Making Waves (12 page)

Chapter Eight

T
he Susannah’s crew stood sullenly by as the pirates swept through the ship in a whirlwind of activity, tearing open hatches, taking trunks, crates and boxes.

They jemmied open one of the boxes and I was astonished to see precious metals glittering inside. Apparently Captain Plum was some kind of smuggler. But when they found the guns and barrels of gunpowder, I was genuinely shocked. Was there
anyone
who wasn’t a pirate in Jamaica?

A young black buccaneer was supervising the pillaging, setting up a chain gang to pass the loot up from below, doing his best to make sure that his men didn’t miss anything crucial. He had his hair tightly braided into hundreds of gleaming plaits and he wore a rich crimson waistcoat over a baggy white shirt. The sleeves glimmered in the Caribbean dusk. I have to say he was v. good-looking; well, if you go for gangster types.

I heard him talking angrily to Captain Plum at one point, but I was too confused and scared to take it in. The Susannah’s captain wasn’t exactly the friendly character I’d thought.

All the pirates carried knives or evil-looking cutlasses, except the pirate chief - he had a sword with a jewel-encrusted hilt. For backup, he had two pairs of pistols hanging at the end of a silk sling over his shoulders.

He only spoke when necessary and I never saw him actually hurt anyone. Yet each time he came close, I instinctively backed away. He gave off this totally electric vibe, the vibe of someone with absolutely nothing to lose.

The pirates brought their ship, the Santa Rosa alongside the Susannah and two of her crew wedged a plank between the decks.

Lola and I watched in amazement as the pirates performed a reckless trapeze act, ferrying huge trunks and crates across this madly wobbling bridge as if they were just popping next door.

When the last boxes had been taken on to his ship, the pirate chief gestured to me and Lola. “Now make haste, pretty ladies.”

I looked helplessly at Captain Plum. Surely he wouldn’t allow us to be abducted by dangerous buccaneers?

To my dismay he just exploded. “Do what he says, wench! And take the slave-girl with you!”

Seconds later I was inching across the plank, trying not to look down. I could hear Lola’s scared breathing behind me and the swoosh and slap of waves far below. I told myself it was a good thing it was dark. I’d never know if those were actual sharks circling below or purely imaginary ones.

The minute we tottered on to the deck, the Santa Rosa’s pirates surrounded us like hungry hyenas.

Of all the times for Mr Allbright’s words to come back to me.
Pirates were not sweet, Melanie… They were calculating, cold-blooded murderers…

I felt as if my known universe had turned upside down. I couldn’t imagine why they’d kidnapped us. Did we look like people who have gold and jewels stashed away? A deeply unpleasant thought crept into my mind. I hope it’s not because we’re girls, I thought nervously, and they want to—

Suddenly I was gabbling at top speed. “I think there’s been a mistake. We aren’t rich. All I’ve got left is—”

I groped wildly for my purse, but there was just a severed cord hanging from my waist. A tousle-haired pirate cabin boy cheekily waved my purse from a nearby ladder. He pulled out the bracelet and bit it to test the gold.

“We are not common thieves!” The pirate captain yanked the boy off the ladder, cuffed him round the ear and returned my bracelet with a bow.

“Leo hasn’t been with us long. He gets carried away,” he explained apologetically. “Allow me to introduce myself. I am Rufus Valentine, captain of the Santa Rosa.” He chuckled. “At least I am now!”

I looked at the rough-looking men in earrings and bandannas, and at the stacked boxes and barrels they’d taken from the Susannah. Then I stared up at the ominous black flag flapping in the evening breeze. Even the ship had been stolen by all accounts.

“I’m sorry,” I said, “but you look like thieves to me.

Captain Valentine gave another low chuckle. “We’re thieves, little mistress! Just not common thieves.”

“Oh, right, my favourite kind,” I said sarcastically. “I suppose you steal from the rich and give to the poor?”

His smile faded. “I am not so noble as your Robin of the Woods. But villains who prey on helpless females deserve to be taught a lesson.”

I felt like I was missing something. “I’m sorry?”

“I am afraid you were too open about your personal affairs. Every water rat in Port Royal has heard that your
fiance
is to come into a large inheritance. The captain of the Susannah was going to keep you hostage and demand a ransom for your return.”

I stared at him. “You’re telling me you
rescued
us?”

He gave another deep bow. “I was honoured to be of service.”

I don’t think I’ve ever felt so stupid. Our story had rebounded in the worst way.

“But in the future it would be wise to be a little more discreet,” Captain Valentine suggested.

I could feel my face burning but I knew I’d better come clean. “Um, actually, there is no inheritance. We made that up. There’s no
fiance,
either.”

The pirate raised an eyebrow. “Then why did you charter the Susannah?”

“It’s kind of personal,” I told him.

“It must be something important,” the pirate said softly, “for you to put yourself and your slave in such danger.”

“It is important,” I said. “And Lola’s not my slave. Look, everything isn’t always about money, OK? There is NO
fiance
and there is NO inheritance. If you rescued us to do Captain Plum out of the ransom, you’re out of luck. That bracelet your little sonny boy pinched just now, is all we have left in the world.”

The pirate looked astonished. “Mistress, did you think—”

“You know what?” I interrupted angrily, “Columbus should have stayed at home to raise pigs and done everyone a favour!”

“Pigs?” he echoed in a bewildered voice.

“Everything’s been galloping downhill since he came to the Caribbean. Everyone wants a piece of whatever is going and no one cares who they hurt to get it. Well I’ve HAD it with the New World. I’ve had it up to here!” I folded my arms, glowering.

A stunned silence descended. The pirate ship was so hushed I could literally hear Lola’s teeth chattering. She probably thought we were going to be fed to the sharks. All the pirates were totally riveted. I think they were dying to know what would happen next.

Nothing did for several nerve-wracking moments then Captain Valentine did something I totally didn’t expect. He took off his beautiful waistcoat and draped it respectfully around my shivering friend’s shoulders. “The night air is cool, little sister,” he told her, “and your dress is thin. I suggest we go below.”

He gave me a cool smile: “I do not want your ransom, mistress. You and your friend are my guests. My crew and I are humbly at your service.”

I followed the captain in a daze. A pirate who rescued females in distress? Was Captain Valentine for real?

But when I saw the captain’s private quarters, my jaw absolutely dropped. It was gorgeous! Everywhere you looked there was something beautiful, an exotic rug, a silk hanging, a painting. Shelves were crammed with leather-bound books, several written in foreign languages. They weren’t just for show. He had what looked like a poetry book lying open on his desk.

“Please,” he said. “Make yourselves comfortable.”

Lola and I seated ourselves self-consciously on a wooden settle.

“You are now under my protection,” he said gravely. “I give you my word that you will come to no harm. In fact, I would very much like to help you.”

Some people would say a pirate’s word wasn’t worth much. On the other hand, did we have a choice? Exactly.

So I took a major risk. I told Rufus Valentine everything that had happened, carefully leaving out references to angels or amnesia. I’m afraid I totally got on my soapbox when I described the treatment of the slaves on my uncle’s plantation. And after that Lola started shyly chipping in. She’d obviously decided to trust the pirate chief too, and this Lola was not the trusting type, as you know.

It felt almost like old times with both of us talking at once and setting each other straight. I could see this really amused him.

We told Captain Valentine about hot-headed Beau Bexford and his outrageous scheme to free the Fruitful Vale slaves. And we described how Bermuda Jack had sold my cousin part of a map showing the whereabouts of an ancient Taino city. “It’s SO bizarre,” I said. “Beau is incredibly respectful of Taino culture, yet he seems to think it’s cool to rip off their gold just so long as it’s in a good cause.” I gave Lola a stern look. “And before you say anything, I KNOW it’s dead people’s gold, OK? But it just doesn’t seem right.”

We told the captain how the three of us left Fruitful Vale at dead of night and rode off to Port Royal to find the mysterious owner of the map’s other half.

The captain shook his head at me. “You clearly have a relish for danger, little mistress,” he said, with a straight face. “I had no idea I was rescuing an adventuress.”

“The most dangerous thing on the journey was Lola,” I giggled. “She wanted to poison me.”

Lola made her eyes wide and innocent. “Mi never poison you. Mi jus’ pick mi lickle herbs and look at you, like dis!” She shot me an evil look under her brows then creased up laughing.

The pirate looked uneasy when I mentioned Mariah Darcy, but he listened attentively until I had finished. Then he got up to pace. “So Mistress Mariah is mixed up in this.”

“You know her!” Maybe all the major pirates knew each other?

“I knew her at one time,” he said grimly. “But I did not like the company she keeps.” He sighed. “I am afraid your cousin will not find his gold. I have heard of this city and it is precious, but for reasons Mistress Darcy and her kind will never understand.”

“Oh, she isn’t interested in the gold!” I said eagerly. “Mariah said if they found gold, he could keep it to save the…”

The captain and Lola were staring at me as if I was bonkers.

“She was lying, wasn’t she?” I said in a small voice.

“When Mariah wants something badly, she can make you believe that ashes are really stardust.” H thoughtfully twiddled one of his braids. “I suppose you didn’t get a look at that map?”

“We think the city is hidden in something called the Black River Morass,” I said. “And we’re fairly sure Mariah was heading for a landing place near Three Sisters Cave.”

“I know it. I’ll take you there at first light. It will take at least two days to reach the Morass, going through Cockpit Country.”

“Isn’t that where rebel slaves hide out?” I asked.

Captain Valentine looked evasive. “So they say. But I have heard strange stories about those hills. People say that when the soldiers come with muskets and hunting dogs, things happen which cannot be explained. Out of nowhere, the mist comes down and the men find themselves walking in circles. They stumble into bogs or fall into ravines. Their dogs mysteriously go missing. Yet a slave can hide in those hills for weeks and months and never be found. So I have heard.”

My arms had come out in goose-bumps. “You make it sound like the country is alive,” I told him. “Like it’s deliberately taking the slaves under its protection.”

“It feels like that sometimes.” The pirate’s voice sounded dreamy and far away. Then his mood changed abruptly. “But you young ladies are under my protection. Tonight I shall draw you a map of the safest route through the hills.”

I suddenly understood something about Captain Valentine, and I was shocked to the core.

“You were there!” I said. “You were hiding, while the soldiers blundered around in the mist. You were a runaway slave.”

Lola gave me a look and I saw that she had known all along. I had done that ugly European thing again, talking about things I couldn’t begin to understand.

I started to apologise, but the pirate was already speaking.

“Yes, I was a slave,” he said quietly. “I belonged to a white man by the name of George Wainwright Valentine. When I was six years old I saw George Valentine beat a young man to death for daring to look him in the eyes. I vowed then that I would run away as soon as I was grown.”

“Omigosh, how can you bear to use that man’s name?” I said in horror. “You aren’t a slave any more. You should choose a completely new name!”

To my amazement he smiled and shook his head. “‘Valentine’ is my name now. I have earned it.. I have worn it like a second-hand boot, stretching and working at it over the years, until it stopped pinching and became mine. I never knew my true name or my true parents. I don’t even know which African language they spoke. The very words I use, I borrow from books written by white men.”

When I first saw Rufus Valentine I felt scared of him because I guessed he was a man with nothing to lose. I hadn’t realised that he’d already lost everything before he was even born.

He seemed to know what I was thinking. “Yes, little mistress,” he said softly. “The world can be harsh. Yet still, it is good to be alive!”

We slept in a spare cabin on silk sheets which Captain Valentine insisted had belonged to a Spanish Infanta.

The tousle-haired cabin boy woke us at sunrise. “The captain says to bring you these,” he grinned.

He had brought us a bundle of old but perfectly clean clothes; stripy cotton tops, pirate bandannas to protect our heads from the sun, and breeches drastically faded by salt and sun.

Yay! I can finally ditch that corset, I thought gratefully.

To my surprise, Lola chose the blue top and bandanna, so obviously I took the red. I didn’t say anything but I couldn’t help being puzzled. Lola’s slave clothes were blue. You’d think she’d be desperate for a change. But it was like she felt safer sticking to something she knew.

We creased up laughing when we saw each other in our pirate gear. But I felt a happy little buzz. In our matching clothes, we finally looked like equals. We looked as if we could actually be friends.

We went to say our goodbyes to Captain Valentine who seemed genuinely sorry to see us go. “I advise you to get out of sight as soon as you reach dry land,” he warned us. ” The militia watch this part of the coast like hawks, and the Santa Rosa is a Spanish vessel. If they see you in those clothes they will shoot first and ask questions afterwards.”