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“It’s a periauger,” Calico Jack announced as the William rapidly closed on the small twin masted vessel ahead of them. “They’re most likely to be turtlers.”
“Strong men who’ll make good crew for us,” Chris Condent chimed in. “Let’s not make such a show of it this time, captain,” He slapped his right hand onto Jack’s shoulder. “And maybe we won’t be scaring them off, eh?”
“Right you are, quartermaster.” Jack chuckled at the mild admonishment and turned to the shipmaster. “Mister Featherstone, bring us alongside them to hailing distance.” He then looked at Mary. “Master at arms, outfit the crew anyway,” before turning back to Chris with, “Just as a precaution; you never know what they might do.”
The pirate ship was soon caught up to the quarry and Jack yelled out, “Ahoy there. This is Captain Rackham aboard the William. We are making market on merchant vessels and are in need of crew. Come join us and know more wealth than you’ve ever imagined.”
“No thank you, captain,” was a prompt reply. “We are simple fishermen with families to support and have no need for more in life.”
Jack turned to Chris. “Well, quartermaster?”
“Let them go, captain. For as much as we’re in need of crew I’d never deprive a man of his happy family life.”
The periauger was now directly alongside them, close enough for Anne to see the fear on the three men’s faces. She felt a surge of power as they desperately stared back at her and she wondered how these men could be content with such little lives. They said they had families; perhaps if they were uncommitted they might have gladly come aboard to join them in the good life. Instead, their pathetic existence was the price they were paying for love. The poor slobs.
“Very well,” Jack called over to them. “But you’ll always regret passing by the chance to sail with Calico Jack Rackham.”
“Thank you Captain Rackham.” The relief exuded from the man’s voice. “May we offer you a turtle as tribute? It’s all we have of any value.”
“We’ll gladly accept.” Jack nodded to the bosun who instructed a crewmember to toss a grappling hook onto the side of the periauger and pull it close so the gift could be handed over. The large green turtle was taken promptly to the galley and the turtlers quickly sailed away from them towards land.
Another fishing boat was sighted an hour later, but like the first two it was able to get to shore where the fishermen beached it and ran off into the woods before the pirates could catch up with them. Chris Condent ordered a boat be lowered and took two men with him to take anything that the fishermen might have left behind. It was evening when he made it back to the William, and all they had picked up was some fishing tackle and a spear. He shrugged as he came back aboard, “At least we’ll have something to sell next time we make port,” he explained.
Jack was not pleased, however. “If we keep this up we’re going to be known as pilferers instead of pirates,” He scowled.
“We’ve got to get more crew, captain.” Chris Condent was adamant, forcing Jack to temporarily set aside his frustration and reluctantly agree to continue their current course of action.
The William fared no better the next day, though. On four separate occasions, when fishing boats were sighted they immediately made for shore and the fisherman ran away before the pirates were even able offer them an opportunity. The lack of recruiting success combined with the sparse assortment of fishing gear being stowed in the hold, certainly insufficient booty to satisfy Jack, caused Jack to call an end to the failed fisherman recruiting venture that night.
“So, what do you suggest then, captain?” Chris asked him.
“Let’s get into the northwest shipping lanes and take some smaller merchants.” Jack pounded his fist on the table. “That way we can get both crew and booty.”
“We should return to Harbour Island for more recruits first.” Chris said delicately in an attempt to placate Jack. “The warship should have returned to New Providence by now. A couple of days there and we’ll be crewed enough to go pirating proper, eh, captain?”
“He’s right, captain.” Mary chimed in. “Some of those merchants will be carrying as many guns as us, maybe more, so we need to be able to make a show of force with armed crew on deck. Otherwise, it will be down to a fight where we might not fare well.”
“You’re both right.” Jack sighed, conceding his position, and knocked back his drink. “Damn it,” He blurted. “I miss the Ranger. When you have twelve guns and a crew of 90 nobody thinks about fighting you, and with that ship men were eager to come aboard and join us.”
“It may be that those days are behind us, at least for as long as Rogers is governor of The Bahamas, captain.” Chris was thoughtful. “Perhaps for now we should be considering pirating elsewhere?”
“Nah!” Jack shook his head and guffawed. “It’s the exact opposite, quartermaster, because now there’s less competition.” He filled his mug. “The cowards have backed down, which leaves the seas here ours for the taking.”
Chris maintained his thoughtful demeanor throughout the rest of the evening, and even when he and Anne retired to their cabin he was quieter than usual. “What is it Chris?” Anne asked.
“It’s just that I know Jack, and he’s going to be hell bent on reliving the glory days either here or in the Caribbean.”
“But aren’t we the fastest ship in these waters?”
“Aye, and that’s the best thing we have going for us. Jack just wants to live the life, but I’d like to see us focusing on a more systematic strategy for accumulating wealth instead of playing hit and miss and being able to get out of trouble fast.”
Anne smiled and stroked the concern away from Chris’ forehead with her fingertips. “Relax,” She told him. “Just sit back and I’ll go and put my dress on for you.” She stood up and watched the smile form on Chris’ face as she backed away and hid behind the screen to change. There had been no sex the night before, presumably due to the cold shoulder she had given him that day, but she wanted it tonight.
Emerging moments later, she seductively slithered up to Chris who scooped her up in his arms and carried her to the bed where he lay her down on her back and then slid onto the sheet next to her. He played with her deep red hair with his fingers, arranging it around her head like a lion’s mane, before descending with a kiss and a gentle fondling of her breasts through the fabric. Growing a little impatient, Anne reached over and began to unfasten his breeches until he stopped her, jumped off the bed, and proceeded to remove them and his shirt himself. Naked, her returned and pushed Anne’s dress up past her hips and lay on top of her, penetrating as he resumed kissing her. It wasn’t unpleasant by any means, but neither was conventional sex particularly exciting for her either. Chris seemed satisfied, though, and after finishing he rolled off her he continued to hold her while peering into her eyes.
“You don’t have to be gentle with me, you know,” She told him, trying to do so pleasantly but her words were still underpinned by her frustration.
“Ah, but you were right to tell me how you should be treated respectfully. I’m just trying to heed what you said, Anne. I don’t want you upset with me.”
“But that was up on deck when you were refusing to take me ashore.” Anne pulled away and sat up. “That has nothing to do with what we do here.”
“Then you’re confusing me.” He also sat up, mimicking her position against the pillows. “I want to treat you the way that you want me to, but it seems I don’t know what that is.”
“Look at me.” Anne grabbed his chin to direct his eyes to hers. “When we are out of this room you treat me like any other crewmember, with concordant respect. Got it?”
Chris nodded.
“But when we are in here,” She released his chin. “You can do anything you want with me.”
“But,” He stammered, shaken by her frankness. “But, then I’m not respecting you anymore.”
Anne’s eyes lit up as she moved her head from side to side. She slid off the bed and stood on the floor with her hands behind her back. “I don’t want your respect in the bedroom,” She said sweetly swaying slightly while looking at her bare feet. “I want your,” Her head flipped up. “Lust.” She almost snarled that last word and pulled her dress up past her hips. “Now,” She said coarsely with an open mouthed grin on her face. “Fuck me proper.”
Chris needed no further encouragement and he grabbed her for a rough kiss, forcing his tongue into her mouth while he dragged her towards the bed. He grabbed the back of her neck and bent her over the edge, continuing to hold her down with his left hand while his right pulled the dress up across her back and reddened her buttocks with two sound swats. He kicked her feet apart, grabbed her hips with both hands, and forced his already throbbing erection deep into her with a single, deliberate thrust. His body instantly froze in that position and his fingers dug into her flesh while his ejaculate pulsed inside her. “Yes,” Anne simultaneously squealed with delight, her pent up desire being satiated by Chris being selfish with her. He had finally got it.
They both slept well and spent most of the next day together on the foredeck, enjoying the calm weather and quiet sailing as the William headed back towards Harbour Island with the wind behind them. This quiet interlude enabled them to relax and talk, and Chris further explained what he considered to be a crucial difference between himself and Calico Jack. Chris viewed piracy as a business which, when well run, could be very lucrative and build wealth. He therefore favored pursuing the highest gains with the lowest risk. Jack, on the other hand, like many other pirates, considered piracy to be a lifestyle and the booty they obtained was simply what they needed to support the ongoing adventure. Anne recalled from earlier discussions with Chris in the Queens Arms that he often spoke about making enough money to one day settle down to a life of luxury, but she hadn’t paid attention to his stated goals then. Rather, she had just been enjoying having a conversation with him because she liked him a lot. Under the current circumstances, however, he was making her nervous. Considering her own attitude towards piracy, Anne most definitely agreed with Jack that it was a perfect lifestyle.
“So, you’re saying that once you’ve accumulated enough then you’d give up piracy?” Anne paraphrased what Chris had been telling her.
“In an instant,” He replied. “But it would have to be a big score before I’d return to civilization.”
“Would that be going back to England?”
“Probably not, it’s too cold back home, and I’d need to be somewhere where I wasn’t known. Perhaps France.” He smiled at Anne. “What about you? Don’t you miss the finer things in life?”
Fortunately for Anne the lookout shouted, “Sails on the horizon,” before she could respond, and she and Chris jumped to their feet and ran aft to the quarterdeck. Chris took the spyglass from the locker, focused it for a few seconds, and then slowly lowered it. “Raise the captain. Quickly.” He instructed.
“What is it, Chris?” Anne stared at the concern on his face.
“Wait for the captain,” he said quietly.
A few seconds later Jack and Mary came out of their cabin and rushed up the stairs to where Chris was, once again, looking through the spyglass. He immediately handed it to Jack. “Man o’ War dead ahead captain. Heading right for us.”
Jack confirmed the sighting than turned to Anne. “Miss Bonny, please ring the ship’s bell to sound the alarm.”
Anne ran to the mast and began clanging the bell while Jack called out, “All hands on deck. Mister Featherstone, bring us about one hundred and eighty degrees and beat as close as you can.”
The William’s prow dug into the sea and spray reached as far back as where Anne was standing as the sails tightened and the new course was set. Chris came up to her and told her she could stop ringing the bell. “I believe the crew has been sufficiently alerted,” He chuckled.
“But, what about the warship?”
“Don’t worry about it, Anne; we’re already sailing into the wind, and on this point we’re more than twice as fast as they are. We’ll be out of their sight within an hour.”
The same wind that had been moving them calmly towards Harbour Island was now causing the ship to rise and fall dramatically, and accompanied by the almost twenty degree heeling Anne found it necessary to hold on to something solid with both hands as she followed Chris back aft.
“Well, quartermaster,” Jack said as Chris and Anne returned to the quarterdeck. “It would seem that, rather than have his warship return to New Providence, Governor Rogers means for it to hunt us down.”
“Aye captain that would certainly seem to be the case. With that in mind, might I recommend that we promptly leave Bahamian waters before that ship finds us again?”
“That is a most prudent suggestion, quartermaster. We were fortunate that the wind was against them this time, but it’s best not to tempt fate. Have Mister Featherstone fetch his charts and the two of you meet me in my cabin.”
