In the Tudor Court Collection. Amanda McCabe

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СКАЧАТЬ on his hand and darting back. He swore, looking at his hand as if he did not know what had happened.

      ‘You asked for this,’ he grunted and drew his cutlass. The sunlight glinted on the wicked blade as he advanced on her. ‘I thought to have a little fun before you died, but it is not worth the bother. I’ll be rid of you once and for all!’

      Maribel held the knife in front of her, but she knew a knife could not compete with a cutlass. Peg had told her to keep the knife secret and wait until her target was close enough to stab him in the stomach, but she had struck too soon, inflicting only superficial wounds. The element of surprise had gone. She had wounded him, but not sufficiently to stop him. He would kill her and then Justin.

      Maribel was vaguely aware that Anna had run into the house. She retreated slowly towards the house, her gaze holding his as he advanced on her, knowing that it was only a matter of time before he killed her.

      ‘Stay away from her!’

      Hearing Anna’s voice, Maribel glanced round. Even as she saw the pistol in her hand, Anna fired. Her shot hit Pike in the chest and he fell, clutching himself. For what seemed like an eternity, he writhed in agony on the ground, his eyes wide and staring at them. Anna came towards them, her hand shaking. She looked sick and shaken as she watched the man twitching on the ground.

      ‘Have I killed him?’

      The twitching had stopped at last. Pike lay still. ‘Yes, I think so,’ Maribel said. Anna dropped the pistol. She was shaking, clearly upset by what she had done. ‘Do not look so guilty. You had no choice. If you had not shot him, he would have killed us all.’

      ‘I meant to stop him, not to kill him.’ Anna looked frightened. She turned away to vomit on the ground, then wiped her mouth on the back of her hand. ‘Will they hang me?’

      ‘No, they won’t hang you.’ Justin’s voice spoke from the doorway. ‘It was in self-defence, Anna—but no one will know, because we shall bury him out there.’ He jerked his head towards the back of the house. ‘I can’t do much to help you. There is a spade in the lean-to at the rear. You will have to drag him there between you. I’ll help to dig the hole.’

      ‘No, you will not,’ Maribel spoke decisively. ‘You have told us what to do. Go back to your room and rest. We can do this between us.’

      Justin set his mouth stubbornly. He took a step towards them, then hesitated, his face white.

      ‘Go on, then. I will make sure there is no sign of the blood here—and I’ll keep watch and warn you if anyone comes.’

      ‘Yes,’ Maribel agreed, because she knew that he would only follow them if she refused his help. ‘As soon as it is done you must go back to bed and rest. Pike told us that the Defiance is in the harbour. When it is provisioned we shall leave as intended.’

      Justin nodded, his mouth set in a grim line.

      ‘Come, Anna,’ Maribel said. ‘You have to help me drag him. I can’t do it alone. Take one leg and I’ll take the other.’

      Anna shuddered, then did as she was told. Pike was heavy and it took both of them to drag his body across the front yard and out behind the house.

      Maribel chose a spot where the earth looked softer. A tree had been cleared to supply timber for the house and the earth had been disturbed, making it easier to dig. When Anna fetched the spade, Maribel started the digging. She dug out an oblong large enough to hide the body. After the first few cuts were made, Anna went to the lean-to and came back with a chopper. She used it to dig down into the earth and then scraped the dry earth out with her hands.

      The women worked in silence for what seemed like an eternity. At last the hole was deep enough and between them they placed Pike in his grave and then started to scrape the earth over him. When they had finished Maribel looked at Anna.

      ‘He was a wicked man, but I think we should say a prayer for him.’

      ‘Yes…’ Anna was pale and penitent. ‘You are right, Maribel. I did not mean to murder him, only to stop him.’

      ‘You did what you had to do—we both did,’ Maribel said. She felt sick and a little faint, but forced herself to continue. ‘God keep and forgive this man. He was not a good man, but we pray that his soul will find peace.’

      ‘You can see the earth has been disturbed,’ Anna said when the prayer was done. ‘We should lay branches over it to hide it for a while. The grave may be found, but it will not matter once we are gone.’

      ‘You will not be able to return here now.’ Maribel remarked as they finished their work and returned to the house. ‘But you should not feel guilty, Anna. You saved my life—and Captain Sylvester’s.’

      ‘And my own. He would not have let me live to tell the tale.’

      ‘No, he could not have risked it, for Higgins would have demanded justice.’ Maribel saw that Anna was still pale, still shocked by what she had done. She reached out and kissed her cheek. ‘Forget what happened, Anna. You must put it behind you.’

      ‘He was a bad man.’ Anna met her eyes, seeking reassurance. ‘I do not believe I shall burn in hell for what I did, do you?’

      ‘No, of course not. It was the only way,’ Maribel replied. ‘I shall never forget that you saved my life, Anna.’

      ‘I could not let him kill you.’ Anna smiled, oddly shy and uncertain. ‘We have something in common now, Maribel. We share a bond that can never be broken—it is a secret we must keep to the grave.’

      ‘Yes, it is.’ Maribel took her hand. ‘We are friends, Anna, truly friends. What has happened here has changed us both for ever. I am no longer the lady you served. I am different and I can never go back to what I once was.’

      ‘We both need to wash and change our gowns,’ Anna said, looking at the dirt beneath her fingernails. ‘You should speak to Captain Sylvester, ask when we are leaving.’

      ‘Yes, I shall.’

      Maribel pushed her hair back from her eyes. She was damp with sweat, her clothes sticking to her. There were blisters on her hands and her back ached. The hard labour had exhausted her, but she had a feeling of satisfaction, because she would never have believed herself capable of doing what she had just done.

      A part of her felt ill at ease because a man’s life had been lost, but Pike was evil. He had tried to have Justin killed and would have succeeded this time if Anna had not stopped him. Maribel knew that she would not have known how to shoot the pistol. Anna must have learned it from Higgins, just as she had learned to use a knife from Peg. So although she felt uneasy that a man’s life had been taken, she believed it was inevitable. Pike had been their enemy from the beginning. It was always his life or theirs.

      She went into the house, then knocked at Justin’s door. He was sitting on the bed. He invited her to enter, looking at her face as she did so.

      ‘Is it done?’

      ‘Yes. We put branches over the grave. It is not deep enough and it will be found, but perhaps not just yet.’

      ‘We shall leave in the morning with the tide. Higgins has instructions to see the ship provisioned immediately. ’

      ‘Anna СКАЧАТЬ