Saints and Sinners
Chapter Seven
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Cursed disclaimers!
Many thanks, as always, for
your reviews – they always give me a buzz.
Special thanks to Kat for her suggestions (which have been taken on
board!). Things starts to get a little
interesting from now on…
If I get a spare five minutes
(ha!), I hope to upload my other story, Another Time, Another Place, which was
published at ‘the other place’. It’s
not an R or even NC-17 rated, but is very popular amongst the readers at ffnet,
so I will try and see if I can do all sixty chapters sometime.
…
Chapter seven
mso-bidi-font-style:italic'>
Jack Sparrow scanned the
horizon through his looking glass, beaming with delight when he saw that his
look-out, Jacob Sumner, was indeed correct and there were only three ships
guarding the one carrying the tobacco that he, Ethan Penhallick and Arbaham
Curzon were hoping to plunder. He
traced a line back, gasping at the sheer size of the Dutch fleut.
anyone in particular.
“Why, what, Cap’n?” Joshamee
Gibbs enquired.
“Why has a ship that size
only got three guards?”
“Mebbe they can’t afford any
more guards – or don’t want to pay out any more than they have to,” the
quartermaster suggested with a shrug.
“Nah… no-one is
stupid,” Jack mused, taking his glass down and stroking his chin
thoughtfully. “It’s very high in th’water
fer somethin’ that’s supposed to be loaded with tobacco… Mister Sumner!” he
called to the watchman in the crow’s nest.
“Keep an eye out fer another ship – maybe well away from this flotilla,
savvy?”
“Aye, aye, Cap’n,” the
crewmen replied before bringing his own spy glass back up to search for any
other ship in the vicinity.
“Why isn’t Sparrow headin’
fer them?” Jargo Teague asked as he and his employer, Ethan Penhallick watched
the Black Pearl
mso-bidi-font-style:italic'> from their position to her port stern.
“I have no idea,” Penhallick
replied. “But let’s see what he does,
eh? You don’t become as successful a
pirate as Jack by not knowing what you are doing.” It had been some time since he had been on a raid and he had
almost forgotten the nuances of attacking succesfully and decided to trust to
Jack’s expertise which were well-known and infamous amongst the pirate and
merchant communities alike.
“Suppose not,” Teague agreed,
reluctantly, wanting nothing more than to feel the wind in his long blond hair
as the Serpent
mso-bidi-font-style:italic'> gave chase to their prey.
“Sir!” Jacob Sumner called
down to Jack. “I think I see more
sails, but it’s too far away ter be certain.”
Jack smirked triumphantly to
himself. “That’s
mso-bidi-font-style:italic'> our target, Mister Gibbs,” he crowed, puffing his
chest out with pride.
“We don’t even know that it
target yet,” the older man reasoned even though he knew his captain was more
than likely correct – he usually was.
In all his years at sea, Joshamee Gibbs had never come across someone
with such an acute intuition as the man standing next to him on the
quarterdeck.
“Of course it is,” Jack
sighed with impatience. “Mister Fernan,
I am goin’ ter speak with Penhallick, keep her steady, savvy?”
“Aye, Cap’n,” the helmsman
agreed. “Steady as she goes.”
Jack turned on his heel and
leaned over the stern rail, waving his arms to attract the attention of the
ship sailing behind them. He was
pleased to see Penhallick and Teague standing on their quarterdeck, looking
towards him, and Jack waited as they walked the length of the
they reached the bowsprit. “Ethan,” he
called. “Th’ship is back there – these
are decoys!” Jack jabbed a finger
towards the general direction of where Sumner had seen the sails.
“Decoys?” Jargo Teague
echoed, looking at the procession.
“Th’bastards!”
“I told you to trust
Sparrow,” Penhallick chuckled. “Go and
inform Curzon,” he ordered, waiting until his second in command went on his
errand to tell the captain of the other ship at their stern, what was happening.
black ship ahead of his own.
“Head fer th’back of
th’convoy, make them think we’re goin’ ter attack from behind, but carry on,
savvy?”
“Aye, Jack, savvy,”
Penhallick laughed, giving his friend the thumbs up. “You crafty sod,” he chuckled to himself as he went to instruct
his helmsman on what to do.
The three attacking ships
tacked towards the back of the flotilla and they could all see the men on the
so-called guard ships making ready to defend themselves, but at the last
minute, the
Pearl
their range. A loud boom rang out as
one of the guard ships tried their luck with the Serpent
mso-bidi-font-style:italic'>, Ethan Penhallick’s ship, but they too turned just
in time and the shot fell marginally short.
“Bloody hell,” Jack swore,
his eyes wide at the near miss. “They
left that a bit late, didn’t they?”
“Aye,” Gibbs nodded, thinking
that if it had been
mso-bidi-font-style:italic'> helmsman who had left it that late, he’d be
clapped in irons by now. “What if that
ship isn’t
mso-bidi-font-style:italic'> the target, Jack?” he asked quietly.
“Then I don’t show my face in
Tortuga for a bloody long time,” came the retort.
“Cap’n!
can tell,” Jacob Sumner informed his captain from his lofty perch.
“See?” Jack crowed, preening
himself. “Told you I was right.”
“So you did,” Gibbs grinned,
shaking his head ruefully. “So you
did…”
“An’ she’s all on her
lonesome,” Jack laughed. “How about we
go an’ keep them company, eh?” he called to the crew, who responded with a loud
cheer.
“Keep watch for the guard
ships, though,” the quartermaster warned them as the noise died down.
can.”
“Unless Abe deals with ‘em
first,” chuckled Oliver Fernan from his position at the helm.
A boom sounded across the
water before anyone had a chance to reply, and they all turned to see what was
happening.
“Looks like he’s started!”
Jack grinned as he spotted a puff of smoke coming the
rear of the three attacking ships, and panic on the decks of one of the guard
ships which they had obviously hit.
“He’s nothin’ if not
predictable,” the Irishman laughed as he continued to steer towards the ship on
the horizon.
“A few other things besides,”
Joshamee Gibbs added.
“Cap’n!” Jacob Sumner called
down. “They’re changing course – they
know we’re comin’ fer them.”
“So we give chase,” his
captain replied simply. “We’ll catch
them eventually.”
…
Celia tossed and turned in
the small cot but eventually gave up the fight and lay there, staring up at the
ceiling in the dark, listening to the sounds of Aggie and Giselle as they both
slept. ‘I
thought the virtuous were the one’s able to sleep soundly
mso-bidi-font-style:italic'>,’ she thought crossly. ‘
is a sin
you are so virtuous, anyway
herself comfortable, and closed her eyes, opening them immediately as she saw
in her mind the liquid brown pools of the pirate captain who had dogged her
steps for the past couple of days. ‘
cursed, wishing she would not think about him quite so much.
nothing too wrong with him
another voice reasoned. ‘
been untoward… well, not much.’
she could walk safely as she was sure she was about to wake the other two women
with her fidgeting. ‘
she rued. ‘Oh,
for a nice, respectable town where I could walk unaccosted and didn’t have
pirates propositioning me every five yards…’
But Celia knew that was now an impossible dream – at least until she had earned
enough money to book a passage elsewhere.
‘Back to England
mso-bidi-font-style:italic'>?’ she wondered, biting her lips as she considered
the idea. ‘But
it would cost an awful lot to return home,’
she realised sadly. ‘
mso-bidi-font-style:italic'>!’ Celia
stifled a giggle at the preposterous thought and closed her eyes once more,
hoping that she would manage some sleep before dawn.
…
The following day
Jack rubbed his eyes, having
stayed awake most of the night, watching their quarry move closer and
closer. He could not understand why
they had not doused their lights as they obviously knew they were being chased,
and he fought down a feeling of unease.
Abraham Curzon had dealt with a couple of the guard ships effectively
enough to deter the others from giving chase, and they had left their burden to
their fate which gave Jack one less thing to worry about, but still the
disquiet continued to dog him.
“Should be with them in less
than an hour, Cap’n,” Gabriel Jennings said as he approached with a beaker of
coffee for his captain.
“I just hope it’s worth it,”
Jack mused, nodding his thanks as he took the steaming drink off his crewman.
“Of course it will be,”
Jennings assured him with a frown. He
had never heard his captain voice anxiety before. “Why wouldn’t it be?”
“I dunno,” Jack
shrugged. “Just some things aren’t
addin’ up, that’s all.’ He looked once
more at the ship looming ever larger in the dawn light.
to be carrying the amount of tobacco his informant had assured him would be on
board, but she could equally be carrying enough munitions to blow them out of
the water. ‘Stop
it,’ he scolded himself. ‘
never used to be a worrier, don’t start now
“Aye, Cap‘n,” the crewman
concurred, turning on his heel to hurry off on his errand.
…
Celia closed the bedroom
door, wincing as Syndony Chester continued her tirade towards her.
when one of the stable hands had dropped a pail right beneath the madame’s
window just after breakfast time and her employer’s woman had let her displeasure
be known to the whole household, screeching and yelling, and throwing things at
whomever had the misfortune to have to enter her boudoir.
often did. For reasons unknown to her,
Syndony had taken a dislike to the former novice and never missed an
opportunity for a barb here and a dig there – running her down all the time.
“Yer survived then?” Margaret
asked acerbically as they walked down the stairs together.
“Maybe she’s worried about
Mister Penhallick,” Celia suggested, arching an eyebrow as her companion
snorted derisively.
“The only thing she’d worry
about is if the master is killed and someone else takes over the town – someone
like Jack Sparrow.” Margaret watched
her friend carefully as she mentioned the pirate’s name.
on between them, despite Celia’s strong protestations to the contrary.
“Why?” the blonde woman
asked, trying not to react for she could feel Margaret’s eyes boring into
her. “Surely he wouldn’t throw her out
of her own home?”
“That’s exactly what he’d
do,” Margaret stated firmly. “Fer one,
it’s not her
mso-bidi-font-style:italic'> home, and fer two, he don’t have no time fer
her. She’d have to go and live in the
brothel again, and maybe work!” she
giggled, obviously enjoying the thought.
“Why would Jack Sparrow take
over the town? Surely there are plenty
of other’s who could take over?”
“Yer need a certain
something,” Margaret told her, having been born and brought up in the pirate
town and seen many pirate
mso-bidi-font-style:italic'> come and go.
“A way of dealing with people, and yer need wealth, and rumour has it
Sparrow is richer than Mister Penhallick!”
She followed her friend down the servant stairs and into the kitchen.
“Oh…” Celia replied, bringing
to mind the somewhat luxurious surroundings of the pirate’s cabin, which seemed
at odds with his rather scruffy appearance.
“Mind yer, he’s as mad as
they come,” Margaret chuckled, smirking as a blush crept over her friends face,
as it always did when they spoke of the strange pirate captain.
“Who?” Sarah, the cook
enquired as she looked up from kneading the bread.
“Sparrow,” Margaret informed
her. “‘Ere, what’s that noise?” she
exclaimed as a dull boom resonated in the distance.
“Sounded like canon fire to
me,” Sarah exclaimed, her eyes going wide with worry.
“Sure not?” Celia
frowned. “There are no new ships in the
harbour.”
“No, I know,” Margaret
fretted, looking at the back door as if expecting it to provide her with an
answer. “Gawd, I hope it’s not an
attack.”
“Attack?” Celia echoed,
exchanging worried glances with the other two women. “Who would attack?”
“Pirates from another island,
the Navy, someone with a grudge against the master – take yer pick.”
“We don’t know that it is a
strike against the town yet,” Sarah soothed, as much for her own benefit as the
younger girls. She had lost her husband
a few years ago to a naval assault and she had lived in fear of another one
ever since.
“You!” Syndony shrieked as
she flew into the kitchen, jabbing a finger at Celia. “Help me pack my clothes.”
“W-why?” Celia enquired, fear
churning in her stomach. “What’s
wrong?”
“Don’t you question me, you
little slut,” the madame screeched.
“We’re under attack an’ I need ter go into hiding.
“Bloody hell,” Margaret
swore, hurrying for the same back door she had been staring at a few minutes
earlier. “Come on, Cee.
towards Syndony. “Come on, we’ve got
ter go!” She and Sarah ran out of the
door, desperate to run away from whomever was attacking the pirate town.
“Don’t you dare, yer fuckin’
cow!” the brothel keeper spat, grabbing Celia’s arm and propelling her towards
the stairs leading to the main house.
“I’ll make sure th’only work you would have in this town would be
spreadin’ yer legs for any bastard ter shag yer, understand?”
“B-but,” Celia stammered,
tripping up the stairs. “Surely there’s
no time to pack?”
“If you think I’m leavin’ my
silk gowns an’ jewellery behind, you’ve got another thing comin’.”
“Where are we going?” Celia
asked as she pulled a small trunk from a closet and opened the wardrobe.
“Not that trunk, yer stupid
bitch! Ya can’t fit anything in
that! Fer gawds sake, hurry up!” she
urged as the sounds of rioting got ever closer. “They’ll be here soon.”
“Well help me then,” Celia
snapped. “And I won’t be able to carry
a larger trunk so this will have to do.”
“How dare you talk to me like
that!” Syndony shouted, backhanding Celia and sending her flying across the room.
footsteps pounded up the stairs.
“Well, well, well,” growled a
fearsome looking man as his eyes scanned the room and took in the two
women. “Looks like we’re in fer some
fun, lads.”
“N-no,” Celia pleaded as a couple
of the half a dozen or so men advanced on her.
“P-please, I beg of you…”
“Who’s yer captain?” Syndony
demanded, picking up a silver candlestick and waving in front of herself in an
attempt to ward off the other men. “
“Davy Stockton,” came a voice
from the stairs.
“Well order yer men off,” the
madame insisted. “It’s me, Syndony
Chester.”
“Aye, I thought I recognised
th’voice.”
Celia gulped as a great bear
of a man with a scar running the length of his left cheek, strode into the
room, seemingly taking up most of the space.
She shrank back, hoping to be forgotten.
“An’ who is this, yer
handmaid?” the pirate enquired as his eyes raked the curvaceous blonde woman,
trying to hide in the corner of the room.
“Of sorts,” Syndony shrugged,
interested in only her own survival.
“So, yer’ve come ter take over?”
“Nah,” Stockton
chuckled. “Just take.”
“I can show yer where
Penhallick keeps his wealth,” the dark haired woman announced, slinking over to
the captain. “It’ll cost yer, mind.”
“Oh, aye?
snaking an arm around her waist. “Yer
safety? How safe will yer be when
out he’s broke, thanks ter you?”
“How will he know?” she
shrugged.
“It’ll be suss if we leave
you here an’ take all th’other women of th’town.”
“Yer won’t catch half of
them,” Syndony declared with a shrug.
“Nah, I think I’ll be takin’
both of ya with me, after you show me where Penhallick’s
fortune is.”
“No!” Celia screamed as one of the men grabbed her and
pressed his mouth over hers. She
struggled in his grasp, managing to snatch a handful of hair and pull hard.
“Yer little whore!” he roared, striking her.
“That’s enough!” Stockton ordered.
her, pretty and curvy as she is.”
“Oh, but you will,” Syndony
smirked. “She’s a virgin, ain’t she?”
she announced, looking mocking at
Celia. “Fetch a good price fer
her, yer will.”
“Is she now?” Stockton
grinned, a steely glint in his eyes.
“Well, we’ll have ter make sure yer not molested now, won’t we?” he
chuckled, nodding for his men to escort the two women from the room.
“What about me?” Syndony
urged. “Yer ain’t sellin’ me, are ya?”
“You, Syn?
coldly. “You an’ me’ll relive old
times, eh?”
“Good,” Syndony replied, a
little uncertainly. “An’ afterwards?”
“We’ll just have ter see how
many new tricks yer’ve learned since I last had ya.”
“Then I’ll be safe fer a few
years!” she boasted with a hollow laugh as she watched Celia being ushered out
of the room.
“Take her to the ship,”
Stockton ordered his men, looking over Celia once more.
balls off an’ feed them to yer. Miss
Chester an’ I have some business ter attend.”
“Aye, Cap’n,” his men
deferred, knowing their captain would carry out his threat if they went against
him.
…
“Well, that was nice an’
easy,” Jack grinned as he, Ethan Penhallick and Abraham Curzon toasted their
success in an anonymous tavern in Matanzas, some sixty miles down the coast
from La Havana, his unease during the chase proved unfounded.
negotiations with various other pirates and captains who were not averse to
doing business with the trio, before selling the tobacco they had purloined at
a better price than they had anticipated.
“Not sure about easy,” Abe
Curzon grinned, for there had been times during the talks when violence
threatened to break out and it was only the presence of some of their bulkiest
crewmen, armed to the teeth, that had kept the peace.
“You both comin’ back to
Tortuga?” Penhallick enquired as he downed his rum and held his beaker up for a
refill as a barmaid passed their table.
“I might,” Jack
confirmed. “Th’men didn’t have a very
long shore leave an’ I don’t fancy a mutiny on m’hands.”
“Another
mutiny, you mean,” the pirate king taunted,
ignoring the dark look that Jack shot him.
‘I’ll
give you mutiny,’ Jack thought
broodingly. ‘
his eyes. “Another
mso-bidi-font-style:italic'> mutiny!”
“I’m headin’ fer
th’Americas,” Curzon announced. “Good
trade up that way.”
“Trade?” Penhallick
enquired. “You’re not becomin’
respectable, are you?”
“Me?” Curzon laughed, the
sound drawing attention from all corners of the tavern.
“It pays ter have fingers in
many pies,” Jack smiled, winking at his friend.
“I prefer me fingers ter be
in some whore, but yeah, pies when it comes ter business.”
“Eloquently put,” Jack
laughed, toasting Curzon.
“We all know where you’d want
your fingers, Jack,” Penhallick chuckled.
“Is she the reason for coming back?”
“No,” Jack stated, although
he knew it wasn’t
mso-bidi-font-style:italic'> true. “I
told you th’reason. Now if you’ll
excuse me, gentlemen, I see a woman who is in need of good company.”
companions before heading towards a buxom whore who had been giving him the eye
for the last ten minutes.
…
Aggie ran for all she was
worth into the hills, which surrounded the pirate town, along with Giselle and
a handful of other whores, glancing back every now and then to make sure they
weren’t being followed. She frowned as
she saw a plume of smoke rising and realised it was coming from the direction of
Penhallick’s mansion. “Celia!” she gasped,
stopping in her tracks and going to make back down to the town.
“Don’t be bleedin’ stupid,”
Giselle snapped. “There’s nothin’ yer
can do ter help her – from what some of th’others said, Stockton made straight
fer th’big house, so she’d have been one of th’first taken.
She grabbed Aggie’s arm and dragged her through the undergrowth, cursing
as brambles and thorns scratched at her legs.
“Gawd, no man’s goin’ ter want my legs around him, th’state they’re in!”
“No man’s interested in yer
legs,” another whore cackled. “Just
make sure nothin’ else is scratched ter shreds.”
“If there’ll be any men
Tortuga after Stockton’s had his fun,” another one added.
“Oh, Celia,” Aggie
lamented. “Gawd, I hope she’ll be all
right.”
“Sorry,” Giselle
shrugged. “But I doubt she will be.”
“I know,” the red haired
whore sighed. “Maybe she managed ter
escape.”
“We’ll search fer her as soon
as he
mso-bidi-font-style:italic'> buggers off, eh?” Giselle smiled, trying to make
her friend feel better.
“Yes,” Aggie nodded.
…
Celia shivered violently and
tried to move, to no avail. Her captors
had literally thrown her into the main cabin of the Sea’s
Cutlass and had pawed her unmercilessly as they tied her
to a stout chair and then left her, locking the door behind themselves, eager
to return ashore to cause more mayhem.
She gasped with fright as she heard the key turn in the lock.
“So yer made it safely,
then?” Davy Stockton sneered as he entered his cabin. “Good. Come on, Syn – yer
trunk don’t weigh
mso-bidi-font-style:italic'> much, yer lazy cow!”
“It bleedin’ does,” she
protested, dragging a trunk along the deck and into the cabin.
small trunk that she and the madame had argued over before they, or rather,
been taken captive. “She ain’t stayin’
here, I hope,” Syndony snapped, looking with distaste at Celia tied to the
chair.
“I don’t know yet, I haven’t
decided,” Stockton sighed. He had
forgotten just how much his one-time lover could moan, and not just with
passion either. He walked to his
prisoner and took out a small, sharp dagger and sliced through the rope binding
her to his chair. “Stand up,” he
ordered, grabbing her by her dress when she was slow to comply.
to her feet and pushing his face into hers, his rancid breath making her gag.
“Please, let me go,” Celia
whispered, her voice cracking with fear and want of a drink.
“You speak when I give you
permission,” Stockton shouted, shaking her angrily. “Strip off.”
“W-wh…” Celia stopped herself
just in time, fearful of the man’s temper in spite of him proclaiming he did
not want her marked. With trembling
fingers, Celia began unlacing her dress, tears pouring down her face as she
fumbled with the task.
“Fer gawds sake!” the pirate
captain snapped, batting her fingers away and undressing her himself, until she
stood before him, naked.
Celia burned with
mortification and tried to cover herself with her hands, feeling sick at the
look of lust in the man’s small, beady eyes.
“Yer won’t fetch anythin’ if
you have her,” Syndony reminded him, an edge to her voice as she watched
Stockton’s eyes devour the young virgin standing before him.
she could ever imagine.” She sashayed
over to where he stood and wound herself around him, her thigh rubbing against
his straining erection.
“But I would be the first,”
the pirate rasped, clenching his fists as he fought down the urge to touch
Celia, the scar which ran down his face standing out as the blood raced through
his veins.
“And then what?” Syn purred
in his ear, flicking her tongue across it.
“They wouldn’t want inexperienced, they’d want untouched… how about you
an’ me show her what to expect, eh?” she chuckled.
Davy Stockton moaned out loud
at the thought of Celia watching as he had Syndony in front of her and went to
fetch another rope with which to bind her once more.
…