To Tame the Wind (Agents of the Crown Book 0) Read Online Free Page B

fatal?”
    “I didn’t stay long enough to find out, sir. The knife was
stuck high in his chest near his shoulder, so mebbe not. ’Twas him who yelled
at me to jump just after he took the blade.”
    Simon turned to the windows, casting his gaze on the harbor
and the sun glistening off the water. The river mouth formed a huge marsh, a
labyrinth for any pursuers, the perfect port for a privateer, which is why he
had selected it as the home port for his two schooners. He let out an
exasperated sigh. If the Abundance had been anchored here, he would
still have a second ship, and he would still have his friend.
    At the sound of boots coming toward him, Simon shifted his
attention to the cabin doorway where his curly-haired first mate, Jordan
Landor, appeared. Behind him was Elijah Hawkins, the wizened old bos’n of the Fairwinds .
The old salt wore his usual dark blue knit cap pulled down over his ears where
it met his short gray beard.
    “Captain?” said Jordan, his green eyes casting an anxious
glance at the first mate from the Abundance .
    “Come in, Jordan. You, too, Elijah. We have a most
unpleasant business to deal with.”
    With a nod and a mumbled “Amos” to the first mate from the Abundance ,
the two men claimed the remaining chairs in front of his desk. Young Nate and
Zeb took a stand in front of his shelf bed.
    Simon allowed his gaze to drift out the window, this time
stretching beyond the harbor toward the coastline of France. In a somber mood,
his jaw set in firm resolve, he turned to face the two men who had joined them.
    “Donet has struck again and this time he has taken the Abundance .”
     

     
    Simon studied the faces of the men who were gathered a few
days later around a table in the common room of the Mermaid Inn in Rye, key
members of his crew from the Fairwinds , and several from the Abundance who had been ashore when it was seized. Good men and true, some former Royal
Navy, some who’d crewed with him on his first ship and some from Dartmouth, all
now together as one, having fought enough battles in the last several years to
bind them together.
    From their faces, he could see his men still seethed at the
Frenchman’s effrontery. For his own part, Simon was more than a little
embarrassed that one of his ships had been so easily taken. If his friend John
Wingate had survived the knife wound, he would be giving himself a scathing
rebuke about now.
    “We must retake her and regain the crew,” Simon said, not
bothering to hide his anger. “I will not lose them to that heathen, God-cursed
Frenchman.”
    Sally arrived at their table just then to hand out mugs of
ale. “Can I get you and your men some food, Captain Powell?” The blonde
innkeeper’s daughter waited for a response while glancing at the others, but their
gazes were fixed on Simon.
    “Not just now, lass, we’ve a problem to solve,” he said.
“Perhaps later.”
    “Just give a shout when you’re ready.” She smiled and left,
swaying her hips flirtatiously as she walked away. Simon watched her wend her
way through the empty tables to the one by the front window where two men
conversed over their food. It was only afternoon and the tavern had yet to fill
for the evening, which suited his purpose well.
    “It can be done,” said Jordan Landor, in a low voice, his
green eyes staring off into the distance. “Donet can’t stay in Lorient forever
and I reckon that’s where he’s holed up with the Abundance .” Then
turning to Simon, “He’ll be expecting trouble and prepared to sink us right
quick. ‘Twill call for stealth.”
    “Aye,” said Simon. He’d had experience at stealth, going in
and out of France for the last several years collecting messages and gathering
information for his superiors in London.
    Undaunted, he was about to set forth his plans for the
hazardous mission when Amos Busby spoke up. “I’ll go, Captain. It’s my crew,
too.”
    Simon nodded. “We’ll include you in the plans, Amos.”
    Elijah