Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters from the books of C.S. Forester
Author's note: I may have not respected some historical realities.
For Your Eyes Only
By a sunny afternoon of May, a young woman in her early twenties appeared in a small boat near the side of the Renown. The first person to notice the presence of the woman was Wellard. He didn't want to tell anyone at first, he preferred to look at the lovely lady. She had short dark hair, a long white empire dress, and a pearl necklace. For him, she was almost looking like a mermaid. As her small boat came near the ship, he heard someone say that she was "Miss Pellew".
Some minutes later, she was walking on the deck of the unhappy ship. To the surprise of everyone onboard, Captain Sawyer greeted her with a warm smile; no one really understood the reason of this smile. When she walked to her cabin to see where it was, she met four young men, probably lieutenants, she thought some times later. They were looking at her like if she were some creature coming from another planet, they were so surprised by the presence of the woman that none of the told her anything beside "Have a good day".
When Wellard went to talk with the lieutenants, he told them what he heard some times before about the young woman.
-I heard that her name was "Miss Pellew"
-Maybe it is Amelia Pellew, the daughter of the commodore, said Hornblower.
As the others heard her name, they understood better, why the captain acted so strangely in front of her, he was afraid for his career. But it didn't explain why she was onboard of the Renown. And when they saw that Wellard's face had turned red when he talked of her, they all thought the same thing; the poor boy had fallen in love at first sight with the overprotected daughter of the commodore.
At supper, Amelia went to see the captain, who had invited her. When she thought of the old man, she didn't understood why the crew of the ship was so unhappy, from her point of view; he was like a kind grandfather. So, as she met him for the second time, he finally asked her:
-Why did your father send you with us young lady?
-He wants me to find him at Cairo, in Egypt. It is his gift for my birthday.
-He lets you travel alone on a warship during wartime?
-Yes.
The last question of the old man made her feel that her life onboard might not be as welcome as she thought at first; and the old man who was looking so caring at first was beginning to look more and more like the tyrannical captain that he was, a man who would do anything to make other people's life horrible.
The next day, Amelia was walking on the deck smelling the salted air and looking at the ocean. As she was looking at the sea, the men onboard looked at her as if she were a mermaid, they watched her every movements, but no one of them wanted to take the risk to talk to her and hear her voice. The man who was looking the more troubled by her presence was Wellard, he saw that she was more gracious than the first time her saw her, and it is what was the strangest for him. When she was near, he could feel his heart beating for her, and when she was no where to be seen, he felt that something was missing.
The four lieutenants didn't saw anything more in the presence of Amelia, than the presence of a stranger in a very dangerous place, they weren't almost afraid of her like the crew, but they didn't have feelings as strong as the ones Wellard had for her. They didn't understand why he was so afraid to talk to her.
Some days finally passed and the only person who talked with her was the old captain. He talked with her just to frighten her about life onboard of a ship; he tried to give her some of his paranoia.
-You should know young lady that the men onboard of this ship have missed the presence of a woman for a very long time … so don't be surprised if, someday, they captured you and … you know.
-Maybe it is true, but this travel shouldn't be long enough to be dangerous for me.
-You should also know that behind your back, they talked about throwing you overboard; they think that a woman on a ship means bad luck.
-Please, captain Sawyer, stop talking about that, I'm old enough to take care of myself.
He tried to frighten her, but she just said that she believed him, just to stop him talking, but she didn't believe anything of what he told her. As time passed, he began to act more strangely. He started to threaten to beat her if she didn't stay in her cabin.
One night, as he was drinking wine with Dr Clive, he talked to him of the presence of Amelia on his ship:
-I'm afraid that this young woman might try to kill me.
-As you think of your lieutenants …
-No, it's different for her, she is the commodore's daughter, I'm sure her father sent her to kill me.
-What do you suggest to do of her to be sure she doesn't kill you?
-I should lock her in her cabin, and, you have to know something else about her, she saw us the other night when we … you know …
-So, you're right, she should be locked in her cabin, and to be sure she doesn't talk to anyone of this, you may let her starve, and beat her, torture her, or threaten her, to be sure she doesn't talk to anyone.
-You always have the best ideas, dear Clive.
-Don't worry; this little monster won't bother us anymore.
Later that evening, Sawyer came to see Miss Pellew in her cabin, he bring her water. After she thanked him, and closed her door, he locked her door from the exterior. He would sleep better while knowing that she was locked away from him, she would not spy on him, or try to execute him.
The next day, Sawyer and Clive visited their prisoner; she was sitting on her hammock looking at her door with a look in her eyes that was one only a spy could have had; a look that pierced skin. As they entered in her cabin, Sawyer asked her:
-Have you sleep well spy?
-What are you talking about poor old man?
-You know what I am talking about Miss Pellew.
-If it is about your paranoia, I know what you are talking about, but I'm not a spy.
-If you're not a spy, so, you are a killer hired by your dear father.
-Don't you think you're going too far captain Sawyer? I'm the commodore's daughter, but that doesn't mean he would hire me for a so dangerous task as eliminate you.
-Now, stop playing that game with us, we know that you've seen us the other night, just this information would mean death for me and Clive.
-So, you were talking about that all that time, yes, I saw both of you, but I'm not the kind of person who would talk behind the back of anyone if they do what I tell them to do …
-I think you don't understand your place here, you are the prisoner, you don't ask us for anything …
-If I were you, I would pay attention to what I would say, because if you threatened me or hurt me, my father could do worse that just made the two of you condemn to death for your true crime, he could say that you are a traitor …
-Now, that's enough.
When he had had enough of what Miss Pellew said to them, Sawyer hit her. That was too much for him. After, he tore the back of her dress, and Clive whipped her near her shoulders, until her back was dripping with her blood, and she lost consciousness.
As he had not seen Amelia walking on the deck for days, Wellard became afraid for the young woman, he knew too much how the captain could be cruel, so he finally decided to tell the two lieutenants who had became his only friends.
-I'm afraid that something may have happened to Miss Pellew …
-What make you think so, asked Kennedy?
-No one has seen her for days …
-Do you think she could be in danger, asked Hornblower?
-Maybe, I heard the captain talk to Clive; he told him that he thought that she was sent by her father to kill him …
As they heard his last answer, the understood why he was so afraid, and he had a very good reason to feel like that. So, they decided to search her, she was supposed to be easy to find, she was the only woman onboard, and a ship wasn't a place were someone could be lost for days.
As Kennedy and Hornblower searched for Pellew's daughter, they found something that proved the paranoia of the captain. They found that Amelia had been locked in her cabin like a prisoner. They knew that the captain had some mental problems, but they didn't think that those problems were so important. Now, that they knew that the poor woman have been locked in her cabin for days, they wondered if the cruel captain had sent her any food, they didn't even know if she was alive of if Sawyer had beat her like he did to Wellard.
Later that day, Hornblower and Kennedy asked the help of Wellard to save the poor woman from her cell. They knew that the young man would help them; he seemed to love Amelia so much. As they came near her cabin, that was now her cell, they heard her sobbing; this only made them afraid of what might have happened to her.