him, but I held back.

  ‘You’ve forgotten something,’ he said to me, his eyes still on the harbour as it receded behind us. His voice was low and rough.

  ‘What?’

  He turned then, one eyebrow arching. ‘I would have thought you’d want to run our colours.’

  I remembered, then, the black square Darling had given us.

  ‘We’ll be screaming our name to anyone who sees us,’ I said slowly, testing the waters.

  ‘It’s a good name,’ he countered. ‘And now we have a good ship to match.’

  I gathered a handful of his shirtfront and pressed my lips against his. Then I ran for the belongings we’d gathered below and found the black cloth. I brought it back above, climbed up the swaying rigging and met Read there at the mainmast.

  ‘Is that wise?’ he asked, not needing to ask what it was I held in my hands.

  ‘Perhaps not.’ I finished securing the flag and watched as it whipped out in the wind. Darling Darling and his men must have fashioned it while we were waiting to hear news of Calico. It was roughly sewn but the emblem was clear, white blazing against the black: a skull over two crossed swords. Our flag. Our sign.

  If anyone from Nassau Harbour saw us, if anyone realised we had slipped out through Woodes Rogers’ fingers, it was too late. We set the two hapless guards from the William off on a jolly-boat and let them row into shore. It would take them many hours and that would be more
than enough time for us to be in the clear.

  We did not send Barnet with them. I must have hit him harder than I thought, because he didn’t stir until the guards were off the ship. By then he was secure in the brig. I peered through the bars at him as he stirred and groaned: he was a different creature, rumpled and bruised, stuffed in there with only the rats, and a bucket to piss in.

  I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face.

  Barnet craned his neck as Read came down the companionway. He blinked like a sleepy child, mouth slack. Then he dragged himself upright. His eyes grew wild.

  ‘Pirates!’ he hissed.

  Read came to stand beside me. I had a hundred jibes to throw at Barnet but Read’s presence quieted me and instead we just stood there, looking at our conquered enemy. I wondered if Read felt pity for the man; his face was as smooth and inscrutable as ever. I leaned my shoulder against his.

  ‘Annie.’

  Calico stood at the companionway. There was tension in his voice. I smiled at him but no grin answered mine.

  ‘Is he conscious?’

  ‘Conscious but witless,’ I said.

  ‘We’re dropping anchor.’ He joined us at the bars of the brig, hatred tightening his shoulders. He stared in at Barnet with an anger I’d never seen in him. I wanted to reach for his hand, to give him some comfort, but he moved away from me as soon as Isaac and George Fetherstone came down the steps.

  I swallowed my discomfiture. Now was not the time.

  Read took out his gun and held it steady on Barnet as Isaac and Fetherstone unlocked the brig. They hauled Barnet to his feet, bound his hands and feet, and dragged him to the open decks. Our crew waited there and a pang went through me. Seeing them gathered together drove home how few we were now.

  No one said a word as we hustled Barnet into the remaining jolly-boat, already winched over the side of the William. Calico, Read, Corner and I clambered in, and Isaac and the other lads lowered the jolly. We rowed out to a small spit of land. There wasn’t much room there even for trees. Nothing to eat. No fresh water.

  Barnet muttered the whole way. It took me a while to realise he was praying. Read and I exchanged a glance. Prayer was the only hope Barnet had out here. It would be an act of God if any ships passed by before he died of thirst or hunger.

  Or took the other option we were giving.

  Read stood by the jolly, holding it still from the tug of the wave while we hauled Barnet up the beach. He struggled and kicked, his voice rising in a ragged shout. Richard Corner and Calico flung him into the sand. He tried to rise but Corner struck him over the head with a belaying pin. Barnet slumped back to the ground, senseless once more. We removed the bonds from his hands and feet. There was no point to them now. Then Calico placed a pistol in the sand. According to tradition, it would be loaded with shot. Just the one. Just enough to give Barnet the choice. It was nothing like mercy, but it was the pirates’ way.

  Calico straightened and I saw a glimmer of satisfaction in his eyes. He met my gaze and I wondered, briefly, whether he had loaded the gun.

  I didn’t question him. Calico was our captain, and some things were his decision after all. I just followed as we took to the jolly, pulled out to sea, and returned to the William.

  We left Barnet to choose his death.

  34

  BONNY

  ‘You’re a woman, then?’

  The wind had dropped and we sat about the decks, eating a meal Paddy Carter and George Fetherstone had managed to scrape together from the supplies in the hold. Conversation had been sparse, no one commenting directly on my skirts or the embrace Calico and I had shared, but now Dobbin spoke up. He was pale, his eyes ringed with bruised flesh. It would be some time before he was his old self again but the escape and food had given him some renewed energy.

  Read sat with his shoulder leaning against mine, and I felt tension gather in his arm. I nudged him, then flashed Dobbin a smile and ducked into a mock curtsey.

  ‘God’s blood.’ He sat back a moment, then looked at me, dismayed. ‘You’ve seen me piss!’

  ‘Calm down, Dobbin. There wasn’t a lot to see.’

  Harwood chortled around a mouthful of food. Old Dad shot me a sly smile that made me think he’d had his suspicions long before this. I winked at him and he gave a short bark of laughter that turned into a hacking cough.

  Some of the other lads swapped glances and didn’t comment. Unease crept through me. I had some work to do, to get their allegiance. I hadn’t forgotten that one or two of these boys had been Sedlow’s cronies. Men who had threatened to drown me.

  I glanced around the deck for Calico but he was still in the captain’s cabin, charting our course. Picking at my food, no longer hungry, I was lost in thought until Read finally spoke his mind.

  ‘Bonny.’

  ‘Mm?’

  ‘You know these men.’

  ‘As well as I know anyone.’

  ‘Are we safe with them?’

  Were we? I considered it. I imagined they would have questions, once they had time to recover from their hardships. Once we were out at sea for long hours, in the sun and in the storms. Still, they had been happy enough to let me fight alongside them and they could put it aside for now. That boded well for me, and for Read as well.

  I nodded towards Isaac, out on the helm. Solitary and quiet as ever. Keeping us on-course.

  ‘See the big fellow over there?’ Isaac was one of the few crewmen taller than Read himself. ‘That’s Isaac. He doesn’t like me much.’

  ‘I wonder why.’

  I ignored that. ‘Personal feelings aside, Isaac is solid as any anchor, and he’s well-liked by the crew. You should talk to him. Bring him something to eat.’

  Read glanced over at Isaac, then back at me. He nodded. ‘I might. Go on, now. Go see your Calico.’ He went over to Paddy to get some food for Isaac and I left them, making my way to Calico’s cabin.

  I felt strangely nervous. For the first time in years, I actually knocked.

  ‘Come in, Isaac.’

  I cracked the door. ‘Not Isaac.’

  He was going through the charts left on the William, seeing if there was anything that could be of use to us. Anything else, we would sell. His hands were braced on the small table in the cabin and again I thought to myself how tired he looked. This was not my wild sea-captain, the man who had stolen me away from Nassau.

  I slipped inside and closed the door behind me.

  ‘You’re not beholden to me.’ He spoke before I could say a word. ‘You owe me nothing. I helped you away from Nassau, you helped me away from Barnet. We’re even.’

  ‘A fair few things happened between those two events,’ I pointed out. He didn’t say anything so I went on, trying to soften my voice. ‘I’m not here because I feel like I owe you, Calico. This isn’t a transaction.’

  ‘You did a good thing, coming back for us. Saved all of our lives, what’s left of us. Found us this ship. We’ll see you safely to Hispaniola.’ He paused. ‘You and that fellow. Read.’

  Folding my arms, I leaned on the door. ‘Just to Hispaniola?’

  ‘I assume the two of you will step off there.’

  ‘That’s not the plan.’

  He finally looked up from the charts. Hot anger and hurt flashed through his eyes. ‘You need to change plans, then,’ he said. ‘Because if the two of you stay on my ship I’m going to have to take him in a duel. And I’ll kill him, Annie. I will.’

  I sighed. ‘Calico. For God’s sake. I love you, but sometimes you’re as dumb as a sardine.’

  He stilled. ‘What?’

  ‘You think Read and I are lovers, is that right?’

  ‘Wait—’

  ‘Read’s dear as a brother to me. I have no secrets from him, he’s saved my life on more than one occasion. It forges a particular sort of friendship.’

  ‘Wait, Annie—’

  ‘But we’re not lovers. And if you challenge him to a duel I won’t ever forgive you. Besides, I stole this s
hip. Rightfully I own it. You’re just the captain. You’re not throwing me off.’

  ‘You love me?’

  Hard to tell if he’d even heard the rest of it. His hands gripped the table so tight his knuckles paled. There was hope and fear on his thin face. This brave, reckless, stupid man who had stolen ships, and me, and my heart.

  I crossed the distance between us. I placed my hands on either side of his face. He reached up and traced the angry bruises on my throat. His touch was so gentle it made my stomach twist. I managed a small smile.

  ‘Ah, Calico,’ I whispered. ‘I came to sea with you, didn’t I?’

  35

  BONNY

  We pulled away from Nassau, and New Providence Island, sailing east for the intricate network of Bahamian islands. The wet season was ending. The waters calmed and the days became long and mild. The ocean was so clear you could pick the reefs and dips from the shore. The sand was scorching and white. In the space of a few short weeks the islands of the Bahamas and beyond had changed beyond recognition. The storm-wrecked coasts were now pockets of beauty and quiet. We stopped several times at small islands to take in supplies and give the men time to rest. They all needed it. Usually when we stopped at islands there was drinking, dancing, ribald stories and songs. Now we were quieter. The lads sat by one another and talked, sharing food and tending each other’s hurts. We paid locals to keep out of our affairs. They were happy enough to let us rest on their shores, so long as we bought some of their wares and didn’t bother them.

  We also robbed some fishermen along the coast of Eleuthera because we needed the fishing supplies. Just the necessities. They didn’t put up much of a fight and we let them go on their way once we had what we needed.

  I sat in the shade with Old Dad. He was skinnier than ever, his beard grown out and his eyes hollow in his dark face. Looking at him I knew he wouldn’t be staying with us for long. His days at sea were coming to an end.