PIRATE: Privateer by Tim Severin Page B

and sense of purpose.
    ‘I believe that Hector and his friends are safe. But I have no idea where they might be.’
    ‘Then at least please tell me all you know.’
    Anne-Marie took a deep breath. ‘What I am about to say must stay between us. I am in enough trouble already.’
    Maria gave her a look full of pleading. ‘You have my word that I will tell no one.’
    In a calm voice Anne-Marie described everything that had happened on the
Morvaut
, from the time spent fishing the wreck on the Vipers until her interview with a furious de Graff after the
loss of his prisoners. The only part she omitted was how she had helped Hector and his friends to slip away. She did not want to be asked her reasons for assisting Hector to escape.
    ‘Surely Captain de Graff turned back and tried to find the skiff?’ Maria asked.
    ‘He did. But the boat had vanished. There was no trace of it.’
    ‘Had it sunk?’ There was a tremor in Maria’s voice.
    The Breton shook her head. ‘The weather was fine. Your husband and his comrades are good sailors. I don’t think they would have drowned.’
    ‘Then what happened to them? Where did they go?’
    ‘I’ve asked myself the same question many times. The obvious answer is that they set course either to Cuba or to Jamaica. Which of the two do you think more likely?’
    ‘Jamaica. All four of them have had their troubles with the Spanish authorities.’
    Anne-Marie collected up the empty bowls and was about to get up from the table when she saw the tears beginning to well up in Maria’s eyes.
    ‘Did Hector ever talk about me?’ Maria asked.
    ‘Of course. He told me that he was looking forward to getting back to Tortuga because you were waiting for him.’
    It was a lie, but the Breton saw how her visitor was drooping with exhaustion, emotional as well as physical. ‘Do you have somewhere to stay in Petit Goâve?’ she asked
gently.
    Maria shook her head. ‘I came to Petit Goâve to seek you. What I would do next depended on what you told me.’
    ‘Well you’ve found me and heard my story, and now you are welcome to stay. I’ll be pleased to have your company. I don’t see my other brothers. They’ve been forced
to join de Graff’s crew and are not allowed ashore for fear they might run off.’
    Belatedly Maria remembered that Anne-Marie had to deal with her own difficulties. ‘What about you? Is it true that you are to be tried for shooting your brother’s killer?’
    ‘The Governor isn’t in a hurry to set a date for a court hearing.’
    Maria detected the scepticism in the Breton’s reply. ‘And you think he has a reason?’
    Anne-Marie allowed herself a world-weary grimace. ‘Every time I’m summoned to the Governor’s office for questioning, I find Captain de Graff also there. He seems to be taking a
close interest in my well-being.’
    ‘Perhaps he’s there as a witness.’
    ‘He makes a great effort to be charming.’
    ‘And is he?’
    The Breton shrugged. ‘He has a certain allure. But I suspect his attention may have more to do with what your husband and his friends were doing on the Vipers.’ She paused as a fresh
thought occurred to her. ‘Maria, you say that Hector and his comrades most likely headed for Jamaica.’
    Maria nodded. ‘Hector sometimes said that Jezreel might want to return to London. If that’s the case, then the four of them would have gone to Port Royal. From there Jezreel could
easily find a ship to England.’
    ‘Would you be willing to go yourself to Jamaica in the hope of finding Hector?’ said Anne-Marie slowly.
    Maria sat up straighter, a spark of hope in her eyes. ‘Of course. There’s nothing keeping me in Tortuga except to wait for Hector’s return. The place is a den of
thieves.’ She stopped abruptly, embarrassed as she remembered that Tortuga was home for the Kergonans.
    But the Breton took no offence. ‘You may be glad of those thieves. My brothers were smugglers, and
Morvaut
wasn’t the only boat to