Page 35 of The Black Lion
“There it is,” he murmured against her ear, nuzzling and kissing and making a mess of her senses. “Home.”
“That looks like quite a bit of land,” she remarked, leaning into his embrace. “The way you described the island, I expected something smaller.”
“From this distance it’s difficult to tell, but what you’re seeing isn’t one land mass—it’s two. The greater mass is Madagascar itself. When we draw nearer, you’ll be able to see thatÎle Saint Marieis its own chunk of land, separated from Madagascar by theBaie de Tintingue. There are over a thousand people inhabiting the island—pirates and their families, freed slaves, the formerly indentured … people who needed a place to put down roots and start anew.”
“I find it difficult to believe so many pirates can exist in one place without tearing each other apart.”
Drew’s chest rumbled against her back when he laughed. “With every king, lord governor, and commodore in the world hunting us down and stringing us up for piracy, we have no cause to be at each other’s throats. Our continued survival depends on our willingness to band together against the rest of the world. Besides, all pirates exist by a code of some kind. On board our ships, we abide by the articles and vote on every decision. Even my choice to come to Falmouth to retrieve you had to be approved by my crew first.”
“Truly? And how difficult was it to convince them to vote in your favor?”
“It wasn’t. The vote was unanimous. Anyway, when on Pirate Island, we abide by another set of articles. No man may try to take what rightfully belongs to another. Crimes where blood is spilled are subject to punishment, based on the votes of a council of captains. Captains claim their own territory, and those who live under his protection do their part for the good of each settlement. At the center of the island is the marketplace where we trade our goods. Money doesn’t change hands here, as gold is all but useless to a pirate. Gems are a form of currency, but so are the necessities—foodstuffs, wine and spirits, fabrics, that sort of thing.”
“Fascinating. If you had described such a place to me before now I might not have believed it.”
“It is a different sort of life than what you are accustomed to, but I have faith that you will grow used to it. Perhaps you’ll even come to prefer it this way.”
Glancing back at him, Arabella smiled. “I would be happy anywhere as long as you were there.”
They shared a lingering kiss and then Drew had to leave her, his duties demanding that he do his part to ensure the ship was ready to make port atÎle Saint Marie.He came and went over the next several hours, but Arabella remained where she stood, unable to look away from the emerald form in the distance, growing larger by the second. As Drew had predicted, she was eventually able to tell the island apart from Madagascar itself, a small expanse of land surrounded by water on all sides. The sea and inlets carved along its perimeter were the bluest Arabella had ever seen—bright and clear beneath a sky graced with fluffy white clouds. The landscape changed as they approached, magically seeming to rise up out of the water in a stunning display of mountains, overgrown forest, and gigantic palms.
Bracing one hand over her brow and squinting against the sun, she made out a series of coves along the eastern shore, each one home to a veritable fleet of ships. Her mouth fell open as they sailed into one of them, losing count of the number of vessels they cruised past. Brigantines, galleons, schooners, and even a gigantic man-of-war—all of them neatly moored and acting as a silent threat to anyone who would approach.
“Impressive, isn’t it?” Rory drawled as he came to join her at the railing.
“It’s breathtaking,” she whispered. “So many ships.”
“Each one ready to launch itself in defense of the island if need be, though we haven’t had to fight off the Royal Navy in a while.”
Rory gently took her arm to steady her as the ship swung at the command of Drew at the wheel, pulling into one of the shallow inlets and aiming their bowsprit into a wide gap between a frigate and a galleon.
“These here sail under the command o’ the cap’n,” he added, sweeping his arm to encompass not just these two ships, but six others flanking them left and right.
Arabella sucked in an awed breath as she took in furled sails and gleaming decks.
Rory let out a laugh in response to her dumbfounded expression. “Didn’t he tell ye?”
Shaking her head, she stared at the gleaming figurehead of a mermaid thrusting off the front of the galleon to their left. “No, he didn’t.”
“He’s a modest man, yer husband. All seven o’ these beauties are prizes he claimed himself. Each one is captained by a different man, but they all sail under the banner of The Black Lion. Won’t let us call him Admiral, the bugger.”
“Some of us don’t feel the need to toss about fancy titles to make ourselves seem more impressive,” Drew retorted as he appeared on Arabella’s other side.
Smiling up at him, she clutched the lapels of his frock coat and went on tiptoe to kiss the bridge of his nose. “I am no less impressed, no matter what you call yourself.”
“Wait till ye see where you’ll be living,” Rory chimed in.
“Quiet, you,” Drew snapped, though his lips twitched with mirth. “Think you can manage theLionso I can get Bella ashore?”
Rory snapped his heels together and offered Drew a playful salute. “Aye, aye. I’ll have yer things sent up the hill directly. Go carry yer bride across the threshold.”
The ship shuddered to a stop as they dropped anchor, and Drew took her hand, gesturing to where a group of men had already begun preparing jolly boats to carry their passengers ashore.
“Shall we?”
Glancing at the cluster of former slaves watching all the goings-on with quiet reserve. “What about them?”
“Big Jack and Padre set out on a jolly boat first thing this morning and likely reached the island hours ago. A welcome party will be arranged, and temporary living arrangements will be secured for all of them. Most will lodge with us until we can find someplace to put them. When we set sail for Falmouth, a number of small dwellings had already begun construction, but it could be weeks yet before they’re inhabitable.”
