Paid to the Pirate by Una Rohr
Epilogue
Charlotte
Under the cover of night rain we raided Daniel’s manor and claimed everything we could carry. Selling Daniel’s finery bought our new life -- the ship, the pardon. The governing heads that needed to look the other way when questions were asked about the deadly scene in the woods behind Daniel’s manor. Something nefarious had obviously been going on, authorities reasoned. Perhaps there had been a squabble between business partners, they decided, leading someone from within their association to set up the gruesome murders and robbery.
A bit of digging into Daniel’s finances revealed that all of the men had been cheating one another from time to time, making it an easy theory to apply.
For a group of gentlemen supposedly so incensed by the immorality of piracy and yet so willing to injure me, I found the irony unsurprising. So did Colt.
And if it hadn’t been an inside job, the townspeople gossiped, perhaps it was the work of Captain Sedge, who’d taken command of The Dread Night that same evening.
Unfortunately, no one could ask, because The Dread Night had been captured, plundered, and all her men put to the sword in a battle with Captain Arbuckle of The Dark Blade, mere days after the gruesome murders in the woods.
Colt and I never learned what became of the Crimson Eye.
We turned to legitimate merchantry now, sailing boundless horizons without any targets on our backs and free in every sense of the word.
Well, maybe not one sense.
Colt and I were as bound to one another as any two people could be.
Claiming the authority of captain, Colt married us as soon as we set out to sea. The legality of such unions were already questionable to the crown, and adding to it the fact that Colt was both officiant and participant in the ceremony made it even more dubious. Moreover, it wasn’t quite a ceremony but rather Colt coaxing all sorts of sordid vows from my lips whilst I was tied to the bed.
I couldn’t even think of those promises without blushing.
With the legitimacy of the union thus suspect, we married, more properly and officially, in Port Royal a few weeks later. But because I’d deliriously promised Colt all the submissive and obedient delights of his heart (his loins) the first time, he always claimed the private ceremony as the true one.
Conks, Johnson, and Miguel stayed with us, though Colt offered to give them whatever share of the spoils they wanted to start a life elsewhere.
“When you’ve been at sea as long as we have, you become like a creature of the ocean yourself,” Johnson said. “We’ve got to keep in motion with the waves to stay alive. We need the spray of the sea upon our skin to keep our old joints lubricated. And salt air is the only kind to breathe life into our lungs.”
Miguel just smiled and said, “I like to cook fresh fish.”
And so it was settled. We stayed together on our newly acquired ship and gained a reputation as shrewd, but trustworthy, merchants for hire. Once potential partners got over their suspicion about having a female amongst the crew, Colt said my unusual presence actually helped.
“You’ve a sweet and honest face,” he told me one night in bed, smirking and half-rolling his eyes. “If they only knew.”
“But only you do,” I whispered in his ear.
“Only I ever will,” he added, grabbing my waist possessively.
“I must admit, I like being in the open ocean without the constant fear of attack,” I confessed, settling my head into his shoulder. “I don’t fancy a sword through my belly or being strung upon the gallows.”
“You were never truly one of us,” Colt sighed thoughtfully, stroking my neck and arms. “Always between worlds, one foot in ours and one in theirs.”
“Well, then, it’s good you’ve come ’round to changing your world for me,” I said, lightly smacking his chest. “Now everyone is pleased.”
Colt’s fingers caught and encircled my wrists. He gently raised my arms above my head and pinned them with one hand.
“We’re not completely safe. There are still pirates sailing these seas,” he warned.
“And lucky for me, you know the best ways to evade them,” I reminded.
“Lucky for me,” Colt grinned, pulling the lace on my blouse and exposing one plump breast to his eager hand, “you don’t.”
The End
Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed Paid to the Pirate. If you have the time, reviews on Goodreads or Amazon are always appreciated.