Storm over the Caribbean

28. Fierce Fights and Brilliant Plans

With a gulp, Jack handed over his sabre. Snatching the weapon, Mr Ambrose stabbed it into the air. "Men! Friends! Compatriots!" He took three long strides forward, then whirled around and spread his arms to encompass the crowd.

Wait a moment! Was he going to...?

Impossible!

But...

He really was, wasn't he?

Mr Rikkard Ambrose was going to give a speech. Oh my. This was going to be good.

"Listen to him!" Stabbing his sabre at the captain, he swept his gaze across the gathered pirates. "Is this the man you've chosen to lead you? Is this supposed to be your captain? A pirate captain?" He spat into the sand. "If that man is a pirate then I am a bird-of-paradise. Pirates are free! Fierce! Unrestrained by rules and regulations! You all...!" He swept his arm across the crowd. "You joined because you don't give a crap about the laws! You want to do whatever you want, and to hell with anyone standing in your way! Not the army! Not the navy! And most certainly not the man who is supposed to lead you all!"

Once more, his gaze moved across the crowd, capturing everyone's attention.

"Are you going to stand for this?"

His eyes found mine, boring into me, their meaning clear. Instantly, I slammed my fist into the air. "No! Never!"

Without looking at him, I buried my elbow in Jack's ribs.

"Oomph! What the—oh. Never! Never!"

"They're right!" Another shout rose from a delightfully gullible soul. "We won't be ordered around!"

"Aye! We won't let ourselves be led around by the nose!"

"We're pirates!"

"We're free!

"Yes, you are!" Mr Ambrose shouted. "And do you plan to stay that way?"

"Yes!"

"You want to plunder and steal whatever you want?"

"Yes!"

"You want to stay free?"

"Yes!"

"You want to put down anyone who holds you back?"

"Yeeees!"

"You see, Captain?" Turning back to the pirate captain, who had remained still and silent throughout this little speech, Mr Ambrose stabbed his sabre towards him. "Seems like you aren't wanted anymore."

"Aye." Twirling his bloody cutlass, the captain sent blood spatters all over the sand. "Too bad it ain't their bloody decision to make!"

"Agreed." Mr Ambrose took a step forward, not lowering his weapon for an instant. "This can only be decided one way."

Holy shit! This is really happening!

Gulping, I stared at the two men as they stalked towards each other. When he tried to egg on the crowd, I had supported Mr Ambrose instinctively, but only now the realization of what that meant really settled in. A fight to the death. And not with any random thug, but with a man who had fought, bled, and led his men for decades. And, most importantly, a man who had survived.

A man my husband would now have to fight.

Inwardly cursing, I lowered my fist, still raised in the air from cheering on the suicidal son of a bachelor.

Dammit, Lilly! Why can't you ever keep your mouth shut?

I hadn't found an answer to that question by the time the two men came to a stop approximately fifteen feet away from each other. The tension in the air was so thick I could practically taste it. And it didn't just come from the two opponents facing each other. Most of the men on the beach had drawn their weapons by now and seemed ready to fight at any moment. And, by the looks of things, they weren't the only ones. While Mr Rikkard Ambrose's little speech might have convinced the men on the island, the crew still on the captain's ship most certainly did not seem interested in joining my husband. Quite the opposite, in fact.