“We’d just left the port of Tortuga and planned to rendezvous
with some others in Barrett’s fleet off the coast of Jamaica. It was near there that we spotted the first war ship. The Spaniards were dependent on the direction and strength of the wind, so we had 161
an advantage, in that we could outmaneuver them. As they bore down on us, we attempted to get to windward, but were unsuccessful. Three of our sailors were hit by a barrage from the ship’s guns as she passed.”
Teach looked off to the woods, somber and thoughtful. “We
shot back and managed to wound several of the sailors. With no
one at the helm, their ship rounded into the wind and lay helpless. We continued to shoot every man who attempted to take the
rudder and targeted their sails until they were shredded.”
Teach paused in his story to catch a breath. Glancing again
at Anne, he noted the rapt attention she gave him, clearly fascinated and aghast by his account.
“What happened next?” she asked.
Teach frowned. “The Spaniards continued to fire, and our
captain took two shots to the chest. It was at that moment
that I noticed two powder kegs on the deck of the other ship.
Knowing it was our only chance of survival, I ordered our
helmsmen to bring us closer. The Spanish captain commanded
everyone to hit the deck, and I took a shot. It wasn’t enough
to destroy their ship, but it gave us the distraction we needed
to escape.” Teach remembered with vivid clarity the sights and
sounds of the men as some of the Spaniards had caught fire
when the keg had exploded. He could still hear their cries as
they leapt into the ocean in an attempt to douse the flames
burning their flesh.
Anne reached out and touched his arm, seemingly aware of
16 2
his haunted reflections. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I shouldn’t have asked.”
Teach looked down at the hand on his sleeve, overcome with
a sudden urge to cover it with his own. Instead he cleared his
throat and looked out across the gorge. It took him a moment
to answer. “I have since come to terms with that event,” he said, his voice raw.
“You saved their lives.”
Teach met her eyes and saw in them understanding and
compassion.
“Yes, by taking the lives of others.”
“If it hadn’t been for you, more men on your ship would
have perished, yourself included,” she said.
Teach shrugged. “If it’s God’s will for me to go, who am I
to stop it?” he asked.
Anne gave a short laugh. “That might be, but God also gave
you a brain and intellect. Would you rather have stood by and
let them kill the lot of you?”
“All I know is that I never want to watch a man suffer like
that at my hand again.”
The silence that followed was pressing, and Teach realized
that whenever the two of them spoke, he revealed more about his
past than she did about hers. He was determined to change that.
“Enough about me,” Teach said. “Tell me, do you have any
family?”
“No one to claim me.”
16 3
Teach was amazed at her ability to avoid answers. “What does that mean, exactly?” he pressed.
“My parents are dead.”
He studied her face. There was an unmistakable look of
sadness in her eyes, and he regretted his insistence that she clar-ify her statement. “I’m sorry for your loss, but that means there is no reason for you to leave my father’s household.”
“It does not matter whether I stay there or not. Once you
marry Miss Patience, you will live with her at her estate.”
His head jerked back as if he had been slapped. “Why do
you insist on bringing Miss Patience into every conversation?”
he demanded.
Anne frowned. “I only speak the truth. Am I wrong in
assuming you will soon be married?”
His mouth twisted into a bitter smile. “No. If my father has
his way, we will be wed within the year.”
“And if you had your way?”
“If I had my way, I would leave tomorrow on the first ship
sailing out of Bristol, regardless of its destination.” And never return. Afraid that once more he’d said too much, Teach stood abruptly. “I believe we should go back.”
Anne waited as he placed the chairs once more inside the
cottage. He led the way through the trees, and they found their
horses exactly as they had left them. Lifting her back up into
her saddle, he allowed his fingers to linger slightly longer than 16 4
necessary on her waist. She glanced at him sharply, but Teach pretended not to notice.
He did not truly desire to return to the house, but knew it
would not do to remain any longer in the woods.
They rode back in relative silence. Teach was tired. Perhaps
it was a lingering effect from his illness.
As the house drew nearer, he felt the familiar bands of tight—
ness settling around his heart. Anne’s own face mirrored his, for her eyes were no longer shining, and her cheeks were no longer flushed.