Pirates and Prejudice

by Louise, Kara

  “Ah, you know me, Lizzy! Always looking for something… or someone… of whom to make sport!”

  At length, the remaining passengers came to the dining hall and enjoyed a filling meal. Excitement was high as everyone anticipated coming back into port at St. Mary’s and then boarding another ship for London.

  The only thing that would hamper their journey was the fog. As the passengers came up on deck, they saw that the ship was encased in a thick, enveloping shroud which barely allowed them to see the bow from the stern of the ship. The very top of the masts were completely hidden from those on deck.

  The ship was moving slowly, not so much because of the light wind, but because about half of the sails remained furled. They did not wish to sail at a swift pace since they could not see what might be ahead of them hidden in the mist.

  Darcy stood at the helm with Bellows, looking in all directions through the spyglass. The passengers walked to the rail of the ship and looked out, hoping for some sort of break in the heavy grey curtain surrounding them.

  After a bit of discussion amongst the passengers debating whether they would arrive at St. Mary’s that morning or afternoon, David extended his arm to Elizabeth. “Come, Elizabeth,” he said. “Let us take a turn about the deck. I know the view is not much, but I could use the diversion.”

  Elizabeth slipped her arm through his, and they began walking down the length of the ship, stepping over and around ropes, capstans, cleats, and crewmen. They came to the bow of the ship and stopped, looking out into a vast nothingness.

  David turned to Elizabeth, resting his elbow on the railing and cradling her hand in his.

  “Elizabeth, you must know how grieved I am that all this has taken place. If I could, I would blink my eyes and drop us back into London this very moment!” He let out a long sigh. “In all the years my family sailed to St. Mary’s, nothing like this ever happened! I would do anything to erase the past few days!”

  Elizabeth smiled. “I know you would, and I appreciate it.” She glanced down at their joined hands and pinched her brows together.

  “I can see that you are sad, Elizabeth. This has taken a great toll on you!” His eyes searched her face. “Pray tell me, what can I do to help you forget this? I long to see your vibrant smile again.”

  As his one hand gripped hers firmly, the fingers of his other hand gently stroked the back of her hand. Very slowly, he brought her hand up and pressed his lips against it. David’s eyes were shining as he gazed down at her, and his smile widened. “I hope you know you have become very dear to me.”

  Elizabeth opened her mouth to reply, but a movement caught her eye. She turned to see Mr. Darcy walking around from the quarterdeck. He came to a halt and seemed almost ready to turn around when David called him over.

  “Captain Smith! Do you know how much longer before we arrive at St. Mary’s?”

  Darcy pulled off his tri-corn hat and ran his fingers through his hair. His eyes remained focused on David as he shook his head. “Unfortunately, no. We cannot sail at the speed we would like because the fog prevents us from seeing too far ahead. We hope it shall burn off as the day warms.”

  “I understand perfectly.” David said. “I want to thank you again for everything you did. I know you risked your life to save Elizabeth and the other ladies.”

  “I was glad to do it and am grateful for the outcome.” He stole a glance at Elizabeth and then made a quick bow. “If you will excuse me.”

  David extended his arm to Elizabeth, and they began to walk back towards the stern. Elizabeth shivered in the cool of the morning.

  “Are you cold? Perhaps we ought to go inside.”

  Elizabeth shook her head. Her eyes narrowed as she gazed out into the foggy mist. She paused, looking out past David.

  “What is it?” David asked.

  “I am not certain. I thought I saw something.”

  David looked out, searching the fog for any sign of what Elizabeth may have seen.

  “I only see fog. Fog and more fog!” He chuckled. “I doubt anything is out there.”

  “I suppose,” she said. She was not as certain as David was, however, and her heart pounded. She was certain she had seen something, if only a fleeting glance that disappeared as quickly as it had appeared.

  They stopped just opposite the helm, where they saw that Mr. Darcy had returned. They looked out towards the sea, which merged with the sky in a muted vapour of grey.

  “There it is again!” Elizabeth said excitedly, pointing off to the distance. “I think it is another ship!” She grasped David’s hand. “It appears to be coming directly towards us!”

  As passengers and crew came to the port side of the ship where David and Elizabeth stood, Darcy grabbed the spyglass and looked out.

  “I think I saw it!” said Mrs. Joyner. “Oh, I hope they are not going to hit us! Do you think they saw us?”

  A brown image slowly appeared from the haze, but only enough for them to see that it was a ship, and it appeared to be turning. Once again, it vanished.

  Mrs. Joyner clasped her hands together. “Oh, good! They have seen us! They are turning the boat away from us!”

  To the passengers and crew on the ship, it seemed a novelty, and they watched with curiosity for it to appear again. Fingers pointed when they thought they saw it again, and others searched intently into the fog, but could see nothing.

  “Nonsense!” said Mr. Bennet. “I do not see a ship or anything like it!”

  Elizabeth glanced up at the helm and saw Mr. Darcy and Bellows in a tense conversation. They seemed much more concerned than anyone else. Darcy raised the spyglass, as if determined to see what was out there as soon as it showed itself again.

  The curtain of fog lifted slightly, and at once everyone could see a good part of the ship. It now was sailing almost parallel to the Devil’s Seamaiden.

  “Well, look at that, Lizzy,” Mr. Bennet said. “We do have fellow travellers. I wonder if they have had the adventure that we have had!”

  Bellows called out to the crew to unfurl the main sail and gallant sail. In an instant those sails unfurled in a snap and billowed out as they caught the wind. Elizabeth watched as Darcy turned the wheel, causing the ship to slowly veer away from the other ship. With more sails unfurled, the ship picked up speed.

  “Why do you suppose they did that?” David asked. “I thought they did not want to sail at a brisk pace because of not being able to see ahead of them.”

  Elizabeth looked back towards the ship, which was now disappearing into the fog again. “I am not certain, but I think it has to do with that ship,” she said softly.

  Mr. Keller nodded his head. “Captain Smith probably wants to put some distance between us and them to prevent any unforeseen collision.” He pointed off into the nothingness. “Did you see how that ship appeared and disappeared in the fog? If that ship has not seen us, there might still be the possibility of it coming upon us without any time to swerve out of the way.” He let out a laugh. “A ship cannot turn as quickly as a horse-drawn carriage, you know.”

  “No, it cannot.” Darcy approached to the passengers. “I do not wish to alarm any of you, but I would ask that you all get below deck. If you would be so kind as to follow me, please.”

  “What is it?” Mr. Dillard asked. “Why do you want us to do that?”

  An explosive boom came from within the depths of the fog, and a fiery light was all the answer that was needed.

  Darcy peered through the mist. “There!” he hollered, pointing out to sea towards the bow of the ship. A cannonball fell from the sky just short of the ship, sending water over the railing.

  “Come quickly!” Darcy ordered. “You must get below deck now!” His eyes met Elizabeth’s, and she could readily see the alarm on his face. She knew not what was going on, but her heart pounded with the fierceness of that same apprehension.

  Elizabeth heard Mrs. Joyner mumble something, and she immediately went to her side, taking her arm. “Come, Mrs. Joyner. We m
ust go below!”

  “Oh! Where is my husband?” Mrs. Joyner said, her face drained of all colour.

  Elizabeth pointed. “He is just over here. Mr. Joyner, your wife needs you!”

  The group quickly began to move to the stairs. Elizabeth found herself next to Mr. Darcy, being propelled along by his hand at her back.

  “What is it?” she turned to him and whispered. “Are we under attack?”

  Darcy nodded. “Possibly.” As he led the group down below, he gave explicit orders.

  “I am taking you down to the hold where you will remain until I come for you. Everyone is to stay there with the door locked.” As they reached the companionway, he stopped. “Continue down these steps. I need to get something from my quarters and will join you there!”

  Darcy rushed down the hall towards his cabin as the group hurried down the next set of stairs. The passengers mumbled and fretted amongst themselves about what might be happening. Elizabeth stood at the rear, behind Mrs. Joyner, nudging her along while Mr. Joyner was practically holding her up with his arm.

  Mr. Darcy soon returned and came up alongside Elizabeth, holding a rifle and a pistol.

  “Oh!” she exclaimed. “Is it that bad?”

  “It never hurts to be prepared.”

  Elizabeth nodded. “But who is it?” she whispered. “Why did they shoot at us?”

  Darcy took a deep breath. “The ship is the same one we saw Lockerly and his men sail away on. I fear it is Lockerly, and I know he must be intent upon reclaiming his ship!”

  Alarm swept over Elizabeth’s face. “Will you be able to keep him at bay?”

  Darcy nodded. “We should have more men,” he said, as they took the stairs down. “We should be able to hold him off.”

  “Does this ship have cannons?” she asked.

  “Stop right there!” Darcy called out to the group ahead. Turning back to Elizabeth, he whispered, “It does have two, but unfortunately, there is no one who has the expertise to shoot them.”

  Darcy moved to the front of the group of passengers and opened the door to the hold. He then issued some orders. “I want each one of you to remain inside. I have a key and am going to lock the door, but you will have a key, as well.” He handed the extra key to Mr. Bennet. “I beg you to please keep the door locked until I – or one of my crew – returns and tells you it is safe to come out.”

  “Can we not stay up on deck and help – the men, that is?” It was David asking.

  Darcy looked down at his arm. “With your injury, I think it would be best if you remained down here.” He looked up at the others. “I do not suppose that any of you men are proficient at fencing.”

  The group sheepishly shook their heads.

  “Then I would ask you to remain here. You can at least give some protection to the ladies. For that, I will be grateful.”

  As the passengers stepped into the hold, he handed the guns to two of the men. “Use these if you have to.” Darcy glanced down at Elizabeth as she came through the door.

  “Be safe,” she said softly, pleading with her eyes.

  He nodded and offered her a reassuring smile. He turned to the others and said, “Again, no matter what you hear or how long you have to wait, do not unlock the door unless I or one of my crew comes and tells you it is safe.”

  “And if no one comes for us?” Mr. Dillard asked.

  Darcy narrowed his brows. “Say a prayer and use your key.”

  The door slammed, and the click of the lock was heard. Mrs. Joyner cried out and collapsed onto the floor with a thud.

  Chapter 19

  Darcy rushed back up onto the deck. His heart pounded so thunderously he thought it would burst out of his chest. He looked out into the heavy mist searching for any further sign of the ship. Not seeing anything, he took the stairs up to the helm and joined Bellows.

  “Have you spied it again?” he asked.

  Bellows shook his head, a dire expression on his face. “No, but I’m sure it were the same ship we saw yesterday.”

  “I am, as well,” Darcy said, rubbing his jaw. “Perhaps we have lost them.”

  “Perhaps.” Bellows gripped the wheel tightly. “Ye must think Lockerly ain’t goin’ away, puttin’ the passengers down below like ye did. Ye don’t think ’e sent off a warnin’ shot ’oping to scare us, an’ they ’ave set sail in the opposite direction?”

  Darcy narrowed his brows and his jaw tightened. “I would hope so, but until we know for a certainty what he is up to, I want the passengers safely below.”

  “Ye don’t think ’e ’as left, do ye? Ye thinks ’e is still out there.”

  Nodding his head, Darcy said, “I am of the opinion he is staying just out of sight.” He let out a huff of air. “We have his ship. We took his prisoners. I believe he is going to try to take them from us.”

  Darcy picked up the spyglass and gazed around him into the mist. All hands were on deck silently at the ready, anxiously awaiting orders – or for something to happen. Several tense, quiet moments passed, the only noise being the soft rustle of the sails as the wind alternately caught and then released them and the lapping of the waves against the ship.

  Suddenly another explosion came from the starboard side, a cannonball falling just short of its target. As it plummeted into the sea, the seawater crashed over the stern.

  “There she is! She is on our starboard side!” Darcy yelled.

  “Come about!” Bellows yelled as he turned the wheel sharply. “We’ll give them a narrow target!” His eyes darkened under furrowed brows. “We ken’t outrun ’em, they is smaller and ken sail faster.” He then began to slowly nod his head. “But we ken certainly try to disappear into the fog before they ken turn to follow.”

  Darcy kept the spyglass fixed on the stern of the ship. “They are turning!”

  “We should be safe for a short while. Their cannons won’t be aimed at us. I doubt that ship has a bow-chaser.”

  “Bow-chaser?” Darcy asked tersely.

  “A smaller, single cannon at the bow of the ship used to shoot an enemy in front of ’em.” Bellows’ eyes remained fixed ahead. “From the size of that ship, they likely only ’ave a single cannon on each side.”

  Darcy watched the ship intently as the distance between them widened. It was soon swallowed up in the fog. “Good!” Darcy exclaimed. “We are out of sight of them.” He called out an order, “Thirty degrees more to port!”

  The crew scrambled to adjust the sails. Bellows looked at Darcy and nodded as he turned the wheel. “Ye are thinkin’ like a true cap’n. We’ll change our direction while we are outta their sight, an’ hopefully they’ll keep sailin’ towards where they last seen us.”

  Darcy nodded. “As long as we remain veiled by the fog, there is hope we can escape.” Darcy continued to look about him, ready to give warning at the first sign of them. “I wonder if he purposely missed hitting us with his cannons. I believe he will want to take his ship back in one piece.”

  “I ’ope yer right, Cap’n.”

  The ship moved briskly along. Darcy kept watch aft of the ship and both sides, while Bellows peered into the mist ahead of them. The last thing they needed was to encounter another unsuspecting ship; they would have little time to respond.

  As they made their way steadily along, they veered occasionally more to port, hoping to completely lose their enemy. Turning slowed them down, so at length, Bellows issued the command, “Lay forward!” and the Devil’s Seamaiden set off speedily in the direction of St. Mary’s port.

  Darcy and the crew remained alert and kept a watchful eye out for any signs of the ship. It had been several minutes since they had made their last turn, and everyone looked around, wondering whether they had successfully evaded Lockerly’s ship.

  An uneasiness pervaded the crew. They were sailing into an unnerving nothingness, and knew not if or when Lockerly’s boat might reappear. As much as they had earlier hoped the fog would soon dissipate, now they all hoped it would cloak them until the
y were safely out of harm’s way.

  Everyone looked about for signs of the ship, but their fearful expressions displayed a hope that they wouldn’t encounter it again. There was an eerie silence, broken only by an occasional wave that crashed against the ship or the sails that rustled in the light breeze.

  Darcy swung the spyglass around just as another explosion shattered the silence. The fire from the blast painted the grey mist with fiery shades of red, orange, and yellow.

  Webber, who was up in the top crow’s nest suddenly called out in his loud, booming voice, “Incoming!” He pointed to the bow of the ship.

  Everyone instinctively ducked as a cannon came over the ship, entangling the sails and masts. Two of the crew jumped out and away just as the rigging they were on came crashing down.

  The tangled mass of wooden beams and shredded canvas fell across the ship.

  “Is any man hurt?” Darcy called out.

  Several men called out that they were not, and the ones who had leapt from the rigging stood up and brushed themselves off.

  “Chain shot!” Bellows hollered.

  Darcy looked at him with a raised questioning brow.

  “’Tis cannons with chains attached to do as much damage as possible to the rigging.” Bellows struggled to turn the wheel as he hollered out to the men on the main sail to come about.

  “So they do not care that they damage the ship. I was wrong,” Darcy said.

  “No, you was right. Their intent is to cripple us. Masts an’ spars an’ yards an’ sails are easy enough to replace.”

  “Can we manoeuvre away from them?”

  Bellows’ countenance was grim. “No. We must now arm our men an’ prepare ’em fer battle.”

  “Any chance we can use our cannons to ward them off?” Darcy asked.

  Bellows tossed his head in the direction of the ship. “No. They’re now coming at us headlong. They know exactly how to approach us so even if we knew how to fire those things, they wouldn’t be in our line of fire.”

  Darcy let out a huff. “Foster did not think through this scheme as thoroughly as he should have. He has put us all in danger!” He turned to Bellows. “Let’s arm the men, then!”