Part 22 (1/2)
CHAPTER XXIV
WAR
Five miles out at sea from Port Royal, whence the details of the coast of Ja their sharpness, the Arabella hove to, and the sloop she had been toarped alongside
Captain Blood escorted his couest to the head of the ladder Colonel Bishop, who for two hours and more had been in a state of mortal anxiety, breathed freely at last; and as the tide of his fears receded, so that of his deep-rooted hate of this audacious buccaneer resumed its normal flow But he practised circumspection If in his heart he vowed that once back in Port Royal there was no effort he would spare, no nerve he would not strain, to bring Peter Blood to final s in Execution Dock, at least he kept that vow strictly to himself
Peter Blood had no illusions He was not, and never would be, the complete pirate There was not another buccaneer in all the Caribbean ould have denied hi Colonel Bishop fro the vindictive planter's hatred have increased his own security But Blood was not of these Moreover, in the case of Colonel Bishop there was a particular reason for restraint Because he was Arabella Bishop's uncle, his life must remain sacred to Captain Blood
And so the Captain smiled into the sallow, bloated face and the little eyes that fixed hie ho,” said he in valediction, and fro manner you would never have dreamt of the pain he carried in his breast ”It's the second tie Ye'll be well advised to avoid a third I'”
Jere at Blood's elbow, looked darkly upon the departure of the Deputy-Governor Behind therim, stalwart, sun-tanned buccaneers were restrained fro Bishop like a flea only by their submission to the dominant will of their leader They had learnt froer, and whilst as ready as he to throw over the King's service which had been thrust upon them, yet they resented the manner in which this had been rendered necessary, and they marvelled now at Blood's restraint where Bishop was concerned The Deputy-Governor looked round and lances of those fierce eyes Instinct warned him that his life at that ht precipitate an explosion of hatred from which no hu He inclined his head in silence to the Captain, and went blundering and stu in his haste down that ladder to the sloop and its waiting negro crew
They pushed off the craft from the red hull of the Arabella, bent to their sweeps, then, hoisting sail, headed back for Port Royal, intent upon reaching it before darkness should coreat bulk of him huddled in the stem sheets, sat silent, his black brows knitted, his coarse lips pursed,now his recent panic that he forgot his near escape of the yardar noose
On the mole at Port Royal, under the low, embattled wall of the fort, Major Mallard and Lord Julian waited to receive him, and it ith infinite relief that they assisted him froetic
”Glad to see you safe, sir,” said he ”I'd have sunk Blood's shi+p in spite of your excellency's being aboard but for your own orders by Lord Julian, and his lordshi+p's assurance that he had Blood's word for it that no harm should coht it rash of his lordshi+p to accept the word of a daood as another's,” said his lordshi+p, cropping the Major's too eager eloquence He spoke with an unusual degree of that frosty dignity he could assume upon occasion The fact is that his lordshi+p was in an exceedingly bad hu written jubilantly home to the Secretary of State that his mission had succeeded, he was now faced with the necessity of writing again to confess that this success had been ephemeral And because Major Mallard's crisp mostachios were lifted by a sneer at the notion of a buccaneer's word being acceptable, he added still more sharply: ”My justification is here in the person of Colonel Bishop safely returned As against that, sir, your opinion does not weigh for very much You should realize it”
”Oh, as your lordshi+p says” Major Mallard's ed with irony ”To be sure, here is the Colonel safe and sound And out yonder is Captain Blood, also safe and sound, to begin his piratical ravages all over again”
”I do not propose to discuss the reasons with you, Major Mallard”
”And, anyway, it's not for long,” growled the Colonel, finding speech at last ”No, by” He emphasized the assurance by an unprintable oath ”If I spend the last shi+lling of my fortune and the last shi+p of the Jamaica fleet, I'll have that rascal in a he about it” He had ery vehemence, and the veins of his forehead stood out like whipcord Then he checked
”You did well to follow Lord Julian's instructions,” he commended the Major With that he turned from him, and took his lordshi+p by the arm ”Come, my lord We must take order about this, you and I”
They went off together, skirting the redoubt, and so through courtyard and garden to the house where Arabella waited anxiously The sight of her uncle brought her infinite relief, not only on his own account, but on account also of Captain Blood
”You took a great risk, sir,” she gravely told Lord Julian after the ordinary greetings had been exchanged
But Lord Julian answered her as he had answered Major Mallard ”There was no risk, , aristocratic face wore a more melancholy, pensive air than usual He answered the enquiry in her glance: ”So that Blood's shi+p were allowed to pass the fort, no hared me his word for that”
A faint smile broke the set of her lips, which hitherto had been wistful, and a little colour tinged her cheeks She would have pursued the subject, but the Deputy-Governor's mood did not permit it He sneered and snorted at the notion of Blood's word being good for anything, forgetting that he owed to it his own preservation at thatthereafter he talked of nothing but Blood - of hoould lay his he would perform upon his body And as he drank heavily the while, his speech becaly horrible; until in the end Arabella withdrehite-faced and ale of tears It was not often that Bishop revealed hi planter went in a certain awe of that sliirl It was as if she had inherited from her father the respect in which he had always been held by his brother
Lord Julian, who began to find Bishop disgusting beyond endurance, excused himself soon after, and went in quest of the lady He had yet to deliver the ht, would be his opportunity But Miss Bishop had retired for the night, and Lord Julianless - until the , before the heat of the day came to render the open intolerable to his lordshi+p, he espied her froarden It was a fitting setting for one as still as htful novelty to hi flowers He hurried forth to join her, and when, aroused fro and frank, he explained hie from Captain Blood
He observed her little start and the slight quiver of her lips, and observed thereafter not only her pallor and the shadowy rings about her eyes, but also that unusually wistful air which last night had escaped his notice
They ola of orange-trees provided a shaded sauntering space that was at once cool and fragrant As they went, he considered her adly, andfully to realize her slirace, and to find her, as he now did, so entirely desirable, a woman whose charm must irradiate all the life of a ic
He noted the sheen of her red-brown hair, and how gracefully one of its heavy ringlets coiled upon her slender, rey silk, and a scarlet rose, fresh-gathered, was pinned at her breast like a splash of blood Always thereafter when he thought of her it was as he saw her at that moment, as never, I think, until that moment had he seen her
In silence they paced on a little way into the green shade Then she paused and faced hie, sir,” she re solets of his periwig, a little e how he should begin ”He desired e that should prove to you that there is still soentleman that that, for which once you knew hiravely He htenment that yesterday had come to her
”I think, nay, I know that you do him an injustice,” said he
Her hazel eyes continued to regard hie, itHe did not immediately answer He found that he had not sufficiently considered the terms he should e delicacy, de It was not so e as to render it a vehicle by which to plead his own cause Lord Julian, well versed in the lore of womankind and usually at his ease with ladies of the beau-monde, found himself oddly constrained before this frank and unsophisticated niece of a colonial planter
They moved on in silence and as if by coola was intersected by the avenue leading upwards to the house Across this patch of light fluttered a gorgeous butterfly, that was like black and scarlet velvet and large as aeyes followed it out of sight before he answered
”It is not easy Stab st us we have et his rancour; you, because because having told hi's service he would find his redemption of as past, you would not afterwards adh concern to rescue you was the chiefthat same service”
She had turned her shoulder to him so that he should not see her face
”I know I kno,” she said softly Then after a pause she added the question: ”And you? What part has your lordshi+p had in this - that you should incriain he hesitated, then plunged recklessly on, asthey fear ”If I understood hih entirely passive, was none the less effective I implore you to observe that I but report his oords I say nothing for myself” His lordshi+p's unusual nervousness was steadily increasing ”He thought, then - so he told me - that my presence here had contributed to his inability to redeeht; and unless he were so redee”
She faced hiether above her troubled eyes
”He thought that you had contributed?” she echoed It was clear she asked for enlightenlance a little scared, his cheeks flushi+ng
”Aye, and he said so in ters, and yet dare not believe, for, God knows, I am no coxcomb, Arabella He said but first let one aboard his shi+p to demand the instant surrender of your uncle whohed at e for his safety By rashly venturing aboard his shi+p, I afforded hie as valuable at least as Colonel Bishop Yet he bade me depart; not from the fear of consequences, for he is above fear, nor from any personal esteem for me whom he confessed that he had come to find detestable; and this for the very reason that made him concerned for my safety”
”I do not understand,” she said, as he paused ”Is not that a contradiction in itself?”
”It seems so only The fact is, Arabella, this unfortunate man has the the temerity to love you”
She cried out at that, and clutched her breast whose calm was suddenly disturbed Her eyes dilated as she stared at him
”I I've startled you,” said he, with concern ”I feared I should But it was necessary so that you may understand”
”Go on,” she bade him
”Well, then: he saw in me one who made it impossible that he should win you - so he said Therefore he could with satisfaction have killed ht cause you pain, because your happiness was the thing that above all things he desired, he surrendered that part of his guarantee of safety which my person afforded him If his departure should be hindered, and I should lose ht follow, there was the risk that that you ht mourn me That risk he would not take Him you deeiving you his oords always - if in choosing between us two, your choice, as he believed, would fall onwisely Because of that he bade me leave his shi+p, and had me put ashore”
She looked at him with eyes that were asith tears He took a step towards her, a catch in his breath, his hand held out
”Was he right, Arabella? My life's happiness hangs upon your answer”