James watched as Will and Jack, dressed as himself once more, finished up
with the merchants who had agreed to provision their ships for the six
month journey to and from Cape Horn. They had arranged to leave at the end
of the week, after which those left of Danielson's crew were to be
marooned. They hadn't been hung simply because almost every hanging they
attempted in Port Royale went ridiculously wrong. Of course, Jack Sparrow
was usually the one on the wrong end of the rope, hence the bad reputation
of the hangman, but the commodore was taking no chances.
He glanced down at Marin where she stood beside him, her steely grey eyes, as ever, looking out over the water. It had been cruel of him, he realised, to keep both her and her husband on land for so long. They were both creatures of the elements, but without this long stay, they would not be tied so tightly together.
A wince crossed his face as he remembered Marin's reaction to the source of Jack's proposal. It had been the morning after the wedding, and quite by accident Elizabeth had mentioned it to her as they slipped out of the drawing room. Marin had come straight back and slapped him, harder than most women could manage, he imagined. Amid the laughter, she'd then smiled softly, embracing him warmly and whispered a heart-felt thank you to him as he reeled from her angry reaction.
They'd been married for just over a month now, and as yet no marital tiffs had broken up the happy home. Thankfully they had got over the love-struck phase of their relationship whilst on board the Dragon, sparing those sharing Governor's House with them the embarrassment of watching two people so caught up in one another they had no time for anyone else.
A pleased smile lit up his features as he thought of the person he had spent most of his spare time over the last month with. Laura had drawn him in masterfully, and now was reluctant to let go, though he, too, could hardly bear the thought that they would be apart for so long as six months. Lady Blythe had been giving him meaningful looks, which he had taken to be an invitation to propose, but he hardly felt it fair to ask a young woman to marry him just before he took to the sea on a voyage he may or may not come back from.
Something prodded his leg, and he looked down to find Marin tapping the point of her sabre against his calf. She grinned up at him.
'She's a lovely girl, James,' she said pointedly, having guessed the content of his thoughts.
James shook his head warningly at her, unable to stop the fond smile that curved his lips as he watched her artfully match-make. She really did look so much more like herself in a shirt and trousers, he thought absently, before returning his attention to her comment.
'I know she is, but I will not make her a widow just to make her a wife,' he told his cousin.
She nodded.
'I understand,' she said softly. 'But at least make her aware of how you feel for her. You're so good at hiding behind Commodore Norrington that Laura doesn't think James likes her at all.'
He grimaced, unsure whether to be pleased or exasperated that Marin had finally spotted the difference between James and Commodore Norrington. As he thought back over his conversations with Miss Blythe, though, he realised she was right. The commodore had been present at all of them, with no sign of the man within who was growing increasingly attached to the young woman.
Marin's hand closed over his arm, squeezing gently.
'Tell her, James,' she said just as softly as before. 'Even if all you do is ask her to wait for you, tell her.'
He covered her hand with his own, nodding reluctantly as she smiled in quiet triumph.
There was a shout from the fort suddenly, the sound of a single bell tolling the alarm. They glanced at one another as Will and Jack returned to their side, all four looking over at the military station that seemed suddenly alive with running men. A small boy came pelting up the street towards them, skidding to a halt before James and ripping off a sloppy salute.
'Captain Leighton sends his regards, sir, and says to tell you that the pirates have escaped,' he said breathlessly.
James felt his features tighten in alarm, feeling Marin's hands go to her sabre and pistol.
'How long ago?' he asked the boy.
The lad shrugged.
'About fifteen minutes, I'd say,' he told them, dismissed with a curt nod as he turned to hurry back to the fort.
James glanced at his companions, seeing the horror written their faces and knowing it was reflected in his own.
'Danielson's men will be wanting revenge,' Jack said starkly, holding Marin's gaze with a look that said everything she needed to know.
'The house,' she murmured.
Will cursed.
'Elizabeth!' he spat, breaking into a run with the others close behind him as they drew their weapons, hoping against hope that their suspicions were wrong.
*~*~*
Marin crouched in the bushes by the wayside track that led up to Governor's House, her cousin beside her. Jack and Will had taken to climbing the escarpment to enter the building. There was no sound or movement from within, but the three pirates lounging bonelessly on the steps were enough to tell them that Danielson's men had taken the house and all its inhabitants.
James quietly unsheathed his sword, wincing as the metallic sound rang out across the silent scene. Luckily, the pirates either didn't notice, or didn't care. Marin sighed softly, and he could almost hear her working out her tactics in her head.
'We need to know where they're keeping the women,' she said, her voice almost inaudible as the breeze blew the words away. 'The governor is down at the fort, at least we know that.'
James nodded.
'They're likely to have been kept altogether,' he muttered. 'But should those men have any urges, who knows where they are?'
Marin gave him an arch look.
'Thanks, that makes me feel so much better,' she breathed acidly.
James grinned, an expression oddly reminiscent of Jack, feeling the familiar rush of adrenaline pump through him as he prepared for the fight that would surely come. Marin shifted carefully, trying not to disturb the greenery around them, ignoring the suuden thought that maybe the commodore was spending too much time with her husband.
'I'll see if I can draw them off,' she told him. 'Whoever stays behind, you finish off as quietly as you can. Right?'
James nodded sharply.
'Right.'
She slipped back down the wayside a little way, emerging onto the dusty track just around the corner, walking nonchalantly up towards the house where the pirates would clearly see her. James watched, tense in the bushes, as she approached the lounging men. As they looked up at her, she let rip with a gasp that could have woken a sleeping watchman, turned, and ran headlong back down the path. As he had thought might happen, two of the pirates took off after her, the third suddenly alert for any other attackers.
James glanced about for any way to get behind the guard without alerting him to his presence. Nothing showed up. He fumbled in the dirt for a moment, his fingers closing over a sizeable stone. He hefted it, waiting until the pirate wasn't looking at his bush, and threw the stone towards the other side of the track, where it dislodged some slate piled against the track. The pirate cursed softly, edging towards where the noise had come from. As he passed James' hiding place, the commodore rose to his feet and slammed the hilt of his sword down onto the back of the pirate's head. He slumped with barely a sound.
There was a muffled cursed nearby, and he spun, ready to attack, finding no one there. Another curse followed the first, and James found his gaze drawn to the escarpment, where a hand was flailing around for purchase on the scrubby grass. He hurried over, grasping Jack's hand and hauling the man over the edge, leaning down to do the same for Will as the younger man's extremities appeared on the grass a little further down. They crouched together in the greenery, Will and Jack testing their arms gently as they drew their breathing under control.
'Where's Marin?' Jack whispered hoarsely, his eyes flashing with alarm at the thought of any injury to his wife.
'Coming,' James told him. 'She drew off two of the guards they'd set about ten minutes ago, she'll be here in a moment.'
There was a rustle in the bushes beside them.
'Who will?' Marin asked, slipping into a crouch beside them. She grinned at their startled expressions. 'There's no one else out front.'
'So we go in the back,' Will said tersely, worried for his wife and son.
Jack nodded, and still close to the ground, led the way beneath the windows to the back of the house. As they passed beneath the drawing room window, Marin grasped the back of Will's shirt, one finger to her lips as she signalled for him to listen. There were voices within, some recognisable.
'You won't get away with this,' they heard Elizabeth say clearly. 'My father is the governor of this town, do you really think the fort is just going to stand by and let this happen?'
There was a rasping laugh from close by the window.
'Shut up, lady,' a harsh voice ordered. 'You wouldn't want the baby to have an accident, now, would you?'
Marin's hand closed tightly over Will's mouth, effectively holding him down and silent as Elizabeth gasped in shock. Her aunt appeared to be in there with her, judging by the sounds of protest that were going on.
'What have you done with my daughter?' Rosemary Blythe demanded, still commanding despite the situation.
'Ah, so the lady in the bedroom be yer daughter, do she?' another voice asked. 'She be well, fer now.'
Elizabeth spoke up again, sounding close to tears.
'What do you want from us?'
A third voice answered her, as dry as the first.
'We want nothing from you, lady,' he rasped. 'We want little Marin Delaney's blood spilt. Every last drop.'
Amid the gasps of shock from within, Will glanced back at Marin's suddenly pale face, motioning her to follow him around to join the others. Jack looked ready to leap up and find them as they rounded the corner.
'Why the hell did you stop?' he demanded.
They quickly told the two men what they had heard, Marin glossing over their reason for being there.
'How many of the pirates were left in the cells?' she asked James, her voice still low.
He thought for a moment.
'Seven,' he told her.
Marin nodded.
'So there's only one in with Laura, whichever bedroom she holed up in,' she told them. The last three are all in with Elizabeth and Lady Rosemary.'
James leant forward.
'I'll take the single one,' he offered. 'I know the house better than any of you. And besides, you can fight better together than you could with me.'
Will nodded, anxious to get in there and rescue his family. Glancing at his wife's pale face, Jack agreed, motioning James to enter first. The commodore heard a muttered conversation behind him, and footsteps leading away, dismissing it as he set himself up for a fight to the death. As the three passed through the hall, he nodded briefly to Jack, turning to hurry up the stairs.
He slipped silently along the passageway, listening intently for any sound that could pinpoint where Laura could be being held. A soft noise drew his attention to the guestrooms to his left, to the room where he slept whenever he could be pressed into spending the night up at Governor's House. Leaning close to the door, he listened for a moment, feeling his blood boil. From within came the sounds of an uneven struggle, Laura sobbing in fear and pain as she tried to fight against her guard. James could hear the pirate laughing, his grip tightening on his sword as he quietly turned the handle.
The scene that met his eyes turned his simmering anger into full blown fury. Laura was pressed against the wall, both her wrists held over her head as he kissed her brutally, running his free hand over her ripped bodice. James slammed the door behind him, his face as black as thunder.
The pirate spun, throwing Laura to one side as he drew his sabre. Furious as he was, James suddenly found himself cold inside, repeating everything he had ever been taught over and over in his head. As the blades crashed together, he found his mind casting back to a sunny day, when he had watched two friends fighting by the escarpment, each teaching the other new tricks. He caught the pirate's fist as it lashed out at his midriff, twisting the limb violently until the other man yelled in pain and anger. From below them came the sounds of another fight, far more blunt and to the point than this.
James threw the pirate back from him, hearing Marin's words repeated in his head as he watched the man stumbled backwards, losing his balance as he careered into the dresser.
'You have to be aware of the scenery around you.'
He was aware of this scenery, he had lived in it, slept in it, knew this room almost as well as himself. His opponent, however, knew nothing of the bedchamber he was fighting in, or the man he was fighting, though James recognised him as the one who had given him his latest scar. He owed this man for the gash on his abdomen that had led to his cousin's murder.
Laura cried out suddenly, and he barely managed to duck as the pirate hurled a vase at his head, throwing him off balance momentarily. The pirate pressed his advantage, obviously hoping to knock the commodore off balance, but the navy man had learnt a thing or two from his time among pirates. He slipped a hand into his sleeve, withdrawing a slender knife and stabbing it into the pirate's sword arm. The man staggered back, and for a moment, James saw Dugan as he staggered back from Marin, clutching at a wound that was not there.
The blades came together once more, though now it was clear who would be the victor in this battle. James pressed forward, forcing the pirate backwards, out onto the balcony, blood seeping from the wound he had inflicted with his unexpected thrust. The pirate leant heavily on the balcony, refusing to admit defeat as the commodore advanced on him. Their blades met one last time, and the pirate toppled backwards off the balcony, overbalancing with frightening sudden-ness. James reached out to catch him, and once again heard Marin's voice in his head.
'An enemy would let you fall,' he murmured, staring down at the crumpled body on the ground below.
There was a muted sob behind him, and he turned to find Laura leaning heavily against the bed post, tears of relief running down her face as she stared at him. He wiped his sword clean on the bed clothes, sheathing it carefully, and turned to gaze down at her, concern dominant in his eyes.
'What did he do to you?' he asked her gently, steel beneath his words as he spoke.
She shook her head.
'Nothing,' she sobbed. 'Nothing beyond what you saw, but he . . . he could so easily . . .'
She threw herself forward into his arms, uncaring that it was not the proper thing to do, only knowing that this was the man who had saved her from her attacker, and who now held her close in a way she would never allow any other man to do.
He glanced down at Marin where she stood beside him, her steely grey eyes, as ever, looking out over the water. It had been cruel of him, he realised, to keep both her and her husband on land for so long. They were both creatures of the elements, but without this long stay, they would not be tied so tightly together.
A wince crossed his face as he remembered Marin's reaction to the source of Jack's proposal. It had been the morning after the wedding, and quite by accident Elizabeth had mentioned it to her as they slipped out of the drawing room. Marin had come straight back and slapped him, harder than most women could manage, he imagined. Amid the laughter, she'd then smiled softly, embracing him warmly and whispered a heart-felt thank you to him as he reeled from her angry reaction.
They'd been married for just over a month now, and as yet no marital tiffs had broken up the happy home. Thankfully they had got over the love-struck phase of their relationship whilst on board the Dragon, sparing those sharing Governor's House with them the embarrassment of watching two people so caught up in one another they had no time for anyone else.
A pleased smile lit up his features as he thought of the person he had spent most of his spare time over the last month with. Laura had drawn him in masterfully, and now was reluctant to let go, though he, too, could hardly bear the thought that they would be apart for so long as six months. Lady Blythe had been giving him meaningful looks, which he had taken to be an invitation to propose, but he hardly felt it fair to ask a young woman to marry him just before he took to the sea on a voyage he may or may not come back from.
Something prodded his leg, and he looked down to find Marin tapping the point of her sabre against his calf. She grinned up at him.
'She's a lovely girl, James,' she said pointedly, having guessed the content of his thoughts.
James shook his head warningly at her, unable to stop the fond smile that curved his lips as he watched her artfully match-make. She really did look so much more like herself in a shirt and trousers, he thought absently, before returning his attention to her comment.
'I know she is, but I will not make her a widow just to make her a wife,' he told his cousin.
She nodded.
'I understand,' she said softly. 'But at least make her aware of how you feel for her. You're so good at hiding behind Commodore Norrington that Laura doesn't think James likes her at all.'
He grimaced, unsure whether to be pleased or exasperated that Marin had finally spotted the difference between James and Commodore Norrington. As he thought back over his conversations with Miss Blythe, though, he realised she was right. The commodore had been present at all of them, with no sign of the man within who was growing increasingly attached to the young woman.
Marin's hand closed over his arm, squeezing gently.
'Tell her, James,' she said just as softly as before. 'Even if all you do is ask her to wait for you, tell her.'
He covered her hand with his own, nodding reluctantly as she smiled in quiet triumph.
There was a shout from the fort suddenly, the sound of a single bell tolling the alarm. They glanced at one another as Will and Jack returned to their side, all four looking over at the military station that seemed suddenly alive with running men. A small boy came pelting up the street towards them, skidding to a halt before James and ripping off a sloppy salute.
'Captain Leighton sends his regards, sir, and says to tell you that the pirates have escaped,' he said breathlessly.
James felt his features tighten in alarm, feeling Marin's hands go to her sabre and pistol.
'How long ago?' he asked the boy.
The lad shrugged.
'About fifteen minutes, I'd say,' he told them, dismissed with a curt nod as he turned to hurry back to the fort.
James glanced at his companions, seeing the horror written their faces and knowing it was reflected in his own.
'Danielson's men will be wanting revenge,' Jack said starkly, holding Marin's gaze with a look that said everything she needed to know.
'The house,' she murmured.
Will cursed.
'Elizabeth!' he spat, breaking into a run with the others close behind him as they drew their weapons, hoping against hope that their suspicions were wrong.
*~*~*
Marin crouched in the bushes by the wayside track that led up to Governor's House, her cousin beside her. Jack and Will had taken to climbing the escarpment to enter the building. There was no sound or movement from within, but the three pirates lounging bonelessly on the steps were enough to tell them that Danielson's men had taken the house and all its inhabitants.
James quietly unsheathed his sword, wincing as the metallic sound rang out across the silent scene. Luckily, the pirates either didn't notice, or didn't care. Marin sighed softly, and he could almost hear her working out her tactics in her head.
'We need to know where they're keeping the women,' she said, her voice almost inaudible as the breeze blew the words away. 'The governor is down at the fort, at least we know that.'
James nodded.
'They're likely to have been kept altogether,' he muttered. 'But should those men have any urges, who knows where they are?'
Marin gave him an arch look.
'Thanks, that makes me feel so much better,' she breathed acidly.
James grinned, an expression oddly reminiscent of Jack, feeling the familiar rush of adrenaline pump through him as he prepared for the fight that would surely come. Marin shifted carefully, trying not to disturb the greenery around them, ignoring the suuden thought that maybe the commodore was spending too much time with her husband.
'I'll see if I can draw them off,' she told him. 'Whoever stays behind, you finish off as quietly as you can. Right?'
James nodded sharply.
'Right.'
She slipped back down the wayside a little way, emerging onto the dusty track just around the corner, walking nonchalantly up towards the house where the pirates would clearly see her. James watched, tense in the bushes, as she approached the lounging men. As they looked up at her, she let rip with a gasp that could have woken a sleeping watchman, turned, and ran headlong back down the path. As he had thought might happen, two of the pirates took off after her, the third suddenly alert for any other attackers.
James glanced about for any way to get behind the guard without alerting him to his presence. Nothing showed up. He fumbled in the dirt for a moment, his fingers closing over a sizeable stone. He hefted it, waiting until the pirate wasn't looking at his bush, and threw the stone towards the other side of the track, where it dislodged some slate piled against the track. The pirate cursed softly, edging towards where the noise had come from. As he passed James' hiding place, the commodore rose to his feet and slammed the hilt of his sword down onto the back of the pirate's head. He slumped with barely a sound.
There was a muffled cursed nearby, and he spun, ready to attack, finding no one there. Another curse followed the first, and James found his gaze drawn to the escarpment, where a hand was flailing around for purchase on the scrubby grass. He hurried over, grasping Jack's hand and hauling the man over the edge, leaning down to do the same for Will as the younger man's extremities appeared on the grass a little further down. They crouched together in the greenery, Will and Jack testing their arms gently as they drew their breathing under control.
'Where's Marin?' Jack whispered hoarsely, his eyes flashing with alarm at the thought of any injury to his wife.
'Coming,' James told him. 'She drew off two of the guards they'd set about ten minutes ago, she'll be here in a moment.'
There was a rustle in the bushes beside them.
'Who will?' Marin asked, slipping into a crouch beside them. She grinned at their startled expressions. 'There's no one else out front.'
'So we go in the back,' Will said tersely, worried for his wife and son.
Jack nodded, and still close to the ground, led the way beneath the windows to the back of the house. As they passed beneath the drawing room window, Marin grasped the back of Will's shirt, one finger to her lips as she signalled for him to listen. There were voices within, some recognisable.
'You won't get away with this,' they heard Elizabeth say clearly. 'My father is the governor of this town, do you really think the fort is just going to stand by and let this happen?'
There was a rasping laugh from close by the window.
'Shut up, lady,' a harsh voice ordered. 'You wouldn't want the baby to have an accident, now, would you?'
Marin's hand closed tightly over Will's mouth, effectively holding him down and silent as Elizabeth gasped in shock. Her aunt appeared to be in there with her, judging by the sounds of protest that were going on.
'What have you done with my daughter?' Rosemary Blythe demanded, still commanding despite the situation.
'Ah, so the lady in the bedroom be yer daughter, do she?' another voice asked. 'She be well, fer now.'
Elizabeth spoke up again, sounding close to tears.
'What do you want from us?'
A third voice answered her, as dry as the first.
'We want nothing from you, lady,' he rasped. 'We want little Marin Delaney's blood spilt. Every last drop.'
Amid the gasps of shock from within, Will glanced back at Marin's suddenly pale face, motioning her to follow him around to join the others. Jack looked ready to leap up and find them as they rounded the corner.
'Why the hell did you stop?' he demanded.
They quickly told the two men what they had heard, Marin glossing over their reason for being there.
'How many of the pirates were left in the cells?' she asked James, her voice still low.
He thought for a moment.
'Seven,' he told her.
Marin nodded.
'So there's only one in with Laura, whichever bedroom she holed up in,' she told them. The last three are all in with Elizabeth and Lady Rosemary.'
James leant forward.
'I'll take the single one,' he offered. 'I know the house better than any of you. And besides, you can fight better together than you could with me.'
Will nodded, anxious to get in there and rescue his family. Glancing at his wife's pale face, Jack agreed, motioning James to enter first. The commodore heard a muttered conversation behind him, and footsteps leading away, dismissing it as he set himself up for a fight to the death. As the three passed through the hall, he nodded briefly to Jack, turning to hurry up the stairs.
He slipped silently along the passageway, listening intently for any sound that could pinpoint where Laura could be being held. A soft noise drew his attention to the guestrooms to his left, to the room where he slept whenever he could be pressed into spending the night up at Governor's House. Leaning close to the door, he listened for a moment, feeling his blood boil. From within came the sounds of an uneven struggle, Laura sobbing in fear and pain as she tried to fight against her guard. James could hear the pirate laughing, his grip tightening on his sword as he quietly turned the handle.
The scene that met his eyes turned his simmering anger into full blown fury. Laura was pressed against the wall, both her wrists held over her head as he kissed her brutally, running his free hand over her ripped bodice. James slammed the door behind him, his face as black as thunder.
The pirate spun, throwing Laura to one side as he drew his sabre. Furious as he was, James suddenly found himself cold inside, repeating everything he had ever been taught over and over in his head. As the blades crashed together, he found his mind casting back to a sunny day, when he had watched two friends fighting by the escarpment, each teaching the other new tricks. He caught the pirate's fist as it lashed out at his midriff, twisting the limb violently until the other man yelled in pain and anger. From below them came the sounds of another fight, far more blunt and to the point than this.
James threw the pirate back from him, hearing Marin's words repeated in his head as he watched the man stumbled backwards, losing his balance as he careered into the dresser.
'You have to be aware of the scenery around you.'
He was aware of this scenery, he had lived in it, slept in it, knew this room almost as well as himself. His opponent, however, knew nothing of the bedchamber he was fighting in, or the man he was fighting, though James recognised him as the one who had given him his latest scar. He owed this man for the gash on his abdomen that had led to his cousin's murder.
Laura cried out suddenly, and he barely managed to duck as the pirate hurled a vase at his head, throwing him off balance momentarily. The pirate pressed his advantage, obviously hoping to knock the commodore off balance, but the navy man had learnt a thing or two from his time among pirates. He slipped a hand into his sleeve, withdrawing a slender knife and stabbing it into the pirate's sword arm. The man staggered back, and for a moment, James saw Dugan as he staggered back from Marin, clutching at a wound that was not there.
The blades came together once more, though now it was clear who would be the victor in this battle. James pressed forward, forcing the pirate backwards, out onto the balcony, blood seeping from the wound he had inflicted with his unexpected thrust. The pirate leant heavily on the balcony, refusing to admit defeat as the commodore advanced on him. Their blades met one last time, and the pirate toppled backwards off the balcony, overbalancing with frightening sudden-ness. James reached out to catch him, and once again heard Marin's voice in his head.
'An enemy would let you fall,' he murmured, staring down at the crumpled body on the ground below.
There was a muted sob behind him, and he turned to find Laura leaning heavily against the bed post, tears of relief running down her face as she stared at him. He wiped his sword clean on the bed clothes, sheathing it carefully, and turned to gaze down at her, concern dominant in his eyes.
'What did he do to you?' he asked her gently, steel beneath his words as he spoke.
She shook her head.
'Nothing,' she sobbed. 'Nothing beyond what you saw, but he . . . he could so easily . . .'
She threw herself forward into his arms, uncaring that it was not the proper thing to do, only knowing that this was the man who had saved her from her attacker, and who now held her close in a way she would never allow any other man to do.