A Siren’s Wake - The Tale of Captain Redmane

Several months have passed since Tortuga recognized the captured fleet. At the Admiralty House, Redmane’s healed wounds are now scars, while her reputation travels faster than any ship.

A sharply dressed middle-aged man, with warm brown skin and a narrow silver mustache waits beneath the carved Ballantyne arms. His lean face, silver-threaded black hair, and immaculate purple coat mark him as a courtly emissary rather than a sailor.

Harcourt breaks the red wax only enough to display the seal, then extends the folded summons across the polished table. The room’s clerks fall pointedly silent.

The sealed papers rest within reach, bearing the authority of Cheshire and the weight of a summons no Tortuga official can pretend not to see. Harcourt waits for her answer.

Redmane takes the sealed papers from Julian Harcourt and unfolds them beneath the carved Ballantyne arms. The wax bears Lord Ballantyne’s unmistakable crest.

The summons orders Isabella Elsbeth Ballantyne to appear before her father’s household council and answer for the seizures made under the Ballantyne name, the occupation of Puerto de las Sombras, and the authority she now exercises there.

A second page lists the demanded subjects: prize claims, captured warships, foreign officers, harbor revenues, and the political consequences of establishing an independent command overseas.

The final paragraph gives no date for obedience, only the expectation that Redmane will leave for Cheshire at once under safe conduct arranged by House Ballantyne.

The clerks remain silent as the pages settle in Redmane’s hands. Harcourt waits across the polished table, while the summons places Cheshire’s authority directly against the command she has built at sea.