Corsets & Crossbones Read Online Free PDF Page B

deeply about what he wanted to do at this point.  He could take all the jewels, including those of sentimental value, or he could take none.  He could take the jewels Brooke permitted him to take, or he could take the ones she told him not to take.  At that moment, his eyes caught sight of a beautiful emerald necklace; the emerald was small, in the shape of the heart, and hung from a silver chain.  He would take this jewel and nothing more.  Slipping it securely in his pocket, he made his way to the open window and disappeared into the night.
     

Chapter II
    Captain Colt met the majority of his crew at the local downtown scrag, which happened to be quite welcoming of pirates, despite the island’s disapproval of such rogues.  The scrag was called The Bloody Mistake , a small building that was, while humble on the outside, usually crowded and rowdy on the inside.  Men of a respectable nature would never be caught dead at this place, and therefore, its customers usually came and left as they pleased, without a sliver of fear of getting caught.  For the more ambitious customers, there were offered rooms, whether someone wished to prolong their visitation or needed a few hours to sleep off their drink.  There was a third option if a customer should choose it: if they decided to dabble in the colorful pleasure many women advertised, they could rent a room as well, but whether or not they chose to stay the full night, they had to pay for it.  Unless, of course, the customer happened to be Captain Charlie Colt.
    When Charlie was a captain with the East India Company, he would come to The Bloody Mistake for drinks and pleasure, despite his proper reputation.  He overlooked the fact that many pirates dwelled there in the first place, and even sympathized with them.  They were merely sailors walking a fine line between legality and illegality, with more freedom than Charlie could imagine at the time.  And now he was one of them, a pirate captain that was dangerously dancing on that thin line himself.  Because he did not turn in one pirate nor the owner of the bar for giving business to pirates, he received a charitable discount if he chose to use a room.  And the charming Captain Colt almost always did.
    Currently, he was sitting at a secluded back table, with a bright woman on his lap and another woman rubbing his back.  His crew was all drinking, and they were surrounded by hopeful whores hoping to bed one of them that night.  They were still waiting upon the arrival of Heath and two other men who had accompanied Heath, acting as though they were his workers.
    “What did you acquire, Capt’n?” a man asked, obviously drunk and wanting an excuse to speak of his exploits but not wanting to do so first.
    “I ‘ appened to choose his daughter’s room,” he said after taking a long sip of rum.  The whore on his lap caressed his chest lightly, and the captain smiled a deviant smile.  “Although quite the obvious treasure there, nothing else was worth any actual value.”
    “Says ye,” the man said with a wink, and then went into a long, slurred story about how he managed to get into a safe and steal jewels, money, and even some valuable paintings.
    It was at the end of the man’s story that Heath and his two companions entered the scrag, an arrogant smile on the young man’s face.
    “And how was your supper?” Charlie asked, ignoring the two whores and focusing solely on Heath.
    “It was dull, to be honest, but the food was exquisite,” Heath replied as he took a seat across from Charlie.  His tone changed when he continued.  “Although when his daughter arrived, albeit quite tardy, the supper picked up.  She was a sight for sore eyes, especially compared to these strumpets, aye?”  He glanced darkly at a whore who was about to make her way over to him.
    Charlie tilted his head to the side slightly.  A very odd feeling came over him, and he could not help but furrow his brow.  “Brooke