A/N Thanks for the reviews, I really appreciate it! I hope you like the next chapter!

Chapter Eighteen

The sun struggled to pour through the grime that coated the windows, and therefore, failed to wake the exhausted girl. It was in fact, a timid and very ill looking Sarah who finally shook her awake.

"Yer gotta get up!" The girl insisted.

Finally, with a large yawn, Annamaria opened her eyes. She gasped at the sight of pale face staring down at her. Sarah looked thin, and weary; her eyes were dull, tired and lifeless, her lips cracked and dry. She looked far older then she actually was. It was the drink that had done that to her, it had taken away her spirit.

Annamaria clambered from the lumpy bed, and threw on her clothes. Sarah had already left. Ten minutes later, Annamaria descended the stairs and appeared in the jumble of a bar room. There were tables upturned, broken chairs, spilled drink lining, and staining, the floor. As well as several tankards littered around the room.

"Earn your keep." Molly spat, thrusting a mop into Annamaria's tired hands.

The girl took to the task quickly, it wasn't like cleaning for Charlotte, she didn't mind cleaning for her aunt. And she could understand how difficult it would be to run the pub with only Sarah's help. Annamaria whistled happily to herself as she worked; she'd almost forgiven Jack for leaving her. If he hadn't, she would never have found her family.

A few hours later, Molly returned. The floor had been cleaned, and the tables put back in their upright position, all the tankards had been collected and were lining the bar ready for Sarah to wash them. Molly smiled at the girl as she entered the clean room. It was the first smile Annamaira had seen on her face, unless you counted the sneer at the drunkard she had thrown out the previous night.

"Just like your father, he wasn't afraid o' a bit o' hard work." She told her. "Not like some." She continued with a sniff, whether she was talking about Sarah or Harriet, Annamaria didn't know, nor did she care. She was just about able to let any slur on her mother go, if it was uttered by Molly.

"You must stay out of sight tonight though, I don't want my bar getting that kind of reputation." She said, pointedly.

Annamaria nodded, though she wasn't sure what kind of reputation she would give to the Harrowing Star. "Tell me more about my father!" The girl begged.

Molly shook her head. "He's dead, and I can't stand about here all day talking about the dead! You're never gonna meet him, so what does it matter?" The woman demanded, bluntly.

Annamaria was shocked; she had just seen the woman smiling and had assumed she was in a good mood. Evidently, she had been wrong.

"Just finish up in here, and then get lost for a bit." Molly continued, almost throwing a shilling at the girl. "Buy your self something nice, but don't spend it all at once, you won't be getting many!" she insisted.

Annamaria thanked her for the money, put away the mop, straightened the last of the unbroken chairs, and then scampered from the Harrowing Star. The stables looked much brighter in the daylight. There was a young boy employed to look after the horses. There were only two left now, and he was split between the two of them. He called a greeting as the girl walked past.

"Alright?"

Annamaria nodded, she considered bobbing her head as Tobias had taught her, but it really wasn't the curtsey sort of place. "Fine, thanks. I'm Annamaria."

The boy nodded, dropping the bucket he was holding to feed the horses. "Aye, I heard. Molly's niece, right?"

Annamaria nodded. "That's right."

"Well, if you've come gold diggin' you won't get much!" He told her, stiffly.

"What are you talking about?" Annamaria demanded.

"Miss Molly ain't got much; just a few shillin's that her brother left her." He told her; as he bent down to retrieve the bucket.

Annamaria glared at him. "You misunderstand me; I am certainly not here for her money!" And with that she stalked from the yard, she had no desire to continue this improper conversation with the stable lad. How dare he accuse her of coming here to get money? She felt the shilling in her pocket, guiltily. If Molly didn't have much money, it would be a big strain to feed and clothe another person. She shouldn't have taken the shilling.

But the girl's guilt soon wore off, and she was determined to enjoy the day. She didn't stray far from the Harrowing Star; she didn't want to be lost again. The sun set early in Tortuga, alighting on the cobbled streets, drenched with those who hadn't had the energy to get home the previous night. She dodged the sleeping bodies as she walked down the main street. There were street peddlers selling their wares, kicking awake the drunks and thrusting strange trinkets in their faces. Annamaria was dying to spend her shilling, but a voice in her head told her she could soon be joining these people, sleeping under the stars on a bed of cobbles, and then she would need every shilling she could get. She graciously refused an old woman trying to sell a shell necklace, and fought her way through to the peace of the port.

It was relatively subdued during the day, most of the action took place at night. It was about mid afternoon when she returned to the tavern. The stable boy had disappeared, and the yard was eerily empty. She clambered along the straw covered cobbles and pushed open the front door. She stepped in to the bar area, and stood leaning against one of the support beams, surveying the room. She had done a good job cleaning it, despite living most of her life with servants. Perhaps, this was where she was truly meant to be.

A few moments later her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of voices. Sarah appeared at the bar, joined by the stable boy. The pair had been crouching down behind the bar, whispering together. In her shaking hands Sarah held a collection of shillings, and the money pot lay open next to Arnold, the stable boy.

"Jus' countin'." Sarah said, quickly, when she saw the young girl.

Annamaria nodded to show she believed her. But her eyes narrowed as she watched Sarah carefully replace the money and put the lid back on the money pot. She placed it carefully behind the bar, and stepped out.

"Back so soon?" Arnold sneered.

Annamaria scowled at him. "It had nothing to do with you. What are you even doing in here, and where is Molly?"

"Gone out." Sarah explained, unnecessarily.

"Where?" Annamaria demanded.

"Lost without her?" Arnold sneered.

"I don't need anyone." The girl remarked, angrily.

Arnold turned to Sarah, and gave her a quick kiss. As she pulled away she looked longingly at him. "I'll see you later." He said, firmly. And with a last scathing look at Annamaria he returned to the yard and the two remaining horses. One of the guests was preparing to leave, and he was giving the horse a final feeding before the owner departed.

Annamaria stared questioningly after him, and Sarah shrugged.

"Jus' a bit o' fun, tha's all he is!" She insisted. "Now, excoose me, I got work to do."

Annamaria hung round the bar, playing with a pack of cards the gambling men had left behind. However, it was difficult to play by herself, and with several of the cards missing, it soon became a nightmare. It was times like this when she almost missed Jack; he would have been ready to teach a few new tricks.

Molly had returned for when the bar section of the inn was open; at three. There were only a few customers, many of them regular, who she greeted by name and asked after a particular relative.

"Hey Roger, how's that flighty daughter of yours?" or "Alright, Bill, still having trouble with the old man?" She seemed to adapt to each customer, even changing her voice and the way she stood. She was an actress playing a magnificent role, she was a different person to each punter.

Annamaria watched her for a while from the stairs (she was not allowed in the bar during open hours) but eventually the cold wood became too hard to sit on any longer and she departed up the stirs to her room.

By the time night fell, she could not sleep due to the noise emanating from below the stairs. She turned over in her bed with a groan, and pulled the blanket over her head. It failed to block out the noise, and she suffered from a restless night.