Chapter 10 #3
He snorted at her confidence. “You have no idea if your maps lead to anything real.”
“No,” she admitted, and he watched her eyes trail to the side in thought, with a hint of sadness he wasn’t sure was real. “But I know they are ones you don’t have. I’ve seen them; I’ve been on the ship before.”
He shook his head. “It’s not enough, not with the amount of time and coin I’d have to invest. I told you I don’t help charity cases.”
“I can get you men.” Her eyes focused on him once more. “There are more than enough prisoners on board to fill both our crews. They will be thieves, murderers, or pirates. They will agree to freedom – anything is better than the noose.”
Alister’s eyes widened, his lips parting ever so slightly. “You’re talking about Queen Mary Anne’s head fleet ship! That’s a bloody suicide mission.”
She brought her fist away from over the water to cup her hand, holding the locket with the other one, as she gave a mocking snort.
“I thought you were one of the most notorious pirates on the seven seas of Old Gaia. Didn’t know you’d be afraid of just one ship.”
He looked at her with an incredulous glare. “One ship? It travels in a trio! The Laughing Siren alone has over a hundred and forty soldiers on board.”
There was a reason Alister had never attacked it.
She didn’t seem phased. “The other two won’t attack the head ship once we’re on it, and once Commodore Theodore Briggs and his first mate Samuel Lester are dead, the crew will falter and surrender if we overpower them.”
“You seem to know a lot about it.” He narrowed his eyes at her in suspicion.
She shouldn’t have this much inside information about the commanders of such an important royal vessel – it was protected information. But now he knew the schematics on his desk applied to this one.
“Like I said, I’ve been on the Laughing Siren before.” She paused, considering her words. “My father was a soldier on it.”
“Can’t it be a different ship?” Was he really considering helping her? “The other fleet ships will have prisoners.”
She shook her head. “It won’t have the maps, and it has to be that one.
Since I set sail on these seas, I knew it was the one I wanted.
I know its ins and outs, where it is weakest and the easiest way to take it.
The prisoners mean I already have hands to hoist the sails, and there will be enough for you to choose the ones you want.
You’d have a full crew, nearly twice the amount you have now. ”
A full crew of more than willing men was actually a pretty good deal.
“It’d also have coin on it,” he mumbled, while placing a hand over his lips and chin in thought.
“You can have it all. The guns, the swords, the clothing, whatever stock they have.” He raised his brow at the idea that she’d let him have whatever he wanted from the cargo bay. “But you’ll leave us enough to survive until we can resupply.”
The Laughing Siren was a galleon ship, one of the largest currently sailing. It was slow but strong, always manned with cannons.
My frigate is one of the only ships that can take it on.
“I could end up sinking it if we try,” he told her, making sure she understood what could happen. “And I won’t let my own ship perish just to get you yours.”
She gave a shrug. “Either I have it, or it’s at the bottom of the ocean. I’ll be happy with either one.”
She’s truly set on it. This new development made him look at her in a slightly different light.
She was selfish enough to have it in her possession or in nobody’s. He’d thought the same thing about the Howling Death when he saw it for the first time.
He started to rub the long stubble on his cheek as he contemplated her offer. It’s not a bad deal.
“The loot we’d gain would be enough to appease my crew.” It would be their biggest payday yet, and he wouldn’t have to share it with the prisoners, since they’d have only just joined him.
“Until we take the Laughing Siren, my crew and I will help you sail.” She folded her arms across her chest, turning her head to the side with an upturn of her chin. “And we, including myself, will follow your command.”
Alister raised his brow at that. “You’ll listen to my orders?”
“Yes.” She released her arms to point at him. “But I won’t scrub the deck. You won’t have me bending over on my hands and knees for men to stare at my arse.”
He couldn’t help his chuckle. Well, that’s a fair request.
“You will still have to work.”
“Put me in the kitchen with Mr Darkley. I don’t mind helping him cook and I’m good at it. I can also hoist the sails.”
His head fell back as he gave a bellowing laugh to the sky. “You won’t be manning the sails, lass. I’ve got strong men for that.”
“I’m just as fit as your injured men!” she shouted.
He snorted a guttural noise of irritation.
“Are you judging a man simply because he’s missing a leg, or a few fingers, or an eye?” He pointed at his own eye patch. “Every one of my men is able-bodied, regardless of the parts missing. I wouldn’t change my crew for any other, even if they had all their parts!”
Her head reared back, her eyes going stark. It was obvious Rosetta realised she’d deeply offended him. He was a formidable captain, and he was half-blind, for pity’s sake.
“Stop treating me like a woman,” she huffed, stomping her foot in a tantrum.
“You were screaming like one earlier!”
His focus narrowed in on the hint of redness he caught in her cheeks, but the heightened colour quickly faded.
“I am still just as capable as a man.”
“And you will work where I put you,” he told her, shaking his head in disbelief. “You said you’d follow my orders, but you’re showing me you will be incapable of doing so.”
“Fine,” she huffed, once more folding her arms, this time with a defeated slump. “Do we have a deal, then? We will work for you while you help us get the Laughing Siren, and then you can raid it for whatever you want, as long as I can still sail it.”
“Nay.”
“But–”
He put up a hand to stop her. “I have to ask my men first. I can’t make a decision like this without their approval.”
A bright smile filled her beautiful face, catching his attention as the wash of the sunset bloomed behind her. The sky still held shades of blue, but the clouds had turned flame orange with purple shadows. It was a wonderful sight with her in front of it, near to stealing his breath from him.
He didn’t like this reaction to looking at her – not when he was still rightfully angry.
The things I can take from that ship would be worth more than I can raid in a year. With so many men at his disposal, it could actually be possible.
“But you will ask them?”
Why did smiles like that from pretty women do strange things to the insides of men?
“Aye, I will.” Alister wasn’t stupid enough to pass up such an opportunity.
She suddenly threw the necklace at him, and he caught it in his right fist. He stared down at the silver locket in his big palm, surprised she wasn’t going to hold onto it as collateral.
She gave it back.