Page 92 of Storm over the Caribbean
Boooom!
The thunderous roar of the explosion, no, thecannon shot, echoed all over the island. Mr Rikkard Ambrose froze, his hand halfway to touching me. His icy eyes found mine, pinning me to the spot.
“Mrs Ambrose?”
“Yes, Mr Ambrose, Sir?”
“Am I having a relapse into auditory hallucinations from the poison?”
“No.” Shaking my head, I rose to my feet. “No, you most definitely are not.”
“I thought as much.” Pushing himself up in a single, smooth move, he let his eyes sweep over the island. For a moment, we simply stood there, tense and waiting, until…
Booom!
At the second cannon shot, Mr Rikkard Ambrose’s head whirled around. His hand shot up, pointing down the hillside and towards the shore.
“Over there!”
“Holy…” Hope rising inside me, I stared in the direction he pointed in—a direction that was completely blocked by jungle. “Do you think it could be Karim trying to get our attention?”
“I don’t know.” Eyes narrowed infinitesimally, Mr Rikkard Ambrose eyed the distant wisps of smoke rising beyond the trees. “But if it is, I will have a thing or two to say to him about the current market price of gunpowder.” Whirling around, he strode off. For a moment, I thought he was heading back into the cave—but no. He was striding along the bottom of the cliff, until he reached a slanting ledge that led up to the top. “Let’s get a closer look, shall we?”
In a blink, he was already halfway up the cliff. I hurried after him, huffing and puffing, my heart racing—and not just because I was running faster than I probably should. Could it really be Karim? Could it really be that we would be getting off this island soon?
Not that I’d complain about some more private time with a scantily dressed Mr Rikkard Ambrose. But after several days of unseasoned food and nights spent sleeping on a cave floor, I was starting to realize there were aspects of island life that weren’t quite as idyllic as I had imagined. Well…if I wanted some more private time with my all-time favourite skinflint, I could always wait till we’re on board a ship, lock him in a cabin with me and throw the key out of a porthole.
I filed that amazing plan away for later and sped up my steps. Soon, I reached the top of the cliff, panting. That had been no more than a few dozen yards, and I was already sweating. Bloody pregnancy!
Exhausted as I was, it took me a moment to realize that Mr Rikkard Ambrose stood frozen at the top of the cliff, staring down at the endless ocean. Staring at something on the horizon. Instantly, my eyes flicked to where he was looking. There, in thedistance, where the sky met the sea, I could make out a faint speck of white. Far too close to sea level to be a cloud. No, these were…sails?
“A ship?” I punched the air. “A ship! Yay!”
“Mrs Ambrose? Look closer.”
“What do you mean? It’s definitely a ship! Karim is coming! Karim is comi—”
“Look. Closer.”
I opened my mouth to retort—but instead narrowed my eyes, squinting at the distant vessel. What did he mean? The ship was closer now, but it was still rather difficult to make out. I could only vaguely see the main body, the sails above, and the flag fluttering at the very top.
Theblackflag.
I swallowed. “That…isn’t Karim.”
“Indeed.”
“Um…do you know any country with black flags?”
“Several. But none like this, Mrs Ambrose.”
“L-like that?” I squinted harder. It was still difficult to make out, but…
That white shape almost looked like a skull. A skull and crossbones.
I swallowed once again. “Definitelynot Karim.”
Booom!
