“I’ll let you know if I hear anything else,” he said. “Goodnight, Carrie.”
“Goodnight, Lewis.” He walked out of the parlor, and I was tempted to call him back, but there was no point. It wouldn’t work.
I couldn’t promise Lewis something I didn’t have to give, no matter how much I loved him.
17
JULY 24, 1727
FLORIDA COAST
TheOcean Cursewas anchored in the Indian River on the coast of Florida, beside a long, narrow barrier island. I stood on board as the pirate crew prepared to launch the boats that would take us through the Indian River inlet and then up the shore to where they believed the flagship of the 1715 Spanish Treasure Fleet, theCapitana, was rumored to have sunk.
It had been almost two weeks since Lewis had come to my parents’ home—and that was the last time I’d seen him. No more news about Annie Barker. No more visits from our old family friend.
Just silence.
I hoped his silence meant he was busy looking for her, but I had a feeling he was also staying away to protect his heart. My own broke every time I thought about our conversation.
Timothy appeared beside me as he leaned on the rail and watched the pirates move the diving bell onto the launch boat. The diving bell was made of wood, like an oversized barrel sawed in half and sitting upside down. It was about five feet tall and four feet wide with two small windows near the top. A long hose connected the bell to a manual pump sitting on the launch, whichwould be used to push air into the structure as I was underwater. A valve near the top of the bell would release used air, allowing me to remain below the surface for hours, if necessary.
“Are you scared?” Timothy asked me.
“Petrified.”
Marcus stood on the quarterdeck, his feet planted and his arms crossed. He’d tried, in vain, for the past two weeks to convince Captain Zale not to make me dive. He’d offered to go down in my place, but the captain refused to listen. And, seeing the diving bell, I knew why. It was tiny, and I was the smallest person on board the ship.
Hawk had tried to put Marcus’s worries to rest by assuring him that there would be no complications. As long as the pump worked and I had access to the recovery rope to signal those on the launch to bring me up, I would be fine.
I only wished I was confident in the limited training Hawk had given me. Not only had he instructed me about the bell, but he had given me clues to look for in identifying theCapitana, which had once been a British vessel named theHampton Court. He said there were several shipwrecks on this coastline, and I needed to be sure I was looking for the right one.
“Is there any treasure even left out there?” I asked Timothy.
“Eleven ships went down with the Spanish Treasure Fleet that year,” he said. “And only a few of them were found. But not the flagship, and that one had the biggest treasure of all.”
“The Queen’s Dowry,” I said. “But why was there so much treasure being moved at one time?”
“Because Spain and France had been at war with England and Scotland for over ten years and Spain didn’t want the treasure ships to cross the ocean from Cuba, afraid they’d be taken by their enemies. By 1715, the war had ended, and the king of Spain needed the treasure to pay his debts.”
“And then a hurricane came up and destroyed all but one of the ships, sinking millions of pounds’ worth of gold, silver, and gemstones,” I finished.
“Over a thousand people perished, too.”
“How do you know so much about this?” I asked him as I took my gaze off the bell.
Timothy shrugged. “My father told me. At first, it was just the Spaniards and the survivors of the hurricane who were salvaging the fortune. They camped out on the beach and lived here for months. But when word got out, people came from all over the world to take the treasure. Hundreds of sailors had been working as privateers for the king of England to aid the British during the war. They would overtake Spanish and French ships for England and steal their cargo, seize their vessels, and take their men. But since the war ended, the privateers were out of work. They came to Florida to see what they could take from their former enemies. Sometimes they scavenged the ocean floor; other times, they stole treasure that had already been recovered, right from the Spaniards. It was the birth of the Pirate Republic. Many of the men who came set up bases in Nassau or Port Royal, Jamaica, after that.”
“Is that how Captain Zale got his start?” I whispered.
“No. He’d been pirating for a while before that, but my father told me that Captain Zale came here with all the others.”
“How did your father know so much about this?”
Timothy’s ruddy face was redder than normal as he said, “He was one of the pirates. But he accepted the King’s Pardon and went home.” He paused as he shook his head in dismay. “I wonder what he would think if he knew I was on a pirate ship, in the very same waters where his piracy began twelve years ago?”
I could imagine the activity on this stretch of coastline at that time. The desperation of the Spaniards, the excitement of the privateers turned pirates, and the uncertainty of the natives who stood nearby watching.
The wind tugged at the ship, though the sails were down, and the anchor held it in place. The bright sunshine was blinding and had tanned my skin to a deep brown.
