Her mother worried her lower lip with her teeth. It was on the verge of bleeding judging by the redness of it. “I dinna like this. ’Tis improper.”
Seonag rolled her eyes. “I’ll be dressed as a lad.” She finished plaiting her hair, made easier now since she’d had her mother shear off a good length of it, something else that made her mother unhappy, then coiled it and tucked it under her rough woolen cap. “See?”
“’Tis exactly what I worry about.” Anice took in her daughter’s appearance and shook her head. “If that captain ye’re after believes ye’re a lad, then he’s got a head full of stone.”
“He may think me a wee runt of a lad. I’ll make it work. He’s going after Storm.”
“Why?”
Seonag shrugged. “I dinna know. I missed that part of the conversation.”
“I fear if ye do this, child, I’ll ne’er see ye again.”
Her mother was going to drive her mad. “I need to find out the truth about Da. This is the only way. I promise, I’ll be fine.” She packed a few belongings into a small satchel and turned to her mother and stopped short. “Ma, dinna cry.”
Anice sniffled, wiping her nose with a worn handkerchief. “I canna help it. My heart aches at the thought of losing ye.”
Seonag dropped her satchel on the bed and embraced her mother in a strong hug. “I’ll send word when I can.” But even as the words left her mouth, she wasn’t sure if they were true. “I promise to be safe.”
With one last peck on her mother’s cheek, Seonag snagged her belongings and walked out the door into the cool morning air, refusing to look back for fear of changing her mind. She hated breaking her mother’s heart, but she needed to find the truth. No matter what it was. She would do her darnedest to be safe, because she had no intention of dying. That was one promise she could keep.
The first lightof dawn peaked over the water, making it look like a large inky mass when Seonag made her way to the sandy beach.
Honey’s men took in her appearance with barely concealed laughter. “What are ye doin’, lad? Ye lost?” One man asked as he hefted a sack over his shoulder and limped toward the ship. Seonag noticed the smooth piece of wood in place of the lower half of his right leg. It was held in place by strapping tied above his knee. She had never seen anything like it.
“Get out of here,” another man ordered, swiping his red hair out of his eyes. “We have work to do.”
“Cap’n Harris told me to meet him here at first light.” She tried to deepen her voice, but it sounded odd even to her own ears.
“Fer what?”
She crossed her arms and planted her feet in the soft sand. “He’s going to give me a job on his ship.”
There was a moment of silence before the men roared in laughter. “Doin’ what?” one asked, when he’d caught his breath. “Sweeping?”
“I dinna think ye’re funny. I’m stronger than I look.”
“Really?” both men asked in unison.
She nodded at the one with the long, shaggy hair.
“Then step up and make yerself useful. Ye can help us load up.”
Seonag approached the pile of supplies the men were loading onto the small boat. It would take several trips to get everything onboard the ship. Most of the crates were too bulky for her to even attempt to lift, so she didn’t bother.
The sacks, though large in size, hopefully weren’t all that heavy. She grabbed the corner of one and pulled. It didn’t budge. She tugged with as much force as she could muster and the bag barely moved. She tried rolling it toward her. That didn’t work either. Refusing to give up, she kept trying. She needed to prove that she would be an asset to the crew and not a hindrance.
The man with the wooden leg limped toward her. “Mayhap ye should try loading the cannonballs.” He dipped his head in the direction of a medium-sized stack of black iron spheres. Her eyes widened. The crew would load the cannons with these iron balls and use them to attack other ships. The amount of damage they could do had to be immense.
Fear began to settle in the pit of her stomach. This was all too real. Not some story her father told her as she listened in awe. Was she really going to do this? Would she be able to pull it off?
She needed to stop questioning herself. And remember why she was doing this.
Steeling herself, she bent to pick up a cannonball. Looks were deceiving. For something of its size, it really shouldn’t be so heavy. Or slippery. The surface was rutted, but it slipped out of her grasp as she tried to lift it.
Behind her, she could hear the men laughing. Talking amongst themselves about how she was going to prove useless on the ship.
“What was Honey thinking?”
