A Pirate Princess (17 page)

“I know it was not Cori’s fault. There was no one else I could blame for the pain I felt. I hate myself for hurting Cori. There was just nothing I felt I could do to change it,” Marin agreed.

Burke sighed, “Sir, I have to arrest you. This is your last chance to come peaceably.”
              “Just let me die here, alone.”

Burke reached out, taking Marin’s limp arms from the powerful wheel. The prisoner’s eyes were distant, misty, and forlorn. Burke tied him up without a fight in time to see Karoly and Garner dragging Sharlene’s kicking, scre
aming, thrashing body from the captain’s quarters. With the last two prisoners tied they made their way back to
The Heart of Calais
.

Cori stood at the door
with it cracked open barely wide enough to see and hear. Miette raced down the hallway to Cori’s side with a broad grin on her small face, “We won, we won!”

“Is Burke back?” Cori asked in fear.

“Yes, they are taking the last two prisoners to the storage room right now!” She squealed.

Cori opened the door, assuming it
was safe to leave.. She emerged onto the deck just in time to see her father and Sharlene being escorted to the locked room that would be their prison for the next couple months. She lost her strength and sagged wearily to the deck. Cori heard the sound of the storage room swinging open as they entered, then a loud yell from Quain and a scream from Burke. She jumped to her feet as Falco flew out of the storage room and toward Cori with a knife in his hand. Cori screamed in shock, not knowing what to do. Burke was a few inches behind Falco and tackled him barely one second before he reached Cori.

The knife rolled across the floor and Karoly quickly assisted Burke by kicking Falco’s head hard enough to snap a normal man’s neck. Quain helped Karoly by searching Falco for anymore hidden weapons before throwing him
brutally into the storage room, bolting it loudly behind them. Cori raced to Burke’s side. Blood stained his shirt and was leaking brightly onto the deck, “HELP!” She screamed.

Novia, Leala,
Miette, and Acel heard Cori’s panicked voice and raced toward Burke. “Falco…” Burke muttered, holding his side.

“He ha
s been cut,” Cori whispered in alarm. “We must get him to his bed.”

Acel screamed at Davet to get the water and bandages ready as Karoly returned to heave Burke into his arms. Cori took charge, racing to their shared quarters. Burke moaned in pain as they gently lowered him to the bed. “He
’s bleeding badly,” Karoly said as Davet and Quain rushed to his side.

“Will he be alright?” Davet asked Quain.

“I think so,” the ship’s Surgeon and Second Mate whispered in relief. “He is losing a lot of blood and shall be weak for days, but I don’t think Falco punctured any of Burke’s organs. That is the most important thing.”

Over an hour was spent trying to stop Burke’s loss of blood, cleaning the wound,
and bandaging it tightly. The captain of
The Heart of Calais
was in an impalpable amount of pain, vomiting from the throbbing sensation in his side. Cori stood right by Quain and Davet through the process, holding Burke’s hand in her own.

When all was done that could be, Quain and Davet left, asking everyone but Cori to join them
so that Burke could rest. “I shall gladly stay by his side and help him,” Cori whispered through tears, “but Odelia must want to be the one to do it.”

“I doubt it, Mademoiselle,” Garner said shaking his head.

“Acel, please stay with your cousin for one more moment while I fetch her. If a woman loves a man she will do anything for him, this is something Odelia shall
want
to do for Burke,” Cori sobbed. No one had any doubt that Cori was in love with Burke, even the half-conscious captain who was too exhausted to speak.

Cori reached Odelia’s room and knocked boldly. “Come in!” Odelia answered from a full bathtub of water and soap.

“What on Earth are you doing bathing at a time like this?” Cori demanded in shock, “Did no one tell you that Burke has been injured? He’s wounded. It’s critical, Odelia. Perhaps even fatal!”

“Yeah, so what do you want me to do about it?” Odelia scoffed coldly.

“Someone is going to have to stand by Burke’s side for the next several days, assuming he lives that long. It will take him the next month of this journey to fully recover, if he does! Are you not going to be the one to take care of him?” Cori asked as calmly as she could.

Odelia rolled her eyes, “I was seasick all the way here and he never even checked on me. Why should I take care of him now? As long as he lives long enough to marry me then I
am not concerned.”

Cori’s scream was loud enough to alert the whole crew who ran to watch
. “THERE IS A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SEASICKNESS AND A FATAL KNIFE WOUND, ODELIA!” Cori shrieked. “He is in horrible pain! You do not even care. Why? Why do you even want to marry Burke if you do not love him?”

“Why would
I not? He’s rich and titled. Love is not part of that. I deserve the best there is. You are nothing but a pirate- an uneducated, ignorant, insignificant commoner. You do not think Burke loves
you
, do you?” Odelia lashed viciously.

“All I care about is him living, as you should.” Cori replied, lowering her voice to barely more than
a whisper. “Never mind, Odelia. I came to see if you wanted to help Burke. I suppose I’m glad that you don’t care about him, because I do desire to be there for him in his time of need. You just gave me a chance to take care of the man I love.”

With that, Cori turned on her heels and walked through the line of people watching. Odelia’s door slammed behind her and she walked with her chin held high into Burke’s room. Acel nodded at Cori trustingly, and patted her
on the back. “He shall be alright, Corisanda. He’s strong.”

“Yes, I agree. I
’m just worried about him,” she said as tears spilled down her cheeks.

“I have to go. We will have Karoly working to fix
The Beloved Loss
and
The Heart of Calais
. Hopefully we can save your father’s ship,” he said with a sigh.

Cori dismissed him politely, “I understand. Whate
ver you need to do is fine; I shall take care of Burke.”

When the door closed and Cori found
herself alone with Burke once again she dropped her head to her hands in sobs. Burke lay on the bed appearing to sleep. He was awake, hearing her pain but too exhausted to open his eyes or speak. “Oh Burke,” she cried. “I’m so sorry. Please be alright! Life will be hard to live without you once we reach France but at least I would have the hope of running into you occasionally. I don’t know how I could live from day to day if something happened to you.”

The sounds of her sobs lulled him to sleep. The pain was overwhelming but the love he felt from Cori gave him
the strength to recover. All he could think of as he drifted into an unconscious state was that he had to find a way to make Corisanda St. Aubin his wife. The sun was high in the sky and it was time for breakfast but nothing could keep the handsome man from sleep or the woman taking care of him from his side.

Most of the crew took turns sleeping through the day. The repairs needed on
The Heart of Calais
were simple enough that Burke’s crew could handle it without Karoly’s expertise. Karoly and Miette spent the day attacking
The Beloved Loss
to keep it from sinking. By nightfall, he announced to the crew of
The Heart of Calais
that he would be able to save
The Beloved Loss
indeed. Acel came to inform Cori that her father’s ship was in good hands but all she cared about was Burke.

Cori stayed with Burke all day. She funneled soup down his throat, changed his bandages, washed his hair and face with a wet sponge, and whispered to him gently.
“Usted va a estar bien,” Cori would sing softly, “Mi amor te salir adelante.” Although she sung in Spanish and Burke only spoke English, he understood her perfectly. Her words were clear and beautiful to him, “You shall be fine. My love will pull you through.”

By the next day, Burke was strong enough to prop himself up in bed and eat without Cori’s help. She sat by his bed at all times, never leaving for a moment. He smiled at her through his pain and she could not help but cry with relief. Burke wanted to get back to work and being forced to stay still for another few days outraged him. “I have work to do!” He yelled at Acel from his bed.

“We are taking care of everything, you stubborn fool!” Acel screamed back. “Just be still and let Cori take care of you!”

Burke scoffed in irritation, “I’m fine!”

“Yes Burke, you sha
ll be fine. But you aren’t yet! Now listen to your cousin and let me take care of you,” Cori scolded.

“Thank you for your help, Cori. If it was up to Odelia I would be left alone to die,” he chuckled.

“I don’t even want to talk about her,” Cori fussed in anger.

Three days after the attack,
The Beloved Loss
was repaired enough to move and Burke Belcourt was standing at the helm of his ship again. “Argentina, here we come!” he whooped in joy.

“What are we
doing after we return these children?” Karoly asked.

“We will swing back by Cuba and drop off
Guillermo and Novia. Then we shall sail to France like a bolt of lightning. I hope to be back on French soil two months from today,” he confidently challenged.

“Do you want me to sail
The Beloved Loss
behind you, Burke?” Acel asked in preparation.

“No. I think I will move Cori to
The Beloved Loss
with Novia and Guillermo so that they can feel comfortable. Plus, I want to keep Odelia’s fangs out of Cori. I shall follow you in
The Beloved Loss
, you take care of my ship,” Burke decided.

Within an hour the ships were sailing at high speed toward the beautiful land of Argentina. “Is it alright if I begin cleaning the boat?” Cori asked Burke from the helm.

“Why don’t you let Novia…” he began, being cut off instantly.

“No, I
have always cleaned this ship. Until we sell it, it is mine to take care of. Alright?” Cori begged.

“Alright, Mademoiselle.
Anything you wish is my command.” He chuckled in honesty.

The two spent every free moment together. They sat together at dinner, talked throughout the day, and danced together in the evenings. The week seemed to fly by joyously and they
arrived in Argentina with time to spare. They waved a white flag of surrender all the way to the shore where angry parents stood screaming and waving swords. However, the weapons were thrown down immediately when their babies ran off the ship and into their mother’s arms unharmed.

No eyes were dry aboard
The Beloved Loss
or
The Heart of Calais
, none except those of the prisoners who sat in a storage room fuming in anger. Likewise, Odelia only thought they were wasting time by not going straight to France. She most certainly didn’t swell her beautiful eyes shut by crying.

The oversized
crew was invited to stay for a meal in Argentina in appreciation for returning the children. The hosts sat everyone on the beach. Lucky for Karoly, Leala sat alone watching Miette talk to Cori a few yards away. He approached her sternly, not letting her shoo him away this time. “What do you want, you over-sized brute?” Leala demanded.

“You,” was his short reply.

“Well, that is out of the question!” She denied.

Karoly rolled his eyes, “Let’
s get something straight between us, Leala. You have always meant the world to me. Yes, I might have flirted with a few girls years ago before I knew you were pregnant with Miette but you are the only one who has ever held my heart. I want you to marry me. Think about it.”

He walked briskly away, leaving Leala with her mouth open. Several hours later the crew began boarding
again. “Burke, I think we should trade ships for a few days,” Acel said unexpectedly before leaving Argentina.

“Why?” Burke demanded in disagreement.

Acel shrugged, “There’s something that seems to be wrong in the steering. Karoly says he can fix it but he needs you around to explain the problem and I don’t know
The Heart of Calais
like you do. It shouldn’t take more than a day or two, at the most.”

Burke grunted in response
but agreed that it had to be done. With Acel aboard
The Beloved Loss,
Cori was not nearly as giddy. “Don’t worry, he’ll be back soon!” Acel chuckled.

“Oh, it’
s fine,” she tried to smile. “I need to get accustomed to being away from him. I keep reminding myself that I’ll never see him again once we get to France!”

“Maybe you sha
ll, Mademoiselle. Burke hates Odelia and will be trying to find a way out of the marriage unceasingly. He just doesn’t have much time once we return. If he’s able to cancel the union, would you marry him?” He asked in amusement.

Cori blushed, “Oh, I don’
t know. I think Burke cares about me, but not enough to marry me or anything. He would prefer to spend the rest of his life a bachelor, not married to someone like me. Besides, I want nothing to do with pirates after this trip.”

Acel assumed she was talking about Burke running into pirates occasionally on his trade routes. He shrugged it off, wishing he could explain to her that the chance of meeting pirates was slim and when
they did the pirates were typically too afraid of Burke to try and attack. Plus, if she was that scared of pirates she could always stay in Calais.

Acel knew that the woman who married Burke would
be the Countess of Calais; plenty could keep her busy at home until Burke returned.
Burke loves the sea and his dream is to continue sailing as long as he can, but if he is willing to give it up for Odelia then he sure would for Cori!
He surmised.

Broaching the subject again, Ace
l prompted further. “If you don’t like pirates you can stay in Calais. Burke has a huge home there; you shall love it. He might even give up the trading business altogether and stay home with you if you promise him a few children.”

Cori giggled, “Children? Burke wants children?”

Acel chuckled in agreement, “Yes, he always said that he wanted to remain a bachelor for life because not many women were able to strike his fancy. Children, on the other hand, Burke loves.”

“And how does he plan to have children without a wife to take care of them, pray tell?” Cori playfully asked with her hands on her hips.

“Who knows with Burke, but let me tell you something. When Burke Landis Belcourt sets his sights on something
, or someone
, he finds a way to get it. And he has his sights set on you, Mademoiselle Corisanda. He wanted to shoot me, his favorite cousin, for making him trade ships! Every second away from you is hard on him. I can tell that he loves you. Do you realize what a big deal that is?” Acel questioned protectively.

Cori s
ighed, “If Burke truly loves me then yes I do know that it is a big deal. I cannot think of one thing better in this world than to marry him, Acel.”

“So you love him too?”

“Oh yes, with all of my heart. I just don’t think there’s anything that can be done about it. Odelia’s going to marry Burke, whether we like it or not,” Cori finished, feeling extremely sad again. “Please don’t tell Burke how I feel though. It will just embarrass me worse when Odelia marries him. I’m going to get back to work.”

“Burke, darling! I’m so glad you decided to come back to
The Heart of Calais
and make that commoner cousin of yours sail that old, beaten up pirate ship! I missed you,” Odelia cooed.

“I
didn’t hope to be here. I would rather be there.”

“But you love
The Heart of Calais
!”             

“Yes, but I love a woman on
The Beloved Loss.
” Burke was not a person to lie or sugarcoat his answers. “I love Cori, Odelia. And I’m going to marry her. When we get back to France you need to tell your father that I’m not the man who took your innocence. You need to track down whoever did and marry him. Not me.”

Odelia’s face turned as red as blood, her mouth dropped open,
her bottom lip quivered, and her hands formed into fists. She stood silent for a moment then turned and ran from the helm to her quarters below deck.

He is going to regret this. Oh, he is going to regret this. What can I do?
She wondered, storming around the room.
I have to think of something that will teach them not to mess with Odelia Vadeboncour! That witch, Corisanda, needs to learn that she’s nothing compared to me and Burke’s title and money will be mine, whether he likes it or not!

She paced around her small quarte
rs, raging about Cori and Burke until she was blue in the face. Her door opened cautiously with a quiet squeak and Miette walked in meakly, “Lady Odelia?”

“WHAT?!”
Odelia screamed violently.

“Mother wants me to ask if you need a bath
now?” Miette asked in trepidation.

Odelia scoffed, “No! What I need is for Corisanda St. Aubin to marry some other man and leave mine alone!”

“Oh, Mademoiselle Corisanda is a very nice woman. She didn’t deserve to be put through marrying someone she didn’t love, like Falco. Mother says that Burke and Cori deserve each other.” Miette said, bravely trying to protect Cori.

“Miette, you stupid girl!
You make no sense. What are you talking about? Who on Earth is Falco?” Odelia said, rolling her eyes.

“Falco was the Quartermaster on
The Beloved Loss.
He was supposed to marry Mademoiselle Corisanda and inherit
The Beloved Loss
from Captain Marin. I saw them load him into the storage room with the others. He’s very handsome, indeed. Did you see him too?” Miette asked.

“I don’t think so. What does he look like?” Odelia questioned curiously.

“Oh, he’s tall and broad like Monsieur Burke! He has short blond hair. Burke’s longer, dark brown hair is more appealing in my opinion, but Falco is undeniably attractive. Something about him terrifies me though. It’s definitely well that someone sweet and beautiful like Mademoiselle Corisanda shall not have to marry him!” Miette explained, as she laid out Odelia’s night gown, hair brush, and lavender soap.

Odelia was silent for a long moment. “Hurry with my bathwater,
but put away that night gown. Lay out the lavender lacey one instead.”

“Alright, Lady Odelia.
Call when you need me to dry you off,” Miette answered.

“Before you leave, I have one more question.” Odelia prattled.

“Yes, Lady Odelia?” Miette asked.

“How many prisoners do we have, total?”

Miette counted on her fingers for a moment, “We had seven, but Burke said that two of them are allowed to wander the boat and will be released in France. They get to sleep on the deck and aren’t tied up in the storage room with the others, so I don’t know if you would count them as prisoners or not. Laron and Yvet,
that’s their names
, are both very nice. So I guess that leaves five prisoners. They’re keeping the captain of
The Beloved Loss,
Marin St. Aubin, separate from the rest. The other four are in the first storage room. Why?”

“Just wondering,” Odelia said with a smile.

Miette left quickly before Odelia could ask anything else.
Dealing with a crazy woman like Lady Odelia would drive any man insane!
Miette thought as she walked down the hallway, pitying Burke.

The night was dark and almost everyone slumbered soundly aboard both ships. One small woman with blonde hair, light blue eyes, pale skin, and a deceitful plan crept quietly from her own quarters to the captain’s cabin at the end of the hallway. She knocked lightly, and Burke ordered sleepily for whoever it was to “Come in.”

Odelia closed the door behind her and approached Burke in a tight fitting lavender colored night gown. “What do you want Odelia?”

“You, Burke. I want to marry you, you know that. Why do you not love me?” She asked seductively as she sat on the edge of his bed.

“Odelia, don’
t be silly. Leave me in peace, I’m tired.” Burke scolded.

Odelia stood up and walked around Burke’s room slowly, speaking to Burke in low tones. “I would make a good wife,” she whispered as she ran her fingers over Burke’s dresser. “Men would die to trade you places. I
am beautiful, educated, classy…” she continued as she scanned the items in his chairs. She crossed to Burke’s small luncheon table that he typically used for card games or meetings with his crew, “I would be on your arm at every social gathering and we would look grand together.”

“What doe
s that matter if I don’t love you? And you don’t love me, I am not stupid, Odelia. You love my money and my title. There are a few men in France wealthier than I, like King Louis XIV or his brother, Phillipe! He is the Duke of Orleans. Go after him,” Burke begged.