Pirates of the Storm (Stranded In Time Book 1) (22 page)

“I told you they get more entertaining
with more rum,” Jenny said in a low voice.

“Very entertaining,” Jeff nodded
appreciatively.

Jeff and Jenny grabbed their cups of
rum and sat down at the Captain’s table and listened to Coxen
finishing up a tale of his past exploits, “…and I said to him, who
are you going to trust? Me or your cheating wife?” It apparently
had been quite a story, as the entire table erupted in raucous
laughter.

Several other men at the table took
turns telling stories and as darkness fell and torches were lit
around the inside of the fort , Smitty appeared at the table. “The
pig be ready for the feast, gentlemen. The women be bringing out
the fixin’s now. Help yerselves.”

Jeff stood up and nearly fell flat on
his face. Although he had been drinking it slowly, the rum on his
empty stomach was definitely hitting him hard. Jenny, on the other
hand, had been out-drinking him and she jumped up and headed for
the fire pit with no difficulty whatsoever. Jeff managed to get his
balance and staggered over to grab some food. Back at the table,
things grew quiet for a short time while the pirates and women
savored the roast pig. Jeff spotted Esmerelda coming out of her
quarters with her last date and the two headed for the food. “Thar
ye be, Mr.Robinson!” the blonde exclaimed as she approached the
table. “I been lookin’ all over fer ye!”

“Apparently you found someone else
whilst you were looking for me,” Jenny said with mock
indignation.

“Aye, when I not be able to find ye, I
‘ad to make other arrangements. A girl gets lonely ye know!” she
said smiling, “But after I eat, I hope ye will allow me to make it
up to ye.”

“You can try,” Jenny replied in her
deepest pirate voice.

After the food was gone and the
drinking and storytelling resumed, the blonde woman dragged Jenny
off to her quarters. Jeff imagined all sorts of scenarios for how
Jenny was managing to have a sexual liaison without giving away the
fact that she was a woman, but his thoughts were suddenly
distracted by a sound in the distance. He jumped up and staggered a
bit as he made his way out to the center of the fort to look up at
the sky.

It was dark but only a few
stars were visible through the clouds that had set in. Then he saw
a flash of light against the clouds and a moment later the rumble
of thunder filled his ears. For a moment he hesitated. He knew this
could be his chance to get back to his own time, but he didn’t want
to leave Jenny behind without even saying goodbye. But there was no
time to figure things out, as he knew this might be his only chance
to get home. He ran to the main entrance to the fort and pulled
back the bar before swinging open the heavy door and running down
the path to the beach. He stood on the beach and stared out at the
storm blowing in from the water. It looked like just an ordinary
thunderstorm, but Jeff needed to be sure. He struggled to push one
of the longboats into the water and jumped in. Frantically he rowed
out in the direction of the lightning flashes, but the storm was
moving quickly along the shore and soon was drifting away in the
night sky. Jeff quickly realized that it was out of reach, and he
had not seen any signs of the strange lightning or cloud formations
that had transported him to the 17
^th
century the week
before.

He watched the storm move out to sea
and disappear on the horizon before reluctantly turning the boat
around and heading back toward the beach. It was difficult to see
where the fort was in the darkness. Only a faint glow appeared in
the sky above it from the torches burning within, and Jeff was not
really sure where they had come ashore. But as he approached the
beach, he saw a torch burning brightly at the water’s edge and he
headed toward it.

When he reached the shore, he found
Captain Coxen holding the torch that had guided him in. “My
sympathies, Mr. Greene. I had hoped, as I am sure you did, that you
had found a way home.”

“Thank you, Captain, and thanks for
coming out with the torch. I might not have found my way back
without it,” Jeff replied, “To be honest, I actually have some
mixed feelings about going back…”

“Without Robinson?” Coxen asked
knowingly.

“Yes.”

“You should think carefully on that,
Mr. Greene. You have adapted well in your short time with us, but
just as you are out of place here, she would be out of place in you
time.”

“I know,” Jeff nodded. “It’s just that
I feel like I’m taking advantage of her if there’s a chance that
someday I’m just going to leave.”

“Do not underestimate Robinson, Mr.
Greene. I am sure she is quite aware of the possibility of you
leaving suddenly, whether to return to your own time, or to be
claimed by death in this time – which is a distinct possibility in
this line of work. But you should discuss your concerns with her.
She may surprise you.”

“You are, as usual, a source of great
wisdom, Captain,” Jeff nodded appreciatively.

“Don’t get too used to it, Mr. Greene.
Ordinarily I’m a complete fool, but I’ve had a good week,” the
Captain laughed. The two men made their way back up the path to the
fort.

They arrived at the entrance to find
the door closed and locked. Coxen pounded on the door. “What’s the
password?”

The Captain sighed and looked skyward
seeking strength from above. “Brethren.”

“That be the old password,” came the
muffled reply.

“Old password?! Mr. Slate, it’s
Captain Coxen, open the door!”

“Tryin’ to trick me, eh? Captain
Coxen’s already ‘ere!”

Coxen smacked his forehead with his
palm, “Slate, I assure you it is Captain Coxen. I stepped out
briefly. Now open the door!” he shouted.

“Not without the password,” came the
reply.

It was all Jeff could do to control
his laughter as Captain Coxen’s frustration grew. Before Coxen
totally blew his stack, Jeff stepped in, “If Brethren was the old
password, what’s the new one?”

“Coast,” came the reply.

Coxen turned and smiled at Jeff, “Well
done, Mr. Greene. Mr. Slate, the password is coast.” There was a
sound of the bar being slid aside and the door creaked
open.

“You may enter.” As the two walked
through the door, Slate quickly apologized, “Sorry, Captain. I
thought sure ye be already ‘ere.”

“Think nothing of it, Mr. Slate.
You’re doing a fine job!”

“Thank ye, Captain,” Slate replied
with a toothless grin.

The Captain and Jeff rejoined the
celebration, which now consisted mostly of drunken story-telling
and continued consumption of rum to fuel it. Jenny was back at the
table, with her blonde friend sitting on her lap. “Good to see you,
Mr. Greene,” Jenny said.

“And you, Mr. Robinson. Perhaps I
could have a word with you?” Jeff replied.

“Aye, of course. Please excuse us,
Esmerelda.” The blonde climbed off of Jenny’s lap and gave her an
exaggerated pout.

“Promise ye won’t be long?”

“Promise,” Jenny replied as she arose
and kissed Esmerelda on the cheek.

Jeff and Jenny made their way to the
far side of the courtyard. “So, Mr. Greene, you are trustworthy
when it comes to other women, but not so much when it comes to
thunderstorms! The first sign of lightning and you go running
off!”

“Jenny, I…I…” Jeff started, but she
cut him off.

“Mr. Greene…Jeff, an explanation is
not necessary. It is true that I enjoy your company as I believe
you enjoy mine, but I know that you do not belong here and that you
wish to return to your time. That is to be expected. In our short
time together, I have grown quite fond of you, but if it is fate
that the storm returns to take you home, you must go and I shall be
happy for you even if we are no longer to be together.”

Jeff sighed with relief. “I’m glad
that you feel that way. I’ve been worried that I have been leading
you on, developing a relationship with you knowing that I could be
leaving at any time.”

Jenny laughed, “Frankly Mr. Greene, I
initially saw you as simply an acceptable means to getting my
physical needs met and did not even think beyond that. I do have
feelings for you now, as I have said, but to be completely honest…
I was very much using you at first!”

“Well, don’t I feel special!” Jeff
laughed.

“You should,” Jenny replied, “I’m very
selective about the men I use! Well, actually…”

“You can stop there,” Jeff said,
holding up his hand.

Jeff looked back at the celebration
and saw Esmerelda give Jenny a wave. “Speaking of being used, I
think your friend there is ready to use you again,” Jeff
observed.

“Aye, it is a curse being such an
accomplished lover!” Jenny said with a wink.

“Yes, I’ve noticed that,” Jeff
acknowledged, “In fact, I’d be interested in taking advantage of
your skills again tonight myself.”

“I’d love to, but I’m afraid that
Esmerelda will not give me a moment’s peace for the remainder of
our stay. She nearly discovered my secret once. I can’t take the
chance of her figuring out that I’m not exactly the man she thinks
I am,” Jenny said apologetically.

Jeff sighed, “Yes, I suppose you’re
right. Well, I suppose we should get back to the group so your
adoring fan doesn’t become too lonely.”

“Aye,” Jenny nodded as the two
proceeded to walk back to the tables.

Esmerelda met the pair halfway, “This
one is mine, for now,” Esmerelda said to Jeff as she pulled Jenny
towards the door of her quarters.

“Have fun,” Jeff said as he continued
back to the group. The drinking and stories continued through the
night, occasionally interrupted by men and women sneaking off to
more private parties. Jeff had switched to grog and was sipping it
slowly to keep from getting too plastered, but he started to get
very sleepy and laid his head down on the table.

The next thing he knew, he was
awakened by a rooster crowing and a sharp pain extending from his
head to his butt. He stiffly pried himself upright and looked
around. The dim light of dawn was just breaking over the tops of
the fort walls and all around him laid passed out pirates and the
occasional half-naked woman. He was pretty hung-over and he ached
all over from sleeping bent over the table. As he tried to stand,
he realized he could not feel his legs. He moved them a bit and
they tingled to life gradually.

As he walked around trying to get
circulation back in his legs and flexibility back in his spine, he
noticed Jenny sneaking out of Esmerelda’s door. She spotted Jeff
and walked over to him. “Are you all right?” she asked, noticing
his stiff movements.

“Never better,” he said wincing, “I
fell asleep at the table.”

“Aye, I have done that before. It
makes for a difficult morning. I on the other hand feel quite good.
Esmerelda shared her bed with me and it was very cozy.”

“One of the perks of being such an
accomplished lover,” Jeff said with a smirk.

“I suppose it is,” Jenny replied
brightly.

“You know, Esmerelda is likely going
to be asleep for a while. If you like, I would be amenable to going
for a little swim with you, and whatever else we might get up to in
the grotto before she comes looking for me.”

Jeff groaned, “Great! I can barely
move, my head feels like it’s going to explode and now you want to
sneak off to the grotto!”

“Well if you don’t want to…” Jenny
started.

“I didn’t say I didn’t want to. I just
wanted to complain first!” Jeff replied.

“Are you done complaining?” she
asked.

“Yes.”

“Good, then come with me!”

Jenny led him back down the passageway
to the grotto and they quickly shed their clothes and slipped into
the water. The tide was much lower than on their first visit,
enabling them to stand with their heads above the surface. They
played in and out of the water for some time as the sunlight shined
in and the reflections flickered on the dark walls of the grotto.
“We should be getting back,” Jenny said, “The sun is now well on
the rise and they should be preparing breakfast by now. I, for one,
am getting hungry.”

Jeff nodded in agreement, “I could
definitely use some food myself.”

Between the swim and other physical
activities in the grotto, Jeff’s aches and pains had eased
considerably and even his hangover headache was subsiding as they
headed back out to the courtyard. By now, the sun was peeking over
the wall of the fort and most of the celebrants were awake and
moving about over at the tables. Wisps of smoke drifted around by
the fire pit and appeared that Smitty and the two women cooks were
indeed preparing breakfast. Captains Coxen and Jamison were off at
a table by themselves going over charts, presumably making plans
for the next raid.

Jeff and Jenny sat down at a table
just as one of the women brought over a large platter of fruit and
nuts. “There be bacon and potato hash ready soon,” the woman said
as she set down the fruit in the center of the table. Jeff and
Jenny were even hungrier than they had realized and both eagerly
grabbed handfuls of food and wolfed them down, as did the others
assembled in the dining area.