The Sailor's Inheritance

Port Royal

Catherine raced to the bed where the pile of clothes were when she felt the sharp pain once again in her head. When she reached up to touch the pain she felt a large bump on the back of her skull that had formed and dried crusty blood in her hair.

"less like a noble woman's ha!" Catherine guffawed. "no mirrors. no women" she kept muttering as she began to remove her shift and exam herself for any other sort of wounds. Looks as though everything was in order. Perhaps these savages she was onboard with didn't touch her like she had feared. She wrapped her breasts in the sash just as he had suggested and it was a good thing too. The white shirt William had laid out for her to wear was incredibly revealing and large for her. where the deep V showed off Williams rippling muscles it showed the black sash in its entirety. The pants were absolutely ridiculous and Catherine could not think William was serious about her wearing such clothing.

"Mens clothing." Catherine grumbled as she held the pants up by her hands and walked back to the desk.

There came another knock on the door and she immediately grabbed that metal tool once again. The door cracked open.

"Cat?" Williams voice came through.

"You may enter." Was the automatic response that left Catherine's mouth.

"well unfortunately I was going to enter anyways" he entered the room with a bundle of rope in his hands. When he looked up to see Catherine standing with her metal tool she claimed in one hand and gathering the pants in her other he let out a booming laugh that filled the cabin. Catherine felt the heat return to her cheeks for as wonderful as the laugh was this situation was anything but what Catherine would deem acceptable.

"Are you quite finished sir." she glared at him. She still doesn't know who this man is or what in God's name she is doing on this ship, or where her clothes are and this man had the audacity to laugh.

"I am sorry. You're right it's not a laughable predicament but all the same you are quite a sight." he gestured with his hand to the length of her body. "now I brought some rope to act as a belt or maybe two for you. Do you intend to stab me with my own charting compass if I should come help you with this?" William was still chuckling softly.

His smile really was dazzling. Who was this man? Catherine felt the heat once again envelope her face.

"a compass could hardly be used to stab somebody with don't you think?" she asked as she looked at the beautiful golden compass that was on the desk.

William walked closer to Catherine and stood within a proximity Catherine was not familiar with men being in. He was definitely far more brazen than a man should be with a lady of her stature.

Fiddling with the rope in his hand he looked directly into Catherine's eyes which caught her breathe in her throat once again.

"this" he quietly said as he grabbed the metal tool she had been holding. "is a compass as well." he held it up between their two faces and turned it over in his hand a few times.

when he finally placed the compass down on the desk he broke the gaze he had captured her in and she took the time to compose herself.

'pull it together Catherine Cutler!' she chided herself in her mind.

He started to wrap the piece of rope around her waist. Catherine had never had a man touch her waist that was not a physician and the touch left prickling sensations everywhere he grazed. Like a trail his hands were leaving behind.

"Wil-William" she stuttered out with her sudden flustered mind. "ahem" she cleared her throat. she could hear him chuckling again as he worked on the makeshift belt. "Captain William!" she said a little more forcefully once she saw the knife he had pulled from behind his back. She was sure she would faint. Her heart felt like it had burst and knew this was it. This man would be her murderer. She froze like a little baby animal when one tried to rescue it so.

William cut the rope and then tied a knot around the end she had never seen before and he rolled the pants over top of it to cover it. He stood back up and gazed over her body.

"There." he smiled at her. "the next time you think somebody is going to kill you though I do recommend you go back to the sassy fighter that grabbed the compass in the first place." he winked at her again.

Catherine just stood there catching her breath while William stared at her.

A loud banging on the door brought Catherine out of her daze as she realized how improper it was for her to be staring at this William.

"Will we've reached port!" a man's voice came thundering from the otherside of the door as bell started ringing and Catherine once again heard people stampeding overhead.

"well Cat" William grabbed her hand never breaking eye contact. "Are you ready for an adventure?"

Catherine didn't even have time to answer before he pulled her towards the cabin door. As he opened it the gentleman standing outside smiled at William and his gaze immediately dropped to Catherine.

The man looked very similar to the captain. He was smaller than William by a few inches and not as muscular but he was a fine looking young man as well. His eyes were a blueish green and his smile was slightly crooked.

"pardon me my lady" he smiled and made a small bowing gesture. "have you ever been to port?" he asked with excitement in his voice.

"John" The captain placed his free hand on the man's shoulder. He never let go of Catherine's hand but leaned in and whispered something to this John.

His smile faltered for a moment and then he put an even bigger one back on.

"Well you won't want to miss this!" he said and rushed up some stairs and disappeared.

"come on" William smiled to her and began pulling her up the stairs.

once they reached the top she could see the massive sails overhead. the smell of the ocean was one she had known from town but something was different about it. Almost a cleaner smell to it. the seagulls crowing over head were barely audible to the men running about and shouting to each other. when William pulled her towards what she had heard her father call the Helm of a ship she was able to look over the other railing and saw what the men were worked up over.

A large town sitting perfectly on an island with many ships in its bay. there was a fort on one side and the structures that formed the town were all packed together. they were quite charming in their own way.

William had let go of her hand and the man he called John stood near her. William was shouting orders and Catherine realized the man that had helped her in the cabin was different than this captain before her. After quite some time the ship finally dropped its anchor and the men began clamoring for the smaller row boats they had on board.

"John!" she heard William call out and immediately felt John's hands on her back guiding her through the chaos on the deck to a boat that had William at it.

"Welcome Cat to Port Royal!" William exclaimed as he took her hand to the railing. "This boat will be your coach and John and I will be your drivers."

Catherine looked upon his smile and was momentarily distracted from the situation at hand. When she realized this port was the very same one she had just said she was unsure if she should do business with because of pirating. Catherine panicked realizing that the ship she was on could very well be one of those pirate ships she had been so concerned over. William and John were getting the boat into the water and Catherine decided to play along as if she had no idea about anything. if she could get into town perhaps there may be a way to go back home to her fathers affairs he had left for her.