Whispers of the Sea (The Compulsion Bride Series) Book II (Unedited)

Chapter Sixteen

Smity stood at the bow of the ship, spyglass in hand peeping through the small circle that covered his entire left eye, watching the flagless ship in the distance. Not having a flag raised meant that it was either a pirate ship in disguise, seeking to intimidate and irritate their opponents or a merchant ship that was trying not to draw too much attention to the country they are travelling from. Eagerness to be invisible also prove that there was something to hide whether it be good or bad. It was neither of the two assumptions, as Smity swayed the spyglass, moving slowly around the ship's deck, men were seen dressed only in a woollen shirt, breeches and boots, tall dark tassel boots. French! Lots of ships from France tried to outwit the British, pretending that they were lost, migrating from the war. They carry themselves as paupers, it was almost comical. Desperation cause men to take drastic measures. His breathing grew still and his chest puffed, releasing his breath in a whoosh. Smity knew their fate. Why would they not surrender? He had thought they were decent folks, many years ago during his childhood, his father had song praises regarding the warm welcoming atmosphere of Paris and its people.

Nonsense of course! The French were a bunch of hooligans, their cleverness was not one of brilliance when it came to the British, and they underestimate their enemies leaving room for mistakes. A smirk twitches at the corner of his lips. England was their home. It does not matter the amount of distance that separated them, protection of its people and the King was held dearly to their hearts. The crew may be comprised of dishonest men. Men that belong in the gallows, the similarities they all have in common was not limited to those attributes. They all had the same enemies and that was the French at the moment. Vast amounts of ships had been attacked and turned back to France, the others that didn't survive sunk to the bottom. An ocean filled with French spies were a hundred times better than having a land occupied with slaughterers. Destroying homes, villages and causing chaos.

"Captain" Smity removed the spyglass from his eye, handing it to Jake without his gaze wavering from the ship. A massive vessel with a mahogany hull and three masts, the sails were white as the clouds above. It cut through the blue unrest waters like Moses parting the red sea. It was fast. One thing Smity would give the French credit for was their ability to build a ship. So massive yet light to slid across the ocean. He had never saw a ship that sail like the French, except for the 'spirit of the sea.'

"What do we have here Smity?" Jake took the spyglass from his first mate, his left eye squinted, before it went closed, having no use for it at the moment as he relied on the right to zero in on the unknown ship, that was vast approaching. "French?" He growled, removing the instrument from his face. "Don't they ever surrender!" Jake started walking back to the main deck, his steps determine, posture filled with authority and an alluring arrogance only the captain could master. The crew immediately gathered around him, eagerly awaiting orders. Some were already smirking knowing exactly what was about to happened. Years with the captain had made him predictable, they knew his moods, what angered him. It made them perform their duties more productive and efficient.

"All hands on deck!" He took a full turn from where he stood, hands behind his back, waiting for the remaining crew to halt their duties. "I'm coming captain!" Julian who was doing his own spying, climb down the ratlines as quickly as he could, reaching a height reasonable for jumping. He landed on his feet with a grunt. Then picked up his tricorn hat, dusted it off with a few mumbles on his lips and ran to meet Jake.

Jake shook his head slightly and turned away from the young man, hiding his smile, who went to stand beside Smity. "Gentlemen we have trouble on our hands!"

"Aye!" The men said in a chorus.

"The French has made themselves present in our grasped once again!" He lifted his hands and coiled them in a fist as he started pacing the board panelling. He stopped abruptly flickering his gaze across the men before him. All faces eager for some action. " this time we would not display any mercy!" He raised his voice over the excited crew members cheering and hooting voices. "Gather your weapons! And let's fight! To the death!"