Ocean's Justice

Part 10

Ten

I swallowed the last bite of my sandwich and tried not to wish for food from home. Shipboard life was as dull as the food – I moved from cabin to mess and back again, seeing little else aside from glimpses of water and sky. It seemed almost too much effort to get up for more of the same.

A hand grabbed mine and yanked my arm, almost tipping me off the bench. William was instantly on his feet, his larger hand fastened over the skinny, offending wrist. "Let go of her, lad."

"I have a surprise for her, Mr McGregor," Charlie said. "Come on, you have to come out on deck." He jerked his head toward the door. "I want to show you something."

"I'm sure it can wait a couple of minutes so Maria can finish her meal. Have you eaten yet?" William released Charlie, but he didn't leave my side.

Charlie marched up to the counter and grabbed a sandwich in each hand. "I'll eat on deck," he insisted. "Come on. I don't want you to miss it." His eyes beseeched me.

I smiled and rose. Charlie grinned so widely, I thought his face would split. I followed him up to the bow, where the ship endlessly parted the waves.

"Have you ever seen anything like it, miss?" he asked, staring avidly at the bow wave, where the sunlight created rainbows in the spray.

I placed both hands on the rail and followed his gaze. A fin…no, more than one. A dolphin burst from the bow wave and flipped in the air, circling until it splashed back into the water. Two fins rose up in its place. I couldn't help laughing for joy. I'd never seen spinner dolphins from such a high vantage point before. I leaned over the rail, trying to count the swimming bodies keeping pace with the ship, but there were too many of them. More than a hundred. A pod this large could only be congregating for a reason. I peered into the depths, then lifted my eyes to the ocean in front of the ship. Did the sun catch on something, or was I imagining it?

"Careful, lass, or you'll find out how cold the Indian Ocean is in winter. As will I, for I'll dive in after you to fish you out again," William's voice said in my ear as he curled an arm around my waist.

"Aww, Mr McGregor, Maria's safe with me!" Charlie complained, aiming a bitter look at my protector. "I can protect her. I'm not afraid of a fight!"

"I'm sure you're right, lad, but she's my responsibility. And I wanted to see what could make her smile so brightly. Have you ever seen a dolphin before, Maria?"

"I know I've never seen so many. There must be at least ten of them!" Charlie insisted.

I shook my head, pointing. "More. Fish."

William laughed gently. "They're not fish, lass. They're dolphins – as warm-blooded as you or me."

Frustrated at not knowing the words, I shook my head harder. "No. Fish!"

As if to illustrate the point I'd failed to make, a cloud of flying fish rose from the water, followed by a dozen dolphins and a second, smaller wave of the marine mammals. A much-reduced cloud splashed down half a minute later.

Charlie burst out laughing. "She was right. The dolphins are fishing for flying fish. Was that how you survived on the raft? Did dolphins help you?"

William snorted. "They're just animals. The stories about them helping shipwrecked sailors are just that – stories."

"I heard that there are some places in the world where dolphins and fishermen work together to catch fish. Mr Kaito said…"

"Ohhh…no more fish," I said, pointing as the huge pod of spinner dolphins veered away from the ship. A younger one stayed with the bow wave for a little longer, turning in dizzying circles until it realised it was alone. It launched itself into the air in the wake of the rest of its community.

I watched the dolphins leaping and swimming off into the distance and I yearned for that kind of freedom. Today, sun glinted off the waves for the first time since I'd boarded this ship and it looked so pretty. The ocean matched William's eyes again, I decided, glancing from one to the other.

Something warm and clammy closed over my fingers, pressing them against the railing. Charlie's hand. He stared in the direction of the dolphins, his body stiffened by the same nervous energy that had made his palms sweaty. I realised that the boy cherished romantic or at least lustful hopes for me – something my broken heart could never return. I leaned closer and kissed Charlie's cheek, feeling William's arm tighten around me. "Thank you, Charlie."

Charlie turned pink. "Y-you're welcome, mmm-Miss Maria," he managed to say.

A whistle sounded behind us. "It just keeps getting better and better! The girl with the big tits is a whore who does two at the same time. What d'you say, Barrett? Fancy a tumble with this one? Seeing as we saved her life, the first time should be free."

Charlie jumped away from me. "She's not a…how dare you say that about…" he spluttered.

With William close behind me, we turned together, but he dropped his arm so that he no longer held me.

Two men stood on the deck – Barrett and Sciarra – and both leered at me with unmistakeable lust. Lust they wouldn't slake anywhere near me, I swore. Rage rose up inside me – far hotter than the anger that turned Charlie's face red. The day either of these men touched me would be the day they died. And I wanted that to be today.

I took a step toward them before William grabbed me, both arms cinching around my waist. "No, lass, that's what they want. They want to hurt you."

I wasn't sure that I could take out the unpleasant men without harming William or Charlie – and William knew his people and these men better than I did. I let him restrain me for a moment. A slight delay didn't matter – after all, these men were trapped on this ship with me until we made port. I had plenty of time.

"Apologise to the lady," William demanded. "Or I'll see that you regret it."

"That's a whore. No lady," Barrett spat.

"The next time you spit, I promise you it'll be blood and your own teeth, you rude bastard son of a whore." William replied before lowering his voice to add, "Beg pardon, Maria."

"You might be able to take him, McGregor, but you're no match for me. I'll wager a night with your whore on the fight. You win, you keep her. I win, I get her all to myself." Sciarra's grin glittered with malice.

William's arms tightened around my waist. "I've never lost a fight. By the time I'm finished with you, you won't be able to talk at all, let alone insult ladies. Your own mother won't recognise your face when I'm done. When I've beaten both of you so you're lying on the deck, crying like little girls, you'll leave the lady alone."

"He fought off six of the Queen's men. They lived because one coward pulled a gun and shot him. You're the girl, McGregor, and the whore is ours."

Both William and Charlie burst out laughing, but it was Charlie who cried, "You mean the poxy whore queen of Sydney? Queen of the night or the underworld or whatever they call her? I heard it was six of her whores you fought, not men, and you pissed and shat yourself before she shot you for trying to sneak out without paying. Mr McGregor will pound you into the deck!"

"Tomorrow, after our shift ends," Sciarra said with a nod to Barrett. "And I'll be first, so while you're lying on the deck in a pool of your own blood and Barrett's kicking three kinds of shit out of you, I'll be fucking your little girlfriend."

The two men sauntered off toward the stern, the smoke from their cigarettes drifting up in their wake.

"You'll win, won't you, Mr McGregor? You can't let them hurt Maria. It's just not right…" Charlie said, turning desperate eyes toward William.

William released me and I spun so I could see his worried face. "Of course, lad. Now, I think I should get Maria below, before that cloudburst hits." He nodded toward the dark cloud bearing down on us. "Winter in the Indian Ocean. It makes me miss Scotland's storms."