An Officer but No Gentleman(9)

His brows knitted as he thought on her argument. “Fine. But you are confined to quarters when you are not on duty. You will be in your bed with the poultice on your back until Brody is satisfied you are better.”

“Aye-aye.”

“I am disappointed in you, Charlie.”

Her face dropped. This may have been the first time the words had come out of his mouth, but Charlie had felt them many times before. She was a disappointment. She would never be the son he wanted.

“Is that all?”

“You’re dismissed.”

“Aye-aye.”





3



Jaxon Bloodworthy stood proudly on the quarterdeck of The Dragon’s Lair, amazed for the hundredth time at the speed of his new Baltimore clipper. Her compact size and sleek hull were built for speed. Her sails bowed out with wind upon her three masts. Jax walked forward to the prow of his ship between the rows of jet-black cannons lining the railings of his ship, his limp making his stride uneven.

In his quarters, locked up in the small safe, sat his second favorite new possession—his Letter of Marque and Reprisal issued by the United States Government. It gave him the right, by law, to stop any British or French ship and seize the vessel.

Absently, he rubbed his stubbled jaw only to become aware of the action when his fingers touched the end of the jagged scar that marred his once handsome face. His thoughts turned dark at that moment. He was seeking his revenge and if he became rich doing it, all that much better. As a privateer, he would search out the French bastard who keelhauled him and left him disfigured for life. He would take that man’s ship and its cargo to the Admiralty Courts. Once it was determined it was a legitimate seizure the ship and its cargo would be sold. After the government took its share, he and his men would split the remainder.

The corner of his mouth lifted. This was going to make what had happened to him worth it. He would seize one French ship for every scar on his body, he thought snaking his path through the throng of sailors.

His crew was huge, much larger than needed for a ship this size, but he employed more than double what he needed. The overage would be placed on the seized vessel to sail it back to the Admiralty and to guard their prisoners.

Life at sea had changed so much since the summers he spent on his maternal grandfather’s ship. The conflict between England and France spread out to affect all countries that shared the Atlantic. No longer did sails on the horizon harbor a kinship among fellow sailors, instead it bred fear. He could remember as a child when sails were spotted changing course to sail within signaling distance of the other ship. If both ships spoke the same language a large megaphone might be used to communicate. Oftentimes, the ships would stop and exchange supplies and mail. It was an exciting moment for the crews of both ships.

But now sails were viewed with trepidation.

Both naval forces, the English and the French, bore their own agenda. The English would board other ships and assemble the crew. They would claim they were looking for Royal Naval deserters and force any Englishman they found into service to the king, essentially shanghaiing them at sea. As the conflict raged on, it was no longer just the British crewmembers who had to fear being pressed into service. Any able-bodied seaman might be taken. If the English ship needed a new sail maker, the captain or mate claimed to remember serving with their prey’s sail maker and declared him a deserter. Anyone and everyone aboard was vulnerable. If they suffered a loss at sea, they replenished their ranks from the next ship they stopped. They didn’t care if they left enough men on the other ship to sail it.

The French on the other hand, stole the livelihood of the men whose ships they stopped. They insisted the stopped vessel provided aid to their enemy, England, or perhaps they sailed to or from its shores and that justified seizing the cargo of ship for themselves.

Five years earlier, only a few months after assuming his first captaincy, Jaxon experienced his first encounter with this new French piracy. Completely caught off guard when the French ship fired a warning shot across their bow, he heaved-to and allowed them to board. He had thought there was some mistake that would be easily cleared up when they realized his was not the ship they were seeking, so he put up no resistance. When he finally grasped what they wanted, it was too late. They were on his ship, fully armed with their blunderbusses. To add insult to injury, he and his crew were ordered to unload their ship themselves. Jaxon being new to the captain’s position made a tragic mistake that day. He ordered his men to throw the cargo into the ocean rather than let the French take it. One of his men, a man from his hometown of Chimerical Cove, Maryland was shot and killed. He still saw the man’s widow from time to time. He felt it only right to pay her husband’s wages to her at the end of each month and would for life.