The Pirate Bride. Shannon Drake
Читать онлайн книгу.
and unloaded; ships lay at anchor in the harbor, small boats plying the shallows back and forth between them and the shore. Women, tall and short, their skin of as many colors as their brightly festooned clothing, walked the muddy roads, past storefronts and taverns and huts, most of them nearly a-tumble.
It was a beautiful day. The ship rested at anchor, gently listing in the bay, beneath a sky that was just kissed by soft white puffs of cloud. The breeze was sweet and clean and caressing, at least out here, where they still lay at ease upon the sea. Logan knew that there were areas of New Providence where little could be called sweet. Slop buckets were tossed out windows, turning the roads to foul mud. And since the populace leaned heavily toward drink, the stale scents of whiskey, rum and beer combined with the fumes of old pipe tobacco to make the resulting stench nauseating.
But from this distance it all looked merely colorful and exciting, even offering a strange charm with its straightforward, no-apology bawdiness.
A hand fell on his shoulder. “It’s the isle of thieves, my friend,” Brendan said.
“Aye, but honest thieves they be, eh?” Logan said.
“You’ve been here before?”
“I have.”
Brendan stepped back, grinning as he looked at him. “What was a fine gentleman such as yourself doing among the riffraff of this island?”
“Bartering,” Logan told him. He hiked his shoulders and let them fall. “I don’t recall saying that I was a fine gentleman.”
“Lord Haggerty?”
“We pronounce it ‘laird,’” he told Brendan wearily.
Brendan arched a brow, his easy grin still in place. He was a strange enough fellow himself to be a pirate.
For one thing, his teeth were good.
Then again, it was passing strange that a shipful of burly outcasts should bathe and do laundry, though one of the toughest-looking of the group, Bill Thornton, known to one and all as Peg-leg, had told him that he found it amazing not to have caught the least fever nor been plagued by scabies since he’d taken up with Captain Red. In fact, the man had confessed, he was looking forward to seeing what soaps he might be able to buy in Nassau.
But Brendan…
Interesting man. As interesting as the captain. They were obviously related. Brendan was taller by a good five inches, though the captain—despite the heeled boots—was not short. Brendan stood well over six feet, and had the shoulders of a man who was long accustomed to using his muscles. He was in excellent shape. His features were nowhere near as fine as the captain’s, his eyes a paler blue, his jaw far more square. At times, he brooded. When caught in the act, he was quick with a ribald comment or an off-the-cuff remark. He’d shown himself keenly interested in what was going on in the colonies, his interest greatest regarding the more southern cities, such as Charleston and Savannah.
He was friendly. And through that friendliness, Logan had come to know the others. Hagar was like a huge watchdog, a burly man, towering over even Brendan and himself. His hands were massive, his thighs were like tree trunks, and his chest could vie with a barrel. But Hagar, too, was a decent enough fellow, with a fine sense of humor. All seemed to worship the captain, rather than just honor Red Robert.
“As you wish. Laird Haggerty, we are about to make shore. Next boat, my good man.”
The Eagle, as the ship had been dubbed by the pirates, who had changed her name from that which the previous captain had given her, was equipped with two tenders for loading and unloading supplies and cargo, and also boasted two smaller, sleeker ones. The tenders had headed to shore first, with Hagar in charge, and now the first of them was being lowered for those who would follow, Peg-leg, Brendan, Captain Red and Logan, with another huge crewman, Silent Sam, a strapping Iroquois, at the oars.
As the men stood there, ready to make the descent, Red Robert made an appearance in customary attire: high black boots, white shirt, brocade vest, black coat, and plumed, low-riding hat. There was a knife set in the flap in each boot, and a low-riding leather belt carried a blunderbuss and a double-barreled pistol. A sword in a leather sheath hung from the same belt.
Red Robert was prepared.
“Are you ready for New Providence, Laird Haggerty?” Red Robert asked.
“I know New Providence,” Logan reminded the pirate captain.
“But it changes, you see,” the pirate said. “It changes literally with the wind, for the mood of the town follows that of whichever king of thieves is in port.” Red Robert nodded at Brendan.
“My laird,” Brendan said to Logan, offering a sweeping bow and gesturing him to precede them into the tender.
Logan nimbly crawled over the rail and onto the rope ladder that led down to the small boat, where Silent Sam was already waiting at the oars. Logan jumped the last few feet, feeling the tender rock beneath him, and easily took a seat. He watched as the others followed.
“So, you’ll sell my cargo here?” he asked Red and Brendan when they’d taken their seats.
“Every man out there will know I have it soon enough. Better to rid myself of dangerous riches. Pieces of eight are easier to manage,” Red said with a shrug.
“I could have gotten you much more for it elsewhere,” Logan said.
“Pity. That’s the way it goes,” the pirate captain replied.
Logan tried a different tactic. “This is quite a dangerous place to conduct business.”
“And have you, despite your current state, come ashore for business?” Red asked.
“I have. But I’m not…” His voice trailed off, and he turned to face the wharf.
“You’re not what?” He was startled as Red’s gloved hand fell on his knee. The wary anger in the deep blue eyes that met his was disturbing.
“I’m not a pirate.”
“The hell you’re not,” Red said, settling back.
“Well, he’s not,” Brendan commented.
“Oh, really? He is at least a thief, for was this treasure not already stolen before it came to us?”
Logan stared back at Red but said nothing.
“You do not protest?” Red asked.
“No. Point taken.”
The tender drew up to an extension of the wooden dock. Hagar and several of the others were there, waiting.
“Is he here?” Red asked.
Hagar nodded. “Awaiting you at the Cock’s Crow.”
“Fine. And the cargo?”
“Already at the tavern, Cap’n,” Hagar said. “All know you’re the rightful owner, all are considering their bids, should he decide not to buy.”
“Fine. Skeleton crew is holding the ship, you know your orders.” Red started down the wharf with Brendan. Curious, Logan followed.
Chickens skittered across the dirt road, flapping and clucking as they walked. “Gardez l’eau!” someone called out, and they stepped aside in time to miss the contents of a chamber pot. Red strode on with confidence, and Logan noticed men calling out in greeting, all with respectful tips of the hat or touches to the forehead. Red never did more than nod in return.
“Amazing,” Logan said to Brendan.
“What’s that?”
“I’ve never seen a group of such derelicts show such respect to another man…even Blackbeard,” Logan muttered.
“Red took down the devil, you see,” Brendan said quietly.
Logan realized that the other didn’t intend for his words to be overheard