Page 62 of The Pirate Lord
— FANNY BURNEY,CAMILLA
Sara stood in the hold of theSatyr, taking stock of what clothing the women had managed to carry away from theChastity. The other pirates were expected back tonight or tomorrow, and she wanted to be ready to portion out the clothing they were bringing.
It was only when she rubbed her eyes that she realized the light was waning in the hold. It had been early afternoon when she’d come down here, the time most of the women avoided the hold because of the heat. But now it must be almost dusk. Soon she would have to light a lamp.
Suddenly, she heard the hatch to the hold being opened and footsteps descending the stairs. She went still. It was probably one of the women, but she found herself half-hoping, half-fearing it was Gideon.
He’d avoided her since that night in her cabin, treating her like a contagion. Whenever she ventured to speak to him about some matter concerning the women, he gave her a dismissive answer and went on about his business.
Though his behavior wounded her, she told herself it was for the best. If Petey succeeded in his escape, she would soon be leaving this place, and she ought to leave it as unencumbered as she’d come. If she could find a way to stop Gideon from forcing the women to choose husbands. Tomorrow, they were to choose, and she still had no clue how to prevent it, to buy enough time for Petey to return with Jordan.
Then the legs of the person descending the stairs came into view between the open steps. It wasn’t Gideon, that was certain. No, it was Ann Morris, and as she rounded the staircase, Sara was alarmed to see her crying.
As soon as Ann caught sight of her, she ran toward her, fresh tears rolling down her cheeks. “Oh, what am I to do? How am I to endure it?”
Sara enveloped the small woman in her arms. “There, there, dear, what’s wrong? Are you missing Petey again?”
It took several moments to get the story out of Ann. Apparently, one of the pirates was courting her, and when tomorrow came, Ann feared she’d be forced to marry the man.
“He’s nice enough, I-I suppose,” she stammered through her crying, “but . . . but—” Here she burst into violent sobs.
“But he’s not Petey,” Sara whispered.
Ann nodded, wailing all the louder.
“I won’t let you marry a stranger,” Sara vowed as she held the small woman tightly. She stared ahead unseeing. “This ridiculous plan of Gideon’s to populate his island has gone far enough. I refuse to let it continue any longer.”
Rubbing tears from her eyes with small fists, Ann asked, “What are you going to do?”
“You’ll see.” Sara hurried toward the stairs. It was time she and Gideon had another conversation about this foolishness. He must be made to understand that he couldn’t simply handwives out to his men as if they were so much stolen goods. She wouldn’t stand for it!
When she and Ann left the ship, they didn’t have to go far to find Gideon. He was discussing something with Barnaby and Silas in front of his hut. But as soon as she strode into the middle of them, their conversation died off.
“What do you want?” Gideon ground out, impatience clear in every line of his face.
Straightening her shoulders, Sara met his forbidding scowl with a scowl of her own. “I want you to put an end to this madness of forcing the women to choose husbands. Isn’t it bad enough that you and your men carried us here against our will? Must you also insist on tormenting the women by making them marry men they scarcely know?”
“They have a choice.”
She snorted. “Oh, yes, their famous choice. They can choose a husband or have you choose one for them. But they can’t choose to remain unmarried, can they?”
“Do any of them really want that choice, Sara?”
Turning to Ann, who stood nervously behind her, Sara pulled the young woman forward. “Some of them do. Ann, for one. She . . . er . . . left behind a sweetheart in England. She isn’t ready to transfer her affections to just any man.”
“Left behind a sweetheart in England?” Gideon repeated caustically. “Truly? Or did she just lose one when he sailed off three days ago?”
When Ann burst into tears and fled the scene, Sara faced Gideon with an accusing expression. “Nowlook what you’ve done!”
To her surprise, Silas cast Gideon a look of disgust, then took a deep puff on his pipe. “You shouldn’t have said that, cap’n. That girl’s a delicate one, she is.”
Barnaby rolled his eyes. “Louisa has softened Silas so much, I scarcely recognize him.”
“Now see here, you blasted Brit—” Silas began to protest.
“That’s enough, both of you,” Gideon ordered before returning his attention to Sara. “I’m not changing my mind about this. I’m sorry Ann is unhappy, but don’t you think she’d be better off with a husband and children than pining for some ‘sweetheart’ who’s probably forgotten all about her by now?”
“Oh, that’s just the sort of thing a man would say!” Crossing her arms over her chest, Sara glared at him. “Besides, Ann’s not the only one. Some of the other women are also reluctant to marry men they scarcely know. Why can’t you give them more time?”
