Stormy Seas: Part 11

  I was awakened by the sound of footsteps running down the hall outside the door. I shoved away the heavy blanket and raised myself to sitting position on the edge of the bunk. Since I had decided to sleep in my clothes my skirts were twisted among the sheets and I had to untangle myself before I could stand.

Cheerful sunlight came in through the brass porthole. I stood and looked out at endless water and little waves crashing against the side of the ship. I sighed. I was fairly well rested but I felt weary. I was certain that the ship had turned in the night and was heading back to shore to drop me back into Aunt's decadent arms.

I've learned from this though, I thought. My next escape will be much better. If Aunt was still going to take me to France I could escape there just as easily and buy myself a train ticket to Germany. As I decided this I began to put my hair up. There was no mirror in the cabin, though I had seen one very grimy one in the lavatory the day before. I tried my best to make myself look presentable. The other thing my room was lacking was water for washing. I had spent a good bit of time the night before crying, and my face needed a good wash. Then again, this did not appear to be the kind of boat where people did very much regular washing.

I stood for a moment surveying the room. My coat was on a hook behind the door and my riding boots on the floor below. I had put my corset and stockings in one of the drawers but my feet were daring me to put those boots back on so I left my stockings and decided I would go barefoot. My corset too I could do without. All it had served me, besides looks, the night before was a handhold to be caught by. Though, when I remembered it I was almost sorry that I had insisted upon being let go. He was quite strong to have pulled me back the way he had and... No. I stopped myself from thinking any further and continued surveying the cabin. The bed was still unmade and since I had nothing else to do I set about making it again. When I had finished I looked around the room again.

I found the young sailor's handkerchief in a little alcove near the bed where I had left it the night before. It was now very well used but I noticed the neatly stitched initials E.P. I wasn't entirely sure how to return it. The polite thing to do would have been to wash it but I saw no way to do so, and it seemed rude to hand it back damp and crumpled.
There was a sharp knock on the door. “Miss Winters?” It was him. “Are you awake?”

I'd surely be awake now, I thought. “Yes.” I replied.

I heard a jingle of keys and the door opened. “Captain Peck has asked to see you before breakfast,” he said. Now that I could get a good look at him I could see that he was very handsome. He was tall and thin, with dark brown hair and eyes. He had on short trousers and blue and red striped stockings that matched his blue and red jacket and hat.

“And I found this last night but I had already returned the keys to Captain Peck.” He held up my bag.

“Thank you,” I said as I took it from him. I felt some need to look through it and ensure that it's contents was intact. I hated that I did not feel that I could trust him.

“The Captain's quarters are this way,” he said. He took a step down the hall and waited to see if I would follow.

I set my bag down on the bed and came with him. He paused and went back to shut and lock the door.

“Just a precaution,” he assured me.

I walked in front of him like a prisoner. I suppose I am a prisoner, I thought.

“Right,” he said.

“Right what?”

“Right,” he said again. He gave me a nudge toward the stairs on my right. At the top of the narrow stairs were two doors. Through a window the first door I could see the deck. It looked like a beautiful sunny day outside and I suddenly wanted to run out and smell the fresh sea air. I was directed to the second door though, where Eldon knocked and waited.

“Come in,” a big booming voice called. He opened the door and ushered me in.

I found myself inside the Captain's quarters. The captain and his fat red mustache sat behind a desk with tidy stacks of notes and charts. A very tall man with dark skin and enormous muscles stood beside the captain looking at me through his spectacles.

“Our stowaway?” he asked.

“Miss Winters I believe,” the captain's voice said from under his mustache.

I gave a little curtsey since I could think of nothing to say.

“Won't you sit?” the captain offered. He waved his hand at a chair across the desk from him. I sat down on the edge of the seat and folded my hands in my lap.

“Shall I go sir?” Eldon asked. He was still standing by the door.

“Stay Mr. Palmer,” the captain said. “It wouldn't do to have Rhoden chase after her if she bolts again.”

The dark man laughed suddenly and loudly, causing me to jump.

“Now,” the captain said. He leaned his elbows on his desk. “I'd like to know exactly what caused you to end up on my ship.”

I had no idea where to begin. “I was running away from Aunt,” I said.

“Your aunt?” the captain asked.

“She had told my parents that she would take me traveling with her to help me find a suitable husband,” I explained.

“Ah,” his mustache moved and I guessed that he was grinning. “But you've already got a lad you want to marry?”

“No,” I said flatly. “She told me that a husband would be a burden to me and she was only taking me traveling with her. I tried to tell my parents but she kept my letters from going to them. When I realized what she was doing I decided to escape and get to my parents.”

“Where are your parents miss?” Rhoden asked.

“Germany, on business,” I said.

He threw back his head and laughed at me. “Unless Germany is a town in the Americas you're on the wrong boat ma'am!”

“I was hoping you would stop in France or Ireland where I could sneak off and no one but me would ever need to know,” I scowled at them. “Take me back if you must but do not continue to laugh at me.”

“Alright Rhoden,” the captain said, though he had also laughed. “Miss Winters, I will not be turning my ship around to bring you back.” I was happy for half a moment and then wondered if it was really a good thing. “So you will be temporarily joining my crew.”

“Captain?” Rhoden asked in surprise.

“I'm not going to have someone on the ship who isn't working,” the captain explained.

“But Captain, it's bad luck,” Rhoden insisted.

“Eldon will give you the key to your cabin and show you what you'll be doing.”

“Stoking fires and raising sails?” Eldon asked from behind me.

“Helping the cook, cleaning, mending,” the captain clarified. “All the things the rest of the crew complains about.” His mustache twitched as he spoke. “Go show her around and explain to the rest of the crew that I'll keelhaul anyone who gives our guest trouble.”

“Guest means that she was invited,” Rhoden said.
“Eldon?” the captain called.
“Yes sir,” he said. “This way Miss Winters.”

I stood and followed him out the door.

“Was your aunt really that bad?” he asked curiously after he had shut the door.

“She's suffocating,” I said. “I had no room at all to breathe.”

“Are you sure that wasn't a corset?” he asked.

I couldn't help but smile. He led the way down to the galley where I could already smell breakfast cooking.

“Jack?” Eldon called.
“What?” a man in a white apron called from the stove. He turned around and saw us. “Oh, Captain said you'd be in to help. I've got a spare apron miss.”

“Miss Winters this is Jack, the ships cook,” Eldon introduced quickly.

“Are you two here to help or not?” Jack called. He left the spoon he had been stirring with on the counter and shut himself in the larder.

I picked the apron off of it's hook and eyed the stains on the front. I tied it on anyway, deciding it was better to wear something of doubtful cleanliness than to get my own clothes destroyed. “Eldon, stir that.” The cook popped back through the door and pointed to a vat over the stove. It looked to be filled with some sort of porridge.

“What should I do?” I asked.

“There's dough on the counter that has to be kneaded,” his voice called out.

I turned and saw a bowl full of lumpy dough. I had never kneaded dough before and felt lost looking at it. I thought back to watching women in a french opera I had seen with Aunt. They had had the dough on a board so I dumped it in a sticky heap out onto the counter.

“You forgot the flour,” the cook said. He was standing over my shoulder.

“Where is it?” I asked.

He wordlessly reached up past me to a little crank above a spout. When he turned the crank a little stream of flour came out from the wall.

“Thank you,” I said sweetly. He turned and checked on the porridge. I poured more flour on the dough and then rolled it over and patted more flour on it's underside. I set about trying to mimic the bakers in the opera, rolling the dough from side to side.

“What are you doing?” the cook asked me. I could not pretend that I knew what I was doing. “You fold it,” he explained. He demonstrated, folding the floury dough and squashing it.

I copied him.

“When you're done with that you use this.” I looked up as he picked up a wooden mallet.

“On bread?” I asked.

He slammed the mallet into the dough. “Ship's biscuits,” he clarified. “When you're done with that bunch I've got some more dough in there.” He pointed at the larder. “Enough for the crew for the day.” He took off his apron and left with the coal bucket in hand.

There was quite a lot of crew and I could not imagine how long it would take to make enough biscuits for all of them. I pulled the mallet out of the dough and set about kneading again.

“There are some from yesterday for breakfast,” Eldon said from behind me. “You'll have more time to work on those.”

I was still unsure of how to respond and continued working quietly. He came over and stood beside me with another lump of dough.

“You're from England?” he asked.

“Yes,” I said. “Where are you from?” I was curious about him, he seemed so much more gentlemanly than the rest of the crew.

“The Americas,” he said. “On a little island off the coast of Carolina.”

“I thought Carolina only had pirates,” I said.

“There have been a large number of well known pirates,” he laughed. “Ever heard of Blackbeard?”

“Of course,” I said. “But he's been dead for over one hundred years.”

“He used to have a house near where I grew up. I walked past it once.”

I was unsure of how to respond to this as well.

“Your mother never taught you to cook?” he asked. He was eyeing the still lumpy dough in front of me.

“Mother doesn't cook,” I said. “Neither does Aunt.”

“What do they do?” he asked.

“Mother helps father with his work. He's a lawyer.”

“And your aunt?”

“She sleeps a lot, and goes to parties.”

“What does your uncle do?” he asked.

“My uncle died a few years ago,” I said. “Then Aunt went around the world with all his money and came back to trick my parents into letting me accompany her.”

He started punching the dough down with his fist instead of the mallet. I took up the mallet to join him. “And she said she didn't want you to marry?”

“I think she hated my uncle,” I explained. “She thinks that all men are just like her view of him.”

“They're coming down for breakfast,” Jack called as he returned. Eldon gave me a reassuring look and went to help the cook.