Tarnished Persuasion (Justified Treason, Book 2): Endless Horizon Pirate Stories

by Cristi Taijeron

  “Of course I do. I love her! I hate the fact that she’s on that man’s ship right now. I hate the fact that there’s nothing I can do about it.” As I said my thoughts out loud, the reality of my painful love for her erupted and my rage intensified with a fiery explosion. I yanked Law Dog’s oar from him and started smashing it on the side of the boat until the oar was nothing but a jagged stick.

  Pointing it at him, I bellowed, “His blood will coat my blade.”

  Law Dog had his gun pointed at me.

  Sink me, that man was no soft-handed lubber. He was indeed a man. Not only could he give Charlie all the things I couldn’t, but he could damn well protect her, too. I hated him even more for it. “Are you going to shoot me so you can have her all to yourself again?”

  “This is not the time for such childish remarks, Sterling. Put the stick down so I can lower my gun. I have no intention of harming you, or taking her from you. I want to help you get her back because I care about her. Not because I want to be with her.”

  Caught off guard by his reasonable attitude, I threw my stick in the water, slammed my exhausted body on the bench, and watched him put his gun away. In my moment of silence, that sensible bastard said, “You may be a temperamental young man, Sterling Bentley, but you are far from an idiot, and it would be all too foolish for you to deny my help.”

  He pointed out the slash on his hand. “I am willing to help you at all cost. With or without the law of England, and with or without your pirate code or crew. No matter what anyone else has to say about it, I will help you. You are a master of accomplishment outside of the law and I am skilled in the art of accomplishment within the law and all its loopholes. Between the balance of our opposing skills, I have faith that we will get her back.”

  Unsure of what to say, I didn’t respond at all.

  As we rowed our way towards the ship, it looked like he was praying. I figured I should do the same. Derouex Baudin might be frilly and ridiculous, but I knew from experience that he was a coldblooded killer. He loved treasure more than life and right now the most important thing in my life was the key to his. All I could do was hope the power of my skill would be strong enough to keep her alive, the same way it had kept me alive all these years.

  Knowing I was in no condition to speak without losing my mind, I let Law Dog tell Faron what was going on. While anticipating the captain’s response, I stood with my arms crossed and chewed on my lip like a nervous ol’ mess. Faron patted me on the back. “Well, Bentley, looks like it’s up for vote. I know these dogs want some of that Lovers’ Treasure, and though I’m not sure if’n they want it as bad as you want yours, I’ll remind them why it’s worth pursuing the hunt.”

  I tasted blood. I’d bit through my damn lip. Agonizing over the length of time it would take me to start over on my own, I wiped the blood off my chin and warned the captain. “If they’re against it, I’m rowing back to Tortuga and I’ll seize another ship. I don’t give a shit about your code or my blood oath. I’m going to get her.”

  Faron leaned in close and whispered, “I know that, and I’ll take you back to Tortuga so you can do what needs to be done if they say no, but I have to go with the vote, Bentley.”

  I understood, and once again, all I could do was wait.

  Faron called for a meeting in his quarters. The moment I sat down I realized how worn out I was. Laying my face in my hands, I tried to stay alert as Faron rambled about the plans, but I found myself fading in and out of consciousness as he spoke. The hellfire rush was finally leaving my body and the aching agony of pain and overexertion crept in to take its place. The lump on my head was throbbing and as I rubbed it I found chunks of dried blood in my hair. Where my cheek got ripped open from that pistol was stinging like there was a fire burning on my face, and bruises from Law Dog’s punches weren’t resting easy on my senses either.

  The rest of my cloudy consciousness buzzed with the torment of an electric storm cloud. Through the fog I heard Faron clarify, “They have the key and we have the map.”

  Kennedy jabbed, “Isn’t that the key on the bulkhead there?”

  Faron explained, “That bonny they took is the key to our navigator’s heart, so if we want the prize, we have to please him.”

  Oliver intervened. “Good heavens, can you bloody whelps see past your greedy noses? You assumed responsibility for that young woman’s care when you let her on this ship. And you specifically, Captain Flynn, act as tough as you want in front of your friend, but you know if your lady was the one in that man’s clutches you would do everything in your means to save her without a second thought.”

  Even through my exhaustion, I was humored by the way Oliver slapped Flynn around with his sense and reason. Knowing damn well that Oliver was right, Faron laughed, too. “It’s simple, Kennedy. We want the treasure, he knows the way, and he wants the bonny. She’s our key.”

  “So be it,” Kennedy agreed. His consent wasn’t worth a damn to me, but I was glad to hear him shut his blaggard ol’ mouth about it.

  I must have passed out after that, for the next thing I knew, Marty was in the room. Her muffled voice collided with the other blurry sounds surrounding me, and out of nowhere I heard Doctor Harvey announce, “I dread to inform you that there is a pregnant woman onboard.”

  I was sure I was having a bat-warted nightmare, but when Faron yelled, “What the hell did you go and do that for, Marty?” his volume assured me that I was awake.

  Lifting my head off the table, I pried my eyes open just in time to see Marty reach across the table to slap Faron. “Oh, shut your blundering old mouth, Faron Flynn. We are talking about Kathleen.”

  Wiping the sweat from his brow, Faron exhaled in animated relief, but Oliver shrieked, “What in the pits of Hell are we supposed to do about that?”

  Kennedy laughed, “Ah, throw her overboard and see if’n she floats.”

  Chiming in on Kennedy’s laughter, Faron raised his bottle for cheers. As they joked about shedding the curse, Marty snapped, “What in God’s name is the matter with you, Faron Flynn? Your mother raised you better than that.”

  “Leave my mother out of this, Marty. Get the hell out of here before I throw you overboard with Law Dog’s lady. And your snipping little parrot, too.”

  Cursing Faron under her breath, she stormed out of the room. Doctor Harvey shrugged his shoulders before he followed her out. Having gathered more than enough information for my cloudy mind to process, I flopped my head back on the table and went to sleep.

  Feeling a hand softly rubbing on my back and hearing the pleasant hum of a woman’s voice, I drifted into a dream, and in the dream it was Charlie rubbing on me. We were on a beach somewhere, and she was wearing white. The sun was bright around her, and the breeze was blowing through her hair.

  Just as I thought Heaven would have to be something like this, the sea behind her rose with a threatening swell. Dark clouds coated the blue sky. Wind violently whipped through the trees. We were going to have to run. I tried to take her with me but the surge swelled around us, pulling her away. I fought the current with all my might, but she was slipping out of my hands. The sky was dark, the sea was darker, sound was void, and terror was rapid.

  She washed away…

  There was nothing I could do.

  When the blackened torrent recessed, she was gone. I was all alone on the beach and there was nothing I could do about it.

  “Wake up, love.”

  The voice easily awoke me. Springing up with wide eyes, I inhaled the terror of my panic and reached for my sword. Marty was next to me with that damn bird on her shoulder. As she jerked away from my brash movement, Pablo fluttered his wings and squawked at me. Removing my hand from the hilt of my cutlass, I mumbled about selling Pablo myself.

  With my vision cleared and my heart rate subsided, I looked out the stern windows. It was still cloudy out so I had no idea how long I had slept, but it felt like I’d been out for days. Worrying that I had failed my woman yet again, I quickly r
eached into my pocket to get my compass. We were heading east. Marty put her hand on my back again, and smiled, “It’s all right, love. We are going to get her.”

  It looked like she had been crying. I hardly knew what to do with my own woman when she cried, so I didn’t say anything. But just like Charlie, Marty had enough to say for both of us. Handing me a bowl of salmagundi and a mug of water, she proceeded to tell me all about the things that had happened since I’d passed out. Amongst all her unnecessary details, I gathered that the vote was nerve wrenchingly close, but Law Dog did a fine job of persuading the men from the Royal Anthem to join the crew and to vote in our favor. “You know, Lawrence, Oliver, and I had agreed that we would go with you if the men so declined to resume the hunt for your treasure.”

  I was glad to hear they gave a shit, and if need be, I’d take them up on the offer.

  Brushing the dirt off my shoulder, Marty mentioned what a mess I was and offered to wash my clothes and comb my hair, but I ignored her as I plowed through the food. Feeling somewhat human again after eating all the salmagundi and chugging down the mug of water, I looked out of the window. It was going to storm.

  Putting her hand on my face, Marty turned me from the window. “Let me clean your wound.”

  Though I told Marty I was fine, she came at my face with a wet cloth anyhow. As she cleaned my wound she told me the cut ran diagonally across my cheek and crossed with my other scar to make an X on my face. It was awkward having such a beautiful woman touch me without expecting something in return. I know she was just being motherly, but being raised by my father, I was hardly used to such concern. My father’s old wench Marla used to try to care for me, and one time he even left me with her while he went out to sea. I always felt suffocated by her doting affections, and without my father there to slap me around, I was a complete hellion under her care. When Mason came back she told him everything I did to make her crazy. He made it up to her by slapping me around for acting up while he was away. Yet, she was the one crying when he forced me to apologize to her. Women and all their tears and compassion would always be a mystery to me.

  X

  Just like in my nightmares, violent winds whipped across the darkened seas. But unlike in the helpless torrents that haunted my slumbering soul, amidst this storm I had a bit of control the tormenting elements. Strong at the tiller, I fought the waves and the wind alongside my men, never once forgetting that the sun was soon to shine. Eventually the seas would calm, and before long I’d win this goddamn game I was playing.

  The rising sun seemed to overpower the might of the storm, melting away the clouds with her golden glow. As the swells died down and the rain subsided, I looked around the bobbing seas to be sure Persuasion held out as well as Endless Horizon. She did. Aye, a few miles off the portside stern, that gaudy ship was rocking on the stirring face of the sea. Pulling out my spyglass, I could see her men scaling the ratlines. Soon enough, the canvas sails draped in the misty morning air. But the other ship was gone. Hopefully, she had been sunk to the bottom of the sea.

  Shattering the pleasant moment of silence, Faron Flynn shouted out to his crew, “Good sail, men. A wise man once said, Some call us pirates, and some of us prefer to be called buccaneers, but above all else, we are sailors!” He winked at me.

  That was something my father had often said, and Faron had repeated it many times since I’d relayed the good words to him.

  As the men hooted and congratulated each other for a job well done, I took some time to measure our bearings. Before long Persuasion would be coming alongside us, as they did every morn, and I wanted to get my business in order before Baudin had a chance to tangle up my tired mind.

  Still damp from the rain, I headed for the chartroom to record my measurements. Flopping down in my chair, I realized how tired I was, but there was no time to rest. I had a life to save—and more than that, a wrong to make right. Busy with the weather, I hadn’t had time to be bothered with my guilt or my pain, but now, gazing upon the map that would lead me to Charlie’s captors desired prize, I was haunted by the memory of her tear filled eyes when she told me she wanted nothing more to do with me or my heathen ways. While charting different courses, trying to decide which way to best use my skill to outdo the man who held her life in his hands, my mind replayed the sound of her screaming about how her pain was all my fault. Damn it. I hated every bit of that fight we’d had, but there was no turning back. All I could do now was fix it.

  Just like every storm I sailed, every fight I’d ever fought, and every war I’d ever waged, failing her was not an option. One way or another, this cursed hunt would result with me regaining the favor of my woman and also, with my crew finally gaining the gold they deserved for helping me to get her back.

  With my course set, I headed out to the deck to report my plans to the captain. As we talked about what was coming next, that stupid ol’ Persuasion came to our broadside. Derouex came out to meet us dressed like a damn king; he would have trumpets sound for his entrance if he had them onboard. Though I had been feeling calm and level headed, I suddenly felt the urge to throw a barrel at him as he greeted me with a ridiculous bow. “Good day, Monsieur, I do hope you were able to rest a bit after that terrible storm.”

  I wanted to say something shitty, but instead, I just slurred the first dumb thing that came to mind. “Eh, I hope you slept like shit and got a kink in your neck.”

  He squinted at my wording, but didn’t respond.

  Gazing upon the barren horizon, I said, “I see you lost your cute little consort, Baudin.”

  “Very observant, Monsieur. I have indeed lost a ship to the storm, just as you lost your lover to the circumstance. Yet here we are in the middle, talking it over like gentlemen.”

  “Ah, plague seize you, Baudin. You’re no gentlemen. You’re a filthy rotten pirate. Own it.”

  “Now, now, if I was a pirate then Charlotte might be terrified, but she is quite peaceful under my generous care. In fact, I think she is growing rather fond of my company. But can you blame her? How often is it that such a filthy little slut gets the chance to be doted over like a princess; drinking Italian wine while playing harpsichord in such a fanciful dress. Did you know she plays? She has quite a lovely repertoire, too.”

  Goddamn. How much fun was she having over there? “Of course I know she plays the harpsichord and quit calling her a slut.”

  He clapped his hands. “I think you’re right. She is more of a temptress than a whore. Shielding her precious virtue so stubbornly, yet those hazel eyes seem to claw at me like the paws of a wildcat. Ahh, she would eat me alive if I’d let her…”

  Struggling to contain the wrathful fire his tormenting ways ignited in my spirit, I gritted my teeth as I threatened, “It won’t be worth the loss or the pain to break our agreement, Baudin. Keep your damn hands off her.”

  “Oh, don’t you worry, pirate. It would be all too easy for me to persuade that trashy tramp onto my lap, and I prefer more of a challenge with the women I favor…” He stroked his goatee as if considering a debate. “Though it would be quite enjoyable to spite you by taking her first…No, no. I would rather have my gold. And if you fail to grant me with it, I will kill her then hang her cold dead body from the yard where you can watch her terribly chopped hair blow in the breeze.”

  If I was a dragon, I would have breathed fire on him. It took all the sense I could muster to keep the flames contained within me as I hissed, “I’m going to kill you, Baudin.”

  “Oui, and it is that very chivalry that keeps the amusement in this game we play. You, the filthy pirate, waging his sanity to protect his virgin lover from her fervent captor. Oh my, someone should write a book about it.”

  “Aye, and it’ll end with my sword piercing your black heart. Now where the hell is she?”

  Holding his hand over his heart, he acted as if he were massaging the stab wound I threatened him with.

  Losing patience with his stalling, I pointed at him as I yelled, “This isn’
t a one way bargain, Baudin. You want what I have as much as I need what you have. So go get her.”

  “Keep calm, Bentley.” He sliced his hand through the foggy air. “You know what I will have to do if she hears you out here. Oui, it is your chore to keep every drop of her precious red blood contained within her soft white skin. You would hate yourself if I killed her…” His satanic threats tormented my mind with painstaking visuals that were brashly interrupted when he jabbed, “…and I am sure you have lost enough sleep over the way you failed your father.”

  My already devastated mind flashed over the daunting memory of my father breathing his last breaths of life. I was shocked by the way the memory surfaced so quickly. Baudin was there on that dreadful day, and I hated him more for so easily kicking the dirt off the grave of the ghost I worked so hard to bury. The overwhelming flash of guilt collided with my steaming hatred, leaving me speechless.

  A wicked grin rose on his face. “I bet that just eats you up every day.”

  Forcing myself to stand solid, I snapped, “Don’t worry your pretty little face about what eats me, Baudin. Get on your way so we can get this shit over with.”

  “All right then. I suppose I should inform you that I have decided to keep her in my room while you are near. She trusts me, you see. Things are going much better than I had planned and I have no mind to blind her against my trust. You can watch her from your spyglass as I take her on an afternoon walk.”

  So it was as he called it.

  Once we were underway I pulled out my spyglass to check on Charlie. She was standing next to Baudin at the portside rail of his ridiculous ship. His arm was over her shoulder. Their backs were facing me but I could see that her dress was fancy, her demeanor was easy, and when she turned to look at him her smile was sincere.

  Maybe she was serious when she told me she was through with me. Then my mind echoed with his comment about not taking her outside of her consent; she looked awfully willing as she ran her hand through his hair. The sight made me want to kill.