"The Ruby Rose" (A "Black Sails" Adventure)

Henri was starving for him to thrust himself into her. This damn dress was creating havoc. He had turned her and was working feverishly on untying it. Lifting her skirt she pulled a dagger out of the holder that was wrapped around her thigh and handed it back to him. "cut the lower knot or just lift the damn thing and enter me here" she growled with lust and hunger for him to take her like she needed.

By romance she wasn't referring to how he fucked her. She was referring only to dinners walks and talks. Which was something her and Charles relationship sorely lacked. They fought and fucked, and he made promises he never kept. That was pretty much the extent of it.

With Jack she knew she was getting the whole package. She longed and lusted for him with a passion. She didn't require the typical female make me swoon stuff for sex. She wanted the lust, and hunger. The animal approach to it was fine. They could always have tender moments later. But right now she needed him to plow into her as if she were the only woman he'd ever desire.

As he anxiously pulled the hem of her dress up, Jack saw Henri pawing at her thigh for a reason he didn't immediately understand. Then, the blade appeared. He flinched at the sight of it, his brain filled with thoughts: it had all been a ploy to get him alone to kill him; she'd changed her mind and was going to cut his cock off; and other thoughts all fighting for his attention!

"Cut the lower knot or just lift the damn thing and enter me here," Henri demanded.

Henri's tone told Jack that she was as eager to get this on as he was. He snatched the dagger with one hand and pulled the bow out away from her back with the other. But then he hesitated.

"Hold still ... don't move," he told her. He turned the blade over in his hand and told her, "This is gonna be cold."

He pressed the back side of the knife to Henri's spine between her scapula, slipped the end of it under the string crisscrossing down her back, and carefully moved it down toward her waist. One by one, the sliced strings snapped, letting the front of Henri’s dress fall away a bit at a time until it hung before her bosom. Jack stabbed the dagger into the surface of the table, then pulled the dress and slip downward, past Henri's bosom, then past her waist. In a flash Henri stood before Jack naked except for a ring of fine cloth layers gathered about her calves

"I love a full moon," he said suggestively, placing both hands upon Henri's fine, shapely, round ass and caressing it for a moment.

He urged her to lean forward a bit as he reached a hand between her thighs, seeking warm wetness. Finding her hole, Jack fingered her for a moment, ensuring she was wet and ready, then grasped his shaft and directed it into place. He wasted no time once his dick head felt her pussy and rammed it forward.

Henri was anxious wanton to have Jack take her like the so many images that had crossed her mind. 'Hold Still' he had said and she listened. The cold blade barely touched her as he had shielded it from her. She had said the bottom knot so she could re fix it in the morning. But instead he sliced through all of the strings to release her from her confines.

Soon he had her corset and dress off and she stood before him naked but for her boots and stalkings. She smirked as he talked of her full moon and gently guided her to bed over their dinner table. Gripping the ends of the table he had slid his fingers inside her wetness causing her to moan deeply.

His shaft pushed into her full having a gratifying moan declared from her lips. "yess Jack" she moaned deeply. He ravaged her pussy with his shaft thrusting into her deeply over and over again, hard and fast. Until he burst within in her panting along side her from his vigorous claiming.

Lifting her up he then carried her to his bed. Her lips found his kissing him with a hungry needy passion.

It had been too long since he'd been inside a woman, and before Jack knew it the pleasure of Henri had driven him too quickly to orgasm. He rammed deep inside Henri as the first of the ejaculations announced itself and just held her hips firmly in strong hands as he unloaded. His cock leaped again and again as he groaned out his pleasurable relief. His head swam with euphoria, and -- not entirely realizing he'd done it -- Jack leaned forward to rest his weight over his lover's back, one hand moving to the table to prevent him from simply squishing Henri to the surface.

Jack didn't know how long they simply stood there as one. The ecstasy was overwhelming. He hadn't expected Henri to feel so incredible down there. She was no chaste teenaged newlywed losing her virginity as she cried out to painful intrusion. And yet, her scabbard had fit Jack's sword perfectly, causing him a level of pleasure he simply hadn't expected.

When he had enough control over himself to do so, Jack pulled his cock from the Queen of Nassau's warm, wet hole, turned her and swept her up into his arms. He laughed as her garments initially refused to shed themselves from about her feet, but by the time they'd crossed the room and he tossed her playfully onto the bed, she was without anything but her boots and stockings.

"Let's try this again," he told her as he slipped in between her parted thighs and once again penetrated her. He pressed his mouth to hers for a long, passionate kiss as he again began thrusting into her, slamming their groins together. Between kisses, he told her with confidence, "We're not leaving her tonight, m'lady, until we've both enjoyed ourselves to the fullest."

Jack knew how men could be with women: gimme mine and, if you get yours, that works, too. And to be honest, while he wasn't the philanderer that Charles LaDuke was, he'd had his share of women who had sated him without getting their just desserts in return. But then, most of them had been more about the coin than the euphoria anyway. A whore -- even the higher class ones common to Captains of the Admiralty -- can't move onto the next customer if they are passed out in their bed from multiple orgasms, can they?

But with Henri, Jack intended to be different. He wanted her screams to wake the dead in the Nassau cemetery ... or, if she wasn't the screaming type, he simply wanted the trembling of her orgasms to feel as though an earthquake to anyone nearby. As he pummeled her pussy, Jack shifted a bit, looking for that correct position and angle that would touch Henri in just the right way. Again, unlike his predecessor, Jack hadn't been balls deep in dozens of women. But he knew that every woman was different as to what made her feel good.

Jack was going to find what made Henri feel good ... and he was going to stick with it until she begged him to stop!

Henri's legs spread for him instantly after he had tossed her upon the bed. She let out a deep moan as he had climbed up and pushed his shaft in her hole and his tongue into her mouth. She moaned and grunted matching his thrusts with a deep hunger, She gasped and moaned loudly as he sank into her over and over again.

She loved the fact he had told her they wouldn't stop until they were both satisfied. It had been a very long time since she had been satisfied by a man, Generally with Charles she had to finish herself off. He had been her only lover, and she just assumed that was the way it was.

When Jack changed angles on her, it made her gasp and moan in a way she hadn't done. Her breaths were quicker as he had managed to find that spot within her that would drive her mad with desire and ultimately give her one of the greatest orgasms she had ever had.

It didn't take long for her to begin bucking and moaning like a wildcat beneath him as he continued to drive into her against that spot. She gasped loosing her breath as her head tilted back and her body froze clamping down hard on his mighty sword and she cried out in such pleasure as the orgasm shuddered through her with a rapid rage.

Henri's body shook and shuddered in a violent display of pleasure over him. He had barely let her come down before he began again and continued to repeat ripping orgasm after orgasm from her body until he exploded deep inside of her.

She wrapped herself around him as he lay on top of her, they were both panting and gasping from their physical endeavor. As he rolled on his side taking her with him he pulled from her wet hole. Her eyes danced brightly as her fingers stroked his face. She would spend that night with him, and surrender to all his whims as he had them.

Jack hadn't been able to sleep during the night. The exertion of sex with Henri had put him to sleep with ease, clutching her warm body to his. But the lack of the motion of the sea, combined with the beautiful but strange sounds of the woods surrounding the cabin had awoken him three, four, five times while the sky beyond the windows was still black.

Each time he awoke, Henri's position had changed. She was spooned into him the first, her curvy buttocks against his cock making it harden, tempting him to take her again; the next time she was again facing him, face upon his chest, hand in his groin, which, again, hardened him; and another time she way face down next to him, her arm over his chest, fingers at his neck and ear as if she'd been caressing him ... and somehow ... that got him hard, too.

He finally slipped out of bed at the first signs of red in the sky appeared. One of Henri's boots, which -- with her stockings, too -- he'd removed from her feet between another go'round of orgasms, clunked to the cabin's hard wood floor. Jack looked to her his new lover but other than stir and turn that beautiful face his direction, she seemed to remain dead to the world.

Groggy and a bit unsteady, Jack walked naked out to a hand pump and filled a pitcher with cold water. Bracing himself, he dumped it over his head and let out a gasp of shock. He used a rag he'd brought to wipe his body from face to groin, then repeated the pitcher pour twice again. By the time he was heading back into the cabin, Jack was as awake as he could possibly be.

Henri was awake when he entered the door, staring right at him. As he studied her, Jack recalled the great joy of the previous night. The two of them had fit perfectly, not just down there -- her warm, wet, tight pussy seemed to have been made for his length and girth -- but in every physical respect, from the way their bodies moved together to the way Jack grasped her hips or lifted her at the small of her back or the way Henri grasped at his buttocks or back to encourage him on or redirect his aim in a way that drove her nuts. Their every move had seemed to be choreographed by Aphrodite herself, the result having been an unusual trio of orgasms for Jack and god knows how many for Henri.

For his part, Jack had commonly been happy with getting his rocks off once before rolling over to sleep the night away. It wasn't as if most of his lovers had wanted or expected more than that from him. He was -- or had been -- a Naval Officer. He went to sea often and remained in port for only short periods of time, so it wasn't as if he was going to get married and settle down. So the women into whose holes he'd been putting his cock had mostly been whores and sluts, a difference between the two actually existing. He'd had a handful of relatively longer term lovers, but they'd never expected that he'd be putting a ring on their finger any time soon. It had all been for fun. He'd been with two Ladies, if you used the term as a description of their Noble status and not their hesitance to part their thighs for him.

Of all those women, Jack had never been with one who expected the night to go any farther than he cumming once and, maybe, her doing the same. And he'd never really thought that it was supposed to be any different. At 16 and betrothed to the daughter of a local Nobleman, Jack had lost his virginity to and become the lover of the wife of yet another Lord. Teresa had taught him to drive her to orgasm, a climax so intense and overwhelming with uncontrollable screams of ecstasy that they'd had to begin meeting in a remote cabin -- not unlike the one Jack and Henri were in now, actually -- such that anyone who heard Teresa wouldn't find it worthy of inquiry. She'd cum every time the two of them made love. But done was done: he always came first, and once she'd reveled in her own euphoria, Teresa had sent Jack away early to separate their departures should her husband's people be following her. Jack had been trained to think that was just the way sex went and the way women were: once and go away.

And not a single woman since had put much effort into retraining his way of thinking ... until Henri. After each orgasm last evening, it had been obvious to Jack that they both wanted more. They both wanted it all. And they'd continued onward, enjoying the full afterglow of orgasm before once again starting up to find that next offering of heaven.

Now, standing in the doorway, Jack smiled broadly. He was amused by not just the memories of past lovers and of this new one, but also at the look she was giving him as he stood there naked before Henri's studious look. He conspicuously leaned to examine his still wet cock, then with a feigned tone of embarrassment at its current state of shrinkage, said, "The water was very cold."

But even as he was crossing toward Henri, Little Jack was already beginning to counter for the effect of the early morning bath...

With Charles as the only reference for a lover, Jack was a whole new animal. He was just as passionate, hungry, and dominating in the sack. But he was also a generous lover. The man knew what he was doing, and ensured that every orgasm he pushed her into was just as intense as the first.

Charles had normally got off, and if she did great, then roll over and go to sleep. Jack was like a mighty breeding bull, and they repeated the act till neither could. She slept like a log sleeping next to him. When his presence wasn't there she woke. She wasn't sure of the time, but she knew he would be shipping out again.

When he walked in her eyes studied him with a new build up of lust and desire. Dropping the blanket she sat up on the side of the bed and slid her feet to the floor she walked to him with purpose and hunger. Her lips found his and she raised up one leg.

Picking her up he impaled her pinning her against the cabin wall and thrusting into her with the same desire she had for him. A few orgasms later it was time for them to get dressed and go their own ways. "Come back to me in one piece Jack Richards" she said with her empty threat. Never had she been so reluctant to see anyone leave before.

He had pinned her dress the best he could and she put her shawl over it to cover. She sneaked up to her room the back way to bathe and change. Then she went and got her breakfast finding she was quite ravenous for something other then Jack making her cry out for him over and over again.

For the first time in her life. She wondered what it would be like to be a settled woman.

"Have the Officers meet me in my quarters, Mister Sanchez," Jack told one of his four new crew members. "And since you are the only man aboard the Ruby Rose with actual piracy experience ... would you care to sit in?"

"I'd be honored, Captain," Sanchez said with a respectful touch of his cap. He looked aft, toward the slowly disappearing Nassau, and smiled. After almost two decades at sea -- first as a merchant marine, then as a pirate aboard Charles LaDuke's Raven -- Luiz had spent the last two years on shore. It had been safer, obviously, but despite the above average wages Madam Chavley had paid him, Luiz had always been broke, or when he did have a little extra coin, it had never been enough for him to enjoy some of the things his pirate shares had gotten him. He removed his hat and bowed toward the shore, calling out, "Be home soon, darlin'."

In his quarters, Jack took in the same view that Luis was taking in on the deck above him. "Come back to me in one piece Jack Richards." He could still hear Henri's last words to him before they'd separated this morning. No woman had ever shared that sentiment with him before. Oh, he'd been told to be safe or to return to England soon. But never had those two words to me been included in the thought. It had been new to him, and Jack hadn't handled it appropriately he now thought. Rather than offer Henri an appropriate sentiment showing his own concern for her and his regret for having to leave, he'd simply told her with a smile, "I will be back soon ... with a chest full of gold."

Now, with the Officers and Mister Sanchez assembled in his quarters, Jack laid out his plan for taking the Louisa. They would sit just beyond the horizon with a man in the crows nest watching the harbor entrance; when the Louisa set sail tomorrow, they would shadow her north for a day or two; then -- with the Ruby Rose's greater speed -- they would set an intercept course to catch and board her. It was Jack's hope that a simple show of force -- some harmless but still frightening cannon fire through the sails and rigging perhaps -- would be enough to get the Spanish Captain to lower his pennant without the need for blood shed.

But before he'd even finished with the plan, Jack could see the disapproval in the new man's expression. He asked, "You'd like to add something, Mister Sanchez?"

Without hesitation, Luiz said bluntly, "With all due respect, Captain, that plan stinks."

There were a combination of shocked glances and snickers from the Officers. But Jack was amused by the man's frankness. "May I ask why my plan stinks, Mister Sanchez?"

"Because it's something a British Naval Commander would do," Luiz responded.

"I am a British Naval Commander," Jack said, his smile beginning to show itself. He knew where Luiz was going with this, but he wanted his men to hear it from a real pirate.

"No, Captain, you're not!" Luiz said sharply. "You were! But now you're a pirate. And you have to think and act like a pirate."

Jack sat back in his chair and studied the man for a moment. He recalled Henri recommending the retired pirate and wondered if his new lover knew just how direct -- and almost insubordinate -- Luiz Sanchez could be. His smile widened at the thought, Of course she did. And yet she still recommended him.

"Fine, tell me how to think and act like a pirate," Jack said.



Seven days later, they were well into their third day of simply bobbing about in the open ocean. They'd left the waters of New Providence and sailed 130 miles north by northwest to the last of the Bahamian islands. Their position put them between Florida, which was 70 miles to the west; and Grand Bahama's western tip, which was over the horizon just enough that someone on shore would be unable to see the Ruby Rose's masts with even the best of available looking glasses.

They were doing everything they could to hide their presence from any ships that might happen by while they waited for the Louisa. Their sails were gathered as tightly to the yard arms as possible. The sail covers used during long stays in port to protect the canvas from the sun were in place, their less conspicuously gray fabric less conspicuous against the currently overcast skies. And they had three rotating crews of four in a long boat at the end of a heavy line pulling the boat's bow to port or starboard when necessary to keep it pointed toward any passing ships and, therefore, further narrow the ship's profile and hopefully avoid unwanted attention.

Only once in these two days had a ship sailed near enough to show concern about or for the Ruby Rose. When the ship signaled asking if assistance as needed, Jack had his own signalman inform the good Samaritan that they'd just finished repairs to the main mast and were about to get underway once more. The other Captain bought the story and never even slowed his course for the north.

Luiz had pointed out two major flaws with Jack's plan, the first of which had affected Henri directly; and the second of which had affected the entire crew of the Ruby Rose directly and Henri indirectly, as she had a financial stake in the mission as well.

"First, you can't take the Louisa so close to Nassau," Luiz had explained. "That's British Commander thinking. You're used to waiting outside an enemy port for your prey, out of the range of land based cannon ... waiting for the ship to come to you so that you can sink or board her. But if you take the Louisa that close to Nassau, then Nassau -- and Miss Henri -- take the blame."

"But ... everyone knows Nassau tolerates, even supports piracy," one of the Officers pointed out.

"Yes, but you're not taking a dozen bales of cotton or a trunk full of silk bolts or a cargo hold full of slaves," Luiz had countered. "You do that, the insurance company back in Madrid pays out some coinage, then raises its premiums on the Captain's next voyage. Life goes on with a shrug of some Spanish shoulders.

"But ... you take the back and future pay of a hundred Spanish soldiers," he continued, "Men without whom Spain might lose control over much of Florida ... well, you might as well burn Nassau to the ground right now ... because Spain will send a dozen ships from all about the Caribbean to reduce Miss Henri's town to rubble."

"But if we let the Louisa leave our sight--" one of the Officers had begun to argue.

"We pick her up again ... where we know she's gonna be," Jack had said. He'd tapped a finger on the map indicating the position in which the Ruby Rose was now, to the west of Grand Bahama's only real town. He reminded the others, "During our little drinking night with the Louisa's crew ... they said they were making a port call in Freeport."

(OOC: Sorry, I left off a bit.)

"But ... what does attacking the Louisa closer to Grand Bahama do for us?" one of the Officer's asked. "Freeport has no pirates. No one will believe that we're out of Freeport."

"But Florida does ... does have pirates," Jack said. "And Georgia. Even Carolina. Sure, there aren't many. And they never attack something as big or as important as the Louisa. But..."

When Luiz saw Jack look to him, he understood that he was to finish the thought. "All we have to do is give the Spanish too many places to suspect. By the time they figure out where we port from ... if they find out ... well, all of that gold and silver will be spent on rum and women by then."

There was some laughter about the table, then some crude jokes, then more laughter...

"A man ain't a man 'less ... he's putting his dick in a whore's mouth ... and rum in ... his own."

Charles almost didn't hear the crude statement spoken by his First Mate. When the words finally fought their way through the lust controlling his brain, Charles looked to and told the man with a growl, "Maybe ... but if I ain't whoring and drinking, I might as well be slitting throats ... perhaps starting with yours."

The man threw up his hands in a surrender gesture. Even sitting down, the First Mater teetered from the effects of the massive amount of alcohol coursing through his veins. "How's she gonna ... gonna know is all I's saying Cap'n. She in Nassau ... you're in La Romana. A thousan' miles of ocean 'tween your dick ... her pussy--"

The man never saw the punch coming. Honestly, he probably didn't even feel it, not only because he's was tanked but because Charles hadn't really hit the man that hard. In any case, the First Mate toppled off the tavern chair and hit the ground hard. He would remain their, eventually beginning to snore loudly, until well after the sunrise.

"He's right, Captain," the black man sitting opposite him agreed. "Miss Henri won't know if you find yourself a little company for the night. It's been ten days."

"She'll know, Juno," Charles growled.

"How?"

"Because you'll tell her," Charles reminded him.

"But ... but she didn't send me to watch over you. You took me ... me and Gabriel."

"I know that."

Juno looked confused. They'd been in port for three nights now, and although he'd sat here in the tavern portion of La Romana's most popular whore house for most of all three of those evenings, Charles hadn't even allowed a whore to sit next to him, let alone open his pants and suck the seed out of his cock. Why would a man put himself through such agony? Why not go back to the ship, or better yet, take the ship back out to sea?

"You have proved your ... what was word, Captain?"

"Fidelity," Charles said, speaking the word that he'd been screaming out inside his thick skull a thousand times a day since leaving Nassau. He looked to Juno and growled, "Fidelity!"

"Fidelity," the man repeated. "You've proven it. Is it not time to leave?"

"No."

Juno studied the pirate for a moment, then asked, "When then?"

"When I no longer want to grab the nearest slit and--"

He let the thought go as he felt his cock twitch. Charles hadn't thought it was going to be this hard, holding out for Henri. The only thing that was really keeping him chaste, though, was knowing that despite her tirade back in Nassau, Henri was surely waiting for him to return to her. Oh sure, she'd told him that if she wanted to fuck someone else -- even that British mutineer, Jack Richards -- that she would. But, Henri was his girl. He knew it. She knew it. She had a fire for him that -- although he'd nearly extinguished it with his philandering ways -- still simmered below the wet ashes, warming, preparing to break loose in high, burning flames as soon as he returned a new man.

Charles was in a quandary, though. The longer he stayed away, the better the chances that Henri might open her thighs to another man. Yet, the longer he stayed away -- chaste, that is -- the more it would mean to Henri once he'd returned with Juno and Gabriel there to verify his monogamy for her...

She'd wait for him, though.

Wouldn't she?

It had been over a week since Jack left on his first pirate mission. She had kept herself busy with matters of business. As her life had always been and would always be as long as she ran Nassau. The only difference now was she actually laid awake at night remembering what it felt like to be claimed by him.

He still gave her the raw passion but included with it was a feeling of being wanted. She had never been taken care of as a woman should be. He was determined for her to receive as much pleasure as possible from each and ever session they had.

Jack had been convinced that Charles would eventually get the hint and let it go. But Henri wasn't so sure. She could already imagine the confrontation that was going to happen when he got back. How clearer could she have been? In a way it was like taking a favorite toy away from a toddler.

When she had told Jack that Tormay had been doing a wonderful job in organizing she wasn't exaggerating. In just the almost two weeks he took over their loss of inventory had dropped by half. He also fired a couple of people and did an extensive interview process. Henri couldn't have been more thrilled to have one less thing to worry about.

The British were still roaming about and having their spies come ashore looking for the Elizabeth's Pride. It was beneficial that their manners were so distinctive that anyone could tell who was a spy and who wasn't. They of course offered gold for information which made anyone of the greedy residents of Nassau think about taking the deal. But Henri had made it clear that would fall under 'honor among theives' and she would happily hang anyone that was caught being a trechours bastard.

It was commonly known that if Henri said she would do something extreme she would carry it out. She had been referred to as an ice queen on more then one occasion.

(OOC: For anyone who might be following our story, if you use the "Search this thread" function for "Harker", you will find more detail about the Captain's history and family in posts #1, #3, and #6. There is also an interaction between the 4 main characters -- Henri, Jack, Charles, and Harker -- beginning at post #39. I plan on creating his profile today if time permits.)



Fort Nassau
Three days later:

Captain Harriman "Black Heart" Harker had often invited Henri up to the fort for lunch: sometimes it was to discuss his safe keeping of her city with his big guns; sometimes it was to discuss her Merchant's Association's monthly tribute to him for said safe keeping; and sometimes it was just because he liked to look at her in her fine dresses as the sun shone down on them from the heavens.

His wife Ella understood Harriman's attraction to the Queen of Nassau. First, Henri was a White woman. Ella loved her husband deeply, and her husband loved her deeply as well. Yet -- even after Harriman had freed the black-as-night African from her bonds of slavery, then married her before a Christian minister, then fathered her three sons -- Ella had always felt less of a real woman than any fairer skinned woman on the island, particularly the ravishing Henrietta Chavley.

Of course, Ella had nothing to fear from Henri when it came to her relationship with her husband. Despite being who and what he was -- or had been once upon a time -- the pirate of Fort Nassau had abandoned his philandering ways the moment he'd set eyes upon the beautiful slave sitting in the ship's hold almost two decades earlier.

The second reason for Harriman's attraction to Henri was even more obvious than the night and day color difference between the two most important women in Harriman's life: Henri was the Queen of Nassau! Oh, maybe not by literal decree, but Henri had the control and power of an island queen. And Harriman had always been attracted to power and control, be they in the hands of a man or a woman. It was why Harriman had always liked Charles LaDuke: the pirate knew how to use power and control in a way that many pirate captains never learned.

Today, as they sat together atop the fort's donjon, protected by the late morning's harsh sun by the canopy flapping lightly in the wind above them, Harriman chatted with Henri about the recent developments in their lives. Just as the British had spies in Nassau, so did Harker. Oh, Henri knew who some of his informants were, of course. But, she didn't know them all. Harriman had heard all about Henri's issues with Charles, including the reason behind the kidnapping of Juno and his son Gabriel. And he'd heard all about the rendezvous between Henri and the newest pirate who would soon be delivering ill-gotten gain to her for the benefit of both.

Of course, Harriman couldn't know how quickly the two of them had become attached to the other, nor how serious each was for the other. They barely knew one another, so Harriman, of course, believed that Henri had simply needed to get her pipes cleaned. She was a very progressive woman, so -- just as with his lack of understanding about the two -- Harriman had no idea that Charles had been the only man to ever find pleasure within Henri's delight prior to the captain of the Ruby Rose.

"Another tart drink, Henri?" Ella asked as she waddled toward the pair with two small pitchers of lemonade on a tray. Ella looked between the two pitchers telling Henri, "This one's sweetened with cane, the way I like it ... and this one's sweetened with rum, the way my husband likes it."

Harriman chastised his almost nine months pregnant wife for ascending the steps to the top of the Fort. William their eldest or even one of their other pre-teen sons could have done the task for her. She ignored him as she exchanged pleasantries with Henri, then cast him a scrutinizing glance, adding concerning Harriman's taste for rum at all hours of the day, "Not even noon..."

The pirate patted his wife's bum, thanked her, waited for her departure, then turned to the reason for inviting Henri up to lunch on the top of his castle.

"I had a visitor yesterday," he began, taking a moment to suck down half a glass of his sweetened drink. "I thought maybe I should discuss it with you."

Despite his drink being rum laced, and despite it being his second of the still early morning, Harriman was very much sober and clean of thought. He'd built up a tolerance to the Caribbean drink in which even a full drum of the alcohol couldn't put a dent.

"Though it was kept quiet ... the gentleman came to me under the guise of looking for work ... it was an official visit ... from the Crown." He set the glass down, pulled a folded letter from under a weight -- it's wax seal broken -- and handed it to Henri, indicating that she could read it. He gave her a moment, then essentially repeated what she was reading, "The British Admiralty is missing a ship ... the Elizabeth's Pride. There are also aware that that ship is currently sailing under the name the Ruby Rose. As you can see there, they are presuming that the ship is still under the command of her previous commander, one John "Jack" Richards. This is not news to you, of course. I, um ... believe that you are familiar with Captain Richards."

The tone in his voice left little doubt that he knew about Henri's cabin rendezvous with Jack ten days earlier. He continued, "They have made me an offer. As you know, I am very content spending my final days sitting up here under my canopy ... watching the boats come and go ... watching the people -- your people -- live out their lives in peace and harmony ... without the Union Jack flying over their heads."

He drank some more lemony rum, then continued, "But the money your Merchants Association pays me to prevent the return of the British ... or even the Spanish, or French, or Portuguese ... it is not my only source of income. I still have two ships out there in the water, one engaged in legitimate trade, one ... well, not so much."

Harriman wasn't telling Henri anything she didn't already know, of course. Both of his boats made the majority of their income because of Henri.

"You may have noticed, however, that the Constance hasn't been around for a while," he continued, referring to the boat doing legitimate commercial trade. He casually pointed to the letter in Henri's hands as he continued, "The British seized her in Boston some months back, claiming unpaid taxed were due. As you can see there, the real reason for the detention of my ship, as well as the detention of four other ships that do business out of Nassau, is that they -- the British -- want their missing boat back."

He lifted his drink again, sipping at it slowly as he studied Henri. He set the glass down and asked with a pointed tone, "So ... what would you suggest we do about this, Henrietta?"

"Thank you Ella" Henri said politely with a smile as Harkers wife poured her some more to drink. As the girl left and Harker went about telling he the true reason he brought her up to see him. She listened carefully.

When he asked her what she thought they should do about it she smiled. "Have you ever played the game nut under the shell? " she asked him with a smile and waited for his nod before continuing.

"The way I see it we have to major dilemmas, one of my pirates and his ship and crew are needing to disappear or be turned over to the British so they will leave us alone. Obviously the second part isn't an option. We don't turn on our own. The second part being you have a cargo ship that has been taken by the British in exchange for leverage. A ship that you need to continue to bring in income for both of us.

"With a combined effort I think I have the solution. The first step in our plan is capturing a ship of Spain, and france. Using the Ruby Rose, and dressed as the British to officially attack. They will leave enough survivors that will be able to make it to their own country and advise how they were attacked by the British ship The Elizabeth's Pride.

Taking one of their ships, whichever resembles the closest to The Elizabeth's pride, we'll dress her up to be almost as indistinguishable. That ship will first commander a new cargo vessel for you ..choose a countries other then England. Then it with the right timing for The British to identify the ship as the Elizabeth's Pride,

When they hit it with their warning shot. They will then see it blow up in front of their eyes as they strike it with one of their cannon balls. We will have stuffed pirates of course that will be hard to distinguish from the spy glass, and packed full of gunpowder.

The Elizabeths Pride will then no longer be sought out by the British, you will have a new cargo ship, and we will have created mayhem between England and Spain and France. However for this to work. You will need to supply some of your own men to triple the crew, to ensure we have enough sailors that an man the ship thats stolen.

That will show the King what its like to be mess with my Nassau and it's people.

Harriman contemplated Henri's idea and found it well thought out. Only problem, of course, was it had so many working parts, any one of which -- if broken -- could cause the entire endeavor to fail. The pirate had always liked a simple plan: sail in, kill the enemy, take the loot, get drunk, fuck, repeat ... simple.

But this wasn't a simple problem and simple answers weren't going to be enough. Henri was correct in thinking that it was going to take something a little more a couple of dozens cannon balls and bloody decks to make this go away. And he liked the idea of feigning the Elizabeth's Pride's death as opposed to simply telling the Brits to shrug their shoulders and consider her lost. Particularly since doing so might mean the lost of the Constance. He would have legal standing in a British court to regain his vessel if he'd been a British citizen. Harriman had taken Nassau from the Spanish, for which the UK has been quietly thankful. But he'd also refused several requests to surrender the Fort back to the Brits over the years, for which he had been branded a pirate, an outlaw, and an enemy of the State, just as they had Charles LaDuke and -- soon enough -- just as they would Jack Richards.

"I don't have the men contribute, Madam," Harriman said after he'd taken a moment to refill their glasses and answer a question posed by his youngest sone who had run up, brandishing his wooden sword and oversized pirate cap. After the boy had traded pleasantries with Henri and departed, Harriman continued, "Labor issues. As a business owner, I'm sure you understand how that can happen."

Over the years, some of Harriman's men had gone off to sail with other pirates; some had died of this cause or that and had not been replaced; some had simply ended their employment with him; and the rest were either manning Fort Nassau and its guns, performing labor of other types in the fort or about Nassau, or manning the merchant ship Constance or his pirate ship, the Valiant. Harriman had been contemplating options concerning the Valiant and its recently acquired cargo. And now seemed as good a time to bring that up as any.

"As you know, my second ship's crew is currently ... in possession of some cargo about which you have strong feelings," he told her, not wanting to actually use the word slaves. "If we could make some sort of ... arrangement concerning them ... I might be able to free up some additional men ... as well as hire some from the town who might be more likely to work for me than they would for you, Madam."

Harriman didn't like the institution of slavery any more than did Henri. For Christ's sake, his wife was a former-slave! But he also couldn't simply free a dozen slaves without profit: two men had died and two others had received life altering injuries during the fierce fight to take the slavers' vessel. If Harriman didn't get a good price for the slaves, he could say goodbye to this boat as well. His men would vote to mutiny, and -- while less desirable than Nassau -- they'd sail off to another of the Caribbean's pirate-friendly ports and operate out of there.

"I am fully aware and in full agreement by the way," he stressed, "that you will not permit my cargo to be sold here in Nassau. However ... if I was to be compensated in another way ... perhaps a trade that would permit me and my men to profit ... without my cargo remaining in bonds."

Harriman could see in Henri's reaction that she was probably already understanding the direction in which he was taking this conversation. For a good long while, Harriman had been hinting -- sometimes more than hinting -- that the monthly payment the Nassau Merchant's Association made for his protection of the port was in need of renegotiation. A couple of times after polite yet unproductive talks on the issue, he'd let the rumor pass through town that he'd found a buyer for his guns, even pulling them back from the Fort's walls to let those down below see the empty ramparts. And each time, a little extra coin had come his way; or a favor had been done for Harriman or his family.

This time around, though, he knew that this current issue was a little more personal for Henri. Even though he had no idea just how much the Queen of Nassau felt for her new lover, Harriman had a pretty good idea that Henri wouldn't want to see Captain Richards forced to find another port from which to operate. Perhaps, finally, Harriman had the leverage to get what he wanted from the Merchant's of Nassau ... and from Henri herself.

"If, per chance, I was to deliver my cargo to you personally," he continued, "for you to do with as you please..."

Harriman knew Henri would either have to free them and take a loss, convert them from slaves to indentured servants to work off some of her loss through short term labor, or -- unlikely -- sell them back into slavery to recoup her coin. He wasn't ready to put money on which choice Henri would make, but he was confident betting on the last would be as smart as tossing his coins into the harbor.

"...perhaps a stake in your warehouse ... maybe 20% ... 20% for 20 men ... 30 for 30 ... would be enough to compensate me for my losses," he continued. He studied her expressions as he essentially blackmailed Henri out of a significant chunk of the business she'd built from the ground up. Knowing he had to offer more, Harriman continued, "I will capture your Spanish ship, dress it up to look like the Elizabeth's Pride, and get it blown out of the water as per your thoughtful plan."

Harriman knew that accepting his proposal would be hard for Henri. Near impossible, actually. She'd worked too hard to get where she was today to simply turn over a fifth or a third of it to Harriman. But then, if she wanted to get the British off her back -- to keep them out of Nassau -- what choice did she have? There wasn't another Captain working out of Nassau crazy enough to engage in a plot as mad as this one.

Well, actually ... there was. And while he wouldn't want a significant chunk of Henri's profit in exchange, he'd probably want something else that she didn't want to give up...

Henri's mind began to twist and turn. She would never sell them at auction. She despised slavery and had seen how it affected those that were lucky enough to escape it. But there was a way she could recoup her losses, and not let Harker in on it.

First and foremost the bait and switch routine. Harker, i do understand how business goes. Men must be paid. As such I have another deal for you. Keeping in mind of course you may be able to either get your cargo ship back as well as add an additional one to add to your fleet.

Instead of you giving me your cargo I will buy it at 1/2 the resale value. That will give you funds immediately to help cover your expenses. With that in mind I will offer you 10% stake in the warehouse for 30 capable men. So not only will you have coin in your pocket, but you'll get future residuals and a stake in the prosperity of Nassau.

With Harker agreed she shook his hand and left to search out Sarah to see if she could translate for her. They would also need temporary housing for them as well. Finding Tormay she gave him a list of supplies she needed and had him add Harker as a 10% shareholder.

Finding Sarah she swore her to secrecy and told her the plan with her recent acquisitions. Sarah was appalled that she would be making money off of their labor until Henri explained the amount she was having to pay for their release. She also explained how this would benefit them.

Hiring about ten men she took them out a ways of Nassau and showed them the areas she wanted them to begin to build housing on. These weren't going to be grand examples of craftsmanship. They would be enough to give them shelter and warmth, they would be free to improve as they wished.

Her plan was simple when it came to the slaves. They would all be freed, those that wished to stay would have one of two options. They would either help her develop some of the land that was uninhibited, and grow crops of which she would receive 40% of their harvests which she would resell as lawful cargo. Each man woman and child had a price they had to earn back. She wasn't in the habit of doing things out of the kindness of her heart. She was a business woman.

Eventually they would earn back the amount she spent on them then she would buy their harvests entirely at a fair price. For those that wanted to return back to their native land, she would find jobs for them. They would receive 1/4 of a wage a regular worker would until their debt was paid. They could use what they earned to buy passage back to the their land. Or stay. Once they were paid off they were free to do as they wished.

With this she would also ensure they were protected from being taken and sold. Luckily there weren't a lot of pirates that believed in slavery. Henri spent the rest of the day and night in her office putting her plan into writing on how they could create foreign havoc for the British, and solve the problem of Jacks ship. Of course he would have to rename it again, since they knew the name of The Ruby Rose.

(OOC: Forgive me, readers. I am a Viking's fan, and I have been using the term "long boat" in place of Captain's gig or just gig to describe the boats used to move men back and forth between the sailing vessels and the docks.)

Harriman wasn't entirely happy with the terms of their deal, but he was anxious to get rid of the Africans. Although they were no longer shackled, they were still being held in the hold of the Valiant; and every day that cargo was sitting in the belly of the stationary ship was a day Harriman was losing money. Additionally, this cargo required armed guards, food, and water, something bales of cotton or cases of farming tools didn't.

"I will have them delivered to you immediately, Madam," he said as they shook hands. "And I will begin with my end of the arrangements for our little ruse."

They made their farewells, and Harriman sat back to enjoy the afternoon sun. His old eyes were getting heavy, so he sat back in his chair and made himself comfortable to take a nap.

A couple of hours later, his eldest son -- who loved standing watch with the powerful looking glass -- called out from just 20 feet away, "Sail!"

Harriman flinched, then groaned. "Do you have to scare the rum out of me doing that, boy?"

"Sorry, Captain," William apologized. He returned to watching the approaching ship, responding to inquiries from his father about the ship's style, size, appearance, and more. Soon enough, the knowledgeable teen turned and said to his father with confidence, "It's the Raven. Captain Charles' ship."

Without opening his eyes, Harriman smiled a bit wider. He knew all about the pirate's kidnapping of Henri's man, including the reason. (One of his little birdies eavesdropping in Henri's tavern had overhead the tale and passed the word onto Harriman.) He knew Charles was totally incapable of keeping his dick dry for a single night while in port. Charles was a very capable liar, and Henri was a very intuitive woman, which made Harriman wonder whether or not the pirate could convince his favorite lover that she was now his only lover. Harriman laughed: not a chance in hell.



"Going ashore, Captain?"

Charles ignored his First Mate's question, simply continuing to stare toward shore. From their anchorage, he could see the roof and upper floor of Henri's tavern. He knew that by now, the woman for whom his lust was about to destroy him knew of his arrival. How would she react? He'd kidnapped one of her men and that man's son to act as his chaperones while he did his best to prove his loyalty to her. She could have him arrested if she wanted. Of course, that meant dealing with his crew, which wouldn't allow their captain to be taken without an appropriate amount of mayhem and madness, most of it inside Henri's own establishments, of course.

"Bring me Mister Juno and his boy," Charles told the Mate. A moment later the two men were standing near him. The Captain looked to the pair and smiled broadly. During their two weeks away at sea, Charles had practically made a pirate of the Gabriel. He'd taught him to use both the sword and dagger, then made him part of a gun crew for a very short exchange of fire with a merchant ship that very quickly lowered her pennant and surrendered to the smaller ship. "You're sure you do not with to stay aboard, Mister Gabriel?"

"He's sure," Juno quickly answered for his son. When he caught Charles' sharp glare, Juno bowed his head a bit in respect, saying with a softer tone, "Sarah ... his mother, my wife ... she'll be wanting to see her son, Captain. She'll be worried. Please, Captain."

"You remember our agreement, Mister Juno," Charles said. It was more of a statement than a question. When Juno nodded, Charles pulled a purse of coins from his belt and tossed them to the man. "Installment on your share. Get the rest after we sell the--"

"I no want a share, Captain," Juno cut in. Despite his words, his mind was already dancing with thoughts of what he could do with a bag of coins. "Me or my Gabe, Captain ... we not pirates."

"Maybe not," Charles said, winking to the smiling boy who had enjoyed being out on the boat, and who had even enjoyed partaking in capturing the merchant ship and pillaging her of her cargo. "But you were part of the crew, so ... that's yours."

Charles turned away and looked back to the distant tavern. Behind him, Juno headed for the ladder leading down to the gig. The First Mate and some of the crew were loading the smaller items they'd taken mostly from the overly pampered captain of the merchant ship: candle stick and dinner ware of silver, clothing and bedding of fine silk and satin, and more.

"Captain?" Gabriel said softly. When Charles turned to look to him, the boy asked, "May I join your crew, Captain?"

Charles looked to the boy's father, then back. The pirate captain wasn't really concerned with what either Juno thought or Sarah might think about their only son joining a pirate crew. Gabriel was still a boy in his parents' minds, but he was older now than Charles had been when he'd first joined the now retired Captain Harker's crew.

But ... Henri...?

Charles did care about her opinion concerning Gabriel. The Queen of Nassau was surely already upset enough about how Charles had borrowed her man and the man's son. Allowing Gabriel to join the crew while Charles was trying to get back between the woman's thighs ... not a smart idea.

"You may earn coin working on the ship while in port ... for now," Charles compromised. "Prove to me that you can become a sailor first ... then ... we'll talk about turning you into a pirate."

"Yes, Captain," Gabriel said with a wide, white, toothy smile. He nodded his respect and hurried to join his father, looking back to call out, "Thank you, Captain."



Three hours later, after Juno had spent some time between his wife's thighs, he and his son made their way to Henri's tavern. He requested an audience, showing Henri's man the respect due of both an employee and a messenger carrying news that the woman likely expected yet didn't want to hear.

(OOC: I didn't know whether or not Henri would want to see Juno, so I stopped there.)

Henri was going over some logs when there was a knock on the door. "Juno and his son are downstairs and wish to have a word with you" Katie told her.

"Please send them up" she said lightly. Henri had heard Charles ship was in port, and had been concerned with their safty.

Juno and Gabriel joined her in her office. "I'm glad to see you both safely upon shore. My first question is do wish to press charges. Before you answer, his men will strike out and try to get you to change your mind if you do. If it process' I can place him in jail for a year."

"No miss, he treated us well enough and requested that we deliver a message. "Captain LaDuke wishes us to bare witness to his fidelity and attest that even though he were surrounded by whores a plenty he did not once let his prick astray for his oath holds true and he shan't touch another woman other then thee"

Juno seemed to be quite proud of himself for remembering it all. Henri simply stared blankly and unimpressed at the message. "If he asks for a reply you may say that i said this "Charles LaDuke may be chaste for a thousand years, he still will never be the man I want. There is nothing he can do to change my resolve on the issue. He may simply leave."

Now enough of the unpleasantness Juno I am guessing you spoke to Sarah so she may have brought to light a business plan I have enlisted her help with. I would like you to join her in this. We have the opportunity to offer new lives a home.

Juno nodded "Yes Miss, I understands the mess you been put in, I see the benefit and reason for your choices, I do my bestest to help thee."

"Good Glad to hear it. Now Gabriel I hear that Captain LaDuke has offered you port duty" "

"Yes Maam" he beamed. "I happen to have a job for you to consider instead. It pays a couple more pieces of gold and you get to learn more skills that will provide you the opportunity to learn more and eventually earn more. It also means you won't be risking your life. Let me know when you've made your decision"

"Juno, if there are families aboard, I do not wish them to be separated. Ensure everyone has the opportunity to see the ability to prosper and make Nassau their home. If any have specific skill sets, there may even be new positions available for them."

"Yes Miss" he replied.

"If that's all thank you for stopping by" with that she motioned toward the door and they both gave a slight bow and left.

She could hear a roar of laughter below as one of the men said "Oh he won't like that" and laughed some more. Henri shook her head and went back to her books. She had a lot to do before Jack made it back in port and got him on board with her plan to save him, his crew, and their ship.