Charlotte didn't know how lon they'd be docked at Salt Key Bay, but she would take every opportunity she had to enjoy as much of the bay as she could. She had heeded the captains warning about the men on the bay, though she had pushed the warning to the back of her mind.
While standing on the boardwalk, just past where the ship was docked, Charlotte closed her eyes and let the warm breeze sweep over her face. From what she had seen of the Carribean, she had loved the warm beaches and beautiful blue waters.
She loved the warmth as it touched and kissed her skin, unlike the cold and wet weather of London. It was a nice change to be able to see the sun, feel its warmth without the threat of clouds, fog and rain. "Ye gon' stand there all day, lass or are ye gon' join us?" Charlotte glanced over her shoulder and stepped aside for some of the crew to pass, her face growing hot as they smirked and winked at her.
"Sorry. I'm sorry. I'll...I'll go." She shuffled her feet though hadn't taken another step toward the small village. She was suddenly afraid and nervous to be away from the ship.
The ship was her safety, her shield. Here, on shore, she was exposed. No one could get to her if she was on the ship, but here she was vulnerable. But the feeling of vulnerability passed when she started walking along the boardwalk and further into the village.
Her eyes moved constantly as she walked, never staying on one thing for long before moving to the next. She kept her pace slow as she looked everything over the various buildings along the boardwalk, some homes and some businesses.
"Lass! Ducane!" Charlotte whipped her head to the side, eyebrows furrowed as she looked for the person calling her name. "Ducane! This way!" Charlotte turned right and walked along the wooden path, walking closer to the person calling her name.
When she got to the end of the path, she came to a wooden shack with various bottles behind the counter, a man standing in the booth with a few brown bottles in his hand. She frowned and looked around the area, eyes sweeping over the few men she recognized from the ship. "Come here, lass! Join us for a drink."
Hesitantly, Charlotte stepped up the table they were sitting at, and sat upon the only empty chair. As she sat down, a bottle was placed in front of her, half gone. She licked her lips nervously, feeling the weight of the men's gazed upon her. "Go on lass," Charlotte grabbed the bottle in her hand and lifted it to her lips, nose nearly burning from the smell of the strong liquid inside.
"Take a drink!" Charlotte spoke a silent prayer and patted her lips, letting the liquid fill her mouth. When the liquid coated her tongue, Charlotte swallowed as quickly as possible, coughing as the liquid stole the breathe from her.
"First ones the hardest, lassie." A pat on the back from the man to her left, sent her lurching forward, eyes wide. "It gets easier after that." Charlotte licked her lips, wincing at the left over drops of rum that burned slightly.
"Never drank before, eh?" Charlotte had wine before, both red and white, though she preferred a sweet red. Rum and ale, was not something she had tried before, and she had to admit that her first taste of rum, had stung.
"Just wine." She still felt nervous as she sat with the crew, though the promise the captain had made was echoing loudly in her mind.
'No harm will come to you by my crew.' It was reassuring, but there were other men on the bay, other privateers and pirates it had seemed, and she was not immune to their stares.
As the man next to her stood and walked to the bar, the intent to get more drinks, Charlotte looked around the tavern at the other men and the few women. The women that were there were draped over the men's laps, their arms wrapped around their necks, or on their chests. She wasn't surprised that the men were in company of women, after all she had heard tales of men who were at seas for weeks, and even months at a time, seeking women for pleasure.
No, she wasn't surprised by the men with women of pleasure, but she was shocked at seeing such open displays of sexual want and need. And the sight of the men with women on their laps, made Charlotte's thoughts turn from them, to Captain Kidd.
She thought of the kiss they shared, the moment too hard to pass up when their faces were inches from each other. She thought of the desire she felt for him in that moment, and now. And when she thought of Captain Kidd in such a way, she felt her heart pounding, her mouth go dry, and her hands shake.
'I've never felt this way before.'
—
James was not just here to restock on supplies and let the crew rest. There was another matter than he had to attend to, and it involved Charlotte. It wasn't just that her father had offered a high reward for her safe arrival to Havana, it was what her arrival to Havana meant.
Charlotte thought that she was simply being summoned to Havana to see her father, but James knew and thought better. Her arrival, he had found out, in Havana would also bring a few Templars to the area.
Her father was a member and supporter of the Templars, and as such had promised Charlotte to one of the members in marriage. It presented an opportunity to eliminate the Templars that were seeking the Observatory, one the assassin's wished to take.
The problem was that Charlotte knew none of this. She herself had said her father hadn't been there all of her life, and she didn't know much of him. She wouldn't have known her father was a Templar and clearly her mother didn't tell her.
She was innocent, untarnished by the twisted ideals the Templars held, but upon reaching Havana, she would be forced into their world. She would be caught in the crossfire and become a target herself.
It was something Mary Read knew she had to prevent.
