A Pirate Princess (5 page)

“Let me out this instant
! Leave him here all you want to but you are not keeping me locked in this room one more second! Do you understand? Laron! Yvet! Klaas! Ugh, for mercy sake, Falco! Someone better let me out of here! Guillermo, Novia, where are you? Let me out this instant!” She screamed irately.

“What is the matter with you, woman?” Burke demanded.

Cori glared at the handsome captive. “Do not call me “woman”, nor shall you call me “
mevrouw
”, I hear that plenty from Falco! Because of you I am locked in this stupid room! They have just forgotten me here!”

He did not understand what
mevrouw
meant or what the crazy girl was talking about. Burke shrugged, “I was under the impression that they kept you locked away until they needed you. What happened? Did you get yourself in trouble and this is your punishment? How long does it take for them to forgive your mistake and return you to normal life?”

She began in a pouty whisper, hands still on her hips.
“Punishment? Bah! Every minute here is punishment. My whole life is punishment! I am just as much of a prisoner as you, Sir, but I have earned the right to roam the ship when we are in the middle of the ocean and I cannot escape!” The last sentence grew louder and louder until she was screaming once again.

Turning back to the door and stomping her right foot, she wailed again.
“Falco! Falco! Do you hear me? You better let me out this instant! Laron! Yvet, you stupid oafs! Klaas, I am sorry for putting that dead fish in your bed last week! Please, just let me out!” The door flew open, knocking Cori right into Burke’s arms.

A short woman with auburn
red hair stood in the doorway. Although small in stature and petite in frame, the woman held herself with an air of power and control. She eyed Cori with a hateful glare and a scowl across her lips. The woman’s hair was braided, hanging all the way down her back and swaying quite close to her knees. “What do you think you are doing, Corisanda?” The woman asked condescendingly.

Immediately realizing that she was still in Burke’s arms, Cori jumped away glaring at him accusingly. “Hey,” Burke shrugged again, “you caught my fall yesterday. I just thought I would return the favor.”

“Thanks anyway,” she mumbled as she stared at the floor. Burke instantly noticed Cori’s inability to look the older woman in the eyes as she whispered dejectedly. “I am sorry, Sharlene. I only want out of this room.”

Sharlene ignored Cori’s plea, pointing her eyes toward the newest man aboard her husband’s ship. “You must be Mr. Belcourt, Marin told me about your interesting arrival.”

“Yes. Are you going to let Cori out of here or not?” He asked. Why he felt the need to protect the teasing wench who put him in this predicament in the first place was beyond his imagination, but he could not fight the urge to leave her to her own defenses.

Sharlene stood motionless for a moment, still s
taring at the young man. With a wicked grin, the red haired woman turned to face her step-daughter. “Of course, Corisanda. You are no prisoner here, right? As a matter of fact, I suppose your new friend can do little harm now either. We are a good distance from land and his own ship.” She pushed the door further open and turned to depart.

Cori picked her head back up and glanced at Burke. “Thanks, I guess,” she whispered, hoping he would not ask her about Sharlene.

“No problem, let’s get out of here.” Burke shrugged.

“You should probably try to enjoy your day. As soon
as the moon begins to rise we shall be locked in again,” Cori advised sarcastically. With that, she strolled quickly out of the room, up the stairs, and onto the main deck before Burke could even reach the doorway.

As soon as Burke
ascended the stairs to the deck, Falco stood waiting and ready. “Just so you are aware, Captain Marin and I were awake late last night discussing the best plans for you. I begged him to feed you to the sharks. However, he still thinks it is best to keep you alive for a
little
longer. So, while you are with us you will be working. Today you shall make yourself useful helping Yvet, our Gunner. Learn what you can. If you prove yourself a burden to us I shall get my way and you will be history.
Ja
?”

Burke nodded his head with an amused grin, “Sure, whatever you say,
boss
.”

His sarcasm did not go unnoticed by Falco. Before dismissing the prisoner, the Quartermaster of
The Beloved Loss
added one more piece of advice. “If you touch my fiancé, I shall kill you. Do not look at Corisanda, do not even speak to her.” With that, Falco sauntered away to his other duties, leaving Burke to control his mischievous grin.

Burke approached
Yvet as one would a skittish deer. By what he had gathered watching the Gunner as he took in his surroundings the evening before, Burke knew that Yvet was not very satisfied with his life. Burke first saw Yvet as Cori was walking away from him right before he met Captain Marin St. Aubin. Nothing fooled Burke; there was nothing that he could not understand or get the best of.
Nothing, besides Cori.

“Need something?”
Yvet asked bluntly when Burke approached him.

Burke shrugged, “Well, that little weasel you men call your leader
ordered
me to come
learn
from you today.”

“Ha
! Falco is
not
my leader. The Captain, Marin, he is worthy of being called someone’s leader. Falco de Vries is not worthy of mopping the deck on this ship.” Yvet was doing precisely what Burke had intended. Burke wanted answers, he wanted to know all the weak points about
The Beloved Loss
and it’s faithful or unfaithful crew.

Liking the Gunner solely for the common trait of disliking the Quartermaster, Burke decided to give it to
Yvet straight. “Listen, I am supposed to learn all about being a Gunner from you today. That shows Falco’s ignorance by itself. I am the captain of
The Heart of Calais
, the most feared vessel on the ocean. Now, do you not assume I would know all about the ship’s gunman position?”

Yvet
pondered Burke’s words for a moment. “Yes, you would. I have heard about you, Burke Belcourt.”

“Really?”
Burke questioned without surprise, “And what did you hear about me?”

“I heard other pirates and buccaneers speak of your keen ability to defeat anyone who stands in
the way of doing whatever the heck you please to do,” he paused for a moment as if he was finished speaking. Then, with hesitation in his voice he continued, “I also heard a few ladies on the coast of Peru gossiping about your good looks. I was listening to them prattle and I heard one say that you were reportedly such a good sailor because the ocean is all you think about. They said you hated all women and did not ever plan to marry.”

Yvet
chuckled for a moment before meeting eyes with Burke for the first time through the entire conversation. “Why do you have this reputation for disliking women?” Yvet asked in amusement.

“Well, I see where they would say that. You see, I did plan to remain a bachelor. Of course I notice women and enjoy dinner with a beautiful
lady occasionally, but no, I did not plan to marry. However, I am apparently engaged, and no matter what I do, I cannot escape it. So I suppose I am off the market for them anyhow,” Burke replied, not wanting to think about Odelia, much less discuss her. “Anyway, what should I do to
learn
from you,
Sir
?”

“Let’
s not fool ourselves, you probably know more about being a Gunner than I do. Help me clean a few of these cannons and pretend to watch for any ship getting close to ours. If Falco asks, I am teaching you all I can. Deal?” Yvet bargained.

Burke answered without paying much attention, “Sounds good to me.” He constantly watched for Cori but she never came around.
She must be somewhere relaxing in a warm bath or sewing a gown for her wedding to Falco,
he surmised.

Cori seemed to be a ghost that morning.
Where is she?
He wondered over and over again. The ship was grand but it was not large enough to hide someone completely. Burke even saw Captain Marin and Sharlene occasionally. At lunch, it dawned on Burke where the enchanting sea nymph had been all day. She helped one other woman, a Hispanic maid, serve meals to the rest of the crew.

The pirate
gang was provided according to rank, from the captain and his wife first, down to Guillermo, another Hispanic servant. Cori grimaced when she noticed one last platter of food on the cart. Searching desperately for Novia and frowning when she realized the woman was still occupied with others, Cori took a deep, exasperated breath, picked up the last plate and made her way toward Burke. Burke was sitting alone and he thanked her kindly when she brought his plate. “I wondered where you were today,” he voiced.

“Oh yeah?
I was working.” She mumbled. There was a preoccupied tone in her voice making it seem that she really did not care to speak to him.

“Well your job is done, I guess. What will you
do for the rest of the day? Bask in the sun? Take a nap? What does a privileged pirate’s daughter do on normal days?” Burke questioned.

Cori sighed and rolled her eyes at the seemingly ignorant man. “As a matter of fact,
I shall
still
be working,” she said as she abruptly turned to leave.

Burke tried to catch her but she was gone before he could beg her back. Feeling eyes staring in his direction he glanced toward the large table where th
e captain, Quartermaster, and captain’s wife sat. Marin was staring at Burke questioningly, Falco was glaring viciously, and Sharlene seemed almost jealous of it all. Burke smiled and waved toward them as if they were old friends. His gesture intensified the pirate leaders’ reactions. Burke laughed and turned back to his plate of roast, carrots, and potatoes.

Cleaning cannons proved to be a shipping career less interesting than Burke’s own. The lack of thought usage needed to work with
Yvet gave Burke Belcourt plenty of time to think about his life. He thought of
The Heart of Calais
and his crew, wondering where they were at the moment and when they would be able to track
The Beloved Loss
down to retrieve their captain.

Or, if he would be required to escape the pirate c
rew and how long he would hide before Acel found him. That brought forth ideas of Odelia and the wedding he would soon be forced to participate in. Silently gagging, Burke wondered if he would still be on board
The Beloved Loss
when Cori and Falco were married.

Burke felt like an idiot for allowing himself to be so entranced by the beautiful young woman who was so
happily
betrothed to the most “intelligent idiot” known to man.
Why would Cori want to marry Falco?

Burke questioned himself,
Sure, he is attractive enough for most women but Cori could marry a Prince or a King with her beauty. Plus, Falco is intolerable. Why any woman would want to marry him is beyond me! Cori is a pirate so I am sure she wants to marry another pirate. She probably loves this life more than she lets on and that is also detestable. It is a shame that someone as beautiful as she would be wasted by such an awful lifestyle and career.

Burke allowed himself
to mull over his thoughts all afternoon. He could not understand why he scanned the boat with his eyes every few minutes to see if he could catch a glimpse of the beautiful pirate princess. When evening came and the sun started lowering itself in the sky the voice of the captain was clearly heard across the ship, “Time for dinner, men! Clean up and relax for the night!”

Burke turned to
Yvet with a grin, “I guess we are done.”

“Until tomorrow at least, I have requested that you work with me another few days. I am sorry you are here, you do not deserve to deal with Falco,”
Yvet replied apologetically as they straightened all the cannons into a row.

“Well, it is my own fault. I should have never allowed myself to become mystified by your ship’s decoy,” Burke retorted.

Yvet seemed confused for a moment, “The ship’s decoy? You mean Cori?”

“Yes. I think it’s pretty cold for a woman like Cori to lure in ships so her father can attack
,” Burke explained as if Yvet did not already know all about Cori.

Yvet
shook his head in a disagreeing gesture, “No,
Cori
does not trap ships or sailors.
Sharlene
does.”

“Sharlene?
No, it was Cori who stood on the deck last night in her lingerie to persuade me aboard her daddy’s ship,” Burke calmly argued.

“Yes. Poor, sweet,
Cori…” Yvet mumbled quietly, shaking his head from left to right.

It was obvious that
Yvet pitied the girl, but his reason for doing so was a mystery.
She is not forced to work on this ship and she is not forced to be a pirate. If she wanted out she could surely do it. This is what Cori wants to do, so why would anyone bestow sympathy on the pretty little criminal? I know she calls herself a prisoner here and she has tried to escape a few times, but no doubt those were only in times where she was being reprimanded or had a little lover’s spat with Falco. She probably only does it for attention.