Page 50 of The Pirate's Daughter

“Mrs. Winthrop? Should I fetch the doctor, Captain?” Mr. Quiggly asked pushing back from thetable.

“No,” Mia and Devin both shouted at the sametime.

“No, Mr. Quiggly, it’s quite all right I’m sure,” Devin said, then reached over and pulled Mia towards him. “Why are you crying,Mia?”

She sniffed and shook her head, hoping, rather greatly, they’d let it alone. But she could feel them all staring at her and she could feel the swell in her chest threatening to explode if she didn’t release it. “You can’t use me like this,” she finally toldthem.

“Use you?” Devinsnapped.

“Yes, you can’t, can’t just make use of me when it’s to your convenience. Pick my brain when your limited experiences don’t give you satisfactory answers. If you want someone with such knowledge, then find someone and make them part of thecrewand use them at will. But don’t think to use me when there’s not a lick of sense among the lot ofyou.”

“Mia I told you, you could be part of the crew,” Devin said as he took hold of her chair and dragged it closer tohim.

“You told her she could be? Hasn’t she been from the start?” Mr. Brinksasked.

“No, I haven’t. I have no place here, serve no duty, no purpose. And when the sun comes up tomorrow that won’t have changed,” Mia shouted. She tried to rise only to have Devin yank her down so she yowled when her ass hit theseat.

“You serve this ship as part of the crew Mrs. Winthrop,” Mr. Quiggly saidbaffled.

“No, no she doesn’t. Damn fool woman,” Lieutenant Coventon said, banging his cane on the planks of the table andstanding.

“Lieutenant,” Devinsnarled.

“No, no, it’s time she took stock of the facts.” The man made his way to her end of the table, lifting something as he passed the cabinet. “It’s time she stops trying to be some common midshipman and starts behaving like what she is,” the man said, then leaned down to face Mia from across the table. “You’re completely correct, Mrs. Winthrop. On this ship you’re completely useless. Day to day you serve no purpose at all. Day to day there’s nothing at all you can do to betterserve.”

“Lieutenant,” Devin said, rising to hisfeet.

“Day to day not a man here would miss you,” Coventon went on sticking a finger in her face. “But in a crisis, men here would’ve died without you. In a crisis, there’s no man aboard better suited to complement the captain. In a crisis, you read the sea, and the waves and even the goddamn bloody fish like no man ever born before you. In a crisis, I’d rather have you than most anyone I could think of. And if you don’t stop trying to lower yourself to our level then to the captain I say…” Coventon straightened then threw a strap down between them, “beat her again. Beat her until she knows she’ll never just bepartof the crew. Until she understands fully she’s the very heart ofit.”

Dead silence followed and Mia swallowed hard as the tears rolled down her face. If the pounding she was hearing wasn’t her heart she wasn’t sure what it might be until the room erupted in cheers andapplause.

“God save you, man,” Devin said with a nervous laugh. “I thought I was going to have to beat you to death,” he finished, holding out his hand toCoventon.

“Unpleasant thing to do on a full stomach, Captain,” Coventon said like he was maybe realizing he’d taken more than some liberties and a good risk in his remarks. But had he meant them? Mia didn’t know until the men around her shifted so Coventon could take a seat. If he was shaking in fear of the captain or with the stress he’d put on his healing leg, it hardly mattered because he sat down hard then with a deep breath turned to her again and said. “Well which is it? Do heavy or light ships fare better in weather and how does the anchor playin?”

Mia stared at him a minute more, then sniffed and tried to wipe her eyes and nose with her sleeve. “Mia,” she heard Devin say. “Well damn me. I left my ‘kerchief in my quarters.” Mia sniffed again and that was all the time it took for five fine, soft, white handkerchiefs to appear before herface.

“Thank you,” she said taking one with a good deal of joy and pride as she glanced toward Coventon who raised a brow in anticipation of her answering the question before them all. Clearing her throat, she took a deep breath. “Well, first you must consider the storm and the wave surges,” shebegan.

“Go on,” Devin said and leaned back in his chair. Mia nodded and through a good portion of the night they spoke about the different impact on different kinds of ships, with different cargos by various conditions on the seas. She taught them a good deal and learned something in return and when Devin tucked them in to bed and put out the lights she fell asleep satisfied she belonged. She wasn’t ruined and as the ship turned west along the ninetieth parallel her skills and abilities again made her quitevaluable.

Chapter 24

Mia shieldedher eyes and looked up to the topsail. Several men were stationed well high in the rigging working at the lines and canvas. The calm winds and seas made it a good day for it. The sun was bright and warm but last night blessed them all with a light rain that was caught and stored. Some of the men looked ready to drop nets for fish and some were grumbling as they scrubbed the decks. She dropped her gaze and scanned the waters as far as the horizon. Nothing stood out, but that didn’t mean something wasn’tthere.

“Do you want to go aloft?” Devin asked sneaking up behind her and setting his chin on hershoulder.

She gasped at the question. “Can I? Please,Captain.”

“We’ll climb up together,” he said coming around to stand before her. “I think you’ll have to find something better suited for climbing than your dress and it needs to bedecent.”

“Oh, bother that,” Mia said with a laugh and bending over she reached under, grabbed the back hem of her dress and pulled it front then up as far as her waist where she then tied the ends around. “Gird your loins, Captain, I’ll race you to the top.” She didn’t even wait for him as she scrambled for theshroud.

“Go no higher than the main, Mia.” She looked back down and he was barely off the deck. “I mean it; don’t you climb the topmast.” She laughed, gave him a chance, then started her climb again. He caught her with only a few feet left. “Naughty pirate,” he told her as he used his superior reach to make the topfirst.

“Old, slow captain,” she shot back and stepped over to theplatform.

“Mutinous wench, you must need another spanking,” he said, shifting to put her between him and themast.

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