Cast In Dark Waters

Many of the men who were pirates now originally served the British Empire gallantly in Queen Anne's war. English naval forces were often assisted by private ship owners, and their crewmen who were paid to plunder rival merchant vessels. After the war ended several years back, many privateers turned to piracy. They sailed the Caribbean and the Atlantic along coastal waters of American colonies, stealing freight and payloads when they could.

Piracy had grown prevalent in Virginia and North Carolina, she knew, since most of the Colonial Governors could be bribed to ignore criminal activities. The trouble with newfound countries is that loyalties were so often divided under floundering governments.

With commercial ships using the major inlets to access inland ports, pirates found the coastal waterways ripe for plundering. Though pirates anchored in the deep inlet channels and came ashore occasionally, they rarely had any treasure at all, and what they did have they didn't bury, despite the rumors.

If the Maycombs didn't offer her good money to help them in their cause, whatever it was, she'd ship out on the Alexandria's Revenge under Captain Nordwick, a former Naval commander. She chose her ships and captains carefully, making certain that the flags she sailed under weren't drenched in blood. Most buccaneers sought only plunder, not innocent lives.

The dock markets were crowded with mariners and cooks seeking provisions. Oil, clothing, timber, liquor, fresh meat and water were prominent needs that kept the merchants shouting and scampering.

On the hill, at the edge of the dunes, two hanged men swayed in the breeze, executed for rape, of all things. Usually such crimes against women never made it to any court, but the victim in this case had been a nobleman's daughter. The execution had been well-attended, it seemed, with an excited crowd still gathered and watching the corpses twist. Crows sought perch on the dead men's shoulders and were shooed away by children holding sticks. She'd seen her share of hangings by the age of ten, but this was the first for rape, and she took some satisfaction from it.

Ten Negroes-seven men and three women of various ages-were being paraded up on the block past British and American slave traders looking to stock up their plantations. Slaves were becoming a staple product in the Caribbean, and though Crimson abhorred the men who sold human beings like cattle, she still sought a way to make a profit off the conditions. Some of those African kings might pay well to have their people returned. Some of them had empires that rivaled Persia, although their ways were too foreign for the likes of most.

Washed by the morning foam-capped tide, the sun-scorched beach lay choked with driftwood, seaweed and the usual spattering of bodies. Sailors slept off last night's drunk in the sands, and a few of the harlots had made their love-nests near the dunes. The scavengers would be along soon hoping to find booty that had been lost over the side of ships in weeks past, brought up by the current and the storms. They'd also rob whatever dead they found.

At the far end of this stretch of beach, Crimson spotted two bloated corpses that had been dragged up past the reef and torn to tatters by the rocks. One dead man looked as if his legs had been devoured. Sharks most likely, but there was always talk of islanders who still practiced cannibalism. Dismembered bodies like that one only served to fuel such gossip and rumors. The islanders had many tales of ghouls and evil spirits. She had a few of her own, as well.

At last, she watched an attractive couple disembark from the Hopewell's skiff. Both were middle-aged and dressed in the somewhat foppish finery of the British royal class. They must not have been in Virginia for very many years, Crimson thought. Maycomb wore a blue silk coat, extra leggings, and a three-cornered hat tipped far back; the wife with an organdy dress of cerulean and a roseate scarf flapping in the morning breeze. Being aboard a pirate ship surely hadn't taught them much about being inconspicuous. But Maycomb did carry a sword and a firearm out in the open, and she had to admit that he carried himself with a refined demeanor that demanded a certain amount of respect.

She met up with them at the end of the pier, careful to keep watch on who else might be observing her business. You never knew who wanted such information or who might be trying to sell it. Maycomb must've gotten a description of her from that rigger on the Yardarm, for he appeared to know her on sight. He removed his hat and gave a bit of a bow, a gentleman even in these parts. "Lady Crimson?"

"Mr. and Mrs. Maycomb."

"I'm so glad you were still in port," he said. "It would have been a dreadful shame to come all this way for naught."

"It might possibly still be so," she said.