It struck home just how much my life had changed in the past year. I hadn’t been born to this way of life, far from it, and I hadn’t chosen it, it had chosen me. It was a far cry from my upbringing and previous existence of cruel men in nice houses. Was I really the same woman who had turned in disgust at the sight of a brawl spilling out of a drinking hole, whilst enduring worse at home?
I grew aware of Freedom’s crew looking and pointing at the new mast and colors, and my smile widened. I straightened up the helm, set my course by the wind for the moment rather than our destination—just for the joy of feeling it across our weather bow—and the deck canted with the increased speed and power. This was what she was made for, where she should be; where all of us should be. At sea flying with the wind, not beached or lashed to the shore, trapped by anchor or mooring warps. Out here we were free just to be.
I looked across at Freedom’s quarterdeck and waved at Leo, whose grin matched mine. This is where he needed to be too. I had a pang of regret. I wanted to embrace him, to share his joy as well as my own, but was unable to from this deck and missed him already. We wouldn’t have been in each other’s arms when working the ship away from shore anyway, but on separate decks it would be too long before we could come together as we wanted. I smelled smoke and turned to see Carmen lighting her pipe—a gesture I soon came to know as an indication all was well on deck. I remembered Leo’s advice to trust her sailing instincts and knowledge, but to keep her close and avoid giving her too much leeway. She was used to being in command and had coveted this ship, I had to make sure she got used to me being her captain.
“How does she feel?” I asked her.
“The foremast needs a little adjustment,” she replied. “She’s not quite balancing the raked main. It won’t take long, but we’ll need a calmer day to snug up the shrouds. Other than that she’s as fine a sailer as she looks.”
She took the pipe out of her mouth and whistled toward the bows, raised her right hand and clenched her fist twice in a signal to Annika to sheet in the outer jib to starboard. Valkyrie responded immediately and skipped a little higher over the waves. I knew she was in good hands.
Chapter 65
GABRIELLA
13th February 1687
Four Leagues off Gadalupe
It was frustrating to sail in the opposite direction to Sayba, but even I knew that I, not to mention Valkyrie, was not ready yet, and an attack on Brisingamen now could be suicide. I wanted it so badly though, I was desperate to cut Erik out of my life.
We headed south toward Martinico, east of La Isla Magdalena and where Leo had long-standing arrangements with a couple of merchants in Saint Pierre. They were keen to buy his goods and not too particular about where they’d come from, as long as they hadn’t come out of the holds of any of their own ships—Leo had long ago agreed to leave their trade alone. With a fair wind we could be back in the Northern Caribbees in a week, but at this time of year, northing could be hard to come by, no matter how much I yearned to be back, and the return passage could take much longer. On top of that, Leo had promised the men time to enjoy the entertainments of Saint Pierre’s sailortown; we’d been at sea or on deserted beaches too long for their continued compliance, and they missed their women—any women.
“Sail oh.”
We were a week out and I grabbed Carmen’s glass to see for myself. Brand new and made with mirrors it put Leo’s to shame, although he wouldn’t hear a word said against his old one. I examined the sail off our port bow. A French merchantman—a large round-hulled ship, slow and heavy. Perfect. Valkyrie bristled with a variety of guns, thanks to Andy, and you’d never have known that they’d spent a night on the bottom. I also had two of Freedom’s small, two-pound cannon with their plum-sized shot installed at the bows either side of the figurehead, and we got ready to give chase. As the faster boat upwind, we would leave Leo and Freedom off astern; I wanted Valkyrie to do this alone, without him.
We had a strong breeze, the waves breaking with white, and I ordered the topsails down to avoid the merchantman spotting us too soon. With main- and foresails flying we had the speed we needed, and both Gaunt and Carmen nodded when I turned for their opinions. The wind was close-to this morning, so coming over our larboard foredeck, and we headed toward our prey and the Gadalupe coast. Whilst the wind was likely to swing round in the afternoon, we were early enough that it came off the island to the east, essentially trapping the vessel. Her only chance was to get close to shore somewhere with decent defenses, but she had big problems. She was slow, having been designed to carry as much cargo as conceivable with the smallest possible crew, and her square-rigged sails couldn’t sail into the wind. She had to take a much shallower angle than Valkyrie, giving us plenty of opportunity to intercept her before she reached her safe harbor.
I hoisted our new colors once it was obvious she’d realized we were a threat to her, and set a collision course. When she was in range of the bow cannon, Andy fired at the rigging of the fleeing ship. Her second shot was right on target, and I gasped as I watched their mainmast shudder and slowly fall, bringing a tangle of canvas and rigging down with it.
“Don’t celebrate too soon, we’ve still got to get aboard. I hope you’re ready to fight because I can’t see them asking quarter of women.”
Davys was right, of course, we had only just started, we hadn’t won our prize yet. Looking around the decks at my crew, I saw them how the mariners across the water would see them, and I ordered the Awildas to hide their hair and loosen their shirts to hide their shape—hopefully this would be enough until it was too late for the other crew to do anything foolish. They’d be expecting men, and something so simple may just delay their realization of our sex until our swords and muskets were on them, and they were at our mercy.
Unwilling to risk their lives, they didn’t try to protect their ship, and we herded them into the forecastle and had a good look around. She had six cannon aboard, but all broadside—if she’d had even one mounted at her stern, this might have been a very different story. I left it to Andy as to how to utilize this extra firepower for the best now that I could return the rest of the guns Freedom had provided when we first took Valkyrie, and she immediately headed abaft to install a new gun at our own stern.
Below decks was a disappointment, they were still laden with goods, not silver, but at least we could stock up our food and drink supplies, and there were anchors and other gear that would come in useful, including all their spare cordage and spars. The spices and cloth could be traded at Martinico, but I’d really wanted to prove myself to Leo with a big haul of gold or silver. Not this time.
Now I had to face Leo. I knew he’d be angry that I’d done this myself without warning or agreeing it with him, but he had to see me as a pirate captain in my own right, and this was the only way I could think of to prove it to him.
He laid us aboard and crossed to the prize. I stood my ground and used all my determination not to flinch at the expression on his face—it was one I’d been much more used to seeing on Erik. I squared my shoulders, set my jaw and waited for him, ignoring both crews who had stopped what they were doing to watch us. He grabbed my arm and pulled me aft in a vain attempt at privacy.
“What the hell did you think you were doing?” he hissed through clenched teeth. “We work together, as a team, what were you trying to prove?”
“I can do this, Leo, I needed to show that to my crew and yours, and yes, you as well.”
“And make me look a fool in the bargain?”
“No! Why do you look a fool? The only one risking looking a fool was me if I failed, but I didn’t. My crew worked together, and we took our prize. I needed to show everyone that Valkyrie is not a weak link, and we just proved that.”
Leo blew out a breath in frustration. “Next time, do you think you could give me a bit of warning? I didn’t get you this boat for you to risk your life in an unnecessary and solitary fight. We work together, you and I, and you still answer to me. Don�
��t sail off on your own again.”
“You didn’t ‘get’ me this boat, I won it, and if you think I’m going to be your little consort, your pirate concubine, you can think again! You freed me from one life, I won’t be shackled to another. I will always be grateful to you for bringing me to the sea, and it’s where I want to stay—with you. I had to do this. I had to prove to myself, to my crew and to you too, that I am a worthy captain of Valkyrie, and that I deserve to be on her quarterdeck. I cannot ask any of my crew to risk their lives if I’m not prepared to risk mine along with them, and I’m surprised you have a problem with that.”
“You’re damn right I have a problem with that!” Leo shouted, and I took a step backwards at the force of his temper.
“I thought I’d made it clear—whilst you command that vessel, you are still a member of my crew, and you do what I say! You are my proxy on that quarterdeck, nothing more. You follow my instructions! You attack only the ships I tell you to attack and you do it in the way I describe! Do you understand?”
“How dare you speak to me like this? And in front of everybody!” I was furious and knew I had lost control, but could not stop. “How am I supposed to command the respect and authority of my crew if they only see me as your . . . proxy?” I spat the word. “I will not be treated like this, you’re no better than Erik!”
He slapped me. Shocked, I could think only one word. No. My hand went to my belt and the hilt of the blade stowed there. God help me, I think I was prepared to use it.
He swallowed his own shock, moved his hand to his own blade, and hissed, “Take care, Gabriella, your words and actions are close to mutiny. If you continue, I’ll put you in irons and lock you below deck. Do not push me further.”
Put me in irons and lock me away? My heart chilled. I looked at him and saw another man trying to force me to his will. I pushed aside all the feeling I had for him.
“Mutiny? I’ll give you bloody mutiny!” I snarled, then turned and strode down the deck, shouting to my Valkyries to return to our ship. He could keep the bloody prize, I just had to get away from him.
We cast off and set sail as quickly as we could. I looked back once and wept when I saw his flag break in the breeze. He had sewn on his tattoo—a heart and sandglass—and added a pair of blades in parody of mine.
PART FOUR
Chapter 66
LEO
I watched her go in disbelief. Everything she had said had been a lie. She hadn’t wanted me; she’d only wanted a boat—a command of her own. But I didn’t really believe it. I knew she loved me, I knew it. I’d pushed too hard, that was all, but it had to be said. I was captain. She had to do as she was told. She’d be back.
“Break out the colors,” I ordered.
The flag George had put together to complement Gabriella’s flew proudly at the masthead.
She didn’t come back.
“You have the deck,” I muttered to Frazer and went aft, shutting myself into what had been our cabin, a bottle of rum in each hand. I locked the door.
*
I walked back on deck to utter silence from my crew. I had only left the cabin in the last few days to collect more rum. They no doubt expected the same today.
“Back to work! What are you all looking at?” I shouted. One by one they turned from me, back to their tasks.
I stayed where I was for the moment, glaring at my crew, the sails, then the horizon. Nothing was in sight but sea, and I realized I had no idea where we were. There was no sign of Valkyrie.
“She can take the fore-topsail as well, Blackman. See to it!”
“Aye, Capt’n,” he muttered, looking less than convinced, but immediately sent topmen up the foremast to unfurl the huge sail. Good. At least someone was obeying my orders.
I couldn’t see Frazer, so turned and entered the chartroom next to my cabin. He was there, hunched over charts with backstaff, traverse board and writing stick, plotting our position. I stood behind him and stared at the chart. We were south of Hispaniola and heading east.
“What are you doing? Why are we headed for Jamaica?” I demanded, stumbling a little as the deck heeled.
Frazer made to get up. “We’re carrying too much sail—what’s Blackman thinking?”
“Leave him be. And leave the canvas, it’s about time we drove her a bit harder—give those lazy goats something to do instead of lounging about on deck all day with their pipes and rum punch.”
Frazer stared at me, but I couldn’t read any expression on his face. He pulled his stool close to the table again and resumed his inspection of the chart.
“Why Jamaica?” I asked again in the silence.
“We’re not bound for Jamaica, we’re bound for Tortuga. The men need some recreation, then we can get back to taking plunder instead of pandering to bloody women.”
“Watch your tongue, Frazer, no one pandered to Gabriella, she’s a full member of this crew and earned it.”
“Was.”
“Qué?”
“Was a full member of this crew.”
“Is. She’ll come back.”
“You really think so? After you hit her? Threatened her?” I glared at him. “What were you thinking, Leo? You know, and we can all guess, what van Ecken did to her, why would she come back to you when you’ve shown the same colors as he?”
I stared at him in silence, turned and left the chartroom. Van Ecken. It was his fault. I had to do something. I had to show Gabriella that I was not van Ecken. I had to free her. I had to kill him for her. If only to stop her attacking Sayba herself.
“Shake that reef out of the fore-topsail, Blackman! Let’s sail!”
“But Captain, it’s too much, the rigging’ll part!”
“Not if it’s been properly kept! And it had better be sound, or the man responsible will be up there making repairs under full sail!”
Blackman stared a moment, then relayed my order. He knew the dangers of working on the rigging under full canvas. Many men had died in falls as a result of a fiercely whipping line, but an order from the captain was an order from the captain, and he obeyed, just as the topmen obeyed him. That did not stop Newton glaring at me as he climbed. I stared back. The sooner we got to Tortuga, the sooner we could leave and attack Sayba.
Chapter 67
LEO
20th April 1687
Sayba
Raid Eckerstad; kill van Ecken; appropriate Brisingamen’s gold; free Gabriella—it had been all I’d thought about whilst impatiently watching my crew carouse themselves senseless over the past two months. She’d come back to me as soon as she heard about this. This is what I needed to do to make amends. I had to succeed here or my life was lost—again. Everything that had gone wrong in my life was down to this one man and his cohorts. It was van Ecken who had terrorized Gabriella and made her scared of a shadow, who had sent her running at the feel of my palm. It was van Ecken who supported Blake and Hornigold. If not for van Ecken, I’d have sunk both buccaneers years ago, but van Ecken kept giving them safe haven to repair their ships, and when their ships were unseaworthy, he gave them new ones. It had to stop. I had to stop him, and I would soon have my chance—Sayba was just visible off my bow, darkness still shrouding her volatile peak.
*
“Bear off a touch,” I muttered. We had no lanterns lit in the early dawn light and navigated by the phosphorescence of sea meeting rock. I didn’t want to get too close, we had to stay invisible until our guns opened fire. I had remembered the intelligence I’d received from Cheval, and we approached from the northwest, past the beach where we’d made repairs almost a year before, past Brisingamen—van Ecken’s estate, past the gun placement that Cheval had assured me was rarely manned—he’d insisted an alert crew was only present when they expected trouble. Arrogant foolishness, if you ask me—when did trouble arrive only when it was expected?
On we crept in the gentle dawn breeze, my men silent. Only the creak of rigging and the swish of our passage through the waves belied our presenc
e.
Boom!
A flare of black powder startled everyone aboard—the gun placement atop the cliff was not only manned, but primed by alert gunners. I cursed myself. Cheval! Of course he’d have apprised Hornigold of our layover here. He’d have known, given my animosity to both Blake and Hornigold, and now van Ecken, that I’d attack. It was reasonable to expect I would take the passage I knew, along the one stretch of coastline I’d already explored, and where I knew I’d be hidden from Eckerstad until the last minute by the headland.
Only moments ago it had seemed a risk worth taking. I now saw it for arrogant foolishness of my own. Mierda!
Boom!
I ducked. Not that it did any good. The first shot had allowed the gunners to judge their range. They were good and their second shot was a direct hit, shattering the aft larboard quarter. I didn’t need to enter my and Gabriella’s old cabin to know it had been destroyed.
“Return fire!” I yelled.
“Blackman—patch that hole, quick as you can!”
With the aft cabin open to the sea, I could not maneuver off this course. Wearing round meant turning and presenting my stern to the wind and oncoming waves. When the wind was dead astern, the Carib Sea would surge in. Nor could I tack—Sayba’s shoreline was in the way. I couldn’t steer off the course I was on. Badly damaged, all I could do was sail onward. Our—my—destiny was fated until my bo’sun could patch up my ship. I had to fight, not only my mortal enemies, but to keep ship and crew afloat.
The Valkyrie Series: The First Fleet - (Books 1-3) Look Sharpe!, Ill Wind & Dead Reckoning: Caribbean Pirate Adventure Page 45
