LITMIR.BIZ

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a force to move against the brethren of the seas than to actually do it. Rich merchants cursed the pirates that preyed on them, but to fit out ships for battle was costly and wasted time that might be put to better effect. In truth, it was unlikely that it would happen unless several countries banded together.

      Getting to her feet, Maribel gazed out of the window. She could see a dark haze on the horizon and knew that it must be the island they had sailed so far to find. Her heart pounded and she could scarcely breathe. She had been lulled into a sense of peace on the long journey for she had been treated with respect, both the pirate captain and his men seeming to keep a distance between them and her.

      It was not so for Anna, who spent most of her time talking with Higgins or Tom on deck. She still did her work, but there was a new attitude in her manner. Now she was less deferential and treated Maribel more as a friend than a mistress.

      Maribel was not certain how she felt about the new order. Anna had moved on while she was in limbo, neither a part of the close community that made up the crew or a prisoner. The men looked at her uncertainly, but few of them spoke to her.

      ‘At first they thought you were Sylvester’s woman,’ Anna had told her once. ‘Now they are not sure what you are to him. They keep you at a distance because he has said that any man who lays a finger on you will be hung.’

      ‘That was harsh.’ Maribel frowned. ‘Surely such words were not necessary?’

      ‘Some of them would respect you as a lady, others would rape you given the chance.’ Anna was brutally frank. ‘Some of the men are honest enough, but Higgins said that many are scum and not to be trusted. It will be worse when we get to the island and mix with the other crews.’

      ‘I see…’ Maribel shivered. Yet Anna had told her nothing she had not sensed from the beginning. She was safe only because she was under Captain Sylvester’s protection. ‘Perhaps it would be best if I did not go ashore.’

      ‘We shall all go ashore,’ Anna told her. ‘The ship must be cleaned and refitted. You could not stay on board while that was happening.’

      ‘I see.’ Maribel bowed to her superior knowledge. Higgins must have told her what would happen when they reached the island. Anna was one of them. Maribel was still an outsider. ‘Then I must wait until Captain Sylvester tells me what I must do.’

       Chapter Four

      ‘We shall drop anchor in the bay this evening,’ Justin commented as he came to stand by Maribel that afternoon. She nodded, but did not turn her head to look at him.

      Her gaze was intent on the island, a feeling of doubt mixed with anticipation in her heart. It had been just a dark smudge for some time, but now she could see the crowded waterfront with its untidy huddle of buildings. Few of them were substantial, most built of wood, and to her eyes of poor quality. Further back there were houses and taverns of a better standard, larger and more what she might have expected in a port anywhere, but it was clear that the community was small.

      ‘It is not what I expected.’

      ‘The accommodation here is not what you are used to, Maribel. I have a friend whose house is further inland. I shall take you there. Peg will look after you while we stay here.’

      ‘Who is he? I do not know the name? Is Peg an English name?’

      ‘It is a nickname, a woman’s name. I dare say she was once called Margaret.’ Justin frowned. ‘Peg was sentenced to hang for murder. She killed a man who tried to rape her. Someone rescued her from the noose; then she found a lover and went to sea with him, dressed as a man. She served before the mast for some months and was involved in a mutiny. Eventually, the crew landed here. She and her man ran the largest tavern on the waterfront. He died of a fever last winter, but she carries on. Everyone respects Peg and they know she would as soon stick a knife in a man as allow him to take liberties. If she takes you under her wing, you will be safe.’

      ‘Thank you.’ Maribel hesitated, then, ‘Where will you stay?’

      ‘I shall lodge at one of the taverns. I am building a house. I commissioned it when we were last here with what gold I had, not stolen but my own, which I had hidden about me when I was shanghaied aboard my first ship. It is expensive to bring in stone, though we have an abundance of timber, which is why so many buildings are made of it. Once the house is finished, I shall stay there when we visit the island.’

      ‘You were shanghaied—does that mean you were taken on board against your will?’

      ‘Yes. Why do you ask?’

      ‘I know so little of you, where you come from—and how you became a pirate. I do not think that you were always the man you are now?’

      ‘No, I was not always a pirate,’ Justin agreed. ‘It was never my intention to become one, but sometimes we have little choice in life. Had I not become a pirate, I and others might have died.’

      ‘You are a powerful man. Others obey you. Could you now not go where you wish?’

      ‘Perhaps this is what I wish for.’

      Maribel turned to look at him, her eyes wide and intent. ‘Is this what you intend for the rest of your life? To roam the seas in search of prey and then come back to this place?’

      Justin’s expression hardened. ‘I know that it must seem a wretched place after your homeland. The cities in Spain are beautiful and your home was no doubt solid and well built, the house of a wealthy man, but you were not happy there. Even a palace may be a prison if it is not a place of freedom. This island has been a refuge for men such as I for a relatively short time. In years to come it will grow larger. As more settlers arrive the town will begin to look more prosperous.’

      ‘It will always be a haven for pirates,’ Maribel said and then realised that her words sounded harsh—harsher than she intended.

      ‘Yes, I dare say it will—until someone decides to blow us all from the face of the earth.’ Justin’s face was expressionless, his thoughts hidden. ‘Yet not all the men and women here are scum. Some like Peg were forced to the life by the unjust laws that would have hung her for defending herself against an evil man. Would you condemn her too? Your own father has done many evil things. He is wealthy, but more to blame than some here for they never had a choice.’

      Maribel’s eyes fell before his anger. ‘Yes, I know. I did not mean to insult Peg—or you. I understand that something terrible must have driven you to this life. I suspect that you were once a gentleman.…’

      ‘You suspect that I was once a gentleman…’ A gleam of humour showed in his face for a moment, then it faded. He made her a mocking bow. ‘Thank you, my lady. What makes a gentleman in your eyes—fine clothes and wealth or a large house?’

      ‘No, of course I did not mean…’ Maribel’s cheeks were on fire. ‘I beg you will not mock me, sir. I did not intend to insult you. I believe you would not describe your present position as that of a gentleman?’

      ‘Oh, no, believe me, I should not,’ Justin said, his mouth grim. ‘I am well aware that I forfeited all right to call myself by that title long ago. Yet still I have some honour. My word is my bond and you may rely on it.’

      ‘I know and I do trust your word.’ She lay a hand on his arm, feeling the hardness and strength of muscle and bone through the thin shirt he wore. He was a powerful man, and could, if he wished, break her with his hands. Yet she sensed that somewhere deep inside there was a different man, a man who knew how to be gentle and generous. It was that man she longed to see, that man she caught glimpses of now and then. ‘Forgive me if I have offended you, sir. It was an idle question and not my business.’

      ‘No, it was not your business—yet I shall tell you. I led a mutiny against a man of such brutality that he drove his crew beyond all limits. After that, there was nothing for us but to make a living from piracy. For myself, I intend to pursue the career only until I can make a new life elsewhere.’

      ‘Shall

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