The Bride and the Buccaneer

by Darlene Marshall

  When she was a few feet from Jack she released the rope and walked down to the creek.

  "Here, I found something for you to keep. A souvenir of your trip."

  Sophia started to say fifty thousand in gold was enough of a souvenir for her, but she dutifully held out her hand. Jack placed a sharp pointed object on her palm. It was triangular, flared at the top, tapering down to a dangerous edge.

  "It's a shark's tooth. Creek bed's full of them."

  "Sharks!" She took a step back. "Are there any in the creek now?"

  He looked like he was debating what answer to give her, but then shook his head.

  "No, the sharks are all gone now. Moved out to sea at some point, but they left a lot of their teeth behind."

  "How odd," she said, running her finger over the efficient-looking tooth. Then she remembered her real purpose in being here.

  "Where's the treasure?"

  "Patience, little cat. Tell me the last clue again."

  Sophia closed her eyes, and opened them a moment later.

  "Follow the trail until you drink to the Devil where the sun never shines. Raise your glass high to those sea rovers who now sail the

  River Styx beneath the ground. They laughed at Lucifer and swore allegiance to no king, but only to the brotherhood,

  "I wish Captain Garvey would have just said, 'If you have come this far, here is my treasure.'"

  Jack smiled.

  "That would be convenient, wouldn't it? No, let's think instead about the clues we're given. We're in Lucifer's Chalice, but the sun is shining bright. Where does the sun never shine?"

  "In a closed room? In a box?" She shuddered. "In a grave?"

  "In a grave... may be, not in a grave, but you're close. Sunlight will shine in a grave when it's opened, but it never shines in a place where it's never been."

  "And? Are you going to say where that is?"

  "In a place that should be near and dear to your heart, given your larcenous history. The sun never shines deep inside a cave."

  Sophia thought about this for a moment. "That is reasonable. Have you been in any caves around here?"

  "Some. In theory they make good spots to cache supplies, because animals don't go too far from the sun. But the difficulty of accessing them makes them less than perfect."

  "What I do not understand is why Captain Garvey felt compelled to place his wealth so far inland."

  "Only Captain Garvey can answer that, and since he's no longer amongst the living, we can only guess. Let's look around and see what we find."

  Jack went to the side of the stream where it began draining underground, exploring the shelf of rock hanging out over the stream's edge. Sophia shuddered. If the water flowed into the treasure cave, it could be more dangerous hauling it out. She turned instead to the wall of the ravine where the small freshets came together to form the stream. One rill flowed off a mossy rock through a patch of ferns like water flowing through a pump and on a whim she turned herself around, leaning backward under the water to let it fall across her face and cropped hair, the sunlight showing bright through her closed eyelids.

  When she felt sufficiently rehydrated, she shook the excess water from her hair and blinked her eyes, shading them from the sun now nearly overhead.

  Not sure of what she was seeing, she blinked again. It didn't change.

  "Jack! Come here!"

  Jack hurried over and Sophia grabbed his arm.

  "There! Look up at that overhang!"

  Jack followed her finger's pointing.

  "Well, I'll be damned."

  It was highly unlikely that the opossums and raccoons foraging about had painted the large red X on the underside of the rock jutting out from the ravine wall.

  Jack looked up at the area around the rock. "I'm going to climb up and run a rope down this side. You stay here for now! Don't try to explore that rock until I get back."

  "Yes, Jack," Sophia said dutifully, though she was afire with excitement. This had to be it!

  She found herself a dry rock to sit on and stared up at the X, her mind envisioning all the lovely things one could buy with a pirate's treasure. Maybe mixed in with the doubloons there would be masses of barbaric gold. Maybe there was ruby and emerald studded jewelry. She'd told Jack she'd rather have land than jewels, but a trinket or two would be a pleasing memento of the trip. While normally she'd never wear anything that would overwhelm her tiny frame, for Garvey's Gold she was willing to make an exception, throw good taste to the wind and wear something ridiculously gaudy that screamed pirate treasure.

  Soon enough Jack was back with his rope and a lantern, and he was again wearing his shirt.

  "I'm going up there first to investigate this, Sophia. Don't look at me like that, it's not as if I can run off with the treasure with you sitting right here."

  "Just hurry back, and let me know what you find!"

  "Don't worry. I'm not going cave exploring just yet, if that is indeed a cave."

  He gave her the lantern and climbed up on the shelf, lying on his belly and peering inside.

  "Can you pass me up the lantern, Sophia?"

  She braced herself with the rope and climbed a few feet up the side of the ravine, holding the lantern in her other hand and passing it to Jack. He held it in front of him and peered into the cave mouth, for he announced it was indeed appearing to be a cave.

  "But I'm going to have to go in farther to see what's there."

  "Oh Jack, be careful!"

  He looked down at her. "You really care what happens to me?"

  "Of course I do! If you are injured you won't be able to haul the

  gold out!"

  "Of course." He sighed. He sat up on the ledge, leaning forward so he wouldn't bump his head. He retied his bandana around his head, and also tied the rope around his waist. He looked down at her, his face grim.

  "The rope's a precaution, Sophia. If something happens, you may have to haul me out."

  "What would happen? Are there animals in there?"

  "Not recently," he said, poking at some debris near the opening. "But I've been in caves before. Sometimes the air goes bad and you don't realize it until..." He didn't finish, but just looked at her. "I'll be careful."

  "Jack—"

  He looked at her again, an expression on his face that was hard to interpret.

  "Good luck," was all she said.

  He watched her and the moment stretched between them, until he said, "I am Lucky Jack Burrell, and you are Lucky Jack Burrell's woman. My luck is your luck, Sophia."

  With that he turned from her and pushed the lantern inside the cave. The entrance was low and he crabwalked in until he disappeared from Sophia's sight, but she saw the moving light of the lantern, growing fainter as he made his way inside.

  It seemed like hours passed, though she was sure that wasn't the case, for the sun hadn't moved far from its spot high overheard. Her eyes stayed glued to the cave entrance, now dark again.

  She brushed at a bug crawling across her shoe, trying to keep her mind away from all the awful images of Jack stuck in a cave, Jack falling down a shaft and depending on Sophia to get him out—she looked up to where the mules were tethered. Could she lead one of them down here if it became necessary?

  She looked back at the cave and rubbed her eyes. It looked lighter than it had a few moments ago and she leapt to her feet as the light moved. Jack was coming back.

  "Water," he croaked when he pulled himself onto the ledge and flopped over onto his back, breathing heavily. Sophia scrambled up to the ledge with a water bottle. Jack took a long swallow, poured the rest over his face leaving pale trails through the red dirt covering him and held it out to her.

  "More."

  Sophia hurried back down to the stream, holding onto the rope. Jack was breathing normally when she returned, but she could see the journey through the cave hadn't been easy. His cheek was scraped and there was a trickle of blood from the torn knee of his trousers.

  He sat up and took
stock of himself, grimacing at the condition of his clothing.

  "Aren't you going to ask me about the treasure?"

  Sophia stopped and stared at him. She'd been so concerned about Jack she'd forgotten about the treasure.

  "Of course I want to know about the treasure! Is it there?"

  "Yes," he said grimly, "but it won't be easy to get it out."

  He wiped his sleeve across his face and drank more water.

  "Do you remember in Captain Tanner's letter to you where he said he crawled into the cave because he was a boy and Captain Garvey and your grandfather were too large to go into the opening?"

  "Yes," Sophia said, though she had a feeling where this was heading. And she didn't like it.

  "I'm too large to get through the tunnel into the room where the treasure is, Sophia. You're going to have to go in there to get it. You can scrape through the entrance, but I can't."

  "I understand," Sophia said, swallowing.

  "But we're not going to do it right now, sweetheart. I need food, and I need to rest. All that crawling has left my arms and legs like jelly. I don't dare ask you to cook, but do you think you can set some water on to boil for our dinner?"

  Despite his scrapes and aches, he smiled at her, and she felt her heart lift as she turned to climb back up to the top. Jack was with her and he was safe. All was good.

  She paused, halfway up the trail, holding onto the rope and looked over her shoulder.

  When did having Jack with her become more important than the treasure?

  "Do you need help?" he called out from where he was leaning against the rock at the cave entrance.

  "No, I can make it," she said, and finished her trek up to the top.

  There was plenty of fresh water flowing down the sides of the ravine, and Jack had rigged a winch to haul items up and down, so soon the fire was burning hotter and by the time bubbles began rising to the surface of the water Jack was at the top of the path, looking more like himself than when he'd emerged from the cave's darkness.

  "Here, I want you to put this on before you finish dinner,"

  He passed her an eyepatch, and showed her how to tie it on.

  "How do I look?" she said, blinking up at him with her uncovered eye.

  "Quite piratical." He smiled.

  "And I am wearing this because... ?"

  "I thought a smart girl like you would have figured it out by now." He waited, watching her. Sophia thought back to the times when Jack had worn his eyepatch.

  "When I am in the cave, I will be able to see better out of the eye that is accustomed to the darkness."

  "You win the prize, sweetheart."

  She removed the patch and looked at Jack as he bustled about fixing their dinner, a mixture of fish and vegetables that would be a hearty chowder by the time he was finished. Really, she smiled to herself as she sliced carrots, he was a handy husband to have around.

  Her knife stilled and she looked down at the round slices on the board, slices looking like coins in the sunlight.

  Something had happened to her. Having the treasure alone wasn't enough any longer. Now she wanted the treasure and Lucky Jack as well. He could be annoying and domineering and drive her to distraction, but the thought of empty years stretching ahead without Jack beside her sent a chill through her despite the afternoon's heat.

  "Got the carrots yet?"

  Sophia shook herself.

  "Here they are. Onions are coming up next. It is a good thing we had the mules to carry the supplies."

  "And don't forget, one of us is also a skilled fisherman. This would be a pretty thin meal if not for me."

  "Oh, I am prepared to acknowledge you are an asset, Captain Burrell. After all, Captain Tanner did say you were the best man for this job."

  "It's become more than a job though, hasn't it, Sophia?"

  She paused from slicing her onions and looked at Jack across the fire. "I came here to find Garvey's Gold, Jack. Everything else that has happened..." She waved her knife in the air to illustrate her frustration. "It is a lot for me to try to absorb."

  Jack was watching her and for once his face gave nothing away. "It is simple if you allow yourself to believe you are loved, Sophia, and know you are capable of loving in return. That's all."

  Easy for you to say. She attacked an onion. And yet, if she was truly honest with herself she had to acknowledge it wasn't easy for Jack. From what he'd said, he came from a conventional family, and he must have a certain amount of trepidation at the thought of bringing home Miss Sophia Deford, gambler's daughter, thief—if you believed his version of reality—and a woman he was forced by pirates to marry at cutlass point. No, it wasn't easy for Jack to say he loved her, but he said it nonetheless.

  They ate their dinner without much conversation, both of them thinking ahead to the trip into the cave. Jack went first, taking stout canvas bags and rope down into the ravine. When he returned he helped Sophia tie her eyepatch on, and also wrapped her head in a bandana to keep her hair off her face, and to cushion her head against the low ceilings of the tunnels.

  The stood at the entrance to the cave. Jack watched her, rope coiled over his shoulders.

  "One last time, Sophia, you do not have to do this."

  "Yes, I do," she said looking at him. She didn't want to think about Lord Whitfield and what awaited them when this journey was finished. She wanted to memorize Jack's face in the sun, the planes and angles of it, the way his eye caught the light and looked down at her like she was precious, and loved.

  "Come then," he said.

  He led the way, crouched over into the narrow cave opening, until after a few yards he was able to stand. He lit the lantern and Sophia looked around with interest. The cave was cool and dry, the dirt on the floor packed smooth, undisturbed by weather or animals. There were three or four passages off of the room, but one was marked by a small cairn left by the pirates or other cave inhabitants.

  "The next room we have to lower ourselves down. It's not far, and I'll go first, you pass the lantern down to me, and then you come down."

  He'd tied one end of the rope to a tree not far from the cave entrance, and now uncoiled part of it and she watched as he inched his way down the wall into the darkness below. It was so quiet she could hear her own heartbeat thundering in her ears.

  "Lower the lantern, Sophia."

  She did, and the room she was in shifted to near dark, only a lozenge of light coming up from below. She flipped up her eyepatch and her vision improved, and this helped ease some of the stiffness

  from her shoulders.

  "Now, lower yourself down, sweetheart. Don't worry, it's not a long drop and I'm here to catch you."

  Sophia took a deep breath and as Jack had shown her, set her legs over the side of the tunnel opening, bracing them against the far wall. She kept one hand on the rope as she "walked" herself down, and when her head cleared the opening she felt her lower legs grabbed and supported.

  "I have you."

  He eased her the rest of the way down and when she felt her feet on the cave floor Sophia stood there, clutching Jack until she could say, "I am ready to move on."

  "Good girl," his voice came like a whisper in the near dark, the lantern casting a small pool of light on the floor.

  "Cover your eye, Sophia."

  She put her patch back in place and he opened the lantern wider, illuminating the room they stood in. Jack was hunched over while Sophia felt her bandana brushing the ceiling above them.

  "Now we have to crawl. Keep your head down as much as you can."

  He went first and she followed on her hands and knees, grateful for the stout canvas trousers and shirt protecting her from being scraped raw by the rocks and soil in the cave as they worked their way forward.

  She had no idea how much time passed, with only Jack's boots in front of her as she followed along behind, scuttling like a crab as she crawled. At first she went on her hands and knees, hunched over, then on her belly, using her knees and elbow
s to push herself forward. Her arms were close to her side, her elbows banging against the rock and she could feel the fabric at her sleeves separating from the friction of the rough surface, baring her arms to more scrapes. She kept her head down as much as possible, to protect it, and because the weight of the earth above her was pressing down, crushing her, and she couldn't go on, couldn't catch her breath.

  "Sophia? Are you in trouble?"

  She wanted to scream "Yes!" She was more frightened than she'd ever been, she was going to die here, buried under the ground while she was still breathing, but she couldn't fail, because failure meant—failure meant she wasn't strong enough for Jack Burrell, wasn't the woman he thought she was. Her size had always been an advantage, and a disadvantage. She could verbally—or if necessary at the point of a gun—disarm opponents like Jack and a host of other big, strong men who thought she was small and fragile. Now Jack knew better. He thought she was strong. He needed her help. She couldn't let him down.

  After some moments—or days—she inched forward, following him, knowing as long as Lucky Jack was with her, nothing bad could happen.

  "Sophia?"

  "I am well, Jack. Keep going."

  "Good girl. Not much farther now, sweetheart."

  She smiled in the dark at the endearment. Maybe there were girls in Savannah that Jack's mother thought would make a better wife, but how many of them would be willing to crawl underground in the dark with him for a pirate's treasure?

  Jack's boots and the light disappeared and she caught her breath and felt her heart stutter. Then the light shone down, through an opening just a couple feet off the ground.

  "Follow me into the room, Sophia. Then you can stand up."

  She scurried forward, not caring about the scrapes if she could have more space and room to breathe. She pulled herself up into the room and Jack was sitting against a wall, catching his own breath.

  "Oh, Jack, I was not sure I would be able to—bloody hell!"

  She jumped back and fell on her arse, her hands over her mouth, staring at the corpse propped up against the wall.