The Bride and the Buccaneer

by Darlene Marshall

"Did I forget to mention he was in here?"

  "Jack, that is not funny!"

  "Oh, I don't know, I think it is on a level with leaving a man tied-up and naked."

  "I cannot believe you are so petty as to carry a grudge after all these years!"

  "Tied-up, naked and robbed...look at the bright side, Sophia, you forgot to be afraid of the cave."

  That was true. And whoever their companion was, he wasn't a threat to them.

  "Who is he?"

  "I don't know, but based on that note scratched beside him, I think he's someone who tried to play false with Captain Garvey."

  The bones in the desiccated body's chest were shattered, likely from a lead ball. His clothing was a common seaman's, petticoat trousers and jersey, and a gold earring winked in the lantern light from where it had fallen off of him at some point. Sophia cautiously crawled forward to

  see the note Jack pointed to.

  In the dirt beside the body was written, "The price of betrayal!"

  A chill ran down Sophia's spine and she looked up to see Jack's eyes on her, watching her.

  "Do you trust me, Jack?"

  "Oh, I do, sweetheart. The question is, what is it I trust you to do?"

  He stood. "The treasure is down there, Sophia," he said, pointing to a narrow, dark depression in the cave floor, with another red X marking it. "Once again, you do not have to go after it."

  She felt her stomach shift, and swallowed. "I will go in there."

  "Then there's one more thing you need to know. Sound does not carry in here like it does aboveground. If you call for help, I may not be able to hear you though you are just a few feet away. Now, are you sure you want to do this?"

  There was every reason in the world to say no.

  And fifty thousand reasons to say yes.

  "I will go in there," she repeated.

  "I will be here for you," he said.

  That simple statement meant more to Sophia than Jack could have imagined, but she only nodded and said, "Tell me what to do."

  Jack took off his bandana and wiped his face, leaving a smear of blood behind from his scraped hand.

  "You need to crawl through on your belly. It will be completely dark, so feel around carefully. When I shined the lantern in it looked like there's a shelf just below the entrance. Carefully ease yourself down onto it, and when you're steady, call and tug on the rope and I will lower the lantern to you. Remember, sound is tricky in here, so if you call me I may not hear you unless you are right at the opening."

  Jack tied the rope around Sophia's chest, under her arms. She turned to go, but he said, "Wait."

  She looked up at him in the dim light. He took her face in both his hands and placed his mouth on hers and she felt protected and cherished by that kiss. She leaned into him, feeling the strain of her sore muscles as she put her arms around his neck and stood on tiptoe to feel him against her, absorbing his strength, and his love.

  "Be careful," he whispered to her. "Come back to me."

  "I promise, Jack. Only death can part us."

  He grabbed her and kissed her again, more fiercely, then set her back on her feet.

  "Go now, or I will lose my nerve and drag you out of here whether

  you agree or not."

  The look on his face showed he meant every word, so Sophia picked up her rope, and the first of the canvas bags, and turned to the tunnel opening. She took a deep breath, held it for a moment, then went down on her belly and started to crawl forward. The ledge was just past the opening, as Jack had said, and she was small enough that she could get her entire body through the opening. There was a faint glow from behind her, Jack waiting with the light.

  "I am going to stand on the ledge now, Jack."

  "I have you," he said, giving the rope a slight tug.

  She placed her feet down and then gingerly leaned forward, putting her full weight on the ledge.

  "It is holding. Pass me the lantern, Jack."

  Jack pushed the lantern into the opening and Sophia grabbed it, pulling it forward, careful not to tip it and cause the light to go out. When she worked it through she raised it high over her head and gasped.

  Bags and chests covered the floor, gold and silver spilling out in a fountain of wealth. One bag had worn away and jewels flowed from it, fanning over the floor like a peacock's tail.

  "Do you see it, Sophia?"

  "Jack—it's real! Garvey's Gold really exists!"

  "Then let us make haste, Sophia. I do not want to stay here longer than necessary."

  "Right," she said, her eyes still dazzled by the sight of the fortune in front of her. She climbed off the ledge down to the cave floor and felt a brush of cool air against her face, the cave "blowing" from one room into another.

  They talked ahead of time about the best way to get the treasure out and Sophia worked with a purpose, looking for those filled bags that still looked strong enough to pass up to Jack. She would have expected at this point to be exhausted, and knew at one level she was, but at another she was nearly manic with energy, working to get as much treasure as possible out before she had to crawl back to the surface.

  Once the intact bags were hauled up, Sophia shoveled coins and jewels into the bags she brought with her and sent them up to Jack. She rubbed her eyes, straining to see everything in the dim light.

  Then she looked at her lantern. The light was dim because the lantern was sputtering, and as she watched it winked out.

  The darkness was like nothing she'd ever experienced. Total, complete, smothering her like a blanket of dirt, pushing down on her and robbing her of air.

  She whimpered and barely stopped herself in time from making a dash for where she thought the cave entrance was. Because now she no longer knew where it was. She'd untied the rope from her waist when it got in her way while she was loading treasure.

  "Jack?" she whispered. "JACK!"

  There was no answer and she clapped her hands over her mouth to keep her screams inside.

  Think! Where was the entrance? What were you facing when the lantern went out?

  She closed her eyes, not that she needed to, but because it gave her the semblance of control. She'd been facing the lantern, which was in front of her, near one of the remaining chests. The entrance was behind her, to her left.

  Yes. It had to be. She was sure of it.

  Sophia opened her eyes and carefully pivoted on one foot. She put her hands in front of her and stepped forward, hesitantly, moving toward what she thought was her goal. There were dark corners in this cave. Were they holes? Would she fall and fall forever?

  She whimpered again but kept moving, shuffling her feet forward and trying to keep to as straight a line as she could.

  Her hands bumped up against stone. Panic clawed at her and she felt along the wall, reaching high, and after an eternity her hand brushed against her rope. Sophia grabbed it and held on like a drowning sailor holds a lifeline.

  "Jack?" her voice came out as a harsh croak. "Jack?"

  "Sophia?"

  She started sobbing.

  "Jack, the lantern is out and it's dark and I cannot see—"

  "Sophia!" he snapped. "Get hold of yourself. If you start whining like a hysterical little girl it will solve nothing!"

  His harsh words had a bracing effect, and it moved her past her fear and into anger.

  "Oh, really? Hysterical, am I?" She wiped her sleeve across her face, looking up to where his voice was. Now she could see a faint glow as he brought his candle closer. She had never seen anything so wonderful, not even the first glimpse of Garvey's Gold could compare with Jack's light.

  "Yes, but it's understandable," Jack said in a gentler voice. "I am going to pass you the candle stub, Sophia. I have light here. You use this to relight your lantern, and then come out. The rest of the treasure will wait."

  For once she didn't argue with him. She strained up and reached the candle, then cradling it in her hand like it was the most precious object in the cave, re-lit
the lantern. She watched the lantern for a moment to see if it sputtered again, for Jack had warned her about "bad air" underground, but the flame burned steady.

  She looked around her. There was still some treasure left, but they'd hauled out most of it, and she felt, if not content, satisfied. Too much greed had done in many a pirate and scavenger in the past. Perhaps it would be best to leave the rest here for others to find in the future.

  Besides which, the idea of ever coming back into this cave made her twitch.

  Jack was waiting for her and she followed him out, assisted by him when she needed to get out of the deeper areas. When Sophia hauled herself out into the fresh air, behind him, she thought at first she was having trouble seeing, then realized it was nighttime. Her knees ached so much she wasn't sure she could walk, but she made herself move. Everything ached. The scrapes on her elbows burned, her shoulders screamed for relief, her back throbbed.

  But there was a mound covered by a canvas tarp, their treasure.

  That made her smile as she climbed to the campsite while Jack saw to the mules for the night.

  He was seated before the fire now and, after drinking deep of their water, Sophia joined him.

  "Jack?"

  There was no answer. She hobbled closer.

  "Jack?"

  He was sitting up, hunched over, a half-eaten biscuit stuffed with dried meat in his hand. Her heart rose in her throat in panic, until she heard his soft snore.

  He was sound asleep.

  Reassured, she took the biscuit from his lax hand. It would be a shame to leave it for some raccoon to eat. Not to mention she didn't have the strength to get her own biscuit.

  She got comfortable—as much as she could when her entire body was screaming at its abuse—next to him.

  She made it all the way through her second swallow before she dropped the biscuit and joined him in slumber.

  CHAPTER 23"I cannot move."

  "Neither can I."

  They lay there, side by side in the morning sun, wishing the chirping birds to perdition and trying hard not to send their sore muscles any painful orders.

  "I have to move. Nature is calling me."

  "If you were a man you could just roll over and aim for the fire," he said with a certain smugness.

  "If I were a man, you would not be lying here with your hand inside my trousers. On the other hand, you are a sailor, so I should not be so quick to make assumptions."

  "Very well, you move first, Mrs. Burrell. The bushes are over there," he said, vaguely twitching toward the sunrise.

  "No, you move first. I will just lie here and let the sun bake my muscles."

  "If I move first, I am getting breakfast. And I'm not likely to share."

  "Jack, I am lying a few feet from a fortune. If I were capable of moving I would be coshing you over the head and riding off on gold-laden mules."

  "There is that. I will move. And I will get us breakfast. Just," he sat up and winced, "do not expect it anytime soon."

  But Sophia found she really could not ignore her body's signals, and with the stiffness of a ninety-year-old woman, she made it to her feet and hobbled behind the bushes.

  Moving, painful as it was, helped her muscles to stretch out again, so she joined Jack in breakfast preparation while he stirred the pot. He still didn't trust her to do it after an unfortunate incident involving grits.

  The corners of her mouth moved up, almost against her will, as she watched him. She knew it was the sight of Lucky Jack Burrell making her smile. She also now knew this ache in her chest when she thought of him was love. It felt odd, like a new pair of shoes that look dazzling, but you know they will take some time before they're comfortable on your feet. And love, despite what Jack maintained, did complicate life. Loving him was going to make what she had to do that much harder.

  After downing enough breakfast to feel human again, Sophia said, "How much do you think the final figure will be on the treasure, Jack?"

  "Hard to say. The jewels will need to be appraised, but I think we can stick with our fifty thousand pounds figure and feel comfortable with it.

  "Are you happy, Sophia?"

  She took her time answering, not because she wasn't sure if she was happy, but because Jack had different notions from her of what happiness entailed and she wanted to give him the right answer.

  "I think it will turn out to be worth all of our time and effort, Jack. So yes, that makes me happy." Her throat grew a lump. "And I will always treasure this time together with you, Jack. No matter what happens, this will be the most special time of my life."

  "What do you think will happen?"

  "We still have to get the treasure to St. Augustine, Jack."

  He gave her a steady look. "I believe I have it covered, Sophia. I don't expect anything bad to happen on the trip."

  Sophia said nothing to this.

  Afterward they bathed in the cool water flowing down from the streams above them and began hoisting their treasure up to the top of the ravine, using the pulleys Jack rigged for this purpose. When there was rope and hauling to be done, it was good to have a sailor around. And mules.

  It took the better part of the day, but they worked with a vengeance. At the end, Jack looked down at Lucifer's Chalice.

  "Maybe one day some other fortune hunter will find what remains of Garvey's Gold, but for now I am content to give the devil his due and leave it behind."

  It was slow going walking alongside the mules pulling a heavily laden cart, but the dry weather held and the streams were low enough to ford. Jack bagged some squirrels, and while Sophia was hesitant to eat anything that looked like a rodent with a bushy tail, the smell of the stew brought her around to the concept of trying new food.

  "I could get used to you cooking for me, Jack," Sophia said as she sucked a bit if flesh off of a delicate bone.

  "No, when we're out of here I will let you stick to your plan to hire yourself the finest French chef you can find," Jack said.

  Sophia pushed her food around on her plate, not looking at Jack. Things were still chancy and much could happen between the pine woods and St. Augustine.

  They turned in for the night, sleeping under the palmetto lean-to Jack made. Sophia was curled up against him, her back to him, in what had become a sleep position that was so much a part of her, she wondered how she would ever fall asleep again if she didn't have Jack behind her.

  They'd both been too sore and exhausted the night before to do more than collapse in front of the fire, but now...and who knew what the morrow would bring?

  Sophia rolled over and faced Jack, who was awake, watching her.

  "I knew you weren't asleep," he said, and reached out a finger to trace her lips in the dark. There was enough moonlight filtering through the palm fronds to see him as he studied her so seriously.

  She put her hands alongside his face, cradling it, memorizing him and storing it away to be pulled out and savored on some dark night years hence.

  "Jack I...I lo—" She choked and tried again. "Jack—"

  "It's all right, sweetheart. Didn't I tell you I have enough love for both of us?"

  She couldn't tell him how she felt about him, but she could show him. Sophia leaned forward and put her lips on his, still holding his head, and he rolled over with her atop him as they kissed in the dark, the frogs down at the creek offering a musical accompaniment.

  "Jack," Sophia said, feathering kisses across his brow, his eyes, his cheeks, memorizing each inch of him, absorbing him through her lips, learning his taste, his smell, his feel, the way the pulse in his neck sped up at her touch, the way the cords in his throat stood out.

  She unfastened his shirt, sitting up astride him. His hands were busy as well, unfastening her trousers, reaching beneath her shirt to cover her breasts, the heat from his palms flowing into her. He sat up, the top of his head brushing the lean-to, her legs still wrapped around his waist. They shared kisses, and touches, and small words of pleasure as they explored each other
in moves both languid and frantic, a tinge of desperation to their touching, and Sophia suspected Jack, too, was wondering if it was the last time they would share this, the last opportunity to show each other how much they cared.

  Lucky Jack Burrell filled a place in her life no other man could ever fill. After this, no matter what she did or where she went, Jack would always be a part of her. And if the words he was murmuring in her ear were true, she would always be a part of him.

  He eased her back down and undid the rest of her clothing and she lay there, content to let him show her how much he treasured her. He told her she was more precious to him than jewels, more wonderful than all the gold in Captain Garvey's ships. Tears leaked from the corners of her eyes, trickling down into her hair as she lay against the bedroll, Jack's smile in the dark illuminating the night like nothing else could.

  "Do not cry, sweetheart, it will all work out," he whispered, and then his lips were back on her neck, moving down across her chest, his tongue circling her nipples as she clutched at his hair, but he never veered from his course, moving down her body until she felt his breath on her thighs.

  "Open for me, little cat," he whispered, and he put his mouth on her and lapped at her softness, his bearded chin rasping against her sensitive flesh, heightening each touch, each feather brush of his tongue across her and she heard herself whimpering and asking him for more.

  He gave her all she asked for, and when she thought should could stand it no longer, that she would surely combust from the sensations building in her, he worked his fingers inside her and she was afire, each nerve ending in her body flaring with a heat like nothing else she had ever experienced, and nothing she would ever forget.

  While she was still gasping for breath Jack moved up over her, and entered her in one fluid motion. He stayed still, and she could feel him a part of her, inside her, completing her, and what she'd held back for so long burst from her like a dove set free.

  "I...I love you, Jack!"

  "I know," he whispered, and then began moving, his skin slick with sweat in the warm night air, his hair falling across his face, but she could see his eyes, locked with hers as he watched her face, his own grim and taut with desire and something else, a touch of darkness as he moved over her, dominating her, impressing himself into her core.