Chapter 33
Nicholas had captured ships and fought opponents more skilled than himself.
More than once, his wits and pure, unabashed luck had saved his skin.
But he had never felt himself more in danger than he did at that moment: aboard a two-sail fishing boat, surrounded by family and people who were fast becoming friends.
They huddled together mid-deck, enjoying the clear skies and salty breeze.
Had he been wrong to listen to Darcy? What if Nick’s past was better kept hidden?
He could fend for himself, but what of Lord Matlock?
He was a powerful man, but he wasn’t young.
Nick could see he was tired. He was the reason Nick had agreed to hire another boat rather than travel overland.
Nick hadn’t needed Nunez to inform him that Lympstone was only thirty-seven nautical miles away to know travel by sea would be much more comfortable for their party …
with the exception of poor Mr. Gardiner, who was currently leaning over the side of the vessel.
It would not be much longer.
Alex stomped past, fists clutched in determination, chin lifted to add to her height, talking as she followed the captain. “If ye’d bear up and beat to windward…”
Nick shook his head and chuckled. The captain could not shake her, no matter how fast he walked or how busy he made himself appear. Alex would point out how ineffectively his sails were trimmed, his ill use of port tack on the weather side….
“We’d be there already if ye listened to me,” she huffed.
“Leave the man be, Alex,” Nick called after her.
She ignored him. She never was one to back down. It was one of the many things he loved about her. She’d never give up on him.
Jaffa sidled away from her to kneel beside where Nick stood, watching over his group.
Keeping his eyes on his charge, Jaffa said, “Big changes are coming, Cap’n Nick.”
“That they are.” It occurred to Nick that once he and Alex married, Jaffa would be at loose ends. He wouldn’t wish to accompany them on their wedding tour any more than Nick wished for Jaffa’s looming presence near his wife. “What’ll ye do?” he asked.
Jaffa put his hand on Nick’s shoulder, his grip as firm as the expression in his eyes. “I am not needed anymore. My purpose is complete. Cap’n Alex cannot have two men in her life.”
Amen to that.
“Will you guard her with your life?” Jaffa continued. “Will you protect her as I have done?”
The loyalty Jaffa had displayed since Alex had freed him from the slaver when she was a sprite of a girl filled Nick’s chest with awe. Placing his hand on top of Jaffa’s, he met the man’s gaze with an intensity of his own. “On the stars, I swear I will.”
Jaffa nodded, dropping his hand. “Then, I will return with these men to the Fancy. It is the last thing I can do to serve my good cap’n.”
“What’ll ye do when the repairs are finished?”
Jaffa’s face relaxed, and he looked off into the distance. “I will find my family. As you have found yours.” He smiled, meeting Nick’s gaze.
Nick cleared his throat and sniffed. “I wish ye well.”
They both turned to see Alex trailing after the captain. “She’ll miss ye,” Nick stated.
“I will miss her, too. Which is why I must leave quickly, today.”
Nick clapped him on the shoulder, wishing there was more he could do and knowing Jaffa would never accept it.
Mr. Bennet interrupted the moment with another question. “I have never been to this part of the country. What is Lympstone like, Mr. Blackburne?”
By the time Nick looked back over his shoulder, Jaffa was gone.
Farewell, good friend. May you be repaid generously.
Alex would send word to Boone, guaranteeing that Jaffa got his share of the treasures hidden in the holds of the Fancy.
He’d never want for anything. He’d return to his family a wealthy man.
Taking in a deep breath, Nick turned to the curious faces trained on him.
So many people eager to listen to him, desirous of his conversation.
Even Mr. Gardiner hobbled over to drop into a chair beside his brother-in-law and niece.
Nick would do his best to take the gentleman’s mind off the discomforts of sea travel.
“Lympstone’s nestled along the eastern bank of the broad estuary of the River Exe, between cliffs of red breccia.” Mr. Bennet smiled. He was the sort of gentleman who would take an interest in the geology of a site.
Nick continued, “It’s a pretty townlet, a fishing station with a significant trade in ships. The fishermen from Exmouth bring oysters to fatten up on the beds of the estuary. When the tide goes out, maybe we can dig for some.”
Mr. Bennet chuckled. “Only if I am not the one wielding the shovel. I have read about them.”
“Those little buggers’re quick. I’ll dig for ye.”
“Where shall we stay?” asked Lord Matlock, his focus on more practical matters.
“It’s the off-season, so I reckon we’ll have our pick of lodgings. I’d prefer The Swan. I remember the innkeeper being a kind man who kept up with the comings and goings in the village.”
Richard folded his arms over his chest and stretched his legs in front of him languidly. An officer always on duty never loses an opportunity to relax when he can. “Was not John Nutt from Lympstone?”
Nick had been waiting for such a question. He couldn’t avoid them, nor would he deny his audience satisfaction. It wasn’t every day they could speak freely and openly with a pirate. A former pirate.
Mr. Bennet leaned forward, as did Elizabeth (though she was more discreet in displaying her curiosity). Darcy looked distressed, and Nick smiled reassuringly at him.
“John Nutt—now, there’s a story to inspire.
His was a happy ending, made all the happier by his brush with death.
Ye see, back when the King was granting royal pardons, Nutt requested one from a Mr. John Eliot.
He was the Vice Admiral of Devon at the time.
After some negotiations, Eliot granted Nutt a full pardon in exchange for a five-hundred-pound bond—a hefty sum.
But piracy’d been a rewarding venture for Nutt, and he was smart enough to know when to quit.
Five hundred pounds for a fresh start and a new life as a free man with no price on his head—he must’ve figured it was a fair price.
” Nick would gladly pay double—nay, triple—to clear his conscience.
“Yes?” Mr. Bennet asked impatiently.
Nick paused a moment longer, adding to their suspense. “Imagine Nutt’s surprise when he finally returned to England only to be arrested once he set foot on her shores.”
Elizabeth gasped, her pinched expression displaying how disagreeable she found the unjust treatment. Darcy, too, looked like a thundercloud. They would fight the world’s injustices very well together. If Nick had the influence his brother did, he liked to think he’d do the same.
Returning to the story, Nick said, “Eliot was a sly one. He arrested Nutt as soon as he returned to England. Tried and convicted for piracy, Nutt was doomed to dangle at the gallows until an old friend who had risen to the office of Secretary of State intervened.”
“Calvert,” Lord Matlock said.
Nick nodded. “Precisely. Mr. George Calvert’d been an associate of Nutt, considered him a friend. He granted Nutt’s pardon and tossed Eliot into prison for abusing his position. Had to pay one hundred pounds to Nutt in compensation for his betrayal.”
Richard whistled. “Freed, pardoned, and a hundred pounds richer. Not bad.”
“He fared better than his peers.” Lord Matlock frowned, and Nick suspected he was thinking about another pirate whose ending had not been so favorable.
“Right! Captain Phillips! How could I forget when my own brother-in-law shares his same surname, though he is a law-abiding solicitor in Meryton, I assure you.” Mr. Bennet looked at Nick. “I am certain Mr. Blackburne can relate the account much better than I can.”
Nick took a deep breath, reminding himself that these stories were entertaining for most people—told to delight or, in this case, to shock.
Elizabeth touched her father’s sleeve. “Perhaps this is a story best left untold.”
The gentleman’s disappointment overruled Nick’s reluctance. He was a pirate no more. So long as he kept his hands clean and his name out of the papers, there was no reason to believe his nightmares would become reality. Little reason. Middling reason.
Nick shook his head, tossing his fears aside. A life lived in fear was a life half-lived, and he would live his to the full and enjoy this time with his family and friends … as long as it lasted.