Pirate's Prize Page 4

  ❧

  Even after the captain removed all his belongings from the cabin, Angelina still didn’t feel comfortable there. When Badeau left, he took Brian with him.

  Angelina scanned the room, feeling the pirate’s presence in every corner. But she and Aunt Elena couldn’t just huddle on their trunks. They had no idea how long the voyage would be. When Brian came back, she would ask him where this plantation was that the pirate had mentioned. Maybe then she would know more about what to expect.

  Aunt Elena stood. “Well, it looks as if we’re going to be here awhile. We might as well make ourselves at home.” She brushed her hands down the front of her skirt, pressing out the wrinkles. “After all, we can’t sleep on top of our trunks.”

  The image of them trying to sleep on their luggage brought a smile to Angelina’s face. “I suppose you’re right.” She crossed to the bed that was built into the back wall of the cabin. “This is large enough for both of us to sleep comfortably, and there are clean linens here.”

  Angelina made the bed, then started to change clothes for the night. When her dress dropped to the floor, she noticed the petticoat Aunt Elena had given her. She had become so used to the weight that was evenly distributed around her body, she’d forgotten all about it. She looked down at the lumps made by the jewelry in the hidden pockets of the undergarment. When she glanced up, she saw her aunt watching her.

  Elena untied the drawstring holding her petticoat around her waist. “Let’s hide these in the bottom of our trunks. I think they will be safe there. The captain seems to respect our property.”

  ❧

  Angelina hadn’t expected to sleep well, but when she awakened at dawn, she couldn’t remember a thing since stretching out on the soft mattress. She didn’t even have bad dreams, which was a wonder after all she had observed the day before. She slipped out of bed and made her way to the portholes on the opposite side of the ship. She didn’t know if she could ever look out the one where she had watched the destruction of her father’s ship and crew.

  Sunrise painted pastel colors across the few clouds that rode in the sky—pinks, lavenders, and pale yellow against the robin-egg blue background. She knew that soon the colors would turn intense, but the early dawn made the world outside the ship seem new and fresh. When a sliver of the rising sun peeked over the horizon, it sent a trail of sparkling jewels among the gentle waves. How could the world look as if nothing was wrong? Yet tranquility spread before her. Were they near land? Angelina couldn’t see any on this side of the ship. Dare she look on the other side? Before she could decide, Aunt Elena stirred, causing the bedclothes to rustle. Angelina turned and looked at her.

  “What do you think will happen today?” Her aunt stretched to get the kinks out of her back.

  “I don’t know.” Angelina went to her trunk and pulled out a dressing gown. “It will be hard, but we’ll have to trust God. He has taken care of us so far.”

  Aunt Elena padded barefoot across the room to her own trunk. “I think we should dress soon. We don’t know when the captain will return.”

  “I only hope he brings Brian O’Doule with him.”

  ❧

  Brian had just risen from his pallet when the door to his cell opened.

  Walter stood in the opening. “Etienne told me to take you to have breakfast with the women.”

  Brian frowned. “Is he going to be there, too?”

  Walter shrugged. “I don’t think so.”

  Brian smiled. “I’ll be glad to eat with them again.”

  After reaching the companionway, Brian took deep breaths of fresh air as they traversed the wooden planks to the poop deck. When they arrived at the cabin where the women were, Brian knocked.

  “Why do you do that?” Walter asked as he turned the key in the lock.

  “If we just unlock the door and go in, it might upset the women. I don’t want to scare them.” Brian went through the door, and Walter locked it behind him.

  Angelina stood silhouetted against the light that streamed through the portholes. His heart skipped a beat. She looked breathtaking with the golden rim of sunlight on her raven curls. She must have awakened early, because she was fully dressed and every hair was in place. Too bad he would never be able to tell her how he felt about her. On this ship, it would be dangerous, and if they ever escaped, her father would have a hard time forgiving him for the danger he had put her through.

  “Good morning, Brian.” Her melodious voice wrapped around his heart, holding it captive.

  “Angelina.” He nodded at her. “Did you get any rest?”

  She walked toward him. “Yes. Thank you for asking.”

  Brian turned toward Elena. He was afraid that if he didn’t, he would give himself away. “Y usted, señora?”

  The older woman smiled at him. “I slept surprisingly well.”

  The key scraping in the lock signaled Walter’s return. The young man brought in their breakfast, placed it on the table, and left without a word.

  Elena took a bite of a hot biscuit, then turned toward Brian. “Did you sleep well, Señor O’Doule?”

  “Oh, you don’t have to worry about me, señora.”

  “But you probably do not even have a bed, do you?” A look of distress dropped over Angelina’s face like a veil.

  “I’ve slept in many places that weren’t any more comfortable than where I am on this ship. I’m all right.” Brian smiled at each woman in turn.

  “What do you think of Walter?” Elena said, changing the subject. “He seems a bit old for a cabin boy. He must be in his twenties.”

  Brian laughed. “I don’t think pirates run their ships the same way merchants do. I’m sure the captain needs someone he can trust in charge of his cabin. Walter seems to be loyal to Badeau. I’m not sure everyone on the crew is, though.”

  Angelina looked up from her food. “Why do you say that?”

  “Even below deck, I hear a lot of what’s going on.” Brian laid his spoon beside the bowl of porridge. “The captain moved into the first mate’s cabin and made him bunk with the rest of the crew. From what I hear, the first mate is pretty angry about that. Badeau may have a problem if he’s not careful.”

  Angelina placed her hands in her lap. “Do you know where his plantation is?”

  Brian took a bite of his biscuit to delay answering her question. The captain hadn’t told him anything about the plantation. It could be anywhere—on an island in the Caribbean Sea or somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean or even in some wild, unsettled land farther west. He didn’t think they were headed east or south, so it probably wasn’t in the Atlantic, but it could be anywhere else. He’d heard that many ports, such as New Orleans, were havens for unlawful men. Brian hoped they weren’t going that far west.

  “I’ll ask him if I see him again,” Brian said after swallowing his food.

  His answer brought a glimmer of hope into Angelina’s eyes.

  ❧

  The next day, Brian asked Badeau Angelina’s question, but he didn’t receive an answer. Evidently, the pirate captain didn’t want them to know too much.

  A couple of days passed before Brian was able to figure out a little about the direction the ship was going. The best he could tell, they had gone in a southwesterly direction. Now they had turned almost due west. If he had it right, they were going around the south end of Florida. He knew the plantation probably wouldn’t be in a very populated place. He prayed fervently for an opportunity to get the women away from the Frenchman before it was too late.

  The best part of the voyage was the time he spent with the women while they were eating. After a few days, however, he realized they were growing pale and listless.

  “Señora Elena,” Brian asked over their midday meal one day, “is there anything the two of you need?”

  The older woman looked at him. “Although this room is spacious for a ship’s cabin, it is a very small space. We feel as if we are in prison. We need to be out in the sunshine, but we don’t want to be
around the pirates.”

  “Aunt Elena is right.” Angelina put down her fork and leaned toward Brian. “At least on my father’s ship, we were able to spend some time on deck.”

  “I understand.” Brian agreed with the women, and he wanted to do all he could to help Angelina and her aunt. But Badeau was unpredictable. If Brian asked and he refused, the women would be disappointed. He didn’t want to add to their burdens. He would see what he could do. If the pirate did agree, Brian would be able to give them a pleasant surprise.

  ❧

  Angelina paced across the floor. They had been on this ship for several days, and she had no idea where they were or where they were headed. “I think I’m going to lose my mind.”

  Aunt Elena looked up from her needlework. “I know, mi ángel. If I didn’t have something to do, I would feel that way, too. Why don’t you try some needlework? I have more that I can share with you.”

  Angelina shook her head. “You know how hopeless I am at things like that.”

  Her aunt put her handiwork in a basket by her feet. “There is a bookshelf on that wall. Is there anything on it you want to read? It might take your mind off our plight.”

  “I haven’t wanted to touch those books because they belong to that man.” Angelina walked over to the shelf and read the spines. “But there are some interesting volumes here.”

  Before she could reach for one, a key scratched in the lock. Angelina stepped back to stand beside where her aunt was sitting.

  When Angelina saw Brian in the doorway, she couldn’t keep from smiling. His presence made their horrible situation more pleasant.

  The French giant had not bothered them since that first day. So she was surprised to see him enter the cabin behind Brian. Angelina quickly turned her attention to the man in front.

  “Etienne Badeau asked me to tell you that he has made arrangements for you to go out on deck at least once every day.” Brian smiled at the women. “I will accompany you.”

  The Frenchman’s voice filled the room. Although Angelina had always liked the cadence of the language, it was hard to keep from shuddering at the sound.

  “He wants you to be comfortable,” Brian translated.

  Angelina felt like telling the pirate that if he wanted them to be comfortable, he shouldn’t have attacked her father’s ship.

  Once again, French words rolled around her.

  Brian cleared his throat. “He wants to know if there’s anything else you need.”

  To be set free. . .To never have to see the man’s face again. . .To see my father. . .To have the last few days never have happened. Angelina could think of many things she needed, and none of them included the awful pirate who smiled at her with a gleam in his eyes—and from his gold tooth.

  Five

  Brian glanced up at Angelina from his seat on an overturned wooden bucket. She looked so beautiful with the wind kissing her cheeks, giving them a rosy color, and with the blue sky as a background.

  She stood with her back to the railing, her forearms extended along the top. Her hands held the protective barrier so tightly, her knuckles turned white. “Do you think my father knows his ship has been destroyed?”

  “I don’t know.” He ran his hand through his hair, pushing the too-long curls out of his eyes. If they ever got out of this dilemma, he would look for a barber to trim his hair and to get rid of this beard that made his face itch. “He might just think we’ve run into bad weather that slowed us down. . .unless someone comes across the debris.” His words weren’t comforting, but it was the best he could do right now.

  Angelina sighed. “I don’t want him to think I’ve been killed.”

  He might think you’ve been kidnapped. Brian didn’t want to give Angelina more to worry about, so he refrained from voicing that thought.

  The winds had been capricious that day. Early in the morning, they blew at almost gale strength, skimming the schooner across the waves at a fast clip. But now the air was still. Brian noticed the sails shifting, trying to harness any breath of wind. The captain knew what he was doing, but all his efforts were in vain. The ship moved only slightly. The surface of the ocean was almost as smooth as a looking glass, with the few fluffy clouds overhead reflecting in it. He hoped this calm wouldn’t put Badeau in a bad mood. On more than one occasion, Brian had heard the man bellow at the sailors. He hoped the women hadn’t noticed. When the pirate captain was angry, he reminded Brian of a lion he’d heard roaring the one time he visited Africa. The sound brought fear to the hearts of every man who heard it.

  Angelina sat beside her aunt, then turned toward Brian. “Do you have any idea where we are?”

  He had tried to sidestep that question in the past, but after scratching his beard a moment, he answered her as honestly as he could. “I’m pretty sure we’re heading west. . .or northwest across the Gulf of Mexico.”

  “Where will that take us?”

  Brian rested his arms on his thighs and clasped his hands between his knees. “I don’t know for sure what Badeau has in mind. But I think we might be heading for New Orleans.”

  Angelina’s eyes widened. “Isn’t that in the wilderness?”

  Brian straightened, then stood. “If we go farther west, we’ll be in Mexican territory. And that might be worse than New Orleans.”

  The women shivered at his words.

  “Angelina,” Brian said, “tell me why you went to Spain.” He knew the answer, but if he could get her to talk about pleasant things, maybe he could rid her mind of the dark thoughts that brought deep shadows to her eyes.

  While they talked, heavy clouds scudded across the horizon and piled up in the sky not far behind them. When thunder rumbled and lightning split the clouds, Walter took the women to the cabin so the men could return to the deck.

  The sails billowed and flapped in the driving wind. Though the ship moved faster, they couldn’t outrun the storm. The pirates brought down the sails to keep the ship from capsizing. Soon after, torrents of rain battered the vessel. As soon as he could take a quick break from his work, Walter took Brian back to his cell.

  Down in the brig, Brian felt the waves pound the hull as it bobbed up and down on the crests and troughs of the angry sea. With nothing to hold on to in this dark hole, he was tossed from wall to wall. Finally, he snagged the bars in the door. Gripping with all his might, he leaned his head against the cold metal, pulling as close to the wood as possible to anchor his body.

  “Father God, please protect the women. Calm their fears.” Brian’s heart ached within his chest, knowing how frightening it was to be on a ship in a severe storm. These strong winds could be part of a hurricane. If so, this ship might be doomed. He continued to cry out to God from the bottom of his heart.

  ❧

  Angelina had never been on a ship in a storm this bad. Everything in the captain’s cabin was anchored to the floor, but the heavy trunks containing their personal effects slid partway across the floor with each movement of the vessel. Almost unable to stay on her feet, Angelina looked around the room, trying to find a safe place.

  Aunt Elena clambered into the bed. “Mi ángel,” she called above the fury of the storm, “come here.”

  After Angelina slid onto the mattress, her companion raised the railing and struggled to lock it into place. Angelina hadn’t noticed the railing before, thinking the wooden bars to be just a decoration on the side of the bed.

  “We should be safe here.” Aunt Elena pulled Angelina into her arms and leaned against the wall.

  The two women rolled from one side of the bed to the other. Water lapped against the portholes, often covering the glass completely for minutes at a time. Were they going to die here on this ship?

  “O my God, I trust in thee: let me not be ashamed, let not mine enemies triumph over me.” Aunt Elena repeated the words Angelina had taught her during the pirate attack.

  How could Angelina forget that God had watched over them so far? He had protected them from harm by the pirates, and He co
uld save them from this storm. But how much more would they have to endure before He finally rescued them?

  The women grabbed rungs in the railing to keep from being thrown against the walls. Angelina hoped the latches wouldn’t pull out of the planks. She lost track of time while the storm battered the ship. Several times she thought the wind might break it into a million pieces.

  ❧

  When the storm finally abated, Brian’s arms felt sore, almost as if they’d been pulled from their sockets. His shoulders ached, and his body was battered and bruised. He would be sore for several days from the beating he’d endured from the storm. He wondered how the women had fared.

  “It’s time to take down the Jolly Roger.”

  The words, spoken by a sailor outside his cell, startled Brian. Why were they taking down the flag with the skull and crossbones? Was that how Badeau hid his identity when he was in port? Were they close to land? Brian wished his dark room had a porthole so he could look outside.

  When Walter came to get Brian for the midday meal with the women, Brian was able to see where they were as they crossed the ship’s deck. Not far in front of the ship, he saw a large gulf filled with muddy brown water.

  “What river is that?” Brian asked Walter.

  “The Mississippi.”

  Brian studied the thick forest that lined the banks. The underbrush could hide anything—wild animals, marauders, other pirates. He’d heard about how wide the mouth of the Mississippi was but had never seen the amazing thing with this own eyes. “Have you been here many times before?”

  “We come here all the time,” Walter said. “Badeau’s plantation is upriver a ways from New Orleans.”

  They reached the door to the cabin, and Brian knocked before Walter inserted the key in the lock. “Will Badeau stop in New Orleans this time?”