A handful of the crew already positioned themselves outside the Captain's door as Seasel and I quietly approached to join them. Whispers were exchanged as they bickered and shoved to get a better spot next to the closed door.
Josh notices our arrival and clears a spot for us to the right of the door knob against the splintered wall. We crouch down as others gather above us with their ears pressed solidly against the wood. My ear rests cautiously against the hard surface as well but only silence comes from behind the barricade. I cast a glance over to Josh but his finger goes to his lips then he gives me a signal to wait a moment.
The aroma of sweat and body odor fills my nostrils as the crew forms an enclosure. Everyone one huddled so close that several heartbeats were pounding around my ears and their moist breaths exhaled against the back of my neck. All this cluster and yet not one bit of uneasiness came to me. I breathed in their scents, though some are quite fowl, and for the first time I felt at home. Truly.
A rustle broke through the silence as the silent room begins to come to life. A chair of some sort could be heard as its legs were dragged across the floor. "Do not fret about our privacy. The crew was ordered, with much authority, that they were to retire for the night." A deep whisper comes from behind the door. "And my men are not the sort to refuse a free night off." Captain relieves a small laugh following his later comment. A laugh. An actual laugh.
This stirs the crew a bit but everyone quickly settles back into position as his voice arises once more. "For heaven's sake. Malcolm is outside these walls. It is only us." His voice rose with frustration as his company remained silent.
I take notice as a scan the crowd that Malcolm's face is not present. I catch Seasel following my actions and his face shows he reaches the same results. Sid sees our confusion and shuffles over to our spot to cup a hand to my ear. "Andy has him occupied for the time being. Made up some story and had the old bag cussing his way down to the armory. Crafty fellow that one can be." I nod with a smile and pass the word down to Seasel.
A deep sigh fabricates as footsteps approach the door. "I will scan the hall one last time to prove to ye my words are true." Everyone intakes a breath as we simultaneously take a step back.
"No. That will not be necessary, but thank you." A soft voice answers back and a lump rises in my throat. The words were calm and collected but stuck a chord deep inside me.
My hand rose up to my mouth as I gasped with a start. While taking a step back from the wall, I caught Seasel's attention as he laid a hand gently on my shoulder with a puzzlement in his eyes. Brushing him off, I tried my best to gather any composure I had left and pressed my ear to the wall once again in attempts to gather any possible answers to my million questions buzzing inside.
"Like I said, tis only us here. There will be no need for the fancy talk." Captain spoke with a hint of amusement laced in his words.
"I shall talk as I please." My mother's voice rung with a sharpness. Several of the audience members stepped back at this and exchanged silent acts of amusing gestures at one another. They most likely never had the courage themselves to back lash at their Captain but my mother feared no one and was talked down by no one.
All ears returned again as Captain's laugh vibrated through the walls. "After all those years, I'm pleased to see that mouth is still intact, Abby."
My mind buzzed again and caused a sharp pain this time as confusion struck. His words kept freshly in my ears like an echo. He used the word "years" as if they shared some past a times ago. And the way he said her name, it slid off his tongue as if it had many a times before. Abby was only used by those closest to her back home and those that were that close were rare to come by.
"Oh Abagail." Captain's tone was serious now as he resorted back to a whisper. "Look at you. Starvin' yourself to the very bone, yet you lay in wealth. Tell me. How is the beloved Richard these day? Does he complete you? Does he give you a sense of empowerment being his loyal wife that stands by his side in the most desperate of times?" His voice is spiteful and it gave heat to my own blood as he mocked her.
"You will leave my husband out of this. And if it wasn't for your kind, there would not be a need for me to stand by his side in despairing times."
"I beg your pardon? My kind?" His voice shook and he let out an acrid laugh. "Since when do you have the authority to go around labeling people? If I'm not mistaken here, you were once very much my kind."
My body froze in place as a numbness swept through my veins. A loud buzzing in my ear surfaced until a hand clamped down on my shoulder and woke me from my daze.
Shouts were coming from the room but I focused on only the voice in my ear. "Let's get you out of here." It was Crow's voice as he gently began to guide me away from the wall. As we took a few steps, loud stomps surfaced at the end of the corridor as a shadow rounded the corner. Everyone jumped back and turned to see a red faced Malcolm running full force towards us. Just before everyone took off, his eyes locked with my own and panic struck his face.
"Shit! What the hell are you all doing out of your bloody cabins?" He barked as several hands guided me in a run away from the door. Right as we made the corner, I turned back to see a disheveled Captain stick his head out.
We tousled, pulled and shoved until everyone made it onto the deck. The sun was peeking its way through the star's sky and scattered pinks across the waves.
"Shelley's Cove?" Isaac, a middle age man, beckoned and gathered everyone's undivided attention.
"Aye! Cove it is lads!" Josh hollered back as he stripped his shirt from his back and leapt over the side of the ship.
"What the hell is this cove nonsense?" I yell but my question is lost in the midst of several shouts of laughter as the crew mirror Josh's actions.
"Well, looks like you are finally getting that chance to jump." Seasel comes to my side with his chest fully exposed. His smile reveals he notices me gawking at him. "Come along Rose, you can stare all you want later." His smile brightens with an added wink. His hand rests gently on my back as he leads me over to one of the rails. Effortlessly, he lifts my feet from the deck and over to the other side of the rail. In one swift motion he joins me and laces his fingers through my own. Hand in hand we glide through the air and plunge into the icy waters below.
Shore was a short swim away as the ship was still anchored in the same position. On the small trek, however, Seasel explained the meaning behind Shelley's Cove.
He told of how when a crew angers its captain or certain individuals create a tension on the ship, Shelley's Cove is an escape route. When a few crew members or perhaps all the crew uses this escape code, they immediately abandon ship to the nearest "cove" or land around. After a few hours go by, the crew comes together once more in a pub that faces the sea.
"It really is just a silly way to cool some tensions so we don't endure the full wrath of the Captain. Give him some time to blow some steam then we can all head back and receive what little anger he has left in him." Seasel says smoothly as we climb onto shore. Most of the others had already ventured into the awakening town as their swimming skills were quite remarkable.
My clothes dripped profusely as the material only acted like a sponge with the chilly water. Small quivers formed on the tips of my fingers and diffused over my body.
"Come, my girl, let me fix up those pesky trembles." Crow motioned me towards town as he began to descend the rocks.
"Go ahead with him, we will meet up later tonight. Crow will know where to go." Seasel brushed one of the stray wet locks out of my face before I turned to catch up with Crow.
Crow ducked behind several houses before he finally emerged with some oversized cotton shirts and a pair of faded breeches. He laughs at the awkward fit as the shirts dangle right above my knees while the breeches barely touch my ankles.
"I assume you did not purchase these?"
He lifts his lips in amusement. "You know there is the new term being thrown around lately. Borrowing? Yes, I believe that's right." After only a short show of his teeth, his demeanor quickly morphs into something of a serious tone. "Come, I wish to show you something."
Taking my arm gently in his, he led me to an abandoned dock at the other end of the shoreline. Its boards were warped and faded due to neglect. The view it provided however was quite extraordinary as one could see all the ships coming in and out of the ports as the sun reflected off their sails.
The silence that rung in the air unlocked my mind and all the chaos that had been briefly locked away with all the distractions. Everything came and hit me like a wave, sending me crashing down on my knees hard.
Silently, Crow kneeled beside me and placed a protective hand across my back. "It's all right." He whispered. "I think it is time we talked."
"My mother. He had my mother. She is still on the ship!" Every bit of my senses and mind came flooding back to me as my brain desperately tried to piece it all together.
"No, she is fine. Rose, you need to look at me." Crow guided my chin up to his face as my blurred vision tried to focus on his dark features. His finger slid under my eye to catch a tear before it descended.
"She is in no harm. In fact, she chose to come aboard. I arranged the meeting for her."
After several choked breaths, I managed to open my mouth. "Why?" The whimper came from the back of my throat and stung.
"I've known Abagail longer than the Captain himself."
"This does not make sense. You do not make sense. I-"
"Shush now, I may not be the best with my words but I'll try my best. What I'm about to tell you, well none of it will make sense unless you have a clear mind and listen. And I mean fully listen to me Rose. Understand?"