Chapter 17 #3
“Kind of.” She pouted, placing her chin on her knees. “I had to pretend I was a young boy. They kind of look like girls.”
Alister laughed loudly, pointing his finger at her to wag it, like he’d already summarised that’s what she had to do before she’d said it. Then he took a swig of his drink and wiped his mouth on his forearm.
“Alright. What about Mr Smith?”
Rosetta shoved her hand out, refusing to answer until he handed her the bottle. She swallowed a fifth of it in one go before she handed it back.
“About a year after Naeem and I set off, we managed to sneak our way into a port. Naeem was captain for me at the time, and we’d collected a very small crew. Through pickpocketing and working, we’d scraped together enough coin to buy our first boat.”
Rosetta nibbled at the corner of her lips, not liking this part of her history. The next part wasn’t really her story to tell, but she thought there might not be any harm in relaying it to Alister.
She couldn’t help sweeping her eyes to the furled sails, inspecting them to hide the swell of emotions she felt.
“Mr Smith was going to be hanged for murdering the man who killed his wife. The man wanted to steal Mr Smith’s daughter and force her into marriage once he and her mother were out of the picture and no longer supporting her.
He wanted her and the inheritance she would have obtained from their deaths. ”
“What does that have to do with anything?” Alister cut in.
Rosetta rolled her eyes, continuing on. “We were watching the public trial. Nobody believed he’d killed the man for that reason, instead thinking he’d killed his wife and the man she’d been having an affair with. Even though his daughter swore the original incident was true, no one believed them.”
Rosetta gave a small laugh, shaking her head in disbelief at the memory. After befriending him for as long as she had, she knew the truth.
Mr Smith had loved his wife and daughter more than anything in the world. Being apart from them, knowing his wife was gone and his daughter was all alone in the world, made him sad.
“His wife had just been murdered at the hands of this arsehole, and suddenly Mr Smith was put to trial in his stead. I could see he was telling the truth. Since there weren’t many soldiers, I convinced Naeem and the men to help me save him.”
“You stopped his trial?”
“Oh no, the trial had ended. They were about to hang him. We saved him from his death.” A solemn smile filled her face, and she hugged her legs a little tighter. “Mr Smith reminds me of my father, except braver.”
“You said your father was a sailor for the Laughing Siren, which is why you’ve been on it. That means you’ve met him?”
“Of course.” She scrunched her nose at him in confusion. “I grew up with him and my mother.”
“I half expected you to tell me you were born from a prostitute, lass. I’m only guessing with what I’ve learned.”
Rosetta gave a mocking snort of laughter.
“I’m not born from a shameful union.” Her head tilted a little in confusion from the scowl Alister made. “No, my father was a faithful, hard-working man, and my parents loved me dearly. They were caring and made sure I was happy to the best of their abilities.”
“Then what were you running away from?”
Rosetta pursed her lips.
“I don’t have a tortured past, Alister.” Her eyes turned to him with a glare. “I was just a girl who decided she wanted to become a pirate and did so.”
“I find that hard to believe.” He narrowed his eye at her in return, squinting as he took a swig of his drink. “You’re a proven liar.”
She saw the last of the liquid sloshing in the bottle when he placed it against his stomach to rest.
“I don’t know what you want me to tell you.” She leaned back from hugging her knees and folded her arms across her chest. “Why do I have to have a terrible past to become a pirate? Perhaps I like the idea of glittering gold and pretty riches.”
“Nay, Rosetta Silver,” he said in a strangely stern tone. “You’re just a funny woman, and most funny women have experienced terrible things.”
She puffed her cheeks in agitation, slowly blowing out a pent-up breath. Then she reached her hand out again. He handed her the bottle and instead of taking a drink of it, she got to her feet.
His gaze followed her. “Oi, where are you going?”
“I’m tired. I’m going to sleep.”
Only once she was steady on her feet, and a safe distance away from him, did she finally down the last of it. She handed the empty bottle back, and he tipped it upside down in horror.
He surprised her by grinning. “Do you need help getting into bed?”
She didn’t trust the devilish hint in his expression. The way his lips were curled. The way his eye perused her from her head all the way to her feet and then back up.
“Nay, lad,” she said mockingly, placing her hands on her hips and leaning forward slightly. “Methinks I can get meself ta ma own hammock.”
“Nay, lass,” he said back, not giving a damn that she’d mocked the way he spoke. His grin widened and changed into something slyer. “You look like you need help getting naked.”
Rosetta’s irritation faded so quickly she almost giggled, and she hid it behind a tiny cough. Just when it looked as though he was about to rise to his feet, she ran.
She was far too tipsy, too excited with the prospect of finally reaching her goal, to be alone with him right now.
Especially since the entire time they’d talked, she’d wanted to straddle his lap and kiss his stupidly handsome, arrogant face.