Chapter Fourteen

A woman's scream pierced the air as a charred plank of wood struck the wall. It fell with a dull thud upon the rug and revealed the black letters that had been burned into its surface long before the fires were set. It was a name... and one that I knew I would do well to remember.

Dove.

"And so here it is, gentleman..." I ground my teeth together as I spoke, my eyes narrowing as I studied the two men standing before me, and though I knew my strife was not with them, I could not seem to keep my own temper in check for very long. Not when there was so much on my mind all at once. "Why is it you can find a mere piece of driftwood such as this... and yet you lost an entire ship?"

"Sir..." the first began, his voice quivering ever so slightly. His friend stood just behind him, readjusting his glasses to distract himself from his shaking, yet I remained unyielding to their petty anxieties. "The others and I were only following the orders handed down onto us. We were ordered to only stay the flames at the harbor and help those who may have fallen victim to them... We were never told to seek out the Encantador."

"Can you not think for yourselves?" I demanded. When neither man offered a reply, I brought my fist down on the desk before me. A fierce sound that caused all those in the room to flinch in alarm. "And why is it that you have not found Mr. Cameron? Am I wrong in my understanding that he was one of your comrades, Mr. Roth, or is it that you bade him to escape at an opportunistic time such as that we found ourselves subject to last night?"

"Richard, it is enough for now." I looked to my associate out of the corner of my eye, yet he paid me little mind. He only waved the two away, his face remaining ever solemn. "You are dismissed."

I watched them go, yet once the door had closed behind them, I brought myself up from my chair. Though I was did my best to remain calm in doing so, however, my mood remained fickle. "Forgive me of asking this of you, Vice Admiral, yet why is it you felt it necessary to take charge over me? Has there been some word from England in a change of my position?"

"I can assure you I meant no offense, Lord Admiral," he replied. "I only thought it would be better for your reputation if the men did not see you in such a state. Now is not the time for emotion or sudden action." I knew he was right in this, of course, yet though my mind knew it to be true, I still found myself bitter and angry to have it told to me by another. "There is that," he began again as he whispered in my ear, "yet I also felt that you may have forgotten that there is but a woman among us at the moment as well."

My gaze then fell upon the petite woman with her brown eyes wide to meet with my own. However, her fragile appearance did little to ease the rage within me, for to see her only reminded me that my dear sister was no longer among us. Especially when had her dress been red in favor of blue and her hair pink rather than brunette, she could very well have been Popuri in her entirety. After all, they were of a similar height and build, and while I would never be so brash as to say so to either of them, there was an almost childlike fancy to their bright, young faces as well.

"Admiral?" I blinked, the woman's true visage coming back into view, yet once it had returned, I was all the more frustrated with myself for ever having seen her as anything but herself. "As I told you... the doctor wishes to see you."

"Your husband should be concerning himself with the injuries and the well-being of the Vice Admiral," I assured her. "As you can surely see for yourself, I am unharmed. None of those fools were capable of striking me." Though none of us in attendance within the study said another word of them, we could not help but glance down to the harbor. There, at the mouth of the bay, was a scaffold, and while one had to strain one's eyes to see them, four figures swayed there in the sea breezes. The bodies of men so insignificant to me that I could not even be troubled to remember their names. "They were no match for the likes of any of our men, let alone a man such as myself."

"Forgive me, yet I believe the doctor is far more concerned with your emotional state, sir," she explained. "Considering your sister's sudden disappearance, it would seem that you are-"

"That I am what, pray tell?" I challenged. "Am I not to worry when my own blood has been stolen away from me? Were you not the one to tell Gray that she had stolen after some foreign man? And where is he then? Am I to believe that the reason we were attacked was so that Popuri could be whisked away from me with that man ensuring I am never to see her again?"

"Richard, please compose yourself," my companion warned. "You are not yourself... Remember, you are to be a man of reason. This is not the time for rash conclusions, nor is it the time for what may be false accusations against what may be an innocent man." The man became quiet as I glared back at him, yet though my anger still burned within my chest, I did my best to steady myself once again. "We both know who is to be held responsible for what has happened... and one can only assume that man is the one with whom Miss Hurst is now in company with for the time being."

"Then where is it that Mr. Cameron has found himself to be?" I replied. "Though I am certain all this was an act of Viento as you have said so yourself, I have no way of dismissing the possibility that he was coerced into joining up with him. You know as well as I that such a life as they lead is not one that can be turned away so easily."

"He may very well have been taken as a captive alongside your dear sister."

"If that is truly the case, then he is nothing to us now," I remarked. "The only reason we were given to spare him was that we felt he would prove to be an asset to us in times such as these. However, if he could not defend even himself against the likes of a lot of pirates, then I have no further use of him, and he is not to granted any mercies should we find him in their company... Do you have any objections to this, Vice Admiral?"

"No, sir. I do not." The man was firm in his agreement, yet while he had agreed to my terms, he was still not content to remain silent for any extended length of time. "Regardless of the matter of Mr. Cameron... forgive me for saying so, sir, yet it would seem to me that you have been avoiding the present matter at hand." When I raised an eyebrow to his statement, he made no change in his tone as he spoke to me. "The matter of you having attendance with Dr. Harden, sir."

"As I have said before, I have no need of a doctor," I replied sharply. "I am more than capable to seeing to myself."

"As Mrs. Harden has told you, sir, it is not your physical health that is of concern," he insisted. "There is no doubt that this past evening has left your mind-"

"My mind is nothing of your concern, Vice Admiral!" The room was silent then, save for my own labored breath, yet I would not so much as think to apologize for my outburst. It was unnecessary, I knew, and perhaps even suspicious in my ferocity. Even so, I could not risk those who relied on me to lead having doubts of my mental state. Whether I had faced a loss or no... they were not to made aware. "You are both dismissed. I will summon for you should I need to speak to either or you."

Though the nurse hesitated for a moment, the vice admiral was sure to escort her out of the study, for he knew better than to question me. A showing of his loyalty to me no doubt... a trait which I had always done my best to appreciate in some way.

In all our years of knowing one another, he had never challenged my authority more than which was absolutely necessary. He carried out my orders to their fullest, and there had been more than one instance when he had taken them much further than desired in the hopes of gaining my approval. Even so, I never found that I had any desire to reprimand him in such instances. After all, I saw no malice in him, and so I felt no need to deem it worth my time to punish him for his actions.

As long as there were no open no open complaints, of course.

My thoughts having come to dwell on the man, I realized that in the excitement of the past hours, I had neglected to inquire about his condition. Having seen only the blood which stained his jacket, I knew very little of how he had fared, and yet I had been dimwitted enough not to think that it may have been much more serious that I ever would imagine. Especially when I had always known him to be so stoic, no matter the situation.

He was not a hard fellow to find, really. In the years even before he had come to work under me, I knew him to be a man of solitude, for he had always had a coldness to him that caused him to be regarded as a man who was above social gatherings and the like. He was any one thing besides, of course, yet it did not change the opinion of those in our company. Therefore, though I was familiar enough with him to know how he longed for companionship it was no surprise for me to find alone.

Kaelin stood at the far end of the great hall, his figure silhouetted against the day's light, and by the tilt of his head, I recognized that his gaze had gone for beyond the courtyard that lay just beyond the paned windows. For the first in a very long time, his head was bare, and while in his hands he held his powered wig, his true hair shown like honey. A sight so unfamiliar to me that I might have supposed it was the true part of his disguise.

"Would it be rude of me to intrude upon your thoughts, Vice Admiral?" I seemed to have startled him, for when I spoke to him, he all but dropped his wig right from his hand. He then went to place it back upon his head, but I only help up my hand to stay his doing so. "Be at ease, my friend."

"Forgive me, Admiral, but I seem to find it very difficult to be at ease in times such as these. I am certain you can say the same for yourself."

"Please... we have spoken of me more than enough this morning," I assured him. "I have come to ask of your well being, not mine. You have been tended to, have you not?" The man appeared to hesitate at first, yet soon enough he agreed that he had. "I would hope it is not too serious then?"

"Merely a glance of the blade," he assured me. "Mrs. Lourne was only surprised by my knowing of her, and though I cannot say for certain, I do believe she simply acted on impulse. Had it not been for my taking her unaware, I may not have been so fortunate, however." While he did his best to hide such an action, I saw his hand come to rest gingerly on the place of the wound. Even so, he did not flinch at the touch. "I do not say this lightly, Admiral," he continued, "yet I do fear she is a woman to be wary of."

"Nonsense," I insisted with a dismissive wave of my hand. "You know as well as I that she was nothing more than a pawn for the likes of Viento. If apprehended, she will be dealt with like all the others, of course," I agreed. "However, I sincerely doubt she will be any serious trouble for us in the meantime. You are to find him alone. Concern yourself with no one else until he is found."

"Will you be joining us in this endeavor then?" the man asked, his gaze sure and steady with my own. "I am well aware it is not my place to say so, yet I feel you would rather take him by your own hand than allow the men and their swords to have their way with him." Though I studied him for a moment, he remained as calm as ever, and despite having no answer from me, he continued to speak. "Am I wrong in that assumption?"

"No... You are right," I assured him. "Should he die before we can bring him to true justice, I would like to see it by my own eyes, and so I will accompany you and the men to sea. I expect my ship to be ready by this evening."

"Of course, sir," the man agreed as he bowed. "I will see to it then." Though I waited for him to take his leave, I was surprised to feel his hand light upon my shoulder before taking a firmer hold. I was uncertain of the reason for this, yet he was quick to assure me of his intention in doing so. "We will find your sister, Richard... Of that I will have no doubt."

"I thank you for that." Without another word, the vice admiral nodded and left me to my thoughts. Something for which I was more than grateful, for I was no accustomed to feeling such turmoil within me and did not want others to know of it. However, it did not stop me from feeling such things. If nothing else, I felt it nag at me all the more. A nagging that caused my hand to rest upon the place in which my ear had once been as if to remind myself of what had been lost before as well as that which had yet to be. "How much longer must I wait?"

For justice... and for vengeance.