Page 94 of Storm over the Caribbean
“That still doesn’t explain why we’d want to go down there?” I hissed. “It might be bloody hard to avoid them, but we sure as hell won’t be safer if we run straight into their arms!”
“True. But consider this: how large is this small island really? And how many pirates do you see down there?”
I swallowed. “One hundred? Two hundred?”
“Three hundred and seventy-four, Mrs Ambrose.”
He’d already counted them?
Of coursehe’d already counted them. He was Mr Rikkard Ambrose! Rather, I should be surprised if he hadn’t alreadycounted their purses and judged their contents on approximate size.
But that wasn’t really the issue right now.
“Three hundred and seventy-four?”
He nodded grimly. “Indeed. And once they get hungry, they’ll be swarming all over this island. So instead of waiting to get caught, why not go down there now?”
“And what?” I cocked a sceptical eyebrow. “Hope that pirates will be merciful?”
“No. Join up.”
This time, Ididbite my tongue.
“What?”
“Join up. I donotlike to repeat myself, Mrs Ambrose.”
“I heard what you said! I just couldn’t quite believe my ears. Did you really just say we shouldjoin a pirate crew?”
He nodded. “Indeed. After all, nobody would suspect the very man they’ve been hunting all this time to approach them willingly.”
“Yes. Nobody would. Because it’sbloody stupid!”
“Exactly. And since I am obviously not stupid, nobody would expect me to do such a thing.”
I wanted to bang my head against the wall. The only thing that stopped me was the lack of a wall, and the fact that banginghishead against a wall was an even more tempting prospect.
“Dicky, my darling,” I said sweetly, “Are you sure those drugs have left your system already? Because in my humble opinion…”
“Shh!”
With one raised finger, he cut me off abruptly.
I frowned. “What…?”
“Quiet!”
In a blink, his hand was clamped over my mouth and we were on the ground, kneeling in the underbrush. I was about to forcea mumbled question through his fingers when, over the edge of the cliff, I saw something move.
I froze.
“…hear that?” came a gruff voice from below. “I could swear it was coming from up the cliff.”
“I didn’t hear nothing.”
I crouched there, completely unmoving, as I stared at the two figures below. They didn’t look anything like the mental image people had of pirates. No sabres. No black hats with skulls and crossbones. Nonetheless, the moment I laid eyes on them, I knew what they were. I knew from how their eyes swept the underbrush, predators searching for prey. I knew from the callous look in their eyes that made clear they’d just as soon hunt people.
“But I did hear something, I swear!” Pirate number one raised his head, and quickly, I ducked farther into the underbrush. “Should we go up and see if there’s something nice and juicy for us to catch?”
