Ransome's Quest (28 page)

He should have put her ashore in Negril.

Ned tapped his fingers against the sides of his legs and paced another length of the quarterdeck. Never before had the prospect of a coming battle frightened him the way it did now. Because never before had someone he cared for so dearly been aboard his ship.

He should have insisted she stay with William.

Though also headed into the battle,
Alexandra
had the advantage of a full crew. But no matter how shorthanded
Audacious
might be, and no matter that he’d made Charlotte change into her remaining midshipman’s uniform—for her own protection, in case something went wrong and they should be overtaken by the pirates—he had made her swear she would not leave the safety of the cabin, giving her the duty of protecting Gardiner, Jamison, and Kent.

At the same moment, everyone on deck seemed to tense and turn toward the wheelhouse. The sailing master’s mate stepped forward and put his hand to the bell’s clapper, eyes affixed to the large half hour glass beside the bell housing.

The last grains of sand fell into the bottom of the glass and the mate began striking the time.

Ned put all his strength behind his voice. “Loose the heads’ls. Hands aloft to loose the tops’ls.”

With hours to review the plan, every officer, midshipman, and master knew his part and executed it admirably.

Still uncertain if it truly worked, Ned mumbled an entreaty for the Almighty’s protection for everyone aboard
Audacious, Alexandra,
and
Vengeance
and for Mrs. Ransome.

If the man from
Sister Mary
was to be trusted, their three-pronged predawn attack should work, with each ship coming in on a different heading, trapping
Sister Elizabeth
in the middle. Four ships would have been better, but
Alexandra
’s and
Audacious’
s cannons had damaged
Sister Mary
beyond salvation. It was half sunk by the time his crew had returned to
Audacious
with the prisoners. Thankfully, William had insisted on their transfer to
Alexandra.

He checked his watch, angling it to catch the moonlight. In ten minutes, they would reach the rendezvous point. “Clear for action.”

“Captain!” Lieutenant Hamilton came to the back of the forecastle—not part of the plan. “There’s debris in the water ahead, sir.”

Ned ran to the bow and leaned over the catshead. Chunks of painted wood with splintered edges slapped against the hull. Pieces of another ship.

“Survivors?”

“None so far, sir.” But Hamilton and the midshipman of the forecastle continued searching the water with their telescopes.

Something other than wood caught Ned’s eye. Something bright atop the dark water. “Look over there. That seems to be fabric.”

A sailor used a grappling hook to fish out the item. Ned pulled it off and snapped it open, splattering everyone with water.

A flag. And not just any flag. A British ensign. The concern in his gut showed in the expressions of the men surrounding him.

It could not be
Alexandra.
William was to have taken her on a northward tack and come at
Sister Elizabeth
on the opposite side from
Audacious.

“Sir, is it…?” Hamilton could not seem to tear his eyes away from the flag.

Ned could not believe this was happening again. But this time he put his entire crew and ship at risk, not just a handful of men while he stood at a distance and watched them die. “It doesn’t matter. We stay on course and follow our orders.”

He returned to his position on the quarterdeck. This time if everything went wrong, at least he had been following someone else’s orders. He only hoped he would not be blaming the failure and loss of life on a dead Commodore Ransome.

“Man overboard!” Lieutenant Gibson’s deep voice bellowed over the din of a ship under full sail preparing for battle.

“Where away?” William called back.

“Starboard, at about three points, sir.”

William lifted his telescope and scanned the water. There, face down over a piece of floating debris.

Their mission brooked no delay, but if the man were still alive…

“Make preparations for rescue. Reef sails, pull in one of the boats.”

His crew responded even as he called the commands. If only they had come across the man before clearing for action and putting out all the ship’s boats filled with the food animals and other items from the ship that could get in the way or become dangerous shrapnel during battle.

Without removing the chicken pens, Gibson and a small group of sailors set out in the launch. With some difficulty they pulled the limp man into the boat and returned to
Alexandra
as fast as they could. As soon as all were on deck and the boat once again tethered to the stern, William gave the commands to get them back underway.

Inert no longer, the survivor coughed and sputtered. At the sight of William, he tried to rise, but William bent over him and pressed his shoulder down. “What ship are you from, Lieutenant?”

“HMS
In-Insolent,
sir. M-m-my name’s Carey, sir. S-second lieutenant.”

William pressed his hands to the deck to keep from falling over.
“Insolent
? Under command of Captain Ransome?”

“Aye, s-sir.” The young man shivered. The officers and sailors standing around all turned worried gazes on William.

He ignored them. “What happened, Mr. Carey?”

Dr. Hawthorne arrived with a blanket and his medical kit. It took only one expressive glance from him to make the onlookers take a step back. “Commodore, it would be better if I took him below.”

“In a moment, Doctor.” William rebalanced his weight into a crouch. “Mr. Carey, what happened?”

“Captain Ransome heard that the pirate Shaw was sighted coming west, away from Kingston. We searched for three days. Yesterday, we came upon the pirate’s ship. We were no match for them—outgunned, outnumbered. After the bombardment, they boarded, killing everyone.”

No. Please. Not James.
“Your captain?”

“They took him, sir, and then set the powder magazine to blow. I managed to jump overboard before they knew I was still alive.”

“Commodore—”

“Yes, Doctor.” William stood, his legs unsteady. He looked at the anxious faces around him and said, “Return to your duties.”

“Aye, aye, sir.” The men scattered to their posts. The doctor and his mates transferred Carey to a litter and took him below deck to the sick berth. William resumed his position on the quarterdeck.

He should have expected that James would disobey his direct order to stay out of this. William moved back toward the wheelhouse. “Lieutenant O’Rourke, inform the boarding party there is another prisoner to find. In addition to rescuing Mrs. Ransome, they are to search for a Royal Navy captain.”

“Aye, sir. Do you know his name, sir?”

“Yes. Captain James Ransome. Tell them to search for someone who looks like me.”

I
heard you scream.” James’s voice rasped out of the darkness, startling Julia. She had dozed intermittently since coming back to their closet, so she wasn’t certain how long James had been unconscious. Not that time existed here in the absolute dark.

“When Shaw’s men ambushed me, they shot one of the horses and the carriage flipped over. I fell onto the edge of the door and, I think, cracked a few ribs. I made the mistake of letting Shaw’s men know I was injured. As you well know by now, Shaw finds your every weakness and exploits it to get what he wants.”

“How does almost killing me by hanging and then letting me down get him what he wants?” Scraping sounds came from his position, and she imagined him maneuvering himself into a seated position.

“It gains our cooperation.” Julia twisted her wrists back and forth. After days of this exercise, she had a greater range of movement under the ropes. She could not keep it up for long, though, before the raw burning of her skin made her stop.

“I’m sorry.”

Julia stopped moving, unsure she’d heard the whispered words properly. “Sorry?”

“That he caused you pain to make what I was going through worse. When I heard your scream, all I could think of was how I’d failed you.”

“You have not failed me. There was nothing you could have done.”

“I failed you by giving Shaw another method of causing you anguish. I saw William a week ago. He ordered me to follow my commodore’s orders and not to get involved. But I was so angry at him—and worried about Charlotte—that I disobeyed him and set out after Shaw. I knew his ship was larger than mine, but in my arrogance I believed that with the element of surprise on my side, I could take
Sister Elizabeth,
rescue Charlotte, and gain more fame and fortune than William.” His voice gave out at the end of his speech.

“You wanted to rescue your sister. That is an honorable quest.”

“Not when it meant sacrificing the lives of more than three hundred men in an action I was not authorized to take. I know if I live that I will be court-martialed, and I will have no excuse to give for my action as the blame lies solely with me. But it is not that sentence I fear.” He paused to clear his throat. “It is God’s judgment, whether I meet it soon or a long time from now.”

James could not have chosen a topic on which Julia felt less adequate to converse. But as Shaw had so vividly proven, neither of them knew how much longer their lives might last. “William has been trying to teach me more about God. I cannot articulate it as well as he, but it is my understanding that God wants us to trust Him entirely so that He can forgive us entirely. If we do not trust Him with everything we do, we will continue to make erroneous choices and do things that go against His will for our lives. Does that make any sense?”

“Some. But the problem lies in what to do when we have gone against His will. Then we will be judged and condemned.”

Julia found her first smile since her ordeal began, remembering when she’d put a similar question to her husband in one of their many discussions on this topic. His example had helped her. It should help James. “When you were a child, did you ever disobey your mother?”

“Naturally. All children do.”

“What did your mother do?”

“She made me confess, apologize, and promise I would never do it again.”

“But did she condemn you? Cast you out?”

James coughed out a laugh. “No. She loved me.”

“I have heard and read many Scriptures that say God is our Father and we are His children. So why would He not do the same as your mother: make us confess the wrong we have done, apologize—to Him and to others—and promise to never do it again?”

“But breaking a teacup with a cricket bat and condemning hundreds of men to their deaths are not the same—”

The door suddenly swung open. “Missus, you’re to come with me now.”

James tried to move between Julia and Collier, but she nudged him out of the way. “No. Rest. Regain your strength.”

“I will pray for you, Julia.”

“And I for you, James.” Julia held her left elbow toward the steward so she could be yanked through the door.

Outside her prison, she was met with a storm of activity. The crew was clearing the ship for action. Her heart raced. Could rescue be at hand?

“James—” She tugged against Collier’s grip.

“Commodore Shaw wants to see just you.” He yanked her arm, and Julia yelped at the fresh jolt of pain through her chest. She also felt the rope around her wrists give slightly.

The companionway ended in the shade of the wheelhouse, but beyond the edge of the poop deck bright sunlight bathed the quarterdeck. Here, as below, the crew prepared for battle. Collier pulled her out into the sunlight and up the steps to the poop.

She scanned the waters around them. There. A ship off the larboard bow. And another astern. And a
third to
starboard. Three ships?

Shaw did not deign to look at her when Collier pushed her forward to stand beside him. “I see you are as surprised as I to see three ships bearing down on us.”

“Are they pirates?” She wanted it to be William but could not think of a third ship he might bring with him.