Chapter 30

The Mirage sailed into Charles Town Harbor just behind Colonel Rhett’s small fleet, and immediately the crew found themselves acclaimed as champions along with the rest of the returning party, though Rhett received the lion’s share of the credit for leading the successful expedition. Eden became exceedingly miffed when she learned they could not reveal the most vital part her husband had played in executing Bonnet’s capture. But Devlin was content to note that the townsfolk openly appreciated the aid he and his men had delivered, and that they now seemed proud to claim him as one of their own.

Stede Bonnet and his crew were promptly jailed, awaiting their coming trial. While most of Stede’s pirates were held under heavy guard at the watch house, he and his quartermaster, David Herriot, were lodged separately at the home of the town constable.

When Devlin questioned Colonel Rhett about this unusual arrangement, the old man told him, “It appears that some of our town officials still consider Bonnet a gentleman pirate, despite his recent actions, though I myself fail to see their reasoning. It has to do with the fact that the fellow was born and raised to be a gentleman, that he is well educated, especially compared to most of the riffraff pirating the seas, and that before he turned to brigandry, he owned a plantation in Barbados.”

Devlin gave a derisive snort “Bonnet came by his plantation through marriage, not merit. Furthermore, he soon abandoned his labors and his wife for a more adventurous life. He claims his wife was a shrew and drove him to seek some measure of peace from her harridan’s tongue by taking to the sea. For my money, he simply wanted more gain for less sweat.”

Rhett nodded in agreement “There are some who do not concur with you, however. Between the two of us, those who do not and are even now begging leniency on Bonnet’s behalf, are those who have previously done business with the man, or others like him, and despair of having their names linked with his in court. It would not surprise me if Major Bonnet managed to escape some dark night with the help of those who most fear what his testimony before the judge might do to their own characters.”

As had happened once before, following Devlin’s rescue of Blackbeard’s beleaguered prisoners, he now experienced the same curious result. After being touched by Eden and becoming visible, he found he could remain visible for some time after she broke contact. This time the mystifying tendency was stronger and lasted longer. Rather than being normal for mere minutes, he could now walk about freely for upward to two hours or more. And, when he felt himself beginning to fade, if he concentrated his thoughts and energies against it, he could sometimes prevent himself from disappearing so soon. When he did fade altogether, he could instantly be restored to view simply by brushing Eden’s hand, or her sleeve, and remain discernible for another couple of hours.

This development was extremely encouraging, leading all of them to hope for his complete recovery in the near future, Eden most of all. Though her pregnancy seemed to be progressing nicely, she was often plagued by worries that her child would be afflicted with its father’s invisibility. Try as she might, she could not relieve her mind of that dreadful prospect, though Devlin assured her she was being foolish.

“Darling, the child will be perfectly normal, with all its fingers and toes.”

“Aye, but will they be perceivable? Worse yet, will the poor mite appear and disappear in the blink of an eye, come and gone like an errant breeze?”

“Better that than with its mother’s outrageous imagination,” he told her. “Sweet heaven, Eden! You are driving yourself daft, and I’ll wager a hundred pounds that you are fretting yourself into fits for naught. Expectant mothers are supposed to remain calm and think tranquil thoughts, not dredge up every horrible consequence likely to occur, and more that are pure drivel.”

“ ’Tis more than drivel,” she argued. “You have merely to look at yourself to see that the impossible can happen.”

“I still say you are being a silly twit. But I suppose that is to be expected. Your mother did warn me that breeding women are often prone to emotional disturbances, but I mistook her to mean tears and angry outbursts, not fanciful nonsense and outright derangement.”

Eden glared at him. “I’ll remind you of that when our child arrives only half visible, O Wise One. Then we’ll see who is being irrational.”

Autumn was fully upon them before they quite knew where the time had gone, and though Charles Town was not yet completely free of the threat of tropical storms, the torrid temperatures fell to a more pleasant level. This was a great relief to them all, but especially to Eden and Jane, who were miserable enough in their delicate conditions without the added heat and humidity. Eden clung to her mother’s prediction that the dizziness and nausea would cease within another few weeks. Unfortunately, by then her figure would have begun to expand, and her trim waistline would be but a fond memory.

For the time being, however, it was marvelous to have a fuller bosom, which she hoped to keep after the baby was born. Her added dimensions in that area had Devlin deliriously fascinated, quite like a boy with a new toy, and he could scarcely look at the straining bodices of her gowns without salivating. The poor man walked around in a state of constant arousal, and their lovemaking was showing no signs of diminishing in frequency or quality. Though Eden wouldn’t have believed it possible, it was more passionate with every passing day.

There was yet another love affair blossoming in the household these days, though Devlin could scarcely credit it Zeus appeared to be beak-over-tail-feathers in love with Eden’s parrot! It was lunacy and didn’t make a bit of sense, but there was no way to convince Zeus that a falcon could not become enamored of a parrot.

“This is the craziest thing I’ve ever seen,” Devlin marveled, half-despairing that his precious falcon had lost his senses over such a gaudy female bird. “Zeus and Rum Pot?”

Eden had named her feathered friend while still under the misconception that Rum Pot was a male, but the appellation was fitting since the parrot had an inordinate liking for rum, and would pilfer a drink from anyone’s cup whenever possible. Perhaps more curious than Rum Pot’s preference of drink, or the odd attraction betwixt the birds, was the fact that the parrot appeared capable of viewing the invisible hawk, while no one else, save Devlin, could do so.

Eden thought the feathered courtship was hilariously funny, particularly as Rum Pot was playing coy, making Zeus work for every scrap of her attention and often mocking him terribly. “Devlin, calm yourself,” she told him. “If Zeus is like most men, he’ll soon tire of the chase. Besides, Rum Pot is not giving him much encouragement.”

“You think not?” he disputed. “Then why is she making eyes at him at this very moment?”

The parrot was preening herself, but since Eden could not see Zeus, she hadn’t been aware that Rum Pot was putting on this fetching act for the falcon’s benefit. She had to rely on Devlin’s word that Zeus was presently transfixed with Rum Pot’s come-hither display.

Eden shook her head in befuddlement, then gave a fatalistic shrug. “Oh, well, I suppose ’twill work itself out somehow. After all, look at the two of us. Who would ever have thought we would make such a perfect pair?”

“There is a difference, my sweet. According to several sources, the Bible for one, like consorteth with like, and birds of a feather flock together. These two are definitely not birds of a feather, and what they are aiming toward goes against all the laws of nature.”

Eden laughed. “So speaks my husband, the expert, who even now cannot explain the bolt of lightning from out of the blue which rendered him invisible. That, too, was supposed to be impossible, love. This world is ever full of surprises, is it not?”

“That, and sassy women,” Devlin agreed, getting in the last word.

At the end of October, just a few days before Stede Bonnet’s trial was to begin, the pirate captain and his quartermaster managed to escape in the middle of the night, much as Colonel Rhett had predicted. Though it couldn’t be proved, it was believed that the guards had been bribed to turn a blind eye to their prisoners’ flight. It was curious that Bonnet did not take the Revenge, or any other adequate ship anchored in the harbor. Devlin attributed this to the fact that two lone men could hardly sail a ship of that size without the aid of a crew. He suspected Bonnet and Herriot would return as soon as they could gather enough mates to reclaim their sloop.

Governor Johnson was furious. Immediately, he offered a reward of seven hundred pounds for their capture, dead or alive, and appointed Colonel Rhett to head the search. As luck would have it, however, a fierce squall was brewing, forcing the search party to postpone their departure until after it had passed.

The weather worsened steadily, and it soon looked as if they were due for a full-fledged tempest, if not an actual hurricane. Cursing the fact that he hadn’t been able to gauge the extent of the gale early enough to transfer the Mirage to sea, and the Dame Anise away from the dock, Devlin headed to the harbor to secure the two ships as well as he could against any damage they might sustain. Then he and Nate hurried home to latch the shutters tightly over the windows, move porch furniture indoors, and generally make the house and grounds as snug as they could.

For three long days, the wind howled, beating rain upon the house in gusts that rattled the shutters. Thunder roared like an enraged bear until Dora was loath to venture into the kitchen by herself, afraid she would be struck by lightning even through the tightly shielded windows. By dawn of the fourth day, when the gale finally began to ease, everyone was irritable from lack of proper sleep and from being restricted to the house for so long.

Finally, by mid-morning, the storm had abated sufficiently for the men to go forth and assess the loss. The house and stable were unharmed, but Eden’s henhouse seemed to have taken the brunt of the damage. The roof had blown half off, and a good number of ducks and chickens had flown the coop. Several lay dead, littering the rear lawn.

Next, the men went down to the docks to evaluate how well their ships had weathered the tempest. To Devlin’s vast relief, the Mirage, lying at anchor in the center of the harbor, had escaped unscathed. The Dame Anise had not fared so well, however. Necessarily tied up at the wharf, she’d taken quite a beating, and it would take much time and effort to restore her to seaworthy condition. It was hardly a consolation that they’d scarcely gotten a good start at refurbishing the crippled vessel, for now it would take twice as long to get her ready to sail.

“I swear this frigate has become a millstone about my neck,” Devlin bemoaned. “She is my personal albatross. Mayhap ’twould be better to sell her to the first buyer with coin in his pocket and be done with it.”

“And do what? Buy another?” Nate asked. He shook his head. “Nay, Dev. She’s a good little ship, only wantin’ someone to see to her care. Don’t throw good money after bad by purchasin’ someone else’s raft o’ problems.”

They returned to the house to find Eden weeping copiously. Sure that something dreadful had happened, Devlin rushed to her side. “Darling, what’s wrong? Is it the babe? The demise of your chickens? I’ll buy you more, you know.”

Seating himself next to her on the divan, Devlin pulled her to him and kissed her sweetly on the lips. Almost instantly, he recoiled, his expression one of horror. “Damnation, Eden!” he exclaimed. “What on God’s glorious earth have you been eating?” He swiped hastily at his mouth, as if to remove the awful taste.

“Raw radishes,” she answered, as Jane erupted into peals of merriment.

“Radishes?” Devlin echoed stupidly. Then he sighed. He should have expected as much. “That, I suppose, is the reason for your weeping. Lord knows, the small bit I sampled from your lips was strong enough to put hair on your chest, let alone a tear in your eye.”

Eden nodded, turning her swimming turquoise gaze to his. “They’re very hot,” she admitted, her voice still husky. “Mother cautioned me to eat them with buttered bread, but I was too eager for them to wait that long. Of a sudden, I simply had to have radishes, or die wanting them.”

Devlin looked perplexed, and Jane took pity on him. “Cravings, Devlin,” she explained. “Most expectant mothers experience them at some time during their term. For myself, I’ve had the strongest yearning for calf’s liver, though I normally don’t care for it.”

He shook his head, as if still not able to comprehend this strange female phenomenon. “Liver I can understand to a point, but radishes? Sweet heaven! ’Tis a blarsted wonder she hasn’t set her stomach aflame, and the babe with it! At the least, she’ll have a bad case of indigestion to accompany her stomach upsets.”

“Nay, Devlin,” Eden informed him, “the nausea seems to have disappeared entirely and quite abruptly. Now ’tis only this curious longing for radishes that plagues me.”

“Well, I can only hope this leaves as well. And soon. I don’t mean to offend you, pet, but you have the breath of a dratted dragon. I expect to see smoke and flames erupt from your mouth at any moment. Certainly, it does not promote intimacy.”

While Eden glared at him, as if to say she would be enduring none of this if he hadn’t gotten her with child in the first place, Jane commented with a wise chuckle, “Fear not, young lovers. This, too, shall pass.”

“Until it does, I strongly suspect neither of us will get much rest at night for Eden’s complaints of a burning stomach,” Devlin predicted. “Why is it no one thinks to advise fathers-to-be of all these problems before they occur?”

“Most likely because ’tis so much fun surprising you with them,” Eden told him with a smirk. “And because, if we have to suffer, you might as well share some of it right along with us.”

Just when it seemed that the seas had finally calmed enough to sail after Stede Bonnet, two new pirate ships appeared at the mouth of Charles Town harbor. Rumors flew that the brigands intended to sack the town. Some wondered if Stede Bonnet was among them, intent on regaining his own ship and a bit of revenge in the bargain.

While the two pirate vessels sat patiently at anchor, as if daring the first foolish merchant ship to cross their path, the town fathers quickly put a plan of attack into action. Four ships, the Mirage included, were hurriedly outfitted for battle and disguised as common traders, their cannon hidden beneath loosely constructed packing crates. When all was ready, they sailed as a group toward the mouth of the harbor, Devlin once more covered with the black hood that was fast becoming his trademark.

He wondered why he’d allowed Colonel Rhett to recruit him so effortlessly. Was it simply because he had so little opportunity now to play the rogue that he missed the excitement of battle on the seas? Or was it his love for Eden that sent him rushing out on this rescue mission, to save her precious town from sacking and make her proud? He rather suspected it was the latter, and that somewhere along the route Eden had not only stolen his heart, but gone a long way toward reforming him as well—despite himself.

Their ruse of disguising the ships worked. Mistaking the vessels for unarmed merchantmen, the pirates opened fire ... and were immediately met with an answering barrage. One sloop was hit broadside beneath the waterline and instantly began to take on water. She was easily boarded, her crew subdued and arrested in short order.

At this turn of events, the second pirate ship took flight, heading toward the open sea where the brigands hoped to outrun any pursuers. It was only then, through his viewing glass, that Devlin got a good look at the captain on the bridge of the fleeing sloop. It was none other than the nefarious Captain Swift!

Devlin immediately issued orders to give chase. For three hours, the Mirage stalked the enemy ship, forcing its crew to alter their course numerous times, until finally the brigands turned to face the challenge being offered them. There was hardly time for a brief exchange of advance volleys, with little damage incurred to either ship, before they drew alongside each other. Even as the grappling hooks found their marks, Devlin took the conflict onto the decks of Swift’s sloop, Nate and several mates close behind him.

Swift was awaiting him on the poop deck. No sooner had Devlin and his quartermaster landed before him than they were quickly surrounded by half a dozen of Swift’s men, all with weapons drawn and leveled at the two friends.

“We meet again, Kane,” Swift said in greeting, a sneer twisting his lips. “As I told ye we would.”

“What’s this, Swift?” Devlin replied, casting a curious glance about him. “Is your shoulder wound yet so bad that you cannot fight me yourself, but now need others to do the deed for you? I am flattered indeed, that you deem me so formidable that it would take so many men to accomplish the task.”

Over the noise of the battle being waged around them, Swift gave a harsh, derisive bark of laughter. “Don’t exalt yer sword skills to such heights, my man.” His brow rose as he added, “Or should I say, my phantom? Which is why I am takin’ such drastic precautions now, though I’m not certain I truly believe such drivel as I’ve heard.”

Momentarily taken aback, Devlin was still formulating the question in his mind when who should step into his view but Dudley Finster! “Ah, now the light begins to dawn,” Devlin drawled, eyeing the scrawny accountant with distaste.

Evidently feeling safe with so many men guarding Devlin, Finster swaggered forward, the sun glinting off the lenses of his new spectacles. He stopped before Devlin and smirked up at him, his long pointed nose and protruding teeth giving him the look of the weasel he was. “Thought you’d seen the last of me, didn’t you?” he taunted. “’Twas my good fortune to encounter Captain Swift a few weeks back. The good man redeemed me from that lecherous old fart you sold me to.”

“Of course, I would never have ransomed such a mewlin’ runt had he not possessed such interestin’ information about ye, Devlin,” Swift put in. “However, we acquired a pair of eyeglasses for the fellow, and he’s since been earnin’ his keep by tabulatin’ my treasure. So my coin was well spent”

Devlin gave a contemptuous snort. “I’d take care letting the man so near my purse, were I you,” he warned. “He’s puny, but exceedingly greedy for his size.”

Swift chuckled. “Aye, but he’ll soon have his sticky fingers out of my wealth. Once ye are properly dealt with, he intends to return to Charles Town and court yer lady, Devlin.”

“My wife,” Devlin corrected, leveling a superior look at Finster. “Eden and I are wed, as are Nate and Jane. So you see, Finster, your schemes are all for naught”

“Not so,” Dudley countered cunningly. “With both of you dead, your widows will once again need someone to look after them—and their business interests.”

“Ye’ll not find ’em such an easy mark this time round,” Nate predicted.

“Enough of this bickerin’,” Swift announced. Waving his sword in a broad arc, he indicated the ongoing fray between their crews. “Tell yer men to throw down their weapons and surrender, Kane.”

“Nay,” Devlin replied. “I’ll not forfeit their lives with my own. They’ll fight or not, as they choose.”

Again Swift gave a gruff laugh. “Still such an arrogant pup! And so absurdly noble! So be it, then. But before we send the two o’ ye to yer watery graves, let’s have a look beneath that black hood, shall we? I’ve yet to be convinced of Finster’s wild tales of specter pirates, but I do wonder what ye’re hidin’ behind that cloth. And while we’re about it, let’s see if ghosts can bleed like mortal men.”

As his men stood ready to strike Devlin and Nate down at their slightest move toward their own defense, Swift’s cutlass swung up toward Devlin’s face, the tip of his blade barely snagging the fabric.

At the same time, the sky above them was suddenly rent with the hair-raising shriek of an enraged falcon. There came a mighty swoosh of displaced air as the bird swooped downward with a frantic flapping of huge wings and the savage rake of razor-sharp talons. All accompanied by the terrified screams of the big hawk’s victims as they raised their arms to fend off this invisible winged avenger.

Taking full advantage of the unexpected aid, from such an unanticipated source, Nate and Devlin wasted no time in disabling a number of their guards. Nearly as surprising as Zeus’s attack, two of Swift’s cohorts now turned their weapons on their own mates, charging at their fellow brigands with astounding fervor, if little actual skill.

As soon as Zeus ceased clawing at Swift’s head and flew off as mysteriously as he’d come, the enemy captain quickly recovered his wits. While Devlin was yet occupied in another clash of swords, Swift came at him, leveling a broad swipe at Devlin’s head. Had the weapon met its mark, it would have severed Devlin’s head from his shoulders. A fortuitous lunge to administer a final blow at his current opponent was all that saved Devlin’s neck.

Instead, Swift’s cutlass slashed through Devlin’s plumed hat and continued its hissing arc to find another, less fortunate target—the stunned accountant who’d lost his eyeglasses during Zeus’s attack and had not yet managed to find his way clear of the fray. The fatal blow caught the little man across the forehead, and with nary a cry from his bloodless lips, Finster pitched forward, dead before he hit the planking.

Free now to engage Swift, Devlin met his rival eagerly. For long minutes they battled, steel ringing loudly upon steel as their swords clashed again and again. From the start, Devlin assumed the offensive, steadily backing his adversary across the deck before his relentless advance. Finally came the moment when Swift’s spine met the rail edging the top deck. He had no more space to retreat.

“’Tis your choice, Swift. Either surrender to me now, and I’ll return you to Charles Town for hanging, or you can die here, on the blade of my sword.”

In a desperate effort to avoid either fate, Swift made a clever attempt to launch himself over the barrier behind him. With little room to maneuver, and needing sufficient leverage to clear the rail, he lunged hastily forward. It proved a mortal mistake, as he sorely misjudged his ability to deflect Devlin’s weapon at the crucial moment. The point of Devlin’s sword wavered, flexed back again and speared full into Swift’s chest. On a pained gasp, Swift leaned sharply away, and tumbled backward to the deck below.

Devlin peered down at his archenemy. The man had landed heavily and now lay unmoving, his neck bent at an impossible angle. A small pool of blood darkened his chest, just over his lifeless heart.

Though Swift’s death did not cheer Devlin nearly as much as he’d anticipated, relief flooded through him. With a final look at the sinister man who had brought him so much grief, and would torment him no longer, Devlin turned away. He had more important tasks to attend to. Men to command and a ship to secure—a life to live.

Little else was left to be done save for deciphering the curious business of the two opposing corsairs who had rallied to the defense of the Mirage. Come to discover, the pair had been impressed into Swift’s service much in the same manner as Devlin himself. Neither had chosen piracy for his career, one being an able gunsmith and the other a competent tailor, and both were grateful to be rescued. They begged transport back to Charles Town, where they hoped to be allowed to ply their true trades.

So it seemed that once again, Devlin had had a hand in rescuing innocent victims from a vile brigand’s clutches. To his mind, it was fast becoming an annoying practice. Blarst it, this time it had even cost him his favorite hat!