Pirate Souls

I - Chapter 11 - All slaves

The days that follow are often somewhat strange. We make love at the slightest opportunity.

The crew takes little notice. And there are very few people left on board. Nick and Léon, the two ship's boys. Bappé and Leng who are as different as chalk and cheese, are absolutely complementary in navigation and in revelry. Rotten Rick's happy mood does not detract from his pestilence. Cook is there and the mate John. And lastly, my eternal defender who does not dare set foot on Tortuga so lasting is the hatred of the Spaniards on the island. Five sailors whose names I do not know also stay on the Anarkhia while the freebooters have gone off in search of another mission with various captains after payment of their services. The most severely injured during the battle received an extra bonus. I suspect some of them cut themselves up purposefully to get more money.

From time to time, the Irishman takes me with him to the island when he does business with his regular clients. For that, I disguise myself in the same manner as the day following my abduction. Man's apparel, a turban around my head to hide my long blond hair and an exaggeratedly masculine air. The captain appreciates this subterfuge. It amuses him. And it also excites him to know that he is the only one to know the truth about my sex. The only one to enjoy my body and my beauty to the full.

I have finally been able to ascertain that this island is not in truth a den of robbers. Bordered by mountains to the North and the large harbour to the South, it is easy to imagine how this island has offered precious safety to the freebooters. The situation changed with the repression of piracy by the French authorities. Trade is flourishing, to judge by the many departures and arrivals of ships of all kinds. There are abundant plantations of sugar cane inland, which explains the presence of the large number of slaves.

Steven speaks French. Well, speaks is an exaggeration. Suffice it to say that he can stumble through a few words. I love watching him doing business. I was right. He can neither read nor write. On the other hand, he counts skilfully and he has a formidable memory. This is fortunate, because there is no lack of swindlers among the merchants. As soon as he smells a rat, Cook comes to his assistance, flexes his big muscles in front of dishonest clients and negotiations then continue quite smoothly.

Our destination, Louisiana, is not a current one for the ships departing Tortuga. Most often, the boats leave for France to deliver the sugar grown on the island. This is a stroke of luck for the Irishman who negotiates dearly the transport of a rich slave trader and his human cargo.

Steven and I do not broach the unwelcome subject of my future delivery to New Orleans. I have high hopes that he will change his mind and that he will spit out the identity of his partner in my abduction. If this person is a monstrous brothel-keeper, I am convinced that Steven will not let me go. The captain's feelings for me are strong. His words and his caresses are proof of this at each embrace.

For the first time since my abduction, I am invited to a game of dice with Nick and Léon. We settle down in the shadow of a torn canvas on the deck. And I learn that they are aged twelve and thirteen. Nick is a street kid from New York. He enlisted on the Anarkhia at the age of ten. Léon is the youngest of a family of fishermen. He was on a small vessel carrying dried fish off the coast of Hudson Bay, when he was attacked by the Irishman and his band. He fought well to protect his wares. Steven offered him a post on his ship. He accepted.

We play right through an afternoon and an evening. The rules are simple. You have to obtain the most points and taunt your beaten adversary with a torrent of abuse. We rival in eccentric word play until the Irishman calls us to order. Our hysterics are, according to him, bad publicity for a merchant ship. Could he be jealous of the two children?

The day of our departure is here at last. It is with a blend of horror and disgust that I watch thirty or so slaves come aboard. Bappé's disgusted air tells me that he feels the same about this human cargo.