The Blue Diamond (The Razor's Edge Book 1) (23 page)

“I love you, Ivory.”

“I love you, too.” Ivory
raised her head a few inches and finally looked up at Cassandra as she let go,
and fell back in the chair with a thud. “I’m sorry. You came here to speak to
me about something else…didn’t you?”

“It isn’t important. We can
speak later. I’m sure you have so much to do.”

“Please, tell me.”

Cassandra sat still and
looked down at her hands as they fiddled in her lap. “It’s Alphonse. I don’t
know what to do.”

“You saw him?”

“He was, of course, present
when we found Maddox in your cabin aboard the
Cat
. Keara and the others—they had already rushed off.
 
I was left alone with him for a few moments.”

“Go on.”

“It happened so quickly, but
I’m so afraid…I still love him.”

“What are you afraid of?”

“Never seeing him again.”

“You’re a free woman, Cass.
If I’ve learned anything from all of this, we do not have to deny our hearts to
be free. The beauty of being able to make our own decisions is that we have so
many choices.”

“And yet, we continue to
bind ourselves and not choose.”

“Then choose, Cass. Make the
choice for yourself. You do not owe me, or anyone else, anything. Wasn’t that
the purpose of taking hold of our own destinies?”

“So, you’re telling me that
if I choose to go to Alphonse and be with him—stay with him—I’ll have your
blessing?”

“You’ve never needed
anyone’s blessing—least of all, mine. It’s your life to live. You’ve given
enough of it to me, the town, everyone. You’re a gentle and loving soul, Cass.
You weren’t meant for this life, and I’ve always known that. I just couldn’t
imagine life without that gentleness and you’ve been the closest thing to the
kinder and sweeter memories I have. Don’t read me wrong, you’ve done your duty
well but if I’ve bound you to me with some invisible burden, I give my full and
complete apology. Please…go, and follow whatever your heart and mind tell you.
Oh, how I wish I could.”

Ivory stood and walked
around the desk, pulling Cassandra to her feet. “I love you, cousin, and don’t
believe for one moment that I don’t love you enough to see you happier
elsewhere.”

Ivory wrapped her arms
around Cass and held tight. For a moment, she didn’t want to let go. She now
knew that she had finally found that part of her cousin that Cass had always
kept barren and shielded, and she learned she could help fill it herself. She
walked Cassandra to the door and opened it for her. “You have both my blessing
and my love, Cassandra, you beautiful, wonderful,
brave
girl.”

“Thank you, Ivory. If I don’t
go to him, I’m afraid I’ll regret it forever.” Cassandra sighed. “Oddly enough,
I had a similar chat with Keara just the other day.”

Ivory pursed her lips for a
moment, but didn’t respond.

“I will miss all this…”Cass
continued, sweeping her arms to indicate the ship and all its inhabitants.

“Don’t miss anything…except
us, as we will all miss you. Once things settle down, I’ll send word, and we’ll
find a way to see each other from time to time.”

“You never were a very good
liar.”

“That’s because I’m telling
you the truth. Now, get to work. Once we’re back in Port Royal, we’ll get you
to Kingston somehow.”

“This feels so final.”

“Well, unless you’re one
hell of a swimmer, I’ll see you on deck later.”

They both laughed and
embraced again before Cassandra finally went about her tasks, and Ivory was,
yet again, alone with her thoughts. She walked to her cot and fell in, when the
rumble of her empty stomach and the pounding in her head pulled at her to rise
again some time later.

Chapter
Twenty-Four

Master Green collected
himself and pulled a handkerchief from his pocket to wipe the pools of sweat
from beneath his eyes and around his neck. He rushed about with a candle,
relighting as many as he could find, until he managed to rouse several of the
crew to assist him. “Relight them all. I must find the Captain.”

Racing to the deck, the glow
of the dawning sun washed over the boards and allowed him to make out the
silhouettes of familiar things, drawing him forward until he reached the rail
on the port side. The first of at least a dozen seagulls moved in overhead, and
the cool blue drink below beat softly against the hull, causing the lines to
stretch and the old wood to creak in a drowsy rhythm.

An unfamiliar sound turned
him abruptly about, and as his eyes adjusted to the faint bit of light, he
recognized Maddox, lying face down, groaning and trying to rise. “Maddox!”
Green sprinted to his side and took him under the arms, pulling him to his
feet.
 
He was alarmed to find he had to
bear nearly his friend’s entire weight. He dragged Maddox, drenched and
smelling of sea water and blood, to an upright barrel and sat him down.
 
His limp body tipped and still required
Green’s full support.

“Captain, what has happened
to you?”

“I…”

“Wait, let me get you to
your cabin.” Maddox found the strength to nod, and Green leaned over and lifted
the man—large in his own right— onto his shoulder as if he were no more than a
child.
 

Once inside the cabin, Green
rushed to the water barrel and filled the pitcher that still sat where Maddox
had left it. The, back at his Captain’s side, he filled the goblet and poured
the water into Maddox’s mouth, until he was waved off when his friend had
enough.

“I…let her go.”

“No, she escaped. Do you not
remember?” Green paused. “You have been fighting; are you wounded?”

“No.” Maddox pointed in the
direction of the adjacent pier. “She found a boat and I…I let her go.”

 
Alphonse sighed, closing his eyes for a
moment.
 
When they reopened, he had a
determined look on his face. “This is a good thing, but it is also very bad.
What shall we tell the guard of Ivory’s escape?”

“Just get us out of here
right now. There will be nothing to tell once we’ve gone.”

“But Maddox, they will
pursue us.”

“My old friend, have you
such little faith in me?”

A knock came at the cabin
door, and Alphonse rushed to answer it and found a young sailor, nervously
stepping from foot to foot in the hall. “What is it?”

“It’s the Cap,n, sir. I’ve
just come from town and they’s sayin’ Cap’n Carbonale is…dead.”

Alphonse turned and looked
back at his friend, now drifting off to sleep. He stepped out into the hallway
and closed the door. “What did you see?”

“I only saw ‘em pull a man
from the water near that pier over there, and they was sayin’ ‘twas the Capt’n.
Had his whip, his fancy pants on and all.”

“Did you see the body of
this man?”

“No, I laid back but I heard
‘em say he was carved up pretty good, Master Green. Hard to say who it were,
but they seemed pretty convinced it were him.”

“Get the rest of the crew
aboard. Tell them to say nothing to anyone. Tell them to prepare to set sail
immediately.”

“But the Cap’n, sir? Don’t
ye want to find out about the body?”

“Just do as I told you. Now
go!”

Alphonse returned to
Maddox’s side and looked him over well. He wore the slops of a lowly swab, and
the worn, tired face of a battered sail. Alphonse nodded his head and then
bowed to his captain. “My faith has been restored, as you shall be in time, my
friend. We are going home now.”

* * * *

By mid-afternoon, the
Cat
was miles from Nassau with no
pursuing vessels in sight. Once Green was certain there was no imminent danger,
he addressed the crew and informed them their captain was very much alive, but
that he’d been ambushed and robbed early that morning.
 
He had, of course, bested his attacker and
made it back to the ship. The crew seemed cheered by the victory of their
captain.
 
However, they were less than
pleased with the fact that they would not be getting their share of the reward
for Ivory.

“You will still get the
share you were promised. Somehow, the Captain and I will see to that,” Green
reassured them.
 
Although most walked
away bellyaching and doubtful, he knew this was nothing that couldn’t be
achieved once Maddox was rested and back on his feet.

“You are awake,” Green noted
upon entering Maddox’s cabin and finding him naked and bathing with what was
left in the water pitcher.

“You do realize there was a
time when you knocked prior to entering?”

Green chuckled and turned
his back. “Aye, indeed I do remember those days. However, that was before I
found you flopping like a dying fish on the deck.”

“I was hardly dying, nor was
there any flopping, although that poor young man to whom I bid farewell this
morning put up a valiant fight. I’m assuming they found him, since we are
obviously unpursued on our way back to Kingston.”

“They did.” He paused.
“Murder is a terrible sin. However, I am sure you had your ends—besides
requiring a dead version of yourself, that is.”

“Shall we change subjects? I
believe this topic has met its close.” Maddox pulled a clean pair of stockings
and pants from his trunk, as well as a fresh white linen shirt, and dressed as
Alphonse continued.

“What comes next?”

“What comes next is we
return to Kingston, I see my cat, and, whilst heavily guarded of course, I climb
into my own bed and sleep for a day or two.”

“What will you do once the
guard realizes that you are, in fact, very much alive?”

“Hadn’t I mentioned that we
will be moving on?”

“Moving on?”

“Yes, I do believe I’ve had
more than enough of this. Ten years is a long time to survive out here,
wouldn’t you agree?”

“Yes, I would agree.
 
But, where will we go?”

“I haven’t decided yet, and
since we’ve plenty of time before they realize that poor bastard isn’t me, I
suppose I’ll spend the next week or so considering it.”

“Does this mean you will be
selling the ship?”

“I have an obligation to pay
these men, so the
Cat
, as well as all
but one of the other vessels will be sold so that I may give them their
shares.
 
I will use what’s left to supply
that lone, last ship and gather a small crew to accompany me to whatever
destination I choose. You, of course, are a free man and may do as you wish.”
Maddox swept his hands through his damp hair and checked the time. “Alas! It’s
half past noon, Alphonse, and we haven’t yet had a drop of rum.” Maddox smiled
as he walked to his desk and pulled the cork from a bottle. He poured two
goblets and handed one to Green.

“America?” Alphonse
proposed.

“Perhaps. I’ve heard very
good things of their New Orleans. Does that interest you?”

“It does.”

“There’s something else I
wanted to mention. Do you recall our discussion of… shall we say…”unlogged
items”, prior to the sacking of the
Blue
Diamond
?”

“Of course. The matter of
what was really aboard that ship when Madame Ivory took it.”

“Correct. Well, it so
happens that the unfortunate young man from this morning was rather chatty when
I removed my whip from his throat.”

“What did he tell you?”

“It seems we were right all
along. Apparently, the
Blue Diamond’s
original
captain was a smuggler of more than just African slaves. He also had a
ridiculous stash of diamonds.”

“How clever of Madame Ivory
to rename the ship as she did.”

“I don’t believe it was
clever at all, Alphonse. How incriminating do you think that was? I don’t
believe for one minute that the previous captain was working alone, either. The
fifty thousand pounds makes much more sense when you figure in what those
diamonds are worth—and where they were going.”

“And you plan to just let
her sail away, knowing she has them hidden somewhere?”

“She pillaged them and,
therefore, they are hers. However, swag such as that could make her an even
larger target than she already is. You see, Alphonse? After all of these years,
we were still nothing but pawns in England’s game. The guard used us to do
their dirty work, and now I am at complete ease with my decision to release
her. And the only person who stood to disclose this information for his own
personal gain is gone.”

“If you do not mind my
asking, what of your affection for Madame Ivory?”

Maddox’s eyes shot up from
his cup at Green in surprise. “What of it?”

“You let her go before you
had this piece of intelligence.”

“Yes, I let her go, and what
is your point?”

“Have you given thought to
seeing her again?”

Maddox sighed and waved his
goblet as he spoke. “My friend, I miss our old conversations of looting and
sacking ships.” Maddox walked to his favorite chair and sat. “This talk of
women and
feelings
has become
tedious. What the devil is that banging?”

“Tedious is it, or painful?”

“Madame Ivory and I, shall
we say, enjoyed each other’s company for a brief time.
 
Now the time has come to move on.” Maddox
lowered his eyes and stared into his rum.

“I have spoken all that I
intend to on the matter, but for this one last statement, and then, I will see
you on deck; you can deny…”

“Oh, for the love of Christ!
What on earth is going on out there?” The banging continued until Maddox could
no longer listen or speak. He slammed down his cup and rose to his feet. “Are
you hearing this?” he bellowed at Green and then marched to the door, pulled it
open, and stomped into the hallway. “You there!”

Green stepped out behind him
and they both looked in the direction of the cabin to the left. A carpenter was
at work repairing the broken door on what was Ivory’s cell. “Apologies, Cap’n.
Won’t be but a bit longer.”

“As I was saying, Maddox,
you can deny those feelings if you wish, but that noise in your head will
continue long after the carpenter’s work is done.”

“Enough of this, and enough
of you, for one day.” Maddox turned back into his cabin and slammed the door.
He took a long, deep breath, walked to his waiting goblet, and drank it
straight down. When he lifted the bottle to pour another, it was empty.
 
He pulled at the desk drawers hoping he’d
hidden one and wouldn’t have to leave his cabin again right away.

His eyes scanned the desk
and came up empty, until he recognized the folded letter he had hastily tucked
beneath a paperweight. His long fingers crawled forward across the desk until
they reached it. He tugged at it with his middle and forefinger until it slid
free, and he turned it up to his eyes. He took his seat slowly and leaned back,
bouncing the paper in front of his face until one edge fell free, and her
handwriting appeared inches from his eyes.

He sat up fast and folded it
again and then slammed it down hard on the desk. “No,” he said aloud as the
hammering continued, exacerbating his already anxious spirit. “Oh, to hell with
it,” he groaned as he picked it back up and flipped it open, deliberately this
time, and read each word again.

It
saddens me that after what we’ve shared, you would still wish me dead. I’ve
never known such a complicated man, but then again, I haven’t known many. Even
had I believe you played me and your intentions were not pure, I still would
have done nothing differently. I choose where I am frail and where I am strong.
You had no hand in that. I am a pirate, and I am unashamed. I am also a free
woman, and that part of me you shall never own. As are your beautiful gowns,
Maddox Carbonale, I am shredded tonight… but you have lost nothing. I have much
in common with those gowns, for as you said, you have dozens more.