A/N ~Hey guys!
This is gonna be the last chapter I'm posting for a while cause I'm going on holiday tomorrow to Finland for 4 weeks and I'm staying in a little remote log cabin that has no electricity, or running water... (fun..) But yeah so I won't be able to carry on posting until I get back. So I leave this with you and hope you enjoy!
Let me know what you think my dearest readers, I love to hear from you!
Chapter 12: The Act of Piracy
BPOV
The next morn when I woke and left my cabin, dressed in my skirts as directed by Carlisle, I found Edward waiting for me. He took my hand, placing a chaste kiss on my knuckles.
"Good morning Bella." He said before he turned and lead me up onto the main deck.
His family were all assembled outside Carlisle's cabin, where we were all meeting to have.
"Edward, Bella,"
"Father," Edward murmured in return to Carlisle's greeting.
"Now we are all here, let's eat. I have a lot of information I need to relay to you." Carlisle said turning and leading the way into the cabin. Once we were all seated and our plates pile with the freshly prepared food Carlisle began.
"As you know we are only a day away from New York. Hopefully we should be able to make berth there by this evening. Now if that is the case, in the morning we are to split up into our retrospective couples and scout out prospective banks. We will then meet up at thirteen hundred hours at an agreed meeting point, preferably somewhere that serves food. These kinds of things always make me hungry." He chuckled darkly.
"There we will discuss the banks we have found and agree upon the one we shall hit. Then at fourteen hundred hours we shall return to the bank we have agreed upon and demand a tour of the vaults and the building, claiming that we want to make sure that the bank is secure enough for us to leave a sizable deposit with them. We might actually need to deposit some money, but I'm hoping to avoid that. Emmett whilst we are having our tour I want you to look at the security and how we can bypass it, as easily and as quietly as possible. That means no more explosions." Carlisle said looking sternly at Emmett. Emmett seems very disappointed to be denied the opportunity to use explosives and create some noise. I looked at Edward confused and he leant in close to whisper down my ear.
"I tell you later," He quickly winked at me before turning back to listen to what Carlisle was saying.
"Jasper I want you on defensive tactics in case it comes down to a fight and Edward I want you to be planning exit routes that allows us to easily leave the bank with all the gold that is surely in there. Everyone understand?"
There murmurs and nods of agreement from around the table.
"Good," Carlisle nodded contently, "Edward I want you to relay the orders for the English colours to be flying at all times and make sure that the men are all behaving as law abiding sailor and make sure that from now on they refer to us by our assumed names. We cannot afford any slip ups."
We finished the rest of the meal in companionable silence and every so often Edward would turn to me grinning and winking at me causing my blush to reappear and my heart to stutter.
I spent the rest of the day with Alice and Rose, preparing ourselves for our role in the bank robbery. Alice brushed my hair out so that it was smooth and soft once again while Rose rubbed rich nut butter into my hands so they would soften and shaped my nails. I then did the same for her as Alice brushed her hair. Alice, in turn got the same treatment from Rose and I. We then all put the pulp of pineapple on our faces; it was a beauty treatment that black slaves used on their mistresses to keep their skin fair in tropical sun. It was strange to be wearing a dress again, the skirts would catch around my legs and when Alice tightened my corset properly for me I thought I would never be able to breathe.
As soon as our necessary pampering was done she took me up onto the main deck with our parasols to protect us from the sun. Rose chose to stay where she was to read.
We were taking a turn about the deck for appearance sakes when I spotted Edward. I watched him now as she stood by the helm talking earnestly to Mike Newton. He looked so comfortable and confident to be in charge and he looked every ounce of the handsome, respectable merchant he was posing as. When he turned and caught me staring he tipped his hat at me. I quickly turned away and blushed when Alice giggled and waggled her eyebrows at me. I could feel my face heat from her wordless suggestion.
"Shush Alice, it's not like that."
"Don't look now but the object of your heart is coming this way."
I looked up and as Alice had said Edward was indeed making his way over to where she and I were stood. My eyes locked onto his, eagerly awaiting his arrival.
"Sister," he said as he reached us, "M'lady," he said to me, not once breaking eye contact with me he lifted my hand and placed a soft kiss there; just as he had done this very morning. A small giggle burst through my lips at his formal language and Edward grinned wickedly at me.
"I'll leave you two to it then," Alice snickered as she wondered off, twirling her parasol behind her.
Edward came and took her place besides me. He grinned at me in response to the wide smile that was plastered on my face.
"You're so beautiful when you're happy." He commented running a finger along my check bone. Suddenly Emmett's booming laugh broke us out of our trance and I turned in time to see him running from a; now, drenched Jasper.
"Oh! That reminds me," I said turning back to Edward. "You said that you would tell me about Emmett's experience with explosives."
"Yes, I do believe I did," he chuckled. "We were sailing around the coast of Scotland and it was unusually sunny there, and although we were quite far out to sea we could still see the docks and in it we could see a Navy ship. We had been intending to make berth there that day but Jasper thought it too risky. So we decided to sail onto the next on. However, we unfortunately accounted another pirate ship, one with which we had a few clashes with before. They engaged us in combat. We tried to be as quiet as possible as sound travels easily on calm waters and both sides knew the consequences of being caught by the Navy. It was going well, we hadn't attracted any attention and we had almost beaten the pirates down, so like I said going well. That is until Emmett got his hands on the gunpowder." Edward paused, pinched the bridge of his nose and took a deep breath before he continued.
"Emmett had it in his head to make a bomb that would blow the other ship right out the water. It would have work as well, if," another deep breath, "if, Emmett hadn't lit whilst still on the lower deck. He might have still made it if he hadn't come up to me to tell me that he had lit the bomb and didn't know what to do with it. In my panic I knocked it out of his hands and it rolled all to the hatch," his arm lifted and a long finger pointed towards the hatch in the middle of the ship. Edward shook his head at the memory and grinned at me.
"Next thing I know there's a great bloody explosion, pardon my language. The ship was in pretty bad condition and the whole crew was left deaf for about a week afterwards. It was a miracle that no-one was badly hurt."
"That sounds like something Emmett would do," I giggled.
"There's more," he told me gravely. "Luckily the blast allowed us to beat down the few men left from the opposing ship, but just as we started to celebrate, Carlisle noticed that the Navy ship was heading in our direction. They must have heard the blast from Emmett's explosion."
"No!" I gasped, completely enthralled by the story told in his smooth tones.
"Yes," he said smiling at me. "Fortunately we hadn't done much damage to the other ship so we boarded it and managed to sail it to a small cove further along the coast. We hid there for three weeks, repairing her so that she was in good enough condition to sail properly. At the end of the three weeks we christened her Belle."
"This Belle? This ship?" I asked stunned, amazed that I was standing on a ship that had been through so much and had so many stories to tell.
"Yes this ship," Edward answered me. "It has escaped the Navy once before and it will do so again. Of that I am confident. Now I have to go, my Bella, I have work to do. You should rest; we'll be in New York in a few hours." He smiled softly at me and kissed me one last time before he turned and walked away to finish what he had been doing.
True to his word only three hours later and New York came into view and amongst the flurry of activity and the shouts of the men, I could still hear Edward shouting his orders. Slowly we inched closer to the port, my excitement grew. Alice appeared by my side; twirling her parasol between her fingers and with a grin stretched across her face. We sailed fast into the small harbour, the wind blowing in our favour. Soon we were at anchor.
"Oh Isabella, dear!" Alice exclaimed with an exaggerated English accent. "We simply must visit this divine little tea room I know. It has everything a proper English lady could ever wish for!" She casted a glance sideways at with a wink, a small smile playing at her lips.
I laughed at her antics, and suddenly it struck me. I felt light and happy, but mostly free. I had found where I belonged. I knew my father was looking for and that it was more than likely that one day he would find me, but for the life of me in that moment I couldn't bring myself to care. Smiling I hooked my arm through Alice's and mimicked her accent.
"Oh Alice, darling! We simply must!"
We fell into fits of giggles, laughing at our own hilarity. Leaning on each other for support, we watched the gangplank being lowered. Today was going to be a good.
Once the whole family were gathered at the bottom, Carlisle smiled at us and began to lead us in the direction of the city centre. Edward grasped my hand and linked it through his arm and together we followed Carlisle. We were all looking out for a small tea room where we could sit and discussion out plan comfortably. The street we walked down was alive with activity. I saw fishmongers walking to the harbour with empty crates, and fishmongers walking back from the harbour with full crates of fish. There were women in stunning finery with slaves walking behind them, their arms heavy with bags and hat boxes. And then, finally amongst the hive of activity we spotted the ideal tea room. A lone building sat further back on the street from the rest of the other shops; it appeared to be an oasis in the middle of a storm. And a welcome one at that – my ears had started to hurt with the loud ringing of the street. Upon entering the small building the silence washed over me and I took a moment or two to bask in it, that and the smell of freshly baked cakes. It was delightful.
We all sat down at a round table in the corner of the room and ordered a large pot of tea and some scones to eat alongside it. All very British in a very American town, I mused.
Carlisle pulled out his map of the city and pointed to the area we were in. It was a remarkably detailed map and I had no doubt it would have cost him a fortune… That or he stole it, both very likely options. On this map we located several potential banks we then split into our retrospective couples and visited the banks on the map.
Two hours later, at precisely one o'clock like Carlisle intended, we met back in the tea room and agreed on a bank to raid. We had decided on the one close to the harbour, even though it was smaller than the others and likely not to have as much gold, it had what seemed to be good escape routes and relatively lax security.
The chairman of the bank met us by the entrance with all civility, he bade us to sit and share a glass of the finest brandy with him in his office. From his complexion I could tell that it was not his first of the day and certainly this wouldn't be his last. He asked where we were from and where we were bound, sipped his brandy and listened as Carlisle rattled off our story.
"John Smith, originally from Bristol, but sailing form Jamaica where my sugar plantation is. May I present my two sons; Thomas and William and their wives; Rebecca and Grace." He bowed to both and kissed the backs of their outstretched hands. Then his gaze slid to me.
He purposely took his time running his eyes down my form and then back to my face. A slow, sleazy smile spread on his face. Besides me Edward tense and from the corner of my eye I could see the deadly glare he was directing at the bank manager.
"And who might this lovely creature be?"
"My wife," Edward spat out between clenched teeth. He wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me closer to him, "Annabella."
"It is an honour to meet you." He said holding his hand out to me. Reluctantly I gave him mine and tried not to grimace as he placed a wet kissed on my knuckles.
"And I am Daniel Archer," Edward said, thankfully pulling the chairman's attention away from me.
Carlisle, sensing the tension in Edward, drew the conversation back to the matter at hand.
"Ah, Mr Thornton we are here because I wish to deposit quite a lot of money, I no longer feel safe keeping my profits with me on board. Pirates, you see are crawling in these waters, you never know when you're going to run into them," Carlisle looked at the chairman with a sly grin on his face, and I had to disguise my giggle as a cough, "and I was led to believe that this is one of the more secure banks in the city, I wonder is this true?"
Thornton's small colourless eyes narrowed and his pale lips twisted into a smile. He is the kind of man who thinks he knows everything, and so does not doubt a word that was said to him.
"Of course it is! Just how much money are we talking about here?" Thornton had a greedy smile on his lips.
"A sum of two hundred and fifty pounds, one hundred pounds worth of gold bricks and I have some very rare jewels that I wish to keep safe as well."
Thornton tried to keep the surprise and hunger off his face, but failed miserably.
"I'd be happy to show you around the bank, to reassure you, if you wish?"
It was now Carlisle's turn to smile; this was exactly what we wanted.
"Well," Carlisle said, "I'd hate to make you go out of your way, but, I am rather interested in where and how my profits would be kept."
"Of course Mr. Smith, right this way sir." Thornton said as he stood up and from the draw in his desk he took out a thick iron ring with bundles of keys on it.
"These keys," he said holding them up proudly, "are all the keys to vaults and the personal safes we have. They never leave my person, the safest place for them to be."
Emmett cast a significant look at Carlisle. If we were to rob the bank as silently as possible; we would need those keys. He then led us through the bank, past the desks in the front, past the only other office for the bank manager. We all had noticed the armed guards placed systematically along the corridors and sometimes outside a few rooms. I could see Edward noting these in his head for later reference. We then entered the room containing the personal safes. There were twenty mini safes spread around the room. We all looked around and Mr. Thornton didn't notice any of us taking in everything from the number of men on guard to the weapons that were mounted on the walls.
"These personal safes are only for the wealthiest of our customers and they can deposit anything into them. No questions asked and total discretion. We still have a few left…" Thornton looked at Carlisle to judge his reaction. I could tell that Carlisle was trying to look suitably impressed, but he was too concerned about thinking over his tactics to do a very good job of it. However, Mr. Thornton seemed to buy it, luckily.
We then came to a set winding stairs. The strongroom was deep underground, below the bank . The air here was cool, draughts flickered the flames of the torches the guards held, throwing shadows up the wall. We were close to the trunks, the underground caves that held the slaves, near enough to hear their groans of pain and the clinking of chains.
"That's where the real gold lies. Better than the yellow kind." He smiled at Carlisle, "I've just had a choice consignment from the Congo. They'll fetch an excellent price. I like you Mr. Smith, and I'd be willing to come to an arrangement. Sure I can't tempt you? You wouldn't lose by it."
Carlisle tried to hide his look of disgust, and simply shook his head.
Thornton shrugged, as if to say it was his loss. Then we were at the end of the corridor, and in front of us were a set of massive wooden doors.
"Here we are!" said Thornton, as he stopped before a wooden door. He selected a long key from the iron ring, turned it in the great iron lock and the door creaked back after a few shoves. One of the guards held up his torch to show the soft gleam of gold from bars stacked to the ceiling.
"Very stout, sir, very stout," Carlisle almost murmured to himself as he inspected the red wood of the door. "Very secure."
"Camwood, four inches thick, see that," Thornton put his hand on the surface of the wall, "carved out of the solid rock. It would stop Black Bart himself." He laughed, and we all laughed with him enjoying the irony of his statement.
When he turned away from the door and Carlisle, he concentrated on me once again.
"Gloomy down here for a young lady," he said as he offered me his arm, hesitantly I looked to Edward before I left his side and took Thornton's offered thinking of Carlisle's instructions to distract the man. "There is a courtyard at the back of the bank, I sometimes like to sit out there to… think. Would you like to see it?"
Although the invitation was to all of us, Thornton was looking directly at me. Shifting uncomfortably I glanced at Edward once again.
"We would be delighted." Edward said, I quickly gave him a small smile to let him know I was ok, I could hear the anger in his voice.
Once we were back in the bank Thornton led us through it till we came to a set of French windows. We could see through them out to his courtyard. A small table was there along with three chairs. From in the courtyard you could see the harbour over the low wall; it would be an easy escape route if others were blocked.
Thornton seated himself in one of the chairs. He then gestured at the chair next to him, for me to sit. Before I could pull the chair and seat myself, Edward came around me and pulled the chair out for me. Smiling at him, I thanked him. He went to stand behind me and put his hand on my shoulder; I reached up and grasped it finding comfort in the warmth of his hand. Emmett then copied Edward's motion and seated Rosalie, and then copied our pose. Even though Thornton could see that Alice was still stood, he refused to relinquish his seat, instead he carried on talking to Carlisle about the home he owns in England. Every so often, Thornton was forced to leave off his account because of a cough. His colour was poor and he was constantly dabbing at his face with a handkerchief, mopping at the sweat rolling in oily drops down his grey and pink mottled skin.
"Are you quite alright sir?" Asked Carlisle, intending to go to him, but Thornton waved him away.
"Damned climate that's all!" He exclaimed, "I usually rest in the afternoon, but perhaps you would like to join me this evening? The bank is hosting a little soiree for the customers and I would be honoured if you were able to attend?"
"We would be delighted, and we will impose on you no longer." Carlisle said as Edward and Emmet both helped Rosalie and I from our seats.
Thornton rose to see us out and said, "What you say you return here for about eight o'clock?"
As we walked back to the ship everybody was in a very good mood. The party presented the perfect time to raid the bank.
"And if everyone there is drunk, why it'll make it all the more easier to do! Of course it'll mean we'll have an audience but that can be easily dealt with, with a few scare tactics." Carlisle smiled at Emmett's enthusiasm and then turned to me, Alice and Rosalie.
"You ladies will have to dress in the finest dresses you have, tonight that bank chairman will have to be distracted."
Suddenly, Rosalie stopped and turned to Carlisle.
"You mean; I can finally come on a raid?" She asked, hope and excitement colouring her voice.
I saw Emmett tense, but was not ready for his outburst.
"No! Absolutely not. I will not have her there Carlisle! She cannot fight; she'll not only be in danger but could also endanger us all! I won't be able to concentrate on my job if I'm too busy worrying about her." He glared at Carlisle, daring him to contradict him; we could all tell that on this matter he would not yield.
Rosalie stared at Carlisle, pleading with her eyes and he could not look at when he spoke.
"I'm sorry Rosalie, but this is not my decision to make."
Some of the tension left his shoulders, but he did not notice the tears in Rosalie's eyes as Alice and I did.
Before either of us could say anything to help her cause she turned and fled towards the gangplank of the ship, which was just in sight.