“Which one of you is Jordan?” asked one of Cloud’s helpers as he and his friend put the trunk on the deck.
“I’m Captain Jordan. What do you want?”
“We were told to bring this”—he kicked the trunk—“up here and give you this note.”
Jordan snatched the paper from the man’s hand and unfolded it.
Your cargo has been delivered as promised. I would make one suggestion: open the trunk several miles out to sea, so it can explode harmlessly. It was packed carefully and should not have suffered unduly from its confinement. You will find it damaged in only one area. Good Luck.
Jordan placed the note in his back pocket along with the earlier one. He looked at his men then at the men who brought the trunk. “What are you still here for?” he asked them. “Didn’t the man who asked you to deliver this tell you the trunk contained explosives? We’re heading out to sea!” He laughed heartily as the two scrambled off the deck. “Heave to, men! We’re going to leave Washington intact after all.”
His men regarded him curiously for a moment then their eyes focused on the trunk and back to Jordan. “That’s right,” he told them. “We have everything we came for.”
Cloud saw the men he hired come running down the wharf toward him at the same time he heard a cheer go up from Alexis’s crew.
“Why didn’t you tell us it was explosives?” they asked in breathless unison.
Cloud laughed. “Would you have carried it if I’d told you?”
“Hell no!”
“There’s your answer.” He ignored their murderous looks and asked, “They didn’t open the trunk, did they?”
“They’ re not fools. The captain said they were putting out.”
Cloud nodded. He glanced down at the activity aboard the ship and then smiled, turning away. He got in his carriage, still smiling, and drove home. They would come when they found her gone and there were some answers he had to have, even if it meant facing charges of treason to have them.
Chapter 14
“What the devil?”
It was Alexis’s first statement when the lid of the trunk was pried open. She squinted against the bright sunlight and struggled to see the faces of the men who hovered over her. Her hand went to her brow to block out the sun’s glare.
“Jordan, is that you?” she asked weakly.
His smile answered that it was. “Let me help you out, Captain.” He reached down to do just that but Alexis shook her head.
“I can get out on my own,” she said stubbornly. She placed her arms stiffly on the sides of the trunk and tried to stand. Her legs were numb and refused to hold her. She started to collapse but Jordan caught her and lifted her out of the trunk, holding her against his massive chest. She tried to make some sense of her new surroundings as her crew gathered closer. “I don’t understand. What are you doing here?”
Peach pushed his way to the front of the circle of men. “We came for you, Captain Danty!” he said proudly. “But you got away! Just like you said you would!”
Alexis looked from Peach’s earnest face to Jordan’s concerned one. “Put me down, Mr. Jordan. I can stand now.” Her command was obeyed at once. She wavered slightly when her feet hit the deck, but she managed to gain control. She pulled at the belt of her robe, fastening it more securely around her waist. With a hand on Peach’s shoulder, she addressed her crew.
“I gave you men orders not to come here. Isn’t that so?” There were murmurs of acknowledgment. “Do you have any notion of what your presence here could have meant?”
“Aye, Captain,” said Ned. “We knew. The risk was worth taking.”
“I’m sorry, Ned,” she answered. “Of course, you all knew. What I am saying is that it’s a good thing Captain Cloud agreed to help you. Otherwise you wouldn’t have stood a chance of getting me out of Washington.” She did not perceive their questioning glances immediately. “Our course, Mr. Jordan?”
“Back to Tortola first. Then wherever Captain Travers can be found.”
“Good. You seem to have it all under control.” She looked at her men, searching for one face. She frowned. “Where is Captain Cloud? I have a few things to say to him about the way he packed me.”
Jordan’s eyebrows furrowed. “But Captain, he isn’t here.”
Peach winced as Alexis gripped his shoulder more tightly. “What do you mean he is not here? Where is he?”
“He never was here,” Jordan replied. “He made contact with us when we sailed in this morning. He sent a young boy with a message and later he delivered the trunk by way of a couple of dock workers. We never saw him.”
