Chapter Four
"Hang the wretched weather!"
Hawk grinned on her couch and rolled over, drowning out Joanna's infuriated exclamations to the weather. The first mate quickly fell back to sleep, knowing, from the lazy way in which the ship was rocking and the quiet way the rain was pounding on the cabin window, that she wouldn't be needed for quite some time. The ship wasn't going anywhere.
"And blast the beastly rain!" Joanna shouted again, slamming her fist on the helm. "We aren't going to get anywhere with this!"
Distant thunder rumbled, threatening to bring in more nasty weather by the time the day was over.
"Orders, Captain?" Peter asked, sticking his head out of the hatchway.
"I need a mug of rum! I also need some food!" Joanna spat, her eyes dark as she glared at the barely moving ocean. "We won't be looking for Jack today!"
"Aye, Captain!"
Peter closed the doorway and hurried down to the galley.
"Annette?" he called, stepping into the dimly lit galley. "We are in need of some breakfast, I believe, my dear cousin."
A low moan met his call, and he turned his head to see Annette sitting on the floor, holding her stomach and looking positively green.
"I think," she said with a weak smile, "that I'm a bit seasick. The waves are just…rocking the ship…"
"Oh dear. I don't quite know what to do for seasickness," Peter frowned.
"Is everything all right?" Theo frowned, stepping into the galley with Hastings . His eyes moved to Annette, nearly sprawled on the wooden floor, her long hair down and her body trembling slightly. " Hastings , I need a damp rag," the pretend pirate ordered, and Hastings rushed to obey. "I don't believe Miss Annette shall be cooking breakfast this morning."
"I feel so…childish…" Annette whispered, lying down all the way on the floor. "I'm sorry."
"The floor is filthy," Theo said, pulling off his overcoat and tucking it neatly under Annette's head. "Part of the problem could be that you're so warm." He put the back of his hand to her forehead and nodded. "It's humid out as it is," he explained, "and you're dressed in a heavy dress. Peter, there is an extra shirt in the drawers in our cabin. Would you fetch it for me, please?"
"Most certainly," Peter nodded, hurrying off to the cabin.
"I'm sorry," Annette repeated, clutching her stomach as it twisted.
"Don't apologize," Theo said, taking the rag from Hastings . "You are unaccustomed to the sea."
He put the rag to her forehead and held it there, wiping away the sweat and cooling her face. "Some fresh air would do you good," he mentioned. "The best breezes flow through the captain's cabin."
"No. I can't go in there," Annette said, shaking her head.
"I have the shirt," Peter said, trotting back into the room.
"Good. Miss Annette, I have an extra shirt I want you to get changed into. It'll let you breathe easier and will help your seasickness. Peter, if you'll pick her up and carry her into her cabin so she can change, that would be most excellent," Theo instructed. "She should feel a great deal better after that."
"What is going on in here?" Adelinde asked, stepping in just as Annette was getting to her feet and leaning on Peter.
"I'm afraid I'm a bit sick," Annette smiled apologetically.
"Breakfast will be served shortly," Hastings said, rolling up his sleeves and immediately setting to work, grabbing flour and water from their appointed places and stirring them together in a bowl.
"You know how to cook?" Adelinde asked, surprised.
"Aye," Hastings nodded. "Theo, would you please start up a fire in one of the braziers, please? I'll see what I can do to make up some gruel of some sort."
"That sounds delightful," Adelinde frowned.
"It will be quite good, I'm sure," Hastings said and started whistling.
"A man of many talents, Hastings," Theo grinned, watching as Adelinde left the galley in exasperation.
Hastings just chuckled and started putting ingredients in a large pan over the fire.
Joanna was in a very surly mood when she sat down in the captain's cabin with the rest of her crew. Her eyes darted from Hastings, who was rather excited about the meal, to Theo, who was keeping a watchful eye on Annette, and finally to Annette, who was very pale but seemed to be holding up well. She was wearing one of Theo's shirts, which somewhat amused the pirate captain, for it was a bit large on the sophisticated English woman, and complete with a long brown skirt and a strip of leather, used to pull back Annette's hair, and it made the woman look a great deal younger, like she was completely naïve.
"How fares the ill passenger?" Hawk asked, eyes sparkling as she dished out some of Hastings ' gruel.
"Surviving," Annette said, getting some of the gruel for herself.
"You sure you aren't going to hurl that back up?" Adelinde asked.
"What are we to do for the rest of the day?" Peter asked. "It seems frightfully dull, and the rain is only getting worse."
"In less than an hour we won't be able to see anything outside," Joanna said. "The fog is settling in, and we're going to just have to let her drift a ways. It would be best for us to stay inside; for I'm sure the storm is only going to worsen. I don't expect it will be much of gall, but just miserable enough to keep us off the decks without any of the ship being damaged."
"It doesn't seem to be storming yet," Annette said, eating carefully.
"The waves are about to get worse, I do believe, and there is distant thunder coming towards us," Joanna stated.
"Should we maybe get food ready for this afternoon and evening, before the weather is so harsh that it is difficult to get into the hold?" Theo suggested.
"That won't be necessary. We have rather a filling morning meal here, so all we shall need later is one more meal for the day," Joanna said, shaking her head.
"And no offense, Hastings , but I do hope Miss Annette is feeling better by this evening," Hawk smirked. "This meal looks rather…questionable."
Hastings shrugged good-naturedly.
"I certainly don't like sitting about doing nothing," Adelinde said, leaning back in her seat. "Do we have any dice, perhaps?"
"Dice? I highly doubt my father would have had such a thing in here," Annette frowned. "Cards, however…"
She got up from the table and stumbled a bit as she made her way to the room's immense mahogany desk.
"I was never allowed to play," she said, tossing a deck of cards onto the table.
"I never learned myself," Joanna mused.
"Ah ha! So finally I have an advantage over you," Adelinde said cheerfully. "I shall have to teach you a game or two."
She pulled out the cards and began to shuffle them, mixing them up and then passing them out to everyone. She then began to teach them how to play Black Jack, and soon enough, the crew was involved in quite the competitive game. They barely noticed the ship beginning to rock more because they were too involved in the card challenge. Adelinde was an expert player, moving in and out of each round with astonishing skill, but Hastings and Peter soon caught up, and before long, just the three of them were having at each other with the cards.
The dishes and remnants of the meal were quickly rushed into the kitchen, as the rain was becoming heavier, and then everyone gathered back together in the captain's cabin. Annette found her way to the small piano in a corner of the room. Her father had placed it there for his own entertainment, while sailing long distances, and Annette had been well taught in the art of playing the instrument. She was almost too sick to play, for the continual rocking of the ship was lurching her around a bit, but Peter requested a song, and so Annette began to play.
She had finished one song when Joanna ordered that everyone step outside and check on the sails, making certain they were tied down properly for the oncoming wind.
"Captain!" Adelinde called from the bow of the ship, "there seems to be a small cove just a few degrees east of us! Should we sail there and cast anchor? 'T would be better to cast anchor there and wait out the storm than sit out here on the waves!"
"Aye!" Joanna shouted from the helm, getting thoroughly drenched. "We'll make for the cove!"
It was quite the struggle to get the British Pride over to the shelter of the cove, and it was another matter entirely to drop anchor, as the winds and rain had become significantly harsher, but the work was accomplished, and Annette made her way down to the galley, wanting to clean the dishes that were waiting there. Joanna was exhausted from a long nigh awake, and so she settled down in the captain's cabin to rest. Hawk kept Bourbon occupied, trying to teach him new tricks in the hold, and Peter, Hastings , and Adelinde worked up another card game. Theo went to Annette and began helping her clean dishes, aware that she was still struggling with seasickness but was doing her best to get over it.
"Have you never been to sea before, Miss Annette?" he asked, taking a soapy dish from her and washing it off in a tub of water.
"Only on the crossing from England to the Caribbean fort," Annette smiled. "I was too little to remember that journey, however."
"Did Peter come over with you?"
"He did," Annette nodded. "He is to inherit my father's property, once Father passes away, and so he has lived with us a good long time, getting his training from father and the many nobles that have crossed his path."
"Have your received any training from your father?"
"Aye," Annette said with a bright smile. "Father has taken me out many times on horseback, and I have learned everything I know about riding from him. He sees to it that I am supplied with as much learning material as I can get my hands on, and he himself has taught me how to fence, though I don't suppose that will be of much use to me out here. I can't imagine a foil is quite as heavy as a sword, though I've always wanted to hold a true sword."
A blast of thunder echoed eerily through the galley, and it suddenly became very dark. Everything was gray and dismal outside, with occasional flashes of lightning, and Annette shuddered, glad that she had someone with her to keep her company. She didn't like being alone during storms like these. It wasn't that she was afraid of the darkness, but she always felt safer with someone around.
The ship's captain, however, had quite the disliking for darkness, and Joanna sat up in bed with a start, noticing automatically, that it was nearly black in the captain's cabin.
"Hawk?" she shouted, flinging her blankets aside. "Bourbon?"
She was alone in the captain's cabin and was very nearly terrified out of her mind. Bloodthirsty, drunken pirates she could handle, and grotesque scenes she had no trouble with, but darkness scared her. It made her feel small and insignificant, and with a shudder, she rushed for the cabin door. She opened it to find a thick sheet of rain pouring down in front of her, accompanying the terribly humid air.
She couldn't stand being alone in weather like this, and she ran out of the cabin, slamming the door shut behind her, and then flew to the hatch leading into the hold. She took the stairs two at a time, after having shut the hatch door, and ran down several more flights of stairs to the galley. She could hear laughter and talking coming from the dimly lit room, and she charged into the galley, eyes wide from all of the imagined terrors that had been in the darkness on her way here.
"The captain finally decided to join us!" Hawk grinned, understanding Joanna's fear as Bourbon flew to his master's hand. "How goes the weather?"
"Miserable," Joanna frowned, not pleased with her first mate's amusement.
"I have decided," Annette spoke as she dried the dishes, "that I would like to make a good stew for us for dinner. I'll let it cook throughout the afternoon."
"Aren't we scarce on supplies?" Joanna asked, plopping into a seat next to Hastings and looking at the cards in his hands.
"We have several meals more in food," Theo said, putting a large wrapped slab of beef on one of the counters.
"What precisely are you making?" Hawk asked.
"I suppose it will be a vegetable stew of sorts," Annette said, noticing Joanna's inquisitive look. "Would you care to assist, Captain?"
"I have never been much of a cook," Joanna said, getting up from her seat.
"It isn't too difficult. I'm sure you have a way with a knife," Annette said, putting several limp carrots on a wooden table before Joanna. "If you could slice those up and throw them in the pot over the fire, we'll have a little more taste to our meal."
Theo went to work chopping up the beef slab, and Annette grabbed several onions from a barrel and began peeling them. Tears welled up in her eyes and rolled down her cheeks as she worked, and Joanna, who thought herself to be quite a bit stronger than that (no thanks to that infamous Sparrow blood) offered to peel the onions instead.
"I don't believe I'll have so much of an issue with crying," she said proudly, taking the onions from Annette.
Annette and Theo exchanged knowing looks and then went about preparing more supplies for the stew.
Within two minutes, Joanna had the biggest tears rolling down her face, and Hawk and Adelinde were laughing.
"So maybe," Joanna sniffed, wiping some tears on her sleeve, "you don't have to be faint-hearted to cry."
"I think that's enough, Captain," Annette said, taking the peeled onions and tossing them into the pot.
"Handkerchief, Captain?" Theo offered, pulling his bandana off his neck and holding it in front of Joanna.
She nearly cracked a smile then, and she shook her head.
"No. I'll fare quite well without one. I deserve it, for my infernal pride."
"The meal has barely begun to cook, but it already smells delicious," Peter said, pulling a harmonica out of his overcoat pocket and scooting his chair back from the temporary card table. "I've lost three hands now, and I don't plan on losing any more today, thank you very much, Adelinde."
He then began to play the harmonica, and Hastings tapped his foot on the floor in time with the music.
"I forgot that you bring that with you everywhere," Annette said, putting the last ingredients in the pot.
"It makes things less dull," Peter said before he blew into the instrument again.
"They play tunes like that at Tortuga, and even in Singapore a bit," Adelinde commented.
"And how do they dance?" Hastings asked, beginning to pat the table in steady rhythm with the harmonica.
"They do jigs," Adelinde said and then stood up. "Somewhat like this."
She began to move her feet, circling and twirling, moving her legs fast enough at times that no one could really see them clearly.
"The dance of choice," the girl breathed heavily as she continued to dance, "is what I like to call a Stomp. There are no special motions, so long as your feet are constantly hitting the ground, making the music loud and exciting. Dancing is yet another sort of competition," she said with a challenging smile. "The longer you can dance, the more money gets involved. The last person standing gets all of the currency."
"In the case that we should ever need such money, I believe we should all try our hand at it," Hastings said, getting to his feet and moving into the center of the room. He began to dance, keeping in time with the music, and Theo cheered him on. The onions had forced Joanna to get over some of her dignity, and so she too joined in the dancing, pulling Theo in with her and making him dance so she could have a partner. The pirate captain and her crew stumbled all over, as Joanna and Hawk didn't know how to dance and they were constantly running into Hastings and Theo.
"Go on, Annette!" Peter encouraged, taking a quick breath from the harmonica.
"Oh dear. I can't much dance aside from our sophisticated English steps," Annette said and then squealed when Hawk caught her by the hand and pulled her into the dance circle.
"Yet another reason to avoid wearing skirts," Joanna commented as Annette hitched up her skirt a bit, giving her legs more room to move.
"How absurd," Annette said softly and then laughed again when Theo looped his arm through hers and they dosie doed in and out of the other dancers, everyone taking someone's arm and twirling wildly. Feet moved in harmony with the music of the harmonica and with each other. Everyone was left breathless and laughing, and after fifteen minutes, they had to stop dancing.
Right when they stopped, and the harmonica music ended, a clap of thunder filled up the sudden silence, and the ship rocked wildly, tossing Annette and Hastings into one of the walls and very nearly upsetting the soup. Adelinde managed to save the pot, before it fell to the floor, and Peter let out a low whistle.
"It's going to be quite the night," he said.
"I know what we can do for the next hour or so, as the soup is finishing" Annette said, finding her way to a chair and sitting down hurriedly, afraid to fall into the wall again.
"And what would that be?" Joanna asked glaring at the rain pelting down outside.
"You can tell us tales about Jack Sparrow."
Joanna laughed and nodded.
"Oh, very well. I have no idea, really, what's true and what's not. All I know is that he stole one of my lines and it's become rather famous."
"And what line is that?" Theo asked, pulling up a chair at the table.
"Sea turtles," Joanna chuckled. "The whole story about sea turtles was my idea."
XxXxX
An hour and a half passed pleasantly, despite the foul weather. To be sure, there was much laughing over stories about Captain Sparrow, and everyone was more than ready for the soup, when Annette said it was prepared. She dished out the stew and served it to everyone, and they immediately started eating, the weather and dancing having made them hungry.
"I think," Joanna spoke, finishing her stew, "that you need to teach me how to cook."
"If you'll teach me how to swordfight," Annette bartered.
"I would, however, I do believe I'll be commanding the ship most of the time," Joanna said. "Here's a gift for you, for starters. Took it off one of the pirates in Tortuga , I did."
She drew a sword from her side and handed it to Annette. The well-bred woman hadn't expected the weapon to be so heavy, and she nearly dropped it. There was no mistaking the delight in her eyes, however, as she picked the sword up and looked at its shining blade. She wondered what her father would have thought of her holding such a weapon. His dainty daughter, with fingers that were only meant to sew and cook, was actually holding a sword, one that had probably killed someone at one point in time!
Theo saw the joy in the young woman's eyes, and he turned to the ship's captain.
"If the captain wouldn't be opposed, I would teach Miss Annette how to fight," he said.
"I'm not opposed," Joanna said, an eyebrow arched as she looked up at the man. "By all means, she needs to know how to fight."
"I think we should get to bed early tonight," Hawk suggested. "It's going to be a tough night because of the weather, and the sooner we can try and sleep, the more sleep we might actually get."
"Agreed," Joanna said, getting up from the table.
She and Hawk left, and they were followed out by Adelinde. Peter and Theo stayed to help clean up the galley. There wasn't much to be done, and Peter was about to offer to walk Annette back to her room, when he saw Theo already opening the galley door for her. Personally, he thought the pirate was a good man, perhaps not even a pirate, and he didn't mind that Theo was walking Annette back. It seemed rather English and proper. Annette's father would most likely approve.
Annette, for her part, thought nothing of it, but thanked the man for walking her back and then bid him good night. She was excited about learning to swordfight, more so than she showed, and as soon as she was in her room, she brandished the sword a bit, watching how the blade glittered in the flashes of lightning that occasionally illuminated the room.