Piracy

32. Encouraging Him

I could sense Harry's apprehension as we drew steadily nearer to his home. When we had made a wide arc to approach from the south, we dropped anchor. Of course, we weren't going to simply sail into the main harbor and announce our presence. Harry and the other men were planning strategies on how to get back into their homeland without being detected. I had no idea whether they were planning a siege or if they were going to try to infiltrate the fortresses without calling attention to themselves.

Meanwhile, the daily duels continued with every able-bodied man brushing up on his fighting skills. I begged and pleaded with Harry until he finally snapped. "All right, Wren! Have it your way. I will teach you to fight, but you will obey me at all times, is that understood?"

"Yes, captain," I said, licking my lip and glancing suggestively at his trousers.

He fought back a smirk. "I'm serious, Wren. I know sword play like the back of my hand. You must obey, whether in duel or in battle."

"You'd let me fight in battle?" I asked excitedly.

"I didn't say that," he muttered.

For the first several hours, he showed me, in excruciating detail, the various steps, advances and lunges involved in sword fighting. I felt as if I'd learned sufficiently after only half of an hour, but he seemed reluctant to move on to using an actual sword. His compromise was finding two old broomsticks so that he could teach me how to defend myself, again, taking far too long in my estimation. 

When he announced that we were finished for the day, I blurted out, "Don't I get to practice with a real sword?" But I could tell that he was not in the mood for negotiating. I was exhausted by the day's activities, so I went back to his quarters - our quarters - and slept for a bit. 

When I awoke, I found the ship strangely quiet. It was near dusk, and there wasn't a soul to be seen. I went to the galley and found Louis, thankfully, working hard as ever, with Abigail at his side. 

"Where is everyone?" I asked.

"They took a little excursion," Louis replied without looking up from the fire. 

"Excursion?!" I exclaimed. "You mean they left the boat? Where are they going? When are they coming back? What if something happens-"

Louis stood up abruptly and grasped my shoulders. "Don't worry, Wren, they're not going into battle. Just checking out the developments on the island since we've last been here."

"Oh," my voice squeaked out. That made sense, but I still felt uneasy about Harry being gone from the ship.

I ate dinner with Louis, Abigail, and Hadley. I hoped to the heavens that there was a plentiful supply of fresh fruit and meat in Elinshire because I was growing weary of dried fish and hard tack. 

Lying in bed later that night, unable to sleep, I heard Harry return from his "excursion." He quickly disrobed and climbed into bed with me, gathering me into his arms as always. His hair was damp and I could taste the salt on his skin where his shoulder pressed against my mouth.

"Where have you been?" I inquired.

"Swimming," he replied.

"Swimming?" I said in surprise.

"Yes, darling. Swimming."

I laid there, waiting to see if he would divulge any other information. When he didn't, I asked, "Harry, please tell me what happened with your family."

His body stiffened. I knew it was a sore subject, but here we were, on the verge of ... well, whatever it was he was planning to do, and I hardly knew anything.