Darcy stared after the man. It looked like Lady Luck had abandoned her. But that had happened a long time ago so she wasn't surprised. She looked at the breeches for a long time. Finally she picked them up and held them against her waist.
"How do these things work?"
Jack was starting to sober up with the help of time and the sea air. He gazed at the ocean and hummed a tune under his breath as he stood at the wheel. It had been about fifteen minutes since he left the strumpet in his quarters and assumed she was hiding.
"Morning, Captain."
"Good morning, Mr. Gibbs. Do you remember last night?"
"Not at all, so it must have been good." The men laughed then stood in silence for a few minutes.
"Mr. Gibbs?"
"Yes?"
"I have a confession."
"I'm not a priest, Jack." Mr. Gibbs chuckled.
"I want you to hear this."
"Alright, what seems to be the problem, Captain?"
"Her." Jack nodded his head towards the other side of the deck. Mr. Gibbs turned and saw a woman walking towards them. She was average height, had a sturdy build, sturdier then Jack normal choices, her skin was tanned from days in the sun and she had hair the color of dead grass.
"You brought a woman back to the ship without telling us? Well, we'll just have to keep her until we dock next. You should've told us so we could've booted her off before setting sail." Mr. Gibbs turned back to Jack. "We could just throw her overboard."
"We can't just get rid of her."
"Why not?"
"We're married."
"When did that happen? You never mentioned that before. Did you find her in your ten years wandering?"
"No. I thought I was buying a whore for the night last night at an auction and it ended up being a bride sale. We've a contract and everything and she doesn't seem keen on returning home."
"Why not?"
"Because it's a few day's sail from here." The woman had finally reached them. She stuck out her hand to Mr. Gibbs. The man shook it.
"I'm Mr. Gibbs. You may call me Mr. Gibbs."
"I'm Darcy Keeper, you can call me Darcy."
"So, our Captain married you last night."
"Yes he did." Jack sighed and leaned on the wheel.
"Love, if you haven't figured it out yet, I'm not exactly marriage material. Now, why don't you just tell me where you're from and we'll take you back."
"I can't tell you." Jack seemed to consider this.
"All right. You're on lookout duty."
"What do you mean?" Jack pointed. Darcy turned and saw he was pointing towards the mast.
"What do you mean?" Darcy repeated.
"Look up." Darcy looked up and saw the crow's nest.
"That's very high up."
"That's a good observation. Now, here's the spy glass. Climb on up."
"Up there?"
"That's where the look out sits."
"But, it's high."
"Yes it is. Nothing gets past you, eh, love? Now, climb on up." Darcy spun on the man.
"You know I'm afraid of heights. Why are you doing this to me?"
"Because, this is a ship; no one gets a free ride. You can be the look out until I think of a different job for you."
"But-"
"That was an order from your Captain, Ms. Keeper. Those who object such orders are thrown overboard." Mr. Gibbs warned her. Darcy bit her lip. After a moment she snatched the glass from Jack's hand and stalked towards the mast. After a minute's hesitation she gripped the ladder. It took her five minutes to reach the top, and many men laughing at her, while she clung on to the post for dear life and inched upwards. Once she reached the bucket at the top she sat down on the floor of it and bent her head between her legs, trying not to throw up.
"I can do this." Darcy lifted the spyglass to her left eye and peered out over the water. She saw nothing. Nothing but a lot of blue. It was actually a bit calming. Maybe she wasn't afraid of heights. Maybe she was just afraid of falling from heights. Darcy looked down from her sturdy perch in the nest. The sight of the deck so far below made her stomach lurch and she found herself biting back bile. Nope, definitely afraid of heights.