“Awful.” He lowered his head and shook it.
“I’m tryin’, mate…I’m tryin’.”
Twenty
By midnight, Neptune’s Rebel was anchored in Nassau harbor and besides the guards who’d volunteered for the duty for extra rations and a little more gold for their purses, the crew was in the longboats rowing to shore. Miles and I were the last to leave. Strangely, I was apprehensive about leaving the ship. I looked over my shoulder at her repeatedly as we rowed, until Miles took notice and slapped me hard on the shoulder.
“It’s not where we’re goin’, Miles. It’s worrying about what we’re leavin’ behind.”
“Good on ye, Cap’n Rasmus…or Red…or whatever I’m supposed ta call ye.” Miles said over a laugh.
“Rasmus will do. I gave Gimby the information about our false identities to pass along to the rest of the crew. I wouldn’t want any of them strolling up to us and accidentally calling us by name.”
“Oh ye did, did ye? I can’t wait to hear all about this.” Miles chuckled.
Within the hour, we’d found our first establishment and settled in at a small corner table. The place was spacious but dimly lit. I imagined most of these places didn’t provide much lighting. For one, bad men always hid in the shadows in crowded rooms and two, although you could smell the filth, at least you didn’t have to look at it. However, of all of the taverns we passed before settling on that one, regardless of its dank appeal, it was a palace compared to the others.
“I hope the men don’t catch anything,” I mumbled. The place was a swirling hive of noise. From the three-piece band plucking out shanties to the yelps and squeals of raucous behavior, I doubted even Miles heard me from a foot away.
“We’ll have them bathed in boiling water as soon as they step foot on the ship.” Apparently he did hear me, after all.
I had never seen so much muck in one place. These were the men who did not fit into society. They hated law and order. Yet here they were, together, abiding by a code. I pretended to drink the grog as my cup appeared to have been used at least a dozen times since it touched clean water. Rum had never been my choice of spirits. With my recurring and unpredictable headaches that still plagued me from my battle with the mast, I could not risk the after-effects of imbibing too much. On top of that, I needed my wits to keep my pirate mask in place.
“Is that who I think it is back there?” I nodded to the back corner of the tavern.
Miles looked. A table was surrounded by men playing a game of cards. One sat as the head above the others. His beard was ink-black and looked like long ropes hanging down to his chest. “I do believe that be Teach himself. Well, aren’t we the lucky ones.”
“Blackbeard,” I mumbled and swallowed hard.
Miles looked at me. A smile crossed his face. “You know, you really could be Redbeard.”
“Very funny, Milo. Not so long ago we’d be takin’ him in for a reward.”
“Milo? Well, alright then.”
“We really should have given this whole name change more thought but for now, you’re Milo Carson,” I said, keeping one eye on the black-bearded stranger.
“And where, pray tell, did that blasted name come from?” Miles asked, turning in his chair to keep an eye on things as well.
“Didn’t I ever tell ye about me old Corgi pup named Milo? Carson came from an old dead uncle. It suited ye.” I laughed quietly.
“Well, two can play this game, Captain…Rasmus Bergman.”
“What in the bloody hell?” I laughed again. We were both already feeling the effects of our beverages.
“Every time I attempt to say Erasmus, it comes out without the E. Oh…and Bergman was the name of my old governess when I was a lad. She was ugly like you.”
“How much longer do we have to endure this?” I rubbed at my raised brow, when I spied several buoyant and flouncy women moving throughout the crowd, making their assessments of the swarthy patrons as if shopping for new gowns. Thoughts of grateful generosity for their company were unavoidable. “Hmh, I’d be lying if I said I couldn’t use some female company,” I said with a chuckle, nodding my head. Immediately, my hand flew to my brow again and I blinked to clear my sight.
“Is that melon of yours acting up again?”
“Could be too much a’ the heat here,” I said as a barmaid came to the table.
“Too much heat, ye say? How’s about somethin’ else to warm ye up?” The girl’s age was uncertain but she was young—younger than I cared to lay a hand on.
“I’m not up to the energy you would take, lass.” I smiled as best I could.
“I doubt that,” she said with a giggle. “I’d wager that hair a’ yers matches the fire you be havin’ below. Make a girl burn.”
“I’m tellin’ ye kindly, lass, I’m not up to it right now.” My smile faded at the effort of fending off the advances of a girl barely fifteen. “Take this and be on yer way.” I handed her several gold pieces and winked. She glanced around and slipped the coins into her bodice.
“Go on now, lass. This big oaf ain’t fit for duty,” Miles joked.
“I thank ye most gratefully.” She no longer sounded like the working girl she appeared to be. Her eyes teared and she wiped them before moving on.
“Damn. What’s a sweet little thing like that doing in this pit a’ snakes?” I asked as I watched her scoot precariously through the crowd like a cat in a room full of snarling hounds.
“Agreed. I believe we’ve seen all we need to for this evening.” Miles moved his eyes back to the big man at the corner table.
“Aye.”
We stood and headed for the door. As we passed a table of men covered in more tattoos than I’d ever seen in my life, the young barmaid caught my eye and smiled. I nodded slightly as we carried on—or so we tried. As she scurried past them as well, a tattooed hand clamped down on her wrist and violently jerked her back.
“Ye be servin’ me now, wench.” We both halted and turned to get a better look at what was happening. The man wore an unbuttoned black waistcoat with no shirt beneath it and his leathery chest bore a large, wide scar from his collarbone to his sternum.
The girl squealed and tried to pull away but he yanked her back as if she were no more than a rag doll. Her puddled eyes shot over at me. The poor thing was terrified and pleading with me for help.
“Turn her loose, mate,” I stated, stepping towards them.
“I ain’t yer mate and this is mine for as long as me gold holds out…or she holds up,” he said with a black-toothed grin, reaching behind her and grabbing her bottom. He glared up at me as he pulled her to him and smashed his grubby face into her bosom, while the other men at the table laughed.
She tried to break free of him but the more she yelped and squirmed, the more he and his mates laughed. I moved forward and Miles grabbed my arm. “Easy, my friend. You do this and there’s no turning back.”
“Why don’t you gentlemen keep your heading and not concern yourselves with the goings-on here? She’s no more than a worthless tart. Why, I’ve ten more just like her to sell when she’s worn through and that includes her little sister.” My eyes shifted to the deep, gritty voice. There, I found a wiry built, black-haired, greasy-looking, yet well-dressed, pirate leaning with his back against the wall a few feet away. He stood back as if he were surveying the room. I wondered, based on his appearance, if he, too, was a ship’s captain and if these disgusting creatures were his crew. By now, I didn’t care who they were or how many. My heels were now ground into the floor and I wasn’t heading anywhere yet.
“Okay fellas, ye’ve had yer fun. Let the lass go,” I ordered.
The scarred man turned and locked eyes with me. He held my gaze as his hand went to her breast and kneaded it roughly through her blouse. “I don’t think so, Red. Ye heard Captain Barclay; we paid good money for this wench.” She struggled against him again as tears began to fall. I felt Miles’s hand release my arm.
“Ye stay right there.” I
glanced back at the sound of Miles’s voice. He was holding one of the men at the table down in his chair by the shoulders. That glance was a mistake.
The scarred man thumped me hard in the gut and caught me with a knee to my chin as I bent over in pain, knocking me upright. “Ye should a’ kept walkin’…mate,” he said, taking a step back. He swung at me again and missed, and his overconfidence cost him. He shouldn’t have wasted that second stepping away. I blocked his fist, took hold of his belt, and flipped him onto his back, crushing his chair beneath him as he fell. As I drew breath, the one seated to his left came to the unconscious fool’s aid, clearing the table in a bound and attacking me boot-first—straight at my face. He was swiftly incapacitated by my right fist as it drove his balls up into his belly and hurled him back from whence he came.
Hearing the sound of metal sliding on leather behind me, I spun to find a dagger as long as my forearm lunging my way. I grabbed the man’s wrist and drove my elbow into the bearer’s throat, leaving him gasping for air as he staggered backwards and fell.
“Hold, Barclay, or I’ll put a new hole in yer head!” said a booming voice, silencing the room.
I looked at Miles and he nodded to the corner. Turning, I saw Teach, towering over my would-be murderer, who was holding a pistol at my back.
“Put it down,” Teach said. “If you’ve the sack to kill Big Red there, do it eye-ta-eye like a man.” He pulled out a dagger. “Use this.”
Barclay’s yellow eyes rolled down at the dagger and then up at me. Seconds passed as I stood there, my chest rising and falling as I waited for the man to strike. A burning disgust built inside me that wanted to rip his throat out and hang his head from the spar of the Assurance but I didn’t know why. I’d never seen the man before this moment, yet something in his dark eyes churned a tempest of loathing in me. It was as if I could see into his soul and had found nothing but a vat of piss and blood. My assessment of him began to weigh on his face. He saw something as well and it appeared my vision was clear. Now, all I had to do was stand and wait…oh, how I wanted more. I would have killed them all, had each of them come at me with evil intent. I was growing weary of the staring contest and my blood was starting to cool.
“You heard the man. Take the knife.” My face stretched into a snarl as my anger bubbled again in my blood.
Barclay snarled back but stowed his pistol and slowly made his way around the edge of the circle of men that had gathered. Several other men followed him; one of whom looked at me intently as he passed. Miles rested his hand on my shoulder and said, “Be calm, Rasmus.” The tattooed group collected their friends from the floor and followed as well.
“Well, now that’s settled. I hate that flesh peddlin’ son of a bitch. I shoulda let ye kill him. Alas, he’ll be dead soon enough. So, how’s about ye join me for a drink, Big Red?” Teach asked. He turned and started back to his table without waiting for a reply.
“I don’t believe the man will accept no for an answer,” Miles mumbled.
We joined the man they called Blackbeard and took our seats. Big tankards were set before us and the rum wasn’t watered down at his table. Teach poured down his drink and banged the table with his mug. “Ye fight well,” he said.
“Good thing, I’d say or I wouldn’t be sittin’ here havin’ this drink. Thank ye, by the way, for saving me the tailor bill for me burial clothes,” I said, hoisting the mug in a toast and then to my mouth but only tasting it.
Teach burst out a booming laugh and the others joined in. This group didn’t have much to say. It appeared these weren’t men of words but men of action and hard spirits. “So what brings two fine young gents like yourselves to this fancy establishment?”
“Same as yourself, I reckon.” I was careful not to divulge anything other than the most insignificant information. The man had a reputation. This was one of the few pirates I’d heard tales of…and many at that. My unfortunate luck was he’d only just made my acquaintance and I already owed him my life. Treading lightly wasn’t something I was used to, so I put one foot in front of the other and prayed I was headed in the right direction.
“Name’s Teach. Ye gentlemen have names, I’d say it’s safe to assume?”
“Big Red here is Captain Rasmus Bergman of the As…Neptune’s Rebel. I be his first mate, Milo Carson.”
“Are ye sure there…Mister Carson, was it?” Teach leaned forward and raised an inquiring eyebrow at Miles and then turned to me.
“We only recently changed her name. Ye know in this business, ye can’t be too careful.” Miles recovered.
“So, Captain Bergman, where ye gentlemen headed, then?” he continued his questioning, while tossing back his tankard repeatedly.
“I thought we’d take her south. Haven’t been ‘round that way yet and I aim to see what our prospects are,” I answered, taking another taste of my drink.
“Pleasant enough trip for sightseein’, Red but no money in it. Anythin’ worth havin’, we most likely already have,” Teach said. “Unless ye know somethin’ I don’t…in which case, ye be sharin’ that bit of information, aye?” He winked. “A word of advice; if I had a mind to be headin’ this way or that, I surely wouldn’t be goin’ around tellin’ strangers.” Teach laughed and his crew joined in. Despite his reputation, the man seemed to have a decent humor about him and I had to laugh as well.
“Well, we’re not strangers anymore, now are we?” I asked, tasting my drink again.
“Are ye afraid of that rum, Red?” Teach asked.
“I like to keep my senses sharp in a room like this.”
“Drink up, mate. For a man who’s tryin’ ta stay sharp as ye say, yer as dull as a rusty blade.” Again they laughed, loud and heartily.
I lifted my mug to my mouth and drained it dry. The burning was old and familiar but the warmth and tingle it provided was welcomed over every inch of my body. “Is that the best ye got?”
Once again, Teach’s laughter filled the tavern and I believed whatever debt I owed was paid through my own good humor. My concern was that this night would go on longer than I had planned.
I was right. Teach offered me the hand of a sweet, yet saucy, black-haired lass who was more my age and speed. Having relinquished any inhibitions in a few tankards of rum, her company was thrilling, although exhausting and brief. I liked it when she called me Big Red and wrapped her thick white thighs around me. I was inspired, to say the least, and the parts of me I thought suppressed by the rum came roaring to the surface beneath her as she rode me like the Assurance in the storm. I’d never been with a whore before but all concern for health or reputation was lost in that tossing black mane of hair as she whipped it about and moaned with pleasure when my hands explored her. She made me feel like the best lover she’d ever had, until I tried to pay her and she winked and told me Blackbeard had covered the debt and told her to show me a good time. Maybe for a few minutes I’d allowed myself to be free and believe it was real. When it was all over, I was thankful that at least I’d enjoyed the show.
I may someday regret my decision but by the time it was all over, regret was a waste of time. Besides, when in good company, not to allow yourself the freedom to drink, laugh and make merry defeats the purpose of being free at all. A few hours spent at behavior you’d normally avoid can lift your spirits and on occasion, those hours spent are worth waking up in the morning as if you’ve slept standing on your head.
Twenty-One
“Good morning, Captain,” Adam said, entering my cabin.
I blinked open my eyes to find a swirling ceiling of crossbeams and lightning bolts firing in through the windows. I closed my eyes fast and a damp cloth was placed over them.
“Thank you, Adam.”
“Mister Jacobs said you would need some help. You drank a lot of rum last night, did ye?”
“Yes, Adam. I drank a lot,” I mumbled soft and low.
“But ye don’t drink rum, sir.” He sighed, standing over me.
I smiled at his appraisal.
“I drank it in my youth in the company of friends but never acquired a taste for it or any other spirits, really. They cloud the mind and dull the senses.”
“Is it true ye faced off against ten pirates and beat them all with your bare hands?”
I removed the cloth and eased myself into a sitting position. “Who did you hear that tale from?”
“It’s all over the ship. They say ye faced down a man who had a pistol and you dared him to shoot.” Adam’s eyes were shining.
I would have shaken my head in disbelief but I thought better of it. “Apparently I need to get dressed and see what is happening on my ship.”
“We are headed deeper into the turquoise water, sir and the name of the ship is Assurance again.” Adam took his leave and allowed me my privacy.
I stood. I sat down.
Standing was going to be an endeavor. Although out of practice, there was a time when I had drunk far more. Thankfully, I’d managed to drink enough to appease Teach and his crew. No man is invited to Teach’s table sober…or stays that way for long.
As my memory of the night returned, the fight weighed on me. I had reveled in it. I wanted to hurt, possibly kill, those men if it had come to it. Had Teach not stepped in, I may have been killed as well. I’d killed before, in the line of duty, as well as accidentally when my red-headed temper flared. I needed to gain control of my actions if I wanted to survive in this new realm. I had to follow through and complete my mission. My recklessness had to end, before the life of a pirate became more than a temporary necessity. I had Adam to think about and the promise I’d made.
I’d lost enough time in thought and pushed myself to my feet. After nearly emptying the pitcher of water Adam brought in, I washed off as much of the tavern stench as I could and carefully put myself together, including ridding my face of the itchy, amber fur that wrapped around my chin. I managed to choke down a few bites of cold fried eggs and bread and headed out into the morning air, hoping it would relieve my many ailments.
AMBER WAKE: Gabriel Falling (The Razor's Adventures Pirate Tales) Page 14
