The Accidental Seduction of Edward Teach by Stede Bonnet, Gentleman Pirate

Chapter 26 - The Past is Close Behind

"Edward Teach," came a booming voice from behind him.

He heard the sound of a hammer pulling back on a blunderbuss and felt the heat from the recently fired weapon and smelled the pungent scent of gunpowder as the man held the weapon up to his skull.

Ed turned, his eyes shadowed, his expression unafraid and hard. He turned to face a man in torn clothing, but wielding the blunderbuss and a rapier. The man was tall, Black, commandingly handsome, with a rich and booming voice.

"Greaves," drawled Ed. "We heard your crew was captured. Didn't know you were among them."

"The Osprey's captain didn't want it to be known they'd captured someone worth a hefty bounty. I assume that's why you're here, Teach. To take me in and line your pockets."

Ed met the other man's eyes unflinchingly.

"Captain! Captain Greaves!" said Stede as he squirmed under the blade at his throat. "Captain, there's been a misunderstanding. We're here to assist you. But it seems you didn't...ah, didn't particularly need our assistance."

And in fact, due to the combined efforts of both pirate crews, most of the privateers were either dead, wounded, or on their knees with swords at their throats.

"And who are you?" drawled Greaves.

"Ah...Stede...Stede Bonnet. How do you do?"

"The gentleman pirate," Greaves motioned to the man holding the knife at Stede's throat to withdraw. "I've heard of you."

"You have?" Stede looked utterly pleased by that fact. He touched his throat.

There was only a tiny welt of blood on Stede's neck, but it was enough to send a surge of rage through Ed. He shot forward, aiming to cut down the man who had been holding Stede.

But the gentleman pirate got in the way and held up a hand. "Ed..." he whispered gently.

The two men's eyes met and held for a moment, and Ed very reluctantly stood down.

Greaves looked between Ed and Stede, then around at the mess on the deck. He lowered his blunderbuss and took his finger off the hammer. "Clean up this mess and secure the prisoners. Be sure to show them the exact amount of courtesy they showed us." He re-holstered his gun. "Teach, Bonnet, let's have a word."

—

Greaves took no time at all in taking over the privateer captain's study. The first thing he did was burn the ledger that listed all of his crew and their relative value on the slave market. Then he ripped down a portrait of the King and used the canvas to wipe gore off his hands.

"I uh, I have a handkerchief if you'd..."

Greaves just shot Stede a look.

"Ah, no, I suppose you're fine," said Stede with a swallow.

Ed hadn't dropped his fearsome Blackbeard mask. He kept just ahead of Stede, hand not far from the dagger on his belt.

"So, Captain Bonnet. Are you aware of the history of the man you sail with?" asked Greaves as he walked through the former privateer captain's office, knocking anything with a royal seal off the shelf or walls like an irate cat. He picked up an ornate, mostly-decorative rapier and gave it a swish.

Ed kept careful watch on Greaves, especially now that he had a blade in his hand.

As Greaves came closer, Ed stepped in between them, fixing the other man with a steady gaze.

Greaves was broader and more muscled than Ed, but Ed had greater reach and speed. He knew from past experience that he could take the man in a fight if it came to that.

"Yes, I know him. His reputation isn't precisely a secret," said Stede who looked between the two men with some obvious discomfort.

"Oh, there are still some secrets. Some things even pirates don't speak about," said Greaves. He looked from Stede to Ed. "What few people know is that Blackbeard is even more of a fucking monster than his reputation suggests. Did you tell him about Dominica, Edward?"

When Ed didn't answer, Greaves continued.

"Of course you didn't. Why would you?" Greaves knocked over a paperweight decorated with the royal coat of arms and kicked it across the floor. "Captain Teach spent three years pillaging and burning without remorse or self-control, harassing colonists and merchant ships without respite." He told the story with the ease and cadence of an accomplished public speaker. "It was so bad that the English upped the bounty on all pirates. They aimed to capture a host of us and make an example out of us. We managed to negotiate a removal of the bounty if we promised to stop him ourselves."

Greaves then stepped up into Ed's personal space. He tilted his head. "This man set three pirate ships on fire and destroyed a settlement on Dominica for the terrible crime of...daring to challenge him. But we managed to disable his ship. He limped off somewhere. After that, he was never quite so fearsome again. Isn't that true, Edward?"

Ed's shoulders bunched. His jaw clenched. He couldn't bring himself to look back at Stede, to see the shock and disappointment on the other man's face. So instead, he just stared down Greaves.

"Or the part about how he and I were friends before he let himself become cruel. That we shared a hatred for slavers and used to run down the slave trading ships. Until my reputation threatened to overshadow his, and he broke faith with me and two other captains by not backing us up in battle."

There was more to the story than that, but Ed couldn't refute any of the individual points. And he had, quite recently, decided to keep no secrets from Stede.

"And this is supposed to shock me?" said Stede as he stepped in front of Ed and towards Greaves.

Ed reached out to touch the other man's arm, but Stede moved forward anyway.

"Look, Ed knows he did wrong in the past, but show me a man out here whose hands are entirely clean and I'll show you a colony of mermaids," Stede straightened up and tugged on the front of his waistcoat. "He's changed. And I'm even more impressed with him knowing he agreed to save your crew given your history. He didn't know you'd be here personally, but I'd say that's got to count for something."

Greaves just chuckled and shook his head. "And here I was thinking your presentation and dress was all just an act. But I see you are just a naive rich twat, if you think that man..." he pointed at Ed, "...has the capacity for change."

"We did what we came here to do," said Ed, finally breaking his silence. "Your crew is free. I mean, you mostly did that yourselves," he shrugged, "...but it seems our distraction was well-timed, at least. We don't want anything from you. This ship is yours to add to your fleet." He reached out to tug Stede's sleeve and turned around. "C'mon. Let's go."

It was then he felt a sharp point pressing between his shoulderblades. He turned back, and Greaves shifted the privateer captain's rapier to his throat.

Stede reached out and gripped Ed's hand. He gave it a tug, but Ed stood his ground.

"Why shouldn't I kill you right now?" rumbled Greaves.

Ed looked along the line of the rapier's blade to meet the other man's eyes.

"Maybe you should. Might be a good thing, a world with no Blackbeard. God knows I've thought of doing that m'self over the years." He shifted closer, so the point of the blade was very near the side of his throat. He felt Stede holding him tightly and pulling him back. "But you won't, because if there's even a tiny chance I've changed, you need me. Bounties on pirates are going up. Privateers are folding more of us into their ranks - men who know how we operate and where we go to ground. The British are starting to hunt us for sport."

Ed canted his head. "The world is getting smaller, Robert. And if we want any chance of surviving, we need to work together."