by Leen Elle
Charlie grinned, "It's a tight squeeze, but they don't mind. They're up on deck all day anyway." He then pointed to the back room on the left and explained, "That's my bedroom, and this, my dear, is yours."
He led her into a rather small, but cozy room where her sisters were already cleaning up the dust and dirt and storing their things beneath the beds. There were two bunk beds and one twin size bed. Mary had already taken the twin for herself, while Emy was folding a quilt on the lower section of one of the bunk beds. Nora and Gail sat on the top sections of the bunk beds, their feet hanging over the edge. Sara assumed she would have to take the lower bunk beneath Gail since Emy had already set up beneath Nora. Two portholes rested on one of the walls, letting them glimpse out at the outside world, and there were two large chests in which their clothes would be stored as well as a small door in the back of the room.
"Is that a closet?" Mary asked Charlie, pointing to it.
"No," he shook his head, "I wouldn't be going in there if I were you. It's a rather dirty old room filled with the food and preservatives we'll need for our journey.
Mary nodded and went back to folding her gowns and setting them in the chest.
"Well, er," Charlie mumbled, "I hope you like the place. I know it's not much, but I really do love this old ship. And I hope you come to like it as much as I."
"I already do!" Gail assured, and they all laughed.
"We'll be heading out in about twenty minutes or so," said Charlie, "So for now, you girls continue packing. I've got something to discuss with my sailors so I'd appreciate it if you all stayed down here for a little while."
The girls nodded, thanked him again, and continued packing as he left the room. They tried to brighten up the little place as best they could and make it feel like home. All the girls were so busy and the room was filled with so much excitement and laughter that it wasn't hard for Nora to sneak off.
Once out in the hall, she cautiously crept up to the top of the stairs and sat down, keeping her ear near the crack.
"Quiet down now!" a man shouted, "Quiet down, Charlie's got something to say."
"What's with all the dames?" another sailor questioned.
"I can't believe you invited a bunch of girls aboard!" exclaimed the voice of a younger sounding man. He laughed, "But that's not to say I object to it. The dark-haired one, with the big blue eyes, now she's a sight for sore eyes."
Nora listened as many other sailors laughed and shouted their agreement. She wasn't at all surprised; it seemed that every young man she'd ever met fell in love with Mary at first sight. Sometimes she wished it were she that got all the attention, but alas, she knew that dream could never come true. She would always be plain, ordinary Nora and her sister would always be beautiful, admired Mary. That's the way things were destined to be and Nora had come to accept that fact, though rather unwillingly.
"Enough! Enough!" came Charlie's voice, "I know you're all quite curious about the new females residents aboard this ship, and I'd like to clear up all your questions here and now so that when the girls come up in a little while you won't act like a bunch of wild animals.
"They're the daughters of a very, very good friend of mine by the name of Roy St. James. Unfortunately, Roy, as well as his wife, passed away two years ago, leaving the girls alone in the world. I'd be best if you all refrained from mentioning their parents, I think. I don't want to upset them.
"Now, I invited them to join us because they desperately needed a way to get to Brighton. They'd tried just about every ship in Laraford with no luck. Since we're heading to a town just past there anyway, I didn't think it would be much trouble to make an extra stop.
"Like I said, there are five St. James sisters. Gail, the redhead, is the youngest. Then comes Emy, then Nora, then Sara, and the eldest, who I see a few of you have already fallen head over heals for, Mary. But I'd like to warn you of something here and now before anything gets out of hand.
"The reason the girls accepted my offer in the first place is because they want to get to Brighton, as I've already mentioned. What I didn't mention is why.
"They're going because Mary is betrothed. Yes men, I'm sorry to smash all your hopes and dreams, but Mary is to be married to, from what I hear, a very respectable man studying to become a doctor."
A few of the men groaned.
"That being said," continued Charlie, "I want you all to know that although you are allowed to converse and spend time with the girls, because of the situation I almost feel like I'm their father right now, and I want you to know that I'm watching each of you very carefully."
"Don't worry about us, Charlie," one of the men chuckled, "Because we're all just little angels. Right boys?"
The men laughed and a gruffer voice added, "Sent straight down from heaven."
An eruption of laughter occurred and lasted quite a few moments before Charlie was able to calm the sailors down again.
"I've got a few last things to say so just quiet down a let me say them and then we can get Ol' Violet out where she belongs.
"I don't want you all to completely change your ways or anything, but do keep in mind that there are five women aboard this ship. Don't make any big messes and try to keep things a bit tidier than we usually do. Plus, the girls will also be cleaning and cooking for you everyday, so remember to be gracious as if you were a guest and say "please" and "thank you" and excuse yourself if you'd like to leave the table.
"Please bathe at least every other day and . . ."
"What do you think we are, Charlie?" one of the men joked, "Babies?"
"No, but I know for a fact that most of you haven't lived with women for years. You've become so used to the casual, easygoing life on this ship, constantly in the company of men who could care less about things being tidy and smelling nice and using your manners.
"I suspect they're about done unpacking by now, and will be coming up soon so we'd better get Vi ready to head out."
He whistled and immediately the men scattered and Nora could hear them taking up various occupations around the deck. She ran back downstairs and ignored her sisters' curious looks as to where she'd been, simply claiming she'd been exploring a little.
CHAPTER 4
Jester and Professor
That night at dinner, the St. James sisters met all of their new neighbors, the sixteen sailors aboard Violet.
Mary sat at one end of the table, since she was the oldest female present, with Emy and Gail nearby. Mary, who had always been a little coquette and didn't change her ways despite the fact that she was to be married, talked gaily with all the earnest men surrounding her, although they'd been warned against pursuing anything.
Brothers Cary and Noah McAdams sat on either side of her. Both were rather large men. Not pudgy or obese, but enormously tall with muscles covering every inch of their well-formed bodies.
Emy sat somewhere in the middle of the table, trying to hold her own in conversation with a bearded man named Billy Shaw. Beneath the table her foot was involuntarily tapping against the floor; it was a nervous habit she had. She'd never been a very talkative girl and hated when she was forced to speak with someone like Mr. Shaw who she didn't know and had nothing in common with. She would have preferred to sit beside her sisters, but they'd insisted that they all split up so that they could get to know the men better.
Gail, who sat across from poor Emy, was talking with two young men by the names of Michael Schmidt and Jacob Crawford. She listened eagerly as they told her tall tales of pirates that roamed the high seas and enormous whales tipping over small ships such as theirs. They thought they might scare her, since they knew she was the youngest sister, but were surprised when she sounded so amused and interested in their stories.
At the other end of the table, Sara spoke with Charlie about the ship.
"I was just wondering," she said between spoonfuls of hot soup, "Why did you name the ship Violet? Is she your wife?"
Charlie shook his head with a smile, "No, no, I don't
have a wife. I've never been married. I actually bought the ship just after I graduated. My parents weren't too happy about the idea though, I must say. I'd just received my diploma and they were hoping I'd follow my father's footsteps and head into the business world. Instead, I announced that I'd bought an old ship from an even older man."
Sara grinned, "I'll bet your mother just about killed you when she heard that."
"She did, she did," Charlie laughed, "In school I'd always been one of the more studious boys, at the top of my class, and my mother was always so proud. She despised the idea of me becoming a sailor and going out on the dangerous seas in Ol' Vi when I could have done so well out in the business world."
"So do you even know who Violet was?"
Charlie nodded, "I believe she was the daughter of the old man who owned this ship before I did. I thought about changing the name when I first bought it, since I didn't know any Violets and it wouldn't have any meaning for me, but I couldn't do it. No other names seemed to fit, so Violet just stuck."
"Can I ask you something else?" Sara questioned.
"Of course."
"It's about my father."
"Shoot."
"What were you two like in school? I've tried to imagine, but it seems strange that you and my father would become such good friends when you're so very different."
Charlie laughed, "That's a good question. I don't really know how it happened. If any one of my fellow students had tried to describe me, they probably all would've said the same thing: smart, focused, follows the rules, and rather quiet. What's strange is that your father wasn't like me at all, not in the slightest, and somehow we became the best of friends. He was athletic, outgoing, and didn't care about adhering to the rules as long as he was having fun. Roy was always trying to get me to stop studying all the time and come out and have some fun with him. I usually gave in."
Sara smiled, imagining what her father and Charlie looked like as sixteen-year-old boys.
"I was always afraid that if I didn't give in, he'd just find someone better to take my place," Charlie explained, "Roy was basically my only friend and I didn't want to lose him. I figured that since he was so likable he could have any friends he wanted. I, on the other hand, was rather desperate for him to continue liking me because if he didn't I would be all alone. Some of the other boys at school said I was like Roy's sidekick, and when I really thought about it, it was true. Like I said, I'm not always the most sociable man in the world, and I was usually rather submissive when around Roy, giving in to what he wanted to do.
"As time went on though, I knew that I didn't have to worry about Roy finding a better friend. We'd become too close by that time. And I knew that he needed me as much as I needed him. I had the brains to plan out his crazy schemes. If it weren't me, he probably would have been caught by one of our teachers and gotten kicked out of school.
"My teachers always said I should stop hanging around with "that St. James boy" because my grades would suffer at times, but I refused. Despite all that, I still graduated at the top of my class. Roy used to call me Professor, jokingly, of course, and I called him Jester.
"But he didn't do all he did for laughs. Sometimes he'd create these wonderful plans like he was Robin Hood or something," Charlie laughed, "Like once, he found out that this very rude, conceited boy had stolen Patty Larson's scarf. No one felt bad for Patty because she wasn't very popular and was a bit of a geek, to be quite honest, but Roy thought it was terrible. He spent his whole lunch hour learning how to knit. And I mean that honestly- he really did it.
"I ran down to the library to get the books because that was always my job, I was a regular at the library, while he searched for yarn. He could only find mismatched colors and such in the art room, but he did it anyway. He worked long hours into the night for a week until it was done. It ended up being a rather silly looking scarf, but Roy wrapped it all up nice and left it on her desk before class. He didn't want to say that he'd been the one to do it, so instead he attached this little note that read simply:
' -Since your other one was stolen by a pompous pig.
Sincerely,
Jester and Professor'
Charlie chuckled, "Patty loved it. She really did. She wore it everyday that winter, and into the spring as well. At some point, I think she finally did find out who her anonymous gift givers were, but she never made a big deal of it; she knew Roy had never wanted her to know in the first place or else he would have used our real names. I never told Roy because he thought he'd been so secretive by using the names Jester and Professor, but Patty did thank me for it once.
"' I'm not going to say what I'm thanking you for, Charlie Wilkie, because I think you already know,' she said 'but I just wanted you to know that I love it.'"
Sara smiled, "How sweet. My father never told me about that."
"I suspected not. He never liked for people to know," Charlie replied. He leaned back in his chair "I've probably bored you to tears by now, haven't I?"
"Oh, no, no, no," Sara assured, "Of course not. I'm really very interested actually."
Across from her and a little ways down Nora sat, buttering her roll. She was barely looking at the bread though. She'd become completely entranced by one of the sailors that sat just down the table. He was definitely the most handsome man on board with thick, blond curls and striking hazel eyes. When he laughed, revealing a beautiful white smile and a dimple on his left cheek, Nora positively melted.
She was so occupied staring at him, she lost track of what she was doing and the butter knife she'd been using slipped out of her hand, hitting her knee and then toppling to the floor. For a moment she didn't even notice it, but when she did she found that the boy beside her had already leaned over to retrieve it for her.
"You should be more careful next time," he advised as he handed it back to her.
"Yes, yes, I should," Nora nodded, trying to keep her eyes from darting over to the handsome, fair-haired man but failing miserably.
The boy beside Nora, who was the youngest sailor aboard and sixteen years old, watched as she gazed over at the man. Her eyes lit up whenever the man's hazel eyes happened to glance her way and she sighed every time he smiled.
The boy beside her leaned over casually, acting as though he were reaching for some olives, and murmured, "His name's Ben Leslie."
Nora look over, startled, "Who?"
"The man you're staring at. His name's Ben and he's nineteen years old."
"I-I," Nora stammered.
"Don't try and act as though you don't fancy him. You haven't taken your eyes off him all night."
Nora blushed, but she certainly couldn't deny it.
CHAPTER 5
A Mysterious Cough
It only took a week or so for Mary, Sara, Nora, Emy, and Gail to become used to life on the high seas.
Fish was eaten for at least one meal per day, and it was all freshly caught by the sailors and cooked by the girls. The sailors were terribly grateful to have the women cooking for them. Most had been living aboard Violet for several years, more or less, and had become used to taking turns preparing meals themselves. None of them were very good at it, so it was a nice change to have the St. James girls aboard and taking over that responsibility.
Mary and Emy, the two sisters most annoyed by untidiness, spent most of their days that first week cleaning up the ship of all it's dirt and grime. Starting from the bottom up, they scrubbed their room, then the boys, then Charlie's, and finally the dining room. After that they moved up to the deck. The sailors insisted that the deck was supposed to be dirty and that it always would be so the girls might as well not do anything, but Mary wouldn't hear of it.
Gail and Nora met Rory Gelke, the man whose job it was to keep lookout, and found that he was very willing to allow them to take turns joining him up in the crow's nest. Gail felt like a pirate, looking out over the miles of ocean surrounding their little ship and searching for enemies to engage in a battle with. Nora felt like a bird,
with the wind blowing her skirts and her hair, as she looked out over the choppy dark waves.
While one of the girls enjoyed the crow's nest with Rory, Zachariah Owens, who was known as Zooey, offered to teach the other how to fish. He'd stand behind her and show her how to cast out and reel in. Neither girl caught any fish, but it was still fun. Rory and Zooey became fast friends with Nora and Gail and they all sat beside each other during meals.
Sara, meanwhile, spent her days reading in various places around the ship. Her favorite spot was to sneak into Charlie's office when he wasn't around and curl up in his nice armchair. He did end up catching her eventually, and she told him she was very sorry since she knew how he liked to keep that room private. Charlie just smiled. His emerald eyes, which Sara noticed always looked a bit tired, seemed to laugh.
"You remind me a bit of myself at your age," he said, "Always reading."
Sara grinned.
"But your father was always dragging me away, saying that I spent too much time at the library absorbing information I'd never really need. He was right. But I don't regret any of it. Not even for a moment."
Through time, the girls got to know each of the men personally, although each sister gravitated towards different sailors.
Mary got to know most of the older sailors, around her own age, including brothers Cary and Noah McAdams, Buddy Ross, Dick Cohen, and Nora's crush, Ben Leslie. Most of them were so captivated by her beauty and charm they found themselves forgetting she was betrothed at all.
Sara met a few of the older men, most around the ages of thirty or thirty-five: Carl Linwood, Billy Shaw, and Sidney Wilburn. She was surprised to learn that quite a few of them enjoyed reading as well and she could discuss her favorite novels with them.
Nora and Gail shared most of their new friends, including Rory and Zooey, as well as Jacob Crawford, Michael Schmidt, Jessie Wilson, Nicholas Dorsey, and Emery Milford. They enjoyed playing games with their new friends and listening to the sailors' stories.