A Pirate Princess (15 page)

“Just a little way further, Acel. Do you see that stretch of white beach up ahead?” Cori asked.

Acel smiled broadly, “Yes, I do. Is that Saint Marc, Mademoiselle Corisanda?”

“Sure is! I do not see any sign of
The Beloved Loss
but when we get a little closer we might. I will go wake Burke,” she replied giddily as she raced from the helm to the deck.

Odelia was still sitting in the same place she had been for the past few hours, glaring at Cori rudely. There was no denying the blonde haired Lady’s disapproval of Cori, and she was quite sure it was because of Burke’s
attention. Cori nodded politely at Odelia as she walked by. Odelia just rolled her eyes and raced toward Acel.

“Acel!
What on Earth was she up here doing with you all this time? Why is Burke letting her take part on this mission? Did she talk about him?” Odelia demanded.

“No, Od
ie! Mademoiselle Corisanda did not speak about Burke. We discussed
The Beloved Loss
. She told me about her father and his upcoming trip to Africa, if we do not catch him first. Then we talked about her job on the ship and why she wanted to leave her father’s vessel. Besides, Burke is not simply
letting
her help, Odelia. Burke has
begged
her to help! Who could know Captain Marin St. Aubin better than Corisanda St. Aubin?” He answered assuredly.

Odelia prattled on irately but Acel lost himself in his own thoughts.
In only a few short hours, Acel had gone from being unsure and skeptical of Cori to being absolutely crazy about her. He considered her a saint.
She is the smartest, bravest, most beautiful woman to ever walk across The Heart of Calais, to be sure.
He decided silently.
Burke would be blessed to marry Mademoiselle Corisanda! She’s a woman befitting of him. I have a feeling that if he can get rid of Odelia then he will be marrying our little pirate princess… and if he does not, he needs to lose his feelings for her so I can!

“I sha
ll kill her if she lays one finger on my fiancé. And where did she go now, anyway?” Odelia was insisting as Acel tuned back into her.

“She went to Burke’s quarters, to wake him up.”

“That tramp has no business being in any man’s quarters, it is not proper! Besides, she definitely has no right being in my fiancé’s cabin!”

“Well she ha
s to get used to that, since it’s her quarters too.”

“I a
m sorry, what did you just say?” Odelia asked as her blood pressure began to soar.

“We do not have any spare rooms on
The Heart of Calais
right now; we are fully stocked with cargo. She shall be sleeping in the captain’s quarters. Don’t panic though, Odie. Burke plans to sail the ship through the night so Cori can sleep in peace. Then, in the morning when Cori wakes, she shall help me at the helm and Burke will rest. No need for you to concern yourself.” Acel shrugged nonchalantly. He knew she would be livid over the prospect of Cori and Burke sharing a room and he loved to see her anger.

Odelia’s face turned red and her lip
s quivered, ready to exhale a violent scream. She balled up her fist and stormed across the deck.

“Are you sure you have napped long enough, Burke?” Cori asked considerately.

“Yes, that
was a wonderful nap. So, you cannot see
The Beloved Loss
near Saint Marc?” He questioned in concern.

Cori sighed in disappointment, “No, but once we get closer we may see them up ahead. If not, they may be further ahead of us than we had hoped. They could be almost to Puerto Plata by…”

The door flew open and banged brutally against the wall, cutting Cori’s sentence in half. “WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING IN HERE, YOU TRASHY LITTLE PIRATE?” Odelia screamed irately.

Cori met eyes with Odelia instantly and began explaining,
“Lady Odelia, I beg your pardon. I was only…”

“No! I want to hear no excuses from you! Burke is my fiancé, whether you like it or not. He is marrying me! Not you! And you have no right to be anywhere near him, do you understand that or are you to
o uneducated? You are not to speak one more word to him or I shall have you thrown off this ship!” Odelia screeched as seasickness over took her again. Turning white she slumped to a chair in Burke’s room and held her stomach queasily.

“Good, I
’m glad you’re sitting, Odelia!” Burke raged as he shook his finger in her face. “What did I tell you about your behavior toward Cori?”

Odelia just glared. Cori stood by the door, trying to hide her tears. Burke spoke sternly, wanting no confusion about his feelings, “Yes, I am marrying you but let there be no
misunderstanding! I absolutely despise you. You sicken me and make me miserable. If it was my choice I would not be marrying you. The only reason I am is because you lied to your father and to the King, saying I took your innocence. You know well that I did not! Cori is helping me with this mission, and you are hindering me. I have been instructed by our King to arrest Marin St. Aubin and turn him in. She is helping me find him, so I shall talk to her as much as I please through this journey. You have no strength over me until we reach France, Odelia.”

“Oh, just shut up and leave me alone!” Odelia barked.
“Send someone in here to carry me to my room, I have grown weak and frail listening to your abhorrent disrespect! I need to rest in peace.”

“I will send Leala to help you to your own quarters and it would be wise of you to stay there until we get back to France. Your father can protect you there, but he cannot here. I hope you understand what I mean by that, Odelia. There are a lot of sh
arks in the sea and I would
hate
for you to have an accident,” Burke threatened as he took Cori’s arm delicately in his own and escorted her from the room.

Once the door was closed behind them, Cori’s tears fell freely from her eyes. “Oh Burke, I
am so sorry to get you in trouble,” she wailed.

Burke held her in his arms and dried her tears with his handkerchief. “It
’s alright, Cori. You did not do anything wrong so don’t let her make you think you did!”

“Yes, I did. I would not want any woman in a room alone with my fiancé either. She had
a right to be angry at me. I shall stay away from you,” Cori sniffed.

“No! I need your help and I want to be near you, Cori. I have grown
attached
to you in the past several days. We need each other,” he consoled.

C
ori shook her head, “That doesn’t matter, Burke. We will never see each other again once we get to France anyway. You shall marry Odelia and I will go my own way, remember?”

“
It’s strange. I have known you for less than a week but I cannot imagine never seeing you again,” he whispered, feeling a strange emotion.

“I agree,”
Cori agreed solemnly, “but it’s a concept we must become acquainted with. There is nothing that can be done about it.”

“Well, if I do not marry Odelia then
we could
… I mean, I might still see you some.” Burke choked, wondering what on Earth he was doing.

Cori nodded. She did not want him to change his whole life, including his agreement to marry Odelia in order to be her friend. She could not hide the fact that she was attracted to Burke, and her feelings were growing stronger every day
. Her heart began beating fast when he came around, her hands grew clammy, and she sometimes lost her breath when he smiled.

Cori refused to admit that she was falling in love with him, but it was impossible to imagine being pulled from his side. Trying to end the awkward conversation and banish the thoughts from her mind, she shrugged. “Yes, I
suppose we could still be
friends
. That is, when you are in France between trips on the sea, of course. However, you must marry Odelia, you have already given your word.”

“
I have been trying to find a way out of my wedding since it was brought up, Cori. Even before I met you I was searching for proof that I am not to blame for Odelia’s loss of virtue,” he explained as they walked across the deck.
The Beloved Loss
was nowhere in sight but a large group of villagers were standing on the sandy beach watching
The Heart of Calias
pass. No one seemed ready to run into the water to try to take down the massive ship or anything ridiculous but they certainly didn’t look happy and they loudly grumbled amongst themselves.

“Let
’s just take things one step at a time, alright?” She continued, hoping to put an end to the uncomfortable conversation. Then, hoping she didn’t sound awkward or overly serious, she explained further. “We will find my father, attack his ship, take him and his crew as prisoners, return to France, turn them over to the King, establish my freedom, get you out of your marriage, then you can return to sailing and we shall remain friends when you are in town, alright?”

They were arriving
at Acel’s side so there was no room for Burke’s rebuttal. He swallowed his response along with his pride. “Any sign of them?” She asked Acel.

“No,” the younger Belcourt cousin answered. “Mademoiselle Corisanda, do you know Spanish?”

“Yes, my uncle and aunt taught me. Why?”

“Listen to them. Do you understand what they’re saying?”

Although the residents of Saint Marc grumbled fervently their words were barely recognizable across the distance from the beach to the ship. “The only thing I can really discern are a few phrases. I know I heard someone say ‘La Perdida de Amado’ and ‘El Corazon de Calais,’ so that could be a good sign that my father’s ship has passed through.”

With both men raising their eyebrows at her questioningly, Cori took a breath and continued with
her clarification. “
La Perdida de Amado
is
The Beloved Loss
. My mother’s name was
Amad
a, meaning
Beloved
. That is how my father’s ship earned its name.
El Corazon de Calais
is
The Heart of Calais.
The strange thing is, however, that the people of Hispaniola only speak Spanish and none of them can read in English.”

Both men seemed to silently question her, not understanding what the significance of the
islanders’ language was. When she noticed they were still befuddled, she explained further. “The name,
The Heart of Calais,
is written in English across the vessel. The Hispaniola natives cannot read in English. Therefore, my father must have been here and told them that
The Heart of Calais
is chasing him. You see?”

Realization dawned on the handsome cousins as they understood what Cori meant. The revelation renewed their excitement to catch
The Beloved Loss
and gave them confidence that they were on the right track. Burke took the giant wooden wheel, Acel rushed to update Quain, who in return informed the rest of the crew. Cori revisited her ornate mahogany bench on the deck to stare at the sea until further needed.

It was hard for her to understand the emotions she was experiencing.
How did this happen?
She wondered.
These feelings snuck up on me out of nowhere and now I feel so entranced by them that they cannot be shaken away. I cannot imagine never seeing Burke again, standing by his side, or talking to him. If he marries Odelia she will truly never let him speak to me again. To be fair, I understand why she would not.

If he d
oes not marry her then he shall be sailing for months at a time, possibly even years before returning. Then, he will be in France for a few short days and if I see him at all it shall be momentarily. The only way I could go with him is if I married him! I cannot marry a pirate, even one as amazing and kind as Burke. I absolutely cannot allow myself to live like a criminal anymore. I want children one day, a real family, and a pirate ship is no place for that! Besides, I’m assuming Burke means much more than he does. He does not want to marry anyone, especially Odelia or me. He just wants us to continue being friends.

Thoughts raced through her head for hours. She wondered why Burke planned to take Marin and his crew back to France for King
Louis. It seemed risky for a pirate captain to be anywhere near a King. Cori first assumed that Burke was taking Marin prisoner to make a point to the other pirates to leave him alone, but he mentioned turning them over to King Louis when he spoke to Odelia minutes before.

The notion confused her, but she assumed he knew what he was doing.
Cori remembered first meeting Burke, when he climbed from
The Heart of Calais
and onto
The Beloved Loss
the evening her father threw him into her room. He mentioned then that the King of France had sent him in search of Marin, but until then it had never really dawned on her.

The sun was setting in the sky, casting a warm orange glow on the crew of
The Heart of Calais
. Davet called the sailors for dinner but most ate quickly and returned to their positions. Cori knew that they would reach their destination, Puerto Plata, late into the night. It would be a very dangerous situation. The islanders living in the village of Puerto Plata were extremely violent, irrational, and fierce. Not to mention that
The Heart of Calais
would be arriving in the middle of the night when the darkness could hide unknown perils.