Pirated Love

by K'Anne Meinel

  Claire interrupted with, “They do not have parents, you see them running through the streets.”

  Tina shook her head at her wife’s naiveté. “Many of the parents encourage their children to beg, it is a source of income for them. Strangers from foreign ports frequently fall for these ploys. If you followed the children around for a day, you might see their parents or an elder taking whatever they managed to beg or steal.”

  “If they sell their own children...” Claire said, musingly.

  “Aye, they probably sell them and then hope they will come back. That way they could keep the selling price.”

  Claire was not pleased with this conversation. It seemed to her that Tina was not enthused with her idea and was finding ways to thwart her. It angered her, as she had been thinking about children so much. Seeing them on the streets of both India and China, seemingly abandoned-dirty, poor, and starving-her heart went out to these poor, helpless beings. “I think we should take some, or offer their parents...” she began.

  “Think about that, Claire. You bring a child such as those,” she pointed towards some of the children of the streets. “Back to England with you, and they will be treated differently…always a second class citizen. They will not be considered your child, no matter how much love you give them.”

  “We would love them....”

  Tina shook her head. “No, Claire, it is not practical. There are plenty of English children needing a parent and if you want one this bad, we should wait for one that at least looks like it could be your child.”

  “You do not want children,” she accused.

  “I love children, you know that. I do not want one that will have to fight to be treated well.”

  Irrationally Claire struck out, “You just do not want me to have children!”

  “Keep your voice down!” Tina returned, grasping Claire’s arm as they attracted attention. It was never wise to attract too much attention in these foreign ports.

  “I will not!” she replied pettishly, and pulling her arm away from Tina’s grasp she stomped off.

  Tina, with a nod of her head, had two of her crew, who were acting as body guards rush off after her.

  “What has gotten into her?” James asked curiously, as he came up beside his captain.

  “I do not know, but I think the long trip is wearing on her,” Tina replied, thoughtfully.

  * * * * *

  She thought the incident an isolated one as they continued trading their wares, staying in an impressive home she managed to rent for her and her captains while their crews either guarded the ships, loaded their cargoes, or took shore leave. There were a few losses, but Tina did her best to keep her captains and their crews happy and from defecting or getting seriously hurt.

  “We’ve been invited to the ambassador’s home,” Claire gushed one day, showing Tina an invitation that had arrived.

  Tina looked at it curiously. “How did he even know we were in port?” she asked, surprised.

  “I met his wife in the city when I was looking for items in the shops,” the blonde told her. She had been so thrilled to run into a fellow Englishwoman that she had not realized her importance. Her clothing should have told her, it was in the latest fashions. Claire’s own clothing was only slightly out of style. She had hidden away her ‘sailing garb’ on Tina’s suggestion while they were in port. As far as anyone knew, off the ships they were merely friends, and she was seeing the world with the trading venture. She had been thrilled to find another woman in this part of the world who not only spoke English, but was equally eager to be her friend.

  Tina was not pleased with this invitation, but she agreed to go. It was as she arranged to have outfits made for herself and Claire that she heard that a terrible storm was bearing down on the port. Asking specific questions, it was obvious she knew what a storm such as this was capable of. She left the dressmaker and made her way to the port itself, using a rickshaw to navigate through the streets. It might have been quicker had she walked. The streets were very crowded, but she wanted time to think and to plan a course of action. Also, walking when distracted, was never advisable; pickpockets and worse took advantage of the unwary. They would have to get their valuable cargos out of port. Having the ships in the harbor would be dangerous. Not only would other ships be a problem, in that they could crash into each other, but she preferred the open sea to fight the storm.

  Reaching the port, she signaled to her ship. A rowboat was lowered and sent ashore.

  “Go to each of the ships and tell them I am ordering them to prepare to sail immediately,” she told the sailor who had responded to her signal. He nodded, and giving her a sloppy salute, headed about immediately.

  “What is going on, Captain?” a voice asked at her shoulder as she watched the sailor pull towards the ships anchored in the harbor.

  “A storm is coming, I would prefer we take our chances out at sea,” she told Geoff, surprised to see him. “I have to head home and tell the other captains, if they are there.”

  “I will tell whoever I can see ashore,” he gestured at the masses of humanity they could both see in the crowded town.

  “You do that, and tell them I want to sail within the day,” she ordered, as she hailed another rickshaw driver to take her to the house.

  They were going so very slow through the throng of people that she saw a couple more of her sailors, and ones from her other ships. Hailing them, she spread the word. As sailors, they understood the importance of getting the ships to safety. A storm could seriously damage the ships if they were left in port. This part of the world was known for its typhoons. It was not unknown for the storms to throw ships ashore from the sheer volume of water that was tossed about, as well as the strong winds that they could garner, even ones as big as hers. It would be safer to be at sea and combat the huge waves and terrible storm. A typhoon was thought by some to be stronger because of the larger mass of water in the Pacific, however, sea captains knew that a hurricane was the same type of storm, they just used a different word for it here in the East. A sea captain knew they were in the Atlantic or Caribbean if someone used the word hurricane over typhoon. Regardless of what it was called, it could be a very fierce storm for all involved.

  It took forever to finally arrive at the house. Tina quickly went inside after paying the driver. She mentioned he might want to stick around for a return fare and he nodded gratefully. She sent servants off to go find any of the resident captains. The house she had managed to rent was a large Oriental style hacienda. The previous owner had been Portuguese, but had allowed his builders to put a traditional curved flare on each of the edges of the roof. The tiles on the roof were decidedly European, but rounded like one frequently saw on the wealthier homes of the Orientals. It was whitewashed on the stucco walls of the house itself and the walls protecting it from the outside. The reds of the tiles offset it all in a beautiful display of vivid and striking colors. The shutters on the windows were all in an elegant blue, and the vines climbing the walls were a deep green. It was set with a huge courtyard garden in the middle, but the reason Tina had rented it, besides its cheap price, was that it had ten bedrooms, enough for all her captains and their first mates to bed down if they chose. Not all of them chose to of course, as they had business all over the city, ranging from trading their cargoes to whoring.

  She saw Claire first, and before she could tell her of the storm Claire was speaking. “Did you get the dressmaker to start on our outfits for the ball?” she asked sweetly, almost girlishly. Her excitement was obvious in her pretty eyes.

  “I had to leave,” Tina tried to explain, but before she could go on, Claire interrupted in a hostile manner.

  “You do not want to go to this, do you? Why could not you just say so instead of behaving like this?”

  “It is not that I do not wish to go with you...” she began in surprise, but Claire’s behavior lately had been like this a lot.

  “Captain, you were looking for us?” a voice hailed her
and Tina turned.

  “Aye, I am informed a great storm is bearing down on the city. I have ordered your men back to your ships so we can get out to sea immediately.”

  Both captains nodded in agreement and after asking a few astute questions, quickly turned to pack and get back to their own ships, as well as spread the word among their own crews, if they could be found.

  “We’re leaving?” Claire nearly shrieked in annoyance.

  “I am. I have to get the ship out to sea before the storm.”

  “But we are safe here in the city!”

  Tina shook her head at her wife’s obstinance. “No, actually this is the worst place for the ships to be during such a storm. We must get to sea. It is safer for the ship.”

  “What about us?”

  Tina looked at Claire in puzzlement. First her behavior, and now this. Maybe it would be better if she stayed ashore; she would feel safer. She had lived through some very eventful storms on the voyage here. “All I have traded for, the ship itself, its better we take our chances at sea.”

  “What about me?” she clarified.

  “Perhaps it would be better if you stayed here until I can return for you. All signs point to this being a tremendous storm. I am certain the servants here know what to do to make the house safe for you to stay.” She eyed the shutters she could see on the windows and other things they could do. She considered what she would say to them to assure her wife’s safety.

  “You would leave me?” Claire asked, incredulous.

  Tina immediately shook her head as she took Claire’s hand to begin walking to their quarters in the large house. “No, not at all. I would prefer to have you with me, but, if you feel safer here, of course you must stay,” she tried to reason, unsure of where Claire would go with this argument.

  “Why can you not offload all the things you have traded for? Would that not be better?”

  Tina shook her head again as they climbed the stairs. “No, there is no time. They are already stowed and, as I said, it is better we take our chances at sea.”

  Sir Barkley met them as they entered their rooms. He greeted his human warmly. He had enjoyed his time ashore, smelling the grass and the odd smells in the garden their home encircled. In the weeks he had been there, he had gotten used to their accommodations. Except for the cats that lived on the estate, he was enjoying their home.

  “Keep Sir Barkley for me?” Tina attempted to cajole Claire out of her foul mood.

  “You would come back for that dog, but not for me?” she asked, pettishly.

  Tina suddenly grabbed Claire’s arm, hard. She swung her about so they were facing each other. “I love you. I will return after the storm. I did not conjure this storm just to inconvenience you and your social schedule,” she said angrily, almost forcefully.

  “Take me with you?” she asked, almost pleadingly.

  Tina considered for a moment, but knew that she would be more concerned with Claire’s safety on the ship, and distracted. She needed to concentrate on the ship and her crew, much less her valuable cargo. “I would feel better if you stayed here in safety and I return for you when it is over,” she stated, perhaps a bit brusquely she saw, when she looked at Claire’s expression.

  “Fine,” was the simple answer. It was never a good sign when a woman said that.

  Tina quickly pulled her close and looked down into her defiant face. “I will return,” she told her fiercely. “I love you,” she said almost in the same tone and she leaned down for a kiss. It went on for an instant too long as Claire clung to her for that extra moment. Finally, Tina released her, Claire staggered for a second and Tina went to get her things. Packing quickly Claire watched sullenly as Tina prepared to leave her. Sir Barkley, sensing his human’s eminent departure, began to get excited in anticipation.

  “No boy, you are staying,” Tina spoke to him as if he were a human.

  The dog’s tail stopped wagging and drooped as he understood, or sensed, what she said by her tone. His whole countenance changed slightly to a pleading, depressed demeanor. He begged with his big brown eyes. Tina ignored it as she packed the last of her things.

  “What am I to do while you are gone?” Claire finally asked as Tina finished.

  Tina looked at her warily. She did not want to quarrel with the blonde. She did not want hard feelings between them to be the last thing before she left. She smiled slightly and took Claire in her arms again for another kiss. “Please take care of things here and take care of yourself?” she asked, gently, trying to soften her leave-taking.

  Claire melted into Tina’s arms. This would be the first time they were really separated since their marriage. She’d felt irritable lately and could not explain why. She just knew she would miss this woman and felt uneasy with the storm coming and Tina leaving her. “Please take care,” she admonished in a slightly lighter tone.

  Tina was relieved. If Claire was in a better mood, that was good for them both. She smiled and kissed her again before leaning down and picking up her satchel that she had dropped to take Claire in her arms one last time. She took advantage of the position to pet Sir Barkley and direct him, “Take care of her for me, ole boy?”

  Sir Barkley seemed to forgive her in that instant for not taking him. Glancing between his human and the one he had accepted as her human he panted in a smile of acknowledgement, seeming to understand and agree. He could do this for her.

  With one last glance at Claire, Tina walked towards the door of their suite of rooms and headed down the stairs. Her last glimpse of Claire was her standing proudly on the landing of the curved stairwell with silent tears that she would not shed as she waved goodbye.

  Quickly, she turned into the mass of humanity that was outside their gates, hailing a rickshaw as the one she had asked to wait was gone. She pantomimed ‘the harbor’ to the driver. These drivers knew a smattering of languages with the port so close, and made a living off of the various ships and their crews. Thinking on the way, she realized how dangerous it would be to sail out into the storm, but staying in the harbor might be that much worse.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

  Her crew was already getting things ready, tying down anything and everything. The cargo had previously been stowed as it came aboard, and a few went down to ensure that it would not come loose during their voyage, however long it may be.

  Within a few hours they were hoisting their sails and making their way out of the harbor. They were not alone, as many ships followed or preceded them as news of the great storm spread. Tina’s own fleet was behind her as they sailed into the deeper ocean. Once beyond the safety of the harbor, the swells began to deepen and they could immediately feel the strength of the ocean. The rain began soon afterwards. Half a day’s sail from the harbor, they encountered a wall of clouds different from any they had ever seen before. If they had thought it was raining before, they were mistaken, as that wall brought the water down in sheets, pouring it everywhere. The hatches were all battened down, the fires in the kitchen out, and men not needed on deck were tied in their hammocks or bunks. The winds were fierce as they battered against the sails, testing their mettle, any weakness immediately exploited. The waves deepened and they cut back on their sails, trying to stay afloat without being rolled or pitched sideways which could capsize their boat. They could see nothing of the other boats, which was a good thing as they did not wish to run into any of them.

  Tina could sense this was a different storm than the ones they had encountered before, even the meeting of the oceans at the tip of Africa. None of those storms could compare to this one. The feeling of it was off, fiercer, stronger, more ominous. She fought the wheel to keep on course, trying to ride up and down the monstrous swells of the ocean; they were higher than anything she had seen in her lifetime. She realized some of the stories she had heard over the years, the ones discounted as sailor tales, were probably true.

  As she stood there for hours, days actually, peering out into the vast ocean and the immense waves, she f
ound herself worrying about Claire time and time again. She tried to dismiss those worries, instead trying to concentrate on her ship and crew. She found it impossible to separate the two of them, they were all her responsibility. All of them were under her command in some way. She wearily fought for them all and their futures. Not only their stores, which would mean money for them all, but their very lives were at stake. She kept her eyes on the bow of her ship, keeping it pointed in a way to keep them going up or down the waves, not staying in the troughs where they would be inundated by the waves and turned about like a toy.

  “Let me relieve you for a while,” James requested, watching as Tina practically shook from the stress of fighting the wheel, her strength giving out after all this time.

  Tina resignedly agreed, she knew she needed to regenerate. She had taken short breaks during the storm of course, but the responsibility fell on her broad shoulders, and she could not stay away long. It would not do for them, any of them, to become too tired and unable to fight this storm. Who knew how many days it would last? She turned it over to him and began to make her way below, the waves that crashed over it threatening to pull her into the seas at any point. She held on as she made her way across the deck to go below.

  “Captain!” Geoff called as she went to go by the kitchen. “You’ve got to eat,” he commanded in a tone that she knew he would only use when they were alone.

  Tina smiled in appreciation, knowing her crew was doing their jobs, and keeping their captain in shape was part of that, whether she wanted to or not. She’d have gone straight to her lonely bunk, but stopped to eat a cup of cold soup that Geoff gave her. She stood rather than sat, and held onto the large cup and drank her meal, fishing out the meat and vegetables with her knife. She drank a second cup before a crash above had her throwing it down and running up the stairs to the deck. The scene was chaos as her crew expertly cut away one of the masts that had broken in the onslaught of water and wind. The ropes holding it to the ship could easily entangle other sails and ropes, so they were working feverishly to cut it away. Tina joined in, feeling the meal she had just eaten in her belly uncomfortably as she worked. In no time at all, their sharp knives cut through the rigging. Together they pushed the broken mast over the side of their ship. Tina breathed a sigh of relief, annoyed they would have to make do with their remaining sails and masts, and jury-rig what was left.