The dock was in front of me and the moon was on my back. The cool air seemed to climb under my cloak sending waves of chills up my legs. I had been told what a bad idea this was. My hired man Willard almost made me promise not to leave. But I couldn't just leave this last wish not granted. I felt a pang of sadness at the reason for my midnight flit.
But the message was clear. And here I was. I wasn't in any danger. My father knew this captain. Nothing would happen once I told him who I was and why I was there. I saw the ship dead ahead. The lamps weren't burning so I would have to get their attention some other way. There was no latter hanging for people to go up.
I was lucky to find a rope hanging from the side. The trek up was enough to put a grown man to sleep. I was good at tying ropes, but climbing up them was a different matter entirely. When I got to the top my cloak somehow became tangled. I tried to free myself but only succeeded in falling forward onto the deck. I cursed myself and checked my rook sack to make sure nothing was broken.
I felt foolish. It wasn't becoming for a lady to fall. Then again it also wasn't becoming to sneak off in the night to a pirate ship. I kept repeating to myself that it was for good reason and that my actions were indeed justified. I stepped lightly, cringing at every creak and squeak coming from the ship. The moon was the only light and it wasn't nearly enough. I could barely see my hand in front of my face.
I felt even more foolish when I realized the position I was in. My cloak was blacker then pitch. I was creeping onto a pirate ship, and it was in the middle of the night. If the crew saw me they would suspect me for a thief. But a thief would at least have been silent. Apparently I was not.
I walked straight into what felt like a wall. I was very mistaken. As I examined it I realized it was a man's chest. A very tall and large man. I was startled so naturally I moved backwards. Sadly, I moved back into two other men.
"Well boys. Isn't this a sight for sore eyes. We got our selves a thief on board."
A lamp was lit and held out in front of me. Over a dozen grime covered men looked down at me. How exactly did I miss those? Obviously they were a lot more sleuth then I was. I hadn't even heard them creeping around me.
I was scared. But I had a purpose. They wouldn't hurt me.
"My name Marianna Phillips. I am the daughter of the late George Phillips. He told me of a pirate namer Captain Andler of the ship The Derelict. Who saved his life during a fight over his ship with another pirate crew. He is now passed on. But in his will my father asks of me to deliver a small token of his appreciation."
I pulled off the book bag and presented it to the man in front of my. By the look of his hat I guessed he was the captain. The man looked through the bag and smirked at it's contents. There were fruits, bread, and wrapped meats on the top and treasures at the bottom.
The captain passed the bag to the man standing directly behind him. I assumed him to be the first mate. He walked towards a door leading to what seemed to be the Captain's quarters. I watched him walk off but the voice of the captain pulled me back to him.
"Well thank you, girlie. After that whole speech there something still puzzles me. Did it seem like a good idea to come with out chaperone at night to a pirate ship? You could have gotten hurt or worse."
The crew laughed collectively at that. The way he said it troubled me. He was leaning over me. His breath reeked of poor hygiene and rum. I was tilting backwards in an attempt to pull our faces apart.
"Ask her if she thought she could drum up some business with us."
Again the men laughed. The man mistook me for a whore. A common paid wench. My face burned with indignation.
"I am not some common harlet! Your Captain should teach you to be silent in a lady's presence. Especially one who had just paid for a year's worth of your meals."
This caused the men to burst uproariously into laughter. A different man voiced his snide opinion.
"We're pirates dear. We don't pay for much. Except women...sometimes."
I realized then how foolish I sounded. They were pirates. They steal and pillage. They don't need to buy things. The red on my face was still present but instead of pride it was replaced by embarrassment.
"What a mouth you have on you. So much bravery for a little mouse. It's rare to find in refined ladies."
I looked back at the captain. My shame had turned my sharp tongue off.
"My father was a poor fisherman when I was young. I've heard my share of sailor's wit and imprudent words."
The captain made a sound that made me think he was reflecting deeply on something.
"Your humble beginnings almost make me regretful to tell you this, little mouse."
The captain stepped even closer and gripped my forearm tightly.
"This ain't the S.S. Derelict. And I ain't Captain Andler."
I don't know which bit of information I absorbed first. That fact that I was on the wrong ship or the fact that the crew had started to closed in on me. I looked toward the side of the ship I had come up on. It was now covered by at least six men.
"Keep the bag. As a gesture of good will and I'll just be going."
I started to walk toward the men hoping they would move as I came. But they didn't. And I was foolish to think they would. I felt a hand on my shoulder. I turned around quickly and brought my arm back so the hand was knocked off.
There was the Captain with the smirk of a cat would just caught a mouse. I was the mouse I realized. Awful things happen to women who are unsupervised. Those were the words of my hired man Willard. And I believed in them now more then ever.
"Captain although you need some lessons in etiquette you're nothing more than a business man. So let's talk business."
That smirk deepened and I felt like a toy at the end of a string. The captain stretched his huge calloused hand toward the door the first mate had gone through. As if his arm was a divining rod the crowd around us split for us. I walked behind the captain not blind to the lusty looks displayed on the crew's faces.
I was shown to a room with a rotted old desk that was nailed into the floor. The rook sack I had brought sat on top of it. The captain sat down behind it and looked at me. His smirk had turned condescending and it made me want to strike him. Although that would be foolish.
"So what do u propose little missus?"
His tone suggested that he was speaking to a child. That also raised the burning need inside me to give him pain. Nevertheless I maintained my composure and took a deep breath in.
"If you allow me to leave my hired man Willard will come back with threefold of the contents in the bag. My father left a very successful banking business and a large supply of untouched money was left to me. But you also have to ensure that my hired man comes back unscathed."
The Captain sat back in his ratty chair and laughed. His yellowed teeth bared at me and my mind flashed with images of a rabid dog. Which was fitting for the captain.
"Well that does sound like a good deal. But I'm going to have to decline. The way this is going to go is that you are going to take me to your home and retrieve the entire sum of your left over money."
I scoffed and crossed my arms. My hip pushed out at one side and I gave a look that I often gave to my father when he stood in my way. It was the "I'm sorry but you're clearly mad if you think that's the way this is happening face". I got it from my father and it worked every time.
"I'd rather hang from my finger tips then be your dog and lead you any where."
The captain got up and walked closer to me. I backed up and met with the closed door. Before I could turn to open it the captain was practically standing on top of me.
I had done something foolish then. It had happened before. On the street with a rude passerby and at the market place when an awful woman tried to scam me into giving her my money. I brought my hand back as far as it would go and I struck the person in front of me.
In this case it was the Captain. And although my hand was throbbing he seemed unfazed. All he did was rub his jaw and look down at me. I realized I had made a grave mistake when instead of a grim look the captain once again smirked at me.
I would have back up farther but the door was already pressed into my back. The large rough hand of the captain was suddenly at my neck. I was pushed hard against the door. A wave of ache starting at my head and worked it's way downward. I wanted to cringe as the smell coming off of him made my eyes water.
He wasn't choking me. So I didn't claw at his hands or scratch his face until he let me go. I just started defiantly at him. Clearly displaying I was proud of the knock I had given him. He leaned in close so that his mouth was close to my ear.
"You've got fire little girl. Like a freshly caught tiger being forced into a cage. But I've seen first hand the light draining from the eyes of a tiger. Until you can see the fight die inside of them. And that's what will happen to you if I let those men out there have their fun with you. Now your going to do as I command or things will be very unpleasant for you."
He would give me to his crew as a sacrificial lamb of sorts if I didn't do as he asked. I knew what he meant by that. I was a never married virgin but I still heard the talk from the fisherman and boys of city. Since my family was as successful as it was my father had no need to sell me off to the highest bidder like cattle. I was free to just be a daughter.
But the captain's words didn't frighten me. If I didn't tell him where the money was and I went missing the money would be split apart and sent to the people who worked for us and other expenses. What would happen to me was another matter. After the crew had had their fun what was to become of me.
They would probably kill me. Or sell me to some whorehouse. Both would be better than dishonoring my family by letting this man take what my father had worked so hard for.
"Do your worst Captain. I will not fold for you."
This seem to surprise the Captain. Why I'm not sure. Perhaps he was used to getting his way. He let go of my neck for a moment and put his hands on his hips. The floor boards creaked as he stalked back over to me and proceeded to toss me over his shoulder.
As I kicked and flared his right hand reached back and held my lower half down while his left hand grabbed my hands and held them in front of him. He pushed the door forward and it swing open towards us.
"Since you'll probably be thrown into the ocean after the men are done with you I might as well have some fun first."
The captain walked toward the door we had entered and was met with the crew still in their huddle.
