A Pirate’s Wife (15 page)

What was that all about? He had never knelt before

a woman, let alone told anyone the story of his scar. Never

had he felt this vulnerable in all his life. He thought she

merely intrigued him. But he found it was more than just

attraction or thoughts of a few minutes rolling in the hay.

He had feelings for her.

He knew she had the same struggles as he did. Her

feelings for him were crystal clear for that brief second

when she touched his cheek, trailing her small finger down

his cheek and letting it stop at his lips.

She was fighting, refusing to recognize it.

Smiling softly, he thought he would have to be

patient with her. He could understand why she was fighting

it. In her eyes, he was a pirate. Ladies like her never fell in

love with pirates. It was unheard of. His life foretold an

unsavoury future, a life no woman would be willing to

share. But then, he was not an ordinary pirate. He could

have a future with her, but he could not reveal it. Not now.

He could still feel her touch on his face. He enjoyed

the memory of the delicate caress against the scar, emotions

she stirred; what it did to him. Sitting down on the chair she

had left, he leaned back and closed his eyes, a smile on his

handsome face.

†††

'Captain, we have set the sails and we are on our

way to the
Heerengardt.
The winds look good,' Pierre

reported after a while.

'That is good.'

Roberto stood over the maps and studied them, but

Pierre knew him. His thoughts were not with the maps. His

guess would be that they were with the beautiful señorita.

He had seen how Roberto looked at her when he

thought nobody was watching. His captain was in love with

her, and who could blame him? She was not only beautiful

but very intelligent too. She was a novelty in these times

where women were only expected to have children and do

household chores, staying in the background.

The señorita could speak to them about things that

interested them. She had a sharp mind. She had proven it

again with her perception about the
Heerengardt.
If he had half a chance, he would pursue her. His captain would not

like the competition.

†††

A while later Rosa-Lee came on deck. She wore a

beautiful pale green dress, her skin glowing and hair shiny,

looking magnificent. She was the picture of a stunning

female, now more than before.

Roberto watched her from the bridge as she stood at

the railing, peering over the waters in the direction of the

captive ship. They were going at a good speed. The winds

had picked up and the ship cleaved the water, leaving a

white trail behind.

'At this rate we will catch up in time,' Roberto

thought.

The stormy weather they had experienced the

previous evening had fled but left them with a good strong

wind blowing the sails in a sharp convex. The wooden

beams creaked under its force.

The meal bell reverberates through the ship and he

walked down the steps off the bridge. He met Rosa-Lee at

the bottom and offered his arm to walk her to the dining

hall. With a smile, she gladly accepted, placing a small

hand on the sleeve of his jacket. He inhaled. She smelled

like cinnamon and honey, his favourite smells.

'Are you feeling better?' He inquired.

'Yes, thank you. The bath was wonderful and

Enrico is very good.'

'I am glad you are pleased, Mon Petite.' He let the

endearing words slip again and she smiled, looking down at

her feet, the stairs steep in front of her.

Once they were seated, Pierre asked, 'What is the

plan of action?'

'I have given it much thought,' Rosa-Lee said

immediately and both Roberto and Pierre grinned at the

señorita's self-assuredness. This they had to hear. The other

men looked dumb-founded at the three.

'The moment that we are close enough to send a

signal, we will send a distress call. I, as a diversion, will go

on board while you --' looking at both Pierre and Roberto ' -

- Will come from behind and free the captain and his crew.

Easy.' She shrugged her shoulders casually. Roberto

thought his heart almost stopped at the ridiculous plan.

'There is no way that I will allow you to go on that

ship again,' said Roberto abruptly, glaring at her.

'Now wait, Roberto. That sounds like a great plan.'

'No.'

'Do you have a better idea?' Pierre asked with a

grin. His friend was smitten.

'Please, Captain, we can help these men and I can

make a better diversion than you can. My life will be safe. I

mean, I am surrounded with D.E.I.C. men. There are only

ten pirates. We can take them out.' Her logic was too

simple for him. How could he put her back, knowing what

he had just discovered?

All eyes were on him, the food forgotten, as they

waited.

Debating with himself, weighing both the pros and

cons, he knew this was the best plan. Reluctantly, Roberto

had to agree to the plan and finally said:

'Okay. I see that it can work, but if there is, at any

time, the smallest notion that your life is in danger, we pull

out. Is that clear?'

'Yes, clear.' both Pierre and Rosa-Lee agreed and

they smiled to each other.

'Let's eat,' said Rosa-Lee. 'I am starving.' Chuckles

filled the cabin; even Roberto revealed a grin before it

disappeared again.

11

Watching the woman eating, Roberto could not

believe he just agreed to this insane plan. His mind raced,

trying to find a new plan, but hers was the best. He

admitted after a few minutes. She clearly had put a lot of

thought into it and they could win. Setting the captain and

his men free for a get out of jail free card… he smirked.

'Yeah right.'

The whole idea was preposterous but as he watched

her it grew on him just as she grew on him. He knew he

had feelings for her but to what extent he did not want to

admit. But she brought out the best in him. She was more

than he expected and in only a short time he could not

imagine giving her to the Falcon. That in itself was a

thought that kept him awake often.

The whole idea of putting her in danger among the

other pirates made his palms sweaty. His heart throbbed. So

many things could go wrong. And he would never forgive

himself if she got hurt.

He watched as she listened to the conversation at

the table, smiling sweetly at the men, and another emotion

surged through him. One he had never encountered before.

He frowned as she talked to Pierre, who listened to

her with interest. When Pierre looked at him, Roberto

scowled. His second smiled and continued with the

conversation. Her laughter rang through the air. It annoyed

him and he pushed his chair away, stepping out into the

passageway as the door slammed behind him.

He knew he was acting childlike but he could not

help himself. He walked to his grand cabin and plopped

down in his chair. Thoughts rushed through him.
Come on,

man.
The woman can talk to whomever she wants. She is
not married to you.
He squirmed in his chair. Seeing a glass of wine on his desk he took one huge swig and smacked his

lips as the red liquid poured down his throat. His thoughts

stuck on the word
married.
As if something had struck him, he briskly walked out of his cabin to the upper deck,

knowing that his thoughts would be best occupied when

busy.

It took them eighteen hours to catch up with the

Heerengardt
near the north coast of Morocco, at the curve where the Atlantic and the Mediterranean met. It was

already late and Roberto decided to do it early in the

morning, when most of those men would still be asleep. He

was hoping they would have a good run-in with the rum

barrel the previous evening.

They chose a few trusted men to go with them and

brought them up to speed with the plan. All of them were

eager to help the fellow sailors, even if they were

technically enemies.

Just as the sun broke over the horizon the
Contra O

Vento
sent a distress signal and the
Heerengardt
answered.

The long boat had left an hour earlier with the chosen men

on their way to the other side of the ship, waiting for the

signal from Roberto.

The longboat had lowered onto the water and Rosa-

Lee was let down with the boats man Fausto accompanying

her. The Spaniard's short, bulky frame concealed his

strength and speed, both with weapons and his fists. He was

the only man Roberto trusted to protect her at all costs.

Roberto thought his heart was going to stop at the

sight of her. To think that he gave in to the plan was utter

madness.

He swallowed at the lump in his throat, followed

Pierre into the water, and swam behind the longboat to get

unnoticed to the
Heerengardt.
They would then continue

around the ship where they would meet the other men and

get up with a rope fastened to their waists.

They were both masked, their identities sealed from

prying people. They were still pirates, enemies on the

waters. As they approached the ship, Rosa-Lee made sure

that her dress revealed enough to keep the 'captain' busy.

Roberto almost had a heart attack when he saw her at first.

Her bosom was showing too much soft roundness for his

taste, and her small waist was even more accentuated.

Some of his men smiled with pleasure and he gave them

angry warning looks.

To display her attributes before other men was not

good at all. It made him resentful to the whole absurd idea

all over again. And again that unknown feeling coursed

through him. It was an emotion so new to him that he did

not recognize it at first, until Pierre pointed it out and

Roberto told him to shut his mouth. The man was pleased

with the discovery of Roberto's envious emotions and

gleeful, full of mischievous behaviour. Roberto knew he

would never hear the end of this.

Rosa-Lee made sure that the men on the

Heerengardt's
eyes were glued on her so that they would

not notice the two men behind them. The boatswain had

warned her a few times to take it easy, not to fall over the

side, at which she just shrugged her shoulders and

continued, enjoying the adventure. However, in reality, she

was nervous and did not want to show it to Roberto. She

was hiding behind the bravado. To show so much of herself

was a first. She had never flaunted herself deliberately and

felt self-conscious about it, but the reaction from Roberto

surprised her in a good way.

When she finally got on board, the impostor greeted

her keenly. He seemed ugly as his eyes ran hungrily over

her body. She had to fight the shivers running through her.

She swallowed at the bile threatening to rise and

plastered a smile on her face.

This is what she was aiming for. Distraction.

'My good captain, finally we can meet. I was

distracted when you were on the ship earlier. Your fame

precedes you, and your second in command is a worthy