The Pirate Bride Read Online Free PDF Page A

hours. And the voices he heard now belonged to Red Robert and his first mate, Brendan.
    Red let out a soft chuckle. “Ah, but what is life but risk?”
    “Yes, but up until now you’ve had a plan, and now…now you’re risking your life.”
    “Brendan, stop this obsession. We risk our lives every morning when we awake and take a breath.”
    Brendan let out a sigh of aggravation.
    “You shouldn’t have kept the prisoner.”
    “I should have killed them all?”
    “No.” There was a silence. “Damned good ship, though, and you let it sail away.”
    “We don’t need another ship.”
    “We didn’t need a prisoner.”
    “What difference does his presence make? We may find someone willing to pay for his release.”
    “Right. He was out on the seas stealing from the ancients when we came upon him,” Brendan said dryly.
    “A man has to make his own fortune, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t someone out there willing to pay for his release.”
    Brendan grunted. “He’ll go mad by the time you let him out.”
    “No harm has been done to him.”
    “Imprisonment can destroy the mind. You’ve left him with nothing. Not a book…not a thing. He can’t even practice tying knots.”
    “Give a man a rope, he may hang himself,” the captain pointed out.
    “He’s able-bodied.”
    “Too able-bodied,” Red snapped.
    “He could work.”
    “And he could escape. Kill someone and escape.”
    “He wouldn’t,” Brendan said.
    I wouldn’t?
    “Oh?” Red asked.
    “He’s a man of his word.”
    “And he’s given his word not to escape?”
    “You haven’t asked him for it.”
    “He isn’t being tortured,” Red said impatiently.
    “He could be useful on deck.”
    “We don’t need a deckhand.”
    Brendan sniffed. “We’re not a large group, you know.”
    “Nor can we be.”
    “So we can use another deckhand.”
    Red groaned and fell silent.
    “Look, when this began…I understood. But now…what exactly are you looking for?” Brendan’s voice sounded both sad and serious.
    There was silence, then a soft reply. “Revenge. It’s what keeps me going. It’s my only reason to stay alive.”
    He heard footsteps; then the captain called to one of the men, checking on the ship’s heading. They were going in a southwesterly direction, and Logan couldn’t help wondering why.
    He leaned back against the wall thoughtfully. The captain was indeed young. But for one so young, there was something ageless in his outlook. Revenge, not life, was not the most worthy prize. How had one so young come to hate so much?
    Maybe it wasn’t all that difficult. Such was the wretchedness of life that many were born to endure. Some rose above it. Some barely survived it.
    Some died.
    And some became cutthroats, thieves and pirates.
    But Red Robert…something about him was different. He was so small and almost…effete, extremely adept of course, but hardly…manly.
    Logan leaned back in deeper thought, and in a few minutes he knew he had to be right about the conclusion he had come to.
    But… why?
    And just what revenge could drive someone to such desperate measures?
    Logan was cuffed when he was taken from his cubicle in the cargo hold. Brendan apologized, as two men took care of the actual shackling. “Sorry, my friend. But we respect your talents, and thus…well, I’m sure you understand.”
    Logan nodded gravely. “Thank you, my friend. I will take that as a compliment.”
    Brendan shrugged. He led the way past the first hold, with its guns, powder, crates of cargo and supplies, and crew hammocks, and then topside. Ah, topside. Fresh air. It was clean and clear, and the breeze was soft and beautiful. No rain was on the horizon, and no storm clouds threatened the heavens. He was glad for a minute just to stand there, to feel the embrace of the sun.
    But then a hand was clamped on his shoulder, and he was led toward the aft cabin. Brendan knocked on the door and received a crisp “Aye” from Captain