In the early afternoon they caught sight of a merchantman sailing from Cuba to Yucatan. Marina herself called it, back to the maintop in breeches and sleeveless-shirt, just like she'd promised herself in Campeche. All eyes turned to her, and the pirates only needed to see her hurry down the ratlines to set in motion. On the bridge with Morris, Dolores frowned, curious.
"We're sacking them," Morris explained, smiling.
"Your pirate life is busy."
"It's the area. All the ships sailing between Havana and Veracruz cross this way."
"I see. Where's Marina going?"
"To change her clothes. Seeing her like this, the Spaniards would think she's but a cabin boy, don't you think? And she also needs weapons."
"Guess I'm supposed to go to the cabin too, right?"
"No need yet. If the Spanish captain is wise, he'll surrender without fighting."
"Oh, all those stories that say the Pearl of the Caribbean always spares those who surrender."
"The stories are true. Or there wouldn't be so many sailors alive to tell them."
Dolores chuckled. For some reason, she liked to hear him like that, taking offense because she doubted his friend.
Marina joined them on the bridge, snorting and fanning her face with her hand. "Please let's get it over with soon. I'm boiling in these clothes," she grumbled, making the other two laugh. "My feet are burning inside the boots."
"You already sound like the old wolf, pearl," said Morris, handing her a telescope.
"God spare us." She took a moment to study the merchantman. "She's heavy. Iron, maybe wine?"
Morris was observing it too through another telescope. "Probably. As long as it isn't cows, like that brigantine near Santa Lucia, remember?"
"Good Lord!" Marina turned to Dolores. "Picture a ship like the Margarita, with the hold full of cows that had been in there for two months. The stench! You could smell it from up here!" Dolores' shocked face showed she understood. "It traumatized me as much as the papagayo to Morris."
He pretended to scratch his hair, grab something and put it on the girl's head. She shook her short hair and patted it while Dolores laughed.
Alonso approached the bridge. Castillano was still near the bow, and they noticed he seemed to be having an argument with Alma. Marina and Dolores traded an ironic look.
Alonso had reached the mizzenmast when the girl leaned over the handrail. "Don't waste your breath trying to convince him, Captain. The merchantman will most likely surrender and there won't be any fight. But with this heat, maybe Alma wants to take a nap in my cabin."
Alonso opened his mouth, closed it and nodded with a tight smile. He spun around and headed back to the bow. Morris and Dolores turned to Marina.
"He doesn't want to go back below deck," she explained.
"You still haven't talked to him," said Morris.
"I've already talked to him too much," Marina replied curtly.
Meanwhile, Castillano saw Alonso coming back and faced Alma again.
"They don't think they'll need to fight," Alonso said, and turned to the woman. "However, Marina says you can get some rest from the heat in her cabin."
"No need, I..." Alma trailed off when Castillano took her hand.
"Alma, you know I love you and how much I value your attentions," he said, trying to sound gentle and persuasive. "But please, give me a break. Leave me here with Luis for a while. I haven't seen him in months."
Alma hesitated. Castillano had dark bruises around his eyes, and his nose was a dark swollen bulk. He had to keep his back straight so his broken ribs wouldn't hurt so much, and he needed help to walk. But those few hours in the open had reinvigorated him, and given the circumstances, he was way better than what she'd dared to hope, only one day after the brutal beating he'd gotten on the brigantine.
He held her eyes and patted her hand. "Go. I'll be fine."
She gave up, kissed his forehead and headed for the cabin. Dolores left the bridge to join her.
Castillano closed his eyes and let out a sigh as deep as his battered ribs allowed. He heard Luis rested against the gunwale in front of him and raised a hand, anticipating him.
"No, Luis, we're not talking about a damn thing. You've already heard enough gossip. Let the rest go."
Shortly after, the Phantom showed its colors and fired a warning shot to the merchantman, which sailed closer to the pirate ship unaware. Alonso had gotten a telescope, and with it, Castillano saw the racked onboard the Spanish ship. A white flag replied to the black one atop of the Phantom's mainmast. Castillano lowered the telescope, sighing.
"Do you know what became of Lorenzo?" he asked.
Alonso shook his head. "Nobody mentioned him and I didn't want to ask."
"Meaning he's dead."
"I'm afraid so."
Behind them, the pirates lowered away the boats to board the merchantman.
"So you went to church with her mother?"
Alonso chuckled when he saw Castillano's mocking smirk. "I truly hope you meet Doña Cecilia one day. She's an exceptional woman."
"I can imagine."
"And as you can see, she's got a sharp eye for clothing sizes."
Castillano grunted under his breath. Foreseeing he'd board the Phantom with nothing but the shirt on his back, Cecilia had included in Alonso's luggage two full sets of clothes for him. As soon as he was rescued from the brigantine, Alonso and Alma had removed his ripped, bloody clothes, and Castillano had woken up clean and in the best-quality clothes he'd ever wore, which fit him like custom-made.
"Looks like I'm not the only one with a tale to tell."
"Nothing compared to yours, but I had some interesting moments," Alonso replied, remembering his first conversation with Laventry in Maracaibo, after trying to murder Marina.
They turned to look ahead together. The Phantom had struck sail to approach the merchantman, which had dropped a light anchor. The pirates were boarding the boats.
"Look at them. They wouldn't even try to fight back," Castillano said annoyed. "Like lambs."
"And you talk about fighting the pearl back," replied Alonso mockingly.
Castillano scoffed and they remained silent, watching the boats row away. Marina stood at the bow of the first one, a foot on the gunwale and her hand on the hilt of her sword. Castillano sighed. She hadn't come anywhere near him the day before, nor that morning. He knew he'd earned it. He hoped she would talk to him before they got to Santiago. He didn't want to part with her in such bad terms. Actually, he didn't want to part with her at all, but he didn't think there was anything he could do to help it.
Through the lens, he watched the pirates climb up the merchantman's hull like spiders, while Marina used the ladder in no hurry, giving them time to take the deck before showing up. A musket shot from the captured ship put the pirates that had remained on the Phantom to work on taking it to lay alongside the merchantman.
Marina talked with the Spanish captain while the Phantom approached. The pirates threw grappling hooks to keep both ships together and set three gangplanks from gunwale to gunwale.
From their spot, Castillano and Alonso only needed to turn around to watch the pirates bringing the goods from the Spanish ship onboard. Heavy bars of iron, rolls of fine fabrics, fat caskets of wine. The operation was carried in a fast, orderly fashion. The Spanish crew remained in custody around the foremast. There was no sign of violence, and the Spanish captain didn't looked afraid in his conversation with Marina. She listened to him while Morris supervised the looting. When the pirates were done, Marina shook the man's hand and Maxó took the whole crew below deck.
"He shakes her hand! Like she didn't just emptied his hold! Maybe he's also thanking her!" Castillano snarled, outraged, and didn't hide his surprise when Alonso laughed out loud until tears rolled down his cheeks. "What!"
"Aren't you listening to yourself? It's her, Hernan! You were holding her hand not two days ago! You still would, had she not dropped it!"
Castillano scowled, then he nodded and ran his fingers through his hair, lowering his head. "You're right," he muttered. "In the end, Dolores was right, and courting her I forgot who she is."
"Which is funny on itself, because you would've never courted her if she wasn't who she is."
He sighed again. "My life, our life, was so easy only a year ago."
Marina came down the gangplank back to the Phantom. "Take us to Trinidad, De Neill!" she said.
Castillano and Alonso traded a look, halfway between surprise and suspicion. But they knew they could only wait to see what the pirates wanted at the Cuban harbor.
Pain exhausted Castillano, and a couple of hours later he let Alonso take him back to his hammock below deck. He headed down the companionway with one last look at Marina, who wore her breeches and sleeveless shirt again. Barefoot, with her old wide-brim hat on, she ate an apple, half-sitting on the bridge handrail, talking with Morris and Dolores.