“Anything else you would care to tell me?” he asked when Dante’s naked body had sunk below the surface of the pool.
“Not particularly,” Eva said quietly, her cheeks flaming. She followed the glow from the bell shaped light as Dante swam down and disappeared through a large gap in the hull.
“The Pirate Wolf’s cub, eh? He has a brother and together they’ve quite a reputation as the Hell Twins, and having seen him, I vow it is for more than one reason.”
“He saved my life, Father.”
“Aye, so you keep telling me. And what was the payment he demanded?”
Eva met her father’s single accusing eye. “He demanded nothing. What I gave him, I gave freely.”
William contemplated the defiant set to Eva’s jaw, a look that reminded him so clearly of her mother that he raised a hand in contrition. “I’ll not attempt to suggest I have the right to chastise you, Daughter. You’re a woman grown and I’ve no right to be shocked or to pass judgment.”
“It is not my intent to shock you, Father. But I am not going to apologize for seeking comfort when I needed it. You are correct: I am not a little girl anymore. You have been gone for four long years and I have had to do a lot of growing up on my own. In the last two months alone, I have been cheated on and lied to; I’ve been shot and burned and left alone on a plague ship. I’ve travelled halfway around the world to find you and if it displeases you that I found a man who is compassionate and thoughtful and exciting enough with whom I might share more than empty words and promises, well then… I am truly sorry for that. The truth is, I went willingly into his bed and would do so again if he wanted me to… which he hasn’t. We’ve been too busy fighting the Spanish and trying to rescue you from God-knows-what fate Muertraigo and your former business partner have planned!”
In the silence that followed, William’s one eye blinked. Standing a few feet away, his naked body gleaming and dripping water, Gabriel Dante looked from father to daughter as the echo of her words resonated off the walls of the cavernous chamber.
Eva turned at the sound of the canvas bell being set on the rocks. Seeing Dante, and not knowing how long he had been standing there or how much he had overheard, she shook her head and whirled away, hurrying back along the passage they had taken from the first cavern.
Billy Crab was still seated by the fire. The capon was missing a leg and there was grease on Billy’s chin, but he did little to acknowledge her return other than to nod his head and continue turning the spit.
She sighed and took a seat, her shoulders slumping.
Billy glanced at her, then quickly returned his gaze to the fire. After a full minute of throbbing silence, he looked over again.
“I heard as how you saw my mam,” he ventured to say. “Is she well? Did she speak o’ me?”
“She is very well, and she spoke of you with great pride and tenderness.”
Billy grinned, revealing only gums and no teeth. “She’ll be that an’ more when I buy her a big house an’ a big shop an’ hire a hundred cooks to do the bakin’ for her.”
“I am entirely thrilled for you,” she said curtly. It was enough to silence the lad and keep him from venturing forth any more conversation. He contented himself by imagining his mother dressed in silks and brocades, while across the width of the firepit, Eva was left to wonder what would happen next, now that her father had been found and Dante no longer needed to bear the burden of being her sole protector.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Gabriel’s thoughts were indeed divided as he dressed and walked back through the passage with Chandler. The older man’s estimate of how much treasure remained in the hold of the wreck could easily be doubled, judging by what Gabriel had seen. While underwater, he had caught murky glimpses of countless broken barrels, crates, and chests in the one large cargo bay, the contents spilled in glittering heaps across the decking. He knew from experience there would be bigger bays packed full, as well as a wealth of personal jewels in the cabins that had been occupied by the rich hidalgos returning to Spain. A hundred men diving for a hundred days might be able to raise most of it to the surface, but they would be hampered by the depth as well as the condition of the sunken hull. He had been hard-pressed to stay under for as long as it took the lantern to burn out, smothered by lack of air, and there were certain to be blocked passageways and collapsed timbers to slow the salvage.
The rest of his musings were distracted by the echo of Eva’s words and he could tell, by the glower on William Chandler’s face, he was not alone in that.
“Well? What are your thoughts, Sir?” Chandler asked, slowing as they drew near the cavern where Billy and Eva sat by the fire.
“I… think we were both caught off guard and were perhaps swept away in a moment of high emotion. I don’t say this as an excuse for my own behaviour, but in truth, what with all that has happened in such a short period of time…”
William stopped.
“I was speaking of the treasure,” he said dryly. “As my Eva said, she’s a woman full grown now and her mind is her own. I’ll not say that I applaud or condone her actions, but considering what she has had to endure, I’ll not pass judgement. Not for the time being at any rate.”
He started walking again. Gabriel blew out a breath and followed, taking several long strides before he came abreast the older man again.
“With regards to salvaging the treasure, the best divers I have in my crew can remain underwater for perhaps two minutes. The lower deck of the hulk is roughly forty feet under, which cuts that time in half.”
“As I said, the larger domes help to hold extra air for breathing and we’ve two that Billy uses.”
“Then there is the weight of the treasure itself. I noticed the pulley system you have rigged.”
“Aye. We can fill and haul about five buckets a day. ‘Tis tiring work shifting all that bullion,” he added with a wry chuckle.
“I have no doubt it is. Is there another way of entering that cavern?”
“By boat,” Chandler nodded. “The same way the Victorio came in. Frankly, we didn’t know there was another access from up top until you dropped down from the rocks. How, by blazing hell, did you find it?”
Dante explained about the shifting green and blue rays of light. “I expect if we look in daylight we’ll find the opening overgrown with weed and gorse.”
“A quick way in but impractical.” They approached the fire and William sat beside Eva, giving her a big hug. “You’re both lucky you didn’t break bones on the slide down.”
Dante settled, cross-legged, opposite them, his hair gleaming wetly in the firelight. “Speaking of getting out, my men will be looking for me come daylight.”
“They’ll not have missed you already?”
Dante glanced at Eva, who managed to avoid eye contact. “No. I doubt they’ll become concerned until morning. How far are we from Spanish Wells?”
“Half a day of hard rowing by the shortest route we’ve managed to find, but a full day if by land. Happily there are no short-cuts for a deep-bellied ship. Muertraigo and the bastard will have to stay in the middle of the channel and keep their sails trimmed and their eyes sharp for underwater coral. You said you hulled one of their ships and another was damaged?”
Gabriel nodded. “One of them was listing badly and unable to follow into the bight. Muertraigo’s crew was making temporary repairs to the mainmast of the San Mateo when we last saw him, but we can’t count on that delaying him too long. He will have realized by now that we were not a ship owned by a preening nobleman returning to Spain, and he will be making all haste to the Wells.”
“They’ll find nothing along the way but a few old huts and some even older women selling the bitter, thick brew they call xocolati. ‘Tis almost undrinkable the way they mix it with hot peppers and ground maise, but they swear it gives them long life. Billy here stirred up a pot with cane sugar to make it sweet instead of spicy, and it made for a much finer drink.”
He studi
ed the flames for a moment then added, “That was what I was trying to do when we stumbled across the Victorio. I was having the natives show me how they pick and roast the cacao beans, then grind them into a fine powder. I was planning to fill a ship with barrels of the beans in the hopes it would restore our fortunes back home.
“One day we were invited to watch a ceremony blessing the sun and giving thanks for the year’s harvest. One of the priests wore a robe decorated with silver coins, and when I looked up close, be damned if they weren’t off the Nuestro Santisimo Victorio. Took almost a full year before they could be persuaded to show me where they found the coins.”
“So then they would be able to lead Muertraigo to the wreck?”
William shook his head. “No. The village was well north of here and most of the men were carried off in a raid last spring. Only women and cripples were left behind and most of them, when they see a white man, scatter like a school of fish when they see a shark. When I wrote to Lawrence Ross to arrange a rendezvous, I chose Spanish Wells on purpose, thinking if anyone did intercept the letters, they could search for another twenty years without finding the treasure. Little did I know it was Ross himself I had to be wary of for his treachery.”
“It does solve another piece of the puzzle, however,” Eva said quietly. “If Lawrence told him of the rendezvous, it explains how Muertraigo knew to come here, to Espiritu Santu.”
“Aye, Daughter, to my sorry regret.”
“They were at least a full day behind us,” Dante said. “Another hard day’s march will see us to the Wells where we will have the advantage of surprise.”
William frowned. “An ambuscade? To what purpose? Men have searched for the broken lady for twenty years and not found her tomb. Ross may have the scent of gold in his nose, but he’ll not know where to begin to look.”
“We didn’t know where to look, but we found you,” Dante pointed out. “Happy reunions aside, I have my own reasons for wanting to arrange another meeting. Muertraigo will know as well.”
“Eh? Your own reasons?”
“Personal ones,” Dante said. “As soon as we opened fire, I made certain he knew exactly who he was fighting.”
This was news to Eva, who glanced over with a questioning look in her eyes.
Gabriel smiled. “I sent him my calling card.”
“Even so,” William said, “three full crews…roughly a thousand men against the hundred you brought overland with you?”
“Fair odds, I would say.” Gabriel grinned. “We managed to bring some small casks of black powder with us, but I noticed you have barrels of it in your stores.”
“Aye. Enough to arrange a warm welcome if you have the knowledge to use it.” Chandler glanced across the fire. “Billy likes to play with the stuff and ‘tis a wonder he’s not blown us both up before now. But if a man knew where and how to lay a charge against the hull, it would make the work go a deal faster.”
“I might have just the man,” Dante said. “He enjoys blowing things up as well. But for now, I need his expertise at Spanish Wells. If I can pare Muertraigo’s numbers down it will buy us time—enough, hopefully, for the Endurance to return from Pigeon Cay with a few others eager to meet Estevan Quintano Muertraigo.”
William’s bushy eyebrows came together over his nose as he imagined his years of solitary work being loaded into the holds of the Dante ships.
“I will personally vouchsafe my family’s disinterest in your treasure ship, Master Chandler,” Dante said again. “Help us, and we will gladly help you and leave here with our pockets as empty as they were when we arrived.”
William studied the younger man with a cryptic eye. “You’ve an odd manner for a pirate.”
Dante’s mouth curved slightly. “I am content with a sturdy deck beneath my feet and the freedom to follow the sea to the far edge of the horizon. I need nothing more.”
“Nothing?”
The amber eyes flicked briefly to where Eva sat studiously avoiding his gaze.
“A challenge or two to keep me from becoming too complacent,” Dante said, amending his requirements with a broader smile. “And an ample supply of food. I am hungry enough to hear my belly moaning to my spine.”
William chuckled. “Follow your noses to the capon, then, before young Billy devours what’s left of it. We’ve coconuts and mangos, maise biscuits and a full jug of fine red wine to empty while I feast my eyes on my daughter and she tells me all that has been happening back home in my absence.”
~~
Three hours and three bottles of Madeira later, William placed his hands on his knees and made to rise. “Rest a while, Good Captain, then we’ll get you into a boat and row you to your camp before the day breaks. Daughter… you’ll forgive an old man if he lays his head down for a spell? I’m that happy you’re here, but the day has been too full of surprises and tomorrow promises even more.”
He swayed a little as he stood and Eva jumped up quickly, supporting him under his arm. “Are you all right, Father?”
He patted her head and kissed her forehead, then bellowed through wine-soaked vapors. “I’m fitter than ever I was sitting behind a desk watching my ships sail out of port. But I have spent the last four years worrying day and night about that damned treasure and I’m both relieved and happy to share the burden with younger, stronger shoulders. You will have to pinch me in the morning to prove I’ve not dreamt all of this.” He cradled her face between his hands and pressed a heartily affectionate kiss to her brow. “And if I have… well… I pray I don’t wake at all. Now… show me to my bed. Billy, you rapscallion, lead the way! Then fetch blankets for the good captain, for I warrant he’ll not be sleeping much over the next few days.”
With the young giant holding a lantern on one side and Eva on the other, they managed to steer the weaving William Chandler to a thick pile of blankets laid in a niche in the cavern wall. By the light of the dim lantern, Eva saw rough shelves with books against one end of the niche, a small writing table and stacks of loose papers covered with her father’s tightly scrolled handwriting. There was a small iron brazier beside the pallet, which Billy filled with hot coals from the fire.
“Home sweet home,” William said, struggling to remove his boots and failing miserably.
Eva shooed his hands aside and accomplished the task for him. “I’m just happy that I found you; I wouldn’t care if you were living in a tree and wore a grass skirt.”
Light glinted off the locket as she leaned over to kiss him on the brow and William smiled. “I gave that locket to my dear Elizabeth the day I asked her to marry me, and it took all I had to scrape up enough money to buy it. She loved me true, Daughter, and gave up everything for me… court life, favors from the king, even a rich handsome fellow who could have given her the life she deserved. Took me near a decade to build up Chandler Shipping and she never made a squeak of protest. As much as I loved her, I often wondered, if she had been in the country with a rich husband, the fever might not have caught her…”
“Father, hush.” Eva smoothed a hand across his forehead. “Mother loved you and knew she was loved in return. That mattered more to her than all the riches in the world.”
“Aye. Maybe so.” A tear sparkled in the corner of his eye. “But now that we have all the riches in the world, she’s not here to share them, so they mean far less.” He paused and his gaze roved slowly over her face. “You look so much like her. And aye, if she’d been alive, I warrant she would have climbed aboard a ship and travelled halfway around the world to find me too.” He patted her hand and gave out a great, long sigh. “Now let me sleep girl. The floor is twirling around like a spinning top and I’d as soon not puke into my boots.”
Eva kissed him again, then covered him up to the chin with a blanket. She sat with him until he had mumbled himself into a deep sleep and only then did she return to the firepit.
Dante was still there, hunched forward, his head propped between his hands. His eyes were closed and for a moment she thought h
e was asleep. Billy was nowhere to be seen, but he had placed a stack of folded blankets beside the fire.
Looking at the blankets, she realized how utterly exhausted she was. It seemed like days ago, not just that morning, they had set out to march across the island.
“Your father is a fine man,” Dante said, not moving or opening his eyes. “I like him.”
“I suspect he likes you too.”
One of Gabriel’s eyes opened and looked up at her. “You should try to get some rest.”
“I will.”
“It works better if you lie down.”
“I… can’t. My legs don’t seem to want to bend.”
Dante, who surely had to be as tired as she was, stood with an ease that almost made her whimper. He shook the folds and dust out of several of the woolen blankets and spread them into a thick nest on a smooth patch of dry ground. He scooped her into his arms and set her gently down on the bedding, then stripped off her boots and set them beside the makeshift pallet.
“Better?” he asked.
“I am a little cold,” she said in a small voice, muffled to the chin in the last blanket.
Gabriel smiled at the transparent pretence and stretched out carefully beside her. He gathered her into his arms, letting her share his body heat and use his shoulder as a pillow.
“Is this better now?”
She nodded and pressed her face into the side of his neck, breathing in the scent of his skin. “Are you really going to set an ambush for Muertraigo?”
“I am, yes.”
“Would it not be wiser to wait until your ship returns with more men and more guns?”
“Wiser? Perhaps. But if there is the smallest chance of Muertraigo getting away, then I can’t risk it.”
Eva wormed her hand up his chest and slid it under his shirt. “I don’t suppose—?“
“No. You can’t. You most definitely, emphatically cannot come with us. And this time, madam, I will put you in manacles, hand and foot, and leave you locked to a post.”
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