The King of the Pirate Republic by Peter R. S. Thomas

Author:Peter R. S. Thomas [Thomas, Peter R. S.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-10-30T00:00:00+00:00

Le Mort-Vivant

The Devil’s Wrath left St John’s in the early hours still under some cover of darkness, with day breaking as they were out to sea. They passed Nevis and St Kitts, aiming for the French side of Hispaniola, with the intention of making land at Tortuga, the small island just to Hispaniola’s north. It was long since past its prime as a base for the buccaneers, but it would offer a good base from which to launch an expedition into the heart of the main island.

They continued westwards for a few days before the southern tip of Hispaniola came into view, then further west, before heading northwards to pass the channel between Hispaniola and Jamaica, and then between the northwest tip of Hispaniola and Cuba. It was not long before Tortuga came into view.

“Have you ever been before, captain?” Henri asked as they watched the sun rise from the behind the island.

“Never. I hear it was like Nassau years ago. A haven for pirates and buccaneers.”

Henri nodded. “It was reclaimed by the French crown some decades ago.”

Sebastian stared at the island. It was what the English wanted to do to Nassau now, he thought. But he kept his mouth shut on that. “What a shame,” was all he offered.

They navigated their sloop to a small inlet on their island’s eastern side. They anchored close to the shore, before rowing out to a white sandy beach that separated the sea from the dense forest that otherwise covered the island.

“Right,” Sebastian began, swaying slightly on the land as his body readjusted itself once more to the stillness of solid ground, “let’s go look for some source of food and water. We’ll stock up on supplies, before heading off to Hispaniola.”

And so off they went into the forest to scavenge for food and drink. They found a stream at which to fill their canteens, and were fortunate enough to stumble across some fruit. It was large, green, and soft to the touch, and opened to reveal a white, fleshy interior and dark seeds. On tasting it, they found it pleasant and sweet, and so they took as many as they could carry. Hamish, meanwhile, troubled himself not with fruit, and instead set about chasing down a wild pig he had caught sight of, with remarkable success.

Back at the beach, they set up a camp and a fire with some driftwood, and Hamish set his pig upon a spit and began cooking it just like the buccaneers of old. Together they sat, eating and drinking happily as the sun made its way east.

“So how is it that you two came to meet?” Benjamin said to Henri and Christophe, his mouth full of pork.

The pair looked at each other. Henri translated the question to Christophe, who returned a sad smile. The two shared some words in their French-Creole before Henri returned his attention to Benjamin. “We escaped together from a plantation on Hispaniola. It was a place where we were both born, and a place we left together, at great risk to our lives.

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