Buccaneer (40 page)

Parker looked gloomy. “The news was not good when we sailed from London. The Lord Protector had died the week before. The country – well, London anyway – seemed stunned.”

“His great strength was in London. Not many tears were shed down in the west country,” Thomas said, making it clear he was not a Parliamentarian.

“No, quite. Well, there was not a great deal of enthusiasm at the thought that Richard was succeeding him.”

“What brought you to Jamaica?” Ned asked.

“A dozen or so people want to settle here. Granted land by the Lord Protector. They took passage with me because I was going to Barbados and Antigua. Now they don’t know whether to stay or come back with me.”

“What worries them?”

“Well, are their land grants still any good?”

“Of course, as long as they were signed by the Lord Protector or someone he appointed legally. Otherwise everyone would lose his land every time a lord protector or a monarch died.”

“Ah, I’ll tell them that. It sounds good sense. Trouble is, they couldn’t get any reassurance from the general here.”

Ned gave a dry laugh. “Tell me, what news from Barbados?” he asked casually.

“A very unhappy island, it seemed to me. I hadn’t been there for three or four years, but now…every man’s hand seems to be turned against his brother. There was a nasty duelling episode while we were there; one of the island’s biggest landowners was killed.”

Ned nodded. “A small island, everyone knows everyone else – perhaps too well – and heavy drinking is a habit. What happened?”

“There was a gambling party in Bridgetown, I understand. Two or three dozen people there and gambling for high stakes. One man was cheating – five or six people had been watching him for an hour or two. Then one of them accused him. He had marked cards in his hand but he denied everything and in a terrible fury challenged his accuser to a duel. They fought at dawn next day. He was shot in the stomach and died before sunrise. A young man, owning two big estates, but he had a wild temper, people said.”

“Did you hear his name?” Ned asked, casually trying to disguise his interest.

“Oh yes. I’ve met him a few times and brought out goods for him this voyage. The rate was agreed but he refused to pay it all. Paid me exactly half. A bad man, really; no one was mourning him, as far as I could see.”

“What
was
his name?” Ned repeated.

“Wilson. He had a plantation near Bridgetown, and recently he bought Kingsnorth, so people said. I delivered his goods at Bridgetown and he cheated me, standing on the jetty and calling
me
a scoundrel.”

“We mustn’t speak ill of the dead,” Thomas said piously. “Well, we have some work to finish on board the
Griffin
so we will bid you a good day sir. You will not be sailing for some days? Good, then you must visit us.”

In the boat Ned sat on the thwart, Parker’s words repeating in his ears like a jungle drum. “A bad man, really; no one was mourning him, as far as I could see… Wilson, Wilson, Wilson…marked cards in his hand but he denied everything… challenged his accuser…shot in the stomach and died before sunrise…”

Thomas gripped his arm. “Stop feeling sorry for Wilson; it should have happened years ago. Start thinking about how you tell Aurelia. She won’t be grief-stricken, but it’ll be a shock. Would you prefer that Diana…?”

“No, I’ll do it. I’m not sorry for him, Thomas; he challenged me, you know.”

“And you refused?” It was Thomas’ turn to be shocked. Refusing a challenge invited the accusation of cowardice.

“If I’d fought him, I’d have killed him, sword or pistol.”

“That’d have been no loss!”

“Yes, but I did not think Aurelia would ever marry the man who killed her husband, much as she hated him. Every time my right hand touched her, she might remember…”

“You’re right, I suppose; women can be unpredictable. But you took a big risk. The island would have loved to call you a coward, and Aurelia might have thought you were too frightened to risk your skin on her behalf – I presume she was the cause.”

“Yes, she was, but she understood. And now someone has done the job for me. For us, really.”

“You’ll be able to marry now,” Thomas said cheerfully. “Oh, what a wedding we’ll all give you! After the usual period of mourning, of course!”

By then the boat was coming alongside the
Griffin
and Thomas said: “I’ll leave you to it. Diana will want to hear the news. Gently does it and don’t rush things, Ned.” He shook him by the hand and Ned stood up on the thwart and jumped for the rope ladder.

Aurelia was waiting on deck and she walked towards him and clasped his hands in hers. “Did everything go well?”

“With the general? Oh yes, he has agreed to build the forts and batteries if we provide the guns, powder and shot.”

“And then you and Thomas visited the other ship.”

“Yes, we went over to hear any further news.”

“She came through Barbados.” She said it as a statement, not a question, and she was looking past Ned as she spoke, to a point in the distance measurable only in time, not distance.

She gripped Ned’s hands tightly. “You heard some bad news.”

Again, a statement, not a question, Ned noted. Was it bad news really? Yes, a death always had to be regarded as bad news; it was the kind of hypocrisy that was necessary among civilised people.

“Yes, my darling. It concerns you. And me, too, I suppose.”

“Something has happened to Walter.” Again a statement; somehow, he felt, she had known all along. He led her to the companionway and down to the cabin, conscious that seamen on deck had guessed that something unusual was happening.

She sat in the chair, quite composed, and clasped her hands. The skin of her face had tautened, emphasizing her high cheekbones, but there was no expression, no fear, anger or relief.

“How did it happen?”

“A duel. He made the challenge.”

“He challenged you, and you refused for my sake although you knew he would put it about that you were a coward.”

Ned knelt before her and took her hands in his. “You are a widow, now.”

He was not quite sure why he said it because it was a banal, unnecessary remark, but she suddenly pressed his head to her breasts. “I’ve been a widow for a long time, Edouard; from the day I fell in love with you. You can only be married in your heart if you have a true husband. I was married only in the eyes of the church.”

“So we are free,” he said. “Free to be together with no one to deny us.”

She looked down at him. “Can we be more free than we are? Can we be more together than we are? For a buccaneer,
chéri
, you still worry about the laws made by men in remote places which do not apply to us.”

He grinned and admitted it. “I want us to be married, yes. You are right, it will not affect us really, not to make us happier or more free. But it will make a difference to me. I can’t explain how or why, but it will.”

“I know,” she said gently, “I know and understand. It is the difference between a man and a woman. I am yours; you realize that. But you want a marriage ceremony because you are not certain that I know you are mine.”

“I don’t know the reasons; I just want us to be married.”

“Then we shall be – when you ask me, of course, and we must have proof of Walter’s death.”

“Parker, the master of the ship, will swear an affidavit, I’m certain. That would be enough.”

“Edouard – you realize what Walter’s death means?”

There was something in the tone of her voice which made him think quickly to see if there was some awful snag that he had not considered, but there was nothing.

“Well, we can marry…but what else?”

“I am Walter’s widow.
La veuve
. I will – no, I
have
, inherited all his possessions. My wedding present to you, my darling, is Kingsnorth. Will you accept it?”

Dates given are for first publication and (for Ramge series) year in which novel is set.

These Titles can be read as a series, or randomly as standalone novels

These Titles can be read as a series, or randomly as standalone novels

Published by House of Stratus

Buccaneer It is the 1650's and Spain considers the Caribbean to be its own private sea. But England, Holland and France conspire to battle for freedom on the oceans set in days littered with the plunder of piracy. Ned Yorke, a loyal Royalist living in Barbados has a small vessel and devoted crew and together they sail, hunted by Roundheads and Spaniards, determined to pay whatever the price for freedom from tyranny. What transpires is a colourful, dramatic retelling of historical events surrounding the capture of Jamaica and the infamous raid on Santiago.

Admiral Charles II returns from exile bringing with him unease to the Spanish Main. In this vivid description of seventeenth-century buccaneers, Ned Yorke, the leader and hero of the swashbuckling band are depended upon for the defence of Jamaica, fighting with captured Spanish guns. Daring raids on the Spanish seem inevitable, as Yorke sets out on the high seas to distant adventures on behalf of the King and his own honour.

Galleon As England falls under a blanket of peace with the restoration of Charles II, in distant Jamaica all is not well. Though there is peace with Spain, there is No Peace Beyond the Line. It seems that the West Indies have become the private estate of the King of Spain. But Ned Yorke, Admiral of the Brethren, leader of the Buccaneers will not kowtow to the new Governor in Jamaica who is bent on weakening the Island’s defences and destroying its currency. Ned Yorke and his Buccaneers must not remain idle. The third in a series set in the Caribbean, Dudley Pope reveals a masterful plot of subtle, seafaring lore wound around the tense excitement of adventure on the high seas.

Corsair In the 1660's Jamaica was an uneasy island, occupied by Spain but settled by the English and French. When Admiral of the Brethren, Ned Yorke, a brave, loyal Buccaneer, learns that Spain is mounting a Caribbean fleet perhaps to protect the treasures of Spanish ships, or carry an army to Jamaica, he vows to find out the truth. Yorke’s audacious attacks on Spanish camps reveal all and the Buccaneers must fight a bloody, desperate battle to try and hinder them.

Convoy A deadly game of cat and mouse unravels its way out of this spine tingling war story as Lieutenant Yorke must find an answer to one vital question: how are German U-Boats sinking merchant ships from inside the convoys? In this gripping saga of heroism and intrigue, Yorke discovers the fate of one entire convoy. Only his wit and daring can lead to its survival and that of himself.

Decoy It is February 1942 and the war in the Atlantic looks grim for the Allied convoys. The ‘Great Blackout’ has started, leaving the spy centre of Bletchley Park in Buckinghamshire at a loss as to what the Nazis are planning. U-boat Command has changed the Hydra cipher. The Enigma cannot be broken. Cipher experts can no longer eavesdrop on Nazi command, which leaves convoys open for attack by packs of marauding Nazi submarines. Winning the Battle of the Atlantic will surely give Hitler a final victory. And who can stop him?