Chapter 16
Alister held his fifth bottle of whiskey in his hand while leaning his side against a barrel that’d been brought up to the surface.
It had once been full, but the men had drained it of its contents throughout the evening. Other empty barrels were being used as tables for their games or other activities. Empty crates had also been brought up to be used as chairs and more tables.
“This has been a good night so far,” Pierre said from where he sat on top of Alister’s barrel.
His legs were spread while he used the heels of his boots to prop his feet up on the metal ring that helped keep the timber together.
Alister was leaning his elbow beside Pierre on the barrel’s top to keep himself propped up. He felt himself doing it the more his legs sagged.
They were both in front of Pierre and Derek’s cabin door, watching the men celebrate with drunken tomfoolery on the main deck. They were also partying below and on the Laughing Siren, since the Howling Death got overcrowded at one point.
He was wearing his doublet coat since it was winter, and he noticed most were wearing their own, including Rosetta with her tunic and tights beneath it. It was a rarity to see it buttoned up.
“I worry my ship will sink with the amount of people on it,” Alister joked, but he knew his ship could handle this number.
“They’re going to start crawling to their hammocks soon.”
The night was still relatively early, but once the feast had started at sundown, men drank like it was going out of fashion. It seemed many of them wanted to consume as much booze as possible, as if they were afraid they’d somehow run out.
It wouldn’t; they had plenty in the stocks.
Because he’d been saving the whiskey for a night such as this, there were plenty of barrels available, alongside the many more barrels of cheap rum they had.
As one ran out, it would be taken away and a fresh, full one would be brought to the surface.
Pierre had claimed this empty barrel long ago, and Alister had come down from the quarterdeck to be a part of the crowd.
The feast had been epic.
With all the different ways Rosetta had taught their chefs to cook, the food had been delicious. Alister was sure if he went to search for more, there would be none left, even though there had been enough to feed a small army. With their ships combined, it was indeed a small army of pirates.
Despite the fact that they were soon to hit three months of being on the sea, they weren’t eating plain food. Rather, they still had jarred vegetables and fruit, plus dried herbs that would last many more months.
“Most of her men will retire before ours,” Pierre added, nodding his head at Rosetta, who still managed to have a plate of food.
Naeem had been guarding it while she flitted around the deck. She spoke with multiple people, being unusually chatty. She often came back to grab something off her plate, and Alister shook his head when he saw her do it again.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen her eat this much.”
“Good.” Alister snorted, drinking a large chunk of his bottle. “She’s putting on weight.”
Rosetta had always seemed small to him. She was strong from manning the helm, but that muscle sat beneath a thin layer of fat he barely saw as acceptable.
“Don’t women eat when they’re sad, though?” Pierre asked, as if Alister would have any clue what went through a woman’s head.
“Aye, but they get fat, too, when they’re happy.”
A large smile had been fixed permanently on her features this evening, and it often made Alister curl his lips. If he had been worried Rosetta was growing bored, a night of watching her enjoying herself was enough to settle his worries.
She still enjoys sailing with me.
After a day like today, where he’d gotten treasure because of her, taken her over it, then counted it with her, well... he knew he was still infatuated with her.
Cheerful music was being played, and they both watched her drag Glen Darkley to the centre of the main deck and force him to dance. The old chef was unsure of what to do as eyes turned to them, but she took the lead.
The usually expressionless man broke into a large grin, and he started to skip with her. The heavy man became light and spritely on his feet as he brought his arms up high, his elbows in the air.
“I didn’t know Glen liked to dance.” Pierre laughed. “Look at him go!”
He spun her, even picked her up to twirl her. The horrid squealing giggle she gave made them all cringe.
Alister threw his head back with a deep chuckle before bringing his bottle up and downing the last of it.
As if she was constantly watching him, she broke away from Glen to grab a bottle next to Naeem, who was leaning against his own barrel. Before long, the empty bottle Alister had been holding was swiped from him as she placed a full one in his hand.
She gave him that twinkling finger wave as she backed away, the one he always found flirtatious and got his hackles rising.
He almost shuddered. Woman knows how to drive me mad.
It was because of her that Alister never had an empty one in his hand. He appreciated it because he was rather content where he was next to Pierre.
When she returned to dance, she made his brows raise. She grabbed Derek by his meaty hands and dragged him to skip this time.
“Come on, Mr Von’tuken,” she said brightly. “I know you can dance, despite that peg leg of yours.”
Like poking a bear with a stick, he roared into action.
He grabbed one of her hands while placing his other around her torso, high up on her back. He began to do a close waltz with her, twirling her up and down the deck.
“At least he doesn’t have many toes for her to step on,” Pierre grumbled.
Alister knew she was able to keep up with Derek with ease. She was allowing the old sea dog to lead and kept up with his movements with practiced perfection.
“I’m just surprised he’s even doing it.”
He was even more surprised when she grabbed Kent. He did a terrible job, and she eventually let the young Clint have a turn.
“The men like her a lot,” Pierre commented, elbowing him in the shoulder.
She’d made herself the centre of attention and was bringing them great entertainment. Her laughter and energy seemed to keep the thrill going for the night. There hadn’t been a single brawl since she started.
“Aye, I know they do.” Alister brought his bottle to his lips, his sight trailing to those who seemed to be waiting in line to take her hand. He’d realised a long time ago that they liked her. “She wouldn’t still be here if they didn’t.”
He wouldn’t have allowed a woman to come between him and his men, despite his attraction to her. He was ever thankful it wasn’t an issue.
When his statement was met with silence, he turned his head up to look at Pierre. His brow was raised in Alister’s direction, as if he had another opinion on the matter.
Alister shrugged, not caring to dig for information if the man wouldn’t divulge it willingly.
In their small moment of silence, a short, light wind blew some of his long hair across his neck and billowed one side of his coat.
“I’m going to fix the ship,” Alister told him quietly while swirling the remaining liquid in his bottle, looking at his first mate from the corner of his eye.
“What do you mean? As in restore it?”
“I’ve got more than enough gold now that I can do what I want and not care.”
Alister had never had this much coin on him before.
That chest was going to allow him to be freer with his spending. For the first time, he was going to be able to give the men good wages while also having so much for himself and the ship that it didn’t matter what he did with it.
He turned his sight back to the people in front of him before letting it wander over his ship. He took in the peeling railing; it hadn’t been painted since before he stole it. The sails were patchy because he rarely replaced them.
All Alister did was make sure the hull was in perfect condition, but even then, it was worn-looking.
“I’d like to paint it and replace the timber planks where they’re rotting.”
“Does that mean you’ll be fixing below deck as well?”
He nodded, his lips thinning as he thought about everything that needed doing. It would cost him, and would also be time consuming.
“Aye. I want to make the entire ship look like when we first took it.”
Rosetta took better care of her ship’s appearance. She made sure it shone and was freshly painted when it wore away in certain spots.
My ship should look as good as hers.
It had little to do with his pride – he thought his frigate was superior, simply because it was a warship. It was more that he just wanted their ships to suit each other better.
“You do realise that means you’ll have to dock for a few weeks, right?” Pierre laughed while shaking his head. “I doubt you’d do that just to make this ship look good.”
Alister glanced at him from the corner of his eye once more.
“When she wants to dock again, that’s when we’ll do it.”
Not that Alister was going to tell Rosetta his plan. The longer he could stay at sea, the better he felt. He knew she would want to resupply at some point anyway.
Not yet. They still had another two months of good food before they fell into old habits of smoked meat and dried beans.
Then there were the ships they raided that resupplied their stocks.
Still, he knew she would want to give her men a break soon.
Alister would use that as a chance to fix his ship.
“What port?”
He shrugged. “Depends on where we are in the world.” They had one map left to follow, and Alister still wasn’t interested in going south. “I’m hoping to find another flagship of a fleet to raid for possible maps. I’ve already told her that.”
Rosetta finally released herself from one of the men dancing with her and made her way towards them. She’d barely spoken a word to him tonight, but her eyes often found him.
He let out a sigh of relief when she extended her hand to Pierre.