Chapter 25: La Nouvelle Orleans

1 September, 1686 Afternoon

Two day's out from La Nouvelle Orleans Scarlet's wound was all but healed. The metal piece had not been deep and his upper arm had required but a single stitch.

Constance told Jack she felt ready for him. Then after informing the rest of the crew that the Captain's cabin would be unavailable for the next two hours she and Scarlet entered the cabin closing the door after them.

Once inside Scarlet couldn't help looking intently at Constance completely absorbed in her beauty. She was so beautiful, so perfect, so everything.

Constance started to blush from the intensity of Scarlet's gaze, but her eyes never left his face, "What do we do now?" She asked timidly.

"Well, it's normally customary that we both get undressed," he answered her almost as timidly.

She only hesitated for a moment, and then with one swift motion she pulled her silk shirt over her head without unbuttoning it causing her breasts to bounce up and down. She bent over and removed her breeches, pushing them down over the curve of her thighs, leaving only her cotton knickers and a long string of pearls around her neck. She looked back up at Scarlet and smiled, then slowly slid the knickers down her legs and tossed them in the corner. She stood fully erect and slowly turned a full circle.

"Do I look all right?" she asked.

Scarlet could do no more than nod so smitten was he with her beauty.

Constance became a little embarrassed. She turned her face way from him, but made no move to cover her nakedness from his gaze.

"I'm sorry..." Scarlet finally managed to squeak out, "it's just that you are so beautiful... so perfect."

Constance flushed.

Then ripping his eyes away from her he quickly undressed himself.

Moving to her Scarlet picked Constance up and carried her to her bunk. He kissed her open mouth then moved lower to kiss her neck, then even lower lightly flicking with his tongue.

"Yes, hmmmm," she moaned.

He returned to her neck, gently biting it just above her shoulders.

"Ahh!" she jumped, starting to move her body against his, "Oh... oh..."

She reached out and started to stroke his back, slowly increasing the pressure. He pushed her back on the bunk, and kissing her body as he went, teasing her, increasing her excitement.

"Take me Jack! Take me now! Make me a woman," she moaned.

Gently and slowly they made love...

Exhausted, Scarlet fell beside Constance breathing hard.

Constance's breath was labored when she said, "Oh Jack... That was wonderful," then snuggling up against him she added, "Thank you."

"Thank you Constance. You are breathtaking. I love you so very much," then he leaned over and kissed her on the lips.

"Me too," she mumbled through his lips.

The two lovers lay still catching their breath for several long moments then Constance suddenly jumped up, then propping herself on one elbow she looked down into his face and with excitement in her voice said, "Jack, I'm no longer a virgin!"

"I know," he answered as a smirk came to his face and he pinched the end of her nose chuckling a little, "I was there remember?"

"No!" she responded impatiently, "I mean I'm really not a virgin!"

"I know," he answered again shaking his head with perplexity.

"Don't you see," she said smiling down on him, "I feel a fluttering in the pit of my stomach, and I blushed when you rolled off of me, and already my thoughts are on how pleasant and wonderful it was. See, I'm really not a virgin any longer."

"If you say so," he told her lifting himself up and kissing her on the mouth once again.

A little while later they made love again and then after getting dressed they exited the cabin.

"Heavens if you don't look flushed," Claire greeted her sister at the cabin door.

"Claire! Just how long have you been standing out here?" Constance asked her.

"Just about the whole time," Claire responded with a grin, "Was it as good as it sounded?"

"Even better," Scarlet told her smiling.

"You're both incorrigible!" Constance snapped but she too was grinning.

"I'll leave you two to have this out. I'll just go see if Carmen needs anything," Scarlet told the women then he kissed Constance lightly on the lips and quickly departed.

"So?" Claire asked after he had gone.

"Yes, I have lost my albatross, but Jack told me I still have the box it came in," Constance laughed then added, "You are simply going to have to try it Claire. I swear, it gets even better the more you do it."

"I intend too. What do you think of Diego?" Claire asked rather deviously.

Constance just looked at her younger sister and smiled.

Two days later the Maidens Revenge set anchor in the harbor of La Nouvelle Orleans which was even at this early hour bustling with the export of sugar, sugar cane and cotton.

Permanent European settlement in and around the area surrounding La Nouvelle Orleans was begun by France almost 200 years after the Spanish had entered the area. Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, explored the Mississippi downstream to its mouth, and he claimed the entire drainage basin for France in 1682. La Salle's efforts at colonization failed, but the French continued in their attempt to establish a permanent settlement. Eventually, the colony, which had also failed at Biloxi, moved upstream on the Mississippi to the foot of the Great Raft on the Red River, establishing the first permanent settlement in the Louisiana Territory at Natchitoches. Colonization proceeded under the direction of Pierre Le Moyne, Sieur d' Iberville and his brother, Jean Baptiste Le Moyne, Sieur de Bienville.

The original French colonists were soon joined by the Spanish and Acadians, and later by French aristocrats fleeing slave revolts in the West Indies or the horrors of the French Revolution.

Ironically, it was the Spanish who built many of the colonial structures in the "Vieux Carré" of La Nouvelle Orleans, and Spanish is spoken in some communities, particularly in St. Bernard Parish below La Nouvelle Orleans.

Early settlers learned quickly that digging a few feet down the ground become wet and soggy because of the water table so any air tight coffins would bob up from the ground after a rain storm. Even when the natives bored holes in the coffins to keep them down, the results were unsuitable, so following the Spanish custom the dead were buried in vaults. The rich built ornate tombs and crypts and the cemeteries resemble miniature cities with rows of tombs, many with iron fences and walk ways that are like streets and they became known as the cities of the dead.

The crew gathered on deck to make plans for retrieving Maria Santos.

"Not knowing what to expect we have two distinctly different approaches we might entertain," Scarlet offered, "one is a show of force with our best swordsmen, the second is to simply walk up to the door, knock and request to speak with Maria."

Carmen looked over the company, "Or we could combine the two," she suggested. "Jack, you and Constance or Claire, along with me could go. That would give us two very proficient swords and one moderately good one. Now, because we women will need to demonstrate a bit more decorum and our buccaneer clothing would be out of place here, Felipe, you and Diego should come along and carry our weapons for us."

Claire having the since that Diego might feel as if he were inadequate because of Carmen's words having relegated him and his brother too that of pack mules quickly jumped to his defense, "I've been working with Diego, he's a very fast learner and his skill with the sword has improved a great deal."

Diego just laughed, "Thank you for that Claire but rest assured that the Captain has not offended me in the least. I've seen you and the others, including Isabel in action and I agree with her assessment, not that I do not expect to be considered one of this ship's most proficient swordsmen one day, I fully realize this is not that day."

"Nor I," agreed Felipe, "Nothing the Captain could say or do would ever offend me. If she were to ask me to drag a longboat full of stones up a mountain I would do so gladly and without question."

Everyone including Carmen detected the underlying fidelity behind Felipe's words which were augmented by the way he looked at her; he was smitten with Carmen O' Daire, Captain of the Maidens Revenge.

"Ah, believe me, I meant no disrespect," Carmen said a little uneasily and then she quickly changed the subject, "Now, Constance and Claire are both fluent in French which should be of benefit to us as well."

"Excuse me Captain... but, I really would like to come along," Isabel said rather meekly.