"I shall do my best to learn quickly."
Anne and William chuckled together for a moment. William felt happy to see Anne smile, as her smile too seemed to be a rare display these days.
"I was wondering if you would assist me in creating a training regimen. I've already discussed with Alexandre a few considerations, and I should like your opinion as well."
"Certainly," he replied.
As the sun rose, the two discussed various activities and drills which could help improve their prowess in battle, including some manoeuvres which involved the use of more than one ship that they might be able to use in the near future.
…
Edward sat in the stern cabin's war room, staring at the map showing the Spanish treasure ship's routes. He had been staring at it off and on the night before and all this morning, but the various outlines of islands, land masses, and lines—both dotted and straight—began to blend together. He rubbed his eyes and tried to refocus on the details, but the map was beginning to lose all meaning to him. No matter how many times he looked, he could glean no information that could help him with his dilemma.
How are we to face a galleon and three other ships when we only have two?
After another moment, Edward threw the paper aside. The air of the room caught it, caused it to arc in the middle of its flight, and it swooped back onto the table amongst other miscellaneous papers.
The door to the war room opened, and Roberts stepped inside, closing the door behind him. "Good day, Edward," he said with a wave.
"Good day, Roberts. I trust you are well?"
"Very well, thank you. And you?" Roberts asked, and then he took a look at the table in front of Edward. "Judging from the mess you've made I would wager that a no?"
"You would be correct. I've been attempting to create a suitable battle plan, but the only one I have is too dangerous. Thus why I've called this meeting." Edward glanced to the door. "Were you the only one on the way?"
Roberts nodded and adjusted his tall, bulky frame in the small seat. "Yes." He looked over his shoulder to the door. "I did not see any others approaching, though I am certain they are on the way."
Edward leaned back in his chair. The light from the cabin's windows and a few lanterns dotting the walls gave the room a soft glow. The dancing waves reflected the sun's light and made it dance on the ceiling. The day was warm, but not as blistering as the previous week had been. He still felt the need to pat himself off with a cloth, though, and the rag came back moist to the touch.
"It is a curious feeling, is it not?" Roberts asked.
Edward chuckled. "What?"
Roberts too was leaning back in his chair, his feet pushing against the oval table in the centre of the room. "We are closing in on vengeance years in the making for the two of us. The feeling is… surreal."
Edward mimicked Roberts and pushed his chair into a leaning position with his boots against the table. He gazed at the ceiling as he thought on Kenneth Locke's homely face, but he felt his heart beginning to race and his throat seize, so he shook it away.
"You've been waiting far longer than I," Edward said. He began squeezing his hand tight, the pressure and pain bringing him back to today. You are here, you are now. His wife's voice rang in his head.
"Yes, I've been waiting nearly… four years now. Travelled across the globe, and only now that we're upon the edge of this business am I beginning to think on the truth of it all."
Edward eyed his friend curiously. "What do you mean?"
"Well… I suppose over the years it's become quite removed. What I mean to say is…" Roberts pulled his boots away from the table and his chair landed back on the deck with a snap. "Walter Kennedy served as a destination moreso than a prize. As if I moved forward to find him, but I wasn't truly thinking of catching him. It felt as if I never would catch him, I suppose."
"And now he is at your door," Edward said. Roberts nodded and stared at the papers on the table, but he wasn't focussed on them. "What will you do when we catch him?"
Roberts looked at Edward, but his expression was unreadable. "I suppose… I don't know."
Edward also plopped his seat back on the sole. "You're not going to kill him?"
"My friend, not knowing means I could do any number of things. I simply have not chosen my course of action. I've never had to think on it until now."
"Very well, what have you been thinking until now of doing?"
Roberts laughed and sat up straight. "You ask a similar question expecting a different answer," he said, which made Edward chuckle as well.
"A reasonable objection."
"I have been saying since the beginning that I would bring God's justice upon him." Roberts appeared deep in thought for a moment, and then he looked at Edward again. "What will you do to Kenneth Locke?"
The name still had an arresting hold on Edward, but now he had a method to diminish the pain. He repeated his wife's chant over and over in his mind. Thankfully, his pause could pass for contemplation.
"I'm going to do the same thing you should do: Kill him, and remove the curse he's placed on me."
Roberts ran his fingers through his straight chestnut-brown hair. "I wonder if that is God's justice."
"Hmph," Edward scoffed. "No, of course not… It's pirate justice."
The sound of the door opening took their attention away from their conversation. One after the other, Anne, William, Alexandre, Victoria, Pukuh, and Herbert entered the stern cabin.
"Hold a moment, Herbert," Edward said, holding up his hand. I apologise if another summoned you here… but this meeting does not involve you."
Everyone in the room glanced from Edward to Herbert, and he to them. His jaw dropped for a second as his gaze shifted to Alexandre and Victoria, both of whom had no official rank aboard the ship, and one of whom he distrusted. The tension was visible by a slight redness on Herbert's cheeks, aside from the recent injury, which held a perpetual redness.
Edward felt no such tension or embarrassment.
"By your leave, Captain," he said with a modest bow before turning his wheelchair around.
"Wait, Herbert," Anne said. "I'm vetoing that order. You may stay."
"Veto, Quartermaster?" Herbert asked, his brow cocked.
Anne grinned. "It means I'm denying the captain's order, by my authority as quartermaster. If we are discussing battle plans, it is crucial you be privy to them so you may guide our crew when the time comes."
Herbert smiled. "I see," he said, turning around again. "Thank you."
As Herbert wheeled himself forward, the others in the room took their seats. Each person's mouth was a line, save Alexandre, who was smirking as usual.
Edward eyed his wife, and she stared straight back at him. "Now that everyone is present," he said, glancing at Herbert, "we may begin." Edward cleared his throat. "First, I was wondering if you are well, Victoria? Any of the crew troubling you?"
Victoria shook her head. "I believe from Anne and Christina they are accustomed to women being aboard. I had no issues."
"That pleases me," he said. "Now then, let's discuss why I summoned you all. From what we know, Kenneth Locke will attack a Spanish galleon on its route to Havana after it lands here in Porto Bello for a silver shipment." He picked up the sheet of paper with the shipping routes on it and handed it to Victoria to pass around. "He will be aided by Walter Kennedy, and another unknown pirate, totalling three ships of similar size to our own…" He looked each person in the eyes briefly. "We need to stop them… and not die in the process."
"The only plan I could come up with would be to attack them after their battle with the galleon. If luck aids our cause, they will lose against the galleon and give up, then we pursue them and finish them off."
"And if luck is not on our side?" Roberts asked.
"They defeat the galleon, take the treasure, and still have three ships to attack us with."
"How long until the galleon arrives at Kenneth's point of attack?" William asked, not
having been privy to the conversation with Luis Delgado.
"A week or a fortnight at most," Edward replied. "The galleon will be here in a matter of days, then it restocks for another day, and then it takes four days to reach the island Providencia. If weather is not in their favour, or if a storm comes, it could delay them another few days."
"Then we should go to where they are, and attack them on land," William suggested. "On land they won't be as difficult to defeat, as we may have crews of similar size."
"We cannot rely on that," Victoria said. "We don't know the size of the ships or their crews, only that they are similar to ours. They could have the same number of crew as us for each ship."
William nodded. "That is a risk we may have to take."
"What about if we just attack one crew?" Anne suggested. The others in the room looked at her. "We can… say, land on Providencia, scout the pirates for their weak link, and attack them instead of all the ships."
"You might have the right idea, but we can't simply attack the crew. The others will rush to their aid." Edward stroked his beard.
"Simple, mon ami," Alexandre said. "Sabotage one ship, and they will be delayed. If you only damage it slightly… say, enough to warrant a few hours' repairs, the others may leave to their destination and wait for the damaged ship to catch up."
"I think that may be our best option yet," Edward said with a smirk.
Herbert chuckled. "There's a better way," he said.
Edward waved his hand. "Share it then. That is why you're here."
"The simplest way would be to recruit another ship to our cause," Herbert suggested.
"Where would we find someone to help us at this hour?" William asked.
"We could appeal to some of the ships in Porto Bello. I'm sure, at minimum, one of them would be willing to join our cause for the right price."
The talk of having another ship join them caused Edward to jump up from his seat. "I've got it! I know who we can recruit," he exclaimed.
Those in the room looked at him strangely, but they all wanted to know his idea. "What ship did you have in mind?"
"Not just any ship will do," Edward said. "We need the ship on our side if we want to win."
"And that ship would be…?" Anne asked.
"The Spanish galleon," Edward said with a wide grin. "We'll convince the Spanish to join forces with us against Kenneth Locke."
14. Negotiations
"I believe you will need to explain this to us again, husband," Anne said with furrowed brows. "I'm afraid some of us may think you've gone mad."
"I've not gone mad," Edward replied. "If we have a galleon on our side, it won't matter how many ships they have on their side. We would be able to fight together and crush them, and then we won't have to fear picking at the scraps."
"He has gone mad," Roberts said with a raised brow.
Edward sighed. "I'm not mad. If we aren't able to convince the Spanish to join with us, we can simply focus on the other plan," he said with a wave of his hand. "Having the galleon is the safest way to achieve our plans."
"You are aware we're pirates, yes?" Anne said, incredulous.
"I am fully aware of what we are, and also aware of with whom we've been fighting. I don't believe we've had any encounters with Spanish forces, nor have we hit any of their harbours."
"Save Panama City," Anne said.
"Yes…" Edward said, glancing to Herbert, Alexandre, and Victoria. "Save for Panama City, we haven't attacked the Spanish, only the British. None in Panama City know who attacked the whorehouse, so we're safe there. Surely some of our exploits have reached Spanish ears."
Anne tapped her foot on the wooden floorboards of the cabin, and she had her arms crossed. Her mouth was a line, and she seemed to be searching her mind for some further objections, but she seemed unable to come up with more.
"It may work," she conceded.
Edward looked at Bartholomew Roberts. "You may be able to assist in the negotiations as well, Roberts. If my name isn't common knowledge, yours should be well known."
Roberts raised his brow. "How so?"
Edward looked at Anne. "Portugal is in an alliance with England at the moment, is it not?"
Anne nodded. "Yes, it is, but I know not what this adds to the discussion."
"He aims to use my past exploits as proof of our camaraderie, Mrs Quartermaster."
"Your… past exploits?"
"You may recall a time I mentioned when I stole some rather valuable jewels? They were owned by the King of Portugal," he said, motioning with his hand.
"Ah…" Anne said. "And Spain is none too happy with Portugal at the moment, as it sides with the British. Especially so now, as not long ago there was a concentrated attack on Spain's borders from Portugal, from what I've heard."
"And we can use that to our advantage here," Edward said. "We'll hide the fact that we're pirates at first, but if we need to convince them we're on their side we can tell them everything."
"Are you sure this is wise?" Victoria asked. "Pirates have ravaged this country just as much as the British have ravaged Spain in this war. How do you know they will not kill you if and when they discover the truth?"
Edward thought the problem over for a moment. He ran his fingers through his wavy black hair, slicking back some of the sweat that had gathered on his forehead. "We will ask him to parley with us, at a location of our choosing, outside of Porto Bello… We can have men on guard to ensure nothing goes wrong while we discuss the alliance," he said. "We can be smart about this, and even if negotiations sour, we will leave with our heads."
"The next issue is," Anne said, "how do we secure the Spanish captain's attention?"
"I say we be direct and tell them about the attack and how we wish to help," Edward said. "Perhaps… you could draft a letter?" Edward looked at Anne as he said the words.
Anne's brows raised. "Me?"
Edward nodded. "You're far more formal than the lot of us. You would be the most persuasive and… respectful with your words."
Anne glanced to the others in the room. "You have a point, I suppose." She sighed. "My Spanish is a bit rusty, but I shall do my best."
"Thank you," Edward said. "In the meantime, Roberts, would you like to scout out a location with me?"
Roberts smiled. "Yes, that could be a bit of fun."
Edward rose from his chair and looked at all those in the room. "If no one else has anything to add…?"
Herbert shuffled in his seat for a moment, and then spoke up. "I have a question," he said.
Edward's mouth was a line. "Yes?"
"Should we not put this to a vote?"
"I believe I made it clear that you may no longer propose votes."
Herbert stared at Edward, his brows furrowed. "Yes, abundantly," he replied. "I believe the Commandments are clear in that every man shall have a vote on current affairs."
Edward looked down for a moment and clenched his teeth in frustration. "Shall we vote on when we decide to wake, or sleep, or shit, for that matter?"
"Edward!" Anne looked mortified.
Edward ignored his wife. "Votes are a provision only outside of battle. This is something that has always been in effect. This involves battle, and battle plans, so that means my decision on how we go about our attack is not a voting matter," he said, staring daggers at Herbert. "Understood?"
Herbert's face once more reddened around his cheeks. His injured eye still covered most of his embarrassment, but not all. His teeth and jaw locked in place for the briefest of moments as he and Edward stared at each other.
"Understood, Captain," he said eventually.
"Good," Edward replied with a nod. "Roberts? Care to join me?"
Roberts glanced from Edward to Herbert and back. "Uhh… yes, let's be on our way."
Edward walked around the oval table and left the room, with Roberts following behind. He called upon a few crewmates to arm themselves and join him on their expedition, and they gathered supplies for the short trip
.
Edward didn't talk as they organized their supplies. His anger was plain to see, and plain to feel on his own face. He felt hot and flushed, and the sun beating down on him did not help.
Edward and company entered one of the Queen Anne's Revenge's longboats and paddled to the shore nearby. The air was hot and humid, as expected this close to shore, and it didn't seem to get any better after they landed and entered the nearby forest.
The tall palms were side by side with thick cottonwood trees, hanging vines, chest-high bushes, and obtrusive roots. As the group moved through the forest, they had to keep an eye on their feet to keep from tripping.
"If we can find a clearing nearby, that should do," Edward said. "No need to stay so close, men. We won't be able to see everything all bunched together like bananas. Keep within sight of each other."
The crew shouted "Aye, Captain," and then split up into a few smaller groups.
Edward pulled out his cutlass and whacked at some low-hanging branches in his way. The closest branch shook with his strike, and the rustling of the leaves travelled up to the top, sending some local birds fluttering from their perches to escape the potential danger below.
Around him, he could hear the sounds of different birds and animals he wasn't familiar with. He thought he might have heard monkeys, but he couldn't be sure. The noise reminded him of the first time he had seen a monkey. It was his first time on a trip with his father. It jumped on the ship when they were docked and stole some food before someone could shoo it away.
"Edward, may I talk with you a moment?" Roberts said behind him.
"Of course you may," Edward replied as he moved aside some long leaves.
"I don't wish to inspire your rage, but… captain to captain, I feel you are being too harsh on the boy."
Edward glanced over his shoulder and took a breath. "Herbert?"
"Yes."
"Nonsense," Edward said. "I spoke my mind, as I always do."
"That may be, but your tone was cavalier. I have seen you act this way before, when you are angered with someone."
Edward stopped and turned around. "And what of it? By rights I should be angry. He stole my ship, Roberts!"
Blackbeard's Justice (The Voyages of Queen Anne's Revenge Book 3) Page 17
