Nobody could stop Morris when he got back to the pleasure house, and he stormed up the stairs and into Marina's room. To halt right past the doorway, his eyes widening in shock.
The women had hung lanterns from the bed posts and two of them leaned over her legs with tweezers, struggling to remove every last splinter still stuck in her flesh. An elderly man did the same to her hands. They'd been able to make her drink laudanum after Castillano left, so his absence wouldn't upset her, and she lay flat on the bed, her forehead and eyes covered with a wet cloth, still but for the slight shivering of her fever.
"I won't let you close to her filthy as you are," Dolores said, final. "So go get rid of those chains, wash yourself and then come back."
"What about my friends?" Morris asked.
"You'll meet again when it's safe."
He was back soon. It was hard for the women to find clean clothes to fit his height and his broad shoulders, but they were able to give him a shirt and trousers that didn't look about to burst. By then, the doctor and the women were done tending to Marina's wounds and had lay her under the covers. She seemed to sleep, her hands wrapped in bandages resting on her belly and the wet cloth still covering her eyes.
Morris shook his head, grimacing in anger and sorrow, and sat at the edge of the bed.
"We owe her life to Captain Castillano," Dolores said, keeping her voice down.
Morris nodded with a sad smile, his eyes on the girl's face. "And that's an irony only a few can fully appreciate, ma'am."
"I must go. Dawn cannot find me away from my house."
He stood up, turning to her. "Will you come back?"
"No. My maid will keep us in touch."
Morris rested a hand on her shoulder, meeting her green eyes. "If you hear the bells beating to alarm over the next days, leave it all behind and hurry over here."
"What do you mean?"
"Only what I said."
She nodded, lowering her eyes to her waist, and took a jingling purse from her pocket. She put it in Morris' hand. "In case you need it."
She looked up when he didn't answer, and his little smile made her blush.
"I'm flattered, ma'am. No woman had ever paid me before. I hope I'll have a chance to pay you back in kind." Dolores tried to take offense, but Morris' smile turned warm. "Thank you, ma'am. We'll be forever in your debt."
When Dolores left, Morris lay down on the bed by Marina. He sank his elbow in the pillow to rest his head, his eyes clouded by sadness as they moved over her ruined hair and her face, pale and bruised after that hell of a week. He rested his hand on hers and closed his eyes.
The garrison commander, Alonso and Castillano had to endure the Governor's rage. Half-dressed and wigless, the light sparkling on his bald head, he called them useless, incompetent, morons and another dozen adjectives, none of them flattering. Then he assigned Alonso to lead the search starting at sunrise, told Castillano he didn't want to see him in his city ever again and strode out of his office, still swearing and cursing.
Castillano and Alonso spent the few hours left of the night at the lodge. They parted at dawn and Castillano went to the castle, where the news hadn't arrived yet. So he had to wake Lorenzo up to fill him in.
They decided that the survivors from the Lion, who had joined the Trinidad crew in Santo Domingo, would stay in Maracaibo with Alonso. That way he'd have the men he needed for his search without diminishing the castle garrison. Lorenzo put him in charge of finishing the frigate's restocking and left with three dozen soldiers, to offer them personally to the Governor.
Castillano had breakfast with the other officers and set to work, in the best mood he'd had in weeks.
It was over. The nightmare was over. He'd done what he had to do. The fate of the black-eyed child was no longer in his hands. And the time had finally come to turn his back on everything that had followed the morning when the Phantom had attacked the Lion. The rest of his life opened before him, bright as the sun rising over Coro across the gulf. And he would never allow anything or anybody to mess his world up like the Pearl of the Caribbean had done.
With good winds, she'd manage to survive and escape Maracaibo. With good winds, he'd be commissioned to command the next new ship of the Armada. With good winds, and just like Marina had said when she set him free, they would never come across each other again. And even if they did, they'd be fighting under different colors, like enemies. And may the best of them win.
They worked straight until noon and took a break for lunch. At that pace, they'd be good to go in only a couple of hours. They were eating in the shadow of the wall when they saw Lorenzo's boat coming back.
Castillano noticed something had crossed Lorenzo, and he prayed it was nothing that would delay their departure. Lorenzo left the boat followed by a stranger, whose looks screamed 'government official' from afar.
"Captain," Lorenzo called on his way to the plank to board the Trinidad.
Castillano went after them. The man stayed on deck. Lorenzo invited his friend into the cabin, closed the door and went to stand before the windows, his back turned to Castillano, who waited for him to speak.
"Did you have any visitors at the lodge, two nights ago?" asked Lorenzo.
Castillano stiffened. How the hell did he know that?
Lorenzo insisted. "A woman?"
"That's nobody's business but mine," Castillano replied curtly.
"Not anymore, Hernan. Who was she?"
Castillano's mind worked furiously, sensing the danger. Who could have given them away? It'd been past midnight and nobody from the lodge had seen them. Another guest? It couldn't have been Dolores' maid, since the woman had been a vital part of the plan to rescue Marina.
He breathed deep. His reputation was his only defense. "One Dolores I-Don't-Know-What," he grunted. "I don't remember. It was late and I was drunk."
Lorenzo completed the name in a grave tone. "Doña Dolores Mondrego Pinos, wife to Puerto Rico Lieutenant Governor. Why did she want to see you, alone, so late?"
"That you'll have to ask her."
"Oh, they will. But not us. We're setting sail with the afternoon tide. We're joining the convoy and the Admiral will decide what to do about you."
"What are you talking about? Because a woman visited me?"
Lorenzo spun around. "No. Because you two have been accused of conspiring to help the seadogs escape."
Castillano hid a chill. His face only reflected incredulity, and he prayed it was convincing. "Me! In league with that scum! Are you hearing your own words, Lorenzo?"
The other man shrugged. "I know it doesn't make sense. And that's the only reason why we're having this conversation here instead of a dungeon, as the Governor wanted."
Castillano folded his arms and stared at him, scowling. Lorenzo looked away. He sat down at the table and filled two glasses of wine. Castillano declined the drink and the invitation to sit down opposite him.
Lorenzo shook his head, still avoiding eye contact. "A man in Doña Dolores' service accused the two of you. Actually, he works for the Lieutenant Governor. The man left him in charge of looking after his wife when she wanted to stay here and didn't go back to Puerto Rico with him."
"By looking after you mean spying on her."
"Guess so. I would too. That woman is a sight for sore eyes."
Castillano raised his eyebrows.
Lorenzo sighed. "The Governor made me listen to the man's story."
"And what did that son of a bitch say?"
"Looks like the lady went to see the prisoners. And from there, she went straight to the lodge. She waited for you for two hours, until you arrived, and then she left only twenty minutes later."
"And that makes me a traitor."
"The man says that last night, he followed the lady to the harbor by nightfall and saw her go into a brothel."
"And what the hell does it have to do with me? Am I accused of being this woman's lover or something?"
Lorenzo ignored his remark. "And he says you arrived to that same brothel soon after the dogs escaped, carrying what looked like a big boy, or a girl. You stayed there for a couple of hours and then a boat took you to Cañada Nueva, while the lady stayed behind." He raised a hand to prevent further interruptions. "I know you got to the Governor's palace with Luis after they beat to quarters. And I know it was the garrison commander who had the bright idea of sending you to grab the bitch with no escort and bring her to the castle. I know you were seen taking her north and that they found you almost out under a tree, a few steps away from the Highroad. I know Luis turned every brothel, tavern, home and alley in the harbor area upside down and found nothing."
Castillano raised his eyebrows.
"But we all saw you indulge the bitch, Hernan." Lorenzo faced him with a grimace. "And the garrison commander is the Governor's nephew."
"So they wanna mud my good name to clean his," Castillano grunted.
"Why did that woman want to see you?"
Castillano assessed his options and found out he didn't have many. None, actually. He rested his hands on the back of the chair opposite Lorenzo.
"She came to thank me," he replied. "She said she'd been a victim of the Pearl of the Caribbean, and she wanted to thank me for capturing her. I don't even remember what we said. I already told you I was drunk. I never saw her again."
"Shit, Hernan! This stinks of a domestic quarrel, but it fits the Governor like a glove to save his nephew's neck. However, the only way to keep them from arresting you was promising to keep you restricted onboard."
"What?"
"You're to remain in this cabin until we meet the Admiral."
Castillano's heart sank. He tried to play offended to hide his sudden anxiety. "And what the hell am I supposed to do, locked up in here?"
"I don't know, Hernan. But it's this or a dungeon in the castle. Your pick."
Castillano pushed the chair and took his hands to his hips, looking away from Lorenzo. The other man headed for the door.
"We'll tell the men you're not feeling well after what happened to you last night. The wound in your chest is giving you a hard time. Stay in here, Hernan. The man that came with me is one of the Governor's secretaries, and he's coming with us to make sure I don't set you free as soon as we leave La Barra. If you as much as show your nose, I'll have no choice but lock you up in the riving, so you can tell the rats about the good times you had there a few days ago."