Page 11 of The Scandal of the Deceived Duchess
“I had a dream and not a nightmare and this is a bleedin’ nightmare…what if the ship sinks and we are still on it? I can’t even swim, Amelia.”
Anna was becoming hysterical. Amelia had to do something. “Come, Anna, let’s lie down on the bunk and close our eyes.”
Anna took her time to make up her mind. At last, she nodded and let herself be guided. When they lay down, Amelia started to pray. “Lighten our darkness, we beseech thee, O Lord; and by thy great mercy defend us from all perils and dangers of this night; for the love of thy only Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ.Amen.”
The two women repeated the words again and again. Amelia did not know for how long they prayed together, holding each other as if they were lovers. She had no time to blame her mother and father; she had no time to think of Airey Templeton French. All of her senses and thoughts were for one thing only: would they survive.
“Listen, it is over,” said Anna, wiggling out of Amelia’s embrace a little. “There’s hardly a sound.”
Amelia listened hard. All she could hear was the usual creak of the timbers and the sound of the draft as it hissed down the gangway beyond. “You’re right…” What she wanted to say next stuck to her tongue like congealed fat to a skillet. “All that’s left is for us to find out who won.”
As if in slow motion, Anna turned to face her. The expression on her face was one of abject fear “I never thought of that.”
They remained in silence for what seemed like an eternity as they tried to hear something that might explain their predicament more clearly. Then came the sound of heavy footsteps. They came in their direction without faltering. A heavy-set figure marched past the doorway to their cabin.
“He hasn’t seen us,” whispered Anna.
“He could be English,” said Amelia. “Shall I go and have a look.” She in no way felt as brave as her words suggested. Anna shook her head vehemently and grabbed her more forcefully.
They heard more footsteps. The onetime silence was replaced by a heightened sense of urgency. Shouts, curses and more shouts scudded down toward them from the deck up above. The two women exchanged glances. It would have been easier had the enemy been French or Spanish because then they would have been able to hear who was giving the orders. In this case, anything coherent that made its way down to their cabin was in English.
“Well, well, well, what do we have ‘ere?”
Amelia and Anna snapped their heads in the direction of the newcomer’s voice. Standing in the doorframe was one of the largest men they had ever seen. His face was crisscrossed with scars, some of which glowed in a sort of purple hue. He grinned at them. Surprisingly, he still had all of his teeth. He had brown hair and piercing blue eyes that could kill on the spot.
Yet, despite his ferocious countenance, Amelia detected kindness in those eyes. The spindly web of wrinkles around them spoke of much laughter and gaiety. Was this a killer? Yes, probably. But, he was also a man with dreams, a heart and she assumed a great sense of humor. On the spot, Amelia decided that he was ten times the man Lord Airey Templeton French was. “Good afternoon, ladies.” He offered a rather comical bow. “My name’s First Lieutenant Jake Farrows and I am at your service.” His accent was strange. It still had something of the Home Counties to it, but it was diluted with something else. Amelia’s mother would refer to it as colonial. “What’s the matter? Do I scareye?” He guffawed.
Jake looked down. “Oh, I see.” He quickly wiped the blade of his sword that was still dripping with blood on the fabric of his breeches that were equally stained and sheathed it. “That’s better. Sorry about that. We had a bit of a fight up there. It’s all good now…you can come with me.” He held out a calloused and grimy hand and smiled again.
“Take us where?” asked Amelia.
“To my captain of course. He will know what to do withye.”
“Oh, I see,” said Amelia who had had her back pressed against the planking of the ship up until now. She gradually tried to slide off the bed. It was not possible. She had to sooth Anna for a moment who would not let go of her.
“Don’t worry, young lady. The captain won’t hurtye…purrs as a kitten, he does,” said Jake kindly.
“What about you?” Amelia was still suspicious of the huge man who had hands the size of plates. If he wanted to, he could crush a woman’s skull with them.
“Ol’Jakeain’t gonnahurt anyone. All the hurting’s been done already.” He hooted laughter again. “Come on.” When he saw Anna’s reluctance, he walked up to her. “I understand; a pretty girl likeyemust have been scared with all that shooting and swordplay up andabouts’. Letol’Jake giveyea hand.”
Anna recoiled. Amelia still wasn’t sure what to make of him. Conflicting emotions coursed through her. Should she hit him on the head with the stool in the corner of the cabin? She discounted that notion the moment it came to mind. Jake’s skull would probably shatter the sturdy piece of furniture like a feeble twig on a stone.
But to her surprise, she didn’t need to. Miraculously, the burly seaman had lifted Anna into his arms and carried her as if he were going to step over the threshold of their new home. “Watchyerhead, blossom. It gets awful tight inside a frigate.Yewill feel a lot more comfortable on board theTriton. We have far more space than on this old tub.”
“TheTriton?” asked Amelia.
“Aye, that’s our ship. The captain’s very proud of her too,” said Jake, carefully maneuvering his precious cargo out of the cabin. He took a few moments to study Anna’s shivering frame. “Yeare mighty pretty, lass,” he crooned.
“Might I have the name of your captain?” asked Amelia, completely abashed by the huge sailor’s mellifluous manner.
“Captain Jonathan Mitchell,” said Jake, at the same time whispering some more soothing words to Anna.
“He wouldn’t happen to be Black Joe, would he?” Amelia shuddered by just mentioning the name.
“Aye, one and the same. You English sure did come up with a strange name for him. He’s the nicest man I know and the greatest of friends. You’ll see.” With those words, he vanished up the stairway and through the door above. “Yecoming?” he shouted.
Amelia did not share his enthusiasm in the least. But she had no choice. She would have to face the captain at one point or another, and she would be damned if she left poor Anna at that pirate’s mercy no matter how sweet she was told he was.
