A Pirate’s Wife (13 page)

bed pulling at the restrains, she tried to move, but could

not.

'You finally decided to join us?'

A stern, angry voice spoke directly in front of her.

She lifted her head and looked straight at him, still in a

daze. Her head wanted to split in two. The agony of the last

two days, without food or water followed by the blow

against her head felt like torture. His menacing eyes

piercing through her made her fearful of the man dressed in

black. His appearance was perfect. Dark hair tucked behind

an ear and the meanest look she had ever seen on him. She

trembled with fear, yet was happy she was back.

She could only stare at him as she wet her drying

lips, reliving the past twenty-four hours.

She had quickly realised that she had made a

mistake once she stepped on board of the
Heerengardt.
The captain was not who he said he was and there was a look of

utter disgust on his face, which made his face repulsive.

When he spoke to his crew, she immediately

thought of the cruel Captain Breno who was cruel to his

crew twenty years ago. He was abrupt and rude as he

barked at everyone coming into his view. Rosa-Lee stayed

in the background, making sure she did not attract any

attention.

She followed him to the captain's cabin. He flung

the D.E.I.C ensign away from him, cursing it. When his

second-in-command appeared, the conversation gave it all

away. She immediately ducked away into the shadows and

kept quiet, listening to the angry conversation.

'Captain, did you find the man you were looking

for?'

'No, dammit! It was another dead end. I will find

that bastard and kill him.' He gulped the contents in the

glass on the table and walked away, the second following

him, shutting the door behind him. They muttered angry

words, words she could not understand.

Sunlight drenched the cabin, streaming in from

large windows. When the men left the cabin she stepped

out of the shadows and heard a sound from the closet

behind her. She went to investigate. Before she opened the

door she had her knife in her hand. A uniformed man lay

inside, tied and gagged. His grey-blond hair was

dishevelled and an old wound split one cheek. Blood

crusted the collar of his white shirt.

She introduced herself to him in whisper. When she

removed the gag, the man said that he was the real Captain

du Toit and pirates had captured the ship. She could do

nothing for him. They both agreed that she must not do

anything to attract their attention since they already had

killed his second-in-command. She had replaced the gag

after assuring him that she would do what she could to

rescue him. She crept out in the empty passageway and was

ready to go the main stairs when she heard footsteps and

she was forced to run down the next set of stairs. She then

went out seeking protection in the lower deck where

Roberto found her a day later.

She was fearful of discovery and made sure she was

well hidden. Footsteps and voices filtered through the

upper deck. She could do nothing but wait once again for a

moment to slip away. Her situation looked bleak and at

times she had to force herself not to give in to the

overwhelming thoughts of anguish.

At first she was startled when she saw Roberto

unexpectedly, ready to yelp with joy, but he had knocked

her unconscious before she could say anything. Now he

towered above her, mad as hell, clearly not in the mood to

listen.

'Did you for one moment think that I would not

notice that you were gone?' came the clipped words laced

with bottled up anger.

She could not answer him, too frightened of the

man who spoke in a deadly tone. Her tongue still thick

from the lack of water, she could only shake her head,

squeaking.

'Do you want to say something?' He raised a dark

brow.

She nodded her head. Enrico came into sight and

offered her some water, helping her sip it.

'You cost me two days,' Roberto continued.

'Because you want to be a sailor I am going to treat you like

one.'

'Please, Roberto, I know I am at fault, but listen. I

need to tell you something,' she said the moment she could

speak again.

'I am not interested in anything you have to say at

the moment. You have placed us all in danger and I cannot

let it pass without punishment.' Before she could react he

barked out, 'Take her to the upper deck.'

'Roberto, what are you going to do?' Pierre asked

fearfully.

'Teach the señorita a lesson.'

'Roberto, I hope you are not serious about doing

what I think you are going to do?' and Pierre gasped in

shock. He was the captain and he ran the ship as he saw fit.

But this. He was taking it too far.

'Yes, exactly.'

'Please, Roberto, I need to tell you something.'

Rosa-Lee tried again, pleading as she struggles against the

restrains, but he was so angry that he was not willing to

listen.

'She is a woman!' Pierre raised his voice to his

captain and he raised a dark brow in question. He only

received warning flashes back from the dark ochre eyes.

'Who disguises herself as a man, so I will treat her

as one,' Roberto seethed. Rosa-Lee was afraid of the man,

shivering at the coldness of his tone, not sure what he was

going to do to her. By the sound of Pierre, it was something

terrible.

Pierre knew this tone. His captain was not to be

dissuaded, and it would be wise to be quiet. But she was a

woman. This could simply not happen.

As they marched up the steps with her body

dangling between Pierre and another sailor, Rosa-Lee tried

to get Pierre's attention.

'Pierre! The other ship was captured, we must help

them…' Her voice broke in fear.

'How do you know this?' he whispered staring at the

rigid back of Captain Roberto who walked with long strides

to the upper deck.

'They are looking for someone. They were

determined to find this man' Her voice was thick with

emotion, swallowing the cries which wanted to escape her

lips. She was scared, hanging between the men like a rag

doll.

Rosa-Lee knew she had to convince them, no matter

what happened to her. 'That is why I hid in the lower deck.

It was not safe there. 'She swallowed when they came in

the sun, looking at Pierre with pleading eyes. 'Please

believe me.' She struggled again against the hands that held

her in iron grips.

Roberto gave the next command the moment they

stepped up onto the upper deck. 'Fasten her to the railing!'

he barked the next order

His men looked at him in horror.
Was their captain

out of his mind?
Surely he would not whip a woman. It was not done, never. Yet they did as they were told, fearing the

captain more at this point.

'Get started.' He spoke through clenched teeth,

looking at the boatswain who had the whip in his hand. The

man looked at him and then at Pierre with beseeching eyes.

It did not matter how hard they were. This was a lady and

you did not treat a lady like that.

'Are you disobeying an order, Pirate?' Roberto

asked stoically, eyebrows raised, his hands on his hips.

Other men moved closer, relieved they were not in the

boatswain's shoes.

'Captain, I never...' The big man's voice faltered as

he watch his captain walked towards Rosa-Lee. Roberto

walked over to her and ripped her shirt from her back,

exposing her soft, silky skin. His heart missed a beat but he

had to continue. He had to be strong and punish her. The

law of the sea requires this.

'Captain, wait. Please listen.' Pierre interrupted,

touching his arm. Roberto looked at him, annoyed, his face

blank.

'She told me something that you need to know,

Captain.' He kept his voice low. He did not want to show

disrespect for the man in front of the crew, but this was

important.

'What is it?'

'Can we step aside? I don't want the crew to hear.'

Roberto kept his eyes on her as they moved away.

Another man also looked at her, the lust in his eyes visible

for everyone to see, if anyone did look his way. But no one

did, the play before them capturing every harden sailor. All

eyes were fixated on the woman and the captain.

'Yes?' Roberto looked at him, then at Rosa-Lee, still

stretched out between the ropes, her soft back exposed in

the sun. She wiggled her wrists but the ropes cut through

the soft skin and red bruises formed. Roberto bit hard down

on his jaw; he could not afford to be soft.

Leaning his head closer to his second-in-command,

Roberto strained to hear as Pierre softly continued.

'The
Heerengardt
was captured. She did not make a

distress call because the men were looking for someone

else. She was hiding, hoping to get away as soon as

possible. She realized she made a mistake. Roberto, you

cannot flog this woman! You will have a mutiny on your

hands. Look at the men.'

At first he did not want to. Seeing the worried eyes

of his friend made him glance around. They barely hid their

angry glares. The woman was still tied against the railing,

struggling to loosen herself from the bonds.

'Then it makes sense what we saw: no guards and

only drunken men.'

'Yes, Roberto. Let her go.'

'Untie her!' he roared. The men sagged with relief.

The boatswain was the first to get to her, and he

untied her. Roberto removed his jacket and wrapped it

around her bare shoulders. As she slumped down, he

caught her before she hit the deck and took her to his grand

cabin.

9

April 05, 1625

We received a letter today that Kayla gave birth to

a healthy son on October 13, 1624.

Rosa-Lee was bouncing with joy since this would

make her an aunt. Chattering around the castle nonstop. It

brought back memories of betrayal and the years of abuse

we had to suffer under Faro. But at the end it worked out

for good. I would never forget that moment when Faro

admitted that Kayla was his daughter, there among every

sailor and slave. Once again I felt disgraced but Cisco

smiled at me as if he sensed my thoughts and I could not

help but to let it go. But still it left a bitter taste in my

mouth. Something I never talked about again.

To hear Rosa-Lee chatter about her new status

made me realise how far we came and that we were still

alive. Enjoying the joy of motherhood and new life.

Faro has paid for his sins.

†††

With her face hidden in his shoulder and her arms

around his neck, Roberto walked down the steps to his