Chapter 4
Four
WILLIAM
Iwas going to protest. The captain was an annoying bastard, but I didn't want to fight him. He didn’t give me a chance before he lunged at me with a shout.
With the merchant captain and myself both being stripped of any weapons, hand to hand was our only option.
I dodged past him, twisting and shoving his back to send him sprawling onto the ship deck.
For a heavy man, he was quick to recover, back on his feet and barreling toward me with a fierce snarl.
I dodged again, hoping to wear him out a little.
He was bigger than me, certainly heavier, and one hit with his meaty fists would be difficult to quickly recover from.
But I was faster than he was, and I had more stamina.
A few minutes of lunging at me, and he was out of breath, while I had yet to break a sweat.
“Stop dancing around,” a nearby pirate called out.
“Get ‘im!”
“Somebody hit something!”
They were getting antsy for blood. I couldn’t dodge forever.
But I doubted my limited fighting experience would be useful even if I let the merchant captain get close enough.
I needed to get creative. Shifting my stance, I waited until the captain reached for me before dodging and grabbing his outstretched arm.
Using his own momentum, I threw him into the ship’s mast. He hit face first, crying out in pain, and it stunned him long enough for me to get closer.
One solid punch to the temple knocked him out cold.
I shook out my hand, grimacing from the pain. The captain had a hard head, and it wasn’t a pleasant experience, but I did what the pirate captain asked with minimal bloodshed.
“That was boring,” one of the pirates grumbled.
“Too bad,” the dark-skinned one standing next to the captain snapped. “He won. End of story. Start loading up the rest of it. We don’t want to be here all day.”
While the crew got to work stealing from the merchant supply, the captain gripped my shoulder, marching me across the gangplank and onto the pirate ship. It wasn’t as big as I thought, a little smaller than the merchant ship, but heavily armed and well maintained for a pirate ship.
“Where are the girls?” I demanded, trying to shrug off the captain’s grip.
“In their room with their brother. I’m sure he’s perfectly capable of protecting them.”
The captain snorted at his own comment, like he knew Henry was close to worthless when it came to protecting them.
I tried to fight off his grip again, but he just squeezed to the point of pain and didn’t release me until I stopped.
Halting my progress, he stepped up behind me, pressing himself up against my back as he growled in my ear.
“Remember what I said. If you cause trouble for me, it’s the children who will suffer. ”
Swallowing hard, I stared out at the surrounding water.
Miles of ocean between us and safety. No doubt weeks would go by before we heard anything about the governor accepting the ransom.
If I wanted to continue protecting Daisy and Jane, I needed to maintain my composure.
I let the fight drain from me, aside from the scowl on my face.
“Good boy,” the captain purred.
Without warning, he shoved me forward, chuckling when I stumbled. “Darrow. Put the boy to work. He’ll start on his duties after we’ve stripped the merchant ship and dealt with them.”
He walked away without a backward glance, heading for the helm. Unfazed by the fact that he was implying he’d hurt the crew of the merchant ship despite them having surrendered without a fight.
The man was a monster.
A familiar pirate, the one who held me on my knees in front of the captain, paused what he was doing to call out to me. “Oye. Over here.”
Drawing in a steadying breath, I gave the captain one last glare before jogging to join the others. There was work to be done. So long as the girls’ safety was on my shoulders, I’d keep my head down and not say a word. Nothing I had to say was worth their safety.
Darrow, a reedy man with short blond hair, wasn’t so bad.
His explanations were brief and to the point, but he didn’t seem bothered if I asked questions.
I had always been a quick study in physical labour, and I wasn’t one to complain.
I followed after him, helping him secure the sails and pulleys as we got underway.
I got a few dirty looks but otherwise the pirates let me be as long as I was working.
The day flew by in a flurry of activity.
I kept a watchful eye on the cabin Darrow pointed out to me where Henry and the girls were being kept.
I wasn’t allowed to stop working long enough to check on them.
A man stood guard outside it, but no one else came or went, and I heard no screams or cries coming from that direction.
I had to only hope that they were okay in there.
By the time night fell, I was feeling the strain of the day.
My muscles ached from all the heavy lifting, and there were blisters on my hands from pulling the ropes.
I hadn’t realised how easy I had it as Henry’s manservant.
Dressing him and cleaning up after him was a lot less labour intensive than working on a pirate ship.
Even on the merchant ship, I stood watch and cleaned up after the children, but I wasn’t expected to tend the lines.
Nevertheless, I enjoyed it more than I expected.
I liked spending the day in the salt soaked air, the sun warming my skin, and the sound of the ocean in my ears.
I didn’t have to listen to Henry complain or fetch him things constantly.
For a few blessed hours, I was just another able-bodied man on the ship, doing my work diligently.
At least until the captain decided to call for me.
“Boy!” he bellowed.
He could only be referring to one person.
I gritted my teeth, forcing my face to go blank like I did whenever I had to spend long periods of time with Henry.
I handed the mop I’d been using to swab the deck to Darrow, who waved me away without a second glance, his attention on his own duties.
I needed to remember I wasn’t an equal here.
I wasn’t even a part of the crew. I was a servant who would likely be worked to the bone and tossed away or killed once the exchange was made. I knew not to forget my place.
The captain was standing just outside his quarters, his eyes narrowed and ever watchful.
I felt the weight of his stare more than once throughout the day.
I wasn’t bothered by his suspicion, since I was new and unknown to him.
What bothered me was how that stare made my skin burn hot.
I didn’t like it, and I almost said something several times before I thought better of it.
The warning he gave me still rang in my ears.
When I stepped up to him, he stared at me much like he had throughout the day. I clenched my fists at my side to stop myself from squirming, my lips pressed together tightly as I waited for him to spit out what he wanted.
“Typically, when answering a captain’s call, you respond with ‘aye, captain’.”
Maybe I would if he was actually my captain instead of my jailer and the ever present threat to the people I cared for. I kept that to myself, my voice even as I responded. “Apologies, Captain. Was there something you needed?”
He studied me some more, but I kept my gaze averted, locked on the door behind him. He made an irritated noise, stepping out of my way and gesturing to the door. “The room is a mess. Get to work.”
Masking a scowl, I stepped past him, opening the door and entering his quarters.
Situated directly under the helm, the room was spacious, with windows all along the back providing plenty of natural light.
The bed was wide, tucked into the wall with drapes to provide privacy.
An absolutely massive desk sat in the middle, piled high with papers.
Bookshelves sat against one wall, a round table in front of the windows.
It was a little cluttered with clothes strewn on the ground and a few locked crates near the door.
I was surprised at how modest it was. When I thought of the stories of pirates, I imagined chests of gold and expensive furniture.
Everything in the captain’s quarters was functional, not gaudy, and there wasn’t a piece of gold to be seen.
I set to work cleaning up, piling the clothes in the corner and dusting off surfaces.
I considered poking around, but figured it was smarter to earn their trust before doing anything risky.
It was only when I was cleaning off the desk, lifting papers to clean beneath them, that I accidentally stumbled upon a familiar knife.
It was a carving knife, though I wasn’t sure if it was the same one I had been using just that morning.
I ran my fingers over the blade hilt, considering my options.
It was nothing, barely the size of my palm, and probably wouldn’t be missed or noticed in my pocket if I took it.
It wouldn’t hurt to have a weapon on me for protection.
I wasn’t part of this crew, and I was sure there were people on the ship who didn’t want me here.
I could also use it to protect the girls if I had to.
I considered it too long, and the door swung open before I could make the decision to stick the thing in my pocket. I slapped the papers back down on top of it, moving to the bookshelves to dust them properly and away from the temptation on the desk.
“How long did you give the merchants to deliver our message?” the captain asked.
“A week. We aren’t far from their destination. Might be best to put some distance between us for the time being.”
The captain hummed, leading the way into the room with the quartermaster behind him. Darrow had been a wealth of information on the work itself, but he was more tight-lipped on the hierarchy of the ship. I had to figure it out on my own by listening to the other men.
Neither looked in my direction, pushing papers aside to look at the map underneath. I peeked over my shoulder curiously, nearly jumping out of my skin when the captain barked at me. “Boy! Fetch me a bottle of rum from the kitchens. Be quick about it.”
I cursed myself for acting like a frightened child, scurrying out of the room with due haste.
When I reached the stairs, I slowed to a walk, grumbling and stomping to the kitchens.
The cook, a large man named Jameson, was busy making supper, the familiar crates from the merchant ship’s kitchen stacked along one wall.
I had to roll my lips between my teeth to smother a laugh.
Those were Henry’s crates. The spoiled brat had to be cooked something special for each meal in order to eat it.
Usually made by me since Henry complained about the cook one too many times.
I had to get creative when the fresh food was gone.
The cook was now using those fancy ingredients for the entire ship. Henry would be pissed.
Clearing my throat, I waited for Jameson to look my way before asking, “The captain asked for a bottle of rum. Where do I get it from?”
He studied me suspiciously for a long moment. They all did that at least once. I just waited, staring back unblinking. Seemingly satisfied with what he found, his gaze shifted to the crates in the corner.
“Top one. Don’t drop shit or I’ll hurt you.”
I ignored his threat, opening the top crate to find a few bottles of rum. I grabbed one, carefully pulling it out. The crate stayed balanced, and after refitting the lid, I went on my way. I made it about as far as the foot of the stairs before I was waylaid by two familiar faces.
“Well, well… looks like the cabin boy is sneaking around. We haven’t thanked you yet for the bullshit rules put into place because of you. A tight little cunt right under our noses we can’t touch, thanks to you.”
Lifting my chin, I glared at them. “Are you really so pathetic that you can’t get a girl without forcing her?”
The one on the left scowled. “Ain’t about that. We’re pirates. We take what we want. You stole our damn prize for capturing that merchant ship.”
“Yeah. All this pent up energy could’ve been spent on that cunt. Guess we’ll have to take it out on you instead,” the other sneered.
They reached for me, and I was ready to use the stupid rum bottle as a weapon and face the consequences, but a bellowing voice stopped them before they could touch me.
“Davis! Stiles!” The quartermaster stalked down the stairs, seething. “What the fuck do you think you’re doing?”
“We were just talkin’,” one of them grumbled, stepping away from me.
“He ain’t here to chat, Davis!” the quartermaster snapped. “He’s got a job to do! Let him get on with it!”
They both took a step back, sneering threateningly as I pushed past them towards the stairs. The quartermaster grabbed my arm before I passed him, his voice low enough to only be heard by me. “What the fuck did you say to them?”
“Nothing,” I gritted out.
“Well, whatever you said, you’re not doin’ yourself any favours makin’ enemies here. Keep your mouth shut and do your work.”
He released me, continuing down the stairs.
My lip twitched against a scowl, and I stomped up to the deck, my grip tight enough on the bottle that I wondered if it would shatter in my hand.
I was getting sick of being blamed for the actions of others.
All my life I was blamed for Henry’s behaviour.
I took the lashings meant for him. Now, I was being blamed for a tussle I didn’t invite.
I was tired of it. Tired of all of it. I could’ve stayed quiet, continued on with the merchant crew and been free in the new colonies.
Jane and Daisy probably would’ve been fine.
The cool sea air rushed over my skin as I breached the deck, clearing the fury from my mind.
I sighed. No, they wouldn’t have. Henry wouldn’t have been able to protect them.
And I wasn’t such a selfish ass that I’d let them be hurt so that I could earn my freedom.
I made my choice. I had to live with it.
At least until they were safe with their father.
After that, I wasn’t sure what I’d do. But serving others was over.
After the girls were safe, I would leave.
And no one on the earth would be able to stop me.