Chapter 8
Eight
WILLIAM
One minute, the crew was enjoying a break after a long day of work, singing shanties and playing cards while the girls and I finished up the last of the laundry.
Washing them in sea water didn’t exactly make them clean, but sea water smelled better than sweat and alcohol.
The next, a storm was sweeping through faster than I could have ever expected.
The captain barked out orders to prepare for it, and I leapt to my feet to get the girls back in their room where they were safer.
I was squeezing the water out of the last shirt when I heard the cry from above us.
My mouth fell open when I saw what was happening, and I was moving before I even knew what I was doing.
I’d always been a good climber. Years of climbing up the walls of the governor’s estate to enjoy my solitude helped with that.
That I wasn’t wearing boots only helped me move faster, skipping rungs as I raced up the ladder.
I could see the rope wrapped around Carson’s leg.
It was pinched in one spot near the top, which kept it tight so Carson didn’t fall, but with every flail, he loosened it a little more.
“Help! Help!” he cried.
I heard the shouts of the crew, trying to figure out the best way to help him.
I was the fastest, so I got up the ladder first. Scaling the yardarm while the ship was battered by heavy winds and waves made my stomach flip, but scooting along it kept me from falling.
I hugged the wood, thrusting out my hand to the man dangling below. “Grab my hand!”
He tried, but he couldn’t lift himself enough to reach me, and the ship's movements made him lurch away from me before our fingers could touch. A warning creak made my heart gallop in my chest. A few more swings, and that rope would snap or come free of the pinch. I had to do something.
“Listen! I’m gonna pull you up. You grab my hand, alright?”
He was sobbing, but he heard me. With my body lying on the yard, I grabbed the rope, pulling with all my strength.
It was lucky he wasn’t a heavy set man, or it would have been impossible.
Another sway of the ship sent him my way, and I used the momentum, pulling him closer to me in hopes of catching his hand.
The rope burned as it dug into my hands, but miraculously, he lifted enough for me to reach him.
I latched onto Carson’s arm just as the rope pulled free.
He screamed when he dropped, and I lost my grip on the yardarm with the force of his weight dragging me down.
I reached out blindly and caught hold of a section of rope, my skin burning like fire against my palm as I gripped it to slow our fall.
I only just managed to hold on when the rope went taut again, and we were close enough to the lower yard that I could use the weight of our bodies and the pitching sway of the ship to swing us to it.
Darrow was waiting, clinging to the main mast, and he grabbed a fistful of my shirt to pull me close enough that both Carson and I could grab onto the yard and hoist ourselves onto it safely.
Carson shook like a leaf, clinging to the wood, so I made him go down the ladder first. I followed slower, struggling to use the arm that caught us on the rope before.
When he reached the deck, Carson sank to his knees, sobbing and trembling.
A few crew members rushed to his side, and I missed the last rung to avoid him, grimacing when my shoulder protested the movement, the pain going from a throbbing ache to something much worse.
Damn. That hurt. I stumbled off to the side, out of the way so Darrow could come down as well, my hand pressed to my screaming shoulder.
The crowd parted as a furious captain came barreling towards me. He stopped toe to toe with me, his teeth bared in a snarl. “What the hell were you thinking?”
I frowned at him, but I didn’t get time to answer before Carson was on me, hugging me tightly. “Thank you! Thank you, lad!”
I grimaced against the hold, biting back a groan of pain. I didn’t want to shove the poor man off, he was just being grateful, but the pain was getting worse with each squeeze.
“He’s injured,” Darrow pointed out, loud enough for the captain to hear.
Damon ripped Carson away from me, catching me by the arm when I stumbled, only to jerk his hand away when I let out a gritted hiss of pain.
His gaze trailed over me for a second before he grabbed my good arm and started hauling me away.
“Get the surgeon. Now.”
I was marched into the captain’s cabin and straight to his bed. I didn’t have time to let out a protest before he was forcing me into it with my injured arm on the outside so the surgeon could look at it.
They got the man fast, I’d give them that.
It seemed like only seconds before he arrived and took over my care.
The surgeon was a middle-aged man, his brown hair greying at the temples, with a no nonsense expression and roughened hands.
He had a surprisingly gentle touch, though, and he was careful when he touched my injured shoulder.
“Out of joint,” he grumbled. The captain hovered behind him with a scowl, and when the surgeon moved, he bumped into the man. Glancing over his shoulder, he gave the captain a flat look. “A little room, please.”
Damon’s scowl could have killed a man, but the surgeon barely blinked before turning back to me. “This’ll hurt. Try not to squirm.”
At least he wasn’t sugar coating it. I braced myself, turning my face away, when he put a hand on my arm above my elbow, the other on my ribs.
With a firm pull down and back up, it popped back into place.
I shouted, though I tried to stifle it so the girls wouldn’t hear, my teeth gnashing together from the pain, but once it was back in place, the sharp pain eased into a dull throb.
“Good. I’ve got a poultice that we’ll put on that. A few days’ rest, and you’ll be fine. For now, try not to move it.”
When he left, I noticed the girls hovering at the door and beckoned them over with my good hand. That was when the captain noticed my palm. He snatched it, flipping it over, and shot me an incredulous look.
“Why the hell didn’t you say anything about that?”
I lifted my good shoulder. “Didn’t notice it. The shoulder hurt worse. It’s fine.”
He growled, tossing my hand back at me, and stormed out without another word.
I wasn’t sure what his problem was, so I ignored it, smiling when Daisy moved to my side. “Hey, you.”
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine,” I reassured her. “You okay? You look a little pale. Were you scared?”
She nodded, her eyes filling with tears. “I thought you were gonna fall.”
I scoffed playfully, waving her off. “Have I ever fallen before?”
Jane stood beside her, her brows drawn together tightly, emphasising her frown. “You fell this time. If you hadn’t grabbed that rope…”
With a deep sigh, I beckoned her closer and gave them both a hug. It hurt my shoulder to do it, but I wanted to make them feel better. I hadn’t thought about how my actions would affect them. I just moved without thinking.
“I’m okay. I promise.”
Damon let the girls stay while the surgeon applied the poultice and wrapped my arm in a sling.
It’d only be a few days, but I’d work around it fine.
He cleaned out the burn from the rope, which hurt a lot once the shoulder was taken care of.
I had to grit my teeth so I didn’t scare the girls anymore.
Once that was wrapped up, he told me to lie down and rest, and when I tried to get up to go to the girls’ room, the captain shoved me back down and demanded I stay put.
I’d been sleeping in a hammock in the girls’ cabin since we were brought on the ship, and I didn’t realise how much I missed a soft bed until I was forced into one.
I settled myself on the pillow, watching warily as he stood near the door, talking to the surgeon.
When he came back and his eyes shifted to the girls, I felt myself stiffen.
He shook his head before I could say anything.
“I know you won’t rest like you damn well should if they’re not here with you. They’ll stay with you for now as long as you don’t move. It's safer anyway, until the storm passes.”
He seemed almost concerned for my wellbeing, which was… shocking. He barely said a word to me that wasn’t him barking out an order. Now, all of a sudden, he was caring for me? It made no sense.
“Well?” he growled.
“I, uh… Yes, captain. I’ll stay put,” I rushed out, confused.
He glared at me for a long moment before storming out of the room.
When the door shut behind him, I shot a questioning look at Jane. “What do you think that was about?”
She shook her head with a frown. “No clue.”
“Do you think he’s trying to reward you for helping that man?” Daisy suggested.
I couldn’t really see the captain rewarding anyone, but then again, I didn’t know him that well.
I let the confusion go, focusing instead on having a few minutes with the girls that didn’t have an edge of fear and worry to it.
Right now, we were okay. No one came into the captain’s quarters without his permission. They were safe.
I thought it’d be harder falling asleep in the captain’s bed.
He came into the room only once to get the girls and escort them to their rooms for the night.
The storm wasn’t as bad as I’d expected, and the rock of the ship was actually kind of soothing while I was laying down.
I kept waiting for him to come back, maybe kick my ass back to a hammock or a pallet on the floor, but he never did, and the soft bedding was enough to knock me out for the night.
I woke up sore from the strain of the day before, but well rested for the first time in weeks.
The storm had passed, and the sun shone through the windows, warming the room.
I was going to join the crew on deck, find a task to do that wouldn’t require me to jostle my shoulder, maybe help Jameson in the kitchen, but I barely swung my legs over the side of the bed before the door swung open and the captain strode in.
He took one look at me and that dark glare came back full force.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?”
I paused, confused. “Uh… getting up for the day? I was going to offer to help Jameson. I figured that was light enough that–”
“Get back into bed,” he snapped. “You’re injured.”
Bewildered, I could only stare at him. I waited so long that he ended up storming across the room and bodily moving me back into the bed himself.
I gaped at him, but he didn’t give me a word of explanation.
He jabbed his finger at me, snapped at me to stay put, and stormed away.
And before I could try again, he came back with the girls and told them to watch me.
We all stared after him as he stomped away again.
At least I wasn’t losing my mind. Jane looked just as confused as I did about the entire situation.
“Your face looks weird,” Daisy giggled.
“Thanks for the compliment, little lady,” I teased before asking, “Did he say anything other than telling you to watch me?”
“No,” Jane replied with a shake of her head. “We were in our room, and he came in and said to follow him. I thought he was bringing us to start on chores or something.”
He didn’t come back to explain himself, and the only person who visited was Carson, who volunteered to bring us our meals as a way to say thank you.
I told him more than once that he didn’t have to thank me, but he just shook his head and thanked me again.
I learned pretty quickly not to say anything, otherwise he wouldn't stop.
Around lunch, Henry snuck in to join us. The girls didn’t bat an eye, but I was suspicious. I got the feeling he wasn’t supposed to be there.
“What are you–”
He sat on the foot of the bed and flopped backwards with a satisfied sigh. “Ahhh… This is what I’m talking about. Stupid pirate is keeping all the good stuff to himself.”
“Henry…” I growled out a warning. I wasn’t about to get in trouble for his dumbass decisions. I was in enough pain as it was. It didn’t help that he kept jostling me as he tried to get comfortable. He was about to crawl up the bed to lie beside me when the captain finally came back.
He took one look at Henry, and I swear I saw the devil in his eyes. He was pissed, and Henry was going to get his ass kicked. “Why you little–”
I sat up, so used to taking the heat for Henry that I opened my mouth to protect him before I could even think about it, but the movement made my shoulder throb and I winced, a breath hissing through my teeth.
“Everyone, out,” the captain barked. “Go back to your room.”
“But–” Henry argued.
“Now!”
Damon’s bellow made us all jump, which didn’t help matters on my end.
I worried about the girls being out of my sight, but when Damon kicked the door open and snapped for Lockhart to watch them, I let it go.
No one was going to argue with the quartermaster.
He’d make your life miserable for the fun of it.