he took great delight in fleecing them. Some of the nobility had even taken to traveling incognito and hiding behind other partners to protect themselves and their ships.
With an uneasy lurch, Petey thought of Miss Willis. Surely the man wouldn’t attack them solely because of her. Though she was the adopted daughter of an earl and the stepsister of the new earl, she wasn’t truly a lady. Besides, no one associated with the ship knew of her noble connections.
“Are you sure the ship’s owner is a tradesman?” he asked the captain. “Are you sure?”
“Aye. ‘Tis a cousin of mine. There’s not a hint of nobility aboard this ship, I tell you.”
Except Miss Willis. Petey had better get to her and warn her to say naught of her brother if they were taken. When they were taken, that is; the capture seemed inevitable.
“P’raps the Pirate Lord will let us go when he sees we got no booty,” Petey murmured.
“He’ll slaughter us, that’s what he’ll do!” The first mate was at the helm, and tossed the words back at them as if Captain Horn himself had made the threat. “I heard tell he can flatten a man with one blow of his fist!”
Petey swallowed. He wasn’t afraid of many things, but the Pirate Lord was one of them. Far as he knew, no one had ever accused the pirate of the kind of murthering and mayhem that some pirates were wont to engage in. But that didn’t mean Captain Horn mightn’t strike out in anger when he discovered the lack of booty on the Chastity .
“P’raps we should fight,” Petey suggested.
Captain Rogers snorted. “Fight? Are you bloodycrazy? That’s the Satyr , man, with thirty guns if there’s one! They’d blow us to pieces! We don’t have the guns or manpower to fight off a well-armed pirate ship. Besides, if we fight, they’ll think we have something worth fighting for, and that’ll make it worse for us.”
“You can’t outrun ’em,” Petey repeated, “not with the weight on us.” As if lending credence to his words, the Satyr surged forward, hounding them like a demon on the heels of a sinner. In moments it would overtake them.
The captain glanced at his crew, then back to his first mate and Petey. “That’s our only choice, lads. Run or be taken. And I much fear that ’tis taken we’ll be unless a miracle come to save us.”
The miracle never came. Scant minutes later, the other ship hailed them, threatening to fire their guns if the Chastity didn’t halt to be boarded. And it was only as Captain Rogers gave the order to his crew to surrender that Petey remembered he hadn’t warned Miss Willis.
Chapter 4
My topsails they did shake
And the merchants they did quake ,
So many I did take
As I sail’d ….
—A NONYMOUS
“B ALLAD FOR C APTAIN K IDD ”
U ntil today Sara had found the voyage fairly uneventful. True, she’d had trouble squelching the gambling of the more hardened women who liked to fleece the country maids of their rations. And she’d given many a lecture on the inappropriateness of swearing. Still, her classes had gone well, and she and Petey had succeeded in keeping the women separate from the men.
Now, however, confusion reigned around her. The women who’d been above decks had been sent below, and they gathered around Sara, panic-stricken and babbling. It took some minutes before she could make sense of what they were saying. A pirate ship approaching? Surely not. Pirates grew scarcer with every year as the British and Americans sought to clear the waters of the nasty pests. And what would they want with a convict ship that carried nothing of value?
Of course, they didn’t know that the Chastity carriedonly women. She froze, a sick fear settling into the pit of her stomach. Women. Everyone knew what pirates did to women. And if these men found no gold to sate their savage appetites, they would surely turn to other terrible pleasures.
“They’ll kill us!” Ann Morris cried above the clamor of voices, speaking aloud Sara’s
With an uneasy lurch, Petey thought of Miss Willis. Surely the man wouldn’t attack them solely because of her. Though she was the adopted daughter of an earl and the stepsister of the new earl, she wasn’t truly a lady. Besides, no one associated with the ship knew of her noble connections.
“Are you sure the ship’s owner is a tradesman?” he asked the captain. “Are you sure?”
“Aye. ‘Tis a cousin of mine. There’s not a hint of nobility aboard this ship, I tell you.”
Except Miss Willis. Petey had better get to her and warn her to say naught of her brother if they were taken. When they were taken, that is; the capture seemed inevitable.
“P’raps the Pirate Lord will let us go when he sees we got no booty,” Petey murmured.
“He’ll slaughter us, that’s what he’ll do!” The first mate was at the helm, and tossed the words back at them as if Captain Horn himself had made the threat. “I heard tell he can flatten a man with one blow of his fist!”
Petey swallowed. He wasn’t afraid of many things, but the Pirate Lord was one of them. Far as he knew, no one had ever accused the pirate of the kind of murthering and mayhem that some pirates were wont to engage in. But that didn’t mean Captain Horn mightn’t strike out in anger when he discovered the lack of booty on the Chastity .
“P’raps we should fight,” Petey suggested.
Captain Rogers snorted. “Fight? Are you bloodycrazy? That’s the Satyr , man, with thirty guns if there’s one! They’d blow us to pieces! We don’t have the guns or manpower to fight off a well-armed pirate ship. Besides, if we fight, they’ll think we have something worth fighting for, and that’ll make it worse for us.”
“You can’t outrun ’em,” Petey repeated, “not with the weight on us.” As if lending credence to his words, the Satyr surged forward, hounding them like a demon on the heels of a sinner. In moments it would overtake them.
The captain glanced at his crew, then back to his first mate and Petey. “That’s our only choice, lads. Run or be taken. And I much fear that ’tis taken we’ll be unless a miracle come to save us.”
The miracle never came. Scant minutes later, the other ship hailed them, threatening to fire their guns if the Chastity didn’t halt to be boarded. And it was only as Captain Rogers gave the order to his crew to surrender that Petey remembered he hadn’t warned Miss Willis.
Chapter 4
My topsails they did shake
And the merchants they did quake ,
So many I did take
As I sail’d ….
—A NONYMOUS
“B ALLAD FOR C APTAIN K IDD ”
U ntil today Sara had found the voyage fairly uneventful. True, she’d had trouble squelching the gambling of the more hardened women who liked to fleece the country maids of their rations. And she’d given many a lecture on the inappropriateness of swearing. Still, her classes had gone well, and she and Petey had succeeded in keeping the women separate from the men.
Now, however, confusion reigned around her. The women who’d been above decks had been sent below, and they gathered around Sara, panic-stricken and babbling. It took some minutes before she could make sense of what they were saying. A pirate ship approaching? Surely not. Pirates grew scarcer with every year as the British and Americans sought to clear the waters of the nasty pests. And what would they want with a convict ship that carried nothing of value?
Of course, they didn’t know that the Chastity carriedonly women. She froze, a sick fear settling into the pit of her stomach. Women. Everyone knew what pirates did to women. And if these men found no gold to sate their savage appetites, they would surely turn to other terrible pleasures.
“They’ll kill us!” Ann Morris cried above the clamor of voices, speaking aloud Sara’s
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