Paid to the Pirate by Una Rohr
Chapter 24
Colt
A pretty maid is hard to hide, I mused, scanning the town, trying to temper my panic at the thought of someone else finding her first.
Where would she go? She wasn’t the same scrawny girl I’d once known; she wouldn’t find it possible to pull the same tricks.
Like cannon fire, an idea flashed in my mind and I let a slow smile spread across my face. But she’d be capable of pulling more womanly ones now.
Turning on my heel, I walked briskly in the direction of The Pink Pearl, beckoning beneath flickering torchlights about two hundred feet up the dusty road. Easily distinguished from the rest of the buildings, bright pink desert roses flanked her door. It was an appropriate choice as the flowering plant was both beautiful and highly toxic. Not many who passed through the foliage knew, but I’d often wondered if the cutthroat proprietor simply collected the poisonous sap and served it up to any patrons who got too rough with her girls or tried to skip out on a bill.
I thanked whatever god listened to a man like me when I entered the salon and, quickly scanning, found none of my own men lingering. Either they’d already taken a whore to bed or they’d finished their pleasure, and, running low on coin had moved on to the lively night I’d heard coming from The Crooked Crow up the road. Ale was cheaper than women and in these parts, enough of the former and a man might find himself lucky with the latter, en gratis.
Panic stabbed my chest again as I worried that another man had already found her, taken her, hurt her -
Before my thoughts could escalate into me exploding and making a scene, I spied Charlotte in a corner, shoulders rolled as she hunched into herself, trying to be inconspicuous. Half-turned, she didn’t see me enter.
My chest tightened.
The neck of her dress draped low in a provocative manner, revealing the tops of her ample breasts; breasts she now tried to cover in an attempt to blend into the background, to not be selected for an evening’s pleasure.
Not smart, Charlotte, I thought, cocking my head. How did you find yourself in this predicament?
Oh, yes. Your impulsive nature.
Before Charlotte might spy me, I flagged the proprietor, Lady Wick -- though she was no more a lady than Wick was her real surname. Who knew what it once was? In these wild territories, who cared?
“Capt’n Pearce,” she gushed, eyes scanning my attire to assess any damage from recent battles and, with a keen eye, the possibility for having won a boon of treasure. At the same time, she smoothed her black hair, checking for any loose strands coming from the elaborate twists and pins before dusting her skirts.
Giving her a nod to the left, Lady Wick quickly understood my intention and sequestered us both in a more secluded alcove, tight enough to fit no more than a small table and two stools, and thoroughly out of Charlotte’s view. As we sat, a tavern maid approached, placing a bottle of rum on the wooden table. Lady Wick waved it off so sharply, she nearly swatted the girl.
“The real stuff for the capt’n,” she ordered, giving me a friendly wink.
The girl quickly disappeared to retrieve what I assumed to be a bottle of liquor that hadn’t been watered down.
“Whatcha be needin’?” Lady Wick asked, once we’d been appropriately served and afforded privacy.
“I noticed you have a new girl this evening. The tall one in the corner with honeyed hair and a blue dress.”
Lady Wick grinned so widely I caught the snaggletooth near the back of her mouth.
“Not just new to The Pink Pearl,” she declared with satisfaction. “A freshly discovered pearl for all men, if ya catch my drift.”
Oh, Charlotte. What have you gotten yourself into this time?
Playing dumb, I raised my eyebrows and asked, “A virgin, you say? But how can you be sure? Many girls will claim the same to increase their value. Few can prove it.”
Lady Wick snorted. “You think I’ve been in the trade this long without knowing when a whore’s lyin’? The pearl’s never been rubbed on that one.”
Oh, but it has, I thought. Though I’ve never demanded entrance to the world just beyond. Idly drumming my fingers on the tabletop, I vowed, that changes tonight.
“Are ye interested in the girl or no?” Lady Wick asked, and I realized I’d been adrift in my thoughts. “If she’s out there much longer, someone else is gunna want her. I can cut a special price. Only for the capt’n.”
Leaning back, I took a slow drink of rum. The price she named would be special for her, seeing as how she knew I could pay more than anyone else who might wander into the establishment that night. It was likely on the hope of a patron like me that no one had yet seized Charlotte.
I said nothing, choosing to take another drink instead.
How lucky Lady Wick must have thought herself, graced with both a new virgin for the evening and a man with enough coin to pay for her.
Working my jaw, I considered my options. I could tell the madam the truth, collect what was rightfully mine, and march Charlotte out of here without any drain on my bag o’ bits. Lady Wick would never stand in the way of me and my men.
But I’d miss the chance Charlotte herself had inadvertently arranged. Taking her like a whore beneath the brothel’s drafty roof. The temptation was too delicious, the ironic opportunity too irresistible.
“A hundred and twenty-five pieces of eight,” Lady Wick bargained.
I chuckled, not because of the price being high, but because paying any price at all for what I could freely have had in my cabin was a laughable absurdity making me a fool. I laughed because I knew that once I’d had her, I was going to have to offer Lady Wick a queen’s ransom to buy Charlotte outright and drag her back to the ship.
Oh, Charlotte. If you think I’ve been making you pay up ’till now, just wait. I’m going to make you earn back every bit of that ransom. With your hands, your mouth, that sweet little cunt and even your arse.
There was no scenario where Lady Wick wouldn’t wring every last coin from my pockets. I’d paid for Charlotte once the night I took her, instead of a fee for not attacking her settlement, and I was going to pay for her again now.
Devil’s bones, I’d been paying for her in some way or other ever since I’d had the misfortune of crossing her path.
“A hundred,” Lady Wick offered, surprising me. She was a better negotiator than this. Whatever she heard in my laugh and read in my elongated pause, she’d misread.
“I’m interested,” I hedged, watching her smooth the worried crease between her brows. “But if she’s as virginal as you claim, I suspect she might have misgivings when it comes down to it. I don’t fancy wasting my time. I don’t want some hellcat scratching my eyes out.”
I fought not to grin as I continued. You really brought this on yourself, Charlotte.
“I want fresh sheets laid. I want her brought to your best room. And I want her bound and gagged.”
Lady Wick, bless her, balked. She might be as greedy as any other madam -- nah, as a pirate -- but she had a soft spot in her heart for her girls.
“I’ll give you a hundred and fifty pieces of eight,” I said. “And you have my word I won’t hurt her. Think about it. Have any of my men ever given you trouble before? What would it do to my welcome in this place if you knew I’d damage your goods? I just don’t want any lip from the girl. Once we’re done, I’ll happily accompany her back downstairs and you can see with your own eyes that she’s unharmed. In fact, she can tell you with her own mouth how good a time I gave her.”
Toying with her glass, Lady Wick hesitated.
“Two hundred pieces of eight,” I offered. “And my word as captain that I won’t hurt the girl. If I know myself and what I can do, I think she’s going to enjoy herself.”
Lady Wick narrowed her eyes. “She musta really caught your attention,” she said, suspiciously. “Can’t remember the last time you came in here wantin’ a girl and now you’re ready to empty your bag o’ bits for this one.”
I leaned back in my chair, letting my legs fall wide. “It’s been several long months at sea and I’ve got needs just like everyone else. But unlike everyone else, I want to ensure I’m not walking out of here with anything more than I bargained for.”
I’d meant diseases I speculated some girls may carry, but I had to chuckle because I already knew I was walking out with more than I’d bargained for. To get Charlotte out of this place, and quietly, Lady Wick was going to shake me down for all I was worth.
The tough-minded proprietor finally gave a curt nod and I tampered the grin I wanted to allow. After I paid the required sum , she waved two men to our table, whispering in their ears. Presuming she was giving them instructions on how to prepare Charlotte, I almost felt bad for my little escapee.
Almost.
Charlotte was about to be seized, restrained, and thrown into a bed to be raped by a stranger.
You brought this on yourself, I chided. You could have been taken beneath the stars and above the rollicking sea, as is proper for our kind.
I consoled myself by arguing, perhaps being fucked for the first time while bound in a brothel is a fitting punishment for your crimes.