Pirated Love (22 page)

“We have to get one of these for the ship,” Claire teased, as she settled in comfortably beside her naked wife.

“It would take up a whole cabin by itself,” Tina laughed in return.

“We could get rid of some of that cannon you carry,” she said, meaning it.  It frightened her, the massive firepower they had on board including all the gunpowder, shot, and cannonballs.  She knew they did not carry it for ballast, but with the intention of using it.

“You realize some of the places we will be going, we will need those cannon,” Tina warned, hearing the worry in Claire’s voice.

Claire sighed and nodded.  She had to trust to her wife’s knowledge on such matters.  She had been there before and knew many more things than she did about sailing.

“Are you going to be all right about this trip?  You can stay here if you do not wish to go,” Tina offered, generously, she thought.

“You do not want me to go?” Claire asked, suddenly hurt.

“Not if you are going to worry about the trip.  It would be so long to be parted, and I do not want that, but I do not want you worrying,” she said, turning to make sure she faced her wife to see she was in earnest about her concerns.

“Teach me to fight,” Claire suddenly challenged her.

“What?” she asked, surprised.

“If we are going to go to somewhere so dangerous, and do not think I did not hear you and your grandfather discussing it.  I need to know that I can defend myself if you are busy elsewhere.  I never felt as helpless as when those men from your ship attacked me,” she confided.

Tina blushed, remembering it was her men who had nearly raped Claire the first and second times.  Both times she had saved her wife from a fate that she knew she’d survive, but which would leave lasting scars, the kind that might never heal.  Teaching her to defend herself really would be a good idea.  It would also help improve some of the sword skills of the younger members of her crew.  Some of the older crew practiced regularly to keep in fighting shape, so really it was not a bad idea.  “I will if you want to,” she acquiesced.

“Good, I want to wear pants so it will be easier to get about.  Maybe I will cut my hair too,” she enthused.

“NO!” Tina nearly shouted and because of the marble in the room, it echoed a bit, making it seem louder to both their ears.

Claire turned to look at her in surprise and could see the final vestiges of Tina’s previous blush along with the genuine anger at the moment.  “Why not, you wear pants and cut your hair?” she asked, not understanding her wife’s attitude at all.

“But I am a captain!” Tina said, with perfect logic, at least in her mind.

“What has that to do with anything?  I need the freedom of movement that pants would give me on ship and I think learning to defend myself in them would make more sense than wearing skirts,” she argued.

Tina had to concede that her wife may have a point, but she did not like the idea of her wife dressing like her.  She liked her in her feminine skirts, and while she had not much time to sew more outfits since leaving everything behind on Baleniesia, she still looked nice in the few outfits she did have.  “All right, all right, maybe we should see a seamstress while we are here and get you a few outfits made up.  I have seen those new riding outfits women seem to favor in England now.   Must be shocking to see women’s legs on a horse instead of merely side-saddle?” she said, to change the subject slightly.

“Yes, it is when you go to the parks where they ride, but some wear a skirt over them anyway.  It must be quite an encumbrance to manage,” she said, relaxing again from their slight spat as she washed in the still warm water.

“You never rode?” Tina asked, wondering more about her wife and her past.  On board they had spoken about books, philosophy, and neutral subjects when they were alone if they were not making love.

“No, my father was worried that I would get hurt and only allowed a pony, which I outgrew by the time I was twelve, so I never learned to ride horseback.”

“Well, we will have to change that,” Tina said, earnestly.

“That might be fun,” Claire answered, noncommittally.  She was not sure she would like it, and some horses were really large.

Tina washed her own hair and quickly slid down in the tub to let the suds slip out of her shortened tresses.  When she came back up, slicked the hair back, and rubbed the water out of her eyes, she saw her wife watching her with a slight squint.  “What?” she asked.

“That looks a lot easier to keep clean,” she pointed out, looking at the shorter, curly locks that Tina sported.  It had begun to grow since she cut it, but it would take years to get it as long as it had been when they met.

“Do not get any ideas. I love your hair,” Tina said, reaching out in the water to touch Claire’s blonde tresses.

“But it would be so much easier to take care of, and it would not get in the way with the wind on board the Black Betty,” she countered.

“It is the Red Bettina,” Tina warned, automatically, trying to keep the ship’s name consistent so they did not make mistakes in the wrong company.

“Of course,” she answered, contritely.  Tina had explained the reason for the name change, but she found it ludicrous since anyone who saw that huge ship with its clean lines, black color, and red stripe would recognize it regardless of the name.  She dropped the issue of her hair, but she resented it too.  She thought their marriage was a partnership, but perhaps Tina did not view it that way.  Considering she had thought a man would be her marriage partner and they always seemed to dominate the marriages Claire had seen she had not expected anything else for herself, but with Tina it was different.  Not only had she never expected to fall in love with, much less marry a woman, Tina, for the most part, did treat her as an equal except for some things.  Those ‘some things’ had led to squabbles such as this.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Over the next few days, Tina relaxed and related family stories to Claire as they explored more of the castle.  An enclosed garden in one area was a nice surprise and the flowers were beautiful.  Many of them did not normally grow in this area of the world and were absolutely breathtaking.

As they watched David play with the puppies on the back lawn, himself like a big puppy, Claire sighed happily.  She had never realized she was not happy growing up, but this felt wonderful.  She had a woman who loved her and a family she was getting to know.  Tina’s grandfather was an intelligent and delightful man who accepted their relationship easily.  Claire had asked Tina about that once and had been told he had suspected her preference for women early on and did not object when she pursued it.  To be fair, she had also ‘tried out’ men, but found she did not like their bodies against hers quite as much.  Some felt they had to be dominant and it upset her, whereas with women, it was a meeting of the minds and bodies.  He had merely asked her to be discreet, considering the reputation a woman could get more easily than a man.  He adored his only granddaughter, and while he had David as a grandson, he knew the likelihood of more grandchildren or great grandchildren was remote.

“Tina,” she asked, to draw her attention away from Sir Barkley who was very carefully playing with his numerous offspring under the suspicious glare of his mate, who had the unfortunate name of Fluffy.  She was almost as big as Sir Barkley and completely black.  She was also very protective of her puppies and had only allowed Tina and Claire near them after several moments of suspicious smelling.

Tina looked up from her own observation of the puppies.  She was dressed in another dress that showed off her fine figure.  It was a little tight around the shoulders and strong arms, but hid her other muscles well.  “Aye, luv?” she said with a smile, and handed her wife a dandelion-the lawn abounded in them.  The pups were playing among them and it was very cute with their almost all black coats, only one of them was black and white and one was totally brown.  There were eight of them and they were fat and waddling everywhere.

Claire smiled as she took the proffered flower even though it was a weed.  “About this party your grandfather has begun talking about to celebrate your return.  How will I be introduced?” she asked, and quickly looked down at her feet.

“I think you know we cannot introduce you as my wife.  People would not understand, and it may hurt Grandfather’s business in this area.  Only those who we trust and love can be told,” she said, seeing the look on her wife’s face.

Claire nodded.  “But how will I be introduced?” she persisted.

Tina thought for a moment before she said, “How about the truth?  Lady Claire Von Hagen from England, the daughter of Earl Von Hagen, the governor of Baleniesia.”  She smiled at that idea.  “You know, the truth is always easier, and if it gets back to your father, too bad, there is nothing he can do here in Canada which is a French territory,” she pointed out.  Although England had a stake in Canada and was actively seeking to enforce it, the French traders were far to the west on this section of the coast, and they would not succeed for many years.  “He has no jurisdiction over us here,” she said softly, knowing her wife was worried over what he could do if he got his hands on her or Tina.  Tina would be hung for a pirate and he would love to be the one to pull the lever.  “He cannot hurt my grandfather either.  My grandfather is a very well-known man and has a lot of power despite being in an isolated area.”

Claire nodded thoughtfully.  “We will soon be sailing, so he will not find us anyway, will he?”  She could not imagine her father sending people after her to the Orient.  His power was mostly in his head.

“We are waiting on a few of Grandfather’s ships to come into port.  They are due within the month and depending on what they have to trade, and what we can stock them up with, we will sail with them.  I like the idea of numbers for this expedition so that we are safer from pirates and other unscrupulous traders.  I would like to meet the captains of those boats and their crews, and anyone I know that I do not want along will not be going.  I will not tolerate men who cannot take orders from a woman,” she said, disgustedly.  It had been a lifelong fight to get men to tolerate her orders even though she was a good captain, a fair one; she had to prove herself repeatedly.  Only the crews she broke out of prison seemed to appreciate her the most and stay with her the longest.  Slowly, she weeded out the ones that did not fit in her crew, as she had on this last voyage.

* * * * *

Tina arranged for a seamstress to make several fashionable dresses for her wife.  From a beautiful ball gown to everyday dresses she would be able to pack along for their voyage.  She also allowed several pants and blouses to be fashioned to be worn on board the ship.  Secretly, she had a blacksmith make blades for her wife for her smaller wrists.  These would be lighter and easier on the smaller woman’s ability to handle the weapons.  Tina had to trade for some Toledo steel, a mixture from Spain that was costly, but among some of the best steel in the world for making quality swords and blades.  It was an expensive gift for her bride, but she wanted her to have the best.

Four weeks later they were to begin provisioning her ship and the four others of her grandfather that had shown up as expected.  The men had been given a large party, which had included all the members of the ships, as well as those in the village.  The following night, just the officers and some of the members of the French aristocracy who had relocated to this section of the world were invited for a ball at the castle.

Claire had fretted that she would not fit in.  She had never been to a party in her life although her lessons had included dancing.  She had a fine time at the village party and several men from the village, as well as the other ships, danced with her.  She even managed to dance several times with Tina as many women danced together at this gathering.  Tina was once again wearing her captain’s attire, including her sword and knife, and it was a good thing she was as she had to rescue Claire from over-amorous males.  Women were rare in this area as the wilderness was still being explored and settled, and a pretty woman was in high demand.  After these two incidents though, the men were more respectful.  Tina was also able to determine which men were allowed to sail on their long voyage to the Orient based on their captain’s and first officer’s recommendations and her own personal interactions with the men.  There were a few she wondered about still, but these could be replaced on the way, or they could leave, as every port had men available for hire. 

The ball was of a different caliber and both Tina and Claire were in gowns.  Tina was not happy with wearing such a ridiculous outfit, but despite her shocking red hair, the browns suited her and made her look stunning, at least Claire thought so, as she admired her mate.  The dances were different at so formal an affair, and Jacques had managed to find musical players who played the many dances that they all enjoyed.  Some of the women who attended had looked askance at Tina, but were shocked to find she was just as aristocratic as they were, despite captaining a ship of her own.  Her ‘friend’, Lady Von Hagen, was delightful, if a bit shy, and rumor had it that she would be sailing with the Red Bettina when they left.

“Oh my, that was amazing!” Claire said, as she collapsed on their bed, dress and all.

“Do you wish me to call the maid or would you like me to maid you,” Tina asked, with a glimmer in her eye at her blushing bride.  She was flushed from all the activity and it was early in the morning before all the guests had left, those who were not staying at the castle.  They would socialize a little more tomorrow, as the guests left by nightfall.  Tomorrow night they would all be gone, and the following day, the ships would leave port.