Page 10 of Escaping Pirates
I remained silent. If I could just make it a little while longer, we would dock and I would find a way to escape, no matter the cost.
“What punishment do you think is suitable for a person who is so ungrateful? Marooning is out; I think that would be too much of a reward for you, and walking the plank doesn’t show me that you’ve learned your lesson.”
I stared at my poorly coded message and refused to let any tears fall. I’d never hated anyone as much as I hated Captain Harsh.
“Flogging or keelhauling would be entertaining for my crew to watch, but I wouldn’t subject a lady to anything so brutal as that. I’m still a gentleman, after all. Do you have no input at all?”
I wished I had the gumption to meet his gaze with a blazing one of my own, but fear gnawed at my heart. Whatever he had planned, I needed to stay out of my cell until we made land.
“I could work in the kitchens,” I suggested quietly. “I’m a good cook. Or I can wash dishes.”
His beard twitched. “That’s a start, but I think it’s best to keep you away from the kitchens. I’ll let you in on a little secret I’ve discovered over the years: well-fed prisoners are more likely to revolt. I can’t have any insurrection aboard my ship, don’t you agree?”
“But I’m already barely fed as it is,” I protested, heart sinking faster than an anchor.
“And we’ll keep it that way for now. Just think,” heguffawed. “I’m helping you maintain a trim figure for yourfiancéto enjoy.Aren’t I benevolent?”
If only I were a soldier or some hulking man, I would’ve punched him right through the cabin wall. But as I wasn’t, I merely lowered my eyes and whispered, “Yes, sir.”
I vowed that once I escaped, I would do everything in my power to make him suffer as I had suffered.
“You can start with scrubbing the foredeck, then work your way back until my girls need you. That will be all.”
CHAPTER 6
Hours later, the blazing-hot sun was starting its slow descent through the sky, we were no nearer the shore, and my arms could have been severed from my body and the injury would likely hurt less than the ache from the rigorous scrubbing I was forced to do. The years of waves crashing over the deck had left a layer of hardened salt plastered to the ship’s deck, and it was only by slaving over each square inch with a stiff-bristled brush that I managed to find the wood beneath.
Everything hurt—my back, arms, and shoulders from scrubbing; my face and hands from being sunburned; and my knees from the prolonged contact with that deck. Even my eyes ached from having to squint in the sun’s bright glare for so long. I’d never wanted Sugar and Blossom to call for me so badly. But when they finally did, I wasn’t able to sit and read to them like I’d hoped. Instead, they wanted to try out several different hairstyles, so I was forced to keep my arms up, twisting and braiding their hair while I bit my tongue to prevent myself from crying out from the pain of it.Why weren’t we closer to shore? We should have been there long ago.
Why hadn’t I appreciated our servants more? Of course, my parents and I had never treated our servants as poorly as I was being treated, and words of thanks would have done nothing to alleviate the agonizing pain that flared from my elbows up to my neck and down my back. A lump swelled in my throat.
“What are you crying about?” Blossom snapped irritably.
“Nothing,” I murmured, blinking back the tears that seemed determined to fall.
“Then stop sniffing,” Sugar told me. “It’s annoying. What were you saying about a fancy boarding school, Blossom?”
“Oh yes! Last I heard, Haven Harbor’s Princess Tess is going to start there soon. I heard people talking—she’s going to be escorted to Berkway within the month. Her older brother, Prince Korth, is bringing her. Can you imagine if we crossed paths? Word is that he’s very handsome.”
“Isn’t he engaged already?”
Blossom stared moodily into the mirror. “Yes. All the handsome men seem to already be taken.”
“Prince Jameson isn’t.”
Blossom ran her thumb along a hairbrush’s bristles. “Crown princes don’t often go out to sea. He stays in Berkway all the time, and you know Daddy prefers Ebora’s port. Where would I meet Jameson?”
“Doesn’t he have a brother?”
Blossom rolled her eyes. “Ernst is about half our age, and he’s off studying somewhere.”
“If you knew where all the scholarly men were, you could go meet someone.” Sugar heaved a sighand pulled the pin out so her hair that I’d just done came tumbling down to her shoulders again. “I’m bored. Do you think Daddy will take us with him to shore tonight?”
“What do you mean,take you with him?” I blurted, unable to stop myself from asking. “Aren’t we docking soon?’
Blossom rolled her eyes. “You think we’re stupid enough to bring the ship close to shore withyouaboard?” She picked at a spot on her chin. “You’d yell and someone would come running and make accusations. They’re planning to row to shore once it’s dark. You’re not going anywhere.”
It took every ounce of my self-control to not snatch up the scissors on the vanity and shear her bald. My fingers shook as I knotted Sugar’s hair, barely even noticing what I was doing and so distracted that I almost forgot the pain in my arms as I scrambled to find some hope. If we were close enough to row to shore, that must mean we were close enough that a very strong swimmer to make it—but I doubted my ability to make the distance, even if I weren’t starving and had well-rested arms.
