Changing Kitty

Chapter 17

Chapter Seventeen

Even though it was December, wintertime in the Caribbean was surprisingly warm. William had been gone from England for nearly six months and he felt every aching day of it. He’d written Kitty several letters but he’d never had his foot on land long enough to find someone to send them for him.

The Royal Rose had been following the East India Trading Company for a long while. Every time they made port they picked up more cargo and set off again, dragging the Royal Rose with it.  

It had been a very long six months. The company of his crew was getting rather tiresome. Not only were they getting rowdy at the lack of female company, they were irksome at the fact that the ale aboard the East India Trading Company ship was completely off limits. William was getting bored also. Not once had they run into any trouble. After six months he didn’t see the point in one of His majesty’s hundred and twenty gunners being wasted like it was. But it wasn’t his decision to make.

He spent a lot of the nights just staring at the stars. Every time he caught a glimpse of Cassiopeia it reminded him of the little spitfire he’d met and fallen in love with.

As the sun rose on the twenty – first of December, William stood at the helm like he always did. There was something about the open sea that he liked. It was the smell and the sound, and the fact that one’s lips always tasted of salt. He liked the idea of being able to spin the wheel and point the ship whichever way he liked and he would end up on a different continent.

He was tempted though, to just spin the wheel around to the right and head up north back to England. The sea couldn’t hold a candle to the pull he felt toward Kitty. If he had to choose between them, then she would win.

The men weren’t awake yet, which gave him that luxury of some peace and quiet. They were heading back to the Caribbean to deliver their final load of goods before the ships finally were able to return to England for any repairs that needed doing. The repairs would take weeks which meant that he would have weeks to spend with his wife and his new family before the mission with the East India Trading Company was finished.

He pulled the letter that Kitty had given him from his pocket. He hadn’t let it out of his sight since he’d received it and he still hadn’t found the right moment to read it. He’d been lonely a lot of times, but he didn’t want to waste her words on a menial moment. He had to make it count.

Just as the sun rose a little higher, the sound of a cannon being fired filled the air. William’s head snapped around and he found the source of the sound – a black ship that flew a black flag. They would be demons if they were not pirates.

The cannon had collided with the side of the East India Trading Company ship, blowing a hole in her side that had no doubt destroyed the several guns they had aboard.

“All hands on deck!” William bellowed as he turned the wheel to the left to place the Royal Rose between the pirate ship and the East India Trading Company ship.

Adrenaline coursed through William’s veins as he raced down the stairs of the ship and opened the trap door between the lower and upper deck. His crew came streaming out as they readied the guns above and below deck. The sounds of cannons being loaded and lighted were not quick enough before the sounds of more cannons blasting through the air sounded.