The Pirate and the Poem Lover

Chapter 4

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As soon as Eliza work up the next morning, anxiety filled her heart when she remembered that she was going to have to read for the crew again that night and she did everything she could in the kitchen to keep her worried mind busy from her fears. The work did little to help and as night drew closer, Eliza felt as though her heart would force its way up her throat. Lafayette slowly walked her to the dinning hall with his pot of stew, whispering encouraging words to her.

As she entered, the room grew silent and she shakily sat down before looking back up at Lafayette, forgetting the rest of the world as she happily recited Scene II of Taming of the Shrew to the entire dinning hall. And to Eliza's surprise she found herself being interrupted throughout the recital, by the crew members themselves.

They were very curious and asked many questions like what certain words and phrases meant and Eliza would always reply to their interruptions with a kind smile as she explained the meaning behind the story as she told, much to Captain Charles' dismay. If he had his way, she would have read to the crew all night long, without any interruptions from the any member whatsoever.

When Eliza had finished reciting Scene II, to the best of her abilities, she bid the crew a good night and slowly made her way back to the kitchen. On her way, she stopped and looked out at the beautiful sky that lay over her head, like a soft blanket. She stopped for a moment, and walked out to the ship's railing, leaning on it with grace and care so that if the waves suddenly decided to rock the ship, she wouldn't fall overboard.

Eliza peered up at the beautiful sky and looked at the billions of stars that wrinkled and glowed around her. She had learned some of their names but she smiled when she realized that she would never be able to learn all of them. There was something so beautiful about the night sky to Eliza, that she realized it need not be learned or understood.

Eliza sighed and she was about to make her way to the kitchen when she turned and noticed Captain Charles a few steps away. He was leaning against the mast, watching her with an inquisitive gaze. Her eyes widened and she quickly stepped away from the railing, fearing that Captain Charles would think her trying to escape.

*****

"I was just watching the night's sky!" Eliza rushed out as she quickly took stepped closer to the stairs that led below deck. Charles shook his head, trying to push away his day-dreams as he watched Eliza's movements and nodded at her.

"It's quite alright, I didn't think you'd be mad enough to jump overboard without a stretch of land in sight," Charles chuckled out and Eliza sadly nodded her head, looking down at her feet.

"Yes, quite right...." She mumbled out and a frown slowly found its way to Charles' lips, though he wasn't sure why.

Eliza slowly turned away, the messy papers in her hands falling to the ground when Charles' hand quickly shot out and grabbed Eliza's wrist. They both started at each other with shock but didn't look away. Charles could feel his heart thundering in his chest as he stared down at Eliza's nervous form.

"You mentioned it, so I wanted to ask...." He breathed out, not looking away from Eliza. "W-will you be continuing the play tomorrow night?" Charles nervously asked.

Eliza's eyes softened but she didn't speak as she continued to look down at her small, dirty feet. The air between the two was deadly silent and Charles wondered if Eliza would be able to hear his heart if it suddenly exploded within his chest. He could feel a nervous sweat pouring down his backside and he wondered if Eliza would ever answer him.

"Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine people revering me for my love of literature. Especially never a band of pirates," Eliza chuckled out. Charles felt relief fill him as a soft smile form on his lips.