Chapter 31: New Orleans
My temper was getting the better of me as I stood by the starboard ratlines, faking some rope while glaring furiously at Tom's turned back. I had confronted him about the dull busywork he had assigned me, and he merely waved me off and told me to fake some rope—a task which I had already completed nearly two hundred times in the few days it took us to reach New Orleans. In fact, rope faking and shot scaling was all I basically did all day. I even had it better off in the Navy. At least there I was an officer, or rather, if I hadn't been discovered I'd still be an officer.
Bugger.
"I demand a new duty, ye bloody Irish—"
"Would you like to be disciplined in the good ol' Navy way, lass?" Tom interrupted, facing me with his arms crossed. I snorted at him and took a step to the side, hoping to catch Jack's attention from his place at the wheel. Unfortunately, the old man had his eyes on the sea. I should have known better.
"We're not in the Navy, ye worthless lobcock! And I'll scrag your fine Irish neck if you tell me to fake rope or scale a shot one more bloody time! I've barely been on board for a week and already I hate it because of you and your stupid orders!" By then I was heaving with ire and one word out of Tom's mouth would have been enough to have me combust.
"You must speak more softly, Astrid," said an innocent voice. I turned around and saw Cord coming up from underhatches, surprisingly with no doll in hand. "Gabrielle is sleeping." Her sweet childishness, however, would not save her from my wrath this time and I sent her a look for her unreasonable request.
"I think someone is nearing her time, isn't she?" Tom commented with a chuckle as he ushered Cord away from me.
"Nearing her time? Are you saying that she is going to die, Tom?" asked Cord, lifting her head all the way up in order to look Tom square in the face.
"No," said Tom, his grin still present and growing. "I've been around enough women to know what she's going through right now."
"What's that supposed to mean?" I screamed, but he and Cord only walked to the other side of the ship. "Come back, you bloody… you bloody… ooh, fine!" I stomped up to the helm and made my presence known by approaching Jack directly, and that meant blocking his view of the ocean.
"Aye?" he questioned warily, looking at me with just as disgruntled a face.
"I'm tired of this useless work, Jack. I want duties that fit my abilities better. Tom is being a bloody, biased bastard and won't give me tasks that test me."
"That doesn't sound fair," he replied evenly, and I uttered a sigh of relief at his agreement. I saw brighter prospects at that moment. "I know exactly what you can do, love."
"Really?" I squeaked, delighted and clapping my hands.
"When we reach New Orleans, which will be in… less than two hours, you an' Tom there will work together to recruit more men for the voyage. I can't take or commandeer the Pearl with the scanty amount with me on this rottin' boat." He smiled and it was clear that he was waiting for my approval of his plan. I, however, bit my lip as I assessed his proposal. Working with Tom wouldn't help me at all. He'd only make me do petty things.
"I'll agree, Daddy,"—he frowned at that—"if you let me be fully in charge of such an expedition. Tom must be excluded." His frown deepened.
"That's the problem with having only daughters," he muttered. "You whine too much. You square things out with Tom, love, or you'll be stayin' on the ship with Cord when we hit port."
"Jack, that is terribly unfair!" I protested.
"Pirate," he bellowed, grinning at me. "Whaddya expect from me, lass?"
"Nothing," I groused. "I should always expect bloody nothing from you." And I left him with that sore comment and proceeded to the decks below.
By the time we hit New Orleans, it was evening and my grudge against my fellow pirate comrades had not ebbed. The envy was still pulsing with much fervor, and I had spoken to no one since my confrontation with Jack. The men were already preparing the ship for docking and I sat in the bosun's chair looking down at them from aloft with a very displeased visage and thoughts that were sure to condemn me to hell. I must have damned them all a hundred times in my head and said a good deal of horrible things about their mothers (also in my head) but my rage could not be vented out in any positive way.
My eyes drifted many times in Tom's direction for more than just the obvious reason. Yes, I did find him outrageously attractive and thus I would be naturally drawn to gawking at him as if he were a god, but his red hair was more noticeable than the commonplace brown and blond covering the heads of the other men. But the most important factor in my constant observation of him would be the grudge against him. If my eyes could send daggers, Tom would be dead by now, looking as prickly as an overpopulated pincushion. Fortunately, my eyes were but plain looking-glasses in my skull.
I let out a soft growl when Tom's head turned up in my direction. "Are ye gonna come down from yer little swing, bonnie?" he yelled. "I 'eard we're to work together. Shouldn't ye be excited about that?"
"I refuse to cooperate!" I spat back.
"Fine. I guess ye'll be on the ship all be yer onesies. Even Cord's comin'." My jaw dropped and I rapidly lowered myself down to the deck, quickly leaping off the bosun's chair as soon as I reached a safe jumping height.
"If Cord's going, then I'm going too. You'd all forget 'bout her while gawping at women." My reply, although cheap, was exactly what Tom wanted to hear and he bowed mockingly at me again, taking off his hat with that same unnecessary flourish.
"Right this way then, ladies," he chortled. Cord and I stepped foot on the gangplank leading down to the dock. "And another thing, Astrid," he added.
"What?"
"You're to gather fifty more men for this voyage. I'm going to recruit an additional twenty-five for a surplus in case we lose some due to any unfortunate occurrences in the near future."
"Fifty men?" I shouted. "What madness is this!"
"Hey, you wanted a challenge. Now you have it," he smirked. "We'll meet back here by midnight. Sound fair? Good. Bob's your uncle." And he left before I could utter another word. I instantly sought to find Jack but I paused for a moment and considered what I was doing. I was just being babyish by going from authority to authority complaining about my duties. If I was ever going to get their respect, I'd have to do what they asked of me with optimism.
"Cord?" I asked as we paraded down the gangplank and onto New Orleans' ground.
"Oui?"
"How's your Spanish?" I heard her suck in a breath at the question and I already anticipated her answer.
"Not very good," she confessed. "I'd like to learn, but I haven't come across many Spaniards."
"Hopefully we'll find some Dons to teach you then, aye?" I said brightly.
"Oui, ma soeur."
As we made our way into the port city, I reminded myself that I needed to gather fifty able men to join Jack's crew. Of course, there were many problems that I encountered while I was analyzing my task. Firstly, where could I gather men with sailing experience, how would I convince them to join a pirate's crew, and how would I conquer the language barrier if some willing men were Spanish or of any other ethnicity? I couldn't only gather Frenchies either, even if that would be my easiest option what with Cord right by my side.
"I think we'll start at the local taverns, sister," I suggested, quite unsure of myself. I had a bad feeling that no man would even listen to me, which would mean that I'd have to act coquettish in order to have their attention. I honestly did not want Cord to see me in such a light.
"Yes, as that is where sailors usually go," she replied dully as if she could have thought of something better. I 'hmphed' at her and she just looked at me innocently, as always, and my battle was lost.
We entered the first tavern we spotted, which, not surprisingly, was named the 'Blood Night Inn.' Very reminiscent of Tortuga, I groaned inwardly as we walked in. Sure enough, we were rapidly introduced to a lot of gambling, drinking and skylarking.
"Dégueulasse!" shrieked Cord, covering her nose and mouth from the rather unpleasant fetor in the rather fuggy building.
Her high-pitched yelp though, was loud enough to reach the ears of the Frogs wasting away and an alarming number of heads paused and turned towards us.
"Ay," said Cord softly, realizing that her comment was most definitely heard. "Désolée, Mesdames et Messieurs." She curtsied afterwards and any hostile looks were becalmed.
"See, Astrid?" she beamed, delighted with her swift success.
"Yes, yes," I murmured. "Everyone just loves you, Miss Cordelia. Now, see if you can tell them that your father is a very honorable captain looking for able-bodied sailors."
"But that would mean that I am doing your job." I grumbled out my surrender and cautiously neared one of the tables that happened to have a kinder feeling to it.
As I got closer, I heard that they spoke French and so I decided to put into use the many agonizing hours of French lessons with Miss Smith.
"Pardonnez-moi, Messieurs," I greeted, deciding to use my "manly" voice in the small hope of being exempt from their laughter. They paused in their betting and turned to me with quizzical brows, and I could have guessed at what they were thinking in their heads when they saw me. "Tu parle anglais?" I asked timidly.
"Oui," said one with much gusto. "Pourquoi?"
"I, um… my father is a very well-off captain and he is… uh… looking for sailors to join his crew. Do any of you have sailing experience?"
"We all do, eh… Mademoiselle?" He looked me up and down, his face still confused, and his friends snickered amongst themselves when he questioned my sex.
"Yes, I am a woman," I moaned, on the verge of hissing at them. "How many years have you?" And a wide array of numbers was called out.
"Cinq!"
"Neuf!"
"Trois!"
"Are all of you interested in joining my father's crew?" I posed, becoming more comfortable in their company.
"Depends," said the man who I had first spoken to. "What is his mission?"
"Mission? Oh, well… to… uh…" I hesitated as I wasn't sure whether or not to tell them that we were pirates. I could tell them that we wouldn't raid any French ships on the way, but that wouldn't be honest. I was still strongly adhered to my British patriotism. "Um… to capture a ship and to look for a… treasure…" I gulped. Their answer was silence.
The man stood up and came forward, peering at me harshly. "Pirate?" he whispered. I reluctantly nodded. Oh God, Astrid, what if you just sentenced everyone to the noose?
The man looked back at his comrades and they exchanged a few words before he turned back to me.
"We will come," he stated gladly. "Eh, comment vous appelez-vous?"
"Astrid, Monsieur…?"
"Édourd Baudin, Mademoiselle." He took my hand and kissed it and then asked for directions to Jack's ship, which I willingly gave him. Afterwards, his band of brothers followed his example and treated me with their name (some even their rank) and kissed the back of my hand.
Well, I guess the Frenchies aren't so bad, I blushed.
"Where to?" questioned Cord as the last of the eight men I had recruited exited the tavern.
"The next tavern of course. Allons-y!" And off we went.
In the time span of three hours, I managed to recruit twenty more men, leaving me with twenty-two more to get in the next five hours. It didn't seem too much of a difficulty and I had even hired a diverse group of French, American and African American sailors. I thought I was doing a very, very good job.
A lot better than that bum-bum, Tom, I thought to myself.
Cord and I had stayed strictly to our duty and we hadn't strayed one point off course until we encountered a duo of rather wealthy-looking (and not to mention, handsome) Frenchmen. The two seemed to have come from nowhere, and I also wondered what men of their stature were doing in such meager areas of the city. Evidently looking for pretty girls, I imagined.
"Bonsoir, Mesdames," said one with a charming grin. I was immediately bewitched by his soft pervenche eyes and I found myself paying my greetings as well. Cord, however, seemed more wary to give hers.
He was tall and had neatly combed blond hair that had a silvery tone to it in the moonlight. He was rather pale as opposed to the many tanned faces I had seen in the city, but I judged that it was from powder. He had a strong jaw and a fine, straight nose and of course, my heart was tamed at once.
His friend was opposite in hue, with brown hair and eyes that were probably greener than the greenest of emeralds. His demeanor though, was more aloof and uneasy, although he did seem to partake in some of the interest that his friend had for Cord and me. How strange that these two men would want to enchant a child and a stupid girl dressed as a boy?
"Now," said the blond one. "What is a beautiful young woman and a lovely Creole child doing out here in these parts of the town?" I was amazed at his well-spoken English.
"I was about to ask you the same," I returned, giggling for some odd reason. Cord elbowed me in the side as she looked at both the men with a serious glare, and she had been merry all through the night until she had seen them.
"My friend and I are looking for a runaway slave of ours. Though, I take it that you two haven't seen him. You don't seem like the kind of people to be mingling with those things," he answered.
Now, if I was in any good sense of mind, I would have spat at him for saying such horrible words. I didn't forget Bennett's pure hatred for the slave trade, and yet for some reason I didn't seem to mind the comment when this man spoke.
"Indeed not," I answered. "My sister and I are looking for sailors to join our father's crew."
"Oh," he said, still smiling. "Have you checked at Red Night Tavern?"
"No, Monsieur, but we have checked at the Blood Night Inn."
"Ah, that's down South, isn't it?" he said, coming closer to me. Cord pulled me back and he noticed.
"Ma chérie, ne vous en faites pas," he said gently, bending down and lifting Cord's chin. As soon as he touched her, she gasped and dug her face into my side, squeezing me so tightly that I scarcely could breathe.
"J'ai peur, Astrid. We must leave. We must get back to Jack now," she quavered, her breath short.
"Cord, I don't know what you're afraid of. What's wrong?" I tried to pull her away from me so that I could talk to her, but she wouldn't budge. She was determined to stick to me like glue until we left the two gentlemen and returned to our search for sailors. I looked up at the both of them and shrugged. "She normally isn't like this."
"Do not apologize, ma chérie. She is just tired. It is quite late into the night. But I asked where you have searched because there was a man doing some recruiting of his own in the Red Night Tavern."
"A man?" I echoed. "What man? What color hair did he have?"
"Red, I believe. He was talking with some Spaniards when we left there." Cord released her grip on me and urgently pulled at my arm.
"That is Tom, Astrid! We must go to him now!" she cried excitedly.
"Cord!" I shouted, resisting her pull. "I don't want to talk to that bastard. It's best if we don't run into each other. Otherwise, he'd just make fun of me some more."
"That is better than staying with those two!" she countered, glancing fearfully in their direction.
"What in God's name is so scary about them, Cordelia? You're acting foolish!" Fed up with my protests (as if I wasn't fed up with hers), she pulled me aside, away from the two Frenchmen and whispered:
"I have heard stories about night murders in New Orleans, Astrid. I heard them when you were talking to the sailors in the taverns. Many people have suddenly disappeared at night only to be found dead, their blood drained from their bodies. Their necks were punctured." I sputtered out a laugh at her story and shook my head, hardly accepting a word she said.
"Good God, Cord! Vampires? You think those two men are vampires? I have never heard anything so ridiculous in my entire life!" I laughed all the harder.
"Stop it!" she napped, slapping my shoulder. "It's true! I saw his teeth when he smiled at you! And when he touched me, his skin was deathly cold—like a dead man's skin!"
"If he was a part of the 'living dead,' Cord, he'd smell rotten, and I fancy that he smells quite nice. Also, I saw no sharp teeth. You're imagining things. He's probably right. You are tired and superstitious sailor stories are getting the better of you." I looked at her with full skepticism and her eyes only welled with water.
"If you will not listen to me then I will tell Tom!" she wailed, running away.
"Cord! Cordelia! Come back! It's not safe!"
With a sigh and a roll of my eyes, I ran after her as she blindly sprinted into a dark alleyway—stupid girl—her sobbing echoing along with the tap of her shoes. She ran fast, like a startled, panicking bird and I lost track of her in the dark.
"Cord!" I screamed. "You'll get lost! You come back now!" But I could no longer hear where she was, and I was now the one lost. The moon was full and its light still dropped in some spots in the alley, but it was still difficult to see. Therefore, I did the only thing I could do at that time. I ran back the way I came, hoping to reach the open street before fright got a hold of me. But it seemed as though I was already quite frightened, for I had run into someone and he grabbed my wrists in a frigid, iron grasp as I let out a terrified shriek.
"Shh," he said, easing his grip on me. "Ne vous en faites pas, ma chérie."
"I don't understand what you're saying," I trembled, and in the silver moonlight I saw his soft pervenche eyes constrict as they seemed to awaken with a sinister brightness in the night.
"Do not worry," he reiterated, his breath fiercely cold. "Relax. All will be well."
"No," I cried. "Cord is out there alone and I need to go find her."
"Shh," he cooed again, his sharp thumb running across my cheek. "You have a cut," he sang, almost playfully, and the sting of a fresh scratch pained me. "You'll bleed no more."
He pulled me close and kissed my bloody cheek, gently at first and then feverishly while my consciousness swayed, swayed, and then dipped into a pool of… nothing.
Donc la nuit je l'ai rencontré encore,
je me suis pris au piège dans son obscurité.
La vérité était là-bas et la nuit était nu,
et il m'a donné le sang de la lune...*
*So the night I met him again,
I trapped myself in his gloom.
The truth was there and night was bare,
And he gave me the blood of the moon…