The Ruthless Captain

Chapter 8

It was worse than anything I could imagine or even put a thought to. The cut looked deep enough to cause him an immense amount of pain, proven by every time he shifted a little in bed for a position better for me to take care of him as he winced, cursed bitterly and shut his eyes tightly. Hushing him softly with what I hoped to be a reassuring tone, I took a small knife attached to the belt around his waist and slipped the blade underneath the thin cotton shirt, tearing it up into pieces of stained fabric. I bit my lower lip as I thought of what to do next. Quickly running back to the bathroom, I filled the pot he had used to fill the tub earlier and scooped up some now warm water left inside the buckets the men had carried in earlier. It wasn't much but it would have to suffice for now.

I carried back the pot back to his bed, careful not to spill it on the floor, and blew out a breath, trying to calm myself. Grabbing some extra towels from the linen closest beside the door, I returned back to him with a forced look of confidence on my face.  He cocked an eyebrow at the water, clearly unsure of my capabilities.

"I'll have you know, I have two younger brothers who constantly get scrapes from running around in the garden or just plain hitting each other." I took a towel and submerged it into the bucket of clear water, happy it was relatively warm enough to do cleaned the cut. "I take care of their scrapes all the time." Twisting out all the water, I gently patted around the wound and winced when he winced from the amount of pressure I exerted. "Sorry." I muttered with my brows knit in concentration as I submerged the towel back into the pot once again.

"If you hadn't apologized, I would have thought you had done that on purpose." Thomas curled his lips to a lazy grin. Even through his light mockery, I could tell by the sweat gathering on his face and his slow laboured breathing, he wasn't doing too well. Determined to not see my concern, I twisted the towel inside my hands and returned it—gently this time—to his wound.

"I have to clean the wound..." I licked my lips, hands trembling with worry when the blood stained the whole towel, turning it a bright shade of frightening red. Tossing it to the floor, I caught his alarmed gaze when he saw it by my foot. "Don't worry. You're not bleeding anymore." I assured him as I plunged another towel into the pink coloured water. After making sure the wound looked clean to the best of my ability, I found some pieces of clean cloth he advised me to find buried away in his desk drawer. He claimed the cloth was usually used for bandages anyway when I threw him a glance. I found myself saddened by the fact that this poor man puts himself through so much pain to keep his dream alive of becoming a well-cherished captain. When the bandage was wrapped tightly around his waist, I placed a light kiss on his forehead, his eyes were closed.

"Miss?" A man's voice came from the other side of the door. Getting off the side of his bed, I pushed the desk enough for me to open the door and peered outside; afraid it might be another person tricking me. I sighed in relief when I saw the same man I had called earlier.

"The enemies have fled and we are now preparing to restore the ship. The ship is in fine condition for sailing, minimal damage. We shall set north in a few hours after all wounds are attended. Dinner will be prepared later." He said, hands grasping the hat he wore when I first met him.

"I'm glad they are gone." I breathed out a sigh of relief to know that everything was in order. "That sounds wonderful..." I gestured for him to tell me his name.

"Jeffery." Jeffery said in a shaky voice. "Jeffery Mackel."

"Nice to meet you, Jeffery. I'm Sophie Winslet." I shook his hand and smiled warmly. He returned the smile causing a rush of emotion to pass through my body. A lump grew in my throat as I fought back the sudden tears.

"Miss, are you alright?" Jeffery asked, his concerned brown eyes looked into mine. His shaggy black hair covered most of his face but I could tell he looked handsome if he took long bath with a lot of soap. "Is...Captain Thomas alright?"