The Butcher's Daughter, page 22
“Are you up for a new adventure?”
“Certainly. You have some thoughts?”
“I do indeed. When you are fit and able I will share an idea or two that might amuse you.”
I leaned close to his ear. “Well,” I whispered, “I should rest then. But first, perhaps you could row me over to the ship? I think I might be well enough for one small adventure in my bed…”
BA-BA-BA-BA-BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
At first I thought I must be hallucinating from a relapse of the fever. I bolted upright in my bed when I heard the boom of heavy cannon all around us. Hunter did the same. It was still dark outside. We threw on our clothes, grabbed our swords and pistols and rushed up to the main deck.
Ugly, wretched war had found us. War had caught us napping.
I froze in horror when I saw the dark silhouettes of three ships sitting in the bay blasting away at our camp with their great guns. Our flimsy tents along the shore were exploding in balls of flame, one after the other. I heard the screams men on shore, my men, and then I saw a fourth ship, a large war-carrack, emerge out of the darkness. She was sailing towards us with angry fighters lined-up along her rails. She looked nearly as formidable as the Star. What few men I had on board the Star with me, less than twenty souls in all, scrambled up on deck with swords and muskets in hand. But we had no chance against the numbers lumbering towards us.
“Mary,” Hunter said. “Quick now, slip over the side and swim to shore. Run into the jungle and hide. We’ll hold them off as long as we can. Go now!”
“No! I’ll not slink away in the night like some craven coward.”
“Mary!”
And then I saw the face of my enemy and at once I understood. Two hulking brutes, two giants, stood on the quarter deck of the war-carrack sailing towards us, goading their men on. The shorter brother wore an eye-patch. The Síol Faolcháin had crossed the Atlantic to find and butcher us!
“Look, James!” I said and pointed my sword at the giants.
“Jesus! The Twins! But how?”
Then Billy stumbled on deck, dragging his gimpy leg. He carried no weapons and seemed in a hurry to reach the rail.
Hunter raised his pistol at him. “Billy! Stop!”
Billy spun around to look at me. His eyes were filled with terror. His cheeks were stained with tears.
“I’m sorry, Lady Mary. I’m sorry, so terrible sorry for what I done!”
His body started shaking. He broke down and sobbed. He ignored Hunter and turned away to climb up on the rail.
“Billy!” Hunter shouted and cocked the hammer on his pistol back.
But I placed my hand over Hunter’s wrist and pulled his arm down. “No, James. He’s only a boy.”
“He’s a fucking traitor! He’s old enough to die!”
“You can’t be certain of that. What does it matter now? We’re trapped. We’ll both be dead soon enough. I pray there is a life after this one, a life we can share together. I love you, James Hunter. With all my heart and soul I love you.”
We heard a splash of water after Billy jumped.
Hunter seized me in his arms. “And I love you, Mary. Survive this night, I beg you. Whatever you must do to keep your life - swear to me you will!”
After I reassured him with an empty nod, he kissed me hard and released me. He turned his attention on the Twins. Their warship was less than fifty yards away, still gliding slowly towards us. Hunter raised his pistol and shot into the crowd of men. A sailor at the bow with a grappling hook in hand groaned and tumbled into the black water.
We had no time to ready the great guns. We had no time to raise the anchor or to set our sails. Hunter quickly formed what men we had in a skirmish line behind the bulwarks. We fired off several volleys through the gunports before the carrack coasted up alongside us. Our situation was hopeless.
The ships struck hard. I lost my footing and fell backwards. The back of my head hit the skylight hard and could feel warm blood trickling down my neck from a gash across my skull. I tried to stand but felt woozy. And then a wave of men yelling curses poured over our rails and pushed my own men back. My crew fought bravely, desperately, but were easily overwhelmed and surrounded. When I finally managed to stand, I ordered my men to lower their weapons. The Twins wanted me, not them, and I hoped I might somehow purchase their lives by surrendering my own. My men obeyed. The carrack’s men moved about disarming us.
Then the Twins leapt over the rail together. I looked for Hunter but couldn’t find him. When the Twins saw me, they smiled.
Then Hunter emerged from the shadows near the forecastle with his sword raised above his head and charged at the taller Twin. The giant towered over Hunter and grinned. I wanted to fall to my knees and cry. Hunter had chosen to die hoping, I suppose, that his death might satisfy the Twins’ thirst for blood and save me. His attack was suicide.
The two men squared-off and started trading light blows, testing one another. A stillness settled over the deck as all eyes turned to watch Hunter and the taller Twin go at it.
The fighting pair circled warily around each other for a bit and then viciously started jabbing and lunging at one another. Steel struck steel. The giant had the strength and girth of a bull and quickly took control. Wielding a sword in each hand, he attacked with unrelenting rage. Hunter, quick and strong, parried every thrust, blunted every blow, but still the brute kept advancing, forcing Hunter back.
And then the Twin landed a savage hit with a hard kick into Hunter’s chest. Hunter stumbled backwards and didn’t stop until his back slammed into the main mast. As the giant moved in for the kill, I put my hand to my mouth and gasped.
But before the Twin could reach Hunter, Hunter, in a burst of incredible speed and energy, pushed himself off the mast, launched himself into a summersault and barely missed slicing the Twin’s head off. Somehow the Twin succeeded in blocking the mortal blow at the last second. Even so, a trickle of blood ran down the monster’s cheek from a deep gash across his brow.
Hunter savagely pressed home his attack with raw power, slashed away with blinding fury, forcing the Twin back on his heels. The giant’s grin vanished when he couldn’t regain his balance. And when he realized that he was fighting for his life, he glanced over at his brother, looking dazed and confused.
And then Hunter made an awkward turn. At first I thought he had twisted his ankle or slipped. He lost his balance. Worse, he seemed to have let his guard down. The giant saw his chance and with all his ungodly strength, he thrust his sword straight at Hunter’s heart. But the big man’s blade found only empty air to stab when Hunter deftly stepped aside. Hunter’s timing had been flawless. Before the giant could recover from his error, Hunter whipped his sword around and plunged the steel deep into the giant’s massive chest. The blade ripped through lung and pierced the monster’s back. The Twin dropped his two swords and sank to one knee.
But then the one-eyed Twin stepped forward, pulled his pistol from his belt and without a word shot my Hunter dead. I watched in horror as Hunter fell. The one-eyed Twin had his men pick my poor Hunter up; he had them pitch Hunter’s limp body over the side like garbage. I did my best - for Hunter - not to falter. I hid my tears. I tried to be strong. I steadied myself for death.
Our captors bound our hands. They took my men below but kept me on deck and tied me to the main mast. They left me there alone. Not far from my feet I could see a puddle of blood seeping into the planks where Hunter had fallen. I began to cry. And then I heard men lowering boats in the water and I watched a wave of longboats with teams of men from all four ships move towards shore. After the Twins had secured the beach, two louts came for me. They roughly tossed me into Star’s small boat and rowed me to the island. I couldn’t tell in the dark how many of my men had been killed as we stepped on the beach. Some I reasoned must have survived the barrage and fled into the jungle. The few bodies we walked by as my captors hustled me towards the only tent still standing had been carved-up by grapeshot. It was a quick, if gruesome death. It was a better death I knew than what was waiting for me inside that tent. My two escorts, one on each side of me, dragged me by my arms inside where the one-eyed Twin stood waiting.
“Ah, Mary, Mary, Mary,” the one-eyed Twin offered with a crooked smile. “How very happy I am you’re alive and well. How I’ve longed to see you, to touch you, to feel your soft skin against mine. I’ve thought a lot about you since our last encounter.”
I looked at him defiantly in the eye as his two lackeys held me firm. My thoughts turned back to the day of days and I smiled. This animal could hurt me. He could make me scream and beg. He could mutilate my body and kill me. But he could never truly break me. He could never make me yield. Never. And if there was the slightest opportunity to kill him, even wound him, I would take it.
He circled around me like a predator about to devour its prey. “You won’t be smiling much longer, my love. I am, you know, a cultured man. I am fluent in Italian, French and Spanish and I can even speak tolerable Latin and Greek. I appreciate fine art and music. I appreciate beauty in all its forms. You are an exquisite beauty I must say. What a sinful waste it would be if I were to exact my full revenge on thee here and now. But then again, my, my, my, well I know what a deadly, poisonous bitch you are.”
He stopped in front of me, ripped my blouse open and laughed. “Ahhh, I knew it! Your breasts are perfect, like two beautifully shaped melons. Your nipples are not too big and not too small. Everything about you Mary is nearly flawless. I even like this short hair of yours. It is most becoming. I should commission an artist to paint you in the nude for my own enjoyment later.”
Then he took a dagger from his belt and placed it against my cheek. He ran the tip of the blade playfully across my lips, down my chin, down my neck, across my chest and around my nipples. I closed my eyes. I clenched my teeth. My muscles tensed as I braced myself for pain. But I refused to beg. I tried to hide my fear. I bit my lower lip to keep it from quivering. I had the urge to pee and squeezed my legs together.
“Well my dearest Mary, did you know there is a bounty on your head?” he asked and wagged a finger in my face. “Tsk, tsk, tsk. You’ve been a naughty, naughty girl. You’ve committed piracy on the high seas back in Ireland. You’ve killed the queen’s good men. How can I carve you up on this fucking island and still collect the bounty? Your flesh will putrefy before I can get your body back to England. No, no, I will not kill you. Not here. Your life has more value to me than your death - for now. I’ll let the English kill you and they will pay me for the pleasure. You’ll be drawn and quartered at Smithfield. Your body parts will be dragged by horses across the four corners of England. The English will stick that lovely head of yours on a pike outside the Tower. I doubt any man will want you then. Oh Mary, my deadly, little viper, what a painful, grisly death you face, eh?”
I opened my eyes and looked down at the one-eyed monster’s brother sitting in the sand in a corner of the tent. His shirt was soaked in blood and he was whizzing his breath away. He would not last through the night. This was Hunter’s parting gift to me. Again I smiled.
The one-eyed Twin turned to look over at his wounded brother. He understood my thoughts.
“You needn’t concern yourself with him. He’ll live or die. What of it? Let’s concern ourselves with you. You’ve lost everything, Mary. Your ships, your gold, your men, your precious lover Hunter too, all lost. Ah yes, the gold - Billy told us where to find it, where you buried it. Very soon it will all be mine.”
I ignored the pig and glanced over at Billy. He was standing in a corner across from the wounded Twin, still dressed in his wet clothes and shaking. I finally broke my silence.
“Why Billy, why? What insult did I ever give you or your family?”
Billy looked away, ashamed, and did not answer me.
“Oh, Mary let him be,” the one-eyed Twin said softly. “The poor lad is embarrassed as you can plainly see. Where’s your heart, your kindness? Have you none at all? Billy has been working for me from the very start. I killed his father first and then held his sister ransom. Then I broke his leg just to get your attention, your sympathy, to hire him aboard your ship. Well, in truth it is my dead brother’s ship is it not? Breaking the boy’s leg was a nice touch don’t you think? It was my idea to use him as my mole. And when you sent him back to Ireland, he came running back to me. He told me everything to save his sister. Come over here, Billy. That’s a good lad. No reason to be shy around our sweet and gentle Lady Mary.”
I could see the tears pooling in Billy’s eyes as he slowly shuffled towards me. I was glad Hunter had not killed him. He was just a boy, a poor, abused boy trying to protect his sister.
“You’ve done well, Billy,” the one-eyed Twin said as he wrapped one arm around Billy’s shoulder and hugged him close. “I’m proud of you, my good lad. Have you ever seen breasts like these? No? Cat got your tongue, boy? No matter. I forget how young you are. Well here we are Billy. You’ve done everything I’ve asked of you and as your reward you can join your sister now. Off you go my lad.”
A spray of blood splattered across my face and chest as the wretched pig sliced the boy’s throat open with a quick jerk of his dagger. Billy stared at me in shock, crumpled to the ground and died.
“Ahhh, he was just a boy!” I blurted out and started crying.
The one-eyed bastard drove his fist into my stomach without warning. I doubled over in pain and couldn’t breathe.
“Do not question me, I did the boy a favor!” he screamed. As I struggled to catch my breath, he wiped his dagger across my skin. He smeared Billy’s blood over my breasts and hands. He roared with laughter as he looked me up and down. “There now, look at this! Ha! Ha! Ha! How fitting, Mary! Billy’s blood is on your hands!”
I bared my teeth and lunged at him, hoping to rip out his throat. But his men held me fast. The Twin backhanded me so hard across the face I nearly fainted.
“Still yourself, Mary! Restrain your temper, bitch! Don’t you see? Poor Billy would’ve been tormented all the rest of his days had I not shown him my mercy. We put dogs down, put them out of their misery, for less. Well, I’m not quite certain you heard me before, listen carefully now Mary: I… have… taken… all… your… ships…”
“You lie!” I said, spitting the blood pooling in mouth out on the sand. The one-eyed Twin’s savage blow had split my lip. “My men are well on their way to Ireland.”
“No, no, Mary. We are friends. I would never lie to you. Everything I am telling you is true, all true. And I want you to suffer knowing how colossal are your blunders before I hand you over to those putrid English shits. Old Havana? Isn’t that where you sent your precious fleet? Aye, Old Havana it was and that is where we surprised your men as your ships sat defenseless riding anchor in the bay. My ships flew the King of Spain’s royal colors, the Cruz de Borgoña, and I had this wonderful pilot with me too, a very knowledgeable Spaniard, who showed me the way. Poor, stupid Gilley, he hesitated when we pulled into the bay. He wasn’t sure what to do. He let us come in close. The fool never even ran out his guns. After we took your ships, with hardly a shot fired mind you, I had Gilley bound to the main mast and, aye, you know what happened next. I took my time killing him too. I used this very blade to filet him. Good God could that old sot squeal. I can still hear his pathetic cries for mercy ringing in my ears. Oh yes, that old drunk was not too proud to beg.”
I lowered my head. I could feel all my strength draining from my limbs. All was lost. My poor, dear Gilley, dead. Hunter and Gilley, dead. All my men, dead. My body began trembling. Tears streamed down my cheeks.
The one-eyed Twin looked over at one of his men. “Bring the Spanish toad to me!”
“Ohhh...” I offered meekly moments later when two thugs dragged Cortés inside the tent. The one-eyed Twin was right. My blundering had indeed been colossal. For the first time in my life, I knew the utter shame of absolute defeat, of total humiliation. The feeling was a supremely wretched one, ugly and unnatural. For the first time in my life, I wanted to fall down and die - not to escape to Heaven - I yearned to be no more. I wanted my very existence to end.
“Mary,” Cortés called out to me, dropping to his knees. He clasped his hands together as if he were in prayer and started sobbing. “They took my wife, my daughters. I had no choice. I did, I did not know it would come to this. I swear.”
He saw Billy’s dead body sprawled across a patch of blood-drenched sand and swallowed hard. “The boy, Mary, the boy is the one who betrayed you Mary, not me, never me. I am sorry, so very sorry.”
“It’s alright, Rodriguez,” I said and tried offering him a reassuring smile. “You were right to protect your wife and daughters.”
“Spaniard,” the one-eyed Twin barked. “You and your arrangements with the Captain-General might be useful to me in the future. Spain and England I think will be at war before too long and God how I hate the fucking English. That makes us allies and nearly friends. You are free to go your way.”
“And my family?”
“Your family? Why I’m no barbarian, sir. I never laid a hand their pretty, little heads. But I have men in Barcelona, men who will look in on them from time to time. If you ever cross me, well…”
“And Mary?”
“She’s hardly any concern of yours. Now leave us. Your touching reunion is over and I suspect you’re too squeamish for what will happen next.”
After he made the sign of the cross, Cortés quickly crawled backwards until he was outside the tent. I wasn’t certain whether to pity him or curse him as I watched him leave. It hardly mattered.
Then a seaman popped his head inside and told the one-eyed Twin that Carib warriors were massing along the edge of the jungle not far off. The giant nodded and turned to me again.
“Well, damn. It seems we must cut our own pleasant reunion short. So now you know most everything, Mary. Did you really think you could kill my brother, take his ship, steal our wealth and we’d let you sail away scot-free? Does your arrogance know no bounds? I’ve sailed across the world to find you. I’ve stripped you bare. I’ve taken everything from you. Everything I tell you and Mary, I want the world to know.”
