The ship, Miles learned, was well stocked with powder and shot, muskets, pistols, and even some short swords and cutlasses. There was even some spare clothing that could be put to use by his crew. He found the provisions sufficient for the reduced crew to consume over a few weeks, but they would certainly need more soon, especially water.

It was while he was assessing the stores that he was approached by an overly friendly orange cat who wound around his legs.

Asher chuckled. "That's King George."

Miles grinned as he stroked the cat. "I hope you don't object to your new profession on an American privateer."

"That cat is a pet as much as he's a rodent catcher," Asher said fondly. "Usually naps right on a sleeping sailor. Captain hated him."

"Just another crew member with a duty to perform," Miles declared, giving King George one more pat. "Do you have a cook?" He knew Banks would be demanding help as the crew grew in size. Their full whaling crew could be challenging enough for him to feed without much complaint.

Asher sighed. "Not for the last week or so. Hadly finally managed to cut off his own thumb, then took an infection. The surgeon, Johnson, tried to take the hand to save Hadly's life, but the infection was in his blood. The men have been on cooking rotation since. Johnson isn't here, either. He went to see what medicines he could acquire in the city. Do you already have a surgeon?"

Miles nodded. "Thayer has served my crew well for over a year now. Cooking duty will need to continue rotating until Banks joins us from the Abigail Cobb. I'm sure he would prefer assistance, however. We may need to continue a rotation if no one wishes to do it regularly."

"A few don't mind it. They may save their crew mates from the duty."

As he walked the ship Miles considered how he could expand the hold to allow for more cargo, in the event they could not take a prize to port after capturing it due to damages taken in the contest to take it – or if another reason presented itself. The crew, being smaller than what the ship typically held between sailors and marines, would need less space than the berth afforded. Some space could be walled off for cargo that needed to be more secure, or for prisoners. Perhaps it would be something to keep the crew busy while the final details of the plan to take the Abigail Cobb were addressed.

Miles thought the other lieutenants would be satisfied with the wardroom accommodations, as it was surely to be more comfortable than what they had experienced on the Abigail Cobb.

"I'd like to have any very personal effects returned to the previous officers," Miles said as he gazed around the wardroom. "The captain too. Journals, letters, trinkets. Your assistance would be beneficial, as you knew them."

Asher nodded. "I will do what I can. I knew few of them very personally, and had disagreements with nearly every one."

Miles hoped he'd find the mates from the Abigail Cobb more agreeable. He had always found them to be good people himself. If he hadn't he'd have made certain they weren't a part of his crew for long. His father had given him frequent and true advice about keeping the best crews. Much to his surprise, he'd found the same advice in the journals his grandfather had kept. They both preferred members of their crews to have a good deal of honesty to their character, even his grandfather in his pirating days. "Good men in unfortunate circumstances," his grandfather had called them. Cruelty and a love for violence or crime was very disagreeable to the Captain Dunns of the past, and Miles intended to continue upholding the same standards even on his privateer. He hoped the new additions to his crew would all be a good fit for what he aimed to create.

"How did you become a whaling captain?" Asher asked as they walked the deck of the ship a short time later.

Miles took stock of the men working on the deck and how they were watching him without being terribly obvious about it. "After the war I felt too restless for my father's fishing business, even with the smuggling he was doing alongside the fishing, so I went whaling."

"What about your brother?" Asher asked, nodding to the schooner a short distance away. "He never served on the privateer."

"He was too young when we first set out," Miles explained. "My father offered him a place on board as the war came closer to the end, but he wanted nothing to do with it. He continued the fishing business after my father's death three years ago, but wanted nothing to do with smuggling. He is the first to have an honest fishing business since my grandfather first began it to hide his smuggling after giving up piracy."

Asher chuckled. "This is all in the bloodline, then."

Miles grinned. "I suppose it is. I plan to rechristen the ship after my grandfather. It will be the Scot. I believe he'd be amused that I took it from the navy, and before my letter of marque was filed and the bond paid. He may even have been amused by your assistance."

"I hope Massachusetts isn't distressed by the order of events."

Miles was only a bit concerned. "I believe the bond money and the act itself will be enough for them to dismiss any complaint. To your original question, however. Two years after I took to whaling, I was on a ship that was nearly sunk by a whale. They will attack whaleboats and even the whaling ships. This one destroyed all three boats that were after it and turned on the ship. It was badly damaged but by some miracle wasn't sunk. Of a crew of nearly thirty, only eight of us survived to take the ship home. We were all injured, though I was one of the most able of the survivors. The captain made me the acting first mate, as the first mate had been killed. By the time we made it home, he determined it would be my new permanent position. He retired nearly a year later and I was able to acquire my own crew. It's been nearly eight years now that I've been my own captain."

Asher was thoughtful for a moment before stating, "I noticed the woman on your crew."

"There are two," Miles replied. "I expect they will always be treated just as the rest of the crew. If anyone takes issue with them, they'll learn to accept it. The same is true for the blacks and Indians. No one on the crew needs to be the closest of friends with anyone if they don't wish to, but they will all work and fight together. There must be respect for each other."

"Of course," Asher assured him. "I will do everything I can to encourage that respect. I assume the crew will all be aware of the expectations?"

Miles nodded. "Without question."

"There was little about it that was brave," Miles told her. He noticed Finley's obvious surprise at her wanting to hear about privateering ventures. Miles had always known her to be a supporter of the career, even if it did put her family in danger. "The ship I took had come upon us while we were returning from our hunt. It was how I learned of the war and that Mr. Cobb planned to relocate his business to Whitby in England. The officer who came to our ship to speak to me was a lieutenant and a man who had been on Father's crew during the war. He had joined us then when we took a prize into port. He is a younger son of a family with wealth and influence, though he never spoke much about them. He had run off seeking adventure when he found us. We became friends, being a similar age. When the war ended Father encouraged him to return home and reconcile with his family, which he did. He told me on the Abigail Cobb that his father had sent him into the navy when he made it clear how much he'd enjoyed being on a privateer. He also told me the navy didn't suit him in the slightest."