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Chapter Twenty-Seven

T he boom of the gun, when it came, reverberated across the expanse of sea between The Dolphin and her prey. Water sprayed up about a hundred yards ahead of The Fly’s bows. A warning shot only, to encourage them to heave to and allow the larger ship to come alongside them. Jack peered into the gloom, trying to make out their pursuer and only finding her by the lights she was showing. She had no reason to hide, unlike The Fly . But if that was all that made her visible to him, then her captain would have even more difficulty in locating The Fly . He’d be firing blindly in the direction he thought they lay, and he wasn’t far off in his aim. In fact, he was even more dangerous if he couldn’t see them than if he could.

“Prepare to come about.” Jack kept his command to Daniel Bussow low. All the men were making as little noise as possible. Anything to stop the crew of The Dolphin divining where they lay. Not that he thought their hunter would be able to hear anything above the sound of the waves and the wind in the sails and shrouds. But caution was not to be scorned.

Jack glanced at where Harriet remained seated with Theo, holding onto him as if she thought at any moment he’d be snatched away. Good. One thing she possessed in quantity was common sense, even if she had hidden in the hold of his ship.

Coming about changed the line The Fly was following. Hopefully, The Dolphin’s captain would assume they were still beating for the safety of the coast as fast as they could, where they’d be harder to spot with the cliffs behind them, even if it would be more dangerous thanks to all the hidden rocks. Perhaps, under cover of the friendly darkness, they could double back behind The Dolphin and lose her. Although her captain might decide to hang around nearer the coast hoping to catch them at first light. Jack would just have to make sure they were safely in harbor by then and empty of their cargo. Holing the barrels and chucking them overboard was a last resort he didn’t intend to have to turn to.

A second shot fell astern of The Fly , a bit too close for comfort this time. They must be nearly a mile away, at the extreme range of their guns, but if they scored a hit they might sink The Fly without even knowing they’d done it.

Will swung down out of the rigging where he’d been trying to watch their hunter. “Shall we get the swivel guns out?”

Jack shook his head. “If it comes to an all-out battle, they vastly outgun us, and our little guns don’t have the range their big ones do. We’d lose, and probably some of us would die.” He looked again at Harriet and Theo. The last thing he wanted was these two becoming collateral damage.

Will nodded, his face a pale blur in the darkness. “We could put the widow and her boy below decks.”

“Just as dangerous. When the master of the Dolphin realizes we’re not stopping, he’s likely to order his men to fire for the body of the ship as it’s easier to hit. No, our stowaways had best stay on deck. We’re not in danger of being caught yet, so they’re safe enough there.” He glanced around the deck. “And it’s getting darker with every minute they don’t catch up with us. Let’s just hope the moon doesn’t give us away.”

Will nodded. “Which way d’you want to head?”

Jack grinned. “Towards them. But to the south. They won’t expect us to do that. They’ll be thinking we’ll head west to run for the coast further along, to cut around the Lizard and Lands’ End and get away from them. If we head east instead, and get past them in the dark, we can turn north again before they realize we’ve done it. In fact, I’m hoping they won’t realize at all and will head for Lands’ End themselves.” He glanced up at their full set of sails straining in the wind, billowing out in their efforts to drive the ship forward. “We’ve two and a half thousand square feet of sail. We’ve speed and maneuverability on our side. They’re bigger than us, but they don’t have the minds of smugglers. We can do this.”

Young Harry had been on the tiller a while, so Jack took over from him, and Will went to stand in the bows, staring towards where they both thought the sloop must be heading. Jack bit his lip. If they got it wrong… how ridiculous would it be to crash into the Dolphin in the dark? That would be bad luck indeed.

All the crew were now on deck, ready to adjust the sails at a moment’s notice, all of them with their eyes straining into the darkness for any sign of their pursuer. Had she extinguished her lights? Jack would have done so himself had he been in her captain’s place. Trying to sneak up on her prey. But her prey was wily as a fox.

“Shouldn’t have a woman on board,” Uncle Billy muttered under his breath, but just loud enough for Jack to catch. “She done brought bad luck on us.”

Jack rounded on him. “An old wives tale. I’ll have none of your superstitions on board my ship. If I hear that sort of thing again, this’ll be the last time you sail with me. Now get below and fix us something to eat and drink.”

Uncle Billy, scowling, shut up, but Jack could tell he hadn’t stopped ruminating over the old saying.

Young Harry gave Uncle Billy a shove towards the cabin. “Give over. You’re talking like an old woman. How d’you think passenger ships and packet boats manage? They take women, don’t they?” He chuckled. “Show a bit of the common sense you might’ve been born with, can’t you?”

With a grunt and a mutter about not being called old by a whippersnapper, Uncle Billy disappeared below to the cabin. It was his job to keep the crew fed and they were going to need it tonight.

Jack shook his head in bewilderment that anyone could think a woman could bring bad luck. But then again, this was the first time they’d encountered a revenue sloop on this bit of the sea…

The night wore on, only the flap of the sails above their heads breaking the comparative silence on board. Ears strained. Eyes strained. Everyone stayed quiet. Even the exuberant Theo remained silent, nestled against his mother’s side.

Jack relinquished the tiller to Will and went to take his position forward. The clouds that had covered the horizon had spread across the night sky, obscuring the stars, and only now and then allowing the waning hemisphere of the moon to peek through. Which was both good and bad. Little light for their pursuer to see them by, but also little light for them to see her, or where they were headed. Would it be wise to try to get into the tiny inlet at Bessie’s while as good as blind? He’d been sailing from there all his life, and knew the narrow passage as well as his own home, but if you couldn’t see, you couldn’t see. And he had Harriet on board… and a child.

He’d think about that when the moment came.

Instead, his thoughts wandered unbidden to that kiss and the way she’d reacted. For a moment, he’d thought she’d liked being kissed. He’d kept his hands to himself and made it gentle and undemanding, wary of frightening her off. He’d felt her mouth soften under his, her lips parting… and then… it had been as though he’d bitten her, not kissed her.

Jack was no head doctor or alienist to assess why she’d reacted like that, but he could have a good guess, and the answer he came up with didn’t bear thinking about. But he had to. Whatever her husband had done to her, it had gone deeper than just bullying and a few blows. He’s scarred her mentally as well as physically, and he was going to have to approach her even more gently than he’d first thought. If they survived the night without being thrown in jail… or sunk.

He grinned to himself. What was he doing, doubting his abilities like this? Of course they were going to get away from the revenue men. They always did. They were one tiny ship in a vast ocean of nothingness and for The Dolphin to come upon them in the dark, the luck of the sea god would have to be with her captain. And Jack was pretty sure the sea god was on his side, not theirs. He cast a glance back at Harriet and Theo, still sitting upright on the hatch cover, but now wrapped in a blanket one of the men had fetched them.

*

“I’m tired,” Theo whispered.

Harriet nodded. “I am too, but I don’t think it would be a good idea for me to go to sleep. Not just yet.”

He stifled a yawn. “Are you frightened, Mama?”

She shook her head. “Of course not. Captain Jack will have us home and safe soon. But just in case he wants us to do anything, we have to stay awake. Well, I do. You lean your head on my shoulder and close your eyes.” A lie, but she didn’t want to worry him. He was too young to realize just how dangerous their situation could turn out to be.

He leaned his head on her shoulder as she suggested, and very soon slipped down until his head was in her lap, fast asleep. She tucked the blanket more closely around him. How lucky he was that he could just shut the tension of the night out and fall sleep. Probably better that he did. Sleep had never felt further away for Harriet.

Jack was standing in the bows still, staring out into the darkness, every inch of him alert. As the moon peeped out from behind a cloud, the pale oval of his face glimmered a little, a worried frown marring his brow. How often did a revenue ship come after them? She had no way of knowing and wasn’t about to disturb his vigil. She stiffened her back and remained silent.

They’d sailed on in this new direction for some time before Jack and Will ordered another direction change, with the sails swinging above her head into their new position. By now, Harriet was growing more accustomed to the commands in use on board ship. “Prepare to come about. Keep your head down, Mrs. Penhallow. Spars comin’ over.”

With alacrity, the men swung the spars over and, in what felt like only a short minute, The Fly was headed in a different direction yet again. Perhaps they thought they’d gone far enough out of the way to avoid the revenue sloop. She hoped so. But as all around them the darkness of the night pressed in like a heavy, suffocating cloak, how would they know they’d escaped her? The waves reflected the dim glimmer of the occasional stars, and the moon when it peeked out from behind the clouds, but other than that, no light prevailed. Even the lights on the other ship had vanished, so perhaps her sailors had wisely put them out. Or perhaps they were already miles apart.

Tiredness ate into her limbs, and Theo weighed heavy on her lap, making it impossible to shift her position. Her back ached, but there was nothing she could do about it. She pulled the slipping blanket closer around Theo and it slid off her shoulders, bringing a chill with its loss. If only she could put on her woolen dressing gown.

Time dragged by, the rushing of the waves against the hull, the flap of the sails, and the quiet instructions from either Will or Jack the only sounds she could hear. Fear ate at her insides. Fear that they’d be caught, even though, surely, finding them out here on the wide expanse of the sea must be like looking for the proverbial needle in the haystack. Fear also that if they were caught, no one would believe her story. And fear that if they were caught, Jack might be the recipient of rough justice.

The fact that up until tonight she would probably have heartily agreed with the dispensing of justice to smugglers brought a smile to her lips for a moment, to be quickly dashed away when she remembered the danger they were all in. Now she was one of them. She and Theo were part of the crew.

She almost jumped out of her skin as someone draped a coat over her shoulders.

Jack stepped back. “I’m sorry I startled you. I saw you’d lost the blanket.”

She had herself back under control in an instant. “Thank you. Yes, I have been feeling the cold a little. The breeze is fresh.” His warm familiar scent clung to the coat, as though he’d just taken it off, reminding her of when he’d taken her in his arms only last night. How long ago that seemed. What she wouldn’t give to be safe in that bed at Mrs. S’s inn with Theo asleep beside her. She looked up at Jack.

He stood in front of her with his feet planted wide, the better to balance himself on the rolling deck. “You should have called to me. I’d have made sure to find you something to warm you.”

She shook her head, breathing in the coat’s distinctive scent. “It’s nothing. But one thing I would like is to move a little. I’ve grown quite stiff with Theo in my lap.”

“Easily remedied.” He called softly to the boy, Clemo, to fetch some more blankets. These he laid on the deck. “Now, give Theo to me.” As though Theo were feather-light, he extricated him from her arms, scooped him up and laid him on top of the blankets, then tucked another around him. “There. Now let me tuck this one in around you.” He sat down beside her. At their feet, Theo didn’t stir on his blanket bed.

“No one ever done that fer me,” Clemo whispered, but he didn’t sound as if he minded all that much, and departed into the cabin perhaps for a sleep himself.

“Have you lost our pursuers?” Harriet asked.

Jack shrugged. “That’s the plan. The English Channel is a big place and the night’s pretty dark. We’ve diverted a good few miles east of where we saw them, but now we’re heading north for the coast, and we’ll skirt it with caution heading back for home.” He tapped his foot on the deck. “And as for the cargo we’re carrying, I’ve decided it’s a bit risky to try to get it ashore at Bessie’s. We’ll unload it at another little landing site we sometimes use, around Helston way. Porthkeverne. It’s mainly used by fishermen, but they’ll be ready and willing to unload an unexpected cargo and take the money for their help.”

“Will you put Theo and me ashore there as well?”

“Do you want to go ashore? It’s a long way back to Bessie’s. And even if we run into The Dolphin , there’ll be nothing on board to incriminate us.” He laughed. “In fact, I’d like it very much if we do meet them. I’ll be happy to stop and let them search my ship. It’d be worth it to see the looks on their faces.”

“We’ll stay, then, and you can deliver us home.”

He nodded. “If I fetch you some blankets, do you think you can take a nap?”

“No. I’d rather stay awake.”

“Suit yourself. I’m going below to get some food. Shall I fetch some for you?”

She nodded and he departed, leaving her sitting wrapped in his coat, but at least now able to stretch her legs and shift her position. Theo slept on, like the proverbial baby.

She glanced towards the entrance to the cabin, waiting for Jack to return. His manner now had changed entirely. No suggestion of him stealing another kiss. A little part of her was disappointed. If only she didn’t have Ben’s shade forever on her shoulder, but he was something she’d never get away from. He’d always be there, whatever she did to escape him. Like Banquo’s ghost at the feast.

*

They made it into Porthkeverne Cove just as the sky was beginning to lighten in the east. Jack, on Harriet’s insistence, had carried Theo down into the cabin and stowed him in one of the hammocks, where he continued to sleep undisturbed, and Jack was rather wishing she’d join her son and stay out of the way. The less she knew, the better. It went against the grain to have anyone know where his hidden drop-offs were located. Who knew what pressures someone like Fitz Carlyon could bring to bear on a witness to make them talk?

The tide was mostly out and the stony beach strewn with small fishing boats pulled out above high tide level. Several rowing boats took to the water and, as Jack’s crew dropped anchor, they bumped up against the side of The Fly . Just the reception Jack had anticipated.

“Why, Cap’n Jack and Cap’n Will. What brings you up here this mornin’?” the grizzled oarsman in the first rowing boat called up, hanging onto a rope on the side of The Fly to steady his little boat. “Got somethin’ for us, have ye?”

“Morning to you, Robbo. The St Ives preventitives’re what brings us here,” Jack called down. “We’ve been dodging them all night. We need to use your smoking sheds again.”

“Best get the goods unloaded quick then, afore they come sneakin’ along the coast after ye.” The old man said. “Long Pete’s gone off to get some help. We thought as you’d be in need of it as you was puttin’ in here so early in the mornin’.”

Will leaned over the gunnels beside Jack. “Thought you might guess that.”

Harriet appeared on his other side, and Old Robbo’s eyes widened. “You shippin’ petticoats now, Cap’n?”

Jack laughed. “There’s a long story to that which I won’t bore you with now. We’d best get a move on.”

Unloading in a hurry was the forté of not just his crew but also the fishermen. More small rowing boats arrived, and Harriet was moved out of the way up into the bows again while the crew, helped by a number of the hoary old fishermen, hauled the barrels of brandy up on deck and lowered them into their new transport. In a very short time everything was unloaded and being carried up the beach to the smoke house in a couple of two wheeled carts drawn by sturdy cobs. Jack had used this drop-off on several other such occasions, and his cargo would be safe here. Best not to have all your bottles of brandy in one barrel, so to speak. He had several other such emergency drop-off sites all along Cornwall’s southwestern coastline, and men eager to do his bidding and take a small cut in the profits for their trouble.

There was to be no waiting around to talk though, with the tide still falling. With the anchor hauled up and the sails unfurled, Jack turned The Fly westwards towards home.

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