Eyes wide andbrows high, I spoke with a laugh,“Uh, what?”
Lottie foldedher arms tightly and held her head high. “That’s right. The Queenis all yours, Captain.”
ChapterEleven
Lottie, Finn, and I sat in a small boat as we rowedout to The Queen. A temperamental Gus stayed behind to watch overCharlie, but really, I knew he was mad about the whole boat and mebeing captain thing. As much as I adored the man, he was sostubborn and old-fashioned, evenfor this era. I didn’t know much about his past, other than thefact that Maria had taken everything from him when she burned hisship and murdered his crew. But I wondered then, of Gus’s lifebefore that. Had he been married? Kids? Daresay… happy?
I set mythoughts aside as we came up broadside of the ship, a massive redsea beast with yellow trims. I stared in wonder at the portholeslining the sides and the mouths of cannons poking out in between. Icounted six that I could see, assuming there were six more to matchon the other side of her. A thick rope ladder hung down from theedge and dangled near the bottom where our little rowboat pulledup. Finn grabbed hold of it and pulled us close, so we could climbon.
I struggled atfirst, maintaining my footing in the rocky boat while I secured mygrip around the itchy rope, but I climbed the length of it withease until I reached the top and Finn helped haul me over theedge.
My leatherboots hit the upper deck with a loud thud and I stared around me inutter awe. Heaps of spooled rope, giant metal anchors, and woodencrates covered in heavy nets were placed throughout. An impressively sized steering wheel sat neartwo staircases that led to the deck above the stern.
I walked overto it and placed my hands on the girthy handles, admiring thecraftsmanship and noting a gorgeous compass built into thepedestal. I looked up and glanced around. This was a ship to befeared. This was a ship to be revered.
And it wasmine.
“Aye, lass,”Finn called as he climbed up from the deck below. “’Tis a beauty, she is. We’ll do some fine sailin’aboard her.” He stopped when he saw where I stood and grinned fromear to ear, stepping back to size me up. Then he heaved a happysigh. “Ye look good there, ye know.”
I smiled.“Thanks. I just hope Gus can get on board with the idea of me beinghis captain.” I stepped away and walked over to him. “I mean, I’llneed the both of you if I’m to do this right. I have no clue whatI’m doing.”
“Yes ye do,”my friend replied. “Ye were born fer it. The sea loves ye. Gus will be fine, just let himsuck his own teat for the day.”
I laughed andslapped him on the arm. “Where’s Lottie?”
He thumbedover his shoulder. “Checking out the kitchen, seein’ what we need.I took some stock, meself. We’regonna need some weapons, supplies and the lot.” He eyeballed thecannons that lined each side. “I reckon we won’t be needin’cannonballs, The Burning Ghostain’t got cannons. But it might be smart to have some onboard.” Hethrew me a wink. “Just in case.”
I nodded,filing the information away in my mind. Being the captain of a shipwasn’t too different from owning your own business, I imagined.You’re responsible for your employees, inventory, supplies, not tomention profits. We had to find a way to make money, and I didn’tfancy the idea of piracy. Not of innocent people, anyway.
Just then,Lottie emerged from the same ladder Finn climbed up from and walkedover to where we stood. She held a long parchment in her hand.“I’ve made a list of all the supplies we’ll need for the kitchen.Should do us a while at sea.”
Finn clearedhis throat uncomfortably. “Uh, Lassie, readying a ship this sizefor the sea is goin’ to cost a pretty penny.”
“No worries,”I dug around in my satchel for the bag of schillings I’d broughtand pulled it out, holding it up for them to see. “I cameprepared.”
Finn’s eyesbulged. “Where the Christ did ye get all that money?”
“My, um, mymother saved this for a lot of years. It was just collecting dustback home. Better to be here, where it can actually be used,right?”
The Scot’seyes quickly darted to Lottie and then back again. “Right. Yes.Good of yer mother to be so savvy.”
Lottie leanedin. “Am I missing something here?”
“No,” Iassured her. “Just… my mother died when I was younger. It’ssometimes hard to talk about her.” I was flat out lying to myfriend, but too many people already knew my secret and I wasn’ttotally sure I could trust Lottie yet. Not with something likethat. If the wrong person knew I had the ability to travel throughtime… who knew what could happen. “So, where do we go to get whatwe need?”
“Well, I canget everything to stock the pantry. I have some chickens and a goatwe can take from the tavern. I just have to clean the tiny stableaboard the ship. And I can just wash the linens already aboardinstead of spending money on newones,” Lottie offered.
“Gus would bethe man to collect the other things we need,” Finn added. “I’d liketo spend a day aboard, makin’ sure everything runs smoothly, checkthe sails and the lot.”
“Okay, let’shead back, talk to Gus, and get as much done today as we can.” Ilooked up at the sky, squinting from the high afternoon sun. “Westill have some daylight left. I’d like to sail as soon aspossible.”
“Aye,” Finnpaused, his beard scrunching up into a grin, “captain.”
I laughed andshoved at his shoulder. “Shut up.”
“Wait,” Lottiespoke, “you haven’t seen the best part.” She began walking overtoward the door to the stern. The captain’s quarters.
My heartbeatkicked up a notch at the idea of it being my quarters. Iwatched as she turned the large brass knob, then heaved on thehefty wooden door and followed her in. It was dimly lit, thecurtains were drawn shut, butthrough the filtered light of the sun shining through, I could seea stunning bedroom and
