Pirate

I slid sideways and backed out of the door, closing it behind me. In the passageway I breathed deeply, then climbed the ladder to the main deck. The air felt good on my face, and I watched the water as it passed under our keel. We were heading southwest, seeking deeper water before we would turn south. I rubbed the knot on my head and tried to put the conversation with Rory from my mind, except the words I was just starting to like you rang in my head. There were tasks to be done. I needed to check our supplies and course, but I was frozen by the rail, staring out to sea, stuck in despair.

A call from the helm snapped me out of my mood, and I climbed the short flight of stairs to the wheel. Rhames held the spokes, turning the wheel to correct course and keep the sails full.

“What’s our course?” I asked.

“That’s better. You be needin’ to get on with it.”

I took the scolding, knowing I deserved it. “Course?” I repeated the question.

“Southwest. The wind is backing us, and we’re in deeper water now.”

“Good.” I looked over the side at the color of the water, a deep blue. Both masts of the ship had their main and topsails unfurled. Attached to the bowsprit were three triangular-shaped jibs. It was a fast boat, and I went to the helm, where I found the log line used to gauge speed. I tossed it over the side, letting the progress of the boat pull the triangle-shaped board tied to the end line. I counted the seconds in my head. After a count of thirty, I stopped the line and retrieved it, counting the knots as the line came aboard. “Six and a bit,” I called to Rhames. The number of knots indicated our speed. I examined the rigging and checked the set of the sails. The wind was fresh on my face, with a fair breeze.

“Six and a half knots in a fair breeze,” I repeated. “Not bad for this design.”

A rare smile crossed his face. “Aye. She handles well.”

“We need to make port at Cayo Hueso, drop the girl, and get provisions.”

“Aye, that one’s nothing but trouble.”

“Right.” I had to agree, but couldn’t get her out of my mind. The image of her standing before me, red-faced and chest heaving, had excited me.

“I can set a course and watch schedule if you like,” he said. “Maybe some rum for the rest.”

I looked around the deck at the men. Half-a-dozen were against the rail, talking.

“No rum until we make port and drop the girl.” I knew it would be unpopular, but we needed our wits about us. For all our travels, we were less than a hundred miles from Gasparilla Island, where our journey had started, and the chance of running into a Navy patrol was good. “We draw about half-a-dozen feet from the looks of her. Set a course more to the south and start dropping the lead every few minutes,” I said, figuring we would be safer skirting the shallower waters near land. “Keep her to at least three fathoms.”

I left him without waiting for an answer. It was his job to set the watch and navigate from here. I went below to the captain’s cabin and laid out on the bed. My leg began to throb, but despite the pain, I didn’t wake until the sun hit my face through the small port hole.

My first thought was for the boat, and I jumped off the bed, still fully dressed, and landed on my bad leg. Pain shot through me, but I gritted my teeth and it took my weight. First, I would attend to the matters aboard the ship, then I would seek out Lucy and ask her to have a look at my leg. I left the cabin and climbed the short ladder to the deck, where the wind greeted me. It had picked up overnight, and I felt the boat beneath my feet creak as it plowed through the small whitecaps visible over the rail. I held the guardrail and climbed to the helm.

Red was at the wheel. “Course, speed, and depth?” I rattled off the questions, knowing he would expect them and be prepared with answers.

“Morning to you, as well. Bearing due west at seven knots. Water below us is steady at three and a half fathoms.”

I ignored the jibe and concentrated on our situation. “How long ago did we change course?”

“Before my watch. I took over from Swift, and he said Rhames had changed it an hour before that.”

Three hours would put us about twenty miles closer to land, and I looked over the bow to see if any was visible. I had an idea where Rhames would have changed course, and estimated we could expect to site some of the smaller, outer keys soon.

I was distracted from my calculations as Rory came on deck, and I braced myself for the storm sure to follow.

She was calmer this morning, apparently having accepted her fate, or maybe just biding her time until she was free of us. A thought had been on my mind since our conversation last night.

“Let’s go forward where we can talk without being overheard.” I grabbed her arm and led her to the bow. She resisted slightly, but I wanted the crew to see that I had a handle on her.

“Let go.”

“I’m not hurting you, and it’s for show,” I whispered.