The Blue Diamond (The Razor's Edge Book 1) (32 page)

“I wouldn’t have it any
other way. Now, show yourself out, and I’ll see you then.”

Maddox peeled himself away
from her a bit at a time, until he was finally gone from sight and she was
seated at her desk, in front of her cousins. “Thank you all for everything
you’ve ever done for me, and for us. I’m pleased that we now see eye to eye and
can move forward in what directions life takes us.”

“We’re not quite eye to eye,
but we’re getting there,” Cass said.

“What do we know about this
Ocracoke?” Keara snapped.

“It’s a pirate colony.
 
Maddox has travelled quite a bit more than we
have, and he has associates there. Do you think we’d be welcome at some regular
merchant port?”

“I believe you’re doing
what’s best for all of us, Ivory,” Cass said.
 
“Keara is suspicious because it is her nature. Alphonse and I plan to
return to Jamaica once things have settled down. America is not the place for a
pairing of our obvious differences.”

“I applaud your commitment
to each other, Cass. And, Keara, all I ask is that we try. I must admit,
though, I’m confused over this nomination of James. I thought you, too, wanted
out of this business.”

“We do, but James is a
navigator. What else can he do? Neither of us is good at anything other than
sailing. We’re going to take the ship and go straight. With our experience,
we’ll find a merchant company to work for, transporting goods.”

“I give you my word, we’ll
do whatever is in our power to assist you in that effort.”

“As will we,” Cassandra
added.

“Besides, with your pirate
experience, you’ll stand a much better chance at success,” Ivory smiled.

“Ivory, there’s the matter
of a rather well known pirate by the name of Teach who’s apparently made quite
a camp at Ocracoke. He’s the worst sort, as Alphonse tells it.”

“We’re all the worst sort, I
suppose, but nothing says we have to make a home there. We only need a place to
lay low for a bit until we can all find our way to where that end of the line
is.”

“Alphonse says this man,
Teach—they call him Blackbeard.”

Ivory was silent for a
moment, and then said, “I believe we have all heard that name before. It’s hard
to believe the man still lives. But, either we face Blackbeard and his
brethren, or we take our chances with the Navy. At this point, I’ll certainly
face one of our own before I’d chance a meeting with that man o’ war.”

“Agreed,” Keara nodded.
“Well, I suppose I’m off to see James and get this bucket of barnacles to North
Carolina. Ladies, I’ll see you again later…hopefully.” She made her exit and
Cassandra followed her to the door.

“Ivory, if this doesn’t go
as planned, please know, I believe you are doing what’s best for us all.”

“I hope you’re right, Cass.
I’ll do my damn best to keep us all alive.”

“I know you will.”

* * * *

“Sail!” the crewman in the
crow’s nest cried out upon seeing the
Black
Cat
coming towards them on the horizon.

“Slow her down, Willy!” Keara
called out. “We’re to rendezvous for Captain Carbonale and Master Green to
board.”

Back in Ivory’s cabin,
Maddox lay dragging his index finger from her upper thigh, up and over her hip,
and down through the valley of her waist, before circling her shoulder blade
and traveling back the way he came. “I’ll miss this journey most of all.”

“Maddox, this
Blackbeard…what do you know about him?”

“He’s quite the brute—prides
himself on his ability to inflict insane levels of fear on his victims. Big bag
of wind is all he is. Apparently he’s set himself up quite well on the island.”

“Do you know him at all?”

“We’ve crossed paths. Let’s
just say we both started out in similar careers, yet have taken different
waterways on our individual journeys.”

Ivory turned in her spot and
faced Maddox, sliding her hands beneath her head. “Are you certain we’ll be
welcome?”

Maddox rose up on one elbow
and brushed the hair from her face, tucking it behind her head. “You’re not
frightened, are you?”

She brushed his hand away
and lowered her brow. “I’m not frightened. I’m never frightened. I simply
prefer knowing to whom, and what, I’m taking my family and crew.”

“My love, I’m giving you the
lesser of the two evils. This evil is at least a devil with whom you are
familiar. You have my word that no harm will come to either you or your
family.”

“How can you give your word
for so many other devils whose words may mean death?”

Maddox pounced on her,
pulling her beneath him before she could resist, then pinning her arms above
her head and parting her knees with his own. He arched his body over her as he
inched himself inside and stared down at her face. “It took me years to find
you, and weeks of silent misery to admit I love you.
 
There’s not a man alive who can take this
away from me. I’d die before I ever allowed that to happen.”

* * * *

“Cap’n Ivory, we’re coming
alongside the
Cat
,” Richard called
through the door as he knocked.

They had both washed and
sent Richard to scrounge up a clean pair of breeches and a vest for Maddox.
Ivory had ordered the others burned, citing there was no way they’d ever lose
their foul odor. “Have you the clothes?” she asked.

“Yes, Cap’n.”

Ivory opened the door wide
enough to accept the garments and then instructed Richard to advise Master
Green it was time to go. She closed the door and turned to Maddox as he stood,
naked and beautiful, awaiting his clothes. As she walked towards him, she felt
a knot growing in her throat. She swallowed hard and took a deep breath as she
placed the clothing in his waiting hands.

“I hope they fit.”

“Better that they don’t reek
my dear,” he laughed as he dressed. “A bit snug I’d say, but they’ll do,” he
chuckled. “How do I look?”

“I miss your long
clothes—especially the blue velvet coat.”

“I’ll buy a new one and wear
it on our wedding day, then. Shall we go?” he asked, walking by her to the
door.

“What did you say?” Ivory
stopped him.

“I asked if you were ready
to go.”

“Before that, you said you’d
wear a blue velvet coat on our wedding day.”

“Well, you don’t think for
one moment that I don’t intend to marry you, do you? Why, what sort of cad do
you think I am?”

“Excuse me, but if that is a
proposal, sir, my answer is…absolutely not.”

“I beg your pardon?” he
asked, closing the door and planting his hands firmly on the hips of his borrowed
breeches.

“I’ll admit I don’t know
very much about such things, but aren’t you at least supposed to ask me?”

“You want to do this now,
Ivory, really?” She stood with her arms defiantly folded at her chest. Maddox
rolled his eyes back, walked towards her, and took her hand. “My love, my
absolutely perfect and ideal woman, who…”

“You’re mocking me,” she
growled, pulling her hand away.

Maddox snatched it back and
fell to one knee before her and lowered his head. When he looked up at her, he
pulled his sword from his belt and laid it at her feet. “When a knight pledges
his loyalty and obedience to his queen, he lays his sword at her feet and
declares his love only unto her. Let me be your knight. Allow me to seal that
love and loyalty by accepting me, not only as your champion, but as your mate.”

“Pick up your sword. I have
no use for a knight. It’s simpler than that.”
 
Her voice softened.
 
“All I want
is what I’ve read in books. I want what I saw in my uncle’s eyes when he gazed
upon my aunt as she sat quietly at her embroidery, or as she tended her flowers
in the garden,” she said, as she took his hand and pulled him to his feet.

He leaned in over her and
pressed his brow to hers and whispered, “Should you ever sit quietly at
needlework or tend roses, I shall look upon you in such a way that you will
feel the warmth in my soul upon your skin, and the love in my heart will burn
like the brightest light within your bosom.”

Ivory was overcome by a
gentle warmth so deep it rose up in her like the flame of a single candle held
against the blackest night. Her cheeks flushed. “I suppose that will do.”

He lifted her chin and
kissed her like a feather brushing against her lips.
 
Then, he walked to the door. “Are we ready
now?” She straightened her clothes and her head and walked out of the cabin
ahead of him.
 
Maddox smiled to himself
as he followed her to the deck.

Master Green stood waiting
at the ready to leave. The ships were lashed together, side by side. Tobias
held the line with which Maddox and Green would make their short trip from ship
to ship.

“We’ll be always in sight.
As we approach the island, we’ll take the lead. Whatever you do, do not hoist
your colors. Do you understand?” Maddox asked as he took Ivory by the
shoulders.

“I understand.”

“I’d kiss you again, but of
course, I wouldn’t want to violate your strict rules of fraternization.” He
winked.

“We’ll see you in Ocracoke.
In the meantime, I have a mystery to solve.”

“Indeed you do, m’lady. And,
indeed you will.”

The first to cross was
Sandy, with Miranda tied tightly in his arms. She was swamped by her cousins
and swiftly whisked away for a joyful reunion. Ivory, however, stayed her post
and waited until Maddox was safely aboard the
Cat.

Ivory stood and watched as
Maddox said something quietly to Tobias as he handed Maddox the line. He
climbed onto the rail and squeezed the line tightly. He looked back and winked
at her one last time and then pushed off, swinging out over the water and
landing solidly on his feet upon the deck of the
Cat
. He tossed the line back across and Green followed. Seeing him
go turned Ivory around and off out of sight of the eyes upon her that appeared
to be waiting for some lovelorn expression. The crews scrambled to separate the
two ships, and within but a few minutes, they were again at full canvas and
several hundred yards to the port side of the
Cat.

Chapter
Thirty-Three

Upon sunrise of the next
day, land was already in sight. James had followed the navigation of the
Black Cat
, and they’d maintained no less
than six knots for the entire night. Ivory was pleased at how quickly they’d
reached the waters off North Carolina. Cassandra had spent the night with her
and relayed the stories Master Green had shared of the notorious Blackbeard,
and they reminded her of the terrifying ghost stories they told each other as
children. At breakfast, Ivory still threw off any notion of fear, but rather
worked through her rekindled emotions by deciding how best to handle the man
should they be forced to face him.

“Although I’d rather not
have to be in the company of the barbarian, should this need arise, I’d prefer
only Maddox and myself go ashore until we’re certain there is no imminent
danger.”

Keara shoveled sliced boiled
eggs and bread into her mouth as if she were starved. Unable to form words as
she chewed, she nodded and listened to Ivory speak.

“Keara, are you well?”

Keara swallowed and spoke,
“I suppose if I weren’t well, I wouldn’t be eating like this, now would I,
Cass?”

Richard entered the room and
placed a fresh pitcher of water and a hot pot of tea on the table before them.
Keara snatched the tea and poured herself a cup. “We sure as hell don’t eat
like this at sea all of the time. We might as well take advantage of it.”

“I got them eggs fresh from
the chickens,” Richard said as he turned to leave.

“What chickens?” Ivory
asked.

“Promise ye won’t get mad?”

“Don’t be ridiculous; just
tell me.”

“Back in Charles Towne, I
snatched a few from the market. I just snuck in there at night and took ‘em. I
figured, if I just took the eggs, they’d spoil in this heat in no time, so I
took the whole birds.”

“Good on you, Richard.
Smartest thing you ever did, Ivory, was bring that lad with you when you jumped
ship,” Keara said, and she gulped down her tea.

“Thank you, Richard, that
will be all,” Ivory said as she threw a smirk at Keara.

When Richard left, Keara
announced, “Since it’s just us girls now, I suppose we can speak freely…right?”

“I’m afraid to ask what you
mean by that, Ke,” Cassandra said as she poured herself and Ivory a cup.

“I suppose we’ve all been
doing our fair share of breaking the code in the past few days. So, are we all
up for the sentence?” she laughed.

“Your humor is wasted,
cousin. Soon, the only code we’ll have to adhere to is that of our husbands.”
Cass smiled with a wink.

“Husbands?” Keara choked.

“Well, I only thought…”

“You thought wrong—at least
in my case, dear cousin. James has neither proposed nor have I suggested such a
thing. Besides, even if he did, he’d be the one abiding by a code, not me.”

All three women burst into
laughter, until Ivory thought back to their recent battle in Charles Towne, and
her smile fell to a solemn stare. Then, she gazed down at the eggshells on her
plate and said, “Son of a bitch.”

“Ivory, what is it?”
Cassandra asked, placing her hand over her cousin’s.

“Finish your breakfast. I
have something that requires my attention.” Ivory sprang from her seat and
raced out of the room in search of Willy. When she found him on deck, she
snatched him by the front of his shirt and pulled the old man from his perch on
a barrel.

“What is it, Cap’n? Have I
wronged ye?”

“Why haven’t I received a
report as to what happened to that blue diamond? What am I paying you for?”

“But, Cap’n, we done as ye
ordered!” Willy whined. “We searched the ship top to bottom, and we didn’t find
it. Nor did we find a single man aboard who knew a thing—or at least would tell
if he did.”

“What about Richard?”

“What about the lad? Cap’n,
ye don’t think…”

“Did you search him? Did you
search his bunk or his things?”

“The boy has no things, and
he bunks in with me.”

Ivory tore away from Willy
so fast he barely saw her blond hair toss in the wind before she was gone from
his sight. She took the steps below two at a time until she came upon the door
to Willy’s tiny cabin and thrust it open. She pulled the mattress from his bunk
and turned it upside down.
 
Then, she
dumped the full contents of his footlocker onto the floor. Not yet content with
her search, and seething with anger, she ran from the cabin to the galley and
went straight for the chickens.

“Cap’n what are ye doin’?”
she heard Richard cry out as she lifted the chickens from his makeshift coop
one at a time and tossed them to the floor, squawking and flapping. She turned
back and looked at him with the pain of disappointment in her eyes and then
grabbed him by the collar of his shirt, dragging him across the room and
slamming him down hard on a stool.

“Where is it?”

“Where is what?”

“You know what I’m talking
about, and you better tell me the truth! I save your little ass and take you
in, feed you, give you a job, and this is how you repay me by stealing from
me?”

“Cap’n, I swear it! I didn’t
steal anything from ye,” he protested as he covered his head.

“You sit right there, and
we’ll see who’s telling the truth.” Ivory went back to the coop and continued
digging through straw and chicken waste as Richard sat trembling. Upon finding
nothing, she turned back to him and told him to stand and empty his pockets. He
dug into them and pulled out nothing more than a folded piece of paper and a
thimble.

“Where did you get this?”
Ivory asked, holding the thimble out to him.

“It belonged ta’ me Ma. It’s
all I have of her,” he said with a sniffle.

Ivory unfolded the piece of
paper to find the letters of the alphabet.

“Willy’s been teachin’ me
ta’ read. I carries that with me so’s I can study on it when I have a little
time.”

Ivory handed the paper and
thimble back to Richard and sat down on the floor, defeated. “Richard, does
anyone else aboard tend these chickens?”

“Just me, Cap’n, but it
ain’t as if they’s locked up. Anyone could come in here at any time, just like
ye did,” he said as he climbed back onto the stool.

“So, anyone on this ship
could just walk in here and steal an egg?”

“Is that what yer goin’ on
about?”

“Why did you think I was
digging through chicken shit, Richard, because I enjoy it?”

“Tobias took an egg, Cap’n.
I took the chickens the night we landed in Charles Towne. They’d done laid some
eggs when I took ‘em, so I stuck the eggs in me pockets, and the chickens I
carried in a fifty pound sack. That weren’t no easy trip back, lemme tell ye…”

“Did you say Tobias?”

“He come in here yesterday
afternoon. Said he was hungry, and he gave me a shove and snatched an egg. I
told him I’d boil it up for him, but he just walked out with it.”

“Forgive me, Richard,” Ivory
said soft and low as she climbed to her feet. She lifted him from the stool and
straightened his clothes.

“Are ye gonna whip him,
Cap’n?”

 
“What?” Ivory’s thoughts were already far from
where she stood.

“I never knew stealin’ an
egg were a crime,” Richard said as he stood before her shaking his head.

“Stealing anything is a
crime—well, stealing from your own that is.”

Richard jogged along behind
Ivory as she walked off to consult with Keara and Cass about the Tobias situation.
“Are ye getting’ that cat outta the bag?” Ivory stopped and turned fast. She
grabbed him by his shoulders and said, “You are not to mention a word of this
to anyone. Do you understand me?”

“But ye said…”

“Don’t concern yourself with
what I said. You just listen to what I’m saying to you now. Do not say anything
to anyone. Just go on about your business as if none of this ever happened.”

Richard nodded, and she
patted him reassuringly on his flushed cheek. “Now get back to whatever you
were doing.”

Ivory collected her cousins
and, once again, they were back in her quarters with the door locked.
“Tobias—tell me what you know about him.”

“He was one of Jackson’s
crew. I swapped him for Tommy. Damn!” Keara cursed.

“You did what had to be done
at the time. I just can’t piece together how he could have switched out the
diamond. Obviously he had to have found an opportunity, but when?”

“Cass, the bag was locked in
the chest, right?”

“Yes, I locked it myself the
night you returned. We were, however, gone all day before you went back to
Carrington’s.”

“So the chest was unattended
during that time.” Ivory paced back and forth, “But you carried the key on your
person, right, Ke?”

“Yes, yes, of course. Let’s
get Willy in here. He was in charge all day while we were gone. Maybe he saw
something.” Keara rushed out the door and returned a few minutes later with
Willy in tow.

Ivory sat back in her chair
and asked the questions. “Willy, while the three of us were out the other day,
where was Tobias?”

“Hmmm, now lemme think a
bit…” Keara moved a chair behind him and pushed him down by the shoulders onto
it. He rubbed his brow and then looked up. “I can’t say the time, a’ course,
but he requested permission to go ashore.”

“Did he say where he was
going?”

“Not that I remember, and I
didn’t think ta’ ask him. Him bein’ a grown man and all, I figured it weren’t
me place.”

“How long was he away?”
Ivory asked “An hour? A few minutes?”

“Wait, it’s comin’ ta’ me
now. He said he was goin’ ta’ visit an old friend in town—said he’d be back in
time for yer business and not ta’ worry.”

“Was there anything
suspicious about him?”

“Suspicious? Not that I
remember. Funny thing though—now that ye mention it, when he returned, he
rushed past me and asked if ye ladies had come back yet. I told him no, and off
he flew. I figured he was just worried he was late.”

“Was he carrying
anything?
 
Or did he bring anything
aboard with him?”

“Not a thing, just hisself.”

“Well, if you think of
anything else, report it to me immediately, understand?”

“Is he in some sort of
trouble?”

“Why do you ask?”

“Well, ye may not have
noticed, but he’s no longer on the ship. When we hooked up with the
Cat
, he volunteered ta’ go aboard.”

“He what? And who approved
this?”

“He said it were Cap’n
Shepard. Said ye suggested it. I take it by the look on yer face, ye did no
such thing.”

“We’ll be at Ocracoke by
nightfall. Keep this to yourself. I’m sure he’s going to jump ship the minute
we arrive. Although he was counting on us returning to Port Royal, I know he
found this detour more to his liking.”

“I know ye know what ye
mean, but I’m lost. Either way, I’ll not mention a word a’ this ta’ anyone.”

“I know you won’t. You’re
free to go.”

Ivory closed the door behind
Willy, went straight to her desk, and pulled the crew log. “What are you
looking for?” Cassandra asked.

Ivory flipped the pages
until she reached Tobias Hale’s entry in the log book. She ran her index finger
along the words written next to his name. “Tobias Hale. Born 1695. Blacksmith.”

“Blacksmith? What the hell?”

“I suppose he’d have no
trouble at all picking a lock since he most likely knows how to make them,”
Cassandra said with a sigh.

“As well as making it
unnoticeable.” Ivory slammed the book closed and sat back.

“Well, seems pretty plain
who has the blue diamond. What do we do now?” Keara asked as she, too, sat back
with a scowl.

“May I ask a question?”