Jordan felt himself being lifted into the air and thrown against the deck. He raised an arm to cover his eyes, rolling with the movement of the ship as splinters of wood flew through the air with the velocity of gunshot. Alexis was unprepared for the force of the hit. Thrown in the opposite direction of her first mate, she made such a violent landing on the deck that air was knocked from her lungs. Gasping for breath she tore off her mask and struggled to her feet. Each successive breath she drew only seemed to increase the pain. She clutched her sides and the pain became even more fierce. Pulling aside her cape she felt blindly with her palms until they scraped a large splinter of wood lodged in her flesh. Quickly, before Jordan got to his feet, she broke off the part that protruded and used her hand to apply pressure to the wound. With her free hand she jerked the cape more closely about her.
“Are you all right, Captain?” Jordan’s voice was deep with anxiety by the time he reached her. He had a number of small cuts and bruises but nothing serious.
“I’m fine,” she said evenly. “I only lost my wind. You look as if you’ll live.” She surveyed the damage to her ship. Her men were putting out the fire and none of them appeared to have seen her fall. Redland, a nasty gash on the side of his head, had already resumed his position at the wheel. TheDrakewas closing in, gaining an advantage from their temporary confusion.
Alexis ignored the dull throb of pain in her side, pressing her hand harder against her flesh. “When I give the command we’re going to rake them, Mr. Jordan. Order the men to fire in succession as we cross their spar deck. We’ll make them regret coming so close.”
Jordan conveyed her orders. He had a brief moment to ponder the origin of her expertise, then he saw his answer standing by one of the guns. Alexis was unaware of Cloud watching her intently, conveying his approval. He would have been incapable of displaying more pride if he had been giving the orders himself.
“Now!” Alexis’s voice carried over all other sounds at that moment. TheDark Ladybegan her dangerous maneuver, sweeping in front of the frigate at close range. The lighter, faster merchant was able to perform the task easily, in spite of theDrake’swindward advantage. The cannons were fired in rapid succession asDark Ladypassed. The frigate retaliated with its bow battery but two cannon were no match for Alexis’s broadside cannonade.
“We’ll sweep her again, Mr. Jordan.” She looked through her scope to estimate the damage. “One more pass should leave her crippled. We’ll not board. Their crew probably outnumber us three to one. Raise the wedges on half the guns and fill them with hot shot. Aim for their sails, masts, and rigging.”
TheDark Ladybegan to turn again. TheDrakelost its advantage after Alexis’s daring retaliation. On the second sweep the damage to the other vessel was devastating. The guns filled with hot shot, cannonballs that had been fired red-hot in the forge, tore into the warship’s sails, setting the canvas ablaze. The flames climbed the foremast just as the first rays of the sun appeared on the horizon. The two lights clashed, fighting for domination until smoke enveloped theDrake,blocking the sun, naming destruction the victor.
A cheer went up on deck asDark Ladyregained the windward position and the ship moved quickly out of the frigate’s range. Alexis looked around at her men, some of whom were beginning to come up from the lower decks. Even their faces, streaked with gunpowder and sweat, could not hide the glow of victory. A murmur of excitement ran through them as they slapped one another on the back, not so much in the manner of a job well done as in a manner that was meant to assure them they were still alive. She saw Cloud’s face among them, but he was not joining the celebration. His gaze was fixed on her as if he knew something was wrong. She was suddenly conscious of her hand beneath the cape pressed so tightly to her side. She countered his concern with a smile and relaxed her stance, but did not remove her hand. Apparently relieved, he saluted her smartly and turned back to the others.
“TheHancock’sasking if we’re all right, Captain,” Randall called from above her.
“Tell her yes and signal her to return home. We’ve done what we set out to do.”
TheHancocksaw the flag they had been waiting for, the colors of the Quinton Line, hoisted until it rested on the gaff directly below the Stars and Stripes. The next five shots from their guns were both a salute to Danty’s prowess and a farewell to theDark Lady,now leaving them as planned to go toward the target that had been her reason for being.
After Alexis was sure theHancockwas safely on its way she permitted her tightened muscles to relax. As the tension ebbed, her pain increased. She gave her scope to Jordan, aware that it took a conscious effort on her part to lessen the tight, bloodless grip her fingers had held on the instrument.
Jordan took the scope and had a last look at the damaged vessel. The smoke was beginning to clear which meant the fire was being brought under control. Little good it would do them, he thought. The ship did not have more than a few hours above the water, but it was enough to release the boats and save most of them. He brought the scope down, slapping up against his thigh, and turned his attention to Alexis. He noted she was still holding her side but other than that she appeared to be fine. He followed her to a broken section of the rail where they both leaned against it, daring it to give way beneath them.
He whistled softly. “That was some fancy maneuvering, Captain.” His voice held a note of awe.
Alexis forced a smile. “Out with it, Mr. Jordan. You didn’t think I knew what I was doing.”
He was tempted to deny it, thought better of it, and answered, “You’re right. I had my doubts.”
She laughed but cut it short because of the pain the effort brought her. She just wanted to enjoy her victory a little longer before she gave in. “You should have known better. All this time aboard this ship together, you should have known better.” She repeated the words he had once said to her. Her tone reflected none of the seriousness. Her voice was bright, mocking.
“I deserved that,” he chuckled.
Alexis enjoyed the sound of his laughter. It was a salve for her pain. “Will you see to the damages? And the wounded?” She pointed to Redland at the wheel. “He’s been hurt. Thrown the same time we were.”
Jordan saw blood from a cut trickling down the side of Redland’s thin face. He nodded to Alexis and moved toward the injured man. “Wilkes! Take the helm! Redland’s been hurt!” Redland protested but Jordan took him away while Wilkes filled in for him. While he was being led away, Redland cast a suspicious glance at Alexis. He knows, she realized. She put a finger to her lips and her eyes ordered him to say nothing. She moved away from the broken rail and reviewed the damage around her. Just a while longer, she told herself when the pain became harder to bear. Just until everything is safely under control. She found a place where she could sit and oversee her men’s work. At the same time she tried to make herself as inconspicuous as possible. It was not long before Jordan returned.
“I thought you were going to let me see to the damages?”
She dismissed his complaint with a wave of her hand. “How many wounded?”
“Redland. Brandon. He was hurt when one of the cannon misfired. A few cuts and bruises on some of the others. Nothing serious. Peters has them in the orlop. We were fortunate.” He frowned, glancing down at her side. “Are you sure you’re all right? Perhaps you broke a rib during your fall.”
“My ribs are fine,” she assured him. She straightened her posture, keeping her hand in place. “We did a good job, Mr. Jordan,” she said quietly. “Tell them,” she pointed to her men. “Tell them they did a good job.”
Jordan’s brows drew together. “Tell them yourself,” he said bluntly, almost insolently. He regarded her pale face for a moment. Something was wrong with her. “Captain, what happened to you? You’re not all right.”
“I will be.” She hunched over as the pain became unbearable. The blood began to push through her fingers as the pressure of her hand became insufficient to staunch the flow. She was too frightened now to examine the extent of her own injury, certain she would faint if she looked at it.
“Captain?” His voice held a note of alarm, but he could not see the blood yet. Jordan grabbed her shoulders and Alex shook him off.
Her voice was almost inaudible. Repairs on the ship had stopped and voices were hushed as the men became aware something had happened to their captain. “Promise me you will see to Travers.”
“Captain?”
