Cara flushed, and Anne immediately felt guilty. If it hadn’t been for Cara’s friendship and Coyle’s protection, Anne could have suffered a much harsher voyage than the one she’d endured.
“I’m sorry, Cara. I didn’t mean to be cruel. It’s just . . . there are people from Bristol on the Deliverance. It’s strange to think I might know one of them.” Just mentioning the name of her hometown caused Anne’s throat to tighten, and she swallowed with difficulty. Although she hadn’t left under the best of circumstances, she had grown up in the English port. It was all she’d known for the past sixteen years, and until her father’s death, she’d been content there, secure in her mother’s love. “I can’t stand the thought of people suffering, or worse, dying, if we don’t come to their aid.”
“What can we do?”
“Speak with the captain.”
Cara shook her head. “My father always said it’s not wise to quarrel with the boatman when you’re crossing the river.”
“Wise words, I’m sure, but this is no river. And if our roles were reversed, wouldn’t you want the people on that other ship to come to our aid?” Anne could tell from the look in Cara’s eyes that she’d struck a nerve.
“All right. But let me go get Coyle.”
“I can’t wait. It might be too late already.”
“But—”
Anne placed a hand on Cara’s arm. “Let your brother sleep, Cara. He needs the rest. I know what to say to the captain. Trust me.” Turning, Anne lifted her skirts, but Cara stopped her.
“Then I’m coming with you. It wouldn’t be right for you to face him alone.”
Nodding, Anne allowed her friend to follow her down the dank stairway and along the dark hall to the captain’s cabin. She preferred to spend as much time as possible on deck, for the cramped and damp quarters below felt like a tomb.
Knocking on the door, Anne waited until Captain Oxley called out for them to enter. His eyes widened when he saw the two girls. Anne could understand his surprise. Aside from a few exchanges in the last five weeks, neither the captain nor Anne had gone out of their way to speak to each other.
An older, severe man, Oxley was balding on top with the rest of his hair pulled back in a queue. He was slender of frame and by the look of his tanned face, a seasoned sailor.
“Yes?” he asked, leaning back in his chair.
“I’m sorry to interrupt you, Captain, but I was wondering what you intended to do about those two ships,” Anne said, fighting the urge to squirm beneath his direct gaze. His small cabin was cluttered, the papers on his desk untidily stacked, and books littered the floor.
“I hadn’t planned to do anything.”
“But, sir, they’re going to attack that other ship.”
“Better them than us,” was his deliberate response.
Anne went hot and cold at the same time, gasping at his words. “How can you say that? There are passengers on board, possibly women and children.”
“We have women and children on board our ship as well. Do you think that just because those people paid more money for their passage on the Deliverance, their lives are worth more than the poor souls on this ship, yourself included?” It was clear Oxley had heard of the large merchantman. He’d recognized it from this distance as well.
“No, but if we don’t do something, they’ll—”
Captain Oxley snorted. “Look around you. You’ve been on the Providence long enough to know its condition. Do you think it could handle a hit from a cannonball?”
Although a single cannonball would not likely sink the Providence, Anne knew it wouldn’t take much more to send the ship to the bottom of the ocean. “It might not come to that. If they see us coming to the aid of the Deliverance, perhaps they’ll change course.”
“It’s not my job to come to anyone’s aid. I’m paid to deliver my passengers and cargo.”
Anne refused to give up. “But the owner of the Deliverance is one of the wealthiest men in Bristol. I’m sure Richard Drummond would pay you handsomely for any support you could extend.”
“He can’t pay me if I’m not alive to collect. I’m sorry, but my answer is no.”
“How can you say that? People will die!”
Captain Oxley stood up and leaned forward on the desk. “Do you think they would come to our aid if our roles were reversed?”
“They just might,” Cara said.
“You’re wrong, Miss Flynn. I know the captain of that ship. Murrell’s a heartless bastard who cares more for his own skin than anyone else’s.”
Shaking with frustration and anger, Anne glared at Captain Oxley. “The same might be said of you,” she said, ignoring Cara’s sharply indrawn breath.
“You’re wrong, Miss Barrett. I care a great deal for my men, which is why I won’t drag them into a fight we have no hope of winning. I have no desire to send them to their deaths.”
“A brave man dies only once. A coward dies a hundred times,” Anne said, lifting her chin.
“Anne!” Cara interjected, but Oxley raised his hand, his face a dull red.
“You may call me what you like, but my main concern is to see that we make it safely to port.” He strode toward the door and pulled it open. “And I will not discuss the running of my ship with a woman. If you don’t wish to be confined to your cabin, I suggest you leave now.”
Feeling heat rise to her own cheeks, Anne refused to move.
Cara touched her arm. “Anne, please.”
Struggling to control her fury, Anne gave the captain one last withering look before stalking out of the cabin.
CHAPTER 4
Teach
Captain Murrell’s expression grew progressively more alarmed as the day wore on, and his skin took on an ashen hue beneath his tan. He combed his hands through his receding hairline repeatedly. Teach was convinced Murrell would be bald by the end of the day.
Murrell was a coward. Teach could easily picture him meeting Richard Drummond and regaling him with stories of grandeur about his life at sea. If only Teach’s father could see the man he’d chosen for the Deliverance’s maiden voyage. Drummond had gone to the trouble of hiring soldiers to sail his precious ship, but somehow he’d failed to provide a fit leader.
Teach wished the captain would retire to his cabin like the rest of the wealthy passengers, but Murrell roved the deck like a squawking rooster, his arms flailing while he shouted commands. Peter trailed after him, like a silent shadow following a storm. At first Teach had done his best to ignore what the captain was saying, but the more directions he gave, the more Teach feared they would lose their lives before they ever reached land. The thought of leaving Anne alone in the world was incentive enough for Teach to take action.