The Pirate's Witch

The Pirate’s Witch

by Candace Smith

Copyright 2010 Candace Smith
Strict Publishing International

Prologue

Windward Passage 1791

The sun beat onto the deck and reflected off the tears spilling down Clarette’s cheeks as she watched the coastline of Haiti until it disappeared.
 
She had left her uncle’s home on the Caribbean island with her six closest friends and was now sailing back to France after what had been a lengthy exile to avoid the unrest that continued in Europe.
 
Her uncle had argued that Haiti would soon be in revolt, as the slaves were well on their way to organizing their impending fight for independence.
 
He had informed Clarette that her parents had already arranged a suitable marriage for her with a man they insisted displayed fine attributes.
 
No argument Clarette had presented would sway her uncle in his decision.

After spending five years on the island and receiving an adequate formal education from a governess… and an even more thorough education in the mystical chanting, drums and dancing from the dark women from Africa that had intrigued her impetuous nature… Clarette’s stubborn petulance was causing her much distress at the thought of returning to France only to be married off to a stranger.
 
Her friends did not share her despondency, and their constant chatter about what their fiancés would look like and their excitement over obtaining the latest Paris fashions, gave her headaches.
 
She longed to be running on the tropical shoreline and splashing barefoot in the warm waves with her skirt hiked up daringly to her knees.

The hurried, last minute addition of the young women to the passenger list had allotted them only two cabins, and they slept three and four to a bed.
 
At dawn, after the first of what she assumed would be many long nights listening to the other girls gossip, Clarette escaped quietly up the ladder to the deck to find the crew in an almost a panicked state.
 
She wandered to the back of the ship and discovered the source of their agitation as she stared at the filled sails and ominous flag of a schooner that was cutting through the rolling waves and approaching quickly.

A hand touched her arm making her jump, and she looked up at the Captain.
 
“Clarette, you must keep the women below deck.
 
Take them to your cabin and lock the door.”
 
The older man’s face was forced into a smile, but his usual dark tan had taken on a sallow appearance.

Clarette pouted and tried to sway the Captain’s order by flashing her turquoise eyes that were already brimming with excitement.
 
“It is but one small pirate ship, Captain.
 
Surely, our greater numbers and cannons can dispatch them quickly.”
 
The only pirates she had seen were the few that had been captured and hanged in Haiti, and they appeared to be a filthy, foul lot, from what she had observed.

The Captain was proud and confident of his new ship and crew, and he reached out and brushed her cheek with his thumb.
 
“I am sure you are right, Clarette, but you do not need to watch this distasteful business.
 
Your friends lack your sense of adventure, and I think you can help keep them calmed.
 
I will send for you when it is safe to come topside.”

Clarette glanced back at the approaching vessel, and then she made her way to the stairs leading to the companionway.
 
She gathered the young women and brought them to her room, carefully bolting the door behind her.
 
The ladies waited anxiously for a long while before they heard loud commotion over their heads.
 
Clarette joined in her friends’ frightened tears, as the screams and curses they heard from the men battling above became unbearable.

Finally the ship was silent, and the girls waited for the Captain to retrieve them from the stifling confines of the cabin.
 
The open porthole admitted woefully little relief from the sweltering heat.
 
The women became anxious as more time passed, and while Clarette wondered if the Captain had forgotten them, she tried to calm her friends.
 
“The Captain is most likely busy making the deck presentable for us,” Clarette tried to reassure them.
 
“It sounded like a fierce fight, so there is probably much that needs to be done, and we should be ready to offer assistance to those that may be injured.”

It was a minor distraction to take the nervous women’s minds off their circumstances.
 
At last, the door latch was tried, and then there was a knock.
 
Clarette pushed away the minor annoyance that the Captain would think she would forget to lock the door.
 
“See, all is right again.”
 
She drew the bolt back and moved towards the desk when it burst open.

Clarette heard screams behind her, perhaps her own was added to the noise, as she stared at the unkempt man.
 
Her eyes were drawn to the cutlass tucked into his sash, and her hand rose to her mouth when she saw the blood.

The pirate stepped back and called down the aisle, “Captain Deegan, I have found an even more tempting treasure.”
 
He returned his excited stare to the women.

Clarette reached behind her and a trembling hand wrapped around her silver letter opener.
 
The first pirate backed out of the doorway and it was immediately filled by a tall, powerfully built man.
 
His dark eyes scanned the women on the bed as they sobbed and pushed back against the wall.
 
Then he saw Clarette, and the smile that crossed his face made her knees begin to buckle.

“I suggest you put your weapon down, unless you would like me to disarm you,” his deep voice resonated.
 
He began to walk towards her and Clarette quickly tossed the ineffectual blade onto the desk, wincing slightly at the clatter.
 
“Johnny, get our unexpected plunder secured and boarded safely onto our ship.”
 
He turned and strode down the dark hall without looking back.

The pirate who had discovered them returned with some thin rough hemp.
 
“If you ladies would be kind enough to hold your hands out to me,” he smirked, and his filthy hand reached for Maria.

Clarette watched her friends wail and hold out their hands to be tied.
 
The man’s back was to her, and she quietly recovered her weapon and edged towards the door.
 
“I would not do that if I were you, miss.
 
The Captain did give his orders.”
 
The pirate had not even bothered to turn to look at her as he continued his chore.

Clarette ran from the room where she saw men down by the hold, engrossed in the act of pillaging the valuables.
 
She dashed up the steps, intent on finding someone who could help her get away on the small launch while the pirates were distracted with their loot.
 
The soft slap of her booted foot when she made her way topside was accompanied by a low chuckle.
 
Clarette felt fingers thread through her hair and stop her forward progress, and she was pulled against a tight broad chest.

“You are a most disobedient, girl.
 
It will be a pleasure to personally punish you,” the deep voice threatened.

Clarette stabbed at his hand with her weapon, and he cursed loudly.
 
With a swift move, he grabbed her wrist and easily wrestled the blade away.
 
“Most disobedient,” he repeated.

Clarette twisted her head in his grip to look up into his dark gaze, and she noted the crinkled lines of amusement furrowed deep into his dark tan.
 
“Perhaps you missed me?” he suggested in a seductive voice.

“Let me go,” Clarette screamed angrily, and she pulled at the hand securing her.
 
She kicked out at him and he laughed, causing the frightened girl to become more frustrated.
 
Deegan pulled her away from the stairs as his men began transferring treasures.
 
Clarette’s eyes widened when she saw the chest of gold and other valuables.
 
Next, her sobbing friends were pulled up on deck by Johnny, leading them on a rope threaded through their bound wrists with another man encouraging them from behind.

“Clarette, oh, Clarette please do something,” Maria wailed as she was dragged by.

“Clarette is otherwise occupied just now,” Deegan smiled as the girls were pulled towards the back railing.
 
The pirate vessel had approached and boarded from the stern after disabling the rudder, thus remaining out of the field of fire of the frigate’s cannons.
 
The bulky ship could not hope to turn quickly enough to outmaneuver the pirate schooner.

Clarette continued to struggle to get away from the man, while her tear filled eyes took in the carnage surrounding her.
 
It had been a most vicious battle.
 
With his hand still wound through her hair, Deegan led her across the deck between the bodies of the fallen crew, at least those that had not already been dispatched to the sea and to the sharks splashing in frenzy at the unexpected fare.
 
When she saw the Captain sprawled on his back with his hand still gripping his sword, her composure shattered at the realization of her circumstances and she sobbed.

Deegan resulted to forcefully pushing her along with his other hand spread across the small of her back while she screamed and clawed at the fist buried in her brown tresses.
 
The pirate gripped harder, causing her to shriek, and when Clarette reached the back rail, her arms locked around it.

“Such a fuss, girl,” he laughed as he pried her hands loose and threw the wailing girl over his shoulder to climb aboard his schooner.
 
“Quartermaster, tie her off.”
 
Deegan tossed her in Johnny’s direction and left to give orders to untether the lines from the frigate and place their treasure in the hold.

Clarette was trembling by the side rail and her eyes widened slightly when she recognized one of the chests being carried below.
 
It was the second of her two trunks… the one her uncle had insisted she deliver to her father.
 
She had no idea what it contained as there had been a heavy padlock sealing the lid.
 
Now, it swung loose and open from the hinge.
 
Her other trunk, the one containing her personal effects, had not been transported to the pirates’ vessel.

As the schooner quickly set sail, Deegan gave one last longing look at the frigate.
 
Though the Téméraire was larger and sported seventy-four guns, it was bulky and had a deep hull.
 
It would neither be able to quickly maneuver around their prey nor be able to navigate the shoals his schooner could manage with barely an eight foot draft.
 
He pulled his gaze away and returned his attention to the heavy chests being carried below.

The manifest they had bribed a man handily for, told of the valuables being transported back to France to aid in the war, from the prosperous sugar cane plantations.
 
With a revolution on Haiti imminent, Deegan had not been overly surprised to see separate luggage, the private plantation owners’ trunks of wealth, being transported back to families in Europe in case the Haitian immigrants from France had to bid a hasty farewell to the island.

His dark eyes swept the deck to the seven women huddled by the side rails being carefully guarded by Johnny.
 
Now, this piece of treasure
had
been a surprise to the pirates, as none of them has been on the passenger list.
 
Deegan stared at Clarette, and he decided the young woman was more than intriguing with her fine figure, mahogany hair, and eyes as blue-green as the sea around him.

Clarette had been wiping at her tears with her bound hands when they were not holding tightly to Maria’s, and she kept her eyes lowered to the deck.
 
She almost felt a piercing sensation, and she raised her eyes to see the frightening pirate Captain gazing at her with the unmistakable signs of growing lust.
 
Clarette was not immune to these stares, as she had received them on occasion since her seventeenth birthday two years ago.
 
She shuddered and moved further back behind her friends, trying to go unnoticed while continuing to watch as his expression turned to a lascivious smile.

Deegan strode towards her and was rewarded by her whimpering terror as he untied her leather binding, releasing her from the throng of other women.
 
She sobbed as he grasped her arm and dragged her to her feet, leading her towards the stern and to his quarters.
 
Deegan called over his shoulder, “Johnny, I leave the rest of this treasure for you to distribute fairly.”