She took her lunch onto the deck, sitting with her back against the mast. It cast a short shadow, providing some relief from the heat. She guessed it was about her second month on the ship, but she had all but stopped counting by then.
Across the deck, a couple members of the crew were sitting around makeshift table playing poker. She could see Brutus sitting at the table, the cards looking tiny in his hands. He looked to be winning. Nelson was sitting across from him, scribbling something furiously on a piece of paper. Probably another recipe for homemade salve.
“Can I share your shade?” asked Alex, plopping down beside her. He split his loaf of bread and gave her half, which she took in exchange for a chunk of meat floating in her stew. “So what errand has the Captain made you do today?” he asked lightheartedly.
“Well nothing too difficult,” Alice replied, “I just had to replace a couple of lines of rope that snapped. How about you? Anything noteworthy?”
“The planks are so worn out that that every time I try to nail one down it snaps in half!” He said, a bit frustrated, “So the capt’ asked me to mark the ones that need replacement.”
“Do we have extras somewhere on the ship?” Alice inquired.
Alex laughed. “No, probably not,” he replied. “We’re going to stop at a port sometime soon, they'll be fixed there.”
Alice’s eyes brightened at the prospect of returning to land. She wanted to ask more about when they were stopping, but the Captain approached, interrupting them.
He looked from Alex to Alice, noticing their proximity to each other.
“Finish your stew,” he said impatiently, a hint of annoyance creeping into his voice, “I need your help with taking inventory.”
Both of them got up, not sure which person he was asking. He looked at them both, clearly irritated. “I was just asking Ms. Smith, but if you don't mind doing extra work I wont deny your help,” he said, looking at the fiery haired lad.
“I really don't mind helping her out,” he beamed, slapping Alice across the back. “That’s what friends are for, right?”
The Captain pursed his lips, clearly unhappy with his response. Alice swore she saw something akin to jealousy cross his face, but when she looked again it was gone. She probably just imagined it.
“Very well then,” said the Captain, turning around, “follow me.”
The storage space was just across the infirmary. Although it was far away from the broiling heat of the sun, the damp space still felt just like a sauna.
He gave them each a piece of paper, and tiny pencil. Pointing to the food rations, he said, “Count the loaves, I need to know how many more to buy once we stop. And don’t think of taking any extras for yourselves, because I’ll know if you do.” He took out his own little piece of parchment. “I’ll be over there counting the rations of salted meat” and with that he moved to the far side of the room.
Alice and Alex began gingerly moving the loaves from one crate to another, tallying them as they went. The kerosene lamps did nothing to help the dim room, and she longed to be outside.
“I’m sorry I dragged you into this,” Alice said, the Captain out of earshot.
Alex smiled, “Its really no bother at all. Pretty easy work, considering some of the other things I’ve had to do.”
“The Captain seems in a pretty sour mood today,” she remarked.
“Don't mind him, he’s just got a lot on his plate. He’s actually a pretty nice guy.”
Alice looked at him, baffled. “I understand that he’s your captain and all, but there is no need to flatter him around me.”
“No, I really do mean it.” Alex blushed, a bit embarrassed. “To be completely honest, I’ve always looked up to him. I know our age difference isn’t much, but I’ll be happy if I’m even half the man he when I get older,” he admitted.
The heat is probably getting to him, Alice thought and fanned him with a piece of paper. Alex laughed, playfully swatting at it. He grinned and proclaimed, with conviction: “You might think I’m crazy now, but you’ll see what I mean some day. The Captain’s really stellar.”
Across the room, Augustus was watching them out of the corner of his eye. They were giggling, talking in hushed tones about something. He strained his ears to hear, but all he could make out was some bubbly laughter.
They were really getting at his nerves, but he didn't know why. He thought it was perhaps because of the childish way they were acting, or maybe the grating noises they were producing, but he knew something was bothering him. Taking another glance their way, he could see that Alice was practically sitting on Alex’s lap. What nerve she had!
He was having a hard time focusing on counting the meat, recounting the same piece twice. Frustrated he put down his pencil. He had been this way ever since Alice began working aboard the ship.
At first he thought it was going to be a short lived stunt. No way is she actually going to be able to handle it, he thought. Soon she will run back, crying to get her old job. Much to his surprise, she never once faltered. In fact, she had actually become friends with some of the men, coming back much later than usual after playing a round of cards with Alaric or Brutus, or pouring over one of the many medical books on board with Nelson.
He wondered if he was worried about her, and then scoffed at the idea. She was merely a nuisance on his ship, and he just didn’t want her disturbing the peace, he reasoned. Still, he couldn’t deny that she seemed to have a positive affect on the men’s moral. He couldn’t disconcert why she had this effect, her gender obviously not a factor. Her boyish figure and hair couldn’t possibly appeal to even the most repressed sailor.
Despite all this, when he turned to the pair, he felt something tight grip his chest. They were obviously enjoying each other’s company, smiling in a way that made him feel sick.
“Why are you two goofing off,” he barked, “get back to work.”
“But we finished counting all the rations Captain,” Alex shouted back. “We were just waiting for you.”
Augustus looked at his own task. He was so entrenched in thought that he had counted less than half the meat, and his tallies were disorderly and all over the page. If he were going to do a proper job, he would have to start over.
“I wouldn’t mind helping you,” Alex said eagerly.
The Captain brushed him off, “I think I can handle it. If you’re done, you can go upstairs.”
Alex looked a little disappointed but did what he was told, passing the slips to the Captain on the way out. Alice trailed behind him, but before she could exit Augustus stopped her.
“May I have a word with you,” he asked, “please,” he added, a bit begrudgingly.
Alice hesitated and then pulled up a chair, her face inquisitive.
“As you may have already heard, we will be making a stop in a couple weeks time,” he said. “The port where we will dock has a fairly big commercial center, and I think it would be in your best interest to stop your journey there.”
She stared at him; unsure of what he was implying. He continued without pausing, “With all the work you've done, you earned more than just your daily bread; your unpaid wages will be set aside to pay for your journey home.”
Her eyes widened. She knew she should feel joyful at the moment; She was finally being given her freedom, but she couldn’t even muster up a smile.
“Is that all?” she asked, looking at her hands.
“Does there need to be more?” the Captain asked, cocking an eyebrow.
“No, I suppose not”, she said, her hair covering her face. After mustering a “Thank you” she left, leaving the Captain to count the meat rations for the second time.
Augustus did not know what to make of the girl. He had just announced that she was going home, expecting some sort of positive response or a semblance of gratitude, but instead he got a frown. Hadn’t she demanded to go home on the deck the first time they’d met? She had very pointedly shown that she was dissatisfied to be on the ship, yet now she looked on the verge of tears when he told her she could go.
She was driving him absolutely mad. Not only had she exhausted his personal library, but somehow managed to convince him to go into storage and get her own collection of novels as well. And instead of turning a blind eye, as he should have, he trudged up the stairs carrying some heavy stupid books, all so that she could finish them within a week!
The idea that she would even consider staying on the ship baffled him. Augustus racked his brain, trying to find a possible reason for her wanting to stay. The more he thought about it, the more he realized how little he knew of her personal life. He recognized that she had an appetite for reading, but that's about all he’d gathered.
He didn’t even know why she was on the ship in the first place. He’d always assumed she was just a rich gal going on vacation to the Capital, as so many ladies found fashionable to do but he realized he’d never asked. Although that was a plausible theory for her being here, he decided he would confirm it later just to be sure.
After a little more thinking, he came to the idea that she had possibly fallen for Alex. Ha, what a fool, he thought, Alex would never like somebody so boyish. He considered it for another moment. They did look very comfortable together, and he obviously enjoyed listening to her. Was it possible that…? No. He banished the idea from his head, his fists involuntarily clenching and unclenching. It wasn’t possible, was it? He took a deep breath. It was better not to dwell on such things. It doesn’t matter to me, he thought looking down at the rations.
The tallies were shaky, and he had unknowingly crumpled the paper.
He cursed under his breath. He was going to have to count them for a third time.
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