‘It’s yerself they hate most. Come outside now, and I’ll show yer a few of me tricks with a knife so that yer can defend yerself, but it will be best fer yer all if yer leave as soon as yer can.’
‘It is getting late,’ Maribel said as the sun began to dip on the horizon that evening. ‘Sylvester has been gone all day and Higgins with him. I fear that something has happened to them.’
‘Someone would have told us,’ Anna said, but was clearly worried. ‘They are not all against us despite what happened. Sylvester’s crew would stand behind him whatever others thought.’
‘Would they?’ Maribel eyed her uncertainly. ‘Supposing they have been hurt? The crew might be afraid to send for us…Sylvester might forbid it if it meant danger for us.’
‘There is little we can do. They might be anywhere.’ Anna frowned. ‘I do not think they would leave the island without us.’
‘Of course they would not. Captain Sylvester would never desert us.’
Chapter Seven
Maribel’s anxiety grew with every minute that passed. Justin must know that they would be worried. Why was he so late? It was almost dark and he had still not returned. Her instincts were to go and look for him, but he had forbidden her to go down to the waterfront.
She could not sit and wait. The house felt too small and confined to contain her and she needed some air. Anna called to her as she moved towards the door.
‘Where are you going? It is nearly dark and too dangerous to go looking for them now.’
‘I just need some—’ Maribel broke off as she heard sounds outside. She rushed to the door and threw it open, staring in dismay as she saw Higgins and two of Justin’s crew she recognised. They were carrying something between them—Justin’s body. She saw blood on his shirt and clapped a hand to her mouth to stop herself screaming. ‘What happened?’
‘He was set upon by some ruffians.’ Higgins scowled. ‘It was Pike’s crew, ordered to it by him no doubt. The captain had been to see some of the wounded. He had promised to make good their losses and explained why our ship was not in the harbour. They listened to him and he left believing all was settled—then this gang attacked him. He fought them off and wounded or killed three, but they were too many for him. Had I and some of the crew not arrived in time he might have been finished.’
‘Carry him through to his room,’ Maribel said, hovering as they brought Justin’s unconscious body into the house. Her heart was hammering and she felt sick with worry, but would not give way to her fear. ‘He has lost blood—where is his wound?’
‘He has a wound to his thigh and another to his shoulder—but he was knocked unconscious by a blow from one of those murdering devils. Fortunately, we drove them off before they could finish him, but he will need nursing. I’ve sent word to the surgeon and he’ll be here soon.’
‘Thank you for all you have done. I am so grateful.’
In the bedchamber, Anna had pulled back the sheets. Justin was deposited gently on his bed by the men; they then drew back to look at him in silence, not sure what to do next. Anna brought a knife and slit his breeches at the side so that they could see the wound to his thigh. She examined it and then looked at Maribel.
‘It has bled a lot, but is not too deep. He should mend without too much help from the surgeon,’ she said on a note of relief. She then slit open the sleeve of his shirt all the way to the shoulder. ‘This is a little deeper, but I think neither wound will kill him—providing he does not take a fever.’
‘It seems you were in time to save his life. Thank you,’ Maribel said to Higgins. Tears trickled down her cheeks, but she brushed them away. She turned to Anna, an appealing expression in her eyes. ‘Please tell me what to do. You know better than I how to help him.’
‘We must cleanse and bind the wounds,’ Anna told her. ‘I do not know what more we can do, but the surgeon will tell us when he comes. It may be that he will cauterise the wound to Sylvester’s shoulder.’
Maribel’s face turned white and she swayed, clutching at a bedpost to steady herself. She had never been present when it was done, but she knew that to apply a hot iron to open flesh must be fearful and would cause terrible pain.
‘I pray God that it will not be needed,’ she whispered. ‘I shall fetch water and clean linen.’
She was praying and crying at the same time, for she was afraid that whatever they did Justin might die.
The surgeon had closed Justin’s wounds without cauterising them, cleansing the skin with a mixture of his own that smelled like alcohol to Maribel and binding him tightly to stop further bleeding. When he had finished, he turned to Maribel.
‘Fortunately, they are both little more than flesh wounds. He should heal within a week or two if he rests, but you must watch for a fever. That blow to the head has rendered him unconscious. Such wounds can kill a man, but sometimes the victim recovers without serious harm. You must watch over him and wait. I will leave something to help him with the pain. If a fever develops, you must keep him cool, and if necessary send for me again.’
‘Thank you.’ Maribel’s throat was tight as she held back her tears. ‘Anna is very good. She will help me to nurse him and she knows how to prepare mixtures that help with a fever, if she has the herbs.’
‘Send to me if you need anything and I will bring whatever Anna requires. It is best that she does not go looking for her herbs alone—the mood here is still uncertain. ’ He wrinkled his brow in thought. ‘I do not blame you or Sylvester. I dare say the ships found us by chance, as was bound to happen one day. Had they been prepared for an attack, they would have done much more damage and probably sent a party ashore to look for you.’
‘I think much as you do,’ Maribel said. ‘My father would have sent men ashore to look for me if he had planned this attack; I believe they must have found the island by chance. However, they may return with more ships and more men; my father is a vengeful man.’
‘There is talk of setting up cannon on shore in case we are attacked from the sea again, though others talk of leaving the island, giving up the attempt to settle here. Most of the captains neglected to protect their ships; they felt safe here, but this attack will make them take measures to make sure next time we can at least fight back. However, some feel the island is no longer safe for us.’
He smiled as he took his leave. Maribel thanked him. She stayed by Justin’s side, watching as he lay unconscious. He was breathing still, but had given no sign of coming to himself, though he had moaned once or twice as the surgeon treated his wounds.
‘Please live,’ she whispered. Her tears came freely now for she could no longer hold them back. One or two fell on his face as she bent over him, pressing her cheek to his. ‘I love you, my own dear pirate. I would not tell you if you could hear me—but I love you as I have never loved anyone else.’
Bending over him, she bathed his forehead with a cloth wrung out in cool water, then slid it over his shoulders and arms. His body was so hot and he had been throwing his arms out of the bed.
‘I love you so,’ she said as the tears trickled down her cheeks. ‘I know so little of you, but you are brave and generous, and I was luckier than I knew when you took me captive. Please get better, my dearest. If you died I should not want to live.’
Justin did not stir. She looked for a flicker of his eyelids, but there was none. Please God he would wake soon…she could not think of a future without this man.
As the night wore on he began to moan and move restlessly in his bed, calling out a name she could not quite catch. She lay a hand on his forehead and thought he felt too warm. The surgeon had told her to keep him cool. Maribel hesitated and then fetched water in a bowl; it