Chapter 26

CHAPTER 26

Athunderous knock on her cabin door had Callista jerking upright from her position with her feet on the desk where she’d been dozing in her chair. By the angle of the sun, it was late afternoon.

“Come!” she said catching her hat as it fell off the knob on the corner of her chair back.

It was Petey, panting. “Land off the port bow, Captain!”

She rose, her heart lifting with excitement, her stomach muscles pulling taught. At last! Now they would find and catch Perez! She stuffed her hat on her head and followed Petey up the ladder to the deck where a number of the crew had gathered. Mick was at the rail with his spy glass trained on the horizon. She moved towards him, squinting to make out the faint outline of haze and land.

“Africa?” she said coming up alongside of him. He handed the spy glass to her, and she looked through it, adjusting it to her sight. Yes! The outline of land came into focus.

Carlos appeared on her other side, and she handed him the glass.

The back of her neck prickled, and she turned her head, sure enough Connor had emerged from the lower deck and was heading towards her. She had tried her best to keep thoughts of him at bay the last two days and avoid him as much as she could. The fact that he cared for her scared her so much. She knew she was being cruel but couldn’t find the courage to confront him. Telling herself she would, once Perez was dealt with. Everything was after Perez.

He came up behind her and said, “The African West coast is a big place. How will we know where to find him?”

“He’ll be heading to Whydah in the Kingdom of Dahomey. It is the principal slave trade city for the Portuguese now since the British banned slave trading in ‘07.” She swallowed trying to steady the erratic pulse his nearness created. This. This was why you stay away from him. Whenever he got close, her body became a seething mass of heat and longing, and her mind became mush.

Carlos lowered the spy glass. “Perez boasted to me that he had a special agreement with King Adandozan.”

The sound of spitting greeted this, and Mr Adebayo swore in his native African tongue. Callista nodded to acknowledge the cook’s presence as he limped forward on his peg leg and gripped the rail. “That evil Dinclinsen! It is he who is responsible for my people being enslaved! His female warriors raided and took my people, the Mahi, and sold us as slaves to the Portuguese monster Perez.”

“Lay in a course for Whydah, Mick!” said Callista, clapping him on the shoulder.

“Already on it, Captain,” he said pulling out his sextant.

It tookthem two days to reach Whydah. Callista was so excited she had trouble sleeping and found herself prowling round the deck at odd hours of the night, running scenarios in her head. She had spent a lot of time going over strategy with Mr Coats. The drills they had done, and Mr Coats experience with improving cannon accuracy had given her hope that they could take on the Esperanza and win, but she knew it wouldn’t be easy. On paper the Esperanza was the superior ship every way you measured it. The one advantage they had, was superior manoeuvrability. They just had to disable the ship enough to board her, once they boarded and could corner Perez, she’d have him.

They reached Whydah late in the afternoon but could see no sign of the Esperanza. She took Carlos and Mick with her into port to enquire and discovered that the Esperanza had left three days ago, bound for the Caribbean, with a load of 450 slaves.

Disappointment at having missed Perez, warred with excitement that her target was so close. The Esperanza was a big ship compared to the Sea Devil, and despite her new keel, Callista thought the Sea Devil could outrun her with a good wind and fully rigged. The only difficulty would be pinpointing her exact location.

Returned to the ship, she gave the order to put up all sails and tasked Mick with plotting the most likely course to run the Esperanza down. They would navigate by stars and the sun, going all out to catch the Esperanza. Mr Coats was put on notice to be ready to engage the larger ship on sight and every team was run through its paces again and again.

The whole shipwas caught up in Callista’s fever. The past two weeks had been the kind of hell Connor never wanted to experience again. He had respected Callista’s wishes and kept his distance from her, since their encounter in the flour store, but it didn’t stop him watching her, or thinking about her, wanting her. He held a thousand conversations with her in his head and a thousand more silent encounters where he touched her and loved her the way he wanted. His emotions swung from elation to despair, and he spent too much time trying to figure out how to win her broken heart.

He found some solace in listening to McTavish’s woes. His courtship of the volatile Miss Jenni Wade had hit a Furness shaped snag, and the poor Scot was heartbroken. It seemed Miss Wade preferred a bad man to a good one and Neil was suffering as a consequence.

Connor, who had benefited from the fact that women inexplicably fall for the bad guy over the good one all his life, felt a vague sense of guilt. He’d seduced countless women in his time, although he’d never forced an unwilling one. And he had thought he could do the same to Callista. Instead, he’d fallen headlong into love with her and found himself the one suffering.

Her obsession with Perez was infuriating, and bothersome. But he understood it, after what the man had done to her, he wanted to kill him.

He reflected with some ironic humour that there were several of them desiring to do that, Ayo, Carlos and Mick among them, to say nothing of Callista herself. The frustrating part was, he knew nothing about Perez except what Callista, Carlos and Mick had told him. He needed more information.

He sought out Mick, who of all of them must know the most about Perez, his acquaintance went back to before Callista was born.

The man was in his cabin doing calculations when Connor interrupted him.

“Mor, tell me you have some grog on you. These calculations are driving me mad. Trying to pinpoint a ship when you don’t know its location...” He shook his head.

Connor held out his flask and took a seat, while Mick threw his pen on the desk and knocked back a sizable swig. He handed back the flask and leaned back in his chair, rubbing his face wearily. Scabs from the shrapnel were starting form. “What can I do for you?” he asked.

“Tell me about Perez.”

Mick ground his teeth. “What’s to tell? He’s as black-hearted a scoundrel as ever sailed the Atlantic.”

“I know that, but I need something more specific. What is he like to speak with? What are his strengths and weaknesses? How does he think? He’s our opponent, we need to know everything there is to know about him if we’re to have a hope in hell of taking him down. Seems to me he holds all the cards at the moment. By all accounts his ship is bigger, with presumably a bigger crew and more guns. He’s already beaten us once. There’s an advantage right there, he will be confident going in. How do we beat him?”

Mick sighed and rubbed his face again. “You’re right Irish. I’m being too damned emotional about it. Let me think.” He rested his head in his hands and stared blindly at the map in front of him.

“He’s charming when he wants to be. He always was. Caruso made an enemy of him when he stole Callista’s mother away from him. Perez stole her back and killed her for betraying him. He’s possessive and jealous, volatile, violent. To my knowledge he has no scruples, no code of ethics. But he’ll fool you, unless you know him well, he can come across as sincere and–I hate to admit this–likable. Caruso fell for it, so did Carlos and Ana.” He swallowed; his face screwed into an expression of disgust. “To think of that young woman in his clutches, it makes me sick to my stomach.”

Connor passed over the flask again, and he took another swig. He shook his head to clear it and went on, “he’s a shrewd businessman, ruthless and without a conscience. Slaves are just another commodity to him. Property to be bought and sold and make a profit from.”

“Weaknesses?” prompted Connor.

“Probably his volatile temper. Push him too far and he’ll do something irrational. Corner him, and he’ll fight like the devil to escape. He’ll kill without a second thought.”

“So, if we try to trap him, he’ll use Ana as a hostage?”

“Without a doubt.” Mick’s voice was grim, his expression thunderous.

“Seems we will need the element of surprise and to cause as much damage to his ship as swiftly as possible, to have any hope of taking him.”

Mick nodded and sighed. “Talk to Coats about strategy, he has the most experience of any of us in ship-to-ship combat. I’ve done a fair few boardings in my time, but the Esperanza is the biggest ship we’ve tried to attack, and it didn’t go well the last time. We took a lot of damage.”

“How many guns has she got?”

“Twice as many as us.”

“What makes C- the captain think we can take him?”

“Sheer force of will I think.”

“Or wishful thinking,” muttered Connor.

“Something like that,” said Mick smiling sadly.

Connor went lookingfor Mr Coats and ran him to earth on the gun deck, where he and Mrs Harwood were drilling the children in their role of powder monkey.

“Now you understand that there will be a lot of noise, chaos and smoke. You must hold you nerve under fire and follow the precise steps we have practised. No deviation at all unless you are given a direct order to do so by your commanding officer. Am I clear?”

“Yes, Mr Coats, sir!” Echoed all three children.

“It is a dangerous and important job that you perform. Your gunnery teams will be relying on you. Don’t let them down.”

“Yes sir, Mr Coats, sir!”

After the incident of Katie falling out of the rigging, the boys had been quite subdued. Especially after Mr Coats spoke to them. Connor didn’t know what he’d said, but whatever it was, it was more effective than anything he or the captain or Mick has said.

Coats looked up. “Mr Mor, what can I do for you?”

“Now’s probably not the right time, but I’d like a word when you’re free.”

“We’ve just finished this drill.” He transferred his attention back to his small recruits. “Dismissed gentlemen and lady,” he bowed to them, and they all bowed back. Katie in her canvas pants and tunic, was dressed the same as the boys, with her hair bound in a bun and confined by a kerchief. Loose hair would be a danger down here of catching fire, Connor supposed, observing Mrs Harwood in similar attire to her daughter.

The children filed out carefully and could then be heard scampering for the upper deck.

“I’ll leave you to talk,” said Mrs Harwood tactfully.

“That depends on the nature of Mr Mor’s topic. What did you want to discuss?”

“Strategy,” said Connor bluntly. “Forgive me, I know nothing of ship-to-ship combat. I’d like to know how ye propose to defeat a ship that both outclasses and out guns ours.”

“That is a very good question Mr Mor and I’m glad you asked it.”

“Hasn’t anyone else?”

“I’ve naturally had some discussions on strategy with the captain. Our adversary is unlikely to behave like a gentleman, so we will need to be prepared from the moment we come in sight of the Esperanza. His guns are likely bigger than ours as well as more numerous.” Coats rummaged in a pile of papers and drew out a sketch of two ships engaged in combat, showing it to Connor by way of illustrating his comments.

“As I have mentioned to you in previous discussions, it is British naval practice to aim for the gun emplacements rather than the rigging to take out the gun crews. What may stand us in good stead is the aiming practise drills we have been running. I believe we have succeeded in achieving some considerable accuracy with our gunfire if our target practice is any indication.” He showed Connor another piece of paper where he had recorded the results of the drills he had been running with the crew.

“But being able to exercise it will depend on us being at the right range and angle to accomplish it.” He walked over to one of the guns and indicated the sights, chocks and marks that enabled the gun crews to change the angle and aim more accurately. “Manoeuvrability is going to be key to our success. We should have the advantage there, being smaller and more nimble.

“Appropriate rigging will be key, as well as responsive steering.” He turned back towards Connor his arms wide and palms up.

“We also don’t wish to sink the Esperanza. There are more than 450 souls on board, our objective is to emancipate them, not drown them.”

“Indeed, well ye give me some hope Mr Coats.”

“It will be down to discipline and heart,” he thumped his chest with a fist. “Of which I believe we have quite a bit. This crew is very motivated. That is one thing the captain has instilled in all of us I think.”

Connor smiled and nodded. “Ye’re right about that.”

“I’ve served under a number of captain’s, Mr Mor, in my thirty-five years in the navy and Miss Montmayne ranks with the best.”

Connor’s smile broadened and a rush of pride swelled his chest. That was a compliment of no mean order from one of Coat’s experience, and it confirmed his own suspicion that she was an accomplished leader.

“How can I be of the most assistance Mr Coats?”

“I think you have already been designated as a boarding party leader?”

Connor nodded.

“That will be where your skills are most useful Mr Mor, I’ve seen you fight, you’re one of the most accomplished I’ve encountered.”

“Thank ye. If there is anything I can do to assist ye, let me know.” He held out his hand to Coats who shook it.

“I will.”

“Mr Mor?” Mrs Harwood spoke up as he turned away.

He turned back, “ma’am?”

She flushed, “I wanted to thank you for your part in rescuing Katie the other day. I haven’t had a chance to catch you until now. I am most grateful.”

“It was nothing, ma’am. We all did our part; it was Coats that saved her.”

“I know.” She blushed and looked sideways at Coats. “I have already thanked him.”

Have ye now? Between McTavish’s troubles and the sudden electric current between these two, Connor began to suspect that he and the captain weren’t the only ones on board doing a bit of horizontal folk dancing.