Truepirate

CassyK/Truepirate

“I don’t see you as the type to settle down, quiet wife or not.” Elissa noted. His one comment made her wish she knew how to be quiet and obedient. He’d never have you, stop fooling yourself, she thought with a small shake of her head. She’d convinced herself years ago that no one would want her for herself, no matter how she behaved. Philip was a father to her and the other’s were her brothers, they were family. She turned away from Joseph again to pick at her food. She’d eaten maybe a third of the small portion that had been on her plate. Elissa fell silent as the conversation died. She continued picking at her food.

“Do you have any books?” She finally asked. “I thought maybe I could read while I’m in here, waiting to get to France.” Reading was one of the few quiet activities that she was fond of. Books took her away to a better life, they’d been her escape as a child after her mother had passed. “If you don’t it’s fine, they aren’t something most ships, pirate or otherwise normally have aboard. I just thought…well, I thought they’d help me pass the time. I won’t have you for company all the time, you are captain after all. You have duties to attend to.” She wished that he could stay and talk with her and spend time with her until they got to France. She was desperate for a few good memories of her time on the ship with Joseph, so that she’d have them to remember once he was out of her life again.

CassyK/Truepirate

“She didn’t know why I was wanting to go back to my old cabin, I just told her that was where I was going.” Elissa said. “I suppose it was a favor, but I was willing to be locked away in the dark, just so I wouldn’t upset you any more. I am sorry for upsetting you yesterday.” She began to peel an orange that had been on her plate. There had been two and she had made sure they each had gotten one.

“Father doesn’t plan on dying anytime soon, so Blayne still has to wait awhile to get his money. Father just wants me gone and out of his hair. I’m a burden to him, even if I sail for his company. We hardly ever see each other anymore, I wish he’d just let me do as I pleased. However he doesn’t want to deal with me and figures since Blayne is willing to marry me that I can become his problem instead of father’s. He doesn’t care what happens to me. Father probably sees the dowry as a way of paying Blayne to take me out of father’s life. Almost like a reward. I mean nothing to either of them. The only people who care about me is my crew.” She sat the peels to the side of her plate. “I really did meet most of them in Bedlam. Philip was there because he couldn’t pay his debts, Johnathan was an orphan that was brought in because he was rambling. Turns out he lost his parents to a house fire and was in shock when they found him. Timothy was a beggar that I met once I was free. Mark was one of the assistants and hated his job, so I offered him a better one. Silas was a servant in my father’s house, he wanted adventure.” Elissa explained. “Another reason father is allowing Blayne to marry me is because no one else will. I may be rich, but I don’t have a lot of suitors. None to speak of really. Men in town don’t like that I’m outspoken and work for a living. They want me to be quiet, obedient, and all that other nonsense.” She frowned. “I’m an equal to them, they aren’t better than me and I’m not better than them.” She was opinionated and stubborn, more attributes that men frowned upon when looking for a wife. Elissa wasn’t afraid to fight back if one struck her either.

CassyK/Truepirate

“I wasn’t here, I was going back to my old room. I’d seemed to have bothered you and had thought it best if I wasn’t around you. I didn’t want to upset you more.” She’d been willing to face the darkness to keep from upsetting Joseph. “She asked where I was going, took my arm and insisted I join all of you. I didn’t think it was a good idea, but honestly she sort of scared me.” Elissa tried to not make Rhea sound like the bad guy.

CassyK/Truepirate

“He will miss my money.” She said dryly. “That’s all he cares about. He’s already promised to lock me back up in Bedlam the moment the wedding is over. We will go from the chapel to the asylum, then he will be able to claim my dowry and, after my father passes, my inheritance.” Elissa finally turned to face him. “I try to get along with her, she just doesn’t like me. After last night I can’t say I’m too fond of her, I’d have been fine if she hadn’t brought me to drink with all of you.” She knew Blayne was only marrying her for her money. He’d hated her when they were children and had bullied her constantly. Now as an adult he’d squandered all of his money and was looking for someone to fund his lavish way of living. Elissa’s father was the only fool that would agree to letting his daughter marry the nobleman. All the others knew he was money hungry. Mr. Bishop was just bent on getting rid of Elissa and making her someone else’s problem. He didn’t care what happened to her.

She turned back to her food, putting her fork down to pick up her cup of coffee. “I’ll try harder to get along with her.” She sighed. “But you need to talk with her and have her try too. I don’t even know what I did to make her dislike me.” She really didn’t understand how the two of them had started disliking one another. Elissa half figured it was because Joseph paid attention to her, but he seemed to pay attention to Rhea as well.

CassyK/Truepirate

“Father was away on business when you came...calling. He’s probably still gone, he stays away months at a time. He does have men at the warehouse and at the docks, but ships come and go all the time on business. My ship is the smallest, that’s why a crew of five can run it. No one will notice if it is gone.” She answered, picking at her food. “My crew knows me as Elissa. I only go by Eli when I’m bargaining and trading. It just makes the job easier to pretend to be a man.”

Elissa’s good mood was slowly fading. “I wish you would let me help you get your ship back, that was the whole reason you captured me.” She pushed some of the pickled vegetables around on her plate, her appetite seeming to have dwindled. She shrugged her shoulders and shook her head. “Don’t worry about me. I’ll find a way home. I can probably sell the ring Blayne gave me to get passage back to England...unless the cheapskate bought me fake diamonds.” She wouldn’t put it past Blayne to do such a thing. “I’ll find a way home.” She’d survived worse than being stranded in a forgein country.

Elissa finally took a bite of food. It was good, but she wasn’t hungry anymore. She ate a little, picking here and there like a child forced to eat their greens before being allowed to leave the table. She hadn’t looked to Joseph the whole time she’d been speaking, she had just stared vacantly at her plate.

CassyK/Truepirate

Adam shut the door behind him, he needed to get a list together of supplies he was short on.

“You don’t want it?” Elissa asked when he offered the food to her. She sat down across from him. “Well if I take it, you need something from my plate so it is a fair trade. Why don’t you take some of the pickled vegetables, those would be good for you.” It really wasn’t a fair trade since she had already given him a larger portion. “Drink all the water you like, I prefer coffee anyways. Drinking coffee was one of the few things high society got right.” She smiled. Adam was right she did seem to be in a better mood. “What would you like me to do until we get to France? I can help out on the ship, though your doctors might not like it. Don’t tear my stitches.” She mocked with a laugh. “Honestly, I’m not a frail doll. These stitches are healed up enough for me to do anything I please.” She didn’t seem to hold the doctor in as high a standing as Joseph and the ships crew. “How far are we from France?” She wished he would reconsider and let her help him get his ship back. Elissa didn’t understand the sudden change of mind.

CassyK/Truepirate

“Oh I despise the dress,” she said frowning. “The only good thing about it is that I can hide more weapons on my person wearing a dress than I can wearing a shirt and trousers. That and it’s distracting.” She took the plate from him and moved to the desk so that she could separate the food onto the smaller plates the doctor had brought. She put more food on the plate meant for Joseph than she put on her own plate. Elissa reasoned that Joseph needed more food because he was the captain. She figured she could do with less even though she was still recovering from her injury.

“I brought coffee too.” Adam said, passing the pot to Elissa, who took it and the cups. He looked back to Joseph as the young woman walked off to pour the coffee. “You’d best not tear those stitches, they still need a day or so to heal.” He said in a lowered tone so Elissa couldn’t hear him. “She seems to be in a better mood, but I’m sure you are to blame for that.” He raised a questioning eyebrow. “Make sure you both eat some of the fruit. It keeps away scurvy. Also, don’t drink so much water at once. It isn’t good for you, it will make you ill. And I hate tending to you when you are ill, Captain, you aren’t the most pleasant patient. Well I’ll take my leave. I wouldn’t want to interrupt more than I already have. Eat a good meal.” He instructed.

Elissa poured the coffee and put a little sugar in her cup. With Joseph being the captain, Adam had brought what little sugar had been left in their stores. They’d need to restock when they reached France.

CassyK/Truepirate

That’s fine. I’ve been busy with work anyways.

CassyK/Truepirate

She was a little disheartened when he moved away, had she done something wrong? She’d forgotten about being hungry, he’d distracted her. “Oh...food would be good I suppose.” She said softly, pushing a few strands of hair from her face. Elissa looked down before looking back up again, the mischievous smirk back on her face. “Maybe you can look later then?” She offered. She was persistent. Elissa knew there was the chance that that had been their only moment, he was leaving her in France after all and she didn’t know how far away they were. She didn’t know what to say, words escaped her. She wanted to go back to his embrace. “You still owe me that dance lesson. I’d say tonight but you seem to follow your own schedule.” Elissa stood up from the floor and sat back down on the couch. “I could wear my ball gown. It has to be prettier than this shirt and trousers.” She was still teasing him.

Adam finished his rounds and made it back to the cabin. Clearing his throat he knocked on the door, unsure if he’d get a response. “Captain, I’ve brought breakfast.” He wondered what Rhea would say if she knew that Elissa was with the captain, it wouldn’t be good he guessed. “Captain?” He knocked again.

“Sounds like he’s back.” Elissa said looking to the door. She was glad it was the doctor there and not Rhea. While Joseph said the woman was mad at him she still had the feeling that Rhea wasn’t fond of Elissa.

CassyK/Truepirate

“Try finding it, search where you like.” She said, smiling. Elissa leaned into his kiss. She knew this wouldn’t last, knew he wouldn’t be loyal just to her, but she still wanted her time with him. She didn’t know about the surgeon returning. Elissa was enjoying this, probably more than she should have. “I’m not going to tell you where it is, you are the one who threatened to search for it after all.” She didn’t know how far this would go, but was willing to let it go as far as Joseph would let it. She knew it was a dangerous game to be playing, yet she didn’t care.

Adam reached the door and was about to knock when he heard the two talking. He could tell that now was not a time he wanted to interrupt. He turned and walked off with the tray of food, planning on coming back later. He still had a few more of the crew to tend to and he wanted to make sure Rat was fed as well.