Authors: Lynelle Clark
bed pulling at the restrains, she tried to move, but could
not.
'You finally decided to join us?'
A stern, angry voice spoke directly in front of her.
She lifted her head and looked straight at him, still in a
daze. Her head wanted to split in two. The agony of the last
two days, without food or water followed by the blow
against her head felt like torture. His menacing eyes
piercing through her made her fearful of the man dressed in
black. His appearance was perfect. Dark hair tucked behind
an ear and the meanest look she had ever seen on him. She
trembled with fear, yet was happy she was back.
She could only stare at him as she wet her drying
lips, reliving the past twenty-four hours.
She had quickly realised that she had made a
mistake once she stepped on board of the
Heerengardt.
The captain was not who he said he was and there was a look of
utter disgust on his face, which made his face repulsive.
When he spoke to his crew, she immediately
thought of the cruel Captain Breno who was cruel to his
crew twenty years ago. He was abrupt and rude as he
barked at everyone coming into his view. Rosa-Lee stayed
in the background, making sure she did not attract any
attention.
She followed him to the captain's cabin. He flung
the D.E.I.C ensign away from him, cursing it. When his
second-in-command appeared, the conversation gave it all
away. She immediately ducked away into the shadows and
kept quiet, listening to the angry conversation.
'Captain, did you find the man you were looking
for?'
'No, dammit! It was another dead end. I will find
that bastard and kill him.' He gulped the contents in the
glass on the table and walked away, the second following
him, shutting the door behind him. They muttered angry
words, words she could not understand.
Sunlight drenched the cabin, streaming in from
large windows. When the men left the cabin she stepped
out of the shadows and heard a sound from the closet
behind her. She went to investigate. Before she opened the
door she had her knife in her hand. A uniformed man lay
inside, tied and gagged. His grey-blond hair was
dishevelled and an old wound split one cheek. Blood
crusted the collar of his white shirt.
She introduced herself to him in whisper. When she
removed the gag, the man said that he was the real Captain
du Toit and pirates had captured the ship. She could do
nothing for him. They both agreed that she must not do
anything to attract their attention since they already had
killed his second-in-command. She had replaced the gag
after assuring him that she would do what she could to
rescue him. She crept out in the empty passageway and was
ready to go the main stairs when she heard footsteps and
she was forced to run down the next set of stairs. She then
went out seeking protection in the lower deck where
Roberto found her a day later.
She was fearful of discovery and made sure she was
well hidden. Footsteps and voices filtered through the
upper deck. She could do nothing but wait once again for a
moment to slip away. Her situation looked bleak and at
times she had to force herself not to give in to the
overwhelming thoughts of anguish.
At first she was startled when she saw Roberto
unexpectedly, ready to yelp with joy, but he had knocked
her unconscious before she could say anything. Now he
towered above her, mad as hell, clearly not in the mood to
listen.
'Did you for one moment think that I would not
notice that you were gone?' came the clipped words laced
with bottled up anger.
She could not answer him, too frightened of the
man who spoke in a deadly tone. Her tongue still thick
from the lack of water, she could only shake her head,
squeaking.
'Do you want to say something?' He raised a dark
brow.
She nodded her head. Enrico came into sight and
offered her some water, helping her sip it.
'You cost me two days,' Roberto continued.
'Because you want to be a sailor I am going to treat you like
one.'
'Please, Roberto, I know I am at fault, but listen. I
need to tell you something,' she said the moment she could
speak again.
'I am not interested in anything you have to say at
the moment. You have placed us all in danger and I cannot
let it pass without punishment.' Before she could react he
barked out, 'Take her to the upper deck.'
'Roberto, what are you going to do?' Pierre asked
fearfully.
'Teach the señorita a lesson.'
'Roberto, I hope you are not serious about doing
what I think you are going to do?' and Pierre gasped in
shock. He was the captain and he ran the ship as he saw fit.
But this. He was taking it too far.
'Yes, exactly.'
'Please, Roberto, I need to tell you something.'
Rosa-Lee tried again, pleading as she struggles against the
restrains, but he was so angry that he was not willing to
listen.
'She is a woman!' Pierre raised his voice to his
captain and he raised a dark brow in question. He only
received warning flashes back from the dark ochre eyes.
'Who disguises herself as a man, so I will treat her
as one,' Roberto seethed. Rosa-Lee was afraid of the man,
shivering at the coldness of his tone, not sure what he was
going to do to her. By the sound of Pierre, it was something
terrible.
Pierre knew this tone. His captain was not to be
dissuaded, and it would be wise to be quiet. But she was a
woman. This could simply not happen.
As they marched up the steps with her body
dangling between Pierre and another sailor, Rosa-Lee tried
to get Pierre's attention.
'Pierre! The other ship was captured, we must help
them…' Her voice broke in fear.
'How do you know this?' he whispered staring at the
rigid back of Captain Roberto who walked with long strides
to the upper deck.
'They are looking for someone. They were
determined to find this man' Her voice was thick with
emotion, swallowing the cries which wanted to escape her
lips. She was scared, hanging between the men like a rag
doll.
Rosa-Lee knew she had to convince them, no matter
what happened to her. 'That is why I hid in the lower deck.
It was not safe there. 'She swallowed when they came in
the sun, looking at Pierre with pleading eyes. 'Please
believe me.' She struggled again against the hands that held
her in iron grips.
Roberto gave the next command the moment they
stepped up onto the upper deck. 'Fasten her to the railing!'
he barked the next order
His men looked at him in horror.
Was their captain
out of his mind?
Surely he would not whip a woman. It was not done, never. Yet they did as they were told, fearing the
captain more at this point.
'Get started.' He spoke through clenched teeth,
looking at the boatswain who had the whip in his hand. The
man looked at him and then at Pierre with beseeching eyes.
It did not matter how hard they were. This was a lady and
you did not treat a lady like that.
'Are you disobeying an order, Pirate?' Roberto
asked stoically, eyebrows raised, his hands on his hips.
Other men moved closer, relieved they were not in the
boatswain's shoes.
'Captain, I never...' The big man's voice faltered as
he watch his captain walked towards Rosa-Lee. Roberto
walked over to her and ripped her shirt from her back,
exposing her soft, silky skin. His heart missed a beat but he
had to continue. He had to be strong and punish her. The
law of the sea requires this.
'Captain, wait. Please listen.' Pierre interrupted,
touching his arm. Roberto looked at him, annoyed, his face
blank.
'She told me something that you need to know,
Captain.' He kept his voice low. He did not want to show
disrespect for the man in front of the crew, but this was
important.
'What is it?'
'Can we step aside? I don't want the crew to hear.'
Roberto kept his eyes on her as they moved away.
Another man also looked at her, the lust in his eyes visible
for everyone to see, if anyone did look his way. But no one
did, the play before them capturing every harden sailor. All
eyes were fixated on the woman and the captain.
'Yes?' Roberto looked at him, then at Rosa-Lee, still
stretched out between the ropes, her soft back exposed in
the sun. She wiggled her wrists but the ropes cut through
the soft skin and red bruises formed. Roberto bit hard down
on his jaw; he could not afford to be soft.
Leaning his head closer to his second-in-command,
Roberto strained to hear as Pierre softly continued.
'The
Heerengardt
was captured. She did not make a
distress call because the men were looking for someone
else. She was hiding, hoping to get away as soon as
possible. She realized she made a mistake. Roberto, you
cannot flog this woman! You will have a mutiny on your
hands. Look at the men.'
At first he did not want to. Seeing the worried eyes
of his friend made him glance around. They barely hid their
angry glares. The woman was still tied against the railing,
struggling to loosen herself from the bonds.
'Then it makes sense what we saw: no guards and
only drunken men.'
'Yes, Roberto. Let her go.'
'Untie her!' he roared. The men sagged with relief.
The boatswain was the first to get to her, and he
untied her. Roberto removed his jacket and wrapped it
around her bare shoulders. As she slumped down, he
caught her before she hit the deck and took her to his grand
cabin.
9
April 05, 1625
We received a letter today that Kayla gave birth to
a healthy son on October 13, 1624.
Rosa-Lee was bouncing with joy since this would
make her an aunt. Chattering around the castle nonstop. It
brought back memories of betrayal and the years of abuse
we had to suffer under Faro. But at the end it worked out
for good. I would never forget that moment when Faro
admitted that Kayla was his daughter, there among every
sailor and slave. Once again I felt disgraced but Cisco
smiled at me as if he sensed my thoughts and I could not
help but to let it go. But still it left a bitter taste in my
mouth. Something I never talked about again.
To hear Rosa-Lee chatter about her new status
made me realise how far we came and that we were still
alive. Enjoying the joy of motherhood and new life.
Faro has paid for his sins.
†††
With her face hidden in his shoulder and her arms
around his neck, Roberto walked down the steps to his