The Stowaway Debutante by Rebecca Diem

Author:Rebecca Diem
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Woolf Like Me Publishing

Chapter 6: In which our heroine finds a friend

The land below was cast in the deep shades of the night. A river gleamed with moonlight where its currents met. Clara could just make out the barest features of small houses far below as the ship followed its course through the stars. The air soothed her, brushing cool fingers across her face and neck as she stood at the railing. She let it blow her coat behind her, knowing she ought to keep warm, but enjoying the new sensations far too much to be sensible quite yet. The alcohol had gone to her head, she reasoned, trying to rationalize her reaction to the Captain. How had such a nice evening turned into a battle? She belonged here. She felt it in her soul. In less than a day she felt more at home on these decks than in any parlour. She would fight for her place, and the Captain would have to accept that. Clara puffed out a breath of exasperation. She should have handled the exchange better. He hadn’t really accused her of anything, just pried into areas she’d rather left alone. She likely owed him an apology, and it made her pride sore to think of it. At a small noise behind her, she turned to find Nessa had joined her on the decks.

“Well hello, Miss Clara, I hope the fine evening air is treating you well,” she teased, joining her at the rail and passing another bottle of the seemingly endless supply of intoxicants aboard the ship.

“Where on earth does it all come from?”

“Oh we don’t always imbibe this much, but that last raid had a rather plentiful supply. That sneaky lout had definite plans for his ill-gotten gains.”

They laughed and toasted each other, then sat with their backs to the rail and their legs stretched out in front of them.

“Tell me what’s troubling you.”

“I may have been a bit cross with the Captain. He has no trust in me.”

“He only has the safety of his crew in mind. You’re a new pilot. Untrained, unproven. I hardly trust you myself,” she joked. Clara shot her a dark look.

“I told him he was playing at Robin Hood.”

Nessa roared at that one. “Truth be told, I’m not sure it’s the first he’s been told that and I’m certain it won’t be the last. It’s good to see some of that hellcat coming out. Give it time. I still don’t know how well you’ll do in a raid, but I do trust that you’ll work hard for your place here. The Captain will sort himself out.”

“If he decides to let me stay.”

“He’ll come around. And he’ll answer to me if he wants you gone. Our crew is short without Robbie and the others. I need hard workers,” Nessa said, putting an arm around her shoulders. “Besides, I like your spirit.”

“You are like the sister I never had. At least, if I had one, I’d want her to be like you,” Clara said, returning the hug.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.