“No, honey, but my father, the sheriff, is.”
Some of the men laughed. And she heard one of them say something about a better class of whore, but she kept moving. She maneuvered past a group of men loading cargo onto their ship. Those men eyed her as they worked, but didn’t speak. Rarely were sailors at work allowed to talk. The mate supervising them, yelled at them to get back to work even though none of them had actually stopped.
As Charlie approached her ship, she saw two of her men lingering not far from the ship. One was sitting on a crate smoking a pipe and the other was telling him a story of some sort. Both men had been on the larboard watch so she didn’t know either well. The one on the crate spotted her, but didn’t seem to recognize her.
“It’s a nice night for a smoke, eh Fanzel?”
“Aye,” he answered. “Hey, how do you know my name?”
“Mr. Sinclair?” the other man said recognizing Charlie’s voice and turning. “Uh, Miss Sinclair?”
“Aye. Has Morty come past here?”
“No, miss. Not that I’ve seen,” Fanzel answered stiltedly.
Charlie turned up the gangplank and boarded her ship. She could see the ship was in complete disarray, but didn’t have time to deal with it at the moment. She had to find Morty.
There weren’t many men aboard, she noticed, but she greeted each one by name taking a small amount of pleasure in their reaction.
When she saw Benjy, she asked him to bring a ewer of fresh water to her cabin. Running her fingers through her hair, Charlie began pulling pins out of her coif as she entered her cabin.
Charlie pulled a uniform out of the built-in locker and tossed it on her bunk. She brushed her hair and tied it back, the way she had worn it for years. After struggling with the pearls’ clasp, she ended up needing the mirror to get the necklace off.
Benjy brought the water and Charlie scrubbed her face and changed into her uniform, binding her breast as she had always done. She cursed when she realized her boots were at Jaxon’s townhouse. Luckily, she remembered a pair she had out grown and squeezed her feet in.
Charlie was only mildly surprised to find her money where she had left it. She pocketed it and left the ship to find Morty.
Charlie made the rounds of the taverns and inns near the wharf and worked her way toward the hotel where the party had been. Finally, in the fifth taproom she visited, she found him.
“Two ales,” Charlie said to a passing barmaid as she took a seat at Morty’s table.
“What are you doing here?” Morty asked still sounding sober. “Why aren’t you at your big engagement party with your captain?”
Charlie started to reach for his hand, but realized, dressed as she was, she couldn’t hold his hand without drawing the wrong kind of attention.
“I couldn’t enjoy my party knowing my best friend in the whole world is miserable because of me.”
He stared into his ale. “Best friend,” he echoed hollowly.
She would have like to have told him that she had been absolutely smitten with him when he had first come aboard. But she was afraid if she told him, it would give hope that she could feel that way again.
“I know that’s not what you wanted to hear and I’m sorry.” Charlie paused as the barmaid set the drinks if front of them. She handed the woman a pair of coins.
“My friend here is hungry. Do you have any grub?”
“Sure thing. We have chowder or stew.”
“Bring him both.”
“None for you?” the woman asked.
Charlie shook her head.
“How did you know I was hungry?”
“Morty, you’re always hungry,” Charlie said chuckling.
“My muscles need food,” he said flexing his arm and smiling for the first time. The smile died on his lips. “Why, Charlie? Why him and not me?”
“I wish I had some great answer for you, Morty, but honestly I think a lot of it is just because I’ve spent so many years thinking of you as my friend, I just don’t see you any other way. You’re the big brother I never had,” she explained. “Remember when you came aboard. You were so green. We spent hours practicing your knots.”
“You taught me everything.”
“Then later when I became blower, you were always the first to jump at my orders.”
“Aye, I remember all that.”
“My father always wanted me to be mentally tough and strong so I could lead the men. I need my husband to be as strong as or stronger than me. I don’t want to be the one wearing the trousers in the relationship.”
Morty quaffed the remainder of the ale he had been drinking when she arrived and took a long draw of the one she had ordered for him. Charlie followed suit.