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“Why are you here,Elsbeth Abernathy?”
“My…my family is on board. We’re going to Charles Town.”
He looks behind me. “Your family? Where are they?”
I point toward the narrow door. “They’re in one of the staterooms. My mother has a copy of the ticket if you’d like to see it.”
The man bows his head. “That won’t be necessary,Miss. Abernathy. I have no reason to doubt that you have paid for your passage aboard my ship.”
“Your ship?”
He smiles, lifting one side of his mouth higher than the other and bringing the butterflies to a full-fledged attack. “Aye.” He holds out a large hand, taking mine and lifting it to his lips. “Captain Hawthorne Rex at your service.”
“Captain?”
“Aye. Welcome aboard, Miss. Abernathy. I’m sure we will be seeing more of each other.” He turns toward the bucket of now defiled water. “If you’ll excuse me, it seems I need to acquire fresh water for our trip.”
“I apologize. I didn’t know who to ask.”
“Don’t give it another thought.” He picks up the bucket, throwing the dirty water overboard. “We’ll be departing soon. It might be better for you to be with your family.”
I bow slightly and turn toward the door. “Miss. Abernathy?” he calls.
“Aye?”
“If you have any problems, please let me know immediately.” He raises his voice as he continues. “I provide safe passage for women and children. Any man who questions that service or has other ideas in mind will answer to me.”
“Thank you, Captain.” I bow once more before entering the narrow door.
“Everything okay?” Mama asks as I enter the small room.
“Aye. It took a while to find somewhere to clean my hands.” I leave out the part about meeting the captain.
“Good. Help me get the room set up.”
I look around the room. “What is there to set up?”
“I’m not letting my children sleep on this filthy floor. Take off your apron, and use it as a broom.”
“My apron?”
“Aye. It’s all we have.” She takes off hers, folding it neatly and wiping the platform free of things I don’t want to know about while I do the same to the floor. My sisters copy our movements and work alongside Mama to clean the sleeping area. It doesn’t take long before the room is less dirty than before.
A loud whistle sounds from outside. “What’s that about?” Mama asks.
I shrug. “Maybe the ship is about to depart.”
“Go find out,” she demands.
I don’t question her and head back to the deck of the ship. The sun is now completely set, and a full moon has taken its place. The light of the moon casts an eerie glow across the bow and the surrounding land.
The man I met earlier, Captain Rex, is behind the helm, while the large man who showed us to our room is barking orders at the crew. I watch in awe as the sails are turned and a large anchor is pulled out of the sea below. The men work in tandem, reminding me of the oxen Daddy used to plow our land.
The perfectly choreographed display is awe-inspiring to watch. Within minutes, the ship separates from the wooden dock and begins moving toward the sea. It doesn’t take long before the shadows of the land begin to shrink.
“What are you doing out here, little lady?” The large man from earlier is suddenly in front of me.
“I was curious what the whistle was about.”
