Pyrate's Boy, page 15
‘The jewels were glass and the reward a piffling amount,’ he says. ‘This seems a far better prize for all my effort. I lost my ship, you know.’
‘I didn’t mean…’ Isabella begins.
‘Enough,’ he says. ‘Your father isn’t young anymore. You are his only heir. This way, I will be the next Duke of Rothesay, and his fortune and yours will be mine. And our children’s, of course.’
Isabella shivers.
‘If I do this, will you promise James can stay with me?’ she asks.
‘Why should I?’ McGregor replies. ‘The world is a cruel place, is it not, Jon Harkin?’
Isabella begins to weep. I am standing near enough to pass her the red handkerchief I still carry. She takes it gratefully, wipes her eyes, then looks harder at it. She steals a glance straight at me, and I give the smallest nod. She looks as though she does not know whether to be full of joy or full of sorrow. It is a sign that all is well, but it has come too late.
‘Begin,’ insists McGregor. His men point their muskets at each of us.
‘We are gathered here together…’ Black Johnnie pauses. His eye is drawn to something just behind Isabella’s head.
‘Would there be any chance of asking your men to stand in front? It puts me off, them being behind.’
McGregor sighs.
‘Men,’ he shouts. ‘Position yourself behind me. But keep your aim. Is this your final wish, Harkin?’
‘No,’ he replies. ‘Could you, the groom, take off your armaments for the ceremony – your sword, musket and the like. They make me nervous.’
With a shake of his head, McGregor takes off his holster, his sword and his scabbard and lays them on the ground next to the mast.
‘What else would you like?’ he says. ‘A glass of rum to settle your stomach. A cigar? I’m joking, obviously.’
He smiles a grotesque grin, revealing that his teeth are black and rotten. Black Johnnie gives him a weak smile in return.
‘Now get on with it,’ McGregor says.
‘As you know,’ the captain says, ‘holy matrimony is not something that should be entered into lightly. It is a legal bond that commits a man and woman together until death does them part.’
He pauses for a moment.
‘The laws of the land are such that none should be taken asunder… in sickness as well as in health…’
Billy the Fiddle catches my eye. The captain is stalling for time. I take a quick peak over my shoulder. A ship is approaching.
‘To have and to hold,’ the captain says. ‘To hold all… I’m particularly fond of holdalls. They can carry much and yet do not take up much space.’
McGregor suddenly lunges at Black Johnnie and grabs him by the collar.
‘It’s a metaphor,’ the captain says. ‘About the human heart. Nothing more.’
McGregor runs a sharpened fingernail across the captain’s cheek. Then lets him go.
‘We do not want blood on my wife’s dress, do we?’ he says. ‘So get on with it.’
The captain brushes down his clothes and starts again.
‘As a ship’s captain,’ he says. ‘By the authority vested in God and the State.’
And here he takes a deep breath and holds out his hand to Isabella.
‘Did we meet before?’ he asks. ‘I think not.’
He shakes her hand.
‘I am getting,’ McGregor says loudly, ‘impatient!’
‘It’s customary,’ says the captain, ‘to meet the betrothed before she becomes a bride, is it not?’
I can hear the creak of the ropes and the wash of sea against wood. The ship is coming closer. It could be a slave ship or a merchant vessel, a naval schooner or a pyrate ship. Is it friend or foe? Black Johnnie’s hands are beginning to shake. He speaks a little louder.
‘Anyway, where were we? I had met the bride and was considering the idea of holding all…’
‘Right!’ yells McGregor. ‘For every minute you delay, one of your party shall be thrown overboard, starting with the girl.’
‘As I was saying,’ says Black Johnnie. ‘Marriage. I’ll skip all the usual bits. Let’s see now. Do you… Albert – Is that your name? Unfortunate – Albert McGregor… Any middle names? … No, don’t tell me – we are in a rush – take this lady… My good lady, do you have a second name? Never mind – Do you, Albert, take you, Isabella, to be your lawfully wedded wife?’
‘I do,’ says McGregor.
‘And you, Isabella…’
Once more I see his eyes flick over her shoulder. In turn, she glances round. I dare not look, I dare not.
‘Do you take this man…?’
There is a thump behind as two feet land on the deck. She blinks, she smiles. And then she shakes her head.
‘Never!’ she declares firmly.
We all swing round. There before us, his sword drawn, stands William Dunlop. His ship, a small schooner that flies a Blue Jolly Roger, has pulled up alongside us without McGregor or his men noticing. He’s good. No wonder he was such a successful pyrate.
38. WALKING THE PLANK
‘McGregor?’ he says. ‘What’s going on?’
‘Mr Dunlop!’ replies McGregor, his face white with astonishment.
Dunlop looks different from when we met him in Glasgow. His face is brown and he wears his hair long down his neck.
‘So?’ the shipbuilding millionaire says. ‘What cargo do you transport today? Women?’
McGregor turns and looks for his men. All are being held at knifepoint by Dunlop’s seamen.
‘Have you come looking for your jewels?’ McGregor asks. ‘Those I found at your house were worth nothing! The jeweller I took them to laughed in my face. I threw them into the Clyde.’
‘But now it seems I have found my jewel,’ Dunlop says softly.
He looks across at Isabella and smiles. Only a fool would not be struck by how happy they are to see each other. Isabella blushes, and then her face suddenly changes.
‘Avery!’ she yells. ‘Look out.’
From out of nowhere comes the Chinese girl, the one McGregor hired who made me jump overboard that night in Martinique. The former pyrate ducks as a knife whistles over his head.
‘Avery!’ says McGregor. ‘Not Avery Blue, the pyrate?’
‘The same,’ replies Dunlop as he turns his attention to the girl. She leaps towards him. He leaps towards her. For one moment they are a tumble of arms and legs, steel and rope. And then he stands back. She sits, disarmed and tied up.
‘Learned that little trick in Shanghai,’ Dunlop says.
While all this has been happening, McGregor has been heading, almost casually towards his weapons. Dunlop, however, is too quick. With one foot, he kicks the musket over the side.
‘Your actions, McGregor, are indefensible,’ he says. ‘Kidnap, forced marriage, theft, abuse, assault.’
The boat hits a swell and begins to tip. The wind is rising. The sword slides across the deck and reaches McGregor before Dunlop can stop it.
‘You’re Avery Blue,’ he says picking up the sword. ‘My crimes are nothing compared to yours.’
‘He’s dead. I am William Dunlop.’
‘Why do this?’ McGregor asks. ‘You, a wealthy man? You have so much to lose.’
‘I’ve come to claim something which means more to me than my wealth,’ says Dunlop.
‘What would that be?’ McGregor replies. ‘This ship and everything on it is mine.
‘Actually,’ Black Johnnie points out, ‘this ship is mine.’
‘You lose either way,’ McGregor tells Dunlop. ‘Either you die by my sword or you will swing like your friends here. Unless, that is, you’d like to strike another bargain? The lady’s life in exchange for your fortune.’
‘I don’t make bargains with swindlers,’ Dunlop says.
Dunlop and McGregor begin to fight, sword clashing against sword. It is soon clear, however, that Dunlop has the advantage. Sensing this, McGregor lunges for Isabella. Once more he has her by the neck.
‘Get off me!’ she gasps.
‘I will kill her in ten seconds if you do not do as I say.’
Dunlop stands back.
‘Don’t hurt her,’ he says.
‘I will take your ship,’ McGregor nods at Dunlop’s schooner. ‘In return, I shall not unmask you, Avery Blue. At least not today.’
The ship is rocked by a huge wave. The sky is darkening in the west. A few drops of rain become a shower.
‘Go then,’ Dunlop says, motioning towards the gangplank that links the two vessels. With his arm around Isabella’s neck, McGregor steps over the railings.
‘But be careful,’ says Dunlop.
‘The boy comes with me,’ McGregor demands.
‘What!’
‘How do I know you will not chase me?’ he says. ‘I will put him off in Kingston.’
‘No!’ says Isabella.
‘I’ll go,’ James is trying to look brave.
‘Good. You cross first!’ demands McGregor.
Gingerly, James walks across the gangplank. Once he is on the other ship, McGregor, still holding Isabella, takes a step.
‘Let her go now,’ the captain says.
‘Not yet,’ McGregor says, ‘not until I’m halfway across.’
He does not see the huge wave that breaks on the bow, causing the gangplank to lurch suddenly. Instead, he loses his footing and is thrown backwards. Isabella falls forward, twists in the air and at the last moment catches hold of the plank with her fingertips.
‘Mama!’ James yells.
‘Isabella!’ yells Dunlop.
The sea boils beneath her as she swings back and forth. The waves keep coming, hitting the bows of both ships with increasing force. McGregor regains his balance and stands up on the plank.
‘I cannot hold on for much longer,’ Isabella screams.
‘Save her,’ yells Black Johnnie.
McGregor turns and looks back at us, his eyes filled with ice-cold fury.
‘Save her yourself,’ he says.
He takes one step and then another, slowly crossing the plank. When he comes to the place where Isabella hangs, he laughs. And then, to our horror, he places one boot and then the next on Isabella’s fingers.
The shot rings out before any of us can react. McGregor flies backwards clutching his chest and falls into the rolling waves below. Toombi stands on the bow of the Tenacity with a musket in his hand.
I stare down at the sea. Nothing breaks its surface.
Isabella still hangs between the ships.
The swell has risen, the rain is driving, and, with a creak, the vessels push together. The gangplank lashed between them groans with the pressure and starts to split.
‘No!’ yells Isabella, as her left hand slips and lets go.
‘I’m going to her,’ shouts Dunlop.
‘It will not take your weight,’ I yell. ‘Undo the gangplank.’
‘What?’ yells Dunlop.
‘Quickly!’ I yell. ‘Before it breaks in two! Then push it over!’
Billy the Fiddle brings out a knife and slices through the ropes. The schooner is almost right below us now. The end of the gangplank, suddenly unleashed from the ropes that have secured it, shoots up in the air. We push until it rises up and over, until Isabella and the plank fall with a clatter on to the schooner’s deck. James rushes to her. He turns and waves: she’s safe. We all let out a sigh of relief.
‘Who was left on board?’ Dunlop demands. ‘Which seamen are there?’
One of his men shakes his head.
‘You told us all to come with you,’ another says. ‘There’s no one else on board.’
And then it dawns on him.
‘They’re alone! How will they sail?’ Dunlop cries out.
39. THE RAINBOW
We watch, helpless, as Dunlop’s vessel, tossed by the wind and carried by the swell, is born away. Dunlop climbs onto the railings and prepares to jump but it is too far.
‘You’ll never make it,’ says Black Johnnie.
‘Then what?’ he shouts. ‘Do something!’
Immediately, Black Johnnie takes command. He knows the Tenacity, her speed, her bulk, her ways.
‘Raise the mainstay,’ he shouts. ‘We go after her.’
The storm has reached its height and the sea rises up and down, its surface white with spray and slashed with rain. Out in front, the schooner’s sails rip and tear and she is tossed back and forth. Our fear is that she will capsize, until we see a greater danger.
‘The reefs!’ I yell.
I turn and look at Black Johnnie. He knows. His mouth is a line, his eyes narrow.
‘Go faster!’ yells Dunlop.
Finally we reach the stricken schooner, but we cannot get too close for fear of ramming her. Instead we sail beside her.
‘Put out our plank!’ Dunlop shouts.
‘It will not reach!’ Billy the Fiddle yells back.
‘Move closer!’ Dunlop shouts.
‘I cannot!’ screams the captain.
And then I know what I must do. As quick as I can, I climb the rigging until I’m at the top of the mast.
‘Get down,’ yells Dunlop. ‘What is the boy doing?’
But the captain and Billy the Fiddle already know.
‘Knots!’ shouts Bill. ‘Tie them well.’
‘Get ready to duck,’ Black Johnnie says. ‘I’ll get as close as I can, Silas.’
The reefs are a dark bloom beneath the water. The schooner is almost upon them.
Once I am tied and tied again, I wait until I cannot wait any longer. And then I hold on tight, lean over and push myself off the mast. I fall, down, down until I can taste the sea in my mouth and feel its spray on my face. And then, just as I’m about to hit its surface, I start to swing back, back across the decks, past all the seaman, and over the other side until the sea is below me again. For a moment I close my eyes and when I open them I’m high, high above the schooner. I take a deep breath. And then I let go.
It would be fair to say that my landing is not the most elegant. I roll over and over and end up sprawled beside the privy.
‘Are you all right?’ asks Isabella.
I nod my head.
‘I think so,’ I say.
And then from down below comes the awful sound of coral on wood. We’ve hit the reef. The Tenacity has dropped her sails. She cannot follow us now. I hear a voice carried from far away by the wind.
‘Take the wheel,’ yells Black Johnnie. ‘Steer her well.’
I run to the bridge and push a wooden box to the wheel. Once I stand on it, I can see over. We have hit El Cascabel, the tail of La Vibora, the viper, the treacherous bank of reef and sand and rock.
‘Look!’ says Isabella. To our right are the smashed up remains of three ships.
‘Go below!’ I shout to James. ‘See how bad it is.’
He runs back a moment later.
‘We’re letting in a little water.’ he says. ‘Shall I bail?’
I shake my head, no.
‘Help me,’ I say. ‘One go to port, the other starboard. Tell me what you see?’
But the wind blows so strong, the surface of the sea is opaque.
We hit another submerged reef and, once again, we can hear the coral scrape and rip at our bow. This sounds even worse than the first. Water begins to rush into the hull.
‘You tried,’ calls Isabella. ‘And for that we thank you from the bottom of our hearts.’
I have not given up yet. I remember following the dolphin as we sailed through the narrow channel many months ago. I remember the noise and the crash of cannonballs as they ripped through the sails. I remember reaching the other side.
‘We’ll get through this!’ I shout. ‘I promise!’
With both hands on the wheel, I veer left, I veer right, I act on a hunch, on a whim, on the colour of air. Twice, I turn too hard and we almost capsize.
‘Not so hard,’ yells James as the whole boat tips.
But I can see what he can’t. We have just missed another wreck, most of it underwater with only its main mast to show what deadly fate lies beneath.
We’re almost there; I can see the deep blue of the shipping channel just ahead. But suddenly, right in front of us, is the pale green of a submerged sandbank.
‘Unfurl the mainstay!’ I yell. ‘We need speed. We’re going over.’
‘What?’ shouts James. ‘Are you sure?’
‘Trust me.’
But in truth, I do not trust myself. I can feel the Tenacity’s crew watching us from afar. I can sense their dismay, their hands thrown over their mouths and eyes. It looks, I know, like I am going to sink the ship. It looks as if I have lost my mind.
‘Hold on!’ I shout as the wind rises behind us.
Later, I will tell people that it was the current, or the shallow draft, or the right kind of wind in our sails. But at that moment it feels as if Avery Blue’s vessel has decided she can fly, because we lift up and skim over the sandbank, almost without a ripple on our wake.
‘We’ve done it!’ Isabella says. ‘You clever, clever boy!’
‘We’re safe now,’ I say.
I try to remove my hands from wheel to wipe the sweat and rain from my brow, but I have been holding on so tightly, they are almost stuck fast.
‘Look,’ shouts James.
What now, I think, more rocks? But he is pointing at the sky. The rain has almost stopped, the sun has come out, and a huge rainbow arches above the distant island of Jamaica.
‘Silas,’ a voice calls out from far away. ‘Are you all right?’
‘No,’ I say, ‘I don’t think I am.’
My last thought before I lose consciousness is of handfuls of coloured glass jewels catching the light as they sink slowly downwards through the watery depths of the river Clyde.
40. SWEET PARTINGS
‘This will wake him up,’ says a child’s voice I recognise but can’t place.
The shock of a bucket of ice-cold water in the face is so much that for a moment I cannot open my eyes.
‘What was that for?’ I yell.
Another child starts to snigger. I open my eyes. Jonathan and the children are standing all around me.
