Pirates of the Caribbean: The Price of Freedom

The slave trader had proven his claim by showing Cutler Beckett
more of that incredible jewelry, all of which now resided in Beckett’s
most secure strongbox. All of it had come from the same group as the
old priest and Ayisha—all of it except the royal pectoral.
Cutler Beckett’s lips tightened in annoyance. He’d questioned
“Duke” Wren-John extensively about that pectoral. The slave trader
could only recall that he’d taken it off a half-starved, half-grown youth
his raiding party had found wandering alone on the edge of the desert.
The lad had been too weak to walk for the first half of the journey, but
had proved tougher than he’d looked at first. After a few weeks of
regular feedings, he’d been able to march into Calabar as part of the
coffle. Duke had sold the entire coffle in Calabar, and every one of
them had been immediately loaded onto a ship. A ship bound where?
Beckett had asked. Duke Wren-John had shrugged. He had no idea,
except it had been bound for the New World, like almost all slave
ships.
Cutler Beckett grimaced slightly. If only they could have gotten the
boy, too. From what Duke had said, the lad at least had been able to
talk, and seemed of normal wit—for a slave. Unlike Ayisha, Cutler
Beckett thought.
But at least he had Ayisha. She had to have come from Zerzura—
hadn’t she? And if she came from there, Beckett thought, she must
know where it is.…
Beckett’s fingers tightened on the page he was holding. He had to
figure out how to get the truth from her. Too bad he couldn’t just turn her
over to Mercer, and let him wring it from her by whatever means his
enforcer chose, but there were…complications…connected with that
idea.
If only I could gain her trust. Her dull-wittedness might well be a
ruse, but how to unmask her?
Beckett pursed his lips. He’d tried having her spend time with his
house slaves, but Ayisha didn’t talk to them, either, any more than was
necessary to do her job. She followed orders given to her in pidgin, if
stated simply. So she couldn’t be completely lacking in intelligence. He
allowed himself a faint sigh of frustration.
His gaze sharpened as he came to the next letter. He recognized