Stormy pushed the door open slowly, poking his head inside the quiet cabin. Elizabeth stood by the large window looking out at the open sea, her arms folded across her chest like a child afraid of the storm. He quietly stepped in and closed the door, setting the tray of food on the round table in the center of the room. He remained silent, waiting for the girl to speak, knowing from the way she stood that she was aware of his presence.

“I can’t get the blood off,” she said in a small, shaky voice and Stormy noticed the quiver of her shoulders. “I’ve tried, but it won’t come off. I can still feel it.”

He stepped to her side and saw the tears streaking down her cheeks, as she turned to show him her hand, the same hand that had held the dying heart of her enemy.

“Come, sit down,” he told her, feeling a sense of nostalgia. He treated her much in the same way as he had when she was a child and woke with a bad dream. “I’ve brought you some dinner,” he said, helping her sit in a chair next to the table.

“I can’t eat,” she told him, pushing the tray aside. “I can’t stop thinking.”

“You need to eat, and thinking can be a welcomed friend if you let it be.”

“I don’t want to think, I don’t want to feel. I just want to be numb, like I’ve always been.”

“You’ve never been numb, Lass. You’ve just pushed your pain aside and now you have to face it. You need to confront the past and embrace the present. Your mother would have been proud of you today,” he lied, knowing she would have been sickened by her daughter’s actions.

Yet somehow, he felt perhaps Sarah would have been proud of her. She defended a girl’s innocence, protecting her from the same fate that befell her mother. That was an act worth enduring a little pride.

“The ship’s turned around,” she said absently. “Where are we going?”

“I thought you might like to take the girl back to her family,” Stormy answered, spooning up some stew and placing it to her lips. He waited until she opened her mouth, and then continued speaking. “Laddie found out the girl is the mayor’s daughter. Blade stole her out of her bed last night. That’s why he was so anxious to get out of port. He didn’t want to get caught with his spoils before he had a chance to make use of them.”

“What do you mean?”

“Blade liked young girls, virgins if you will. He prided himself on taking them for the first time. He thought he was irresistible, and no woman could dare turn him down. He found great pleasure in forcing them, though. Virgins are always fearful and would cry and beg him for mercy and that always excited him. That gave him an excuse to force them into submission. Even if they never surrendered, he would still enjoy the conquest. Rape was thrilling to the man.”

“Bastard,” she growled, thinking of the horror the girl would undoubtedly have endured, had the former captain not been stopped.

“He brought the girl aboard in that bundle last night. He bound and gagged her and left her tied up until he felt we were far enough out at sea, that her people wouldn’t catch up to us. At least not until after he’d had his fun with her,” he added, looking at the dark expression on Elizabeth’s face. “Blade untied her long enough to undress her, he gave her that bruise when she tried to run away, but he didn’t realize he had laid his knife on the bed and when he forced her to it, she managed to get hold of it and cut his cheek. I don’t think she intended to hurt him. She was just trying to escape. She said he told her he was afraid his ghosts were going to catch up to him. I suppose in his demented mind, he somehow convinced himself that taking another woman to bed would serve as his protection against the unknown.”

“He really was sick,” she said, more as an afterthought than a comment.

“I knew you would want the girl to be returned, so I ordered the ship turned back to port. Do you disagree with my orders, Captain?”

“The girl needs to go home, and I’m not the captain. I don’t know the first thing about commanding a vessel.”

“Nonsense,” Stormy grunted, watching her stand and pace her way back to the window. “I taught you how to navigate, you know how to read a map and plot out courses better than I do, and you have the respect of every man aboard this ship. You are stronger than half these lads and nobody is willing to raise steel against you. You know everything there is to know about sailing and you can hold your own in a good fight. What more do you need to be a good captain?”

“How about confidence?”

Elizabeth turned and looked at the man she had always considered her best friend.

“I know, right now you feel scared and unsure,” he said repositioning himself in the chair where he sat. “But listen to me Lass, that will vanish soon enough. You’ve come so far, and the crew is eager to follow you. We swore our allegiance to you many years ago, and a pirate doesn’t go back on his word.”

“I can’t be a pirate anymore, Stormy. I can’t kill for pleasure or profit.”

“Then we’ll change professions,” the man said easily. “We could become merchants, or turn the ship into a passenger vessel?”

“Oh, sure, and where would we put the passengers, in the brig?”

“Well, if you don’t like that idea, then how about mercenaries, or perhaps privateers? I understand they’re similar to pirates, but we get paid for the job and still get to keep the loot. We’d only kill if we had to.”

“Privateers, eh?” Elizabeth sort of liked the sounds of that.

True, it wasn’t all that different from being a pirate, only not quite as bloody. Why not? They could find work on the seas, after all, nobody was better at finding a ship than they were.

“Do you think the crew would go for it?” she asked a moment later.

“Why not? Good pay, the chance to keep their skills up, being able to walk about a town without the worry of being gutted for a reward. What’s not to like?”

A knock on the door ended the conversation for now. The girl Blade had stolen was standing in the narrow passageway along with Laddie, Swen, Ching, and a whole corridor filled with crewmen. They looked at her with smiles of pride, causing Elizabeth to frown as they began filing into the cabin.

“Captain Lass,” Laddie began, smiling brightly. “The young lady here would like to speak with you.”

“I’m sorry to disturb you. I know it hasn’t been a very good day for you.”

Elizabeth snorted under her breath as she exchanged glances with Stormy. She sat back in the chair she had just abandoned, looking up at the blonde and taking note of the dark purple bruise on her cheek.

“I don’t think it’s been much of a day for you either, Miss...” she paused. Had anyone mentioned the girl’s name?

“My name is Margaret Littleton.”

“Well, Miss Littleton. What exactly can I do for you?”

Elizabeth leaned back in her chair, rocking on the back legs of the old wooden seat. A nasty habit she had picked up from the years among men, but one that was hard to break nevertheless.

“I wanted to thank you for what you did...I don’t mean what you did...that is...”

“You’re welcome,” Elizabeth assured her quietly; aware of what she was trying to say. “How’s your face feel?” Elizabeth frowned at the swelling. She could remember the only time she had gotten punched in the eye. It had been after her first lesson with her fists, and she couldn’t see straight for a week.

“A little sore, I suppose,” the girl answered with a blush as she unconsciously touched the purple spot in question.

“Laddie can help you with that,” Elizabeth assured her. “He has a salve that can take the swelling down. You should be fine in a few days.”

“Aye, Captain,” Laddie nodded then stepped forward. “But first, the lads and I have a gift for you. It’s in celebration of your birthday.”

“It’s not my birthday and I’m not the captain,” she argued, sitting up and reluctantly taking the wrapped package he handed her.

“You are to us, Lass,” Laddie answered sternly, while the crew behind him grunted their agreement. “And it may not be your birthday yet, but it will be in a few weeks. I just wanted to give you something we think you could use now. Don’t open it until after you’ve had your bath. Swen will be fixing it soon enough.”

“Are you hinting that I stink?” she teased. A normal reply whenever they tried to get her to bathe as a child.

“Now, Captain, we’d never say that,” Swen answered. “Yet you have grown a little aromatic lately.”

“Get out before I let you lot taste my steel,” she ordered with a smile as the men left the room laughing, returning to their jobs and leaving her alone with Stormy and the girl.

“What else can I do for you, Miss Littleton,” she added, her heart seemed slightly less heavy as she held her package on her lap.

“Please, call me Maggie,” she said with a blush. “I know what you did couldn’t have been easy, but I’ve never met a woman like you before. You were magnificent. Anyway, I just wanted to thank you for saving me. I’ve never been so scared in all my life.”

“You should be.” A serious expression etched Elizabeth’s stern features, as she continued to look at the girl. “You have no idea what your life would have been like if Blade had lived instead of me.”

“I can imagine,” she whispered.

“No, you can’t,” Elizabeth snapped, standing up to confront the suddenly fearful girl. “You couldn’t imagine the terror, or the hell you’d have endured at his hands, even in your worst nightmares, especially after you attacked him. Blade wasn’t the sort of man who stood by and allowed his toys to leave freely.” Maggie paled suddenly and Stormy cleared his throat. What was she doing? The girl had suffered enough. She didn’t have to make it worse by telling her the plain facts.

“I’m sorry,” Maggie added softly. “I don’t know what I would have done without you.”

“You’d have been beaten, then raped, and then beaten again. If you survived the first day, you’d have endured humiliation on a daily basis thereafter, complete with more pain and torture than you’d have thought humanly possible. That is until he tired of you and slit your throat.”

“Enough,” Stormy whispered urgently, seeing the nauseated look on Maggie’s swollen face.

“When you return to your home, Miss Littleton,” Elizabeth continued, ignoring her friend’s insistence that she stop. “Might I suggest you lock your windows and doors? Never leave your home without an escort and never, ever, speak to a strange man. You never know when you’ll be served up as some madman’s dessert.”

The girl nodded, then turned and hurried out of the room, her face pale with fear. Elizabeth looked back to Stormy and then to her uneaten dinner. She sighed heavily as she turned back to the window and looked out at the clear blue skies. Her words had been cruel, yet they served their purpose in making the girl realize the reality of what she had narrowly escaped.

Elizabeth kept her back to the man who stared at her and the shocked, disapproving gaze he offered. She knew she had said too much. Maggie had endured more in the past twenty-four hours than she would the rest of her life, but the painful memories of many long years had taken over her words and she couldn’t stop them from spilling out of her mouth. She sighed again as she heard the chair legs scrape against the wooden planks of the floor. The next sound she heard was the door quietly opening and then shutting again, leaving her prisoner to her own thoughts.

She continued to stare out of the window. Her hand began to throb again with the sensation of Blade’s beating heart as it struggled to survive. She closed her eyes and forced away the bile threatening her composure. He would never again cause the pain and heartache her mother was forced to endure night after night, and on that reason alone she had to focus her mind. She would concentrate only on what she had prevented, rather than what she had done.

Glancing back toward the empty room, Elizabeth sighed heavily. It had been a very long day. She had awoken a prisoner in disguise and ended up becoming the captain of a pirate ship. Did she really have the skills and talent to command this vessel as Stormy insisted? The crew may have been her friends, but were they loyal enough to take orders from her…a woman?

Elizabeth’s eyes caught sight of the large new bed she had been laid to when she passed out. At least she would not have to sleep in the same bed her mother was brutally abused in, so many years ago. The man’s vanity saved her from that and now there was a brand-new bed for her to sleep in, never once used by Blade the Barbarian.

Elizabeth forgot about the package and the promised bath as the minutes slowly ticked by. Stormy had returned an hour later, acting as though nothing out of the ordinary had occurred and the two of them talked for so long, it was late into the night by the time they went their separate ways.

Their speed was slow on purpose. No one was eager to confront a rescue vessel in the dark of night. They’d be back in port shortly after first light, and there was the risk they’d be met by the authorities as soon as they docked. Blade was rarely welcomed in any port, much less one he pillaged and plundered. Their only hope was that Margaret Littleton was capable of standing as a witness for them, in order to save them from the hangman’s noose.

The idea of sleeping in Blade’s bed was less inviting than returning to port under a pirate flag, even if he hadn’t used it. She sat staring at it for a long time, remembering the last time she saw her mother alive. The last time they had spoken. The last time she had felt her loving touch. The portrait bearing her mother’s signature remained above the headboard, bringing Elizabeth’s eyes to stare at it. She was amazed by the lie it represented. Her mother must have been a true artist, to convince the man he was as handsome as his painted image portrayed him.

Memories made sleep an unwelcome enemy, forcing the ship’s new captain to pace the deck silently. Swen stood watch, keeping the ship steered in the right direction, trying to allow her the distance she needed to sort out her thoughts. For the first time in fifteen years, Elizabeth allowed her hair to flow freely and unbound the restraints across her breasts. Those crewmen on duty were walking the deck, keeping an eye open as normal, yet she barely noticed them.

Since that night, so many years ago, Elizabeth had avoided the railing where she had seen her mother throw herself from. Tonight, however, she walked cautiously toward it, standing a few feet back from its weathered wooden barrier. She closed her eyes and imagined her mother standing atop it, her arms wrapped around the bundle of blankets that contained the small body of her newborn child.

“Why, Mama?” she whispered in the darkness. “Why did you do it?”

So many questions remained unanswered while so many memories were born anew within her mind.

“Captain?” a voice said, pulling her out of her state of self-pity.

She turned and saw the young image of Gregory, the newest recruit to the ship. The young blonde was about sixteen or seventeen, tall and rather good-looking. His Dutch accent was visible in his deep tone, his polite manner far from being anywhere near that of a pirate’s. He was a protégée of Stormy’s, being the son of a close friend. He had come aboard as a frightened child about four years ago, and had since, turned into a skilled sailor. She was certain in time Gregory would prove a worthy pirate, especially under the skillful hand of Stormy.

Elizabeth turned her back on the young man, unwilling to confront any duty that involved her acting like the title she had inherited. The man’s presence had been a constant reminder of the difference between her and the crew. Elizabeth remembered him on his first voyage when he had nearly revealed her secret to Blade.

Gregory had walked into the crew’s quarters and caught her removing the binds from her breasts. He gasped, stuttered, and hurried out the door, shouting for the captain. Fortunately, Stormy caught him before he awoke Blade who was sleeping off a rather serious hangover. The rest of the crew stood behind their loyalty to Elizabeth, insisting that if the boy spoke one syllable of what he had seen to the captain, it would be the last words his tongue would utter.

“Captain?” Gregory asked again, a bit more hesitant this time.

“You know my name, Gregory,” she insisted and then sighed when he remained silent. “What is it?”

“I brought you some coffee,” he said, reaching the cup forward to her.

Elizabeth looked at him for a moment, then took the mug from his hand and thanked the young man before turning away again.

“Is there anything wrong, Captain? Can I do anything for you?”

She sighed. Everything was wrong, yet nothing was wrong. How could she answer him, when the answer was as complicated as the question?

“I’m fine, thank you.”

“I’ll be happy to turn down your bed,” he offered, receiving a grunt from the woman.

“I’m not in need of a cabin boy, Gregory,” she snapped. “Go back to work.”

“I’m sorry, Captain,” he muttered, turning to leave. “You just looked lonely.”

“Wait,” she said, turning to confront him again. “Tell me something. If the tides had turned and Blade had won today, would you have stood by him?”

“Not a chance,” he answered sternly, his response quick and without thought.

“Why not?”

“Because his victory would have meant your death. He wouldn’t have survived a single day on this ship if he had harmed you. Don’t you know that? There isn’t a man here that wouldn’t willingly have slit the bastard’s throat if anything happened to you.”

“Thank you,” she said, watching the man walk away. She had known these men a long time, but she didn’t believe they would confront the temper of a man like Blade, just for her sake.

Elizabeth returned to her cabin, shutting the door behind her. The flame from the lamp was left burning, illuminating the room in shadows. She sat on the end of the bed, sipping at the luke-warm coffee and looked at the satin sheets, though not really noticing them through her hazy thoughts. What did the future hold for her now? How could she ever make a legitimate crew out of a ruthless band of cutthroats? Who was it to say she should even try?

Too many questions rambled within her tired mind, forcing her to eventually abandon herself to the comfort of this bed. Tomorrow was soon enough to prove how worthy she was to lead these men.

She lay on the firm mattress, sighing at the comfort and coolness of the sheets. Looking up one last time, she saw the mocking smile of Blade staring down at her from his portrait. She closed her eyes and sighed yet again. She’d have to remember to burn that damn thing.

Elizabeth stepped out of the tub’s warmth and wrapped the rough towel around her delicate skin. She had awoken long before dawn and found herself lying in the silent darkness of Blade’s private cabin, reflecting on her past day and the one quickly approaching her. She tossed and turned while memories of the past drifted before her bloodshot eyes.

Stormy arrived with a mug of steaming hot coffee nearly two hours after she surrendered her attempt to sleep and crawled out of the comfortable bed, to pace her way from one corner of the room to another. He sat talking with her until the sun was up, then left while she bathed before they arrived back in port. He insisted she make haste, eager for her to join the crew on deck. There was a surprise for her to see, he assured her, causing a small pounding inside her temples to begin a rhythmic drumming. The last thing she wanted at this point was a surprise.

Sitting on the edge of the bed, she pulled the strings holding the brown wrapping closed over the gift, the crew had given her the day before. She knew it was some sort of clothing from the name on the package, Martindale and Sons, Textiles, but until now, she had no interest in investigating its contents.

She pulled the paper aside and lifted a pair of black pants from the folds. The aroma of newly sewn leather invaded her senses as she stood to measure them against her frame. They were the softest material she had ever felt. Light, yet durable, and strong enough to handle a day at sea.

Satisfied with the thought that they should fit, she returned to her investigation of the package. Inside, remained the crisp white folds of a long-sleeved cotton shirt. It was open in the front, so she would have to wear a tunic beneath, but it was simple enough to remove during work and easy enough to wear when it cooled down. Complete with a brown leather belt, she was prepared to take on the role in which she had been thrust into.

Choosing to wear her new clothes, Elizabeth tossed the towel aside and began dressing. She was reluctant to strap her breasts again, but she didn’t know what else to do with them. They were too large and too heavy to leave exposed, and she was certain they would only get in her way.

With a heavy sigh, she turned and reached for the worn gauze wrapping from the chair, where she had tossed it the night before. The sound of a knock forced her to scramble for the damp towel, pulling it back around her torso. The door opened and Stormy walked in, his arms holding a wooden trunk. He looked at the half-naked woman and blushed visibly.

He cursed himself silently as he lowered his eyes. She was a grown woman now, and not their little ward, and it was necessary for him to try and remember that. He would have to make certain she responded to his knock before barging in on her, from now on. He sat the trunk on the end of the bed and began fumbling with the locks.

“I thought you might be in need of these,” he said, clearing his throat.

“What is it?” Elizabeth asked, stepping to the trunk as he pulled the lid open.

“We brought it on board with your mother,” he said softly, then turned and left the room and his new captain alone with her past.

Elizabeth peered over the side of the wooden chest and slowly touched the top fabric covering the precious belongings, so long forgotten. In it, were several folded pieces of fabric leftover from the blanket Sarah had made for their neighbor, in America, Anna Smithers. Beneath them were several slips, blouses, stockings, and corsets. She lifted the articles and began trying them on, repeating the actions she remembered her mother once using. She was larger breasted then her mother had been, and the slips and shifts were tighter on her than they would have been on Sarah.

The material was comfortable though, holding her breasts just tight enough that they wouldn’t appear awkward or obvious under her clothes. At the bottom of the trunk was a small jewelry chest with her mother’s earrings, broaches, necklaces, and bracelets from her youth. Diamonds, pearls, rubies, and sapphires all set in 24 karat gold, worth a small fortune. Why hadn’t she offered these to Blade when they were first captured? It would have been more than enough to buy their freedom.

Another knock on the door brought her out of her private turmoil, as the small image of Margaret Littleton peeked her head around the corner of the wooden barrier. She smiled brightly at Elizabeth and watched as she put the box back under the layers of material.

“May I come in, Captain?” she asked, smiling a slightly less swollen grin at her savior.

Elizabeth nodded, continuing with the task of dressing.

“I thought I might be of help,” Maggie suggested, stepping up and peering into the chest.

She had seen Stormy come up from the hold with it and asked Laddie about it. She was certain the young pirate wouldn’t know what to do with the items, having been told the story behind the events that brought her to live the life of a cutthroat.

“I can manage on my own,” she snapped as she struggled her way out of the corset she had been trying on. “I think I’d be better off wearing nothing at all,” Elizabeth argued, snatching her dirty tunic and fitting it across the swell of her breasts, before slipping her arms into the new shirt her crew gave her.

“You couldn’t do that,” Maggie insisted, hiding her amusement. “Your bosom is far too large. You’d be miserable.”

“What are these for?” Elizabeth asked, pulling out the shifts and stockings, trying to ignore the compliment - or comment, whatever it truly was.

“How long has it been, since you spoke with a woman?” Maggie asked, her question serious yet filled with amusement.

“My mother died when I was seven. I had no need for women after that. I had Stormy and the others.”

“But it’s not the same. Men can’t explain how a woman feels, or what to do when she’s in love, or what to expect during that time of the month.”

“What time of the month?”

Maggie nearly choked at Elizabeth’s innocence. How could a woman grow up with the ability to fight and compete so equally with a man, yet know nothing about being a female? Didn’t she notice the differences? The bleeding, the breasts, the soft curves, the swooning over a handsome man?

Elizabeth and Maggie spent much of the morning together, discussing the differences between men and women. She was surprised by the knowledge the girl had yet amused when she told her secrets about men. It was an odd feeling, having another female to talk with, even if she did seem silly and ridiculous in many of her notions; especially when it came to love and marriage. Why would a girl grow up, only to aspire to become a wife and mother? Wasn’t there anything else she wanted to do or be? Was this really how women were expected to think and feel?

Elizabeth finished her dressing tasks while listening to Maggie ramble on about the type of life she expected to have in the future. The pants her crew gave her were slightly smaller than she was used to, yet still managed to enable her free movement. The image she offered in her new knee-high brown boots, one of her mother’s white shifts under the open shirt and black pants, made Elizabeth appear fearful and dangerous. The belt around her slender waist accented her figure, while allowing her a place to carry her knives and pistol.

Perhaps it wasn’t so bad an image, she told herself, inspecting the reflection staring back at her through the large looking glass over the wooden chest. She knew if she had ever seen a woman dressed like this, she’d be wary of confronting her outright.

“You look very sexy,” Maggie said admiring the woman’s boldness.

Elizabeth wasn’t at all certain if she liked that comment or not, yet there was little she could do about it now. She had put off going on deck for far too long as is, and it was time for her to meet her crew.

She secured her sword to the side of her belt, tying the laces of the sheath around her firm thigh, then stepped out of the room followed close behind by the young blonde. Elizabeth’s waist-length hair hung loose, her clothes snugly revealing the curves she had spent the past fifteen years hiding. Her appearance assured all who saw her, she was no longer to be mistaken as a boy. She was a very beautiful woman, and at last, she was free to show it.

The sun was bright in the afternoon sky, and port was barely an hour away. Soon, they would be able to see the shoreline. Anticipation and anxieties ran high on the ship this day, and it greeted Elizabeth as she stepped to the deck. The crew stopped their actions, turning to stare at the woman they now served under. The smiles of pride and interest were visible on their faces, as she approached the bridge where Stormy stood. She glanced about, feeling embarrassed at the looks she was getting.

“They’ll get used to you soon enough,” Stormy chuckled, seeing the blush rise into her cheeks. “You look a little different than what we’re used to.”

“You said you had a surprise for me,” she reminded him, eager to forget what she looked like, and get on with business as usual.

“Look up,” he told her, indicating to the mast above their heads.

Elizabeth followed his lead and turned her eyes skyward, gasping at the sight of the flag flying high above her head. Instead of Blade’s black flag of piracy, there was a bright blue flag, the picture of a clutched hand raised high. In it, a bleeding heart firmly grasped among the tight fingers. She turned to Stormy, her eyes showing her surprise and confusion.

“We’re your crew now, Captain,” he told her. “Blade’s flag was burned this morning, and last night the crew worked frantically on that one. It’s yours. The Heart of the Sea is for the only woman capable of handling the job.”

“It reminds me of...” her voice trailed off, clenching the hand she held Blade’s heart in the day before.

She was amazed that she could still feel its beating warmth between her fingers.

“That’s exactly what the crew wanted. You sought your revenge and proved to them that you would do whatever was necessary to save the innocent. The heart you cut out was evil and the man who lost it was the devil himself. Never regret that Lass,” he insisted, feeling the pain she suffered. “He deserved what he got. He deserved it by your hand.”

“I don’t think I’m up to this, Stormy,” she whispered, wiping her palm on her pant leg. Stormy chuckled.

“If anyone is up to it Lass, it’s definitely you. Give yourself credit. You’re tougher than you think.”

“But how do I lead a crew, when only yesterday I was one of them?”

“You’ve never been one of them, and you know it. You’ve learned faster than anyone I’ve ever taught, and you have the heart of a saint. Who else would return to a port, knowing that her life was at stake, just to set right another man’s deeds?”

“I only wish I could have saved my mother,” she whispered softly, looking down at the railing where Sarah had stood that last night aboard this ship...her ship.

“Maybe you already have. Maybe by taking Blade’s life and rescuing this girl, you’ve set right your mother’s life.”

“No, I’ve only stopped the past from repeating itself.”

“Well?” Laddie asked, stepping to the upper deck with Elizabeth and Stormy. “What do you think?”

Elizabeth frowned at the man then looked back to the flag again.

“It’s great,” she told him, receiving a smile in response.

“Then tell them,” Laddie insisted, indicating to the crew below.

They all stood stone-faced, waiting for the woman to speak. Elizabeth leaned forward on the railing around the bridge and smiled.

“I don’t know what to say,” she replied to them. “I only hope I do justice to your confidence in me.”

The crew cheered her words and then quieted down to listen to the woman again.

“If we’re going to succeed at this thing,” she told them, “I’m going to need someone by my side. Stormy, I’ve relied on you for as long as I can remember. Care to be my first mate?”

“Proud to be of service, Captain Lass,” he answered, his shoulders straightening with his words.

“And what about you Laddie? You’ve gotten me out of a lot of jams. Care to be my second?”

“I suppose I’ll have to, just in case you need someone to handle all your whores.” Laddie chuckled all the way down the stairs to the lower deck.

“Okay,” she said to the crew once their jubilant laughter died down. “The rest of you need to know, it doesn’t matter what your titles are. We are a family and together we will make an invincible crew.” She paused for a moment and then turned to Stormy. “I don’t know what’s going to happen today, but let’s face it with as much dignity as we can muster. Full sail matey. Let’s not keep our audience waiting.”

“Aye, Aye, Captain,” Stormy answered, watching the crew hurry back to their normal tasks.

The sight of Maggie standing nearby, made Elizabeth remember how it felt when she first arrived on this ship. She knew the girl was frightened and curious about the goings-on, but she also knew, right now, the deck was no place to be.

Motioning to Gregory to remove her, she watched as the young man approached the girl, accompanying her to the room next to Elizabeth’s cabin. A few minutes later and the man returned, he smiled up to the captain, assuring her the girl was safe and out of the way.