Taken by Pirates

“Our navigator, Willy.” The Captain pointed to a shorter man with dark curls.

“And I’m Cookie,” said the older man with the round face, who looked at me with kind eyes. “Are you hungry, miss? Supper’s done, but I could fix you something.”

“No, thank you,” I said. With the way my stomach was fluttering, food might be a bad idea.

“Willy, you and Dobbs take the night watch, and we’ll see you bright and early.”

The Captain stood, holding out his hand to me. I took it, allowing him to lead me to the back end of the ship. There was a raised platform with the wheel, and beneath that a door, leading to what looked like a tiny building sitting on the deck.

Feeling his fingers against mine, my heart felt like a hummingbird flying in circles around my chest. It was hard to imagine that the first time I held a man’s hand was in the moonlight on the deck of a ship. A pirate ship, at that.

It was all so romantic and poetic that I felt like I was in a dream. Even though I knew I should keep my head about me, the salty air and rocking of the ship made this place feel like another world entirely.

It was impossible to imagine that I would be sleeping in the same room as this striking man tonight. Yet not terrifying. Curiously exhilarating.

There were so many impossible things that had happened today that my head began to swim again. And every time the Captain looked at me with that unusual sparkle in his eyes, it felt like my heart was falling overboard.

~ Chap ter 4 ~ The Captain ~

* The Choice of a Chair *

What in tarnation had I done? We’d just established a good balance on the Midnight Treasure .

To be sure, we’d been meaning to take one more crewman sometime soon, but not a woman. There were many pirates, er, sailors, who believed a woman on a ship was incredibly bad luck, but I felt that was a ridiculous thing even to contemplate.

Although, womenfolk were usually a bit more of a bother and a fuss, with their strange little habits and particular ways of going about things.

So very many years ago, when I once attempted to court a woman, I was informed repeatedly that I was doing everything wrong. It was a horrible feeling that I had vowed to never bring upon myself again.

No man was able to make me feel like less of a man. But a woman? She could cut through me like a sun-warmed knife through a pat of butter. It was mysterious and savage.

Still, I didn’t feel that this lovely girl would ever try to tear anyone down.

Holding Maggie’s hand, I led her into the aftercastle. There were only three rooms. A tiny locked space to store valuables and weapons, the chart-room , and my quarters.

Dwyer had already lit the lamps, as he did every night at sunset as one of his little rituals.

Watching Maggie’s eyes as we entered, she looked around at the polished wood, the neatly stacked boxes in the corner, and the overstuffed chair in the corner that I’d taken from my old family home to keep a remembrance of my mother with me.

The bed wasn’t large, but would easily fit the two of us nicely, if we stayed close. I wasn’t sure how she might feel about that.

I knew precisely how I would feel. I’d enjoy it far too much, and might forget myself. This beautiful young lady didn’t seem to realize how utterly irresistible she was.

She turned to look up at me, dropping my hand. “Thank you for sharing your private room. It is very kind of you.”

“It’s the very least I can do for stealing you away,” I said gently, patting the spot on the bed beside me as I sat. “Will you miss your family, lass?”

Her head shook, that tidy braid swinging her hair down her back. “Not the tiniest bit.”

“Really? That doesn’t seem right.”

Maggie nodded, staring down at her hands. “No, it wasn’t. My father treated me like a burden my entire life. I wasn’t a boy who could help him in the fields. When Mother passed, I had to care for my two brothers, and all three of them seemed to hate me because I wasn’t her.”

My arm slipped around her, as we leaned closer. “I’m sorry, Maggie. That’s dreadful.”

My heart broke for her. Yet there was also hope. Maybe we really could give her a better life.

“My mother always said that things look brighter in the morning. That a good night’s sleep clears away all bad things,” I said gently.