FREEDOM a thrilling historical naval adventure by Tubbs Christopher C

Author:Tubbs, Christopher C.
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Lume Books Historical Naval Adventures, A Joffe Books Company
Published: 2024-02-21T00:00:00+00:00

Oh Brother!

“He left already?” Ray said, after Scarlett told him de Leyva had sailed.

“Yes, when I heard you were coming here with Raif, I had to get him away as fast as possible. If he made the connection between me and my family, he would send assassins to try and get his money back or kidnap one of you to force me to pay an even bigger ransom in return.”

“Yes, I can see the sense in that.”

“Dinner is served, miss,” Sylvie announced.

“Hungry?” Scarlett asked Ray.

“Always!” he said, laughing.

* * *

They sat around the dinner table, Scarlett at the head, Ray on her right and Raif on her left. Malakai, who had come with them, was next to Raif, Steven beside Ray and Ernest opposite her at the other end.

Raif didn’t miss the significance of the seating plan and asked archly, “So how long you two been steppin’ out?”

“Not long,” Scarlett answered, giving him a glare.

“Can you ride?” Ernest asked Raif.

“Yes, I can. I learned last year.”

“If you like, I can show you around the plantation tomorrow. We have some fine horses here.”

Scarlett smiled at him, thankful that he was making the effort to get to know her little brother and give her and Ray time alone.

“How big is this place if you need a horse to get around it?” Ray asked.

“One hundred acres, give or take,” Scarlett replied.

The rest of the evening was taken up with catching up and drinking large amounts of wine.

* * *

The next morning, they all woke with hangovers except Ernest who had discovered he had a prodigious capacity for alcohol.

“Good morning!” he chirped at breakfast as he piled his plate high with fried potato, fried eggs, kidneys and bacon. He took a second plate and added a variety of fruit.

He sat down at the table and ate, washing it down with several cups of cacao.

“You are not human!” Raif groaned, trying hard not to move.

“He doesn’t ever get a headache after drinking,” Scarlett said as she sat down at the table, “Gavin, please get me a jug of coconut water with aqua vitae and sugar please.”

“What is that?” Ray asked as he felt his way to a chair.

“Coconut water is found in the centre of a coconut, the fruit of the palm tree. Aqua vitae is a spirit made from the distillation of wine, I am told, and you know what sugar is,” she replied. “The concoction is a local hangover cure.”

“Hair of the dog that bit you,” Ernest chipped in cheerfully.

“Whatever. It works.”

After breakfast and before it got too hot, Ernest and Raif went for their tour of the plantation. Malakai, Ray and Scarlett settled down to talk business.

“You have the silver and treasure here at the plantation?” Ray asked, after Scarlett described the haul from their last adventure.

“Yes. We built a strong room beneath the main house. My own men constructed the doors and made the locks. It’s lined with three feet of stone. We will ship the treasure back to England when we bring the Fox home next time.

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