Mr. Bennet leaned forward, as did Elizabeth (though she was more discreet in displaying her curiosity). Darcy looked distressed, and Nick smiled reassuringly at him.
“John Nutt—now, there’s a story to inspire. His was a happy ending, made all the happier by his brush with death. Ye see, back when the King was granting royal pardons, Nutt requested one from a Mr. John Eliot. He was the Vice Admiral of Devon at the time. After some negotiations, Eliot granted Nutt a full pardon in exchange for a five-hundred-pound bond—a hefty sum. But piracy’d been a rewarding venture for Nutt, and he was smart enough to know when to quit. Five hundred pounds for a fresh start and a new life as a free man with no price on his head—he must’ve figured it was a fair price.” Nick would gladly pay double—nay, triple—to clear his conscience.
“Yes?” Mr. Bennet asked impatiently.
Nick paused a moment longer,adding to their suspense. “Imagine Nutt’s surprise when he finally returned to England only to be arrested once he set foot on her shores.”
Elizabeth gasped, her pinched expression displaying how disagreeable she found the unjust treatment. Darcy, too, looked like a thundercloud. They would fight the world’s injustices very well together. If Nick had the influence his brother did, he liked to think he’d do the same.
Returning to the story, Nick said, “Eliot was a sly one. He arrested Nutt as soon as he returned to England. Tried and convicted for piracy, Nutt was doomed to dangle at the gallows until an old friend who had risen to the office of Secretary of State intervened.”
“Calvert,” Lord Matlock said.
Nick nodded. “Precisely. Mr. George Calvert’d been an associate of Nutt, considered him a friend. He granted Nutt’s pardon and tossed Eliot into prison for abusing his position. Had to pay one hundred pounds to Nutt in compensation for his betrayal.”
Richard whistled. “Freed, pardoned, and a hundred pounds richer. Not bad.”
“He fared better than his peers.” Lord Matlock frowned, and Nick suspected he was thinking about another pirate whose ending had not been so favorable.
“Right! Captain Phillips! How could I forget when my own brother-in-law shares his same surname, though he is a law-abiding solicitor in Meryton, Iassure you.” Mr. Bennet looked at Nick. “I am certain Mr. Blackburne can relate the account much better than I can.”
Nick took a deep breath, reminding himself that these stories were entertaining for most people—told to delight or, in this case, to shock.
Elizabeth touched her father’s sleeve. “Perhaps this is a story best left untold.”
The gentleman’s disappointment overruled Nick’s reluctance. He was a pirate no more. So long as he kept his hands clean and his name out of the papers, there was no reason to believe his nightmares would become reality. Little reason. Middling reason.
Nick shook his head, tossing his fears aside. A life lived in fear was a life half-lived, and he would live his to the full and enjoy this time with his family and friends … as long as it lasted.
CHAPTER 34
Nick began, “Aye, his is a sorry tale. Phillips captured over thirty vessels in the year he turned from cod fishing to piracy. But his men turned on him. It was a bloody mutiny.” He stopped, sparing his audience the gory details.
If only Alex had followed suit. Aboard a ship she did not command, after hours of her orders going unheeded, she was in a foul mood. Sinking to the deck and crossing her legs, she drew her dagger out to clean her nails, a sure sign she was agitated. Bitterly, she said, “Lost a leg, then had his skull crushed by his mutinous crew—”
“Alex,” Nick warned.
She paid him no heed. “If that weren’t bad enough, they lopped off his head the same way they did Blackbeard and hung it from the bowsprit, then—”
“Alex,” he interrupted, louder.
She turned to him. “What? I didn’t even get to the part where they sent his head to Boston in a pickle barrel.”
Nick groaned. He saw Elizabeth wrap her arms around herself and shiver. Darcy openly glared at Alex. Nick didn’t blame him. He hoped that Alex’s lady lessons would teach her when to keep her mouth shut. Between Arnold and Connell, Nick could easily have ended the same.
Elizabeth recovered quickly. “That is enough gloom for today. Please, tell us something pleasant about the place where you grew up.”
They were coming close to Darling Rock. It wasn’t much of a needle anymore, but it had been once.
Nick pointed at the formation jutting out from the shore. “That there’s called Darling Rock. It’s said that a fishing fleet got lost in the fog on their way home. Anxious with worry, their wives ran out to the rock. They sang at the top of their lungs. One of the men heard and called out, ‘Oh, my darling.’ Those brave women sang their men to shelter, guiding them all the way into the harbor with the sound of their sweet voices.”
Elizabeth smiled at him. “Now, that is lovely. A charming story for a charming village.”
The main street ran parallel to the estuary. Nick remembered the buildings being taller, grander.
Richard asked, “Who should wetalk to first?”
“We’ll inquire at the inn and the rectory. The vicar lives just outside the village, along the main road.”
