Corsets & Crossbones (25 page)

At that moment, Nora walked out into the backyard and over to the lounging pair.  She opened her mouth to speak, but then shut it quickly.  Her hands were wringing the apron she was wearing, and her brown eyes looked distraught. 

“Brooke, dear, may I speak with you in private?” she asked.

Brooke glanced at Charlie curiously, but he shook his head, indicating that he knew not why Nora would need to speak with just Brooke.

“Oh, you may say whatever you wish to me in front of Charlie,” Brooke said politely, but firmly, turning to look back at the older woman.

Nora sighed, almost as if she expected Brooke to say that.

“
All right,” she said.  “Well, I was at the market today, when I overheard a conversation you should probably hear.  Apparently Governor Radcliffe’s daughter, Fiona, is engaged to marry Joel, the mapmaker you mentioned.  Well, one of the women taking part in this conversation is aunt to a maid in the governor’s mansion, and has overheard many conversations that have taken place there.  The couple to wed is to have an engagement party in a few days’ time.  When the governor asks his daughter what she wants for this special occasion she will say nothing but to have her best mate present at the party and the wedding.”

Brooke’s mouth dropped, and she pushed herself up to a sitting position.

“Oh,” she said finally, completely shocked at what Nora had just told her.  “Well, thank you for telling me, Nora.”

Nora nodded, and dropped her apron so it fell against her body with new wrinkles dimpled in the cloth.  She turned and headed back into the home, and Brooke stood up and stretched.  When she made way to follow Nora into the house, Charlie called, “Where are you going?”

Brooke turned slowly, and found Charlie standing, his hands on his hips and his head cocked to the side.

“Obviously I am going to get ready to head back to Port Royal,” Brooke said with edginess to her voice. 

Charlie shook his head.  “No,” he said firmly.  “You are going to stay right here.”

Brooke’s eyes flamed emerald green and her brow furrowed darkly.

“My two best friends are getting married,” she said slowly.  “Why would I miss their wedding?”

“You have not yet healed,” Charlie told her.  “You still need your rest.”

“We have been here nearly three months, Charlie!” the young woman exclaimed indignantly.  “I believe I am fully rested, thank you very much!”

“I don’t think you seem to grasp the danger that Port Royal holds for you,” Charlie said, his tone becoming defensive.  His chocolate colored eyes darkened, and they narrowed at the woman.  “You are an acquaintance of a pirate, which is punishable by death.  Hell, they may even claim you
are
a pirate for the duration of your stay with me.”

“I do not care how dangerous Port Royal is,” Brooke retorted stubbornly.  “I am going whether you like it or not.”

“No, you are not,” Charlie articulated lowly.

“Really?”
Brooke asked in disbelief, quirking a brow in a challenging manner.  “You are not my father, my brother nor my husband; what makes you think I will not leave?”

“Because I order it,” Charlie stated simply.  Inside, he knew that what he was pulling was absolutely disgraceful, but if it would keep her in New Providence where she was safe and in his watch, then he would pull any card he had to.  “I may not be your father, your brother, or your husband, but I am your captain, and you are obligated to follow my orders.”

Brooke felt like she had just been slapped in the face.  She could not believe that Charlie had stumbled so low that he would use his formal title against her.  She thought they were friends before such formalities but obviously she was wrong.  Her mouth dropped open, and she felt her eyes tear up, not because she could not go, but because Charlie had ordered her not to go.  She looked at Charlie with disbelief, before closing her mouth and nodding.

“Fine,” she said softly.  “Whatever you say,
Captain
.”

With that, she turned and walked back into the house.  Charlie could order her around all he wanted; there was no way she was missing the wedding.  She would be there somehow.    

Early the next morning, while everyone was still asleep, Brooke began to get dressed in the nicest clothing she could possibly find.  While her options were slim at best, she finally decided on an emerald green silk tunic that Charlie let her have a while ago, and black breeches, as she was accustomed to wearing.  She tied her hair up to keep it from falling in her face.  Once she had finished getting ready, she walked down the stairs as quietly as she could, and, after making sure that she was in the clear, she silently slipped out into the night.

Despite Charlie’s order, she was still intent on returning to Port Royal.  With the help of Nora, she decided to leave that morning, well before dawn.  Nora had offered Brooke one of the small boats she and her husband had that was well-stocked and durable.  Upon hearing of Brooke’s lack of expertise in sailing, the two women enlisted Kenneth to go with her as a guide.  He was sworn to absolute secrecy, and after a moment of debating, agreed.  His thoughts on the matter were that while he may suffer a very livid tirade from Charlie, at least Kenneth would know about Brooke’s safety, and be able to inform Charlie of anything he might want to know.  If he chose not to accompany Brooke and something had happened to her, Charlie would never forgive him, and he would never be able to forgive himself.  Over the couple of months of knowing Brooke, he began to view her as the granddaughter he never had, and he’d be damned if he let her go sail the sea without proper supervision.

Brooke met Kenneth at the main dock, where the boat was.  In twenty minutes, the two were off, setting sail from New Providence towards Port Royal, and to the wedding of Joel Donahue and Fiona Radcliffe.

When the sun was high above them, Brooke leaned on the railing of the boat to glance out at the clear, blue water of the Caribbean.  She could see all the way to the floor of the ocean, watching the small fish swim about with amusement.  Her mind wondered from the sea back to New Providence, more specifically to her captain.  She had disobeyed a direct order.  More importantly than that, she had left Charlie without telling him, but what else could she do?  While she cared for the man immensely, even to the extent of leaving her comfortable life on Port Royal to join Charlie at sea, she would not miss arguably the most important day of Joel and Fiona’s life because he told her not to.  She wondered then if he had figured out that she had disobeyed him.  He most certainly would have by now; Charlie was a quick person.  In a way, she was glad not to be there; he had quite a temper, and could get quite hotheaded at times.  She sighed, however, missing his company.  She considered Charlie to be her best friend, no matter what they went through, and now that he had entered her life and they had spent so much time together, she did not remember her life before him.

Brooke was right in her deduction of Charlie when he found out that she had left; he was absolutely livid.  When Nora found out that Charlie found out that Brooke had left, she chastised him for making her choose between following his order and going to her friends’ wedding. 

“What’re ye goin’ to do, then?” Nora asked, crossing her arms over her chest and looking at Charlie expectantly.

“Go after her, of course,” Charlie said.  “I don’t know what they’re going to do to her.”  His chocolate eyes pooled with worry, and he rubbed his chin, deep in thought.  “I can’t believe she disobeyed me.”

“Charlie, ye are her friend,” Nora said, placing a comforting hand on Charlie’s arm.  “Ye can’t order her around; you’re not her father.”

“I’m her captain,” Charlie said defensively, glancing sideways at his aunt.  He did not want to hear another list of everything he was not; he merely wanted to focus on what he was to her.

“Ye are her friend first, Charlie,” Nora said, glancing up at her nephew with a furrowed brow.  “I’ve known her for nearly three months, and I see the way ye look at her.  She means more to you than a normal crew member does.  Hell, if your uncle talked to me the way ye talked to her, I would have taken off just to spite you.”

Charlie sighed, defeated.  He knew that what his aunt was saying was true, but he was still hurt that Brooke had left, despite him telling her not to.  But then again, what right did he have to order her around?

“What if,” he began, but hesitated.  He reached behind his shaggy head and rubbed his hair.  His hands needed something to do, and while one was motioning along with his words, he needed to make use of his other one.  His eyes were drawn down at the floor, anywhere but his aunt’s eyes.  “What if she decides she doesn’t want to come back?”

Nora’s eyes softened and she rubbed her nephew’s arm.

“That’s her choice, Charlie,” she murmured.  “The best thing about friendship, unlike being a captain, a father, or a brother, means there are no obligations.  Well, there are rarely obligations.  Even some marriages are forged due to obligation.  Brooke chooses to be your friend, and that’s all there is to it.”  She narrowed her eyes at Charlie’s lower half of his face, and she brushed her hand over his facial hair, as though he was rubbing it away.  “Now, if you’re goin’ after her, ye better look the part.”

Charlie grinned at his aunt, and rubbed his chin once again.

Brooke and Kenneth arrived in Port Royal around noon on the third day.  When they pulled the boat into the dock, Brooke smiled.  Despite the circumstances, she was happy to see her father and friends again.  Once they descended from the boat, Brooke gave the dock master a shilling and the two started to walk off the dock.

“This is where we part, dear,” Kenneth said, once their feet hit the dirt road. 

“You are leaving?” Brooke asked, somewhat surprised.  Her brow was pushed up and her head was tilted to the side as she gazed upon the older man.

“I’m afraid so,” Kenneth said, his hands on his hips and nodded his affirmation.  “Not the island,
o’course, Charlie would kill me if I didn’t keep an eye on you, but I’m going to stay downtown while you enjoy the wedding and parties and whatever else you need to do.”

Brooke wanted to argue with him, but she did not open her mouth to speak.  Instead, she pulled Kenneth into a tight hug, resting her cheek on his chest.  The older man was caught off-guard by her spontaneous action, but gently wrapped his arms around the young woman.  Brooke leaned back, still engulfing him in her arms, and nodded at him with a smile.  He returned her smile, and nodded back, and then released her.  She bit her lip, but pulled away and began to walk up the dirt road.  After a long moment, she glanced back at Kenneth, who was still standing where she had left him, squinting after her.  She raised her palm and waved goodbye before pulling her focus on the evening.

When she reached her father’s mansion, Brooke felt a surge of happiness come over her.  Despite their tumulus relationship, she still loved her father very much, and knew the reason he became so upset with her was because he loved her and wanted her to have only the best.  But even now, Brooke did not have marriage on her mind.

In all honesty, Brooke had no idea what she was going to do with her life after Joel and Fiona’s wedding.  Obviously her father would want her to remain in Port Royal, marrying into a wealthy, stable family, and having lots of children, preferably little boys, but Brooke now had a taste of the freedom life at sea had offered her, and she did not know if she was ready yet to return to land any time soon.

And what of the dashing Captain Charlie Colt?  Would she return to him and his ship, opting to be a member of his crew once again?  Could she…?  Should she…?  Her feelings for the man were complicated at best, but she did know that her friendship with him had hit a snag because of his arrogant order and her stubborn departure.  She believed that their friendship could be salvaged, at least on her end; she never could stay mad at him for long.  Even now, her feelings of contempt she had for him were already dissipating.  He had those big, brown eyes, that boyish charm smile; somehow, he had managed to crawl under her thick skin, making him completely irresistible to her.

Again, Brooke was appalled at such a thought, and physically shook her head to rid herself of it.  She cleared her throat and knocked on the door as hard as she could without harming her knuckles.  She stepped back, waiting for Jarvis to open the door, shifting her weight back and forth in hopes to stifle her anxiety.

After a moment, the door opened and Jarvis stood there.  When he saw Brooke standing there with her frizzy hair, her dirty face, and her masculine clothing, he nearly collapsed.

“Miss Cunningham?” he asked her in disbelief.

Brooke smiled, nodded, and proceeded to walk inside the house.

“How are you Jarvis?” she asked him.

“Your father is out right now, but I shall call on someone to inform him of your arrival,” he said in his usual dry voice, ignoring her question altogether.  “I assume you are attending the engagement party tonight?  I shall call upon Liz to draw you a bath.”

Brooke looked down to examine herself.  She was quite dirty now that he had mentioned it.

“That would probably be wise,” Brooke agreed and proceeded to make her way up the stairs.

When Liz saw Brooke, she reacted the same way as Jarvis did, save for the fact that she was much more dramatic.  Before she saw Brooke, the maid was busy folding towels and then carrying them to a cupboard.  As luck would have it, Brooke came into view as she was carrying the towels, and Liz was so surprised, the towels went flying out of her hands.

“Oh my, mum!” Liz exclaimed, clamping her palms on both of her cheeks.  “You look horrible!”

Brooke rolled her eyes, giving her maid a dry look.

“Nice to see you as well, Lizzy,” she muttered, crossing her arms over her chest.

Liz ignored Brooke’s retort as she bustled past her mistress, calling the younger maid Beatrice to pick up the towels and resume the task of folding the rest of them and putting them away.  Liz grabbed Brooke’s wrist and yanked her toward the bathing room.

“Jarvis informed me of your abrupt arrival,” Liz said as they walked down the hall.  “I just didn’t expect you to look so… well, you know.”  Liz’s brow shot up in disapproval as she spoke.  “I have already informed Beatrice that you plan to attend the engagement party for Master Donahue and Miss Radcliffe.”  When they were in the bathing room, Liz spun around so she faced Brooke.  “As I’m sure you’re informed of, your father is away on business, but will return in time for the party.  God, you’re a mess; we should start getting you ready now… Beatrice, where
is
the water?!”

For the next several hours, Brooke was cleaned, dried, dressed, brushed, and made up.  She refused powder once again, but this time, she also refused to wear pink, opting, instead, for a soft mint green dress.

“Are you sure you don’t want powder, mum?” Liz asked, looking upon her mistress with doubt.  “You’ve come back with a horrible tan, and don’t even get me started on those spots on your face.  I swear, living with a pirate as a captive has sure changed ye some.”

Brooke rolled her eyes and did not bother to correct her status when it came to her companionship with Charlie.  People were going to believe what they wanted to believe; there was no changing it.

“Your father will meet you at the party,” Liz continued.  “He has been informed of your arrival and expects you to look your best for the number of suitors that will also be attending.  Are you absolutely sure you wish not to have any powder?”

“Liz, can you please just give me a moment to myself?” Brooke asked with agitation.

Liz nodded, raising her brow in disapproval once again, as she walked out of Brooke’s room.

Brooke sighed as she glanced out her open window.  She was not
back home for even a day and she was already being criticized for her outward appearance.  While she knew that she was dirty, and could definitely benefit from a nice, long bath, Liz was criticizing her for things that made Brooke who she was; her tan and her freckles.  It was at that moment that she wished she was with Charlie, on his pirate ship, where she was accepted precisely for who she was.

She tilted her head slightly as she stared out the window.  She smiled as she wondered if Charlie would appear on her balcony the same way he did when they first met.  But she knew that her foolish daydreams were just that; daydreams.  She was here while Charlie was back in New Providence.

Brooke stood up, and folded her hands together.  She walked over to her full-length mirror to do one more look-over of herself before finally leaving for the party.  She hated to admit it, but Liz’s comments had made her slightly apprehensive about her appearance.