Cutlass Anne

Cutlass Anne - Chapter Twenty-Five

Chapter Twenty-five

Port Royal was nothing but darkness when we docked. The harbormaster did not even meet us at the ship. Scully had Flynn heaved over his shoulder.

"Do you know where we are going?" I asked as Andrew led us down the long pier.

"To the local pub."

"What is it with you men and pubs? Are there no surgeons' houses in town?"

"He was attacked by a pirate. Anywhere that is reputable will ask too many questions. Do you want the king's soldiers asking questions?" he asked.

I groaned and rolled my eyes. "No, of course not. I am not sure how well they would take to a lady turned pirate. Kind of."

"You are most definitely a pirate, Lady Anne."

"Don't call me that," I muttered.

"Why?" He looked at me from the corner of his eye.

"Having such a luxury has too many strings attached to it."

"Such as?"

I shook my head at what my own father wanted me to do. "Marriage. Being the obedient woman."

"Being everything that you are not?"

"Precisely." I stepped through the door he held open.

"The Kings Crow." He approached the long bar. Leaning over it, he said something to the barkeep on the other side. The man glanced over Andrew's shoulder at us, reached under the counter, and produced rusted key.

Andrew led us toward a set of stairs at the back of the pub.

"What was that about?"

"I stitched his son up a few years ago. Saved the lad's life, really, so he owed me."

"Owed you what?"

He unlocked and pushed open the creaking door. "A quiet room with no trouble from anybody."

There was a bed, a chair, and a table. Scully laid Flynn's limp, fevered body on the sagging mattress. Andrew turned and started back down the stairs before anyone could say a word.

"Scully, stay here please." I ran out the room after the crazy doctor.

"Aye, ma'am."

"Andrew? Andrew!" I yelled after the man.

"Anne, get back in the room."

"What are you doing?" I snuck in front of him and blocked his way.

"I have to get supplies and operate on Flynn tonight." He pushed past me and continued down the stairs.

"Where are you going to get anything? It is the middle of the night." I followed him out the door.

He stopped and pushed me against the building, tangling his hands in my hair. He tilted my head back and pressed his lips hard into mine. I was caught completely off guard. I pushed as hard as I could, but it was useless. He was so much stronger than I was. Just as suddenly as he had attacked my lips, he stopped.

"What the hell was that, Andrew?" I shoved him back.

"Soldiers."

"What is your problem with soldiers?"

"It is not my problem, Anne. It is the problem they will have with you."

Taken aback, I looked at the two men in red waistcoats and back to him. "Me? What could they possibly have against me? I have done nothing wrong."

"You have commandeered a ship, fought pirates, you are harboring the son of the most notorious pirate, and look at how you are dressed. You have done plenty in your short time on the seas."

I looked down at myself. I had forgotten about the pirate clothing I acquired at Tortuga. Suddenly the jacket and sword felt like they had the weight of the world on them.

"I can never go back. Can I?" The sudden realization hit me that my life truly was changed forever.

Andrew nodded his head solemnly. "Please go back to the room. You all have to stay out of sight and not draw attention to yourselves. The governor here is not as soft on pirates as your father is. He has no issues making a pirate, be them man or woman, take a long walk off a short pier."

My hand shot up to my neck. I knew that it was a possibility that if I were caught I would meet the hangman's noose, but was I ready to die? As if he could read my mind, Andrew reached up and brushed my hair out of my face.

"Sometimes doing the wrong thing for the right reason can be the right thing."

"But I'm a pirate." I cringed at the word.

"You're not John Jacks. You're Cutlass Anne. You save the innocent from the wicked."

"I'll still be wanted for high treason and pirating. My father was right. I am a senseless woman."

"You are the least senseless woman I have ever met. Now get back inside while I get what I need to fix Flynn."

I nodded and headed back into the pub, but not up to the room. I took a seat at a table near the bar and ordered ale. Flynn was right; the taste did grow on you after a while. I sat at the table drinking steins of the hardy brown liquid and waiting for Andrew to return from his errands. I kept my head down and paid no attention to anyone who happened to look in my direction.

"Hey, darling." A man lurched toward my table, bumping into me and sloshing my drink around. He reached out to stop the liquid from spilling.

"Not interested." I took a swill of my ale, not making eye contact with him.

"Oh come on now. I have a comfy room right upstairs."

"I said not interested."

"Of course you are." He pulled the seat that sat diagonally from me out.

"I really am not," I replied.

"Waiting on someone?" His words slurred and his breath reeked of meats and liquor.

"Yes."

"Well, he ain't here right now." He smiled, revealing a brown and rotting smile.

"Sir, with that mouth, no amount of liquor in this world would make me even somewhat interested."

He stood and pulled his hand back as if he were planning on striking me. I reached down to the sheath at my waist and pulled the shiny cutlass from its resting place, setting it on the table.

"Think about it, or I will run you through, sir." I looked up at him with a stone-cold expression.

His face dropped, as did his hand, and he backed away. I sheathed the sword and continued drinking, watching the front door. Andrew had been gone an awful long time.