Iron Lace by Emilie Richards Read Free Book Online Page A

pictures of God’s son rising toward heaven. She crossed herself quickly, then clasped her hands again.
    “Ro-Ro!”
    She whirled at the sound of Ti’ Boo’s voice. For a moment she hoped she could hide; then she knew it was useless. She could only fling herself into the waves, and she was afraid to do that.
    Ti’ Boo, her chubby face pink with exertion, came running through the dunes. “Ro-Ro!” She stopped and shook her finger at Aurore.
    Aurore tried to look sorry. “I only wanted to see the beach once more, Ti’ Boo. I wasn’t going to go any closer. Truly.”
    “You scared me to death. My heart, it’s stopped!” She clapped her hand over her chest.
    “I didn’t think you’d be back. I thought no one—”
    “No one knows but me.”
    Aurore said a quick prayer of thanksgiving. “Don’t tell! Please don’t tell!”
    Ti’ Boo flung her arms out dramatically. “The wind, it could carry you away!”
    “I was careful.” Aurore took advantage of Ti’ Boo’s open arms to throw herself into them. She wrapped her arms around Ti’ Boo’s waist. “Don’t tell, please?”
    Reluctantly Ti’ Boo stroked Aurore’s long brown curls. “Silly ti’ oiseau. I won’t tell, but if we don’t get back quick, someone’ll find us here.”
    Aurore looked up at her friend. She thought Ti’ Boo beautiful, with her cheerful round face and her straight black hairbraided over her ears. “I don’t want to go home. I want to stay here forever.”
    “Next summer, you come back, and I’ll take care of you again.”
    “I wish you would come to New Orleans.”
    “ Non, my home, it’s on the b’you. What would my maman do without me, heh? Her with twelve to feed?”
    Aurore brightened. “I could come with you to Bayou Lafourche. I could help.”
    Ti’ Boo laughed. Aurore could feel the rumble against her ear. “And what would your maman do? Without her ti’oiseau? ”
    Aurore didn’t think her mother would mind too much.
    “Come on. Le’s get back before anyone knows we went.”
    Aurore took one last look at the waves. She promised them she would be back next summer, too. Then she followed Ti’ Boo through the dunes.

CHAPTER FIVE
    R aphael Cantrelle stood high on a sand dune, one hand shading his eyes as he looked out to sea. In the distance there were pirate ships with billowing sails and masts so tall they speared the black clouds and carved a corsair’s route to heaven.
    They were coming for him.
    Raphael felt inside the pocket of his pants. His hand stayed there a moment, savoring the feel of his tiny store of treasure. He had a section of rope, a chunk of bread and smoked fish wrapped and tied in a piece of cloth, a shard of glass finely polished by the sea, two shells, and a piece of driftwood shaped like a dagger. The pirates would be proud to have him on board. Jean Laffite himself would beg him to sail on the biggest and finest of the ships.
    He would have to say no.
    As he watched, the ships disappeared, one by one, until there was nothing left but a clouded stretch of sea and sky and two fishing boats coming into port. He recognized one of the canots, with its red lateen sail and green body. It belonged tothe father of Étienne Lafont, a boy his age with whom he played when Étienne could sneak away from his family.
    Next to Juan Rodriguez, Étienne was his best friend. Étienne wanted to be a pirate, too, but Juan was a pirate. Juan could teach him everything he needed to learn until the day when his mother no longer needed him and Raphael would sail away with Dominique You and Nez Coupé. And if they really were dead, as Étienne insisted, then he could sail away with someone else.
    He wanted to leave the chénière. He knew of no other place to live, had never even crossed the pass to Grand Isle. But he knew that somewhere there had to be a village where no woman would call his mother names, where no man would tell his children they couldn’t play with him.
    Only recently he had discovered