Blackhearts (37 page)

Teach drove his fist into the man’s stomach. “Try again.”

“Bugger off!”

Once more Teach connected with the man’s middle. Doubled

over, his opponent barely managed to gasp his reply. “She’s—

gone. To—sea.”

“I don’t believe you,” Teach said, delivering a swift right to

his jaw.

Blood dripped from the man’s lip where it had split. “She

is. I swear it.”

Grabbing the man by his shirtfront, Teach smashed his head

against the wall. “You were told to take her to the White Stag

and then to the
Deliverance
. That ship still sits in the docks.”

The man stuck out his jaw, his lips pressed tightly together.

Teach felt his self-control slipping. “Tell me where she is,”

he growled, pressing his forearm against his opponent’s wind-

pipe. “Or I swear I’ll kill you.”

“You’ll—never—” the man gasped, his eyes bulging from

their sockets as Teach leaned all of his weight into his choke

hold. “The
Prov—i—dence
.”

“She’s on the
Providence
?”

Nodding, the man drew in a deep breath as Teach released

the pressure slightly.

“If you value your life, you’ll take me there.”

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Giving Teach a surly scowl, the man’s gaze shifted, looking over Teach’s shoulder. Teach ducked, but it was too late,

and a crushing blow was delivered to his head. As he staggered

backward, the darkness swirled around him, and he sank to his

knees before falling forward, face-first.

“Sir! Sir, wake up!”

The earnest voice pierced Teach’s clouded mind. Stirring

in confusion, Teach cracked his eyes open. In the dark a young

face swam in and out of focus.

“Are you all right, sir?” It was the young groom, David.

Teach’s ears rang. He rolled over, and white and blue sparks

obscured his vision as he attempted to sit up too quickly. His

stomach felt as if it were caught in a vise, and the pounding in his head was incessant.

“Help me up,” Teach mumbled, cursing his body’s weakness.

David clasped one of Teach’s wrists with both hands. He

was surprisingly strong for one so small. Bile rose in Teach’s

throat, but by the time he was on his feet, the room had stopped spinning.

“We have to find the
Providence
,” Teach said, moving

toward the door. It was still dark out. He wondered how much

time had passed.

Stumbling down the stairs, David followed in Teach’s wake.

“That ship is gone, sir. It sailed out with the tide.”

Stopping abruptly, Teach turned and caught the young

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boy by his shoulders, preventing him from plowing into Teach.

“What?”

“I did as you said and told the woman the master knew about

her plans. Then I came back to see if you needed help. The two

men were leaving. I heard them mention the
Providence
. Since I couldn’t wake you immediately, I went to the docks. The ship

had already left, sir.” Even in the dim light, Teach saw that David’s chin quivered, and his eyes filled with tears.

Anne was gone.

An animal sound ripped from Teach’s throat, and he

slammed his fist into the wall. “Do you know where it was

headed?” Teach asked, his voice rough.

“To the West Indies, sir.”

Taking a steadying breath, Teach closed his eyes briefly

against a wave of fury. Anne was unaccompanied, bound for

foreign seas. In his own travels he’d witnessed many women,

alone and destitute, suffer indescribable harm and degradation.

The thought of Anne suffering like that was nearly his undoing.

“What do you plan to do, sir? Can I help?”

“I’m going after her. And if anyone dares harm her, I will

have my revenge.”

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C H A P T E R 3 6

Anne

The floor of the small dank cabin crawled with movement,

and the sound of hundreds of tiny legs scurrying across the

boards made the hair on the back of Anne’s neck stand up.

The
Providence
was teeming with rats and cockroaches, each creation vying for precedence, and clearly outnumbering the

human cargo on board.

It was too dark to see anything in the cramped space. Her

father had often explained that open flames were forbidden at

sea unless attended to in the galley, and the light from the massive stern lantern mounted on the back of the ship did not reach into the ship’s belly.

The smell of wet canvas and mold permeated every inch

of the filthy vessel. With tears running down her cheeks, Anne

wondered how she would possibly endure several weeks aboard.

Her cabin was like a coffin, for she truly felt as if she would die.

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Lying in the protective cocoon of the hammock, she turned onto her side, pulling her knees up to her chest. Her

forehead was damp with perspiration, and her head pounded.

What had been the contents of her stomach now swilled

around in the bucket on the floor as the ship rose and fell

with every surge.

Anne had lost track of time. Each wave that crashed

against the hull of the ship seemed to count every second with

never-ending precision.

Her fingers shook as she reached for her pocket watch, the

cold metal an anchor against a rising tide of despair. Her side

still hurt from when she’d fallen in Bristol, but by the time they reached their destination, it should be healed.

Her heart, on the other hand, was an entirely different matter.

She’d written the note, just as Drummond had instructed.

She’d almost expected him to stand over her shoulder while she’d performed the task, but thankfully he’d left her to her duty.

She hoped Teach would understand what she’d written. If

he couldn’t find a way to get to her . . . then she would find a way to get to him.

I will make it out of this alive. I will,
she vowed silently.

But not if she remained in this cabin much longer.

Stumbling to the door, Anne wiped furiously at her cheeks.

She tried not to think about what was underfoot, even as she

felt the telltale squelch of several insects through the thin

leather soles of her walking boots. Pulling the door open, she

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took a deep breath of the briny air, and tripped in her haste to reach the deck.

The ship continued to roil beneath her feet, and more than

once Anne staggered against the railing of the stairs as she made her way up to the deck.

The slate gray of the sky matched the choppy waves of the

sea, both extending in an unbroken line to the horizon. The

wind whipped her hair about her face, and wrapped her skirts

around her legs.

The port of Bristol had been left far behind. And with it

any hopes of seeing Teach.

Choking back a sob, Anne clenched her hands to her stom-

ach, her nails biting into her palms.

She had always planned to leave England, she reminded

herself. Together she and her father had often looked at maps

and sketched their course, an expanse of open sea the only hin-

drance between them and their destination.

But from where Anne stood now, the stretch of water

appeared wider and vaster than she could have imagined. And she

was alone on a strange ship, without a single coin to her name.

“Don’t go too close to the sides,” said someone on her left.

Startled, Anne whirled around, clutching a nearby rope to

keep her balance. Before her stood a boy and a girl, each per-

haps twenty years of age. They were both blond, with wide blue

eyes, and they were clearly related.

The boy was stout, with sturdy shoulders and a thick neck.

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His sister, although not as large, had a full figure. Her brown dress and shawl were threadbare, hardly sufficient to protect

her from the biting wind. And she was far too cheery for being

aboard such an unworthy sea vessel.

“I had no intention of doing that,” Anne said.

The girl smiled, her eyes warm. “Good. My brother, Coyle,

here, says it’s dangerous and that I shouldn’t come up here without him.”

Anne glanced at Coyle. People would definitely think twice

about approaching if he stood by your side. Anne had already

felt several crewmen eyeing her, their gaunt expressions hard-

ened by years of strenuous labor. She planned to ignore them,

hoping they would afford her the same courtesy.

“My name’s Cara Flynn. What’s yours?”

“Anne Barrett.”

“Pleased to meet you, Anne Barrett. Would you mind if

Coyle and I kept you company? I have no wish to spend any

more time in my hammock than necessary.”

“I wouldn’t have minded,” Coyle muttered.

His sister frowned. “Then you can go back down. I told you

I’d be fine up here.”

“I couldn’t remain in my cabin any longer either,” Anne

said, shivering at the thought of the rats and cockroaches.

“You’re lucky you have a cabin. Coyle spent the whole

night making sure no one harmed us. But the only thing that

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came close to bothering me was a cheeky rat who took a liking to my ankles.”

Anne grimaced. “Lucky” was not a word she’d use to describe

her present situation, but having her own cabin was far bet-

ter than sleeping with the rest of the passengers in hammocks

belowdecks.

Excusing herself, Anne moved away from the siblings as

they continued their discussion of the numerous dangers on

board the ship. Despite the chaotic running and shouting of

the crew, Anne felt strangely removed from everyone and every-

thing around her.

She drew a deep breath, her stance wide to maintain her

balance. Looking toward the stern, Anne watched the white-

capped waves that seemed to form a path trailing behind the

back of the ship. That path led to Teach.

Even as Anne tried to block out the seriousness of her sit-

uation, it continued to plague her thoughts. The fact that she

sailed on the
Providence
instead of the
Deliverance
made her ability to reunite with Teach incredibly difficult.

Difficult, but not impossible.

It would not be an easy journey. For either of them. But he

would come for her, of that she was certain. And she would not

give up until he found her or she found him.

Lifting her head, Anne turned and studied the open ocean

in front of the ship. The initial shock of leaving England was

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beginning to wear off. Admittedly, she’d hoped to leave under different circumstances, but she would survive this voyage.

She had to.

And one day she and Teach would be together again, for

it was just as he’d said. They could be on opposite sides of the world, but she would always be his, and he would always be hers.

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C H A P T E R 3 7

Teach

The congested dock fairly groaned beneath the weight of the

assembled crowd. Anticipation was everywhere in the city, on

the streets and in the water. Children cried, parents bickered,

and clever tradesmen called out their wares for sale. With a

group this large, there were sure to be several hungry individuals.

Everyone had come to see the launch of the largest galleon

ever built. The
Deliverance
rocked in the swell under full canvas.

It was an awesome sight, like a preening peacock, as if aware of all the attention. The eager men of the crew stood at attention, squinting against the morning sun, small arms draped from

their shoulder belts.

Richard Drummond himself stood before the group,

dressed in a velvet coat and silk waistcoat. On his head he wore a powdered wig, and the silver buckles of his shoes glinted in

the sunlight. The mayor of Bristol droned on and on about the

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importance of this day and how proud the city was to have such an esteemed merchant in their midst.

For his part, Drummond’s eyes searched the crowd, a

cheerless look on his face. Despite this being one of the most

anticipated days of his life, he appeared unable to muster even

the slightest hint of a smile.

Teach stood back, his square jaw once again covered with

several days’ growth, his hair pulled into a knot beneath his hat.

He stared at his father, as one would stare at a stranger. Teach had always felt affection for the man. Even when Drummond

had been at his most demanding, deep down Teach had yearned

for his father’s approval and affection.

Not now. Not after what Drummond had done.

Teach and John had spent the past six days searching the

docks and ships of Bristol for the two men, but they hadn’t been able to find them. Teach and John had also made more inquiries into the
Providence
. It belonged to another merchant but was nowhere near as large or grand as the
Deliverance
. It would call on several ports in the West Indies. Teach refused to believe he was too late to catch up to it.

He would have set sail on another ship if he’d found one

heading out sooner, but the journey often took months to pre-

pare for, and the
Deliverance
was the next vessel leaving port.

Teach had given Kaiser to David. He could not take a horse

with him where he was going.

That morning, as Teach had wandered the city streets,

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people had drawn back in fear and revulsion when they’d seen him, for he was covered in mud and grime. They’d whispered