Stormy Seas: Part 15

 I let Vivian climb down the ladder to the hold first. Every time we went up or down she had to gather her skirts and put them over her arm. It was delicate business.

“I made it,” she called up.

I started down. “It might be easier if you borrowed a pair of trousers,” I suggested.

She looked horrified. “Absolutely not!”

“Then you'll have to live without seeing the crows nest,” I said. I grinned at her when when she started stuttering about it. I ducked through a doorway and headed toward the lavatories. “Come on, there's washing to be done,” I said. I opened a closet and dragged out a large basket full of coal smeared and sweaty shirts. Vivian peered into the closet and her eyes went wide when she saw the number of baskets.

“When was the last time you did the washing?” she asked.

“It gets done every week or so,” I shrugged.

She sighed. She did that more and more as I showed her more of the ship. I almost wanted to show her the engines but was afraid she might faint. “We bring the baskets in here.” I dragged the shirts into the washing room. It was a smallish room with nothing but a few metal tubs and a hose hooked up to one wall. I emptied the basket into the tub and turned the hose on to let it fill.

“Then we let those soak and fetch another one.”

She looked uncertainly at the murky water filling the tub.

“They'll get clean,” I assured her.

She shrugged and followed me back into the hall. “Will you use soap at all?” she asked.

“They won't get clean without soap,” I said over my shoulder. “Can you carry this one? I think it's the lightest.” I pushed the basket of dirty underclothes toward her.

She yelped and averted her eyes. I couldn't help laughing a little.

“I'll wash everything else if you don't make me touch those,” she tried to bargain.

“I'm very tempted to take that offer,” I grinned. I picked up the basket as best I could and carried it past her into the other room. “If you wash the shirts I'll do these.”

“Agreed,” she said hastily.

“Palmer? You down here?” Captain Peck called. I could hear the thud of his boots as he came down the hall.

“Here sir!” I called.

He stopped in the doorway combing his mustache. “Ray was just telling me about your predicament,” he said.

My heart started beating faster. He had found a way around my contract!

“I thought I should remind you that you signed that contract for five years of service to this ship, any less and I can have you arrested and brought back for another five years. Also I sent a wireless message to the CTC offices in Boston about our stowaway and they are locating Miss Winters' parents.” He walked off without another word.

Thoughts of mutiny ran through my head.

“What a brute!” Vivian whispered behind me. She had her hands on her hips again. “He's worse than Aunt!”

“Except that I can't run away,” I said pointedly.

Her eyes immediately took on a soft, watery look and she turned away.

“Vivian?”

“They'll find Aunt before they find my parents.” Her voice was shaking. “She'll come and get me, and now that I've run away no one will ever want to marry me. I was supposed to run away and find someone.”

I sighed. The water in the tub of shirts began to overflow. I jumped and turned off the water.

“Mother and father will be so disappointed,” she continued. “I never thought of what could happen!”

I stuck my hands in my pockets and thought about my own predicament. I remembered father warning me before I signed my contract. If I had stopped and listened to him I might have at the very least bargained for a shorter time of service. No wonder my mother had cried so much when I left.

I sighed. “Come on,” we might as well keep doing the washing.

She nodded and knelt at the side of the shirt tub in a little pile of skirts. She looked so crushed but I had no idea of what I could say to cheer her up. I was feeling rather defeated myself.

There were more footsteps out in the hall and Ray leaned in through the open door.

“There you are Eldon,” he said. “I was talking to Peck earlier,”

“He's already been by,” I interrupted him.

“What!” He uttered a string of words that sailors are well known for.

Vivian coughed loudly and Ray went silent. “Does she follow you everywhere?” he asked.

“Because he's the only one I can stand to hear speak!”

I nearly laughed at both of them. “Keep your tongue in check long enough to help us with this,” I told Ray. He shrugged and went to get another basket while I turned the water back on to fill the tub of underclothes.  

Wild at Heart

I just read Wild at Heart by John Eldredge. I think everyone I know has already heard me talk about it, but I thought it was fascinating. I had read Captivating by Stasi Eldredge a few years ago and I remember liking it and thinking it had a lot of good things to say, but I really don't remember what those things were. I got a lot more out of Wild at Heart.

I know that for a long time I didn't really know what guys... were. That sounds weird but I remember one day in school I bumped into a boy in the hallway and I remember being really surprised that I didn't hurt myself. It was like I was expecting boys to be made of bricks instead of flesh and that I could stub my toe on them. So I've never thought about what guys are really like much at all. They're people right? And girls are people too, that is all. Thats why I recommend reading these books so much. Guys are really different from girls. I already knew that (boys play with trucks girls play with baby dolls) but this spelled it out.

I was thinking about a bonfire that the Captain and I went to a few weeks ago. Right at evening we went out to the fire and started cooking hot dogs and chatting about school and work and stuff. The Captain came, saw a tree, and was up in it within a few minutes. I felt myself wanting to draw attention to it. I didn't think about it at the time but I was proud of him, all the other guys were tossing hot dogs into the fire, my man was climbing two trees at once. So I called up “Do you want me to cook you a hotdog?” People started saying generic things like “Don't fall!” or “Is that safe?” I was a tiny bit miffed. Of course it isn't safe, but thats ok. Yes he might fall but if there wasn't that danger why would he climb the tree? Trees are nice and all but even I know that you don't climb trees because it's easy. It's to use your muscles, to see if you can climb it, to see how high you can get, to have a little adventure, and what good is an adventure where everything is easy?

A friend of my dad works in a cubical all day writing instruction manuals. Those tedious things that you look at only when you're desperate. From what I've heard he drives like a maniac, even when he's driving my dad and brother around. But when your life is full of nothing but legal text where you have to remind people that engines get hot and sharp things are sharp you need a little adventure or something in a man dies. The Captain keeps talking about wanting to take up hunting, which is just great because I have an irrational fear of dead things and all I can picture is him dragging carcasses home and then trying to touch me before bathing in a vat of alcohol. I really do try very hard to show that I don't have a problem with hunting or killing things, and I feel very strongly that certain things need to die if they come near me. Deep down hidden under all the screaming and twitching and crying I want to get over my fears because I do feel that it's more important for the Captain to kill things than to die inside. I'm working on preparing myself...

Wild at Heart also talked about having a battle to fight. All that adventuring and trying to kill themselves? It's training in a way. (Or that was the impression I got, this blog is really for me to just go back over what I learned not to replace the book.) God did put us here for a reason, and he made men to conquer things. To build cities, explore new continents, fight for the woman they love. That, by the way, was my favorite part. In Captivating I remember it talking about how a girl asks “Am I beautiful? Am I worth fighting for?” in Wild at Heart it said a boy asks “Do I have what it takes?” Thats why we all know stories about knights rescuing damsels, and why every superhero has a girl who always gets her silly butt kidnapped over and over. My dorm room at college was on the ninth floor of a tower, I used to call it Barad-Dur after Sauron's tower in Mordor. After the Captain and I started courting I used to dream about him coming and climbing all those stairs to come and rescue me out of college. (Or he's writing a book with a flying boat and I would imagine him flying up to the window.) That's why I wrote that blog entry about when he pulled me out of the creek. He may not have a flying ship but he can still save me. Plus he was over here the other day and this spider came climbing down in front of me and he came and killed it! I like finding adventure in the little things. For an example, I was at a friend's house one night and a moth got in the house. No big deal except that that mom really hates moths. Her husband was prepared though, after fighting this battle many times. Armed with an electric tennis racket he chased it down and watched it's sorry carcass burn. She was never in any serious danger but after the moth was dispatched the rescued damsel gave her husband a kiss and said “My Hero!” And that is the sweetest thing ever.

Now go read Captivating and Wild at Heart by John and Stasi Eldredge.  

Stormy Seas: Part 14

 Eldon's situation had made me angry. We had not been friends for very long but I hurried toward the galley this morning feeling indignant for him.

“Eldon?” I called. All of the tables were empty but in the kitchen Jack was hard at work.

“In the boiler room,” Jack called over his shoulder. “Stir this will ya?”

I hurried in and caught the spoon he had been stirring with before it disappeared into the gooey depths of this morning's porridge. He ran off into the larder with a large bowl. When he reappeared he was stirring dough.

“There are bowls up there.” He pointed to the cabinet above my head. “They'll be in for breakfast soon.”

I nodded and took out a stack of bowls. The galley was silent except for the sound of the porridge slapping into the bowls. Jack stood with his back to me as he worked on the biscuits.

“It smells good,” I said politely. Someone had to say something.

“Same old food,” he grunted and shrugged.

When the door opened and the first few came in for breakfast I sighed with relief.

“Come 'an get 'em,” Jack said. He began moving the bowls to the other counter.

I looked over my shoulder, hoping that Eldon was there.

“Good morning!” Michael called cheerfully.

“Good morning,” I said. “Have you seen Eldon this morning?”

“He was with the engines Miss,” he said. “He'll eat after his shift.”

“Oh.” I could not hide my disappointment.

“If you want I'll sit with you,” he offered with a smile.

“Move outta' the way!” A rather large member of the crew commanded. Michael shuffled off with his food. “The lady'll sit with me.” He grinned lecherously.

“Well I suppose I have to sit with someone,” I said boldly. They would have to learn at some point that they could not fight over me. I grabbed a bowl and spoon for myself and came around to the table where Michael was sitting. I sat beside him and the large man sat on my other side. The rest of the table quickly filled.

“What shall we talk about?” I wondered aloud. “Father always talks about the latest debates in Parliament, or the revolts in China. I suppose it will raise the price of tea again won't it? That shall upset everyone in the Americas again.” They were all staring at me. “I wonder if they really will stop buying tea, they surely won't stop drinking it. Though I have heard that they've started making their own kind of tea somehow. I'm certain that it won't be as good as old fashioned tea.” I inhaled and took a bite. “Though,” I continued before any of them could speak. “I suppose not many of you drink much tea. I noticed a distinct lack of it on board, but then the CTC is based in the Americas and I suppose there isn't so much call for tea in the Americas, something about the revolution I gather. The war has been over for some time now though, so you might go back to it. Perhaps not though, with the prices so high.” I took another bite.

“I drink tea,” Michael tried to join in.

“With all the pirates in the atlantic the price of sugar has gone up as well hasn't it? Some people may take their tea without but most people would rather go without tea all together. Perhaps we should trade tea for sugar and then everyone would be content.” I started to take a bite and then stopped. “Then again, to really solve the problems I suppose we should stop the pirates and the revolts. The pirates would be the place to start since I assume it would be much harder to stop a revolt.”

“The Volitiers keep the pirates in line for the most part,” the big man said.

“Really? I haven't heard much about them except that they live in airships.” The conversation was getting away from me. “It must be terribly exciting.”

“They're no better than pirates themselves,” one of the men said.

“If they stop pirates then they must be better than pirates,” I said, regaining control.

They didn't seem to know what to say as I prattled on about that. I stopped when I saw Eldon listening in the galley doorway. He was covered in coal dust.

“Good morning!” I called to him.

“I should have guessed that you'd be alright,” he smiled.

“I had plenty of company watching out for me,” I said.

“Well I'm up to the crows nest,” the big man said as he stood and took his empty bowl. The others began to get up and leave as well. “Careful Eldon, that one'll talk both your ears off.”

Eldon laughed and picked up a bowl. “I'll risk it since I'm hungry.”

“It was good to get to talk to you Miss,” Michael said as he went out. One by one each of them stopped on his way out and called me Miss.

I set down my spoon and smiled to myself.

“Having fun?” Eldon asked as he sat down.

“Very much so. I think today is going to be a very good day.”  

Stormy Seas: Part 13

 I could see her below me on the deck looking up and shading her eyes. She had stayed there while I tightened the rigging on the main sail mast and watched as I climbed up to inspect the sails. As I climbed across the top I carefully checked each of the knots, tightening and loosening them as I thought they needed.

I crawled over to another knot and glanced down. She had her hands up near her mouth and her eyes were so wide I thought I could see the blue in them from here.

I had not made my mind up about her yet. She seemed more tame now than when I had first found her, so then she was either very foolish for running away, or someone had indeed been very cruel to her. Could one unhappy aunt have been the culprit? I moved to the last knot and wondered why this had caught so much of my interest. On land I would have brushed it off, called her a fool, and moved on. It must be boredom, I decided. I had been on the ship for quite awhile now. Six months had felt like a long time but I reminded myself that I had signed a contract with Captain Peck for the next 5 years.

I climbed back down the rigging and found Vivian waiting at the bottom.

“Are there no safety lines?” She asked before my feet touched the deck.

“No,” I replied. “We keep the other lines tight.”

“It seems so dangerous. When Aunt and I traveled on airships the crew wore harnesses when they worked on the ship.”

I headed down the ladder to the hold and she followed. “Airshipmen work out in higher heights and speeds than the Lethargy,” I pointed out.

“Still, if you fell from that tall mast-”

“The main sail?”

“The main sail-it would certainly kill you.”

“We all know to be careful,” I assured her. I helped her down the last few rungs of the ladder.

“Was your father a sailor?” she asked.

“No, he owns textile mills in Beaufort,” I said.

“Owns?” she asked. She seemed surprised.

“Palmer's Textiles,” I said proudly, the way my father always did when he talked about his business. “Do you know how to sew?”

“Of course.” She had her hands on her hips.

“Good, there's mending to do.” I meandered through the cargo and supplies to a corner where we had thrown a torn sail. “It ripped in a storm while we were crossing,” I explained as I carried it back out. From a cabinet on the wall I took the ship's sewing basket. I handed it to Vivian and she peered inside. I sat down on a crate and began unfolding the sail.

“Are these the needles?” she asked, holding one up. It was about as long as her little finger.

“There should be thread in there too,” I added.

“I've never used daggers for sewing before,” she said. She took out a large ball of string.

“I don't make a habit of sewing with anything,” I responded.

She sat down on the crate opposite me. “What happened?” she asked.

“When?”

“Why are you here when your father owns a large business.”

“The CTC is a reputable company,” I explained. “Just like my father's business.”

“No it isn't,” she said matter-of-factly.

“Do you have that needle threaded yet?”

“I can't cut the string.”

I handed her my knife.

“I've heard nothing but terrible stories about the CTC,” she continued. “Their sailors are little better than slaves and have a reputation of being rather unsavory men.”

“That didn't deter you from joining us,” I pointed out.

She glowered at me, rather like a small, angry cat. “I was trying to say that I thought you seemed different.”

“Why thank you.” I was glad to hear it. Mother would have been glad to hear it too.

“How did you end up on this ship?” she asked again. She knotted the thread and began to examine the tear in the canvas.

I sighed. I picked another needle out of the basket and reached for the thread. “I didn't want to help run the factory.”

“Why not?” she prodded.

“I wanted something more exciting,” I admitted. “I want to be a ship's Captain out on the sea.”

“But how did you get here?” She was watching her sewing now.

“Mother thought it was too dangerous,” I said. “She told father to forbid me to go but he said he wouldn't. He said he wouldn't help though.” I could still hear his voice in my head saying that if I wanted it badly enough I would make it happen.

Vivian was looking at me again, waiting for me to continue.

“So I found a boat that would hire me without my family's help and decided I would work my way up to Captain.”

“You're a fool Eldon Palmer.”

I turned around as Ray came climbing up from the boiler room. His face was black with soot and he had flecks of coal in his red hair. “What did I do?” I asked.

“I thought you were like the rest of us,” he said. “No good sons of no good drunks who sit on the wharfs.”

I waited for him to make his point.

“If you were like the rest of us you wouldn't have any other chance at being a captain, but you could be one if you got on a different ship. When we make port next you need to find a new boat kid.”

“I can't,” I said.

“Why not? Another company would let you work your way up,” Vivian said. She nearly clapped her hands with excitement.

“I signed a contract with Captain Peck for five years.”

Ray stared at me. “You signed a five year contract?” he asked in disbelief.

“It was the paper the man handed us to sign,” I said.

Ray rubbed his face with his hand tiredly. “You're a fool Eldon Palmer,” he repeated. He turned and walked away toward the lavatory.

I picked up the sail again and refused to meet Vivian's gaze.

“Maybe if you save his life the Captain will be grateful and let you go,” she said quietly.

“Captain Peck doesn't control that,” I said. “I signed a contract with him and the CTC.”

“You can't simply be stuck here for the next five years when you could be advancing your career.”

“Lets finish this sail,” I sighed. The reality of Ray's words was beginning to hit me. I should have realized before that Patrick and Victor had worked on the Lethargy for most of their lives and were still simply crewmen. I did feel like a fool, and I hated feeling like a fool in front of Vivian.  

A True Love Story

So I've been thinking about the Captain recently. Not that I ever really stop thinking about him, but for some reason autumn has always been something of a romantic season for me. Possibly because it's when the Renaissance Festival is and the cooler weather makes me want to put on my gown and frolic through the trees. Fall also makes me think of romance because of the Captain.

If I had been in control of our love story I probably would have had it somewhere like a castle turret by the coast. I would have been in a gown with my hair gently tossing in the wind. The Captain would have come, taken me in his arms and passionately professed his love for me. Then we would immediately skip over to the wedding and live happily ever after. Yay!

Real life though. When I was fourteen I decided that I never wanted to date, instead I wanted to use the more old fashioned term of courting. I was in public school at the time at that age when everyone starts getting into relationships. There were a couple of incidents in school that prompted me to despise the idea of dating. The first was fairly stupid, some idiot started talking to me while we were all coming in from recess and he and his friends asked me if I would be his girlfriend. I told him no and he asked why, I didn't have the slightest clue who he was and had never seen him before or since so I thought that was reason enough. The second, looking back on it, was actually rather frightening. I was at my locker between classes one day. This boy who was much bigger than me came up and told me that I was going to be his girlfriend. When I refused he shoved me up against the lockers and tried to kiss me. I don't remember how I managed to get away but I tried to run to the nearest teacher who was standing outside her classroom door greeting the students as they came in. I had never had her as a teacher or I might remember her name and have a few words for her, because when I tried to get her to help me she looked at me and shut her door. Thankfully the boy had already been scared off or I would have been left alone in the hallway with him. After those two encounters (and 14 years of advice from my mom) I decided that I would never date. I wanted to have a fairy tale romance and nothing would make me settle for being grabbed in the school hallway.

You know how at night when you're driving in a car and if you look at the window as you pass a street light you can see your reflection? I used to sit and try to see my reflection and pretend that I was sending messages to my future husband. Sometimes I would quietly sing to him, tell him that I wanted him to find me and ask him if he loved me. One night while I was doing that I asked God to give me a sign of who I would marry. I wanted the first man to tell me that I was beautiful to be the one. I went to church the next morning full of hope when a younger girl told me that I looked very pretty that day. I thought that God was trying to tell me I had been silly so I forgot about it. God doesn't forget these things though.

I had a terrible crush on the Captain. Big surprise, I know. I couldn't imagine that anyone could be more perfect. I wanted to homeschool, I knew he would want to homeschool. I had stopped watching t.v. And knew that he didn't watch tv. Plus, he's my best friends brother, and what better way to be best friends forever than to be sisters! He seemed to have other plans though, and annoyingly those plans appeared to be never marrying. I started going out of my way to try to get him to fall in love with me. I had a Medieval tournament birthday party for my 17^th birthday where I planned on having all the girls there paired with a boy who she would be rooting for to win the tournament. We had it rigged for a few of the couples to “accidentally” be paired, and how much harder could it be to have the Captain and I paired up “accidentally” as well?

He found out and said no, of course. I was heartbroken because I thought that with my secret out he would never want to be friends again. It took a lot of persuading from Aisling to convince me that he was ok with it and simply didn't want to hurt me. So rather than let it go I thought of more ways to turn our friendship into romance.

Then came senior prom. I had invited him to come (since he likes dances and since it was my school throwing the party) and I had had it all planned out months in advance. The day of prom a handful of friends came over and the idea was that we would go together. After dinner at my house the girls went upstairs to get dressed. I hurried to get ready, slipped on my shoes, grabbed my little purse and my masquerade mask and delicately floated down the stairs to the Captain. He's good at complimenting girls and I knew it, I could finally get him to say that I was beautiful and that would be my sign. He didn't say it though. He said something like “You look like a vision” to which another one of my friends said “She looks like she came from upstairs,” and the moment was ruined. But I would not be deterred!

We went to the zoo with his family and some friends that summer. I spent the entire day following him around and chatting with him. As we were leaving I noticed some beautiful reddish orange flowers above a shelter that were just barely too high for me to reach. Out of the corner of my eye I could see that he was picking one but I still pretended to be surprised when he gave it to me. No one had ever given me a flower before and I still treasure that one. I thought for sure that that little flower meant that he was the one until a few days later. He started off by saying that he thought of me as one of his best friends. My heart raced, this was finally what I had been hoping for! Then instantly shattered by “I don't want to be in a relationship right now with anyone.” That was when I finally gave up.

That same summer I had an incident with my car in the Captain's driveway. That day is memorable for that reason and I later found out it was the day he realized he loved me (completely unrelated to the accident.) I had a dream that night that I was walking and he came running up, dropped to one knee in front of me and breathlessly asked me to marry him. In my dream we were both dressed in white and I could swear that I could feel the ring on my finger with my purity ring. I woke up the next morning and realized that it hadn't been true, but it was still a lovely dream.

Then, two years ago I went over for a fencing lesson because the Captain was going to teach me fencing. We went out in the backyard strapped into white fencing jackets and he said he wanted to show me the start of the bridge he and his father had been working on. I remember standing by the creek feeling awed by the forest when he called my name. I turned around and he was standing there with the largest bouquet of white roses and lilies I had ever seen (my two favorite flowers.) The thought flashed through my mind that it was finally happening, but I had thought that before and rather than be disappointed again I forced the thought from my mind and could only be confused as I took the flowers. But then it did happen. I don't remember much of his exact words but I remember,

“You're the one.”

How do you top that? The Captain is very good at it actually. One of those times was when he finally told me that I was beautiful. I don't remember exactly when it was, or where we were or what I looked like that day, but it reminded me of that sign that I had wanted from God. I only got it after I already knew that the Captain loved me and wanted to marry me. It's better that way though, just like my imaginings of a perfect romance fall completely short of the actual romance that we're sharing. If God were not in control of our love story I'm certain that it would not be so beautiful, if it would even exist at all. It does exist though, and we've been courting for two years today. I don't think either of us expected to be courting this long (I know my mind skipped right over to the wedding and I've been trying to drag it out of bridal salons ever since,) but God is still in control and that fact only becomes clearer to me every day.

I love you Gabriel, my Captain and my Hero. Happy Anniversary. <3

 

Stormy Seas: Part 12

  I hurried up on deck after finishing helping Jack make tray after tray of biscuits. I had flour down my skirt despite having worn an apron.

The wind caught my skirts as I came out onto the deck. I drank in the fresh sea air and the warm rays of sunlight that fell on my face. Since I was going to be on the ship I had decided that I would make the best of it. At the very least I had managed to escape from Aunt.

I was snapped back to the reality of the ship as water splashed and began pooling around my feet. I looked down and lifted the hem of my skirt.

“Sorry!” the red haired fellow I had seen at breakfast shouted from across the deck. He turned a bucket right side up again. I saw Eldon with him, mopping the wooden deck. I was also aware of quite a lot of sailors climbing all over the ship. I hurried over to Eldon.

“What are you doing?” I asked.

“Swabbing,” Eldon said.

“Swabbing the poop deck?” I asked with a childish grin.

He straightened up and cocked a haughty eyebrow. “The aft deck,” he said.

“The poop deck is down the hold,” the redhead laughed. “Where you-”

“Ray,” Eldon said in something near a warning tone.

“I've never acted like a gentleman in my life, I won't start now.”

“It's very nice to meet you,” I greeted.

He shrugged, muttered something and mopped away down the deck.

“Want to help?” Eldon asked.

“What do I do?”
“Fill the bucket,” he said. He motioned to one behind me.

I went over and picked it up by a rope attached to the handle. “Where?” I asked.

“Over the side.”

I went to the railing with the bucket and looked down at the waves. “Salt water?” I asked.

“You can't waste fresh water,” he explained. He continued mopping and watched me.

I lowered it hand over hand. The bucket hit the water and the rope wrenched away to the side. I yelped as I was pulled into the railing and almost lost my hold on the rope.

“You've still got it,” Eldon said from behind me.

I turned to look and saw him there holding onto the end of the rope. “I can't get it up!” I cried.

“You haven't even tried yet,” he said.

I tugged, trying to get it out of the waves. “It won't come!”

“Of course it will,” he insisted. The rope was slack in his hand.

I tried again. Very slowly I was able to drag it upwards and out of the water, but the weight didn't seem to change. “Help,” I pleaded.

“Give her a push over!” a sailor on the mast laughed down at us.

“You can get it, you're stronger than you look,” Eldon said quietly. He wasn't going to help.

I leaned back, using my weight to pull it up. The rope was now rubbing on the railing as I reached to pull it up.

“There! It's coming.”

I turned around and glared at him. The bucket came up to the top and started to tilt and spill. I leaned forward and caught the handle, then hauled it over the rail and set it on the deck.

“See, I knew you could do it,” he grinned at me.

“Makin' her work Eldon?” Ray called from across the deck.

“You should be nice to nice lady Mr. Elderton,” Ameya said as he passed by.

“Eldon,” he responded.

“Maybe someone else will not make you work,” Ameya laughed wheezily. “Is better to follow someone else.”

“Hey! She's alright!” Eldon defended himself.

I saw Michael from breakfast heading down the mast at Eldon. “I am alright,” I insisted. “In fact I'm glad I could do it on my own.” It was true. My arms ached but I was proud of myself, I had done something no one expected me to be able to do. No one but Eldon.

“Crew!” A warning call from Rhoden sounded as he climbed up out of the hold. They scattered, all except Ameya.

“We keep eye on you Mr. Elderton,” he laughed.

“Eldon,” Eldon said sourly. “You can return to your cabin if you'd like Miss Winters.”

“Vivian,” I corrected him, “and I would rather stay and help.”

He smiled. “You take the mop then, and I'll fetch the water.”

I nodded and took the mop from his hand. It seemed that we were friends now, and I was more than pleased by that.  

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.