Pirated Love (7 page)

“Ma’am,” one of the crew approached them and made a gesture, pulling at the forelock on his hair, “Captain?”

“Frank,” she responded, nodding to him.  “This is Lady Von Hagen.  You and the rest of the ship will address her as Lady Claire,” she told him with a warning note in her voice, which was obeyed instantly.

“Aye, sir, Captain sir,” he said, making the same gesture of tugging at the forelock in salute.

She nodded as she escorted Claire up another set of stairs to where a large wheel was being manned by a tall and fearsome-looking man wearing a blue sailor’s coat.  “This is James.  He is my first officer and a helluva good sailor,” the captain said by way of introduction.  “Lady Claire Von Hagen,” she told him.

The man had the prettiest brown eyes that held a touch of sorrow.  Claire could sense it radiating from the man as he stiffly bowed from the waist in greeting.  She was surprised at the formal bow, as he held onto the wheel with one hand and made it look elegant.  “Your servant, Lady Von Hagen,” he said, before standing up straight again and taking the wheel with both hands.

“Frank will show you about the ship, be your bodyguard as it were,” the captain informed Claire.  “Not all the men are what we would consider fit for human conversation.  They know better than to trifle with you of course, but Frank will ensure that, will you not, Frank?” she asked the man who had followed them up from the quarter deck to the upper deck where the wheel was located.

“Aye, sir, I will, sir,” he assured the captain, making his now familiar gesture of respect.

“James, I will take the wheel now so you can get a bite to eat.  Remind them to get the tray from my quarters,” she said, as she effortlessly took the wheel from him.

“Aye, aye, Captain,” he said, as he waited for Frank to lead Claire from the upper deck.

Frank showed her all over the decks, the various ones that were on a ship of this size.  Most of the men were courteous and polite, taking off hats in a show of respect or, like Frank, tugging at the forelock of the front of their hair.  A couple just stared and these gave her the willies.  It was a silent tour.  Frank was too bashful to talk much and Claire was in awe at the immense ship.  “Can we go below?” she asked her tour guide as they began making their way back towards the quarterdeck.

“The captain did not say anything about showing you below; I would have to ask,” he began.

Claire realized the Captain commanded respect whether she was there or not, and decided not to argue with the sailor who had shown her around.  As they slowly made their way back, she looked up to realize that from her spot on the upper deck, Tina had been able to see them the entire time.  Because she was taller than the big wheel in front of her, Claire could see that the captain appeared to be looking off into the distance as she steered the big ship.  She was looking at them now as they began to climb the steps to the upper deck.

“Did you enjoy your tour?” she asked the two of them as they came to present themselves before her.

“It is a very large ship,” Claire commented.

The captain smiled and nodded.  “Aye, it was built to my specifications,” she said, proudly.  “I have only had her a couple of years, but I love her dearly.”

“Her?” Claire asked, confused.  She had heard the sailors refer to her last ship as a ‘her’ as well and it confused her.

“Aye, all ships are a ‘her’ or a ‘she’ as they become the love of a sailor’s life.  Since most sailors are men, it is understandable that the sea and its ships become female.  In my case it is understandable as well,” she laughed and Frank joined in as Claire smiled, but blushed at the reference.  She had forgotten that everyone on this ship probably knew what had transpired in the captain’s quarters.

“She was wondering if we might tour below decks?” Frank asked the captain.

Tina glanced at the two of them and nodded.  “I see no reason why not,” she said in return and then nodded again in acknowledgement as Frank made his gesture.  Claire looked back once as she went down the stairs and saw that the captain was watching them avidly and blushed again for some reason.

CHAPTER TWO

The ship was fascinating to the woman.  She had not really gotten a tour of the last one, having no one she could trust to show her.  Frank seemed harmless, and while he did not talk a lot, he told her enough that she got the general idea what the various rooms were used for.  The kitchen was a delightful surprise, everything nailed down, but spotlessly clean as the chef prepared their next meal.  She made a friend for life as she assured him his meals were delicious.  James was finishing up his own as he read a book propped up in front of his bowl.  He made the gesture of standing up in front of her and she assured him he could sit with her and finish his meal.

The ship was a surprise.  The crew’s quarters were relatively clean and fairly spacious, considering how many it took to man a ship of this size.  Each man had room for his trunk, his hammock, and a built-in locker where they could store their gear and booty.  The stores were something any merchantman would carry, and while most were stolen, many had been traded for and were due to be delivered or traded for yet again.

“You are showing me all this, but how can you trust me, as I am your captain’s captive?” she asked, as she was shown some of the riches they had captured.

“Captain must trust ya,” he replied gruffly and with as few words as he could manage.  She had been polite to him too, and that went a long way toward him even answering her.

Claire had been surprised at the sheer amount of property and merchandise below decks and stored in various trunks, barrels, and boxes.  Why, this cargo alone would make any man or woman wealthy beyond their wildest dreams.  But her questions over it would have to wait because Frank was not that forthcoming with some of the answers.

“Do you ever transport animals?” she asked the captain at the first opportunity.  Today, it was an early dinner.  Supposedly a storm was on the horizon and their next hot meal would be delayed, so they were eating early.  There was not a cloud in sight so she wondered at this announcement, but as she had not eaten a lunch she welcomed the hot and delicious fare.  Today it was a stuffed chicken garnished with greens she did not recognize.  She’d been assured it was a plant unique to the tropics and something England would do well to import.

Tina shrugged as she bit into her portion of the chicken.  She enjoyed her meals as she had to sometimes go days without them.  She suspected the storm that was over the horizon was going to delay decent meals for a few days.  Having been at sea most of her life she could feel the change in the pressure and knew in her bones that a storm was in the offing.

“Your hold is certainly large enough and all those goods, surely you make enough of a profit to...” she began to ask, but stopped when Tina cocked a brow at her.

“Your food is getting cold,” she gestured with a chicken leg at the food on Claire’s plate.

“I am sorry,” she apologized contritely.  She realized she had been quite the chatterbox and that was so not like her.  Some of it was nervousness, but she also felt a peculiar excitement at what she had seen.

Tina shrugged off her apology and wondered what she was thinking after all she had seen and heard.  She commented after a while, “Animals are messy.”

After the long silence, Claire was surprised to hear the captain speak.  “But would that not be profitable?” she asked, wonderingly.

Tina nodded, but then added with disgust, “So would slaves, but I do not believe in trafficking in humans and I do not want the smell either would give the ship.”  She shook her head in disgust at the thought.  “Once you transport animals or humans, the stench gets into the wood of a ship and you cannot get it out.”

“You do not believe in slavery?” Claire asked.

Tina shook her head vehemently.  “How would you like it if all your choices were made for you and you had to answer to someone for your very well-being?” she asked, as she pointed once again with her knife.

Claire thought about it dismally.  Her life was like that already.  She had not thought of it in the terms of human bondage though.  To many people slaves were just that...slaves.  They did not think of them as human beings.  They were just a commodity to be traded or sold.  She thought about what the captain had said.  Her life was very similar in many ways.

Tina could almost guess what Claire was thinking.  As she said it, she realized the blonde was probably answerable to her father in just such a way.  She hoped she would realize the similarities and never want to own a human being again.

To change the uncomfortable subject Claire asked what she would be doing with the rest of her stores.

“We will put into port and offload it soon.  I need to hear the gossip anyway,” she said, knowingly.

“Where will we put in?” Claire asked, cheering up.  She imagined some bright and gay port where she could shop or see something other than the vast ocean she had been on for many months.

Tina chuckled.  “Not like anything you would have ever seen before.  The docks in London would look pretty to the ports I will be sailing into.”  She realized this aristocrat was in for a shock to her system.  “Besides, it is not like you can be seen coming or going on my boat.  You’ll remain here.”  She gestured to the room they were eating in, her room. 

“You mean I cannot leave here?” she said, dismally.  The freedom of exploring the ship that day had been exciting.  Even if Frank did not tell her much, it had been exhilarating to think she did not have to stay in her cabin at all times.

Tina was shaking her head.  “It ain’t safe,” she said, knowingly.  She thought about how Claire would stick out like a sore thumb with her beauty, her ladylike ways, and her clean appearance in the ports they planned to dock in.

“Well, with you there or Frank...” she began, but Tina was still shaking her head.

“We will be
busy
,” she said, with finality.  “I cannot afford to have you gadding about or being seen by the wrong element.  I ain’t gonna shed blood for you,” she added.

“Shed blood?” she asked, haughtily, not fully understanding the implications.  “I assure you all I wish to do is see...”

“You ain’t leaving this room when we dock, and that’s final!” she said, as she stuck her knife in the table where it quivered from the force of the blow.

Claire was annoyed, very annoyed by this, but a lifetime of following the word of her father or servants or even the nuns before that made her unsure of her ground, especially with this volatile captain.  She did not understand, but perhaps she would later.  Maybe if she just stayed quiet about it, perhaps the captain would change her mind or explain.

“We need to send a message to your father too, about yer ransom,” the captain said to fill the awkward gap in conversation.

“Where are you from?” Claire asked, suddenly.  She was intrigued by the difference in speech mannerisms that the captain had exhibited.  One moment she spoke in the slang that was evident in the other pirates and other times it was obvious she spoke like a British aristocrat.  It was an odd conundrum.

“Why?” Tina asked in reply, avoiding the question with one of her own.

“I was curious,” Claire answered, despite the harsh reply.

“Curiosity kills cats.”

“I am not a cat,” she tried to tease in return.

“But you have a fine pussy,” she said bluntly and watched the blonde redden at her coarseness.  She felt a little bad for making her uncomfortable, but Frank had told Tina almost everything Claire asked about the ship and she was a nosy beggar.

“Really,” she huffed.  “Is that necessary?” she asked, indignantly.

“Aye,” she answered, with a shrug of indifference.  She was soon done with her meal and it was a quiet ending.  “You’ll want to make sure your trunk is closed tightly.  We’re in for a storm and it is going to get rough.”

“You said that was why we were having an early supper, but there is not a cloud on the horizon,” she gestured towards the windows.

“I know, but there will be...and soon.  I will stop by to make sure everything is tied down before it begins, including you.”

“Tie me down?” she asked, indignantly.

“In a storm like what I am expectin’,” she used slang, deliberately shortening her words, “You would get tossed around like garbage.  I do not want you gettin’ hurt!”  She did not like her words to be questioned, but she supposed she could make exceptions for the unknowing, for now.

Claire did not understand.  She found a book in the captain’s small library in the bedroom that she took and read in the light from the windows until that began to fade.  It helped to pass the hours while the captain was on deck and she had to light a lamp to continue.  She had just managed to get it lit when a wave hit the ship and nearly knocked the lamp over.  She hung it quickly, by the wire around it, to one of the hooks in the ceiling and watched it swing to and fro.  Remembering the captain’s warning, she closed her trunk tightly and sat down on the bed as she looked out the windows from the room.

Slowly, it got worse as the waves hammered the large ship.  Claire wondered how bad it could get and started in surprise as the door suddenly swung open.  She looked up with a squeak of alarm to see a very wild looking redheaded captain standing in the light from the lamp.  She looked drenched.