A/N
Guys! A Pirate in Time is officially in the top 10 for Historical Fiction! It was ranked #7 today, so I'm giving you all a bonus chapter for being so amazing!
-Megan
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Liam and Rose: The Deathly Duo
I hid beneath the eaves of a seamstress's cottage as thunderous rain poured down from the heavens. It did not do much to stop the rain from finding me, however. Despite my best efforts, I was thoroughly soaked.
I pulled my coat tighter around me and tilted my head so that my tricorn shielded my eyes from the tortuous downpour. My interest did not lie in the seamstress's cottage. No. It was in the pub across the street, where the far from melodious laughter of drunken sea and land men alike drifted out into the empty street.
I watched and waited, hidden by the shadowed night as I searched for a signal from my brother.
We were hunting down a man by the name of Elwood Smith, a retired privateer who currently owed the crew of the Black Ness quite a lot of coin. Unfortunately, he seemed to be spending it all on whiskey and other assorted spirits.
Liam forbade me from entering the pub, so I was to wait here until he found and dragged that stealing piece of drunken scum out into the fresh mud. Then I'd make him cough up what he owed us.
Approaching footsteps made me duck behind the seamstress's horse cart. As I peered around the edge, I cursed at what I saw.
Redcoats, quite a lot of Redcoats, might I add, all heading straight towards the pub.
I cursed again and ducked lower, turning on my heel to watch as they entered.
I sure hoped Liam was near the back door, else he might be recognized before he could slip away.
Crouched in the pouring rain, I again watched and waited.
The laughter stopped, as did the faint music from inside. Not knowing what was happening in there was slowly killing me, one aching second at a time.
Then there was a crash, the shattering of glass, and a sharp cry of "Arrest him!" I clenched my jaw and listened to the thud of boots as the Redcoats tried to catch the accused man. I really hoped it wasn't Liam.
The pub door burst open, and sure enough, my brother came flying out. He stumbled down the front steps, and before he could regain his balance, a pair of Redcoats dove outside and tackled him to the ground.
I watched in slight amusement as they pressed his face into the mud and attached a pair of shackles to his wrists. Once they had clicked shut, Liam was hauled to his feet and surrounded by Redcoats.
"Congratulations, Mr. Black," one of them sneered, "You have an appointment with the gallows at dawn."
"Funny," he said in a lighthearted tone. "This is my third one this month. Perhaps I should start writing them on my schedule."
The only reason Liam was being calm was because he knew I would figure out a way to break him out before then. I always did. Not that it was easy or anything. Each time I had to become a little bit cleverer. The British had been upping their security lately, so breaking my brother out of another cell wasn't nearly as easy as it sounded.
I ran a hand over my face and looked around for something to help me. In order to get to the cells, I needed to be alone with a Redcoat, and the only way I could be alone with a Redcoat was if they trusted me enough to let me into the cells with only one escort. That meant that I needed a dress. If I walked in there looking like a pirate, then they would surely arrest me.
But where would I get a dress at a time like this?
I furrowed my brow, paused in thought, and then slowly turned to face the building behind me.
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"Please, Sir," I begged as I hauled my massive skirts up to take a step forward without tripping, "I only wish to see my husband. Please. I don't know what to tell the children."
"Please calm down, Miss," one of the Redcoats said, holding up his hands as if I were going to strike him.
I tried with every fiber of my being to come across as the distraught wife, and as I continued to beg, I willed tears into my eyes.
"I won't be much trouble," I continued, grabbing one of the men's arm as I pleaded, "I just don't know what to do."
"What is the name of your husband, Miss," one of the men said, looking down at a piece of parchment on the desk.
"Brown. Jacob Brown," I used the name I always used when I needed one on the spot. I bit my lip and wrung my hands together as I waited for his reply.
"There seems to be no man by that name here."
"Oh no," I let out a fake sob and started to ramble, "I'm not too late am I? He didn't come home and when I asked Marcy and Anna, they said their husbands saw him being dragged from the pub. I was so sure he was here."
"Calm down," one of them tried to comfort me a bit. I could tell he felt very awkward in this situation, "Maybe he is here. He could've used a false name."
I paused my rambling and looked up at the man, "Do you really think so? Could I see? I must know if he's down there. I must!"
"Y-yes," he looked quite uncomfortable as he tried to get me to stop wailing. "I'll take you. Just, please, calm down."
I nodded and wiped away the fresh tears on my cheeks, taking deep breathes as I pretended to get a hold of myself. In reality, I was suppressing the urge to smirk. I had convinced them to let me in. Now I just had to get my brother out.
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It didn't take much to knock the man unconscious. One swift punch to the nose made him crumple to the ground. I pulled his limp body down the hallway until I found a storeroom.
Just to be on the safe side, I kicked the side of his head, ensuring that he would stay unconscious, and stole his clothes. I left the bulky dress with him and posed as a Redcoat myself as I went on a search for my brother. I swung the keys nonchalantly as I passed each cell.
I recognized a few of the men as fellow pirates, but smirked at the thought of them facing the gallows. Though I could set them free, I decided to leave them be.
"I do believe that's a personal best," Liam's voice echoed out of a cell to my right. I turned and flipped through the keys, trying to find the one that corresponded with his cell. It took a couple tries, but I found it.
"Let's go," I whispered in an annoyed tone, grabbing his arm and hauling him down the hall.
I pulled him into the storeroom and saw the Redcoat was starting to wake up. I kicked him again for good measure before I started to take off my coat.
"Get dressed," I told Liam, holding out the jacket and moving to undo the buttons on my shirt, "Weren't you saying you needed a new uniform anyway?"
"Yeah," he said as he started taking off his own shirt. I moved behind some crates to finish undressing myself and threw the rest of the clothes towards my brother. Then I did my best to get back into the dress.
A few minutes and a whole lot of cuss words later, I was summoning tears and clutching my brother's tricorn against my chest. There was no way we were leaving that behind. The rest of Liam's things were either tied to my leg with a bit of rope or strapped to the belt beneath my skirts. I often liked to joke that I could smuggle a whole army into a castle with one dress.
I started to sob uncontrollably as we got closer to the front office.
"Jacob," I wailed, clutching the hat to my chest like it was the last thing my husband had given me.
Liam kept his head down, shielding his face with the military issue tricorn most Redcoats wore. Out of common decency, most of the men averted their eyes at the scene I was causing, pretending not to notice.
"Allow me to escort you home, Miss," Liam mumbled under his breath, though none of them would be able to tell his voice was different through my dramatic sobs.
We walked out unscathed, and as we walked down the street in the pouring rain, my sobs turned into laughter. I gave my brother a high five as we left the prison well behind us. I put his hat on to shield me from the rain as we walked back to the seamstress's cottage to grab my stuff.
Elwood Smith would have to wait. Right now, Captain Thomas was expecting us back at the ship.