“The men need a rest, Gabriel.”
“After we see Lydia safely into caring hands, we will continue with my plans. I’m not sure how she’ll react to working as a housemaid or whatever they can find for her but it’s better than being sold and passed from man to man.” I sighed. “I suppose that settles it, then. Inform Gimby to set us on a course to Nassau once we’re through in Charles Towne.” I opened one eye and winked.
“Into the lion’s den of all of the God-forsaken sinners in the Caribbean?”
“As you said, the men need a rest. Not only that, inform them they are to observe and socialize with pirates. Let them see what a real pirate looks like and how they live.”
“We may lose a few; especially those who just signed on.”
I opened my eyes and looked at him. “If they wish to leave, so be it. I’m a captain, not a jailer.”
“Perhaps Gimby may offer some advice on pirate conduct. He’s been on a few of those islands more than once and if my memory serves me, he’s done a bit of exploring in Nassau. I’ll speak with him straight away and have the course set. Gabriel,” he said with a bow, and as I leaned back and closed my eyes a final time that day, my cabin fell silent.
Sixteen
I looked at Lydia sitting across the table from me over the noon meal. In the light of day and with a clear mind, I could see she was young…very young. Her figure had given the appearance of a more mature woman but there was an obvious youthfulness about her face.
“Not to offend you, my lady but it seems you’ve been busy aboard my ship,” I said. My eyes flickered to Adam, seated in the doorway of my cabin.
“Only with your first mate.” She shifted in her seat and there was a touch of bitterness in her voice.
“That’s busy enough,” I remarked.
“You sent me away after I offered myself to you. You left me no choice than to seek out comfort elsewhere.”
“You mean Adam hasn’t made you comfortable in the sick berth?” I asked, glancing again at the boy.
“Tsk, tsk, my Captain. Comfort, as you well know, comes in many forms, all of which I am aware. In my position, men are not simply for pleasure but also protection. Fortunately, your first mate was willing to give me both, when you chose to provide neither.” Again she shifted, crossing her arms and her legs.
“Lydia, within a few days, we’ll weigh anchor off the coast of Charles Towne, South Carolina. A bit out of the way and far from keeping with plans made but it is the only safe place I could think of for you.”
“I cannot go home? Where is this place you wish to take me?” She unfolded her body and leaned forward.
“If I take you back to your home, you would for certain be sold again,” I said. Her expression fell. She knew it was the truth. “Charles Towne is in America. I know people there—good, decent Christians who will give you shelter, honest work and even an education if you want it and with that, the opportunity to become a true lady.”
She was quiet at first. Her silence told me the ideas were flowing through her mind: not returning home, a new world, a new life, strangers, hopes and opportunities. “You are different from this man, Miles.”
“Aye, we are different indeed.”
“He has not visited me since returning me to my bed days ago. I have seen him watching over me, yet he does not speak or come to me.”
“Mister Jacobs is his own man and I will not speak to his life or his manner in living it, when he is not aboard my ship. However, he broke a rule that not even the captain of a ship is allowed to break and it pleases me to know he’s adjusted his conduct.”
A gleam returned to her eyes for the first time and a smile spread across her face. “Not even you would allow yourself to break this rule?” she asked, raising one sharp eyebrow.
“Especially I; regardless of the beauty of the woman.”
Her smile grew wider. “Thank you for your honesty. I believe I now see the benefit of this new home you have proposed.” She rose.
I stood as well. “My lady,” I said. “Remember this; it isn’t what you have done that makes you a lady, it’s what you now do.” I leaned down, taking her round, soft cheeks in my hands and kissing her on the forehead, as I would have done a daughter. Immediately, the warmth of a blush filled my palms with what I believed to be a remnant of her innocence lost, yet now found through a tender touch. She turned to leave and as she brushed past Adam, she paused and hugged the boy tightly, leaving him dazed in her wake.
“Adam?”
The boy’s glassy eyes slowly turned to mine. “Sir?”
I smiled. “If ever you wonder why we fight, remember this moment.”
“Yes, sir!” His hands flew to his reddened face as he ran off and yet another blush of innocence flashed before me but I believed Adam’s was embarrassment. I took a deep breath and let it out slowly as I closed the door to my cabin and walked to the windows. It seemed a lifetime had passed since I’d held such loveliness in my arms. Had I succumbed to my lust and every instinct in my body to possess such a creature, Adam would have known. I was Adam’s example and as such, he made me a better man. Lydia needed an example, as well, that there’s more to her than the pleasure she can provide with her body. I regretted her for Miles. Understanding a man’s needs was the easy part but seeing the man’s weakness made me both angry and envious all at once.
I should have locked her in the sick berth but she was not a prisoner. I blamed Miles. He should have known better. Then I blamed myself, for I should have known something would happen; if not with Miles, then with any one of the more than two dozen men aboard. I imagined things. I wondered who’d initiated their encounter. Regardless of Lydia’s age, she was of the maturity to decide for herself and decide she did, as she'd stated. She mentioned pleasure and protection, both of which I’m sure Miles eagerly provided. When she placed those smooth cocoa hands upon his skin and parted those full cherry lips at Miles, he was unable to resist. After all, he has no impressionable lad watching his every move in admiration.
After the evening meal, Lydia requested her door be locked each night for the remainder of the voyage to Charles Towne. I did not ask if it was to keep her from Miles or Miles from her. The decision, however, seemed a promising one for her future. The key remained on my person all through the night, burning a hole through my skin. I needed her off my ship as soon as possible, lest my care for my honor surrender to that burn.
“Men,” I said as I looked over the crew gathered below the quarterdeck. “I need two volunteers to go ashore at Charles Towne. You’ll acquire two horses and carry this letter to the Fishbourne Mill.”
Immediately, Emerson and Clarke threw their hands into the air at me.
“Wait; before you agree, you must know Charles Towne is a civilized settlement and you are to conduct this business discreetly and swiftly.” Emerson and Clark held their ground and I motioned for them to follow me to my cabin to continue the instructions.
I passed Clarke a folded and sealed letter and pouch of coins. “Do not speak to anyone unless you must and for God’s sake, do not set foot in a tavern or I’ll have ye kissing the gunner’s daughter. Do I make myself clear?” Emerson’s eyes widened and Clarke gave a firm nod. “That letter is to be placed only in the hand of William Fishbourne. Tell him I sent you and he’ll make himself available. If and when he agrees to my request, wait until dark and bring him to the landing point. We’ll be waiting.”
“Now gather the things together you’ll need and be prepared. We’ll be putting you ashore in the Ashley River, just before dawn,” Miles added. The two left as eagerly as they entered. “Those two were shaking in their boots when ye laid it out for them.” Miles laughed and sat down across from me.
“Good. Fear will keep their heads low and those horses’ hooves quick. Here’s the heading for Gimby, not that he couldn’t find his way there under a new moon.” I handed him the slip of paper without so much as a smile.
“Aye, Captain.” He looked down at it
solemnly as he walked out.
I knew Miles wondered why I did not engage in his humor over the young men and their reaction but I did not have the patience or the ability to indulge his attempts at covering his indiscretion. I wanted Lydia off the ship and away from him before any further encounters.
As I watched the horizon change angle at sunset from my usual perch on the bow, I knew Gimby had made the adjustment to our new course. Satisfied that my plans were underway, I strolled slowly across the deck and made my final assessment of the crew before heading back to my cabin to rest. Adam had become accustomed to my plaguing headaches and as always, there was a cloth and a bowl of water waiting for my weary head. I dipped the cloth, wrung it out, and placed it over my eyes as I lay back in my bunk.
“Stay here, Adam.” A short time later, I heard Lydia whisper by my door. “I will see to the Captain.”
Her steps were light but my hearing was heightened in anticipation of her presence. “You shouldn’t be in here, lass,” I said, without moving the cloth from my eyes.
I heard a soft gasp. “We thought you asleep and I wanted to make certain you were well.” Her scent filled the air around me. I remembered her breath on my skin and her delicate touch.
“We’ll know some time tomorrow about your new home.” I spoke of our separation rather than what my imagination was spinning of our union.
“Adam told me. I will always be in your debt, Captain,” she said. Her voice was too near. “I want to apologize for my error in judgment with your friend. I regret that moment and will for the rest of my life.”
“There is no reason for apologies.”
“It was wrong of me. You saved my life and had I known better, I would have understood that I did not require any further protection than what you had offered. But I confess, that was not the only reason I tried to seduce you that night. You, too, are more than the pleasures your body can provide.” I kept the cloth over my eyes as she repeated my own words to me. Such heartfelt expressions combined with the sight of her would be too much.
“It was an understandable moment that I could not in good conscience take advantage of.”
I shuddered with surprise beneath my blindfold as her fingers touched my arm like the soft feathers of a bird. “Captain, I would still like to show my gratitude,” she whispered so Adam could not hear. “And not simply for rescuing me but to know what it is to be with a man…a real man, who cares for and respects me.”
“Lydia, you flatter me too much. I am only a man who lives by a code. I’m also physically no match for you at the moment.”
“You need not do anything.” Her words were filled with hope.
“Another time and place, perhaps but as I’ve explained, aboard ship there are rules and as Captain I have to set the example. Do not read me wrong. Even with my eyes closed, you are temptation itself.”
“Please, Gabriel, be the man tonight and not the captain.” Her hand gripped my arm.
“And what would I then tell Adam?”
Her hand slowly slipped away and she was gone. I was worn away like a beach in a hurricane, yet I knew as I drifted to sleep that I would not rest at all.
Seventeen
When I awoke to the call of land, the sun was barely showing on the horizon. I had slept, yet my dreams ran wild and I chased them throughout the night. There was a discontented feeling in the air. Something wasn’t right. I pulled on my boots and made my way to the deck as if I were running a race. Land came into view off the portside as the sun rose. It must have not been long since Clarke and Emerson had set ashore on the banks of the Ashley River. I walked to the starboard gunnels and looked out toward the sunrise but the corner of my eye caught something in the distance, due north.
My eyes narrowed to slits and I pulled my spyglass. There was indeed something not right. “Gimby, two sails, up river…dead ahead! Men, beat to quarters!”
“What?” Miles asked, crashing through the crewmen and then coming to a stop beside me. He followed my gaze and raised his glass. “You knew it, didn’t you,” Miles mumbled to me. “Good to know the knock to that thick skull of yours didn’t steal your instincts.”
“Gimby, I fear these are not friendly. We’ll do our best to outrun them to open ocean but they appear to be coming from port in Charles Towne.” I said, approaching the helmsman.
“Aye, Cap’n. I’m doing what I can. Shall I bring ‘er about?”
“No, wait! We’ll not run. Just keep them out of firing distance until we can get better position.”
I stared back into the sun. A head of deep brown curls atop soft round shoulders appeared in my view. “Lydia, get below deck. Adam!”
“Sir?”
I leaned down close to his ear. “Go to the cabin and get the defenses. Understand?”
“Yes, sir,” he whispered.
“If things look bad, you and Miss Lydia get to the safe place.”
“Aye, sir.”
“Lydia, follow Adam.” I turned back to Gimby. “We’ll take them by surprise.”
“Is there any other way, Cap’n?” He scratched his head.
I laughed at the question, which was not a question at all. “No, Gimby. Our usual calling card should do.”
“Captain, this is no time for levity,” Miles said. “Those are—”
His tongue froze in his mouth when he met my scathing stare. Gimby had stopped laughing. “Mister Jacobs, considering I woke to the call of land, flew to duty and spotted a post ship and a second-rate frigate bearing down on us, I believe I have time to do anything I wish. My question to you is; what were you doing during this time?”
Miles looked as though he was about to be ill.
“And if you need to look further, you will very likely find that the post ship is the Jersey with twenty-four guns and the frigate is, unfortunately, the Neptune with her ninety,” I continued.
“How could you know that?”
“There is a reason I spend my days and nights studying charts, maps, and the schedules of every recorded vessel in the Atlantic. While in Boston, I was able to acquire more recent information.” My voice had deepened and the crew nearby were stilled by my words in the wind. “And now, unless you need me to give you your orders like some common sailor, I suggest you do your job.”
I turned my back to his clenched jaw and the balled up fists at his side. “Mister Gimby, keep your current heading and speed as though we are unaware of their presence.”
“Aye, Cap’n.” I remained by his side as Assurance sliced her way through the water.
Miles had a decision to make. All eyes of those nearby were staring at him. Some were postured to jump him if he made any attempt on me. They were all aware of what he had done with Lydia. He had lost some degree of respect in their eyes but thankfully not so much as to not follow his leadership. Any one of them would have done the same had Lydia approached them instead. However, regardless of his rank and station, had he made any move to harm their Captain while his back was turned, he would surely meet his end.
“Mister Jacobs, be about your duties or go below,” I said. I spun to face him. “Do you really want to destroy whatever respect these men have left for you?” He looked down at the deck for a moment and then back at me.
Emerson spoke up, standing at attention before my first mate and cutting the thickness in the air, “Waiting on your orders, sir.”
“Ye heard your captain; beat to quarters and ready those guns!” Miles waved his hands at the men and they scattered in every direction to their posts.
“He’s smarter than I gave him credit for,” Gimby said. “I thought that temper of his would get the best of him this time.”
“He knows his duty.”
“Doesn’t mean he always does what’s best, Cap’n. I may be the only one aboard who knows ‘bout what he did before, but I’ll not soon forget.” I looked at the helmsman and saw him slip his pistol back in his belt. If Miles had made a move, he would have been a dead man.
“Mister Gi
mby, I have a plan.”
“All ears, Cap’n.”
So, I filled those ears with my daring plot.
“The Neptune is closing in, sir!” a seaman called from the rigging.
“I believe she is close enough. What do you think, Mister Gimby?”
“Aye, Cap’n. Ain’t never argued with ye before, and I ain’t about to start now.”
“Then by all means, let us go and greet them.” I smiled and watched him work the wheel. I glanced up and observed the men pulling lines and trimming the sails as Miles barked his orders. The Assurance came about thirty degrees and faster than was safe but she took it like a fine young lass turning on a dance floor. We needed the space and the time to pull our big guns for the welcome.
“The Neptune is veering off to starboard!” I shouted to him. Gimby didn’t need the information; he could see for himself and thus did not respond. Gimby adjusted to line up parallel with the Neptune. The Jersey was still a good mile behind as the frigate slowed slightly but the faster post ship was in danger of running upon the gunner if she did not change course.
The Assurance continued on her path to meet the Neptune. I looked through my glass at the Jersey. Her sails were full mast and stretched tight with the wind and as she pulled to the Neptune’s portside, I knew she’d blow past her and have to come about, giving us more time. The Neptune had trimmed her sails to slow her speed. Inch by inch, we cruised toward one another. Not a single shot was fired and there was no sound, save for a few seagulls and the rattling lines.
“Now, Mister Gimby.”
Gimby changed course again. He moved to starboard and aimed to go between the two Royal Navy ships. “Are we ready, Mister Jacobs?”
AMBER WAKE: Gabriel Falling (The Razor's Adventures Pirate Tales) Page 12
