Abigail spent the next hour or so reading her book. Even though she had propped herself up using all the available pillows, her back was starting to hurt. She slowly got up and gathered up the plate and pitcher from their afternoon meal. She carefully made her way out of the captain's cabin. She was momentarily blinded by the sun but her eyes adjusted quickly. She looked around and spotted the Captain on the deck above her, in a deep conversation with his quartermaster. Both pointing at the main mast several times. Feeling safe by knowing where the captain was, she made her way over to the hatch and down to the mess once again.
The mess was filled with sailors this time. All eagerly awaiting the meal even though it still would be another hour or so before it was served. Many of them looked at her when she entered. Abigail was momentarily taken aback and stopped dead in her tracks. She swallowed the lump that had appeared in her throat and let her eyes roam around the room. She spied Jimmy and the sailor that had been manning the wheel in one of the groups and gave them a wave. Both nodded at her and she continued. Witnessing the brief exchange, the men in the room went back to their conversations. Many of them focussing on what happened to Charles Town. It seems Flint had laid waste to the entire town. Her father was most likely dead, but the thought did not fill her with sadness. She was still too angry at him for allowing Lady Hamilton to die.
Abigail shook her head and approached the cook. "Hello again. Thank you for feeding us earlier. I've come to return these." Sam grinned at her, "Ah lass. Thank ye kindly. I trust the food was well received," the cook answered, giving her a bow. Abigail could not help but laugh at his antics. "Yes, we both were really very hungry. Truth be told," she winked at him, "I am already hungry again." The grin on Sam's face became even wider, "Oh lass, I like you. I suppose, I should get back to the food. Wouldn't want you to start chewing on me just because your dinner was late!"
Abigail went back on deck but did not go back into the captain's cabin. The fresh breeze on deck felt heavenly. She could not help but look for the captain again. He was still talking to the quartermaster. Abigail was acutely aware that she was staring but she was powerless to stop it.
Charles felt eyes on him again. His eyes searched the deck below him. It did not take him long to find her. She was leaning against the railing and openly staring at him. As soon as she realized she had been found out, she spun around and trained her eyes on the horizon.
Without missing a beat, Charles went back to the conversation he was having with his quartermaster. Apparently, he had discovered that a large area of the hull was suffering from worm rot. They would have to careen the ship before setting out from Nassau again.
Abigail was breathing heavily. Oh no, he had seen her staring. But more importantly, why had she been staring? Abigail spent a few minutes calming down. It would be easy to just enjoy the scenery around her. The ocean was beautiful. The ship creaking, a rather comforting sound by now. But this Abigail did not back down. She was honest and would face whatever happened to her head on.
She conjured up one specific imagine in her head: Captain Vane sleeping on the bed. She could not stop herself from smiling. And then she remembered what it was like to wake up next to him. She had to grip the railing harder, had to anchor herself in the here and now some way. Waking up next to him, smelling him, feeling his hard body alongside her. Just the thought was sending shivers down her spine.
Oh, good Lord, was she falling for him? No, this was different. Different to the childish crushes she had back in London. Where she had dreamt of marriage and children, but left out all the details. She still did not know much about what went on in a marriage bed. Her education in the subject decidedly lacklustre but she was aware of how his body felt so different from hers. Hard where hers was soft. How she perfectly fit against him. His chest the perfect pillow for her head. No, she decided, she was past falling for him. Her heart was already his. It must have happened sometime in the last two days but she could not pinpoint the exact moment in time he won her heart. She just had to accept that he did. Truth be told, the revelation shocked her a lot. He was so much older. He was a pirate captain. The things he must have already seen and done. She briefly wondered, how many women he had been with already. The thought bringing a red-hot blush to her cheeks. She turned her face to the wind, hoping for some relief. By society's standard she was a pirate now. She had killed an English soldier in the defence of a pirate, but a part of her was still an innocent eighteen-year-old girl that had never even kissed a man.
She was startled out of her reverie by the ship's bell signalling dinner time. She turned away from the railing to go over where the Captain was before. She was not looking where she was going and barrelled straight into the Captain. His hands reached out to steady her before he could help himself. "Oh, I'm so sorry. Forgive me Captain. I wasn't looking where I was going." He chuckled, "That much is obvious." He let go of her and began walking toward the hatch that would lead them to the mess. "Follow me."
The both grabbed dinner from the cook. Sam winking at Abigail, handing her portion over accompanied by a dramatic, "Dinner is served, m'lady." The captain looked incredulously from Abigail to the cook and back. She was smiling at the cook and took the offered plate with a small, "Thank you, Sam." Jealousy roared in his chest. He did not show it but this shocked him. He wanted her to look at him like that.
He snapped out of his thoughts and led her over to a table. They were both very hungry again so they spent most of the meal in silence, stealing glances at each other when the other one was not looking.