Page 44 of Hired by Pirates

The crowd murmured, then grew quiet.

“He left this morning,” a man told her. “He won’t be back for a few days.”

The poor woman was wringing her hands, shaking to the core. “Mrs. Morgan is in labor, and it’s a breech birth, we think. The midwife says we need a doctor.”

“She’s a doctor,” called out the woman in the wine colored dress from the bookkeeper’s shop, pointing directly at me.

I was thinking of jumping in to help even before she had spoken.

I knew the Captain might be upset, but this was the life I had dreamed of. Helping and healing people wasn’t always convenient. It was a responsibility that took over a person’s entire life.

Not to mention, if I went quickly with the upset woman, the festival would get back on track faster.

“Yes, I am,” I said firmly, trying hard to ignore the assorted gasps and stares.

“What’s the address?” I asked her, as the crowd seemed to back up and clear a path.

“Fifteen River Street,” the nearly hysterical woman said, rushing toward me.

I turned to Woods, handing him my shopping basket. “That’s where I’ll be. Get the job done, and I’ll meet you on the…at home as soon as I can.”

The woman grabbed my hand as we took off down the street. I didn’t have time to look behind me, but it sounded like the crowd went back to murmuring. As we turned a corner, I may have heard a booming voice begin a speech.

I hoped that this didn’t delay or obstruct the Captain’s plan too badly. I hoped that he wouldn’t be angry with me for stepping in.

But I couldn’t think about that anymore, already running through the breech birth procedure in my mind over and over.

All I could do was run faster, and pray that I could safely deliver a child on my own for the very first time.

~ Chapter 20 ~ The Captain ~

* Jocko, Fetch the Cigars *

Even though Simon seemed a bit disgusted with himself that it took him an extra minute with the small safes in the back room of the Town Hall, the job otherwise went brilliantly.

As well as the ridiculous amount of money, to which we only helped ourselves to a modest amount, there was more evidence regarding the treachery of the Ledford and Stroud families in the safes. Titles of land that had been sold and re-sold to over-inflate the prices. Sales receipts that had been altered to hide the real expenses.

Even if the Mayor was being paid by these families to look the other way, which was likely the case, there was no way he could continue in this way once his staff found out.

Tobias, Simon and I all took slightly different routes back to the ship. Seeing one strange, rough man might not set off warning bells, but the three of us together might cause a person to look twice.

When I returned to the dock, Woods was standing there looking worried. Glancing around, I didn’t see Astor, although I had explicitly told her to go directly into our room and stay put until we were back out at sea.

“Captain, there’s been a tiny delay,” Woods said cautiously, causing my heart to leap up into my throat.

“Where is she?” I was ready to run in any direction to gather Astor into my arms.

“She’s fine, Captain,” he said quickly, holding up his hands. “She’s safe. She’s delivering a baby.”

“ What ?”

Woods quickly explained the problem that had arisen in the middle of the town square just before the speech.

“It would have caused much more of a commotion if she hadn’t gone,” Woods explained. “Also, that poor woman calling for a doctor was at her wits’ end. I’m not sure what a breech birth is, but it sounded serious.”

“Damn and blast. That’s when the baby comes out backwards,” I explained. “It can be very dangerous, sometimes even fatal, and it might take a long time.”

Woods let out a low whistle. “A regular birth sounds terrible enough. That sounds…that poor lady.” He shook his head fervently. “No wonder Astor sent the maid here. Jocko packed up Astor’s medical supplies for her to run over.”

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