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Back The Woman in Red Save as PDF
Chapters (73)
  1. Cover
  2. Title Page
  3. Epigraph
  4. Prologue
  5. Part One
  6. One
  7. Two
  8. Three
  9. Four
  10. Five
  11. Six
  12. Seven
  13. Eight
  14. Nine
  15. Ten
  16. Eleven
  17. Twelve
  18. Thirteen
  19. Part Two
  20. Fourteen
  21. Fifteen
  22. Sixteen
  23. Seventeen
  24. Eighteen
  25. Nineteen
  26. Twenty
  27. Twenty-One
  28. Twenty-Two
  29. Twenty-Three
  30. Twenty-Four
  31. Twenty-Five
  32. Part Three
  33. Twenty-Six
  34. Twenty-Seven
  35. Twenty-Eight
  36. Twenty-Nine
  37. Thirty
  38. Thirty-One
  39. Thirty-Two
  40. Thirty-Three
  41. Thirty-Four
  42. Thirty-Five
  43. Thirty-Six
  44. Thirty-Seven
  45. Thirty-Eight
  46. Thirty-Nine
  47. Forty
  48. Forty-One
  49. Forty-Two
  50. Part Four
  51. Forty-Three
  52. Forty-Four
  53. Forty-Five
  54. Forty-Six
  55. Forty-Seven
  56. Forty-Eight
  57. Forty-Nine
  58. Fifty
  59. Fifty-One
  60. Fifty-Two
  61. Fifty-Three
  62. Epilogue
  63. Author’s Note
  64. Acknowledgments
  65. Discover More
  66. Reading Group Guide
  67. Discussion Questions
  68. ESSAY FROMDIANA GIOVINAZZO
  69. Antoinette’s Sister
  70. Chapter One
  71. Chapter Two
  72. About the Author
  73. Praise forThe Woman in Red

Griggs’s ship looked even worse than José’s. Its mast lay broken at the top and the ship listed to one side. I ran to a small supply boat that was loading fresh ammunition. After helping the sailors fill the hull, I jumped in and we rowed back to the Rio Pardo. The men rowed hunched down, but I stood at the front of the ship directing the sailors. Cannonballs and bullets hurtled past me, but I didn’t care. My eyes were focused on the Rio Pardo.

“What are you doing back here?” José called down to me as I climbed up the ship’s ladder.

“I am delivering Canabarro’s message.”

“I told you to stay there!”

“There was no one else to send.”

“Anita, I told you—”

“José, there was no one else!” I interrupted him before he could continue. “Canabarro has no men to spare even for a simple message. He says to burn the ships and fall back!”

“Va fangul,” José cursed, throwing his hat down. “We need cover as we work on our retreat. Go back to shore.”

“José—”

“That’s an order, Anita!” He composed himself. “Go back to shore and operate the rear cannons. Let me clear this ship and I will join you.”

I loaded the few things we needed along with as many of the men as we could fit inside the rowboat. I made several runs, loading up provisions before settling in on shore to lay cover fire. I ran up and down the line passing gunpowder and fresh supplies, pausing only briefly as the large cannon’s boom shook the world around me. I wiped the hair from my sweaty face, gazing at the Rio Pardo. Flames licked their way up the mast toward the heavens.

José wasn’t on the first boats to arrive on shore. I dropped what I had in my hand and ran toward them, hoping to see his face among the sailors. As the last boat slid onto the sand, I launched myself at José, using all my strength to embrace him.

“Tesoro mio,” he whispered into my hair. “Come, we have work to do.”

I joined José, Rossetti, and the other men as we rowed to each ship, ordering the retreat. We pulled what supplies we could and splashed rum all over the decks. The pungent alcohol smell mixed with smoke made me feel dizzy. I ran with the others off the ship once José dropped the match. When we made it back to the shore, we stood for a moment laughing at the ridiculousness of what we had done.