Free The Sea Rose by Amylynn Bright

probably couldn’t help save the man she loved. “I’m no
one. Jack saved me when my ship sank. I was coming here to marry
your minister.”
    Big Jim looked at her with distaste
she was certain signified her complete lack of helpfulness. “You’re
the minister’s fiancée? You were going to marry that prat
Merickel?”
    “ Not anymore.” She sighed.
There had to be something she could do to help.
    “ Good,” Big Jim boomed.
“That man is a real horse’s ass. I can tell by looking at ya, you
deserve better than that one.”
    Roselyn smiled, heartened. “Really, I
want to help rescue Jack. He’s helped me so much…” She couldn’t
finish the sentence. She wanted to tell Big Jim and his gentle,
smiling eyes just how much Jack had saved her and how much she
loved him, but that seemed foolish.
    “ Well, you’ve given me an
idea.” Big Jim didn’t have the chance to elaborate before the
Neptune’s Revenge’s crew burst through the door. They all ignored
Roselyn while they loudly discussed a plan. Roselyn breathed deeply
and urged herself not to give up hope.
    “ Have no fear, Miss,” the
Quartermaster told her with a squeeze to her shoulder. “The Revenge
crew is the best there is. We’ve gotten out of worse.”
    Oh please, oh please, oh
please.
     
     

 
     
     
     
    Chapter Twelve
     
     
    Roselyn smoothed her palms over the
borrowed dress. Apparently, Big Jim had a wife, Little Bess, whom
Roselyn didn’t find to be little, necessarily, but next to Big Jim,
everyone was little. Bess had showed up at her husband’s office
right after she’d heard the news of Jack’s capture. Apparently,
Little Bess was as fond of Jack as her husband was, so she was more
than willing to help Roselyn dress for her part in the
rescue.
    The gingham material of the shirtwaist
depressed her. Although, it occurred to her that in the plain,
checked, cotton dress, her former fiancé would have found her
perfectly acceptable. Even her father would have allowed it.
Perversely, she wanted nothing more than to slide back into the
gorgeous lilac silk Jack had found for her, the dress that made her
feel pretty and sensual and loved.
    “ Now remember to walk real
slow once you get inside so you don’t jingle,” Little Bess told her
while she finished the buttons up the back.
    “ Right,” Big Jim agreed
with a nod of his massive head. “That’d ruin
everything.”
    “ I’ll remember,” Roselyn
promised. How could she forget? She was mildly terrified that if
she moved too quickly one of the knives sown into the hem or
waistband would stab her. Besides, it was hard enough to walk with
loaded flintlock pistol strapped to her thigh.
    “ Here’s the book.” Amos
handed her the only bible he could find in the lawless pirate
harbor.
    “ Are you ready, miss?”
Blake and a few others of the pirate crew remained at the Harbor
Master’s office. The others had gone back to prepare the ship or
had already taken up their positions along the route.
    Roselyn nodded. She didn’t want to
think too much about her role in the breakout – it would only make
her nervous, and what she had to do was much too important to get
stage fright now.
    Amos accompanied her on the walk to
the jail. His chatter calmed her even though she couldn’t listen to
his words, the lilting sound of his Caribbean accent smoothed over
the nerves she sought to soothe.
    The boy pointed to a squat, stone
building. “There it is.”
    Roselyn knew she didn’t have to
concern herself with the soldiers outside the post but the ten or
fifteen of them made her nervous anyway. Amos walked with her to
the door.
    “ Remember,” the boy
whispered to her, “these soldiers will all be gone when you and
Jack come out, so head right for the ship.”
    Roselyn gave a jerky nod.
“Stay with me.” Her armpits were damp and she couldn’t blame it on
the Caribbean humidity. Just breathe,
Roselyn, just breathe .
    “ Hello, pretty lady.” A
soldier moved to her side and