Justified Treason (Endless Horizon Pirate Stories, Book 1) (32 page)

I told her how the
ox of a man
was speechless behind his saucy smile, and she teased that she didn’t believe me.

Laughing as we
carried on about the adventure, I was ever so thankful to have Mary with me upon my shameful return.

Once I was out of the wonderfully warm bath, feeling clean as I ever had,
Mary attempted to dress me in one of those wretchedly heavy dresses, but I insisted on a nightgown. As she carefully tended to the wound around my eye, she asked, “So how ever will you reunite with Sterling?”

Wincing
in discomfort I confirmed, “It is inevitable that I will be with him, but I am still not sure of how.”

Mary was pleased to hear
about our intentions to stay together, but I knew she would be shattered when I explained Faron’s fate. “Mary. Faron is sentenced to be hanged for his crimes.”

I was sure I heard her heart hit the ground. As her body froze over with sadness, I felt the frost of the chill waft in my direction. I took her hands in mine. “You needn’t be sad, Mary. We could set them free.”

Shaking her hands loose from mine she snipped, “Them? How many of them are there? You must have lost your mind out there on the sea, Charlotte Wetherby.”

Continuing
without mind to Mary’s concern for reality, I explained my reasonable loyalty to the men sentenced to death, and informed her, “The governor is having a celebration feast at sunset. All the important people in town will be there. While they are occupied would be the best time to strike.”

“Holy Mary,
Charlotte. You have not even napped, and you are planning to conquer the tower and free the prisoners.”

Defending my
motive, I continued with a somber tone, “I know the idea is treacherous, but so is the thought of Faron Flynn hanging limp at the gallows.”

Tears brimmed in her cold gray eyes. “Perhaps you’re right,
Charlotte. Though Faron walks on the wrong side of the law, he is a good man, and I understand his perilous way of life more than anyone, since I was there the day he chose it. There is no way I can let him walk to his doom while I wait here in this beautiful mansion. What ever shall we do?”

X

When I showed up for tea in my nightgown, Hester rolled her eyes at me, and Lawrence looked away as if I was altogether undressed. Father insisted I cinch up my robe before quickly leading me to my seat in the parlor without another word on the matter. Before he had a chance to begin the lecture I knew awaited me, Naomi came in to serve our tea. I jumped up to hug her as I blurted, “Naomi! I think I missed you and Edward the most. I have been eating with my bare hands like a deprived pirate for weeks. It was a miserable situation compared to his delectable cooking and your gracious service.”

Father ordered me to return to my seat and
took a deep breath before he began. “The governor had a report delivered to me while you were upstairs. I was informed that you have engaged in a life of piracy and stood with the wicked in a time of strife.”

That was fast. I
was hoping to relay my side of the story first, and fearing that Paul Redding had slandered my character far beyond reality, I inquired, “And who is it that gave this report, father?”

“The good citizens that you turned your back on, if you must know.”

“Good citizens?” I laughed, but father snapped, “You will not use such a disrespectful tone in my presence, Charlotte.”

Attempting to keep my proper composure I asked, “
Would you like to know my side of the story?”

He
sighed in frustration. “Charlotte, I could ask you a million questions and scorn you a thousand times, but there is nothing to be said that will justify your treason.” He lowered his head in shame as he stuttered, “I especially dread to accept that you allowed your virtue to fall into the hands of a filthy buccaneer.”

Standing up from my seat, I
brashly interrupted my father’s authority. “I have had enough of that treacherous lie! For heaven’s sake, he would not allow that.”

He gasped with wide eyes.
“Oh? So now even a swashbuckling deckhand has greater manners than my own daughter?”

“He i
s not a deckhand. He is a respectable navigator, and he has a name,” I defended.

“Good heavens, child.
Your daring disruptions are not compelling to your case.”

“The only thing I am compelled to is
Sterling Bentley’s love for me.”

Everyone in the room seemed to gasp.
My raging disrespect and blatant admittance of my forbidden love affair left them speechless. Father leaned against the wall, bracing himself from the blast of horror I had inflicted upon him. Hester sat with her eyes wide in shock, and Lawrence rested his head in his hands, sighing in disbelief.

As for
me, I was infuriated by my father’s lack of interest in my side of the story, and I let my hands flail to emphasize my dramatic detest. “This
filthy
buccaneer
you speak so terribly of saved me from the
good citizen
that blasted my face in this shape. Had Sterling not come to my defense, that man would have killed me.”

Looking angrier than I had ever seen him, father
lowered his voice and firmly asserted, “I will not hear another word about your disturbing love affair, Charlotte. I have done everything I can to raise you as a proper woman, and it has become dreadfully apparent my efforts have failed in utter disgrace. My establishment in this society will be forever scorned by rumors that will spread concerning the piracy of my only daughter. This man you claim to love is said to have escaped, and I will forever fear that you will mutineer with him.”

“He escaped?” I gasped in a dream like breath.

My heart fluttered at the thought of Sterling finding his freedom, but before I could drift off into dreams of running mutinies with him, father firmly continued, “I cannot control the love in your heart, but I can control your place in this world. My only remaining option is to put you where this buccaneer cannot find you and leave you where you cannot reach for him…I am sending you to Barbados to live with your brother Amos.”

I shouted
no
in a high pitched shriek of terror. Once again feeling as if I was being forced into a familiar and undesired darkened corner, I exploded in yet another fit of rage. Shoving a lamp off the table, I cursed the hell of my punishment, but before I could smash another object, Lawrence wrapped his arms around me and held me steady. At some point during my outburst, father and Hester left the room and as I tried to fight my way out of Lawrence’s gentle grip, he calmly attempted to tame my raging torment. No matter how I tried, I could not escape, and though I felt trapped by the situation, I felt comforted in his arms and began to wonder why I
wanted to escape him. Succumbing to his pleasant assurance, I collapsed against his sturdy chest and cried like a helpless child.

Chapter 14

Glorified Deceit

As told by the Wind

W
ith the island of Jamaica in sight, Willard Smith paced the deck of
Wind of Glory
contemplating his plan. He had been observing Paul Redding and Doctor Reedy’s distaste for Oliver Langston, and he watched silently as Paul bickered to Doctor Reedy. “Look at that clot-pole of a captain, bringing paper to the pirate slut. She shouldn’t get nothin’ but a slap to her face while she’s chained.”

Doctor Reedy chimed in. “Not much of an arrest if you ask me. With any luck she’ll end up hanging with the rest of those disgusting buccaneers.”

Willard smiled. The men’s slanderous perspective would grant him with just the leverage he needed to continue in his plan.

Approaching his prospective allies with a humble stance, Willard attempted to state his proposition. “I have something that might interest you, if you are willing to listen to the thoughts of a defeated man.”

When they allowed him to go on, he presented his wicked opportunity. “I know the crew has found great disappointment in me, but I would like you to understand the level of the corruption that caused this dismay. Oliver Langston had longed for my power and found the opportunity to override my position during the battle. Now that you have seen his interest in the pirates, I am sure you can imagine this has been his plan all along.”

Noticing their interest, Willard reeled on. “It is not my place to override his authority at this time, but as we near the shore, I have a plan that might leave us ahead in this rewarding.”

Doctor Reedy responded shrewdly through his nasally voice, “Us, as in who?”

Willard smiled as he assured them. “As in the three of us. I see great honor in you two men, and I believe the three of us could run a swell crew.”

Paul brashly grumbled. “Now, I understand yer use of us, but why would we be needin’ ye, Mister Smith?”

Willard knew he would also have to entice them with a great reward after he had captured their attention, so he explained the speech he prepared with full confidence. “The governing authority of
Port Royal assigned me delegation over this crew and this mission. Though the mission has been completed, it was by the hands of treachery and not in honor of England or Port Royal. If Oliver Langston stakes his claim over this reward, your hard works will be lost in the midst. I could bloody well see him sailing off for that treasure with his navigating partner, leaving you to rot outside his glory.

“If we strike the stand to say Langston overthrew my power to befriend traitors and prisoners, we could unite under my relinquished power, and I will treat you in fair shares of the bounty and the fame. If you state this claim alone, they may not accept your truth for you shall be seen as power hungry shipmates. After all, Oliver was second command; the only higher power is that of the captain. That is why you need me, Captain Willard Smith.”

Paul Redding nodded in agreement, but Doctor Reedy yelped, “That green eyed monster would eat us alive if he could. He did not take kindly to us threatening his whore. If Oliver is working with him, we will not stand a chance.”

Willard rubbed his hands together and smirked. “So we have a team?”

The men assented to the accord and Willard put his arms over their shoulders as he walked them about to discuss the details. Paul limped as he followed.

Wind of Glory
sailed into the harbor under a bright shining sun, and as the breeze died down the humidity thickened to engulf the salty air with a sweltering heat. Willard Smith and his men did their rounds in attempts to convert the crew for their last minute mutiny, and they found the exhausted men easy to persuade. Once the ship was docked the majority collaborated to overthrow Oliver Langston’s power. Arresting him for treason, they locked him in the brig with the buccaneers.

Captain Willard Smith took Paul Redding and Doctor Reedy with him to meet the governor. Being thrilled with his spontaneous return to power, he stated his report with pride. Introducing Doctor Reedy as the only honorable man he could find in the heathen town of
Tortuga, he told the governor about the doctor’s lead to
Wind of Glory
and esteemed his healing abilities. Since Paul Redding had unsheathed Charlie Bentley’s treason, Willard allowed him the claims of her great accomplishments, and told the governor all about how brave it was for Paul to kill the notorious Dedrick Morley. As for his own glorified deceit, Willard acclaimed the capture of the navigator as his good deed, along with all the compliments that were due to Oliver Langston’s bravery.

Willard frowned as he mentioned Oliver Langston’s unexpected treason, and once he mentioned having him locked in the brig, Paul Redding quickly added, “Governor Morgan, we also ‘ave imprisoned a stowaway woman.”

Before the men could continue in their bout of self-indulgence, the governor’s eyes grew large and he gasped, “Where is she? What is her name? My best citizen is missing his daughter and it could be her.”

Paul’s head dropped in discouragement, and Governor Morgan shouted for his guards to fetch Wallace Wetherby. He briskly turned back to face Captain Smith and demanded, “Take me to her this instant.”

Governor Morgan stomped aboard the
Wind of Glory
in search of the lost girl. When he laid sight on the young woman who was beaten and tied to the mast, he didn’t recognize her as Charlotte Wetherby, but her unfortunate identity became apparent as he drew near. Stunned by the terrible sight, he began to scorn the men in charge for treating Mister Wetherby’s daughter in such a way.

Being pressed by his newly converted crewmen, Willard attempted to report
Charlotte’s crimes to the governor, but seeing Charlotte’s need for care, Governor Morgan had no interest in their account at the moment. Insisting for all matters of business to wait, he helped Charlotte up with the greatest of concern and sent her on with her father.