Khin Maung Gyi - My Love

( 1 )

New Orleans was a most miserable place in the summer. It was only because of his resentment of Elizabeth and his pride that John Carrick had ventured across the Caribbean Sea, which was blockaded by the British Navy and the pirate-infested Gulf, in his small ship. It was no use to sell goods through the customs office when they could buy all kinds of goods duty-free from the smugglers who had their headquarters on the Barataria Islands, who smuggled all kinds of goods for the king's use.

Yet John Carrick risked all sorts of dangers to bring Elizabeth the wedding dress she was to wear, along with the magnificent furniture that Napoleon's victorious armies had looted from the castles of Europe. From his hot cabin, John Carrick could hear his aide-de-camp, Burnside, shouting orders to a group of sailors as they prepared to remove Elizabeth's belongings from the ship's hold. When she put on the wedding dress, which had been specially ordered from Paris, Elizabeth's surname was De Ivry, and when she took it off, her surname would change to Govez.

The heat was making the pine needles rise again under the young captain's face. John Kerris was peeling back the bandages that had bound the stab wound on his left elbow, while sweat dripped from beneath his crimson, dark hair, and trickled into his eyes. He had received this wound the night before, when his ship, the Mary, had been attacked by a pirate ship named the San Pike. However, he did not want to be known in New Orleans, as he was unable to defend himself, and he did not even tell his crew of his injury.

At that time, the pirates, who had attacked his ship, thinking it was just an ordinary merchantman, were in for the biggest shock of their lives when they were hit by the simultaneous firing of eight cannons on his ship. In this battle, the pirates tried to board the Mary, but the cannons hit them and their ship exploded and sank. On the other hand, two men were wounded. The bodies of three of the fallen pirates were hung upside down by the feet from the top of the mast by Carys. The bodies were pecked at by birds along the way, but they were still captured. In one of the body bags, documents were found indicating that he was a Spaniard with the long name of On Luis de Fonseca y Govez y Cartagena.

Given the name, it is safe to assume that the body is a relative of the merchant Elizabeth is about to marry. This is certainly a matter of satisfaction for Carys. He had previously been unable to accept Elizabeth's potential bride, and now that a pirate is his relative, his dislike for her must be even more profound.

Like Elizabeth's parents, New Orleans often judged a person based on their lineage. Govez was of the highest rank among the Creoles in New Orleans. Govez himself was a man of great pride and would not tolerate any insults. Whenever he felt that someone had offended him, he would challenge that person to a one-on-one fight. Whether with a sword or a gun, he was not content with just drawing blood like other men. He was satisfied with killing the other person. He always won the fight. Yet, if Elizabeth could change her mind, Carys was ready to fight Govetz, believing that even though Govetz's bullet had pierced his heart, he would still be able to hold on to his life until he could kill her again.

But Carys did not expect Elizabeth to change her mind about Govez. In fact, Elizabeth must have known that Govez, although a man of high birth, was not very high in his profession. She must have known from the time she had given her father permission to marry Govez that Govez owned brothels in the "bad" part of New Orleans, the "bad" part of the city, and along the river. But it had to be admitted that this was a fashionable business practice among the Creole gentry.

After Caris had removed the last of the bandages from his wound, he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his chest. The wound was very large and painful. The pain spread to his fingers, his arm, his shoulder, and his neck. He was afraid that the wound would become infected and he would die of a broken leg. If he had to die such a terrible death, it would be a shame for a woman to die.

His crew were quite dissatisfied. They were hungry for women and pleasure. However, the ship was due to leave port in four or five hours, and Carys did not allow them to go ashore. Carys knew very well that they were dissatisfied and unhappy.

When he heard a knock on the cabin door from outside, Caris sighed with relief. The knocker was probably his servant, Mush, who had asked him to find some ointment to use when he was putting on a new bandage to prevent it from sticking to the wound. Caris carefully hid the bandage he had removed and opened the door. Not even his aide-de-camp, Bankside, knew of his injury. When he opened the door, it was his servant, Mush. Mush, a native of Santo Domingo, had taught Caris the French and Spanish used by the common people, as well as the expressions of the Capuchin and the white man. However, when he spoke to Caris, he spoke only in high-class dialects. Now he brought the fat he had found on a piece of wood and said, "You have successfully made your journey into the kitchen."