The Pirate Vortex: Elizabeth Latimer, Pirate Hunter (Book One)

CHAPTER 25: What You Do Next Will Affect Everything I Do In The Future

Liz had done what she could. Now it was up to Anne. Liz stepped out of Anne Bonny’s room only to bump into the maid. The maid stared at her face. She was holding a candlestick, and Liz had no light to show her the maid’s face. Dressed in a long linen dress and apron with a lace cap to cover her hair, all Liz could see was the maid’s mouth open in a silent gasp.

     Liz walked swiftly away. The maid stared after her, then went inside Anne Bonny’s room. Before Liz was halfway down the stairs, she heard a door shut and she caught a glimpse of candlelight from above. Was Anne coming? Quickly, Liz looked up.

     No, it was just the maid again. Had the maid recognized her, thought she was seeing double? If Liz had known that Barnet was going to escort her to this party, she wouldn’t have insisted on wearing a dress so similar to Anne’s. The idea of doing double duty had seemed a good one when she didn’t know how she was going to get into the mansion without an invite. But Barnet had saved her the trouble and made it easy.

     Liz hurried, but it was hard to outrun the maid in this stupid flouncy dress. Before she could reach the bottom of the stairs, the maid grabbed her shoulder from behind. When Liz turned, she almost screamed.

     The maid put a finger to her lips and gestured her back upstairs. Liz followed, stupefied.

     It was dark at the top of the landing except for the chandelier light from the foyer and the candlestick in the maid’s hands.

     Liz stared at the maid, then at Anne Bonny’s door. The maid was slightly shorter than Liz, but almost exactly the same build. The maid put a hand to her head, and Liz yanked off the bonnet for her. With the flame of the candle flickering under her chin, even the distortions of light and shadow couldn’t hide the maid’s face. This woman was no maid. She was Tess.

     Liz grabbed her mother, but Tess pushed her away with her free hand. Okay, so she didn’t want any public displays of affection. But who was watching?

     “The candle,” Tess said. “You almost set yourself on fire.”

     Liz backed into the shadows and her mother followed, shielding the candle flame. “What are you doing here?” Liz demanded. “I thought you’d left me for good.”

     “I will never leave you, Elizabeth,” Tess said. “I will always know where you are. It’s a mother’s intuition, or call it what you will, but I sensed you were in danger.”

     Tess thought she was in danger, now? Where was she when Rackham threw her in the brig? When Vane nearly made meatloaf out of her? When those cutthroats tossed her into the Spanish Town jail to await hanging? Where the heck was she then?

     “You came with Captain Barnet,” Tess said.

     A twitch started near the corner of Liz’s mouth. She was trying hard not to react, but her nerves and muscles were reacting all on their own. “Are you stalking me?” she asked.

     Tess smiled. Liz tended to be a drama queen and Tess knew it. “I wouldn’t have come, Liz, if it hadn’t been for your unlucky meeting with Captain Barnet.”

     “Barnet’s a pussycat. I took care of him. He thinks I’m the governor’s cousin, Lady Elizabeth Latimer.” Liz spread her petticoats and curtsied in mock emphasis.

     “Yes, who has an uncanny resemblance to Anne Bonny, James Bonny’s wife,” Tess said.

     “The slimy coward didn’t see me,” Liz argued. She pulled at her chin to make the twitching at the corner of her mouth stop.