Part 15 (2/2)
”Jon-told you?” Cathy asked, slowly. If Harry knew,then Jon must have sent him. Besides herself and Petersham , Jon was the only other person she had told.
”Is he all right?” Cathy breathed.
”He was when last I saw him,” Harry said, his eyes strangely hard. ”He may not be now. You see, he was holed up withmyself and three other men in one of those thatched cottages. The soldiers were getting ready to set it afire when I sneaked out. This uniform, you see.
Cathy stared blankly at the British navy uniform, singed and ripped inplaces, that Harry was wearing. He had worn it when she had first seen him on the ”Anna Greer,” she remembered. But what did that have to do ... ?
”Soldiers?”Petershamwas quicker on the uptake than Cathy. Harry smiled mirthlessly.
”Did I forget to tell you?” he said softly. 'The s.h.i.+ps were filled with soldiers-British soldiers. I a.s.sume they've come in your honor, Lady Catherine. After all, as you once told me, your father is a very rich man.”
”Oh, my G.o.d, they'll hang him!” Cathy whispered, horrified.Alreadyher mind was filled with visions of Jon being summarily executed. British soldiers were both quick and efficient, she knew.
”If he doesn't burn to death, I imagine that's what they have in mind,” Harry agreed.
”I must go to him!” Cathy cried. Harry looked at her with the faintest glimmer of respect.
”I thought you'd feel that way,” he said. ”And I agree with you. You're the only chance he has. But going into that town could be dangerous. Those men are drunk with blood, and they're nothable to take time to ask your name before they string you upfor a pirate la.s.s !”
”Ibeheve I can handle British soldiers, Harry,” Cathyrephed with unconscious hauteur. For almost the firsttimePetershamandHarrysaw hera.s.sume the mantle of her rank, and were, in their different ways, impressed.
”Maybe you can, at that,” Harry admitted.
”We can't waste time talking.” Cathy was determinedly moving toward the cliff as she spoke. Harry and Petersham exchanged a quick glance,then fell in behind her. She looked back at them in surprise.
'What are you two doing? You can't come with me. They'll hang you!”
”And do you suppose either of us could ever face Jon again if we let you go alone?” Harry snorted derisively. ”That's supposing we get there in time to keep them from hanging him!”
At this unnecessary reminder Cathy picked up the pace, almost running over the rough ground. A hand on her arm slowed her.
”Remember the baby, Miss Cathy,”Petersham warned her, casting a concerned look at her flushed face.
”I'm not made of porcelain,Petersham !” Cathy snapped. ”And if we don't hurry, it may be too late! Now come on!”
It was not far to the town, but to Cathy it seemed to take hours to cover the short distance. She rushed by the remains of Jon's house without giving it more than a glance. A cannonbaU had apparently crashed through the roof, and the structure had caught fire. Nothing was left but a burned out sh.e.l.l. But what did a house matter, she thought, compared to Jon? All she could think of was Jon hanging, his long body twisting and turning at the end of a rope, his handsome face blue and swollen. It didn't even occur to her that she had once longed to see him meet that exact fate. She loved him now, and she felt that if he died, so would she.
A pall of thick, black smoke hung over the cl.u.s.ter of once st.u.r.dy huts that marked the mouth of the harbor.
Not one of them was left standing. Debris was everywhere, as though a giant hand had s.n.a.t.c.hed up this side of the island, shaken it, and then flung it down again. Bodies of men, pirates and natives, lay where they had fallen. On one of the huge s.h.i.+ps anch.o.r.ed in the bay Cathy could see more bodies dangling by their necks from spars. Oh, G.o.d, they had started the hangings! Was Jon even now choking at the end of a rope, his body twirled by the brisk wind in the movements of a macabre dance?
Harry andPetersham came up on either side of her to take her arms, both looking down at her worriedly.The complete absence of gunfire told its own story.
'The battle is over, Cathy,” Harry said gently. ”You'd do better to come away. You don't want to see Jon dead, do you? The shock might harm the baby. We'll look for him, and if there's need we'll fetch you.”
”No!” Cathy exclaimed fiercely, s.n.a.t.c.hing her arms free. ”He's not dead, I know he's not!”
She ran toward the harbor, picking up her skirts and moving faster than she had ever moved before in her life. Harry andPetersham panted along behind her, muttering curses at her stubbornness. Both of them felt it was too late to save Jon, and in her heart Cathy was afraid that they might be right. He would have fought like a demon to keep from being captured, and if she were honest with herself she would have to admit that he was very likely one of those who had been killed in the battle before the hangings started. But if not, if there were even one chance, she was going to do her best. She didn't even know if she could stop the hanging if she got there in time, she reminded herself. A seasoned soldier might think twice before halting an execution on the say-so of a mere girl, no matter who she was. No matter, she had to try.
A troop of British soldiers stood on guard at the mouth of the harbor, obviously stationed to prevent any surviving pirates from escaping. As Cathy rushed toward them they drew their muskets, pointing them at her in a body.
”Halt!” cried the officer in charge, warningly, as he strode out in front of his men. Seeing Cathy's s.e.x, he hesitated to give the order to fire.
”Don't shoot, youfools !” Cathy cried, not slowing until she was level with the officer. Her face was flushed and her breath was labored, but drawing herself up to her full height she still managed to look a lady. The officer stared at her, perplexed.
”I am Lady CatherineAldley ,” Cathy spoke to the officer quickly but imperiously. ”And I require to be taken out to the s.h.i.+p where they are hanging the pirates.At once, if you please!”
The officer looked her over suspiciously,then glanced behind her to run even more guarded eyes over Harry andPetersham , who had approached rather warily. Cathy knew that the only thing that was saving the two men from being seized out of hand was Harry's uniform. She turned to them quickly, holding out her hand.
”Thank you, gentlemen, very much for providing me with an escort,” she said rapidly, catching first Harry's hand, thenPetersham's . ”I'm sure you must be anxious to get back to your duties. Don't let me detain you any longer.”
The two men stared at her,then catching the warning in her eyes solemnly shook her hand and started to turn away. They had done all they could for both Cathy and Jon, and now knew that they must think of their own skins.
”Wait!” the young officer ordered suspiciously as the two men started back up the cliff. Harry and Petershamstopped, but before anything else was said Cathy whirled on the man.
”Lieutenant, I said that Irquire you to escort me to that s.h.i.+p immediately! I do not have time to waste while you bandy words with these men!”
The lieutenant stared down at her, undecided. He had no way of knowing if she was who she claimed to be, but he did remember hearing that a Lady Catherine something was either dead or captive at the hands of these pirates. If she were the lady in question, it behooved him to obey her commands. Apparently she had some powerful friends at Court.
”Immediately, Lieutenant!”Cathy's words cracked like a whip, and the officer visibly started.
”Yes, my lady!” he stammered, and turning back to his men ordered them to prepare a boat for her ladys.h.i.+p and look sharp about it! In the confusion, Harry andPetersham were able to escape unnoticed.
When the boat was ready the lieutenant handed her into it reverently. Cathy almost gnashed her teeth at his pomposity. Even now Jon might be being hanged!
”Please hurry!” she exhorted the rowers, standing in the prow of the small boat while it skimmed through the white-capped waves toward the huge frigates. When they at last reached the s.h.i.+p where the hangings were taking place, Cathy directed them to pull up beneath the ladder snaking down the s.h.i.+p's side while she caught it. Once her hands and feet were firmly positioned on the ropes, she was up it like a monkey. Fear for Jon's safety made her impervious to fear for her own. As she reached the top, eager hands reached down to haulher the rest of the way aboard. She was set on her feet on the deck, barely conscious of the interest in the dozens of pairs of masculine eyes turned her way.
”And what might your business be on the 'Lady Chester,' miss?” a gruff voice demanded roughly.
”I demand to see the captain of this vessel at once!” Cathy said sharply, fear clogging her throat as she saw the limp bodies of men who had already been executed and were now stacked in neat rows against the ”Lady Chester's” rail. A funeral service would be read over them after the last of the hangings, and then their bodies would be consigned forever to the sea. Cathy was just able to restrain herself from rus.h.i.+ng over to the corpses and examining every face. After all, if Jon were among them she could not help him now, and if he wasn't speed was of the essence!
”Oh, you do, miss?” the voice, sounded amused, and Cathy turned her most ferocious glare on its owner.
”Yes, my good man, I do! I am Lady CatherineAldley , and these brigands have been holding me captive! I believe you will find that your captain knows very well who I am, and will be most sorry to learn that I was not immediately conducted to him!”
Under her freezing look the stocky, grizzledbosun's mate visibly wilted.
”Yes, ma'am!” he responded smartly.”If you'll come this way, ma'am!”
Head high, back ramrod straight, Cathy sailed after him through the crowd of sailors who had been detailed to watch the hangings. Halfway across the deck a cannon roared, so close that Cathy felt deafened by the noise.
”What was that in aid of?” she snapped, hurrying her pace so that she was beside her perspiring escort.
”It's a signal to the guards to bring out the next batch of prisoners for hanging. We can do five at a time, my lady!”
The pride in the man's voice sickened Cathy. She had come to know and Like men like those being hanged, andhad discovered that, despite their unsavory occupation, they were really no different from men anywhere. Suddenly she wasdevoudy thankful that the ”Margarita's”crew were safely away. They had become her friends, and it would have pained her to watch them die.
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