Chapter Sixteen

"An' wha' are we supposed to do wit' 'er then? We can' be havin' 'er jus' standin' 'round 'ere wit' nothin' to do all day."

"You worry too much, love," I tried to assure the woman as best I could. "She'll keep out of the way of you and the girls. Besides, have you forgotten she's busy mending your clothes as well?"

"'Cause tha's jus' wha' we need 'bout 'ere is to look fancy for the navy afore they hang the lot 'o us." I only glared at my companion, yet she paid me no mind as she turned away from me and stared out over the bow of the ship and to the horizon. I had known from the start that Claire would be against the young woman from joining us. After all, not only was the other new to the sea, she was also the sister of our sworn enemy as well. Even with all these things to consider, however, I still thought she was being rather unfair to the poor girl. "An' wha' good'll she be when there ain't nothin' more to sew? Less yeh be thinkin' of havin' 'er keep the likes o' yeh company..."

"Tal vez, amor... ella podía enseñarle a hablar." Though she had no way of knowing just what I had said, that alone was enough to send her into another frenzy. However, it seemed that she had grown tired of crossing words with me, for it was then that she began to make her way back towards the stern. Which just so happened to be where Popuri was sitting with her stitching laid out upon her lap. "Now, love... let's not cause a fuss."

"Oh, I'll be doin' more than jus' that," Claire snapped back. "If I has my way... I'll be smashin' that pretty lil' face o' 'ers in..."

"Usted no hará tal cosa." Before she could take another step towards the young woman, I had a firm hold of her shoulder. She turned her head to look at me then, but it was at that same moment that I jerked her back. It was so swift that I could hear her shoulder as it popped out of place. Soon enough she yelped with both pain and surprise only to do cry out once again as I forced it back into place. "You are to treat her as our guest," I warned her. "I will not have her suffer at anyone's hands so long as she is aboard my ship. Do you understand?"

"Aye..."

Even as she pulled away from me, I felt the crew's eyes drilling into me. I knew they were curious as to what happened, maybe even angry, but I also knew that if there was going to be any peace to be had on my ship, I would have to start keeping the leash tighter than before. I hated to do it, of course, as it was against one of the few morals I had, yet there seemed to be no other way than to remind her of her place every once in a while.

Ignoring their steady gazes, I began to make my own way towards our little socialite. After all, just because Claire had agreed to leave her alone, there was no real guarantee that she would be safe from all the others on board, and I had no intention of letting her be hurt. Perhaps I was only being foolish by thinking so, yet I felt I was to be responsible for her during her stay. Eventually she could hold her own, but until then, I would be keeping an eye on her if only for her sake.

She was poised perfectly at the stern having settled herself down on the large barrel with her make-shift sewing kit at her side. She appeared to be calm, and because of this, I knew that as of yet, there had been no problems with the other girls. A relief which brought a smile to my face despite my best efforts not to reveal my feelings after giving such a performance as I had before.

"I'm sorry to have you doing this for us," I apologized, resting my hand lightly on the young woman's shoulder. "It must be very troublesome for you to have to manage these things."

"Not at all," she assured me with a smile. However, just by looking at how her fingers had been pricked at the tips, I knew she was lying... if only a little. "You told me yourself that I was not to lounge about, and though I fear this is not enough, I am more than happy to do at least something to contribute to this ships and its duties. Whatever they may be."

"Well, if it's no trouble-"

"Yes, I have begun to mend your clothes as well, Captain," she laughed while reaching down beside her. "I must say, though, these are rather pitiful to look at... One would think a captain would be the best dressed of his crew, yet it would seem I must remind myself that you are not like any other I have known in the past."

She held up my shirt then, only to peer at me through a rather large hole in the back, and though I chuckled to see it, I could still feel my face begin to warm with embarrassment. "Well... you know how it is," I began, rubbing the back of my neck before tightening my bandanna on my head. "It's not as if we have much time to worry about that kind of thing... but I suppose that's all the more reason to thank you for doing this."

"An' what did I tell yeh 'bout flirtin' with all these girls?"

"Why Annie Belle... and here I thought you'd be down in the galley," I chuckled, not even having to look behind me to know who was lecturing me. "Glad to see you're coming to join us, though. I worry we may just lose you down there one of these days."

"Oh, come off it, Kai," the young woman snapped back. "We already lost Chelsea because of you, and now we have to go back and see that... thief again." I thought to remind her that we ourselves were little more than such, yet before I could, she began to speak again. "I've never been the kind of girl to sneak around, and I'm not about to start now. If you ask me, we'd be better off fightin' 'em head on." Then she sighed. "But I won't let you have another killed for the likes of us..."

"I doubt Mr. Viento would let such a thing happen," Popuri replied quietly as she continued her mending. "He has certainly taken wonderful care of me thus far, and I am more than assured he will continue to do so." She held out a pair of slacks to her and smiled warmly up at the other. "I believe these are yours then? I am very sorry I was unable to do any thing about the burns... unless you wish for me to put a patch on them for you?"

"Naw, wouldn't do them any good," the other said with a shrug. "It's better lookin' than it was before, that's for sure."

The two went on to chat for a good while, neither one certain of what to say to the other, and I almost had to chuckle to hear them talking over one another from time to time. All the same, it assured me that I would be right in having the young cook care for our new arrival... if only because I knew she could ease Claire's temper should it threaten to overtake her.

"Well, ladies..." I began while righting myself once again. "I do believe I'll leave this all to you then. However, I do expect Miss Hurst will be working in the galley with you once she's down here. I can't imagine she'll have much else to do here after today." Not surprisingly, Ann appeared less than pleased with the order, but she knew better than to argue. "If anyone has need of me, I'll be below deck."

Though most of the crew had lost interest in me by that time, I still felt as if I was being watched. Even so, it was only after I left the top deck that I realized just why that was, and it all came down to yet another red head. One who just so happened to have the only pair of piercing brown eyes I had ever known.

"Avez-vous le voir?" It was Natalie who had spoken to me, yet despite her calm appearance, I could tell she was irritated, Of course, she was rarely anything but- as was the case with many of the women in my crew- and so I knew there was little I could do to better her mood. "Mon frère. At-il vu?"

"Il n'a pas dit," I replied. "Bien sûr, je doute Denny était à sa recherche... Je ne voudrais que vous lui pardonner, même si."

"Et pourquoi devrais-je?"

"That brother of yours made the decision to live," I reminded her, no longer willing to humor her by speaking in her native tongue. "I won't try to say that I understand how you feel, but as I said, it would be better for you to forgive him. He is certainly not the first man to chose a life of slavery over no life of all, you know." After all, we all did what we had to in order to survive. By the expression she wore, though, I had a feeling there was more that was on her mind. "Qu-est-ce que c'est?"

"What about the one down in the hull?" I said nothing at first, not having even been aware that any of the crew aside from Claire and myself knew we had another on board, yet I also knew there was no use in denying the truth. I only had to be grateful that Natalie was never one to gossip. "Are you going to give him that same chance?"

"Of course," I replied with a smile. "Just because I was never given one... that doesn't mean I have the right to chose death for someone else."