The ship hadn’t quite stopped moving when Cookie dropped the boarding plank and took off down the pier.
I finally released Maggie’s hand. Willy escorted her safely down to the dock, then they walked side by side to the north.
Maggie was behaving exactly like we’d taught her. Just polite enough to be ignored. Never drawing attention.
That was trickier since every dockman was admiring her seductive curves even through her puffy dress, but Willy’s sharp glare kept them from whistling or speaking with her beyond a curt, “Good morning, miss.”
Even though Dwyer and Dobbs were moving a few empty crates and barrels to the pier so that it looked like we were unloading cargo, we were all watching Maggie and Willy carefully. They walked past the Devil’s Blue Sea without incident, then strolled toward a quiet part of town.
I found myself pacing in frustration. Although I knew Willy would do absolutely anything to protect my girl, as he would with any member of the crew, it felt wrong that I wasn’t there myself.
Cookie returned with a small cloth bag and a huge smile on his round face. “My old friend Slappy is still the chef on the Devil ,” he said gleefully as he came aboard.
Somehow all of the best ships’ cooks knew each other, trading spices and gossip like washerwomen.
“It took a pouch of my finest hyssop to trade for some of his famous beef stew blend,” Cookie grinned. “I also discovered there are currently only four crewman on the ship, since five of them stayed back in Larringsville for a week to visit family.”
“Perfect,” I muttered, almost to myself.
I turned to Dobbs, who was all ready to go in his almost military looking jacket. “You’ve got the letters?”
“Aye, Captain.”
“Then run like the wind, boy.”
Dobbs grinned from ear to ear, giving me a saucy slanted salute before tearing down the plank.
Once the Mayor of Port Chancelry received an official looking letter in Cookie’s best handwriting that the Devil’s Blue Sea was transporting illegal goods, the ship would be held and searched for at least the remainder of the day.
No Captain would consider a kidnapping job higher on his list of priorities then the safety of his own vessel and crew.
Dwyer and I made ourselves useful by purchasing some fresh fish, and trading a few bits of gear with some of the other local vessels.
Yet half of my mind was turning in circles, worried about Maggie.
It was time for me to court her properly. Or at least, as properly as one could while we lived together on my ship. She was a proper young girl who deserved flowers and moonlight and to be told she was my special little angel.
Somehow, in such a short time, this young woman had made me not only want to be a better man, but made me want to protect others. She was now the lantern that was lighting my life.
And it was time to admit, to myself as much as to her, that I had already fallen head over tea kettle in love with her.
~ Chapter 13 ~ Maggie ~
* Trapped *
I was so relieved once the ship was in sight again. How strange that after only a few weeks, it felt like my home more than my father’s house had ever been.
I noticed that Willy’s sharp eyes darted everywhere as we approached the dock. This was likely a habit left over from the days when the crew had apparently run jobs that were much more dangerous. I wasn’t sure how dark the past of the Midnight Treasure and its crew actually was, but was fairly certain I’d be better off not knowing.
They were good men now, and that’s all that mattered.
Also, I was simply too exhausted to think on the matter further. Convincing Mrs. Wescott that she was in danger had been tricky at first, but her sister Biddy believed me straightaway.
It hadn’t taken long to escort them to a neighbor’s house a ways to the north, and make sure they were hunkered down away from the windows for the rest of the day.
The neighbor, a terribly excitable lady named Mrs. Miller, seemed to love the threat of adventure. She was more than happy to break out the cooking sherry to calm Mrs. Wescott down in her moment of need. When I left, the three of them were preparing to play cards.
It was comforting to know that Willy had been outside all the while, keeping watch. He was a very strange man, but I knew that he would protect me no matter what.