“Neither will I,” Omphile added, gripping her hand.
Growling, Moses plucked a knife from his belt and turned to face the attackers.
Cadan charged the first man.The clang of swords echoed through the night sky.Dipping his rapier this way and that, he forced the poor Frenchman backward into the brush, then kicked him in the gut.
Clinging to Omphile, Gabrielle squinted to see in the darkness.Beside her, Omphile whispered a prayer.
Moses swept his knife up to block a man’s blade, then barreled into him, knocking him backward.The third man, rapier held aloft, swept it down on Moses and would have struck him if Cadan had not rushed and met his attack with his own blade.He shoved the man aside and drove his rapier toward him, slicing him.Blood trickled down the Frenchman’s arm and marred his shirt.With a wail of pain, he stumbled off into the darkness.
Cadan glanced at Moses who had flung his opponent’s rapier into the brush and was now pounding him into the sand.
Turning to face the final soldier, Cadan spun his rapier before him.“Your turn.”
The poor French soldier hesitated for a moment, then dropped his blade, turned, and bolted into the brush.
Cadan didn’t hesitate.“Come, Moses!Into the boat!”
Gabrielle pulled Omphile into the surf and helped her into the wobbling boat just as Moses approached, sweat gleaming off his ebony skin.
Leaping in the craft, Cadan sat at the bow whilst Moses gave it a shove and jumped into the middle.The boat wobbled and nearly overturned under the man’s weight, but soon, with oars in hand, Cadan and Moses maneuvered the skiff out of the small cove and around the bend.
Gabrielle pressed a hand to her chest to still her thrashing heart.Would they never be out of danger?A brisk wind swept over them, cooling her perspiration and bringing with it the scent of brine and…freedom.The familiar scent, along with the splash of oars, helped calm her down as they rowed around the edge of a sharp peninsula.Moonlight flung silver ribbons atop waves as stars twinkled from a velvety sky.But her eyes were on the dark outline of a ship anchored near the coast.TheResolute!My son is on that ship!
She sought out Cadan in the darkness, wanting to thank him, to hug him even.The man’s audacity…to anchor beside an enemy island.Yet there his ship was, her distinct elegant lines forming in the shadows, sails limp upon her mighty masts.
Soon they thudded against the hull, and a ladder rope was tossed over.Moses climbed up first, then helped Omphile and Gabrielle.
Something wasn’t right.Pirates clogged the main deck.A few stood up on the quarterdeck, but most kept to the shadows.A chill skittered over Gabrielle.Where were Durwin or Pell?Shouldn’t someone be there to greet them?
Lastly, Cadan appeared over the railing, his eyes instantly narrowing, his face turning to steel.He marched toward the center of his men just as Smity, a cocksure grin on his scraggly face, emerged from the crowd.
Gabrielle flung a hand to her mouth.
“What is the meaning of this?”Cadan fisted hands on his waist.
“The meanin’ is, I’m takin’ o’er the ship, Cap’n.”He turned toward the men behind him.“Digby, Jugg, lock them in the hold.”
???
Gabrielle could hardly believe her eyesorher ears.Had they just gone from one prison to another?From one dire predicament to an even worse one?If she had any doubt God was with her, it blew away in the chilled night breeze.
Smity ordered another of the pirates, a skinny man named Rawlins who bore an oily grin, to escort her and Omphile below deck.She exchanged a glance with Cadan and saw naught but fury flaming in his eyes, his hair wild about him, and his jaw about to burst.A flicker of understanding passed between them before the pirates pushed him and Moses down the hatch.
Matthew!Was her baby here?Who had been taking care of him during the mutiny?Would she find him dead of hunger and neglect?She scanned the throng of pirates, seeking her son, but none carried a bundle.Wait.Was that her pirate guard walking behind the mob, casting glances her way?But nay, she must be seeing things.
“My babe!”She shouted back at Smity as Rawlins gestured for her and Omphile to climb down the companionway.
Smity merely scowled in reply.“What’s it to me, wench?”
Her heart shriveled in her chest.Tears filled her eyes, her only thought to escape the pirate’s clutches and search the ship for her son.
But then Durwin slid next to Smity and said something to the man, gesturing toward her, and finally Smity ordered another pirate to “fetch the brat and bring it to its mother.”
Relief flooded her.Omphile squeezed her hand, and soon they found themselves back in the tiny cabin Gabrielle had been imprisoned in before.Thankfully, Rawlins left the lantern, granting them a little light in the ever-increasing darkness.
“Oh my, this is all my fault.”Gabrielle sank to the cot and dropped her head in her hands.“The mutiny, Cadan and Moses and you locked up.None of this would have happened if Damien hadn’t kidnapped us and Cadan hadn’t come to our rescue.”
“Now, now, Child.You can’t be blamed for de evil actions o’ others.”She slid beside her.“Remember God’s in control.”
