The Pirate and the Runaway Bride

Felicia quickly pulled her hand back.

"We have been given our morning meal. We have no spoons for the oat porridge so you will have to use your fingers."

Mister Bodine chuckled.

"I prefer the spoon in my seaman's chest. If you would be so kind as to fetch it for me, I would be much obliged."

Felicia felt around in the chest until she found a spoon, then gave it to Mister Bodine along with his bowl of porridge. He caught his breath when he attempted to scoop up a spoonful, then put the spoon back in the bowl.

"I seem to not be capable of feeding myself. I was cursed from birth to use only my left hand for everything, and with my left shoulder injured, it pains me to move it."

Felicia asked if he couldn't just use his right hand. Mister Bodine chuckled again.

"My right hand is nearly useless for most tasks. Were I to do as you ask, I would have more porridge on my face than in my mouth. It is a sad state to be in, but such is the curse of using only the off hand."

Enough light was now coming through the window that Felicia could make out Mister Bodine's face. She picked up the spoon, dipped it into the porridge and then touched it to Mister Bodine's lips.

"If you do not eat, you will waste away and die. I can not allow that to happen, so I will feed you. Open your mouth."

Martine smiled to herself as she used her fingers to wipe the last of the porridge from her bowl. She had been right about Felicia's feelings. The young woman who had told her she would never be with a man was now feeding a man his breakfast. Martine hoped the man had the same feelings. If he did, they might not suffer the fate that Captain Riggins had promised them.

For the first week, the days were all the same. Two crewmen would bring a morning meal to the cabin. After forcing down the food, Felicia would examine Mister Bodine's wound and change the bandage. Later in the morning, Felicia and Martine would walk the gallery to the seat of ease at the stern. Both were accustomed to this accommodation as it was the same afforded them on the Santa Isabella.

On the second day, Mister Bodine said he was going to take a walk on the gallery as well. Felicia began to protest, but quickly understood his need. She did not allow him to make the walk by himself though, a fact that made Martine smile. Instead, Felicia assisted Mister Bodine to the stern and then came back to the cabin after warning him to not attempt to make the return trip by himself. Several minutes later, Felicia walked back toward the stern and met Mister Bodine walking toward her, the exact thing she had told him not to do. She was incensed.

"Mister Bodine, how am I to make you well when you insist upon causing yourself a greater injury? Put your arm around my shoulder now before you fall over the side and into the sea."

Mister Bodine did as Felicia had asked, but inside he was chuckling. His shoulder still pained him if he moved it quickly, but in any other set of circumstances, he would have been standing on deck and giving orders to the crew by now.

For now, he was content to let Felicia order his daily activities, if only that he might continue to be in the company of such a pretty young woman. He had seen many women since taking to the sea, but most were the hussies who offered themselves for a few shillings, and that occupation was telling on a woman's looks.

While most men would not have considered a woman like Felicia to be a good wife, Mister Bodine was attracted to her. As a First Mate, he had never respected a seaman who looked to him for orders to do everything. He expected any good seaman to see what needed doing and then do it. He knew it would have to be the same with any woman he took as a wife. He could not respect a woman who did only what she was told. He needed a woman who could think for herself even if it meant doing some things he didn't particularly like.

As quickly as Mister Bodine had those thoughts he dismissed them. Felicia was from a wealthy Spanish family. She would never give consideration to an English man who was barely more than a common seaman and a pirate at that.

Mister Bodine was curious about how Felicia and Martine happened to be aboard a Spanish ship bound for Spain. In his experience, women did not usually travel by sea because of the necessary hardships imposed by life on board a ship. He had seen only a few, and they were older women joining their husbands once their husbands had acquired an estate on the islands and could provide for them.

To this end, he asked Felicia that same question -- why was she on her way to Spain?

Felicia hesitated when asked that question. Was this man trying to find out if her family had money? If she allowed that her father was wealthy that would increase the demand of a ransom, a ransom her father would never pay after the embarrassment she had caused him.

If she let on that her family was poor, it was likely there would be no ransom demand. Instead, she and Martine would be sold to a brothel and would live their short lives at the hands of filthy, stinking seamen.

"Why is that any concern of yours", she asked.

Mister Bodine shrugged.

"I simply thought it unusual that a young woman and her servant would be traveling on a Spanish cargo ship. Cargo ships do not have the best of accommodations for women. That is the only reason I ask. I know what you are thinking, but I have no say one way or the other in what happens to you once we arrive in Nassau."

Felicia frowned.

"The accommodations on the Santa Isabella were far better than what we have now. The slaves on my father's sugar plantation are treated better than your Captain Riggins is treating us."

Again, Felicia hesitated. Mister Bodine was smiling and did not appear to have any evil intent toward her.

"If you must know, I was running away from the man my father picked to be my husband."

Mister Bodine wrinkled his brow.

"You were to be married but you fled. Whatever for?"

Martine answered before Felicia could find the right words.

"Father only want make self richer. Not care Felicia be sad all time. Man father pick was fancy man. Wear fancy clothes and walk around with nose in air at everybody. Him not want white woman. Him want slave woman. I hear from other slave woman he make slave woman take him root in mouth an' in other place, not place where babies come out.

Mister Bodine looked at Felicia.

"Felicia, is this true?"

Felicia nodded.

"Yes. I did not see what he did with the slave women, but he did not court me or any other woman. He was wealthy and wanted a wife who would inherit money. That is how he became wealthy. His father died and left him an estate of sugar fields on Hispanola and the slaves to operate them. He has overseers who manage the fields so he can flaunt his wealth in Santo Domingo.

"As part of the marriage agreement, he would merge his sugar and tobacco plantation with my fathers and they would divide the profits equally. That would be my dowry, but it would be repaid in the future. When my father died, both plantations would have become my husband's. I would have been the wife of a very wealthy man, but I would have been little more than another slave to him. I would not allow that to happen, so I took Martine and purchased passage to Saint Augustine for both of us. Had the ship not been attacked, I would have been well on my way by now."

Mister Bodine had expected Felicia to say she was going to visit relatives in Spain. To hear that she was fleeing from a marriage she did not want was contrary to everything he knew about proper women. Arranged marriages were common among the wealthy of any nation and proper women obeyed their father's wishes. Surely this woman was more different than he had imagined.

"I had assumed you were going to Spain, not Saint Augustine. It would seem that what you have done was quite a gamble. An unwed woman can not provide for herself, much less for herself and a servant woman."

Felicia smiled.

"That is what my father thought, that I could not escape his plan, but I was made aware of that plan as a result of Martine overhearing a conversation between my father and the man he picked to be my husband. She related that conversation to me and that gave me time to form a plan of my own.

"My grandfather on my mother's side lives in Saint Augustine and operates a business selling fruits and vegetables he grows on his farm. He is known by all the Spanish ship captains as an honest man, so they make a stop in Saint Augustine for supplies before and after crossing the sea and they buy their fruit and vegetables from him.

"I sent him a letter on the first Spanish ship leaving for Spain. The captain of that ship promised to deliver my letter in person, and he was true to his promise. The next ship that docked in Santo Domingo brought his reply. If I were to come to Saint Augustine, my grandfather would let me live with him and learn his business.

"I am his only grandchild and he is nearly sixty years of age. I will inherit his business upon his death. I am told that women can own property in Florida, so I will become wealthy in my own right. I will not need a husband to see to my needs, and that is a situation I shall never change. It is not right that a woman must give up everything to her husband once she is married. I intend to live my life as I see fit, not the life dictated by some man who only wants of me the comfort of my body in his bed."

Mister Bodine thought for a few moments. What Felicia had just told him would probably seal her fate. He had no doubts that she had caused her father a great social embarrassment, and because of that it was unlikely he would pay more than a pittance to ransom her if even that. Sons were important as they carried on the family line and business. Daughters were only useful if they were pretty enough to command a large dowry. Once people learned that Felicia had rejected her father's choice of a husband, no man would want her.

If Captain Riggins were made aware of Felicia's status, he would come to the same conclusion. This woman who was doing her best to save his life would end up satisfying the needs of common seamen instead of living the life of a wife and mother. Though he had played a part in her capture, such a fate befalling any woman was against everything he believed in.

He frowned.

"Felicia, it would be best if your words did not leave this cabin. If anyone asks why you were traveling, you should say you were going to visit your grandmother in Spain. It would not go well for you or Martine were Captain Riggins to learn the real reason."

Felicia also frowned.

"Why would you warn me?"

Mister Bodine paused while he considered his answer. He wished her no harm, but would she believe him? Perhaps there was a way to gain her trust. He too had a secret that if known would probably result in his death or at the least, abandonment on a remote island. Perhaps if Felicia knew that secret, she would believe he had only her interests in mind.

"Felica, in spite of what you must think of me, I am not a man the likes of Captain Riggins. I do not wish any harm to come to you or to Martine, and were I able, I would see to it that you are returned to your family unharmed. Such was the way I was reared.

"To understand my current situation, you must know of how I arrived at this point in my life. I am the third son of a wealthy landowner in England. As the third son, I could not inherit the family estate and was forced to strike out on my own. I had a good education in the science and mathematics of farming, but no farm to manage.

"My course of action was to join the Royal Navy. I served through the last war after which much of the Royal Navy was disbanded. I was able to find a job as Master's Mate of a merchantman sailing for the Americas and thought I was set, but such was not to be.

"The captain of that ship was a cruel man who cared not for his crew and flogged his sailors for even the smallest crime. On one such occasion -- a cabin boy had helped himself to the remains of the captain's chicken dinner -- the captain tied the boy to the main mast and personally flogged him until he fainted from the pain. The boy was but fifteen years old and had only taken what he was supposed to throw over the side to feed the fish.

"That night, the crew, including we mates, decided to take the ship from the captain. Our intention was to imprison him in the hold until we reached Port Royal and there to bring charges against him. Being larger and stronger than some, it was decided I and two others would be the ones to overpower the captain and take him to the hold.

"Somehow, the captain learned of our plan. I suspicion it was from the cook, but that is no matter now after what happened. When we entered the captain's cabin, he was ready with a pistol. He shot one of the men with me and then picked up a cutlass and rushed toward the two of us that remained. It was only to preserve my life and the life of the other seaman that I drew my knife. When the captain swung his cutlass at my partner, I thrust my knife into his breast. He died moments later, his heart pierced by my blade.

"I knew that once we docked in Port Royal and the circumstances of the captain's death were made known, the entire crew would be tried for mutiny and most likely hanged. They did not deserve that fate. They only took the ship to stop a cruel captain from continuing to abuse his seamen. The only way to spare them the fate I had caused was for me to leave the ship. That way, they could say I killed the captain and made my escape before they could stop me. The crew did not force me to flee. Doing so was of my own choosing.

"The ship was a week out of Charleston in the Colony of South Carolina when this transpired. I took the jolly boat, the captain's spare compass and sextant and his chart along with provisions for two weeks, and set sail for Nassau. It was a dangerous voyage in only a jolly boat, but God was with me. When I arrived, I found the Bluefish docked in the harbor. Captain Riggins was looking for a few seamen, so I signed on knowing the business of the ship was pirating ships of the Spanish merchant fleet. I did not relish becoming a pirate, but I knew only sailing and becoming a pirate was my only remaining choice.

"So you see, we are in somewhat the same situation. Captain Riggins would think nothing of me killing another seaman or even a passenger, but killing a captain during a mutiny is a crime he would never forgive. Were he to learn of my past, If he did not kill me outright, he would flog me until I fainted and then set me ashore on some God-forsaken tiny island and leave me to die."

Felicia considered what Mister Bodine had just told her. If true, he had as much or more to lose if she were to tell Captain Riggins his tale. She had studied his face while he spoke, and had seen only the anguish of a man relating a story of a tragedy that had befallen him.

In her relationships with other men, she had never met a man who displayed his true emotions. Many were boastful of their supposed accomplishments, others addressed her as if she was little more than a slave, and some ignored her attempts at conversation altogether. There was no doubt in her mind that Mister Bodine was being truthful. She heard that in the sound of his voice as well as saw it in his face. Felicia gained a new respect for the man. He was a man any proper woman would be pleased to call her husband.

Of course, in her own case, that was impossible. Felicia knew she was not a woman a man would want to live with. She spoke her mind and was not bashful about disagreeing with anyone spouting something she did not believe. No man would live with a woman like that.

He did seem to be sympathetic to her situation and appeared to regret his own. Could she somehow convince him to help her escape? As Martine had often told her when she was young, "If no ask, no get."

"Mister Bodine, do you like being a pirate?"

He shook his head.

"No, I do not, but as I said, it is the only occupation fate has left for me."

Felicia then smiled.

"You were able to escape your fate once. Why have you not tried again?"

Mister Bodine looked at Felicia. He had considered the possibility before but resisted because he knew there was no other occupation for him. Now, he had another concern that prevented such an action. When he had escaped the British merchantman, he had been in as fine a shape as he could be. Now, with his wounded shoulder, such would be very difficult at best.

"I have had that thought, and I suppose it would be possible were I not wounded. With my shoulder injured, I could not handle the sail and rudder at the same time. Even if I were successful, what would I do to earn an income? It is better that I stay a pirate."

Mister Bodine was not prepared for Felicia's next words.

"If Martine and I were to go with you, we could sail the boat while you directed us. As for your income, I am certain my grandfather would be very grateful to the man who brought his granddaughter to him. I would insist that you would have a position in his business. Saint Augustine is under Spanish rule as well. No one in Saint Augustine would report you for killing a British ship captain. If anything, they would thank you."

Mister Bodine tried to resist her logic.

"But you know nothing of boats. Attempting to escape would only speed us all to our deaths. Even were we to arrive in Saint Augustine, I know nothing of business. I am also English, and the Spanish do not favor the English at all."

Felicia smiled what she hoped was an encouraging smile.

"Yes, it is true that we know nothing of boats, but if I am to compare myself and Martine to the seamen I have seen, we would learn much more quickly and we would not shirk from the task as it seems they often do.

"You do not know business, but you know farming and you know what ships require. I should think that is enough for a man who sells fruits and vegetables. As for your English background, a simple change of name will remove most suspicions, and I will have my grandfather give you a position where you need not speak Spanish until you learn it."

Mister Bodine saw her smile and was impressed by her confidence in herself and in him. He also had no delusions about the difficulty of what she had proposed. When he had left the merchantman, the crew was aware of what he was doing and why. They had assisted him in gathering provisions and in launching the jolly boat. Without that assistance, it would have been impossible.

He would need help from someone who wasn't locked in a cabin. As he was thinking about that, he remembered a conversation he had with the cook before they had attacked the Santa Isabella. The cook was an older former slave who had escaped from a plantation near Kingston and had fled to the maroons at Black River.

He had joined the crew of the Bluefish some five years earlier and was now tired of the life of a pirate. As he had put it, "I's too old to be bobbin' on the water like a frog on a log an' too young to die. What I's needin' is a house wi' a good woman an' a growin' place for some beans an' a hog or two. Don't see that comin' my way though. I'll prolly just die down here by my fire an' they'll feed me to th' sharks."

The cook could easily save enough provisions for the time it would take to sail to Saint Augustine. The cook could also do something no one else on the ship could do. The food stores were in the main hold, and that was where the chests of silver were as well. If the cook were careful, he could take a coin or two from a chest when he went to the hold to get supplies and no one would be the wiser. Over time, he could amass enough silver to give both him and Mister Bodine some money to start a new life.