For a useful summary of the plot thus far, please consult the Chapter Links before reading.
by kinkys_sis and kinkychic
The Chase
John Rudge worked quickly. The documentation was drawn up with impressive haste, and by the evening of the following day, the staff and workers had been told of the change in circumstances. Everyone appeared delighted with Josh’s promotion. Overseer in Absentia seemed to him to be a grand title. What delighted him most, though, was when Marianna announced that he and his family, which included his daughter Daphne, should move into the main house. The house staff would carry on in their jobs as if nothing had changed.
The next morning, Marianna called everyone together to say her farewells. I could sense her mixed emotions – sadness of leaving her home, yet joy at the prospect of the life ahead. She would take little with her – a few clothes, a brace of pistols, a pair of rapiers, a cavalry sword that had belonged to her father, and finally, her painting of me.
While we were still gathered, I heard the unmistakable sound of a horse galloping towards the plantation. It turned out to be one of John’s workers. He flung himself from the horse, gasping for breath as he blurted out, “There is a British frigate in the harbour. They are asking about the Siren. We do not know what they may have been told, but Mr John says you are not safe here, miss.”
“Captain.”
“Miss Captain.”
It was alarming news, but there was yet more. “Your ship has been sighted to the north of the island,” the messenger said. “She is not alone, there is another ship with her. Mr John signalled your ship, and they sent a boat in. They are waiting for you there.”
I turned to Marianna. “We had best be moving, and quickly. Hornigold might be out searching around the islands.”
Her last words to Josh were, “Look after my property, boss. Keep it safe until I return.” She gently touched his cheek. “I would kiss you, my friend, but you and I know it would be quite scandalous.”
She then turned to Daphne, speaking quietly so that no one else could hear. “We shall not forget you. You brought us pleasure. I would wish you every happiness. Find someone of your own to love – you will make her a wonderful companion.”
***
We saw the Siren as soon as we crested the hill. She was anchored quite close in. The other ship lay further out, and I had no idea who it might be.
Davy was waiting on the beach, waving frantically for us to hurry. We were soon aboard the cutter, surging through the surf towards the Siren.
“Who’s that with us, Davy?” I asked.
“’Tis the Ranger… Charles Vane an’ Calico Jack. Be wantin’ to stay with us until we gets well away from ’ere.”
It would be good to see Jack again. Vane I knew only by reputation – and it was a most unsavoury one. I could not imagine what had brought the two of them together.
For the moment, though, I still had another worry. Had the crew fully accepted that Marianna would come aboard? But the cheers that I heard from the men as we approached were a most welcome sound. It seemed I had nothing to worry about in that regard.
Marianna waved away the chair the deckhands lowered for her. “It was agreed, was it not? I am to be treated no differently than any other.” With that, she took hold of the swinging ladder and hauled herself nimbly over the rail.
It was good once more to feel the Siren’s deck beneath my feet. I asked Davy to see Marianna below, then attended to our situation. The first order of business was to haul anchor and bring the Siren to within hailing distance of the Ranger. Next was the first mate’s report. As we were gathering headway, I asked how the ships had come to be in consort.
“We were rounding the headland of one of the outer islands when we saw her beating towards us,” Jensen said. “I knew it was the Ranger that I had last seen in New Providence. We could also see another ship about three or four miles astern of her. By the cut of the Ranger’s sails, I knew it was a chase. Running like that could only mean trouble. So I tacked fast and fell in with her.” He went on to tell me that he had recognised Calico Jack, but hadn’t at first known who the other person was, only that he seemed to be acting as captain.
They had successfully evaded the pursuing vessel by running through the shallower channels between the islands, finally anchoring in a small bay in the hope that the other ship would give up – which it appeared to have done. There had been no further sighting of her.
Charles Vane was indeed the captain of the Ranger. The ship had been at New Providence when a large force had attacked, both with ships’ cannon and many marines. Several of the pirate ships had surrendered once they saw the force arrayed against them. Others had fought, suffering much damage and loss of life in the process. It had been chaos. Rackham had fled with Vane to the Ranger, which had managed to make good its escape.
Vane had suggested that he stay with the Siren until her captain was back aboard. The two ships’ combined firepower might be sufficient to deter their hunters.
“One thing I did notice though, Captain,” the mate concluded. “Rackham and Vane clearly are not the best of friends. They seem to disagree on almost everything.”
This hardly came as a surprise. Charles Vane was infamous for his extreme cruelty, often sinking ships with the crew still aboard or a shipment of slaves in the hold after he had taken what he wanted. I wasn’t at all keen on being in league with him. Rackham, on the other hand, was a most amiable fellow, fair to his crew and merciful to his enemies.
We were the larger vessel and better gunned than the Ranger, so, Vane, together with Rackham, paid his respects aboard the Siren. I was somewhat disconcerted to see that Anne Bonny was with them.
Calico Jack looked puzzled as he walked towards me. “I do believe we’ve met before. Wait… you can’t be… you’re the young one that put a sword to my throat. And now here you are. So you’re the famous Captain Bren!” He gave me a bow, “At your service, ma’am.”
Vane, on the other hand, looked amused. “I’d heard the Siren was captained by a woman. But you… you’re just a child.” He glanced at my crew. “What kind of men are you that has a female child leading them?”
I saw the crew stiffen, several reaching for their weapons. Jensen spoke up first. “I should be careful what you say, Mr Vane. You’re a guest aboard the Siren. A little respect might be in order.”
Vane seemed to consider as he glared at the mate, but settled on discretion. “As you say.” He turned to me. “Hornigold may have three or more ships looking for me, but they have split up as they search the different islands. We have no idea where they are.”
So it was an all-out venture to hunt us down. I told Vane about the British frigate on the other side of the island. For one with such a fearsome reputation, I was surprised at how worried he looked.
I thought of our options. Either we could try and hide among the islands, or we could make a run for open waters and hope we weren’t spotted – at least not by the frigate. The Ranger mounted fourteen guns, none very large. We had twenty, but the frigate would be carrying at least twenty-eight. It would be nearly an even match, but we would undoubtedly suffer considerable damage. The one thing we would have in our favour was the Siren’s single twelve-pounder – the very gun we had commandeered the day I first laid eyes on Marianna. Neither the frigate nor any of the other ships would be expecting it.
I didn’t much care for the idea of us getting trapped in a bay or channel by three or four ships. If there was to be a fight, then open waters would give us a better chance of escape.
“We will sail for Antigua,” I decided. “You’re welcome to join us, Vane, but I want one thing understood. If we are intercepted, you will follow my orders. We must act as one force, and that won’t work if each does as he will.”
I thought Vane would explode, but Rackham intervened. “The captain talks sense, Charles. May I suggest we do as she says, for now at least.”
Vane, who still looked like thunder, replied grudgingly, “I hope you know what you’re doing, but be warned, the moment I see any hesitation or what I consider an error of judgement, you’re on your own.”
Whilst the officers were gamming in this way, I had failed to notice that Marianna had come back on deck. It was only as Vane and Rackham turned to leave that I saw the hostile look she was giving Anne. A woman’s instinct must have told her that here was the one I had dallied with. It was Anne who cut through the ice. “You’re a lucky one, that you are, my beauty,’ she said. “An’ you looks like you’ll suit the captain just fine. I knew someone had her heart, and now I see why. God bless you both.”
With that, she offered her hand. I choked at the brazenness of the gesture, and at the steel in my lover’s eyes. I braced for a display of Latin fireworks, but after a moment of stern contemplation, Marianna’s resolve crumbled, and the women fell into one another’s arms.
“Thank you,” Marianna said. “I’m glad I met you, or I might have always wondered.”
It was a stiffening breeze that sped us away from the island. We sailed fairly close, thus reducing our chances of being spotted. The Ranger was off our port side.
Barely half an hour had elapsed when the top lookout shouted. “Sail, starboard beam!” A short pause, then: “Three-master, and she’s heading to intercept!”
The frigate! Having a much taller mainmast, she had spotted us first. The chase was on – a chase we had no chance of winning.
I brought the Siren to within hailing distance of the Ranger. “We cannot outrun her,” I called. “If we stay on this course, she will have all the choices as she gets near, and we shall be reacting to whatever her captain decides, besides being at the mercy of her bow chaser – she could do us a lot of damage with that! I suggest we reduce speed, let her think she is catching us. When I give the signal by dipping our colours, we will each tack and reverse course. Perhaps we shall take her by surprise and sweep down each side of her. She will be beating into the wind. We shall be running before it and double our speed towards her.”
Vane came straight back: “But that’s suicide against a frigate! You’re mad…”
“Vane, you are likely unaware, but I have a twelve-pounder and four eights. The frigate will also be unaware. She will get quite a shock when we open fire. You will maintain sufficient distance from her so as you are able to fire low. Aim for her gun ports. We don’t want our own shot hitting each other.”
A curious scene played out on the deck of the Ranger. A furious argument broke out between Rackham and Vane, and as it continued, the crew began lining up behind Rackham. There was clearly some sort of a showdown taking place.
Minutes later her sails slackened. Clearly, it was Rackham giving the orders. Vane, it seemed, had been overthrown.
Marianna stood behind me as we watched the frigate draw closer. I couldn’t keep myself from worrying about her being on deck as we went into action. But I knew there was no choice. She had to be seen facing the danger along with everyone else. I marvelled at her appearance, every inch the pirate. Like me, she wore two pistols, with a short dagger tucked in her belt and her father’s cavalry sword held loosely at her side. Her beautiful hair was hidden beneath a headscarf.
Our two ships were still running fairly close to each other. I saw Jack raise his hat to me. I sensed the bugger was enjoying his new command and the prospect of the coming battle.
There was a loud crack. The frigate had fired her bow chaser at us, no doubt an order for us to haul in our sails. The shot whistled harmlessly overhead, hitting nothing. He had just played into my hands. He would think we were about to shorten sail and obey his threat when I sent the crew scurrying about the ropes.
A glance told me that Rackham was watching, waiting for my signal. I yelled to Davy, “Dip the flag, Bosun.” I had already told the men they had to tack faster than they had ever done before.
Ranger heeled hard over as she began her turn. A sudden, one-hundred-eighty-degree turn is not an easy manoeuvre. Sail and rope handlers have to be expert at their jobs lest an awful muddle ensue. The Siren heeled the opposite way. The crack of flapping sails sounded like pistol shots. Then we were turning, and now we had to hope we didn’t end up in irons with sails flapping uselessly. That would put us at the mercy of the enemy.
The Siren once again caught the wind, her sails snapped taut, and we flew straight towards the frigate. We were faster than the Ranger, and I prayed we didn’t pull too far ahead. But, even at this distance, I could see Jack gesticulating furiously. The Ranger clearly increased her speed.
Our bow chaser was loaded with chain shot. I hoped Jack’s was as well. I hadn’t thought to tell him. He was watching and waiting for my signal. I waved my cutlass high, before counting to five. “Fire!” I yelled. Both cannons boomed in unison.
Within a heartbeat, I saw the chaos on the frigate’s deck. Men red with blood staggered about. Sails flapped loose where ropes had been severed. The moment of truth was fast approaching.
Our guns had orders to fire the moment they came to bear. The first eight-pounder roared, followed rapidly by the next. It was like a tremendous roll of thunder as gun after gun fired, both ours and the Ranger’s.
The Siren took a massive blow, reeling with the impact. I turned and went to drag Marianna low, but she had already ducked down. Our starboard gunwale exploded, sending lethal slivers of wood flying in all directions. A severed stay flew past my head, cutting one man in half where he stood.
We passed the frigate’s stern. We were clear. A glance told me that Marianna was unharmed before I searched for the Ranger through the billowing smoke. She looked to have taken a lot of damage. Her foremast hung over the side, dragging in the water.
My men acted quickly. Some tended to the wounded, others rushed to get the sails back under control. Rope handlers scurried up the shrouds, pulling fresh lines aloft. We appeared to have got off relatively lightly.
The first mate drew my attention astern. The frigate was already low in the water, and she was sinking fast. The gun captain had done his job well. I had told him to aim the twelve-pounder below our opponent’s waterline. From a range of barely a hundred feet, our shot had smashed through her side.
Marianna assisted the surgeon. She looked badly shaken, but still, she did her part. It hadn’t occurred to me that she had never witnessed the horrors of an engagement at sea. The sight of the dead and the severed limbs could have unnerved anyone.
We turned back and headed for the frigate. Her flag came down as we approached. I ordered the cutters, which were being towed astern, hauled back to the ship. In battle, they were not kept on deck. They would be in the way. Even worse would be the flying splinters if they got hit.
Davy took charge of the rescue mission, picking up the half-drowned navy tars. Others reached the safety of the scramble nets we had dropped down our port side. The frigate didn’t appear to have any boats of her own in the water. They must have been blown to bits.
Our wounded were now all below with the surgeon and Marianna. The dead had been moved aside and covered over. Jensen produced a barrel of rum for mugs to be passed around. I went to survey what damage we had sustained.
The carpenter informed me the damage below decks was fairly light. Only one gun port had taken a direct hit. We had lost one four-pounder, along with the gun crew of four. Other damage was superficial. My ruse had indeed caught the frigate’s captain unawares. She had fired on us, but not in any coordinated manner.
Their captain was dead. The first officer offered me his sword, although it clearly troubled him to be surrendering to a woman.
“Give your oath that there will be no trouble from your men,” I told him. “Then they will be well treated, and the injured will be seen to. I shall deliver your men ashore as soon as it is safe to do so.”
He was obviously surprised. No doubt he knew that Charles Vane would have seen them all dead. In fact, Vane would not have rescued any in the first place. He would have simply sailed away, laughing at their plight as they drowned. The thought reminded me, I was still puzzled as to what had transpired aboard the Ranger.
***
An hour later, we were seated in my cabin. The cook had prepared a hasty meal, but at least it was fresh chicken and vegetables.
Captain Calico Jack was looking rather pleased with himself. “I must say, Captain. It was a fine plan and perfectly executed. Who’d have thought that we could sink a frigate? The king will be mightily irate with us, don’t you think?” He took another swig of his wine.
In answer to my question, he explained how the men of the Ranger had thought my plan was their best option, given the circumstances. Vane had wanted to run, saying they couldn’t take on a frigate. The crew turned against him. A hasty vote branded Vane a coward, and he was ousted. Rackham was unanimously voted as his replacement.
Marianna looked drawn and tired. Her baptism of fire had been a horrifying experience. We had lost eighteen men, the Ranger, twenty-six. But the frigate had fared far worse. One hundred and six had perished, and more would likely succumb to their wounds.
Jack returned to the Ranger. We would remain with her at least until we anchored in Antigua. We needed to seriously consider our future, as Britain would now be out for our blood. It might be that the West Indies were becoming too dangerous for us. Perhaps the great age of piracy was coming to an end.
Alone at last, I took Marianna in my arms. There was no need for words. I simply held her tight.
It was an age before she spoke. “I’m alright, my love. I’m not sure what I expected of a battle. Dead, yes, but so many, and so suddenly. Then I found I drew strength from helping the wounded. The surgeon was ready to send me away, but I insisted he let me help. I intend to ask him to teach me … with your permission, of course.”
She paused, looking searchingly into my face. “Yes, I can still see it,” she went on. “There is a fire in your eyes. I saw how intense it was, almost frightening when we were about to engage the English. I, too, felt it. I cannot find the right words to explain. Perhaps exhilarating, almost – arousing.”
I smiled with relief. It had long concerned me that I experienced such feelings at the prospect of battle. That Marianna did, too, was vindication in a way. “So, my love,” she said. “Do you not think it would be a pity to let this arousal go to waste?”
A fleeting understanding crossed my mind of why Anne Bonny fucked as hard as she did. To the survivor, danger is a spur to passion. Release follows terror, producing an exaltation greater than either, which in Marianna’s case unleashed a wildcat. She mashed her lips against mine. She tore at my clothes. For a grand length of time, we rolled and tussled on my cot in naked abandon. There was fire in her eyes as well as my own, a fire I had not seen before. She even snarled as she brought me to climax, her fingers filling and ramming my cunt. She had to shake herself to calm down.
When release was at last complete, we lay clasped in each other’s arms, lazily recovering our senses. Marianna looked up at me, and seeing the silly, satisfied grin on my face, she said, “Mi querida capitana, do you know how much I love you?”
***
The bosom of the sea rose in gentle swells. The wind drove us swiftly towards our destination. The crew were in high spirits, having put their dead comrades out of their minds, as this was the life we led. I ordered a double ration of rum. The fiddler was already composing a ditty to recount our victory.
Marianna and I went up on deck to catch the evening air. The bosun called for quiet. One man stepped forward. “With your permission, Captain. I am elected to speak.” I nodded my assent. “Today you led us into a battle we thought we would lose, but we followed you. We trusted you, and you won us a victory we thought was impossible. We defied the king’s navy. We sank the fucker… er, begging your pardon, Miss Mary.”
He paused for the bosun to speak. “Let’s be ’earin’ it lads, a roar for the cap’ain!” The noise carried across the water to the Ranger, whose crew replied in kind.
The fiddler struck up a lively tune. He called it The Siren’s Reel, and it soon had the crew clapping and capering about. They pressed in upon Marianna and me, whooping like excited children and calling on us to lead the dance. We had no choice but to oblige. Marianna offered her hand. I took it, and, standing shoulder to shoulder, beaming at one another, we stepped lightly in a fixed circle – the Queen of the Pirates with a queen of my own.
For the moment, we were happy, and we were free. We were also homeless, stateless fugitives. What our next port of call would be, after we had set the frigate’s crew ashore, was a secret known only to heaven.
The End… for now
Historical note: A short time later, Charles Vane, now with another ship, was shipwrecked on an uninhabited island, where he was rescued but recognized. He was taken to Port Royal, Jamaica, and eventually hanged.
Jack (Calico Jack) Rackham, along with Mary Read and Anne Bonny, was also arrested when his ship was trapped in a bay. He was also hanged at Port Royal.
Mary Read died in prison. Anne Bonny’s fate is unknown and has been the subject of much speculation.
***
Afterword from kinkychic:
My sister and I both enjoy seafaring stories, and have books of them from a number of authors.
I wanted to weave some eroticism into a rollicking adventure, and pirates seemed the obvious choice. To test the water (!), I wrote the tavern scene first and asked Eloquent Delinquent what he thought of it as the basis for a story. He enthused over the chapter.
Encouraged, I wrote Chapter One… but then my private circumstances changed, and I seemed to lose the will to write.
Sis acquired DVDs of the complete TV series Black Sails. She got so immersed in the subject that she asked if she could carry on with the story, and soon we were working together. I was reinvigorated, so to speak.
I don’t believe we have ever put so much time into researching our subject. Authenticity was of the utmost importance.
We submitted the story to Juicy Secrets. JetBoy gave it an enthusiastic thumbs-up and passed it (with our blessing) to Jacqueline Jillinghoff for editing. Now came the surprise. She actually owned a copy of the book Under The Black Flag, so not only could she edit, but also raise factual queries.
The fact that she was already enthusiastic about the subject of pirates was the added bonus. An astonishing coincidence!
Between us, I believe we have produced something worthy of being classed as one of the best things we ever wrote.