Usual disclaimers. look, aren't you used to this by now! I don't own him
however much I'd like to!
On a more serious note I'd like to especially thank Mulberry for being my proof-reader and my sounding-board for this story. Without her it would have ended a long time ago.
Thanks my dear! xxxxx
This story starts a few weeks after the end of The Frenchman's Revenge and is the fourth story in a series. If you haven't read the first three then most if not all of this will make little sense. If you have read all three then thank you for hanging in there on this! You reviewers are the best!
***
Thomas Spense stared at the letter in disbelief, pacing before the fireplace angrily. He was furious that Theodore had not even had the courtesy to return to Port Royal to inform him to his face but had sent the news in a brief, and somewhat terse, letter. If the news was to be believed, his daughter, Mary, had been marooned with her pirate lover and despite extensive searching for her by the Black Pearl was to be presumed dead.
Rosamund looked at her husband warily, placing her needlework beside her on the settee. Thomas had been behaving strangely lately, as if an intense anger burned within, and she was very worried about him. "Thomas?" she asked cautiously. "What is the matter? It is not bad news, is it?"
Silently he handed her the letter, barely giving her time to grasp the paper before resuming his pacing. He watched her face as she read. Rosamund gasped in disbelief, her hand flying to her mouth. "No!" she gasped. "It cannot be!"
"I will see the Commodore immediately," he informed her, "and I will insist that the HMS Gauntlet is readied and that a thorough search for our daughter is made. I refuse to believe the word of Groves and that pirate that she is dead!" He looked at his wife as she started to cry. "And I will demand that the Commodore himself leads the search... we will find her, I promise you Rosamund," he vowed, adding silently to himself that he would have revenge on the Sparrows for he was sure that somehow everything was their fault.
***
Davit Lucon floated helplessly as he had for the last two days, the small piece of wood barely enough to keep him from the water. Pirates had struck the small trader that he had been working on five days out of Nassau and now he floated somewhere south of Jamaica. It had been an English ship, but the Captain had been good enough to judge him on his abilities and not nationality - and he had needed the job. He snorted at the irony of it all - an English ship sunk by English pirates. Davit looked up, his ears catching the gentle flap of canvas in the wind and was surprised to see a small fishing boat heading towards him. He waved frantically, clinging onto the wood with one hand. They had seen him - he was rescued! Strong arms hauled him onboard. "Merci," he gasped. "Merci."
"He's a bleedin' Frog!" one of the crew muttered.
"No man deserves to die like that Wilson! We'll hand him over to the fort and they can decide what to do with him! We aren't at war with the French at the moment... I think?" the Captain of the small boat frowned. He had given up long ago trying to remember who was at war with whom within the Caribbean, and as long as they left him alone to fish and make his living he did not care.
Davit held his tongue, only muttering another "Merci" as they handed him a rough wooden beaker with some water. He gulped the water for although it was warm he savoured its sweetness. He did not ask for more, aware that too much would be bad for him in his exhaustion. He lay quietly in the prow of the boat, trying to keep out of the way of the fisherman as they saw to their nets. Let the stupid English think he could not understand them - unguarded tongues often let snippets of value slip without even realising it. He watched as the men hauled in their catch of brightly coloured reef fish - wrasse, snappers and even a young sea turtle, listening distractedly when he suddenly heard the name of Sparrow.
"Do you think he'll come back?" one of the crew asked - he thought it was the one called Wilson but he could not be sure.
"Not if the Governor has anything to do with it! I saw it - the whole thing! Sparrow held a pistol to him and told him to keep off his ship!" the Captain laughed.
"Damn, I wish I'd seen that!" another of the crew sighed. "Be nice to see him taken down a peg or two, the pompous snob!"
"Yeah, well you don't board a man's ship without his permission, even if you are the Governor!" the Captain laughed. "And this man wants these fish off his boat and sold on the quay before they spoil!"
At this the crew muttered "Aye Captain," and raised their small anchor, setting their sails for home - Port Royal.
***
Governor Thomas Spense sat in the Commodore's office, staring uncertainly at the man that had been brought before him. He had taken upon himself to see to the running of things in the absence of Commodore Norrington who had taken the HMS Gauntlet eastwards to search for his daughter Mary. "And you say the ship you were serving on was the Norwich Swift?" he frowned. "But you are French!"
"Oui Governor. An English ship with a good captain who cared more for skill than nation. But then the pirates that struck us were English too, so perhaps he had the right idea," Davit Lucon said assuredly.
"You are certain of this?" the Governor inhaled sharply. "English?"
"I am sure," he confirmed, wondering if he could use the information from the fishing boat to his advantage in any way.
"Can you describe the ship?" Thomas Spense ventured in the hope that it would help ascertain who the attackers had been.
"If you wish, although I could describe it however you liked me to," Davit suggested cautiously.
Thomas Spense looked sharply at the Frenchman and sat unspeaking for a long time. "What are you suggesting?" Thomas Spense finally frowned.
"Well, I could say that it might have been a dark ship with black sails..." he smiled as he saw the spark of interest and sudden understanding in the Governor's eyes. "For a price..."
"You would sign a statement to that effect?" he tried to keep the excitement from his voice, but it shone clearly from his eyes.
David Lucon smiled. "Honesty is rarely profitable Governor. You have your agenda, I have mine... and for the right price we might help each other..." he offered bluntly.
"And what would that price be?" Thomas Spense had the feeling that this statement was going to be a costly business, but he felt that any price would be acceptable if it meant he could rid himself of the Sparrows.
"For two hundred gold pieces I will even say a dark haired man with plaits and a red haired woman led the attack..." he offered.
"And what is your connection to Sparrow?" the Governor demanded for the man clearly knew them from his description. "I would know the truth before we go any further..."
Davit Lucon shrugged. "Our paths have crossed, both him and his wife, although I am no pirate." He looked shrewdly at the Governor, noting his flushed excited face. "But for the right amount of money I'd say and do whatever you want..." He left his offer hanging, watching as the Governor rose and walked over to the window, staring down at the yard in silence.
"Whatever I want?" Thomas Spense eventually said, his decision reached and inner turmoil quashed.
"Oui - but anything more than a statement would cost you more..." he smiled.
"I understand. If you wish to be my man you will be leaving on the first available ship to Port au Prince. Send word to me as soon as you have found passage. I will take your statement today, but hold it until you sail for your own safety. If you need to take lodgings, do not speak of the Black Pearl to anyone," Thomas Spense urged, keeping his voice low.
"And what exactly is it that you require of me?" Davit asked, wondering what he was getting into, but willing to risk it if it gave him his revenge against the Sparrows.
"My granddaughter - I wish her to be returned from Port au Prince where she has been taken by her father - Theodore Groves." His eyes narrowed and he all but spat the name of his son-in-law.
Davit frowned, the name meaning nothing to him. "Groves?" he puzzled. "Who is he?"
"Groves is the Sparrow woman's brother. I care not what you do to him, but I want my granddaughter returned to me safely!" He reached into his purse, drawing forth a handful of coins which he slid across the mahogany desk towards the Frenchman. "Buy yourself a meal and arrange your passage as soon as possible," he advised, handing him a sheet of paper and a quill.
"I cannot write..." Davit stammered, embarrassed.
The Governor frowned. This would mean that whatever was written would have to be witnessed for he could not write it himself and pass judgement too. "Then it is best you find passage quickly," he ordered. "Return when you have done so for one of the clerks to write your statement. I will be waiting her for you..." he assured him. "With the money..."
"And the other job... your granddaughter..." Davit pressed.
"Payment on completion - I assure you that the money you will receive will be more than generous," Thomas Spense smiled graciously.
"Five hundred..." Davit demanded.
"You jest!" Thomas Spense stuttered in shock.
"No Governor. Once I give you Sparrow I will be a marked man in Port Royal - returning will be dangerous... as you yourself warned only a few minutes ago." He smiled assuredly. "Five hundred for the child or I make no statement..."
Thomas Spense sighed heavily. "It may take me some time to amass that amount of gold without it looking suspicious..."
"That is alright Governor - it may take me some time to find your granddaughter..." Davit Lucon rose, the chair scraping along the stone floor as he pushed it back. "I will find passage first and then I will eat." He stood by the door, his hand on the latch. "Two hundred gold... before dusk."
"It will be here - as will I," Thomas Spense assured him. He had waited a long time for his revenge up on the Sparrows, and he would not miss it for anything.
***
On a more serious note I'd like to especially thank Mulberry for being my proof-reader and my sounding-board for this story. Without her it would have ended a long time ago.
Thanks my dear! xxxxx
This story starts a few weeks after the end of The Frenchman's Revenge and is the fourth story in a series. If you haven't read the first three then most if not all of this will make little sense. If you have read all three then thank you for hanging in there on this! You reviewers are the best!
***
Thomas Spense stared at the letter in disbelief, pacing before the fireplace angrily. He was furious that Theodore had not even had the courtesy to return to Port Royal to inform him to his face but had sent the news in a brief, and somewhat terse, letter. If the news was to be believed, his daughter, Mary, had been marooned with her pirate lover and despite extensive searching for her by the Black Pearl was to be presumed dead.
Rosamund looked at her husband warily, placing her needlework beside her on the settee. Thomas had been behaving strangely lately, as if an intense anger burned within, and she was very worried about him. "Thomas?" she asked cautiously. "What is the matter? It is not bad news, is it?"
Silently he handed her the letter, barely giving her time to grasp the paper before resuming his pacing. He watched her face as she read. Rosamund gasped in disbelief, her hand flying to her mouth. "No!" she gasped. "It cannot be!"
"I will see the Commodore immediately," he informed her, "and I will insist that the HMS Gauntlet is readied and that a thorough search for our daughter is made. I refuse to believe the word of Groves and that pirate that she is dead!" He looked at his wife as she started to cry. "And I will demand that the Commodore himself leads the search... we will find her, I promise you Rosamund," he vowed, adding silently to himself that he would have revenge on the Sparrows for he was sure that somehow everything was their fault.
***
Davit Lucon floated helplessly as he had for the last two days, the small piece of wood barely enough to keep him from the water. Pirates had struck the small trader that he had been working on five days out of Nassau and now he floated somewhere south of Jamaica. It had been an English ship, but the Captain had been good enough to judge him on his abilities and not nationality - and he had needed the job. He snorted at the irony of it all - an English ship sunk by English pirates. Davit looked up, his ears catching the gentle flap of canvas in the wind and was surprised to see a small fishing boat heading towards him. He waved frantically, clinging onto the wood with one hand. They had seen him - he was rescued! Strong arms hauled him onboard. "Merci," he gasped. "Merci."
"He's a bleedin' Frog!" one of the crew muttered.
"No man deserves to die like that Wilson! We'll hand him over to the fort and they can decide what to do with him! We aren't at war with the French at the moment... I think?" the Captain of the small boat frowned. He had given up long ago trying to remember who was at war with whom within the Caribbean, and as long as they left him alone to fish and make his living he did not care.
Davit held his tongue, only muttering another "Merci" as they handed him a rough wooden beaker with some water. He gulped the water for although it was warm he savoured its sweetness. He did not ask for more, aware that too much would be bad for him in his exhaustion. He lay quietly in the prow of the boat, trying to keep out of the way of the fisherman as they saw to their nets. Let the stupid English think he could not understand them - unguarded tongues often let snippets of value slip without even realising it. He watched as the men hauled in their catch of brightly coloured reef fish - wrasse, snappers and even a young sea turtle, listening distractedly when he suddenly heard the name of Sparrow.
"Do you think he'll come back?" one of the crew asked - he thought it was the one called Wilson but he could not be sure.
"Not if the Governor has anything to do with it! I saw it - the whole thing! Sparrow held a pistol to him and told him to keep off his ship!" the Captain laughed.
"Damn, I wish I'd seen that!" another of the crew sighed. "Be nice to see him taken down a peg or two, the pompous snob!"
"Yeah, well you don't board a man's ship without his permission, even if you are the Governor!" the Captain laughed. "And this man wants these fish off his boat and sold on the quay before they spoil!"
At this the crew muttered "Aye Captain," and raised their small anchor, setting their sails for home - Port Royal.
***
Governor Thomas Spense sat in the Commodore's office, staring uncertainly at the man that had been brought before him. He had taken upon himself to see to the running of things in the absence of Commodore Norrington who had taken the HMS Gauntlet eastwards to search for his daughter Mary. "And you say the ship you were serving on was the Norwich Swift?" he frowned. "But you are French!"
"Oui Governor. An English ship with a good captain who cared more for skill than nation. But then the pirates that struck us were English too, so perhaps he had the right idea," Davit Lucon said assuredly.
"You are certain of this?" the Governor inhaled sharply. "English?"
"I am sure," he confirmed, wondering if he could use the information from the fishing boat to his advantage in any way.
"Can you describe the ship?" Thomas Spense ventured in the hope that it would help ascertain who the attackers had been.
"If you wish, although I could describe it however you liked me to," Davit suggested cautiously.
Thomas Spense looked sharply at the Frenchman and sat unspeaking for a long time. "What are you suggesting?" Thomas Spense finally frowned.
"Well, I could say that it might have been a dark ship with black sails..." he smiled as he saw the spark of interest and sudden understanding in the Governor's eyes. "For a price..."
"You would sign a statement to that effect?" he tried to keep the excitement from his voice, but it shone clearly from his eyes.
David Lucon smiled. "Honesty is rarely profitable Governor. You have your agenda, I have mine... and for the right price we might help each other..." he offered bluntly.
"And what would that price be?" Thomas Spense had the feeling that this statement was going to be a costly business, but he felt that any price would be acceptable if it meant he could rid himself of the Sparrows.
"For two hundred gold pieces I will even say a dark haired man with plaits and a red haired woman led the attack..." he offered.
"And what is your connection to Sparrow?" the Governor demanded for the man clearly knew them from his description. "I would know the truth before we go any further..."
Davit Lucon shrugged. "Our paths have crossed, both him and his wife, although I am no pirate." He looked shrewdly at the Governor, noting his flushed excited face. "But for the right amount of money I'd say and do whatever you want..." He left his offer hanging, watching as the Governor rose and walked over to the window, staring down at the yard in silence.
"Whatever I want?" Thomas Spense eventually said, his decision reached and inner turmoil quashed.
"Oui - but anything more than a statement would cost you more..." he smiled.
"I understand. If you wish to be my man you will be leaving on the first available ship to Port au Prince. Send word to me as soon as you have found passage. I will take your statement today, but hold it until you sail for your own safety. If you need to take lodgings, do not speak of the Black Pearl to anyone," Thomas Spense urged, keeping his voice low.
"And what exactly is it that you require of me?" Davit asked, wondering what he was getting into, but willing to risk it if it gave him his revenge against the Sparrows.
"My granddaughter - I wish her to be returned from Port au Prince where she has been taken by her father - Theodore Groves." His eyes narrowed and he all but spat the name of his son-in-law.
Davit frowned, the name meaning nothing to him. "Groves?" he puzzled. "Who is he?"
"Groves is the Sparrow woman's brother. I care not what you do to him, but I want my granddaughter returned to me safely!" He reached into his purse, drawing forth a handful of coins which he slid across the mahogany desk towards the Frenchman. "Buy yourself a meal and arrange your passage as soon as possible," he advised, handing him a sheet of paper and a quill.
"I cannot write..." Davit stammered, embarrassed.
The Governor frowned. This would mean that whatever was written would have to be witnessed for he could not write it himself and pass judgement too. "Then it is best you find passage quickly," he ordered. "Return when you have done so for one of the clerks to write your statement. I will be waiting her for you..." he assured him. "With the money..."
"And the other job... your granddaughter..." Davit pressed.
"Payment on completion - I assure you that the money you will receive will be more than generous," Thomas Spense smiled graciously.
"Five hundred..." Davit demanded.
"You jest!" Thomas Spense stuttered in shock.
"No Governor. Once I give you Sparrow I will be a marked man in Port Royal - returning will be dangerous... as you yourself warned only a few minutes ago." He smiled assuredly. "Five hundred for the child or I make no statement..."
Thomas Spense sighed heavily. "It may take me some time to amass that amount of gold without it looking suspicious..."
"That is alright Governor - it may take me some time to find your granddaughter..." Davit Lucon rose, the chair scraping along the stone floor as he pushed it back. "I will find passage first and then I will eat." He stood by the door, his hand on the latch. "Two hundred gold... before dusk."
"It will be here - as will I," Thomas Spense assured him. He had waited a long time for his revenge up on the Sparrows, and he would not miss it for anything.
***