The Pirate Hunter

Chapter Five

They began the walk back through Port Royal in silence. Will was trying to process all the information Weston had given them. On the surface it wasn’t much. The man had named a few islands with secluded bays and a couple of others with friendly ports. He really needed to sit down with a map and a compass and work out which bays were the most likely.

‘I’m sorry,’ Mia said quietly after a few minutes.

‘What for?’

‘I spooked him. I didn’t mean to.’

‘You weren’t to know he connected your mother’s proverb with your brother.’

‘I’m still sorry. You might have found out more from him.’

‘I doubt it. Men like Weston are not privy to the inner workings of a Captain’s mind. And he was probably rolling drunk half the time and paralytic the rest.’

‘Those scars on his neck were horrible.’

Will looked at Mia’s troubled face and realised the meeting had affected her more than he’d anticipated. She’d had to hear first-hand what terrible things her brother had been doing.

They’d reached the harbour, but Will felt Mia wasn’t quite ready to set sail just yet. He took her by the arm and steered her in the opposite direction, away from their ship.

‘Where are we going?’ Mia asked, looking back over her shoulder.

‘Just for a walk. We need to talk and I’d rather do it without the whole crew listening.’

They walked in silence for a few more minutes whilst Will tried to find the best way to approach the subject. It didn’t help that every time he glanced at her he felt a rush of desire pulse through him.

‘That must have been hard for you,’ he said eventually.

Mia nodded slowly.

‘Hearing all of those things about your brother.’

‘I’ve known he was a pirate for a few years, but I never really understood.’

Will could hear the strain in her voice as she tried to keep it from cracking.

‘I thought...’ she paused and corrected herself ‘...I hoped he wasn’t like the pirates you hear about. I tried to convince myself he was nobler.’

Will stayed silent, trying to allow her to vent her pain.

‘I knew he stole from merchant ships, and I know that’s wrong, but it’s not as bad as attacking civilians. I can’t believe my big brother could give the orders to raid a port, allow his men to slaughter innocent men and rape innocent women. That’s not the Jorge I know.’

The tears started streaming down her cheeks and Will gently rested a hand on her arm. He wanted to show her everything was going to be all right.

‘Sometimes people change,’ Will said slowly. ‘Circumstance and the crowd they mix in can change someone beyond recognition.’

‘But he’s my brother,’ Mia said, ‘and I feel disgusted by him.’

Will reached up and gently brushed a tear from her cheek as it rolled over the velvety soft skin. He let his hand linger for a second, before dropping it back to his side. Mia turned her face up towards him and looked beseechingly into his eyes.

‘I’m scared,’ she said. ‘If Jorge can turn into that kind of monster, that means I could, too.’

‘Never.’

‘We have the same blood running through our veins, the same childhood, the same parents.’

‘Never,’ Will repeated, his voice sharp. ‘You are nothing like your brother. You have a good heart, a kind heart.’

He wanted to kiss her, to bend his head and devour her lips with his own. He wanted to feel her body mould to his and writhe beneath him. He wanted to touch every inch of her body, then kiss every place his fingers brushed.

Mia dropped her chin to her chest and broke the moment.

Will stopped himself from reaching out and tilting her lips back towards him. No matter how much he wanted her it would be inappropriate. She was a prisoner under his care. He would be taking advantage of her situation and of her pain. He knew that, but it didn’t make it any easier to resist.

He’d been drawn to her from that first moment on the beach when they’d lain there exhausted, legs intertwined. He’d been unable to move and barely able to think, but his awareness of the woman beside him had been heightened. It had been an unfamiliar sensation for Will. Of course he’d been involved with women in the past, normally satisfying himself with short dalliances, but at heart he was a loner, a man who had never wanted to rely on anybody but himself. Now he seemed to be thinking of Mia every waking minute, wondering what it would be like to pull her into his arms and lose himself in her embrace.

Will was a focused man. He always gave everything he had to the mission in front of him, but Mia was making him lose that focus. He found himself thinking about her when he should be concentrating on catching her brother.

Kissing her wouldn’t be right or fair to her and it most certainly wouldn’t be right for him.

But he wanted to so badly.

‘I’ll help you,’ Mia said quietly.

Will looked at her quizzically.

‘I’ll help you to catch my brother and his men. I have to or I’m as bad as them. My mother used to say those who knew of bad deeds but did nothing were as bad as the perpetrators themselves’

‘Thank you. She sounds like a sensible woman’

Mia nodded and turned away from him. She took a few steps along the path and turned to look out at the sea. Will stayed where he was, sensing she was going to need a few minutes to herself.

He watched her as the wind whipped at her hair, pulling strands loose from the pins at the back of her head. The first time he’d seen her standing up on the cliff her hair had been loose, flying in the wind. He liked it. It seemed to suit her personality more than the demure bun she’d worn the past couple of days. He wanted to reach out and pull at the pins, allowing the dark locks to cascade over her shoulders.

Maybe it’s best if she keeps it up, he thought as once again he felt a rush of attraction. In fact, maybe it would be a good idea to buy her a hat.

‘What now?’ Mia asked, turning back to face him.

‘We get to work.’

‘That old crook Weston barely told us anything.’

On one level Will had to agree. He’d given them a few vague descriptions and the names of a couple of islands. Del Torres and his crew could be hiding in any one of the thousands of secluded bays dotted around the Caribbean. Equally they might be anchored in plain sight, having paid off a crooked harbourmaster.

‘But he did tell us something.’

Mia wrinkled her nose and frowned, as if trying to pick something useful out of the information Weston had given them.

‘He told us your brother will anchor in secluded bays, and he gave us the names of a couple of his favourite islands.’

Mia didn’t look convinced.

‘That could be hundreds of different locations. How are we going to work out where he is right now or where he’ll be in a week’s time?’

‘With a map and a weather forecast and a big dollop of luck.’

‘Hmmm.’

‘Not convinced?’

Mia shook her head, but Will was glad to see the traces of a smile on her lips.

‘Okay, a very big dollop of luck.’

‘It would have to be a massive dollop of luck.’

‘You forget I’m a very lucky man. I survived a shipwreck and met you the very same day.’

Will was pleased to see the very beginnings of a blush creep into her cheeks.

‘That was a very lucky day for you,’ Mia agreed, smiling properly now. ‘But maybe you used up all your luck.’

‘Then I’ll just have to be clever instead.’

Will offered her his arm and together they walked back towards the harbour area. He enjoyed how she leaned on him when the ground became a little uneven and how her fingers gripped his arm a little tighter.

‘So you have plenty of maps and you claim to have the luck, but how on earth are you going to get an accurate weather forecast?’ Mia asked.

It was the question that was bothering him. He could study the maps all he liked, but if he didn’t know which way the wind was coming from or if they were due a storm he had no way of narrowing down Del Torres’ whereabouts.

‘I’m not sure,’ Will said. ‘The Captain seems quite knowledgeable, but all he can do is give me his best guess based on what normally happens at this time of year.’

‘Well, if you think his best guess is good enough...’ Mia said lightly.

‘You’ve got a better idea?’ Will asked.

‘You could ask someone who can actually predict the moods of the sea and the changes in the weather.’

Will knew his face was a picture of scepticism.

‘It’s only a suggestion.’

‘A fortune teller?’

‘No. A wise woman.’

‘A charlatan who will tell us what we want to hear.’

‘As I said, it’s only a suggestion.’

‘And what do they base their predictions on? Whispers from God?’

‘Actually it’s quite scientific.’ Mia paused and laughed when she saw Will’s face. ‘They have a lot of equipment that measures wind speed and air temperature and cloud movements.’

‘These are the same women who make love potions and claim they can talk to the dead.’

Mia shook her head. ‘There are some who just look at the weather. Call themselves meteorologists.’

He wasn’t convinced.

‘What’s the harm?’ Mia said. ‘We could see one of these meteorologist women and then compare what she says to the Captain’s predictions. Surely the more information we get the better.’

‘As long as it’s correct information.’

‘Or we could ask the Captain to guess.’

Will contemplated for a few seconds.

‘I only suggest it because I know Jorge used to be fascinated with the weather. He used to pride himself on knowing when a storm was coming.’

* * *

They stopped at the bottom of the hill and looked up at the brightly painted wooden cottage perched on the edge of the cliff.

‘I’m still not sure,’ Will said reluctantly.

Mia silently rolled her eyes and started up the hill. He’d half-heartedly agreed to come and Mia was convinced any moment he was going to dig his heels in and refuse to go any further. She wouldn’t mind that much, but the man they’d asked for directions had described Amber Honey as a ‘wild woman’ and Mia was rather intrigued.

She glanced behind her and saw Will hadn’t moved. Retracing her last few steps, she reached out and took his hand. His palm was a little rough against her softer skin and she enjoyed the sensation of holding his hand in hers. She pulled on his arm and Will obligingly followed her up the hill. After a few steps he pulled his hand free, leaving Mia feeling strangely bereft, then he tucked her fingers into the crook of his arm and in the process drew her even closer to him.

Mia enjoyed walking side by side with him. She could imagine for just a few minutes they were equals, a man and woman of the same social class, the same background, just enjoying a stroll together on a balmy Caribbean afternoon.

They reached the wooden gate to the property and Will grimaced again. It was painted a lovely bright yellow colour, clashing with the purple-pink hues of the house.

‘Be nice,’ Mia warned.

‘I’m always nice’, he said, the charming grin he flashed at her making Mia’s knees wobble. She looked down at the offending joints and silently told them to behave.

‘Good afternoon,’ a voice called out from somewhere amongst the overgrown plants beside the house.

‘We’re looking for a Miss Amber Honey,’ Mia called out.

‘You’ve found her.’

A tall, graceful woman emerged from the greenery and opened the gate for them.

‘What can I do for you two kind souls today?’

‘We were hoping you might be able to give us a weather prediction,’ Mia said.

‘You’ve come to the right place,’ Amber Honey said, ‘I love anything and everything to do with the weather.’

‘We don’t want to take up too much of your time, Miss Honey,’ Will said quickly.

Amber looked at him searchingly for a few seconds then nodded slowly. ‘A sceptic,’ she said. ‘You think it’s all guesswork.’

Mia started to protest on Will’s behalf, but he beat her to it.

‘I’m willing to be convinced,’ he said.

‘Come into the garden, have a seat.’ Amber Honey led the way into the verdant garden. ‘Maybe I can show you some of my equipment, let you decide for yourself how much is guesswork.’

Mia followed Will into the overgrown tropical garden. There were flashes of bright colour amongst the greenery and there didn’t seem to be much order to anything. She rather thought Amber just picked the flowers and plants she liked and placed them in a haphazard fashion throughout the garden. There was a certain charm in the disorder and Mia paused for a few seconds to take it all in.

They reached a table with four chairs set out around it and Amber motioned for them to sit whilst she disappeared into the small wooden house.

‘What do you think?’ Mia asked quietly.

‘She’s not what I expected.’

‘In a good way?’

Will shrugged, ‘Let’s see what she comes up with, then I’ll make up my mind.’

From such a sceptic it was the most she could expect.

Will closed his eyes and turned his face up towards the sun, basking in the warm rays. For an Englishman he did seem to enjoy the Caribbean weather more than most. Mia had seen the soldiers at the fort dripping with sweat at ten in the morning or cursing when the tropical rains soaked them to the skin within seconds. Will seemed to take it all in his stride.

His natural skin colour was beginning to darken even after just a couple of days in the tropical sunshine. His hair was lightening, too. The blond locks that she had been so fascinated with during their first meeting were already a shade lighter.

Mia closed her own eyes so she wouldn’t be caught staring. She could stare at Will all day. He fascinated her, and although it would be too much to say he enchanted her she definitely felt a pull towards him. He exuded a certain magnetism. He was handsome, she couldn’t deny that, but Mia had met a lot of handsome men before and never felt quite so curious.

‘Penny for your thoughts,’ Will said.

Mia’s eyes flashed open.

‘Only a penny?’

‘They’re worth more than that? Now I really have to hear them.’

Mia stayed silent. She couldn’t tell him what she was thinking; he’d think her a sentimental fool. Not that he’d tease her or mock her, he was too kind for that, though he’d probably just gently remind her they were from different worlds. She was a felon, the sister of a pirate. He was a law-abiding hero. She had no business wanting him, and he would be crazy to think of her as anything more than a source of information. Sure, he might have kissed her on the beach. She wasn’t so naive to think he wasn’t a little attracted to her, but that attraction was purely physical, nothing more.

‘Back at the inn you were going to tell me about your brother,’ Mia said eventually.

A cloud passed over his face and for a second Mia wished she hadn’t asked. He opened his mouth to speak, but before any words could come out Amber ambled back outside.

‘So, you want to understand the weather,’ she said. ‘What do you know about meteorology?’

Will looked at Mia and she motioned for him to go ahead.

‘Very little,’ he admitted. ‘I’ve heard of it, but always thought the idea of predicting the weather preposterous. It can change within seconds.’

‘That’s very true.’

‘If we could predict the weather, then ships wouldn’t sail through hurricanes and farmers would know when to harvest their crops to stop them from spoiling.’

Amber nodded in agreement. ‘But some people have been doing those things for hundreds of years. Experienced Captains know when to head for cover and lower the sails. Farmers watch the skies to decide when to plant their crops and when to harvest them. Sometimes they get it wrong, but a lot of the time they get it right.’

‘So you’re saying meteorology is just pattern recognition?’

Mia could tell Will remained unimpressed so far.

‘Meteorology is part pattern recognition. The rest is surprisingly scientific.’ Amber stood. ‘Why don’t I show you?’

They followed her further into the overgrown garden.

‘We use readings from the air and ground thermometers, barometers, wind gauges.’ Amber pointed each out in turn as they walked past the gadgets. ‘I accumulate the data and then I look at what has happened before in similar circumstances. And it’s not just isolated data, either. The rate of change from one value to another can tell you so much.’

She was becoming animated as she talked—here was a woman who clearly loved her vocation.

Mia felt a sudden emptiness inside. Looking at Amber was a stark reminder of what life could be like. The past few months she hadn’t been living, she’d been existing. Barely surviving. And when Will caught her brother and his crew, which she now had no doubts he would, she would be even worse off. She doubted she’d have her freedom, let alone a life like Amber’s.

‘Mia?’ Will asked, the concern evident in his voice, ‘What’s wrong?’

‘Nothing,’ she said with a sad smile.

‘Why don’t I give you a few minutes?’ Amber said, looking shrewdly between them. ‘I’ll compile a weather report for this area for the next two weeks.’

Will started to say something but Amber cut him off.

‘If you don’t want to use it, that’s fine, but let me give it to you. You never know when it will come in handy.’

Amber disappeared again, leaving them alone.

‘What’s wrong, Mia?’ Will asked again.

‘Nothing, I’m just being silly,’ she said, wondering how to get him to drop the subject.

‘Was it something Amber said? We can leave.’

‘Don’t try to use me as your excuse,’ Mia said sharply, ‘If you want to be rude and leave, then go ahead, but don’t try to make out it’s what I want.’

Will looked slightly taken aback by her tone. Mia wanted to reach out to him but she knew she couldn’t. Then she’d have to explain what this was actually all about: her lack of future.

‘We’ll wait,’ Will said, turning away from her.

Mia swallowed and tried to call out for him, but something inside stopped her. She had to hold herself back from getting too close to him. In a few days he would be apprehending her brother, the only person in the world she loved, the only family she had left.

They stood in silence for a few minutes. Mia pretended to admire the different plants in the garden whilst Will just stood with a wide stance, his arms crossed in front of his chest.

‘I see you two have worked it out,’ Amber said when she returned. She was carrying a couple of sheets of paper covered in text and diagrams.

‘Thank you,’ Will said, ignoring her comment as she handed him her predictions, ‘I’m sure these will be very handy.’

Amber shrugged. ‘I hope so, but I don’t mind if you throw them away. If you would just wait until you’re out of sight of the house, it’s better for the ego.’

‘I’ll study them tonight,’ Will insisted.

‘It was lovely meeting you both.’ Amber caught Mia’s arm as she walked past, ‘He’s a good man and he likes you a lot,’ she whispered in her ear. ‘You just need to make him realise it.’

* * *

‘Can we go to Savanna-la-Mar?’ Mia asked suddenly.

They’d walked in silence all the way from Amber’s house back into Port Royal. Mia had spent the time trying to decide if she wanted to go to the town her brother had raided or not. Part of her knew she shouldn’t punish herself, but the other part wanted to know. If she was going to help Will find her brother, she had to accept the fact that she was going to be partly responsible for his execution. At the moment she was finding it hard to acknowledge her big brother could be the one ordering all the atrocities they’d heard about. She knew going to the town he’d sacked would help to focus her mind and decide once and for all what was the right thing to do.

‘Mia, I don’t think that’s a good idea,’ Will said, turning to face her.

‘Please,’ she said, ‘I need to see it with my own eyes.’

‘It will just upset you.’

Mia knew she had to make Will understand why she wanted to go to Savanna-la-Mar, but she was finding it hard to put her internal dilemma into words.

‘I want to help you,’ she said slowly, ‘I really do. I know what Jorge is doing is wrong, but it’s so hard to believe that my brother is the one doing all these terrible things.’

Will didn’t look convinced.

‘If I help you catch Jorge, then he will be executed. I will be sending my brother to the gallows.’

She looked imploringly at Will, begging him to understand.

She saw him soften.

‘This will help?’ he asked.

‘I think so.’

She hoped it might focus her mind and help her decide what was for the best.

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