Moontide Embrace (Historical Romance) (38 page)

The servant nodded, although her eyes were still puzzled. "I will keep your secret, but hurry. I hear M'sieu
Sebastian calling me. It would never do if he were to come in here. When will you return?"

Liberty ran for the back door. "I don't know. I have to
go," she called over her shoulder.

The cannon fire had ceased, and now gunfire filled the night. As Liberty raced toward the river where Judah
was waiting, she could hear Bandera screaming. "We are
going to die! It's the end of the world!"

Judah inspected the pontoon boat. It appeared to be
seaworthy, and it would be perfect for his needs. With its
flat bottom, it could easily maneuver the bayous, yet it was heavy enough to carry his cannons.

"This is a strange boat, Captain," Rojo observed, plac
ing his foot on the deck and watching it rock back and forth. "I hope she don't sink."

"I believe you will find it fits our needs tonight. It is
sturdier than it seems. This boat was built to haul crops
into New Orleans and bring back supplies on the return
trip." He smiled. "I hope you men are strong, because we
are going to have to use the poles to maneuver it down
river and through the swamps. Part of the time we will be
going against the current. That will be a new experience
for us all."

When Liberty neared the boat, she feared that Judah
would discover her deception, so she pulled the hat low
over her forehead. She decided to speak only in Acadian
French and to disguise her voice. She needn't have wor
ried because Judah was too busy sliding the poles into the
side hooks to even notice her. Three men, whom she knew
were members of Judah's crew on the
Winged Victory,
were lashing barrels to the boat with ropes.

Judah spoke to her without looking up. "If you are our
guide, look lively and step on board." He turned to the others and said authoritatively. "After we leave here, I
want no man to speak unless necessary, because sound
carries on the water. You, lad. Stand by me to navigate. I
want to avoid the main river as much as possible."

Liberty pulled the warm coat about her neck and
balanced herself in the front of the boat, while Judah and
the other men plied the long poles to the water and moved the boat into the current. With her knowledge of
the bayous and river forks, Liberty soon guided them to a
little-known waterway that was almost hidden with under
brush.

An eerie quietness hung over the swamp. Only occa
sional gunfire could be heard in the distance as they poled through a narrow part of the bayou, where only two men
were needed to maneuver the pontoon.

A sudden break in the clouds revealed ghostly cypress
trees. Against the southern sky, there appeared flashes of
lights and sporadic gunfire came to their ears. Judah's
voice was no more than a whisper when he spoke. "I want
to be out of these swamps before morning. Is that possible, lad?"

"Oui,
it sounds like the gunfire is coming from around the Chalmette Plantation. I know a route that will take us
past the fighting,
M'sieu."

"Good," he said, straining his eyes in the darkness, wondering how this lad could see well enough to know
where they were going with not even the stars to guide him.

When, several hours later, the boat pulled out of the
swamps and onto the Mississippi, leaving the sound of fighting far behind, Judah clapped the boy on the back.
"Well, done, lad. Unfortunately, the real test will be on the return journey."

"Can I ask where we are going,
M'sieu?"
Liberty questioned. "I need to know in case there is a shorter route to reach our destination."

"Our objective is straight ahead, lad. We are headed for my ship, the
Winged Victory.
You will not be needed for
now. I would suggest you try to get some sleep."

Silence descended as the boat moved with the swift
current. The stars disappeared behind a thick blanket of fog, and a light rain started to fall. It was cold. Liberty
pulled her hat over her face to ward off the rain. She was
glad she had come with Judah. No one, with the exception of herself and Zippora, knew about the hidden bayou she had guided them through tonight.

Liberty sank down and rested her head against her knees. For two nights she had not slept. Now, with the
rain coming down, she closed her eyes and fell asleep. She
was aware that one of the men placed his cloak about her
shoulders, and she knew it was Judah.

Liberty did not know how long she slept, but she was jarred awake when the boat hit against something solid.
Sleepily, she opened her eyes and realized they had
reached their destination, because a huge ship loomed out
of the fog.

The sound of scurrying feet could be heard as men
moved across the deck of the
Winged Victory,
and some
one called out. "Who goes there? Identify yourself, or get
blown out of the water!"

"It's the captain, you fool," Rojo answered. "Throw down the ladder."

Helpful hands grasped Liberty, and she was aided up
the rope ladder. She was fully awake now, and staring in
awe about the ship. The crew snapped to attention and
waited for their captain to speak. In the dim torchlight,
Liberty did not miss the respect evident on the faces of the men. She was seeing a side of Judah that she had
never seen before. He belongs to the sea, she thought. He
was born to it.

Judah was now in command, and he spoke with the
voice of authority. "Philippe, have several men detach the
twenty-four pounders and load them onto the flat boat.
Haste is most important."

"Aye, aye, Captain," the first mate replied. No questions were asked as the crew of the
Winged Victory
hurried to carry out their captain's orders.

Judah moved over to Liberty and nodded to the galley.
"Go below and tell the cook I said he was to feed you and
find some dry clothes for you." Judah smiled encourag
ingly. "You did well tonight, lad. I regret that you will have little time to rest. Were you frightened?"

"No,
M'sieu."

"Good, lad. But I can almost assure you that the return
journey will be far more hazardous. You are young, and if you do not wish to continue, I will understand."

"With you I am not afraid,
M'sieu."

"Go below now. There is no reason for you to stand out
in the rain."

Liberty nodded, taking care to keep the hat pulled over
her forehead. She wanted to ask Judah how long it had
been since he had slept. He had pushed harder and done
more than all the others. She saw the weariness in his
eyes, and she wished she could take him in her arms and
soothe him. Instead she moved toward the companionway,
guessing that was where she would find the galley.

Liberty was hunched over the table, fast asleep, when a
heavy hand fell on her shoulder. "Come alive, lad. The
captain will be wanting you. It's time to leave."

Liberty looked sleepily up at the man who was Judah's
first mate. "How long have I been sleeping?" she asked.
Seeing that her hat had fallen off while she had slept, she
met the man's eyes, and saw shock written on his face.
Suddenly her face turned red, for she realized her hair had tumbled down.

"What in the hell is this?" Philippe asked, grabbing her
hand and jerking her to her feet. "The captain does not know you are a girl!"

Her eyes begged him for understanding. "Please,
M'sieu,
do not tell Judah. I implore you to keep my
secret. I had to disguise myself or he would never have
allowed me to come with him, and he needed someone to
guide him through the swamps."

Slowly Philippe's eyes lit up with understanding. "You
are Liberty," he stated with growing assurance. "You are
the captain's little wife!"

"Oui,
but will you keep my secret, please,
Monsieur?
I
am the only one who can help Judah."

Philippe smiled and handed Liberty her hat. "I never
could say no to a beautiful woman. I think I should warn you, however, that all hell's gong to break out when the
captain learns about this,
Madame.
He will find out, you
know. You can't fool him for very long."

"Perhaps, but I have to chance it," she said, twisting her hair and securing it with pins, then setting the hat firmly on her head.

Philippe chuckled as he helped her poke a stray curl
beneath the hat. "I can see you are going to liven up the
captain's life considerably. It's easy to see why he married
you. Beauty cannot be disguised."

"You have the eyes and mouth of a Frenchman,
Mon
sieur."
On an impulse, Liberty reached up and kissed Philippe on the cheek. "Thank you for being such a gentleman, and thank you for keeping my secret."

Warmth was reflected in the first mate's eyes as they
rested on the golden-haired beauty who had charmed him. "You had better scoot along, Madame. The captain is waiting for you, and he isn't in the best of moods."
Suddenly Philippe threw back his head and laughed at the
humor of the situation. "The captain isn't in the best of
moods because he thinks he left his young bride so soon
after the wedding."

Liberty laughed as she gave her hat a final pat. Then she went out the door and raced to the upper deck. A
quick glance told her that three cannons had been loaded
onto the pontoon. "Come aboard, lad," Judah called up to her. "We are ready to get underway."

Judah's attention was on the cannons as Liberty climbed down the ladder and onto the flatboat. "We are riding low in the water because of the weight of the cannons," Judah observed. "Let us hope that we don't
run into rough weather and capsize. Our progress will be
much slower now."

Liberty realized that she must have slept for hours, because the sun was riding high in the sky. On the
horizon, dark, threatening clouds gathered, and the icy
fingers of a cold wind promised to make the return trip
miserable.

Judah had instructed the crew to keep the boat in the
middle of the river, hoping to avoid the choppy waves. Now Liberty noticed for the first time that the
Winged
Victory
was anchored in a small inlet that was well hidden
from the river's main channel.

Long, tedious hours of poling passed, and they were still on the Mississippi, each man tense and fearing discovery. When the sunset streaked a blast of purple
across the clouds, Liberty pointed to a quiet bayou, and
with relief, the men guided the boat in that direction.

Judah glanced upward as the first raindrops began to fall. "Is the rain going to be a problem?" he asked, turning his gaze to Liberty.

"It could be,
M'sieu,
if the wind comes up. I would
advise that you keep near the shore. Then, if we get into
trouble, we will have a better chance of saving the
cannon. About five miles ahead, the bayou narrows, and
we may have problems with all this weight."

"Smart lad," Judah said, silently thanking Liberty for
sending him such an able guide. His thoughts went to his
young bride and he felt warm in spite of the chill wind that pelted rain into his face. He could almost picture
Liberty curled up beside a warm fire, candlelight reflect
ing off her golden hair.

He tried to forget about the cold by remembering the
many times he had been enchanted by Liberty, the minx.
Every time he had been with her, she had lightened his
heart and made him laugh. He must have been falling in
love with her right from the beginning, though he hadn't
admitted it to himself. Perhaps he hadn't allowed himself
to love her at that time because she had been so young. Now he couldn't imagine life without loving Liberty.