The Pirate and the Runaway Bride

Felicia sat on the side of the cot and began cleaning the blood from the wound in Mister Bodine's shoulder. She didn't know what to expect, and was a little surprised that it was only a small hole in the muscle where his arm joined his body. She looked over her shoulder.

"Martine, help me roll him over. I need to see if the wound continues to the back side of his shoulder as well."

With Martine holding Mister Bodine on his right side, Felicia discovered a similar hole on the back side of the muscle.

Felicia looked up at Martine then.

"The ball went all the way through and just under the skin, so we will not have to attempt to remove it. What do the field workers do when they have cut themselves with a machete? I have seen men with frightful cuts on their arms but they still lived. Surely there must be something they do so they do not develop the fevers and the blackening of the flesh."

Martine nodded.

"Yes, Missy Felicia, they know pour rum into cut. The rum drive out spirits that make fever and make meat die."

"Good. We shall have some rum then."

Felicia went to the door and pounded it with her fist.

"I need rum and a lot of it...and a basin and clean cloth for bandages."

It was when Felicia poured the first of the rum into his wound that Mister Bodine awoke. His eyes flew open at the same time he groaned in pain. When he started to rise, Felicia told Martine to hold him down, then turned back to Mister Bodine.

"Your captain has charged me with saving your life. If you die, I am to be sold as a whore, a fate I do not intend to endure, so lie still and be quiet. If you do not, I will kill you myself. The end will be the same except you will be dead. I think you would rather be alive and quiet than dead."

Mister Bodine relaxed until Felicia poured another measure of rum into his wound. He groaned again then, but gritted his teeth and lay still.

As she continued to pour rum into the hole on the front of his shoulder, Felicia was watching the rum that filled the basin she had placed under Mister Bodine's shoulder. When there was no more red flowing from the wound, she stopped and looked Mister Bodine in the face.

"I believe the wound is clean inside and out. Now, we must put a bandage on it to keep it that way. It will likely hurt as much as the rum, but do not move or you may start it to bleeding again."

After ripping one of the clothes into small pieces and stacking these pieces into two pads, Felicia put one on each side of the wound and then tied them in place using strips of cloth Martine tore from another piece. When she finished, she and Martine again rolled Mister Bodine from side to side in order to remove the soiled blanket from under him. Once that was done, she stood back and frowned at Mister Bodine.

"Well, that is done as well as I can do it. We will see if it is enough. Remember what I said, Mister Bodine. I will not allow you to kill yourself at my expense by getting up and walking around. I will give you rum to dull the pain and make you sleep."

Much to his chagrin, Mister Bodine had little choice in the matter. His one attempt at rising had left his head spinning and his sight had dimmed. He understood the reason for he had seen these effects before. The loss of blood would do such a thing to a healthy man, and his present condition indicated he had probably bled a lot.

As he lay there, he wondered at who this young girl was. She was but twenty at the most, and yet she commanded him as if she were a captain of forty years. Though evidently not accustomed to firing a pistol because she had not managed to kill him, she had not hesitated when he walked through the door of the captain's cabin. He had just opened the door and spied the two women when she fired and he felt the ball tear through his shoulder.

Even though Hayes had then entered the captain's cabin, the girl had not cowed. She had picked up the dagger from the captain's table and brandished it as he would have his cutlass. Yes, there had been fear in her eyes, but her mouth was set in a firm line that told him she would not back away from any attack.

Mister Bodine had not seen this type of response from any woman before. Even the whores on Tortuga would shrink if challenged by a man. Such was the type of conduct expected of the feminine gender. A woman might establish a superior position among other women, but would always defer to the words of a man.

As the rum he had swallowed began to cloud his mind and he fell asleep, Mister Bodine decided he would know more about this woman

When Mister Bodine appeared to be asleep, Felicia covered him with his blanket. Martine chuckled.

"White man on Hispanola not like this one. White Hispanola man more like woman than man. I think you look too hard before cover him up. Meby feel sumtin in belly, no?"

Felicia frowned.

"Martine, I only looked at his wound and I felt nothing."

Martine chuckled again.

"I see you touch hair on chest. You not see before hair on man chest. All man have hair all over, black man, white man, all man. Black man show top part all time because too hot for shirt. White man only show wife when make babies. Man root and sack have hair too. You see someday."

Felicia gasped.

"Martine, you embarrass me to death. I care not to see any more of this man than I must, and I do not want to hear more of such talk."

Martine smiled to herself. Felicia could deny it all she wanted to, but she'd seen the way Felicia stared at the man's bare chest. The girl was near twenty and had become a woman with a woman's needs, though she refused to accept that fact.

Martine knew those needs well. Satisfying those needs with the man she called husband had given her six children. Now, her husband lay in the ground and her children had been sold to other estates on Hispanola. Martine pined for her husband and children, but when the master of the estate placed her in charge of raising Felicia after her mother died, she had poured all her care and love into doing so.

Martine was as proud of Felicia as she had been one of her own children, though Felicia was much different. Felicia had not been one to accept rules well. Young girls were supposed to prepare themselves to be wives and mothers, and to do so were given appropriate clothing with stockings, underdresses and petticoats. Martine had to struggle to get the girl dressed every morning, and by noon, she would be running around in only her underdress and showing her bare elbows and ankles.

As she entered womanhood, Felicia had become more chaste, but still wore slippers and stockings only when attending a formal gathering. Martine was happy enough that Felicia saw fit to cover the open neckline of her dresses with a lace handkerchief. If the girl kept her large breasts covered and pale white, Martine could live with the fact the girl seldom wore stockings and slippers.

Martine frowned then. Now, at the age where most young women were thinking of a husband, a home, and children, Felicia was still the stubborn young girl who rebelled at the thought of anyone, and especially any man, telling her what she should and should not do.

It was mid-afternoon before the crew of the Bluefish spiked the guns of the Santa Isabella and then loosed the grappling hooks, set sail, and moved away from the disabled ship. Captain Riggins had kept the gun crews at the ready in case the captain of the Santa Isabella ordered his men to fire their muskets at the departing ship, but no shots followed. The men of the Santa Isabella were attempting to lash the main topgallant back to the main mast that they might have enough sail to make it to a safe harbor.

The hold of the Bluefish now carried six chests of silver, an amount the quartermaster allowed would be worth nearly three thousand pounds in Nassau, but almost five thousand pounds should Captain Riggins take it to Virginia. In addition, there were casks of sugar and coffee that would be sold in Nassau for an estimated five hundred pounds, and all the gunpowder the Santa Isabella had, some fifty casks. Any cannon balls of the appropriate size were also transferred to and stored beside the guns of the Bluefish.

Captain Riggins had not taken all the sugar and coffee the Santa Isabella carried for one specific reason -- he didn't want to completely fill the hold of the Bluefish. There was other treasure to be had, that treasure being gold and silver.

Several years before, a fleet of Spanish ships had set sail for Spain and one was loaded with gold and silver. When they reached the Florida Keys, a strong storm wrecked all the ships but one, a frigate that had gotten a three day late start. As the frigate passed Key West, she saw a longboat in the distance, and in that longboat were the surviving first mate and four crewmembers of the galleon that had been carrying the gold and silver. They told the captain of the frigate of the approximate location of the wreck of the galleon.

The frigate had made its way back to Spain, and when the Spanish Crown learned of the loss an expedition was assembled to salvage the wreck and bring the gold and silver back to Spain.

When that expedition put in at Saint Augustine for fresh fruit, vegetables, and water, one of the crew deserted after being flogged for robbing the ship's stores of food. By various means he made his way to Nassau. His reasoning was that since he had deserted, he could not work on a Spanish ship, and since he was Spanish, he could not find work on a British ship. That left becoming a pirate, and Nassau was a pirate stronghold.

When Captain Riggins stopped in Nassau to sell the loot of his last raid, the deserter had met him on the docks and volunteered to serve on the Bluefish in exchange for certain information he thought Captain Riggins would find useful. That deserter was now part of the crew of the Bluefish with the rank of third mate because he had disclosed the approximate location of the wreck to Captain Riggins along with the planned timetable of the salvage operation. That information had spawned a plan in Captain Riggins' mind.

While the crew completed the transfer and stowing of the captured goods, Captain Riggins took a sighting to determine the latitude and longitude of the current position of the Bluefish, and then plotted a course toward the Florida Keys.

Once the Bluefish was two leagues from the Santa Isabella, Captain Riggins gave the new course to the helmsman. The Bluefish surged forward as the ship turned to put the easterly trade wind at her stern. Captain Riggins' course would take the Bluefish to Jamaica where he would stop at Black River to fill his water casks.

Black River was a small village of maroons and would pose no danger to the Bluefish. The maroons were slaves who had escaped and intermarried with the local natives. They hated the white landowners but respected pirates because pirates raided the ships carrying the sugar and other goods that made the landowners rich. Some maroons had even joined the ranks of pirates.

After filling the water casks, he would then sail around the Caymans and western tip of Cuba and then up between the Keys and Cuba to Lois Key. Lois Key was uninhabited and he could anchor the Bluefish in the lee of the island to watch for any ships passing by. Captain Riggins calculated that the Bluefish would reach Lois Key in twenty days. According to the timetable related by the deserter, that would likely be at least a week before the treasure was loaded on a galleon and the galleon set sail for Spain.

Once Mister Bodine had gone to sleep, Martine and Felicia sat on the floor of the cabin. For a while, each was occupied by her own thoughts, but finally Martine broached the subject that concerned them both.

"Miss Felicia, captain say he ransom you. He ransom Martine? Nobody pay ransom Martine. What happen Martine?"

Felicia put her hand on Martine's arm.

"Do not worry, Martine. I will insist that both of us are included in any demand of ransom."

Martine sniffed and wiped her eyes.

"If man die, then what? Captain say he sell us to house of women for men. Martine not young like you. No man want Martine. Meby he kill Martine. Martine not want die."

Felicia had been thinking the same thoughts, but she couldn't allow Martine to become depressed. She would need Martine.

"Martine, Mister Bodine is not going to die. You and I will see that he doesn't. See how he sleeps? He does not have the sweat of a fever and he does not seem to be in pain."

Martine chuckled.

"Him drunk from rum. That why not hurt. Not hurt 'til wake up."

Felicia smiled.

"Then I'll give him more rum to put him back to sleep."

They heard the ship's bell then, two rings, a pause, and then two more rings. Felicia knew that was the time when the evening meal was served.

Half an hour later, the door opened. Felicia saw two men standing outside and holding wooden bowls. The taller man spoke then.

"The Cap'n said you git the same food as the rest o' the crew. This be it, salt pork and peas with hardtack. Don't got no spoons."

He held out two bowls and the other seaman held out just one. When Martine and Felicia took them, the cabin door was closed and locked again.

Martine sniffed at the bowl in her hand and then frowned.

"Smells like t'at hog been dead fo' while, and them peas look still hard."

Felicia frowned.

"I suppose the captain now intends us to starve to death. Well, I won't give him that pleasure. The food may not be good, but if it keeps the seamen alive, it will do the same for us. I'll save Mister Bodine's bowl for when he wakes up. Now, no more talk. Eat."

Mister Bodine did wake up, but the hour for eating had long passed. He felt his shoulder and moaned at the pain that effort took. No sooner had that sound escaped his lips than Felicia was at the side of his cot.

"Do not move about so. You will make your injury worse."

Mister Bodine felt Felicia touching the bandage on his shoulder and then heard her sigh.

"I do not feel a wetness so it must not be bleeding, but I will not be able to see it before day breaks. Lie as still as you can until then. If you are hungry, I have the food the crew brought for you. It is cold, but maybe you will not mind."

Mister Bodine said he wasn't hungry. He was, but he couldn't bring himself to eat cold salt pork and peas. It was bad enough when hot. He asked Felicia if she had any water. She said yes, but she didn't have a cup so he would have to drink from the pitcher.

Mister Bodine caught Felicia's arm when she rose to get the water.

"In my chest at the foot of the cot there is a cup."

Felicia opened the lid of the chest and felt around until she found the cup. She then poured a little water into the cup and brought it to Mister Bodine. She wouldn't let him sit up to drink it. Instead, she held his head up and then put the cup to his lips.

When he finished, Felicia asked if he wanted another drink. Mister Bodine said no, so she eased his head back down on the cot and covered him with the blanket again.

"Now, go back to sleep. You need to sleep so your wound will heal."

It was difficult for Mister Bodine to fall asleep, but it wasn't the pain. He'd found if he lay slightly on his other side, the pain mostly went away. The problem was he could not figure out this young woman. When he'd burst into the Captain's cabin, she had immediately pointed the pistol at him and fired. While he lay on the floor in pain, she had shown no emotion other than hatred for him and the rest of the crew. Captain Riggins had further enraged her to the point of threatening any man who touched her.

When she had first treated his wound, she seemed to do so out of self-preservation. Her voice had been harsh and commanding, and she had threatened to kill him if he didn't lie still.

Just then, though, her voice had been calm and soothing, and the movement of her small, soft hands as she felt for his bandages had been gentle. It was as if she were two women in one body, one, a fiery woman who would fight to the death to preserve her honor and another, a gentle woman with the goals of making him comfortable and helping him heal.

He had known both types of women, but never a woman who could be one at one time and the other at another time.

As Felicia lay back down beside Martine, she wondered at what she had just done and cursed herself for being so weak. She should have let him suffer for what he'd caused. Then she realized Mister Bodine had really done nothing more than open the door to the Captain's cabin. He had not so much as threatened her or Martine. His only words before she shot him had been, "I did not expect to find two women here."

The man was a pirate, and yet, he seemed to be different from Captain Riggins. Felicia had no doubts that Captain Riggins would do exactly what he said he would do. He was an evil man with no respect for anyone other than himself. He had not even bothered to examine Mister Bodine to see how badly he was injured. Instead, he had threatened her and Maritine and then left the cabin.

Perhaps Mister Bodine was like Captain Riggins and was only playing with her so she would take care of his wound. That was also a possibility.

Felicia sighed. Only time would tell. She would have to be prepared to confront Mister Bodine should he try to touch her once he had healed. She felt the bodice of her dress to make sure the knife was still there. She had found it in Mister Bodine's chest when she searched for the cup, and had hidden it in her bodice.

Could she do it? Felicia wasn't really sure. Before, when Mister Bodine had come into the Captain's cabin, she had felt nothing but fear and hatred for any pirate. It was easy to point the pistol and fire it at a man she was sure would do her harm.

When that same man had moaned in pain as she cleaned his wound, something inside her had changed. Instead of fear and hatred, Felicia had felt sympathy and a need to care for him. Was that change caused by what Martine had said, that for the first time Felicia had seen a man's bare chest? Felicia didn't think so, but that was when the change happened. She fell asleep still confused.

Morning came early the next day with the ringing of the ship's bell eight times and the scurry of bare feet on the roof of the cabin as the middle watch gave their posts to the morning watch and went below for the first meal of the day. Felicia awoke and saw that the window of the cabin was showing the gray color of dawn.

She roused Martine then because she knew the first meal of the day was being served. Just after the ship's bell rang once, the door to the cabin opened and revealed two different seamen holding three wooden bowls.

Felicia gave the men the three bowls from the night before and then she and Martine took the three bowls of food. Martine smelled the grayish mass and then wrinkled up her nose.

"It be oat porridge an' molasses, Miss Felicia. How we eat if no have spoon?"

Felicia shrugged.

"I do not know, Martine, but eat we must if we are to keep up our strength."

Felicia dipped two fingers into the thick, gray mass and then conveyed a lump to her mouth.

It wasn't bad like the salt pork and peas, but it wasn't good either. The molasses gave the otherwise bland oats an odd taste, and Felicia had never liked the taste of molasses. The slaves on her father's sugar plantation on Hispanola seemed to like molasses, but Felicia preferred sugar.

"Just use your fingers, Martine. It is a mess, but our fingers will wash. Eat while I wake Mister Bodine."

Felicia first felt Mister Bodine's forehead to determine if he had developed a fever. He seemed to feel normal and that was a good sign. When he spoke to her, he startled Felicia.

"I am usually awakened by a pounding on my door. This is a much better way to be roused from sleep."