Owned by Pirates

In all my years, I was taught that a lady never raises her voice. Not in anger, not ever. The thought of it was completely crass. Women should be seen and not heard. Yet Larry was right. If there was some occasion where I would have to get the men's attention, my weak little whispers would be useless.

Taking a deep breath, I called out, "Davy."

He moved on to another barrel, tapping and marking as he went.

"Pretend you’re a wild animal, Miss," Larry chuckled. "Or pretend there was a prize if you succeeded."

I looked up at him and tried to scowl, but it just made me giggle.

I tried to think about using my muscles to make my voice bigger. The power of my lungs. The power of my throat. Surely I could holler one word across such a distance.

"Davy!" I hollered at the top of my voice. He didn't even flinch, simply continuing his work.

O'Doule came up beside us. "Shall I holler for you, lass?" he asked.

"No, thanks," Larry explained. "I was trying to teach Miss Flora that she'll need to learn to raise her voice sometimes."

O'Doule nodded, taking off his spectacles to rub them on his shirt. “Aye. Lass, there will be times when you need to stop being a proper young lady, and remember that you're a crew member now. The rules of polite society do not apply out here."

I smiled at him. "Yes, thank you. I'll keep trying."

"Practice makes perfect," he said, nodding. "But you know, Davy’s right ear is the one pointed at us, and that's the one that's half deaf."

O'Doule went down below, as I turned to look at Larry with my fists on my hips. He held up his hands as if I were going to slap him. “Miss, you know I meant for the best."

I burst into laughter, but this time, I didn't hold myself back. My parents weren't here to judge me. There were no open windows so the neighbors might hear. The ship was completely open to everything. I laughed louder than I ever had before, and it felt positively glorious.

Larry laughed with me for a moment, then grew serious. "Miss, I should mention this before I forget. I'm to help you with a problem on your back, I believe."

I closed my eyes and took a breath. "Yes. Thank you."

I followed him down to the pantry, and he rummaged around until he found a large metal tin. Since there was no one else in the galley at the moment, he led me to sit on a barrel.

"If you'll pardon me, Miss, I need to…"

I turned back over my shoulder to see the huge man practically sweating from nervousness. "It's all right, Larry," I said with a soft smile. "I'm sorry I can't reach the buttons myself."

I watched as he closed his eyes, swallowing hard, then giving his head a shake. As his eyes snapped open, he seemed completely focused on his task. He unbuttoned the back of my dress slowly, his thick fingers obviously giving him trouble. As he opened the panels of fabric, I felt him become still as a stone for a moment.

"Miss… I am so very sorry."

"I'm fine, but thank you."

I flinched as he began to rub the salve along one of the welts. "It doesn't hurt that much," I said quickly. "It's just chilly."

He worked quickly, coating the marks in a thin layer of ointment. He re-fastened the buttons part way up, then stopped. "Miss, if I left the top two buttons undone, your dress wouldn't be pressing against the sore areas as tightly. That might help it heal faster."

"Oh," I said. "That's a good idea." I turned to him. "I assume the men of the ship won't be scandalized if they see an extra inch of my back, will they?"

He smiled, putting away the tin and wiping his hands. "Not in the slightest, Miss. I'll never tell the tales of what some of us have seen.”

“I probably don’t want to know.”

“You surely don’t,” he agreed as I jumped off the barrel. “Shall we go to the sewing area now?”

As soon as we set to work, I was thrilled that I was given the task mending sails with Larry. It was quite straightforward stitching, but obviously sails were much larger than any dress or sheet I had ever worked on. Having something I understood and felt confident about would help me feel more settled here.

"How are you getting along on the ship, Miss Flora?" he asked.