Swashbuckling on the Edge

Chapter Nine

He squinted at me. "You ask a lot of questions."

I shrugged off his suspicion. "I'm just curious. I haven't seen many children here."

He scoffed at that. "I'm not a child."

"How old are you?" If he was older than I'd guessed, he was small and skinny for his age.

He shrugged. It wasn't that he didn't want to tell me. He didn't know for certain. I bit my lip to keep away my shock.

"Do your parents live here? Were you born here? Are you just visiting?" I pressed.

He scowled. "Lady, I just play in the pub sometimes. The matron lets me stay in her attic as long as I work. That's all."

The realization hit me. "You don't know anything about your past," I said, to which he shrugged again. "You're an orphan."

Elias flipped his hair off his face. "I keep my head down and don't cause trouble for Barton."

I pointed to the cut lip, the blacked eye. "Do others cause trouble for you?"

"That's life," he said dismissively.

A sudden idea struck me. I had spent my time at Barton's observing the people-the visiting pirates, the merchants who hawked stolen goods, the permanent residents, refugees of all corners of the Caribbean come to roost in this picturesque if a bit dismal place. The people here were merely surviving. They simply had no place else to go or had never known anything better.

Barton had called it the pirates' paradise; it was safe and free, but it wasn't a good place to live a full life. It was a place for pirates to pretend they had never hoped for anything more.

I looked at Elias, dressed in dirty, mended clothes and no shoes. His most prized possession a beat-up little guitar.

"Do you want a different life?" I asked him, hopeful.

He squinted. "What d'ye mean?"

It was my turn to shrug uncertainly. "I can't promise it's much better, but it will get you away from here."

His eyes scrutinized me again. Then they lit up. "Yes," Elias said without hesitation now. "I want it."

~oOo~

Dark rubbed his tired eyes, trying to banish the mental exhaustion. It was difficult to concentrate when his head was badgered with thoughts of Sykes' impending departure and his own conversation with Zaina that morning, which had been a bit strained.

"Tortuga'd be the closest," Barton was saying from across the desk. "Safest way to go. But truthfully selling your prize here would be better."

Dark sighed and forced his attention on the task at hand. "I don't object to dealing with you over Tortuga," he said. Barton grinned wolfishly. "You're richer in goods and gold, but Tortuga's richer in information," he added.

Barton shrugged. "If whispers and rumours are what you're after, I can't stop you. If I may be of help?" He cast Dark a questioning look. Dark nodded. "Lovely little inlet here," Barton said, tapping his fingers on the map on his desk. "Perfect opportunity for an ambush and directly in the path of a certain vessel who will be making her way here in a matter of days."

Dark studied the map. He knew the location. If Barton's connections were half as good as he boasted, they could make a tidy sum.

He looked up to find Barton smiling, hiding his teeth behind a satisfied mouth.

"I'll have a sum for you after I've had a chance to look at your merchandise," Barton told him.

Dark stood up and glanced at the map once more. "Until tomorrow," he said, not looking at his host. Barton's eyes remained fixed on him.