Lions of the Sea

16

"Pearl!"

The girl was startled by her uncle's lashing voice, and ran after him to the cabin. Wan Claup closed the door and walked to the open windows, his back turned to his niece. He took a moment to breathe deep before facing her.

"I want you to listen carefully, Marina. And I expect you to use your head, not your heart. It's time to prove you're no longer a child."

Marina nodded with a slight frown. Wan Claup had never talked to her in such a grave way.

"The Windward Fleet will soon show on the horizon," Wan Claup said, pointing at the sea behind him. "And they won't leave our wake till they catch us."

"You think they'll follow us all the way to Tortuga?" asked the girl, as serious as him.

"If we let them," Wan Claup replied, looking her straight in the eye.

The Sovereign put about while they talked, and Marina sensed it gain speed amazingly fast.

"You've got a plan."

"I do. And it depends on you." She didn't hide her surprise. "This is war, pearl. And in war, you pay your mistakes with your life. But for me, a mistake wouldn't only mean my death, but also my crew's. I'm responsible for the life of each and every one of them, Marina, and that's what must guide my decisions. Do you understand?" Marina nodded again. "The problem is that I won't be able to make the right decisions, those best for my crew and my ship, if I must worry about you, fearing you would refuse to follow my orders and act recklessly."

The girl stiffened, taking offense. "You're my captain. I'll follow any order you may give me."

"Even if I send you away from battle?"

Marina opened her mouth. But she closed it and set her jaw to nod once more. "Aye, Cap'n," she grunted.

Wan Claup flashed a tense smile. "Good. We'll soon find out if you're being honest. Go now, and send Morris over," he said, softening his tone. "Get yourself a telescope. I want you on the crosstree, an eye on our wake to let me know as soon as they show up."

"Aye, aye, Cap'n!"

Marina told Morris her uncle wanted to see him and climbed up the mainmast. The maintop was already crowded, with the lookout and several sharpshooters, and she kept climbing to the higher crosstree at the topsail yardarm. There she stood as steady as she could and grabbed a line for support.

The Sovereign seemed to fly over the water. Marina didn't have much experience assessing speed, but she was pretty sure they were past eight knots, and still speeding up. At that rate, they'd spot Tortuga by the next day's sunset.

She wondered about Wan Claup's plan. If the Windward Fleet was actually coming after them, it made sense that they tried to leave it behind. If they kept speeding up, maybe the frigates wouldn't catch up with them. However, as far as she knew, a frigate could reach twelve knots, two more than a brigantine like the Sovereign. But her uncle had suggested his plan didn't include allowing the Spanish Armada to reach Tortuga. And he'd said battle. What did he have in mind? If he meant preventing the Spaniards from getting to the island and he had a confrontation in mind— She grumbled aloud. She knew Wan Claup had a reputation for being bold, just like her father had had it, but she didn't think him suicidal. So his plan couldn't be as absurd as trying to face the whole Armada by himself. Now she dared to curse under her breath. She still ignored too much about battles to picture what her uncle was up to.

From up there she saw Wan Claup and Morris back on the bridge, and noticed Maxó and some others worked on the one-mast shallop.

It was her who called it out two hours later. "Dead astern ahoy!" she shouted from the crosstree. "Spanish colors! It's the Armada!"