Page 148 of Storm over the Caribbean
“You were saying?”
“…I don’t know how that ended up there.”
“Sure, sure.” I patted his cheek, mentally going through the list of costume shops I knew back home. Hm…where would I find a nice eyepatch? “Now why don’t we join the nice pirates for some feasting, carousing, and singing about drunken sailors?”31
“That does sound rather…”
“…nice?”
“…adequate.”
“Of course.”
“But—!” One of Mr Ambrose’s fingers shot up as he sent me an icy glower. “No carousing for you. None whatsoever.”
His hand lowered, coming to rest gently on my belly. My own hand covered his, squeezing his fingers. “Agreed.”
He extended his other hand for me to take. “Shall we go?”
I cocked an eyebrow. “And let the pirates see us holding hands?”
“No need for them to see. We’ll walk slowly.”
“And waste time?”
His deep, dark, sea-coloured eyes bored straight into my soul. “Some things are not a waste of time.”
And together, we slowly sauntered down the path.
***
On a certain ship, under a certain tarpaulin…
The icy night wind whistled over the deck, tugging at the end of a beard that stuck out from underneath the tarp. From beside the beard, the chattering of teeth sounded.
“M-M-M-Mr Karim, S-sir?”
“Yes?”
“A-a-are you s-sure they will come?”
“Trust me, Iknowthat pirate bastard is coming for us. Back when we were leaving the harbour, I could almostfeelhim close. He’s probably racing to catch up to us as we speak.”
Introducing…Captain Rockface!
I had once read in a book that Edward Teach, also known as Blackbeard, had been the most successful, ruthless and fearsome pirate in all of history. The book was wrong.
The most fearsome pirate in history didnothave a beard, black or otherwise. Not even after weeks spent shipwrecked on a deserted island. Oh no. Somehow, he had managed to keep his chiselled chin pristinely clean-shaven. His hair had grown a little longer, strands of black falling into his icy eyes, but somehow, it only made him look irresistible than before.
“Aboard, men!” Rikkard Ambrose roared, stabbing his sabre into the air. “Aboard! We have a new target! We have new loot to claim! Onward!”
A thunderous cheer erupted from the pirates spread out all over the beach. Their numbers had grown considerably during the past few weeks. Repeated raids on all kinds of ships, many of which were transporting slaves to various colonies, had seen the ranks of his crew expand explosively. Suffice it to say that Captain Rockface wasverypopular.
Except with the Navy. They didn’t like him at all for some reason.
“Board the ship and raise the anchor!” Leaping from his impromptu podium made of barrels, Mr Ambrose gestured for his minions to go ahead. “I’ll be with you in a moment, and we shall sail to victory!”
“Aye aye, Captain Rockface!” the crowd roared, followed by another round of cheers.
