Corsets & Crossbones (18 page)

“Tell me where the map leads,” he told her dangerously.  His voice was edging on madness. 

Brooke’s eyes narrowed as she felt a sudden surge of adrenaline course through her veins.

“No,” she told him firmly.

Without warning, Sutherland slapped her face with the back of his hand.  Brooke’s head buzzed and her cheek throbbed, but she pulled her face back up to look Sutherland back in the eyes.  Her eyes narrowed, but it was harder to keep her balance.

“I said
tell me where the map leads
,” he told her through gritted teeth.

“
No
,” she replied.

This time, Sutherland’s slap was harder, causing Brooke to lose her footing.  Her body hit the wooden floor with a thud.  Again, her head felt light, the back of her eyes burned, and she sensed a metallic taste of blood forming in her mouth.  She struggled to breathe, still reeling from when his fingers gripped her throat, and she stayed where she was for a moment.  She could feel his eyes burning in her back, but she would not let him see her submit to him.  She flattened her hands on the deck and pushed herself up, but a sudden slam in her ribcage pushed her down and caused her to cry out.

“This is just the beginning,” his voice whispered harshly in her ear.  She didn’t need to look at him to know he was kneeling besides her.  “Maybe an hour with Diablette’s crew will get you to talk, hmm?”  He got up and turned.  “Maria, take this woman to the brig.  Introduce her to the crew.”  He turned back to look at Brooke who was attempting to push herself up again.  He knelt down and took a chunk of her hair within his hand, and pulled.  She cried as he pulled her up so that she was looking at him.  “One more chance, wench.”

The blood had seeped into her mouth now, and Brooke’s head was so light that her thoughts were hazy.  Before she fully comprehended what she was doing, Brooke Cunningham spit in Sutherland’s face.  Her saliva mixed with her blood decorated his face now.  This sight amused Brooke so much that when he slapped her again, she smiled.

When her body hit the ground, she was immediately pulled up harshly by two women from Diablette’s crew, both of whom seemed to be of the same Spanish descent as their captain.

“Let’s go princess,” the one on her left said.

“Who is this broad?” Kenneth asked as Charlie and Diablette made their way on board.  His blue eyes were squinted and his head was cocked to the side, studying the strange woman that boarded the ship.  He knew right off something was off about her; the way Charlie was so tense, the way his brow was furrowed.  He glanced back at the woman who seemed to be incredibly confident with her hands on her hips and an arrogant smirk on her face.  Kenneth decided after careful scrutinizing that he did not like her.

“My name is Captain Esmeralda
Diablette,” the woman said, placing a hand over her chest. 

Kenneth’s eyes widened in realization.

“You’re the Spanish wench,” he said.  He glanced over at Charlie once again, his brow pushed together.  “What is she doin’ here, Charlie?” he asked.  “I didn’t know she was to be aboard.”

“She’s only going to be here temporarily,” Charlie explained
in a tight voice.

“Where is Brooke?” the old man asked, placing his hands on his hips again in a no-nonsense way. 

“That is the reason this…
woman
is here,” Charlie said, struggling to find the correct word to describe the woman next to him without offending her.  He knew that he was putty in her hands until Brooke was safe.  “We are to lead her to the treasure and she is to return Brooke to us.”

Kenneth’s mouth dropped in surprise.

“That was my initial reaction, Ken,” Charlie told the old man.  He started to walk over to the nearby helm and took the wheel in his hand.  He glanced at Diablette.  “Just because I can lead you to the island where the treasure rests does not mean I can lead you to the particular place where it is.”

“Oh, Charlie,”
Diablette tutted, shaking her head.  “You are always one step behind.”  She walked over to him and pulled out an old, folded piece of parchment.  “This will tell me the exact location of the treasure.”

“Why do you need me then, if you’ve got a map for yourself?” Charlie asked with agitation.  He was currently waiting for his new crew to lift the anchor and get the sails in order before they could officially leave
Torro, and his impatience made his waiting seem longer.

Diablette
held the parchment in her hands, but showed Charlie the contents.

“This is not a map,” she told him.  “This is a riddle, and you are going to help me figure it out.”

Charlie smirked.  “Thought you were smarter than that,” he chided.  His expression turned serious after a moment, and his eyes darkened.  “Where did you happen upon that particular piece of parchment there?”

Diablette
smiled coyly at him.  “Wouldn’t you like to know?” she said, waving it in the air tauntingly.  She pulled it close so she could read it herself.  “I have connections who have had this parchment in their family for years.”

“So you have a partner in your little scheme?” Charlie asked her as Kenneth nodded at him, signaling that the ship was ready to set sail.  “Don’t you know how dangerous that is?”

“I was never the one who had a problem with trust, Charlie,” she told him, looking into his eyes.

“That’s right,” Charlie said, glancing up at the sky.  “You have God on your side, don’t you?”

Once Brooke was in the brig, three other women came up so now five members of Diablette’s crew surrounded the small cage.  One had a coral garment in her arms.  She was tall and incredibly intimidating; her dark eyes were narrowed and her full lips were thrust into a scowl as she looked upon Brooke. 

“Orders,
Nerita?” Maria asked, her hands on her hips, glancing at the taller woman.

“Our highly esteemed guest wants her dressed properly; the way a woman of her stature should be dressed,”
Nerita, the first mate, replied.  She threw the dress at Brooke, who caught it dumbly in her arms.

Brooke looked down at the dress, still not comprehending that they wanted her to get into it at that moment.  The crew said nothing; they simply looked at
Nerita, waiting to follow her orders.  The first mate raised her brow, crossing her arms over her chest.  Nerita was excellent at communication because she knew how to get her point across without actually saying anything.  Her expressions were always sharp, and when she wanted, they revealed what she was thinking, feeling, or ordering.

“Do not be so modest, princess,” Maria taunted.  “It is not like we have never seen these things before.”

The crew laughed at Maria’s joke while Brooke chewed her lip and looked down at the gown.  She could barely stand, let alone move in the clothes she was wearing.  Did they really believe she would be able to get into a dress that required a corset?  She looked up at Nerita, who kept her firm gaze on the younger girl.  Brooke realized that she had no choice, and slowly began to remove her clothing.  She winced as she had to bend down to slide off the breeches and pull of the boots, as well as when she had to reach up to take off her shirt.  She could hear a few of the women watching her giggle as they looked upon her naked form.  Even though she willed it not to happen, she felt her face start to flush from all of the unwanted attention.  Finally, after what seemed like an hour, Brooke was fully covered; the only thing that needed to be done was to tighten the corset. 

“Let me, princess,” Maria offered, stepping in the brig and turning Brooke around.  Her fingers worked quickly, and she made sure she tied the dress as tight as she possibly could.  At one point, Brooke let out a sharp, silent gasp at the pain it had inflicted upon her. 

When Maria was finished, Brooke nervously curled an errand strand of hair behind her ear, looking down at her feet.  She could feel the women’s eyes upon her, and she hated to admit it, but it made her feel subconscious and anxious.  Stealing a glance, Brooke noticed Nerita was still looking at her with that poignant stare of hers, wondering what to do next.

“You have one hour,”
Nerita finally told Brooke.  “I want you to think long and hard on this matter.  Is the protection of this treasure really so important that you would go through torture?  Do you really believe that Charlie Colt, if he was in your position, would do the same for you?”

“I do,” Brooke said firmly, finally looking
Nerita in her eyes.

“I did not ask you to answer the question,”
Nerita said, caught slightly off guard at Brooke’s remark.

“Well, I did,” Brooke said.  Her breathing was much harder now; she had to breathe deeper in the corset to accumulate a regular breath of air.  “I would lay down my life for Charlie Colt and I know that he would do the same for me.  How many of your crewmates can you say the same for?”

Nerita did not answer Brooke, but her eyes got darker.  She placed her index finger in the sky and said, “One hour.”  The crew began to disperse until it was only Nerita left, closing and locking the brig door.  She looked at Brooke long and hard.  “You better think about this, missy.  You are going through all this pain when all he has to do is sail his ship to where the map tells him to.  You better be sure this is worth it.”

With that,
Nerita spun around and soon, Brooke was left by herself.  She sighed, and eased in a sitting position, cringing the whole way down.  She rested her head on the wall behind her and let out a sigh. 

“This is worth it,” she told herself, and then began to repeat it like a mantra.  “This is worth it, this is worth it,
this is worth it.”

It had been two excruciatingly long days before the island they were looking for came into sight.  Charlie Colt knew he could not harm Diablette for if he did, Brooke would certainly be harmed in return.  He had to feed her, and give her beverages, but when it came to a place to sleep, he sent her to the brig with a guard continuously watching her.  He hated the way she paced up and down his ship, ordering him around as if she was in charge of his vessel.  Time would pass and his thoughts would go to the young woman who was following in the ship about a half a day behind them.  There were times when he would walk to the back of his ship just so he could catch a glimpse of said ship.  He never saw her on deck, but the fact that he knew she was there brought him some comfort.  However, he would make good on his word if he found that Brooke was harmed in any way.

“Land ho!” a voice cried from the crow’s nest.

Immediately, the Spaniard rushed to the front of the ship, grabbing the rail and leaning forward.  Indeed, the island was slowly coming into view.  A smile crawled onto her face as excitement coursed through her veins.  She was so close… so close.

When they were close enough to anchor,
Diablette sauntered over to the helm of the ship, where Charlie was just easing the ship into shallow water.  He looked at the excitement etched on her face, and raised his brow and pursed his lips.  What did she want?  His crew was extracting the rowboats from the ship while a portion of them were preparing to anchor.  Soon, they would be on this island and within reach of the treasure.  All they had to do was solve the riddle Diablette had showed him, find the treasure, and then Brooke would be safely returned to him.

He finally cast his gaze on the intended island himself, and paused as his eyes drew out the familiar curves, the unique formation,
the interesting way the trees were placed.  This was the island she so desperately wanted to go to?  He perked his brow as his eyes swept back to her, studying her face.  There was no worry, no hesitation.  If he had to guess, he would wager that she did not have a clue that this island was infamous due to its unprecedented danger.  Perhaps that ignorance might work in his favor.

“Your crew is to remain on your ship,”
Diablette said, cocking her head confidently to the side.  Charlie was about to protest – he had to make it look as though this was nothing but an ordinary island - when Diablette shook her head.  “Uh uh uh,” she chided.  “I am at the desired island.  You are disposable to me now.”

He hid a triumphant smirk.  He would not risk his crew on this island, not if he could help it.  Now, instead of worrying about a group of people, he could focus solely on Brooke and ensuring her safety.

“How do you know I’ve led you to the correct island?” Charlie asked with a raised brow.

“I do not believe you would risk your bonny lass’s life,”
Diablette informed him.  Her gaze turned firm.  “Your crew stays on board.  If I see one of them trailing behind us, I will shoot him, I will shoot Brooke, and then I will shoot you.  Are we clear?”

Charlie smiled flatly.  “Crystal,” he murmured.

“
Bien
,” she said with a smile. 

The two walked over to the side of the ship.  The rowboat was in the ocean, set and ready to go.

“After you,” Charlie said, extravagantly motioning to the side of the ship with his arms.

“You always were a gentleman,”
Diablette muttered as she threw her leg over the side of the ship and proceeded to make her way down the side until she was in the boat.

Charlie gave his orders to Kenneth and then proceeded to follow her down.  He sighed, clenching and unclenching his jaw.  Over the past two days, Charlie had reached and exceeded his limit with patience, anger, and worry.  He hoped, by the end of the day, that those levels would decrease dramatically.  Once he reached the smaller boat, he took his seat across from her and proceeded to row to the island.  The ride was silent and tense;
Diablette glanced at her nails, leaning back and exuding confidence while Charlie just kept his eyes on the island.

Once they reached the
ir destination , Charlie docked and the two got out of the boat.  Diablette pulled out her piece of parchment while Charlie turned to look back out at sea.  His eyes were glued to the horizon, more specifically on the ship that was slowly making its way toward the island.  He wasn’t quite sure how to feel about his current situation.  His heart skipped a beat, knowing he would be able to see Brooke relatively soon, and that she would be somewhat safe now that they would be reunited.  However, he did not want her to get hurt any more than she already was.  There was no way of knowing if Diablette’s crew hurt her while she was trapped on board, but he knew how hostile the pirate captain could get if anything stood in her way, and he did not want her to be there when the Spaniard lashed out.  Ultimately, Charlie would rather have her with him, because under these circumstances, she would be slightly safer with him than with Diablette’s crew, especially since he knew about this island while everyone else did not.

Diablette
turned to look at Charlie and she sauntered back down into the sand.

“Now, now Charlie,” she said, wrapping her arm around his shoulder. 
“In good time.  In good time.”

Charlie shrugged
Diablette’s arm off his shoulder, giving her a glare.  She smiled nonetheless and handed Charlie the piece of parchment.  He made sure to stand perfectly still.

“Can you help figure this out Charlie?” she asked, mocking
a plead.  “This riddle doesn’t make any sense.”

“Riddles were never my thing,” Charlie explained
, his shoulders stiff, , crossing his arms over his chest.  “Brooke was better at solving them, you see, but since she is not yet here, I doubt we are going to make any headway.”

“You haven’t even glanced at it,” she said, holding the paper in front of Charlie.  Charlie merely looked past the parchment, as though his eyes were glued to the upcoming ship, keeping his mouth shut.  “Oh fine,” she said with a sigh, refolding the parchment and slipping it back in her pocket.  “Have it your way.  We shall wait for your bonny lass.”  She leaned in so that her long nose nearly grazed Charlie’s cheek.  She smiled coyly as she watched his jaw clench, feeling her breath on his face.  “I’d say we have a couple of hours before the ship arrives,” she
said, her voice husky.  “I have an idea of what we could do to pass the time…”

Charlie tilted his head so that his eyes locked with hers in a glare, and then turned back to the sea.  His eyes said everything his lips did not.

“Oh Charlie, you used to be so much fun,” Diablette chided, following his gaze out to the sea.  “We used to have some good times, eh?”  She began to pace, as was her nature, and he hoped, more than anything, it would draw the inhabitants out.

“No,” Charlie said.  “No.”

“What happened to you?” she asked, turning to look at his sharp profile once again.  “It’s this stupid bitch, is it not?”

“I swear, Esmeralda, I have never once raised my hand to a woman, but currently, you are not acting like a woman, and you have managed to push my patience and temper past their limits, so, and I mean this with every bloody inch of my body, I swear that if you make another comment about her in that demeaning way again, I will hurt you,” Charlie said, his voice dangerously low.

Diablette knew he was serious about carrying out his threat.  She bit her lip to bite back a reply and decided to take a seat in the sand.  She pulled out the parchment and began to study it as Charlie stepped away from her and toward the sea.  The water licked the toes of his boots, and there he stood until the ship anchored.  His eyes tried to seek out Brooke, but they were still too far away for him to make out her form.  There were three boats coming to the island, and Charlie began to shift his weight in anticipation of seeing Brooke once again.  Diablette stood up and went to stand up next Charlie, a subtle smirk on her face.  What Charlie did see baffled him to no end; there, sitting at the head of the center boat, was none other than Lord David Sutherland of the East India Company.

Diablette
glanced up at Charlie to see his reaction.  Her smirk deepened seeing the surprised look on his face.

“Captain Charlie Colt,” she said, articulating her words precisely to sound more educated.  “I would like to introduce you to my close friend, Lord David Sutherland.  I think you know him; he’s in charge of the East India Company.”

“What the hell is he doing here?” Charlie asked, not taking his eyes off the old man.

“He’s my partner that I was telling you about,”
Diablette told him.  “After your refusal, we crossed paths.”

“And to save your neck from the noose, you offered up a share of the treasure,” Charlie stated, guessing the rest.

“You always did oversimplify things,” Diablette muttered, rolling her eyes.  “But yes, that was how it worked in, what’s the expression, in a nutshell?”  She shook her head.  “No matter.  We both needed each other.  The piece of parchment I was showing you had been in his family for years.  And he also had connections in getting the map.”

“Then what did he want you for?” Charlie asked her.  “You have nothing to offer him.”

“A woman has
everything
to offer a man,” Diablette told Charlie as she leaned closer to him.

“Something that has been offered countless times loses its value,” Charlie
said in a low voice.

“No matter how many times a thing is offered, it holds value to those who value it,”
Diablette said, placing her hands on her hips and looking back out at sea.  “Ah, look.  They’ve reached the shore.”

Charlie looked back out at the boats.  About a dozen women hopped out of the three boats.  Sutherland narrowed his eyes at Charlie, but a smooth grin plastered his face as he got out of the boat.  He turned quickly back in the boat, and after a moment, seemed to have pulled out something.  Charlie’s mouth dropped open when he realized what Sutherland had removed from
it.

It was Brooke.  Charlie’s eyes darkened dramatically when he saw her sorry state.  Her blonde hair was dirty, matted with dry flecks of blood.  Her face was not tan as it used to be because the color was camouflaged with black and blue bruises.  She seemed to be wearing a gown, complete with a corset, but it seemed to be ripped, dirty, and damaged.  She could barely keep herself up right; her body was leaning on Sutherland for support. 

“Brooke, love?” Charlie asked in a gentle tone.

Brooke’s eyes widened in the full capacity that they could.

“Charlie?” she managed to say.  “Charlie, is that really you?”

Brooke started to walk toward Charlie when Sutherland grabbed her arm and pulled her back.  Brooke winced at the pain as the man yanked her back into his arms, a smile eclipsing his face.

“Sutherland, I swear to the bloody Lord in the sky-“

“Charlie, your threats mean nothing to me,” Sutherland told the younger man.  “Obviously you can see that we have you and the lady surrounded.  Any move that I find relatively threatening will mean the end of you and her.”

“Ah, so this is the lass that Charlie is so fond of,” Diablette said, walking up to her.  She glanced at the young woman, her eyes going over every inch of her body, studying her thoroughly.  Finally, her brown eyes climbed back up to Brooke’s face, and after a moment, Diablette reached down into her pocket and pulled out the parchment.  “Charlie tells me that you are quite good at solving riddles.  If you solve this one, we will reach the treasure in due time, and once we find the treasure, you and Charlie are free to leave.  I’m sure Charlie will dress your wounds.”

Brooke bit her chapped lips and swallowed but said nothing.  Her eyes scanned the paper that
Diablette thrust in front of her face, but she made no move to explain the context of the riddles.

Sutherland chuckled deeply, and moved away from Brooke so that she nearly lost her balance.

“Do you know why she is damaged the way she is?” Sutherland asked, stepping towards Charlie.

“I know that despite any consequence, I will kill you and anyone who has touched her,” Charlie said darkly, his eyes never wavering.

“Actually, that is incorrect,” Sutherland said, shaking his head.  “The reason she is so badly battered is because she refused to tell us where the map leads.”

“I thought that was my job,” Charlie said, pushing his brow together.

“No offense, Colt,” Sutherland said, placing his arms behind his back, “but I didn’t exactly trust you to lead us to the correct place.”

“Well, I didn’t really have a choice,” Charlie barked.

“Your loyalty baffles me,” Sutherland stated, and then strolled back over to Brooke.  “But what surprises me more is her loyalty to you, that she would put herself through this pain in case you
weren’t
leading us in the correct direction.”  He turned to look back at Charlie but stood near Brooke.  “Tell her to solve this riddle Charlie.  The sooner we accumulate this treasure, the sooner you and she can run off together.”

Charlie crossed his arms over his chest, and cocked his head to the side.

“Well, forgive me if I don’t necessarily trust you,” Charlie said.  “I do not think you will release us that easily.”