by Connie Mason
“I don’t know what to do with you, Alexa,” he said, stomping about noisily. “In Nassau I received word that a flotilla of British ships are carrying arms to Savannah to aid in the conquest of the south. If I turn back now I might miss them.”
“Then don’t turn back,” begged Alexa earnestly. “I know I’ll be safe with you. And I want to learn. Mac, everything. Please,” she pleaded in such a way that poor Mac had no chance at all.
“I can’t keep you with me forever, Alexa. Fox is bound to return one day to Nassau and discover you missing. What then?”
“Let’s compromise,” Alexa hedged, sensing her victory. “Give me three months to learn all I need to know. Just three months, Mac, and then I’ll return to Nassau.”
She looked so helpless, so appealing, that Mac found himself agreeing to her outrageous demands. “You win, Alexa—three months, then back you go. No pleading, no begging. Agreed?”
“Agreed,” Alexa exulted. And so began a period in Alexa’s young life that proved a turning point.
The next three months found her working harder and toiling longer than she had in her entire life. Not only from Mac, but from the entire crew who thought it a lark to teach Alexa all their hard-earned skills. Alexa learned to climb the riggings, trim the sails, and wield the rapier with some dgree of proficiency given her limited strength. More difficult was learning to use the sextant to map the course and to read the stars. The latter was taught by Beggs who had been a sailor for more years than any man aboard the Lady A save for cook.
All things taken into consideration Alexa proved a quick study and an avid student. There were times when she scampered aloft in the rigging with an agility many of the seasoned sailors admired. Mac held his breath, fearing for her life. And when she came down he scolded her soundly while secretly marveling at her spunk and ability. Among the many things she learned were the rudiments of weaponry, particularly the deadly cannon bolted to the quarterdeck and main deck.
Finally the day arrived when Alexa, strictly against Mac’s wishes, participated in a battle. The Lady A had taken two ships, both sunk in the fray during Alexa’s period of training. When the third was sighted Alexa refused to be relegated to her cabin and showed up on deck during the heat of the battle, acquitting herself admirably with rapier against one or two of the clumsier English sailors. When Mac first spied her it took ten years off of his life and his eyes never left her slim form. She had many protectors that day among her friends aboard the ship. Notably Drake, who considered Alexa his personal charge and under strict orders from Mac became her guardian angel thereafter.
After that first encounter. Alexa crept away and vomited in private, then fell into bed so exhausted she could barely lift her arms or move her legs. The following day Mac ranted and raved at her for her foolhardy actions, but to no avail. The next ship they attacked, Alexa was where she belonged, in the midst of battle, exhilarated by the skill with which she acquitted herself. The third battle enabled her to prove her merit when she saved the life of Drake who fought at her back and would have sustained a serious injury save for her quick action. Alexa had never felt more confident of her ability as when she was cheered by the crew for her courage and deftness with a sword. Watching in silence, Mac was eternally grateful the time had arrived to return Alexa to Nassau. He lived in fear that she might be seriously wounded in one of their skirmishes which had become more and more frequent as the weeks went by. Fox would have his hide should he allow anything to happen to Alexa.
Nearly three months to the day Alexa had stowed aboard her namesake. Mac took her aside and told her to plot a course to Nassau. Using her newly acquired skill, Alexa did just that. But as fate would have it they were enjoined in battle one more time before they reached their destination, serving to further hone Alexa’s prowess in battle. As a tribute to her bravery Mac awarded her the prize, the ship Star Chaser, a sleek English frigate they had just taken. He generously offered the loan of Drake and several of his most trusted men to man the Star Chaser for Alexa.
“Drake will make you a good captain. Alexa.” Mac told her as he presented his parting gift. “As owner of the ship a share of the profits will come to you and indirectly you will be doing your part in the war.” Mac thought it a perfect solution. With the Star Chaser to keep her occupied her stay in Nassau should prove less of an ordeal. And with an experienced man like Drake as captain the profits would give her a measure of security no matter which direction her life took. It was not too farfetched to consider the possiblity that neither he nor Fox would survive the war.
If the English proved victorious in the end. Alexa would never be allowed to return to America, and should he or Fox fail to survive, she would be fixed for life. In due course both ships entered the port of Nassau, the Star Chaser to be turned into a privateer and the Lady A to take on food and supplies.
Alexa was elated with her gift of a ship. Had Mac known how easily he had fallen in with her plans he would have been astounded. The ship was a plum she hadn’t counted on and it literally fell into her hands. When Mac left Nassau a week later to continue his pursuit of the British, he thought he left Alexa in a safe haven for the duration of the war. How little he knew the new Alexa. The moment Mac cleared the harbor Alexa boarded the Star Chaser and called together Drake and what crew members from the Lady A Mac had left behind. Swallowing her nervousness she faced them squarely and boldly laid out her proposal.
“Men,” she said, her voices quivering with excitement. “By now you all know me. For three months we have sailed together and fought side by side. I am confident in saying I have proven myself many times over, in many diverse situations. I do not believe you found me lacking.”
Several ayes hailed her words, encouraging her to continue. “What I am about to propose might seem strange at first but I beg you to consider me on my merit alone. Do not allow my femininity to sway your decision.”
“What is it you are trying to say, Lady Alexa?” Drake finally asked.
“I intend to sail my own ship and I want all of you loyal men at my side.” There, it was out, and Alexa watched closely as shock followed disbelief across the faces of those men she had come to know so well.
Beggs was openly skeptical while Drake’s admiration was clearly displayed for all to see. A scattering of disjointed conversation flew about her while the men stared incredulously into the face of their idol. “Lady Alexa, have ye thought of the danger?” asked Beggs in an attempt to dissuade her from her foolish course.
“I’ve considered everything, Beggs, and my mind is made up. I fully intend to be at the helm when Star Chaser leaves Nasau—with or without the lot of you. Of course,” she allowed sweetly, placatingly, “I’d much prefer to have each one of you at my side.” She paused dramatically to allow her words time to sink in.
Abruptly, she whirled to confront Drake. “Well, Drake, what say you? Are you with me? Will you be my first mate and right arm? I need you, I need you all.”
That’s all Drake needed to hear. Already halfway in love with Alexa, he fell completely and irrevocably under her spell. A confirmed bachelor in his late thirites, Drake would have gladly followed Alexa to the ends of the earth and back for one of her special smiles. If he didn’t know her to be Fox’s lady, a man whom he respected enormously, he would be tempted to win her for himself. Realizing such a thing to be impossible, he would be honored to fight by her side and protect her for as long as fate allowed.
“I’m with you, milady,” he shouted to the heavens. “For as long and as far as the winds and the tides and the fates take us.”
“Aye, count me in,” added Beggs, not to be outdone by Drake.
One by one the others joined in until every man present swore to serve their lady till their death or the end of the war. “Then hear me, men,” shouted Alexa, floating on a cloud of euphoria. “Henceforth I shall be known as the Vixen. I will wear a mask at all times so no man may know my identity. I charge you under penalty of death to forget my name,
forget my face and address me only as Vixen or Captain. Only you few, my trusted crew, shall know the truth and thereby hold my life in your hands.”
A profound silence met Alexa’s words as each man mulled over all that Alexa had imparted to them. To be the recipient of such trust filled them with awe. If by chance they hadn’t been entirely with her before they were now, body and soul. To a man they would allow their tongues to be torn out before they would betray their lady Vixen.
The cheer that met her ears brought tears to Alexa’s eyes. At long last everything she had toiled so tirelessly toward for these past three months was about to be fulfilled. “We sail in a week, men!” Alexa shouted above the din. “As of now the Star Chaser no longer exists. Behold, My Lady Vixen!” Her slim hands stretched out to encompass the ship beneath her feet.
“My Lady Vixen! May God guide her path! English beware! To our captain, the Vixen!” All this and more echoed across the placid water of the bay as the Vixen came into being.
Afterwards Alexa conferred with Drake and Beggs, instructing them as to the refurbishing of the ship, the painting of the new name on the hull and signing on men to fill out the crew. Smiling complacently. Alexa immediately set out to complete her transformation from lady to vixen.
Lana was delighted to have Alexa back safe and unharmed. It took a whole day for Alexa to tell of her exploits during the past three months and Lana sat bug-eyed with excitement during the telling. Lana became truly animated when Alexa confided her newest venture and once again asked the girl’s help in creating the Vixen.
Though Lana expressed the desire to accompany Alexa. Alexa felt obligated to deny her request for she would not be so cruel as to deprive Trini and Hunter of their only child. Instead she involved the girl in every phase of her transformation.
The first thing Lana did was seek out a reputable chemist and instruct him as to what she wanted. Slightly startled but willing enough to comply, the chemist soon sent Lana on her way with several bottles tucked in her basket leaving him a good deal richer. Several hours later Alexa’s luxuriant black hair had been bleached a silver blond, the color of moonbeans reflecting off the sea. Alexa was startled by the effect and hardly recognized herself in the mirror Lana held up to her. Donning a mask and changing the timbre of her voice. Alexa was convinced no one would recognize her. All in all, she was more than delighted with her appearance.
Her attire was next to come under her scrutiny. Because she wished to present a far more flamboyant picture, someone who would not so easily be forgotten. Alexa abandoned her sailor garb as being unsuitable for her purposes. When she met the English in battle she wanted to be noted and remembered. Lana fashioned skin-tight breeches of shimmering black silk, specially designed to display the long curve of Alexa’s shapely legs and thighs. A sheer white silk blouse with billowing sleeves was left partially unbuttoned to provide enticing glimpses of her firm, unconfined breasts. A bright scarf tied about her slim neck provided the finishing touch and lent her a rakish air. She and Lana made several sets of the daring costumes and added two capes of varying thicknesses.
Last but no less important was the mask. Following Fox’s example, Alexa fashioned several half masks from black silk, spending several hours painstakingly embroidering the features of a vixen upon the material. The effect was startling, to say the least. By the end of the week My Lady Vixen was ready to sail and meet her destiny, and so was her daring captain. What Alexa couldn’t know was that in a surprisingly short time the Vixen would become a legend among men, an enigma of unmatched courage. Her beauty and cunning would precede her from port to port. There was not a ship afloat which did not recognize My Lady Vixen, but she was feared by no one save the British and occasionally a hapless Spanish galleon which chanced to cross her path.
Surprisingly, the Vixen was not without mercy. Her prisoners were rarely killed outright unless in the heat of battle, but set adrift in boats or sent to port to be ransomed. The legend of the Vixen grew, was embellished upon, and told and retold with great relish until the price set upon her head by the enraged English nearly matched that of her counterpart, the Fox.
When Fox learned of the exploits of the Vixen, he merely smiled mysteriously, but in truth his curiosity was piqued, for she sounded like a woman after his own heart. He knew one day destiny would bring them together; it was inevitable, for wasn’t a fox created to tame a vixen?
15
An excited cry quickly aroused the Vixen from her ruminations and she raised her masked face upward to where the lookout posted in the shrouds pointed and gestured wildly. “Ship ahoy!” he called down to those below. “To the starboard, Captain!”
Immediately Alexa brought the glass to her eye to scan the horizon. At first she saw nothing, then slowly a full set of sails came into view above the rise of the sea. From the crow’s nest, the sailor, whose vision was more encompassing than that of his mates below, yelled out. “She’s English. Vixen! A warship from the looks of her.”
Immediately Drake was at her side. “She’s probably well-armed, Vixen,” he said, following her progress with his own glass. “What are your intentions? Do we engage her in battle or run?”
Alexa eyed him contemptuously. “Have we ever run away from a good fight. Drake? This ship is no different from the other three we’ve taken in as many months.”
Drake grinned. In truth he’d never known Vixen to turn tail and did not expect her to do so now. She seemed to come alive during the heat of battle, and thrived on life at sea. Even now his breath caught in his throat as he watched her, blond hair swirling about her slim form like dancing moonbeams, enticingly displayed in the daring costume that had become her trademark.
“I’ll distribute the weapons, Vixen.” Drake saluted as he turned on his heel. Alexa nodded distractedly as she continued her tracking of the English warship.
As the ship drew near Alexa saw that she was a ship of the line and appeared to be swift and well-armed, just as Drake predicted. The name on the hull proclaimed her to be the Avenger and no doubt out to rid the seas of American privateers. A small frown puckered Alexa’s smooth brow. Where had she heard that name before? she wondered as she searched her memory for some hint as to why the name should cause the sudden feeling of unease. Some niggling memory tugged at the outer edges of her brain but failed to materialize. Shrugging her shoulders Alexa concentrated on the approachng ship, quickly discarding any other diversions from her mind.
All about her her brave crew were already springing into action, loading and priming the cannon lining the upper deck and quarterdeck. Each man wore a brace of pistols as well as a cutlass strapped to his waist. It took over two hours before the warship came within range of My Lady Vixen and Alexa was gratified to see that her own ship was lighter and possessed of greater maneuverability.
Ordering the crew to strike the colors, Alexa watched proudly as the Stars and Stripes were hoisted, followed by her own personal pennant, the head of a vixen transfixed on the body of a shapely woman. In reply the British ship ran out her own Union Jack, followed by a warning shot that fell short of My Lady Vixen’s bow. In retaliation My Lady Vixen fired a volley of her own.
Employing the expertise gained during the past six months, Alexa ordered the sails brought into the wind, coming up unexpectedly upon the enemy. With a slash of her hand the upper deck guns roared and belched fire. When the smoke cleared away Alexa rejoiced to find at least one of their eighteen pounders had found a home on the deck of the Avenger. Almost upon the heels of the eighteen pounders came the thunder of the nine pounders. But the battle was far from over.
The English captain was evidently experienced and cunning for he deftly tacked in a zigzag course at the same time firing his own cannon. But the English captain was not so sly as he thought for he allowed My Lady Vixen to come up almost to the prow of the Avenger, which could not fire their guns because of the proximity of My Lady Vixen. It was a tactic she had learned from Mac and it now served her well. As she came up against
the hull of the Avenger she ordered the sails lowered and grappling hooks employed. With the ships anchored together and the boarding planks run out, Alexa and her crow bounded onto the deck of the Avenger, cutlasses drawn, pistols primed.
In the beginning Alexa was too engaged to take more than a cursory notice of the English captain. When he finally came under her scrutiny her steps faltered and she nearly dropped her guard. A warning shout from Drake who rarely was out of shouting distance from her during battle alerted her just in time to deflect a killing blow. Swiftly dispatching the sailor who was an inferior swordman. Alexa leaped before the captain who was gaining the upper hand against one of her own men. The sailor, Sykes, quickly stepped aside as his captain moved in to replace him.
“Aha, Captain Whitlaw,” Alexa growled throatily, “I believe I am better suited to your skills than Sykes, good man that he is.” The moment Alexa had recognized Charles Whitlaw, her ex-fiancé, she knew why the Avenger had plagued her when she first saw the name painted on the hull. It was the ship Charles had been given to command, as well as one of those involved with trapping the Fox several months ago near Savannah.
“You know me?” asked Charles, eyeing Alexa warily as they measured one another over their drawn swords. “I’m certain, Vixen, had I met you I would remember it, mask or no.”
Alexa laughed, feinting to the right as Charles neatly sidestepped. “Beware, Englishman,” she warned light-heartedly, “for the bite of a vixen can prove fatal!”
Charles gritted his teeth. “I’ve never been bitten by a lady yet. Vixen. I expect I’ll be highly honored for ridding the seas of a menace. The world will never miss you. A woman’s place is at home doing her husband’s bidding and raising his heirs.”
