"Aye. Well, I had a few bruises and scrapes on my back from other bits of wood, but that was nothing. The two younger lads were in front of me, so they were safe."
"And if the Captain had warned them that one piece of your cargo was dangerous, they would never have done such a thing?" I asked.
"Exactly, Miss."
I nodded, thinking. "Our Captain keeps everyone well informed, does he?"
Larry smiled, his eyes warm and relaxed again. “Aye, Miss. He might not tell us every detail, but he always lets us know the crux of what's going on, and warns us well if there is anything dangerous."
I nodded, staring down at my hands for a moment, thinking. It was one thing to consider the tales of pirate life from afar, but it was very different now that I was sitting on a ship.
"Miss, this ship doesn't carry much dangerous cargo anymore," he said quickly. "What little weaponry we do transport, it's only things that can be packaged safely. Captain Samuels doesn't take chances with things like black powder, especially after I told him what happened to me. It’s only small barrels, and they’re clearly marked. No secrets."
I smiled up at him. "Well, that's good to know."
"And he would never put you at risk, Miss. I hope that you know that. No matter what happens with the rest of us, he would do everything to keep you safe."
I couldn't help giggling. "What if there was a fortune to be made smuggling something impossibly illegal?"
"Then he would stash you at McGee's mother's house, or somewhere else perfectly safe while we made the run," he said quite seriously. "I'm just assuming, of course. He hasn't spoken to me about it. But I know that he would never take you into harm's way."
Looking out across the gently rolling sea, I realized that I felt safer with these men that I had in my own village. What a strange world.
Then I saw something on the horizon. "Larry, is that Parrinport?"
He turned his head to glance. “Aye.” He glanced back to my stitching, then his head suddenly perked up. “Quick, come with me.”
I dropped my sewing and tried to keep pace with the big man as he dashed to the forecastle. I gripped the railing beside him as we stood at the bow, the wind in our hair. Now that I could see the land coming toward us, I had a better sense of how fast the ship was going.
“I’ll tell you a secret, Miss Flora,” Larry grinned with nearly childlike glee. “No matter how many times a sailor has circled the world, it’s always exciting to reach port.”
The salty air was catching me full in the face, nearly taking my breath away, and giving me a bit of a chill. It was exhilarating. Refreshing. Like my soul was being cleansed, and every stress and needless thought was scrubbed away by the feeling of flying across the water.
By the time I could almost make out individual trees along the shore, the ship had slowed down, as Teeth and McGee dropped the sails.
Larry patted my shoulder, leaving me to chat with the Captain. It was hard not to nearly jump up and down in excitement as I rushed to scrub my face and comb my hair before we reached the shore.
It was brilliantly exciting for me to visit a completely new town for the first time. But I wasn’t sure why the Captain sent Larry to accompany me instead of him. I didn’t mean to overhear, but I heard them use the words “authorities” and “posters”, yet wasn’t sure what that meant.
Perhaps the Captain was thought to be dangerous around these parts. It was amusing that I couldn’t imagine him as fearsome, but knew he likely could be if the occasion presented itself. It certainly wasn’t my place to ask. I felt that I should simply follow orders as best I could. It was also quite possible that the Captain simply had to stay with the ship to settle business dealings.
He gave me a little sack of money before we left. “Flora, you spend as much as you need to. This is your first port of call, so if you see a trinket that you’d like as a token, feel free.”
His large hand cupped my cheek for a second, as the warmth of his gaze washed through me. “Stay with Larry and you’ll be safe, lass.”
Then he gave us both a nod, and Larry and I walked off the ship. When we stood on the dock, Larry held me by the elbow for a second, keeping us still. It felt downright funny to be on solid ground.
Larry smiled from under the wide brim of the hat he had donned for our excursion. “Just take a moment, Miss. Like when you come aboard, your legs need to get used to the swell of the sea. Now we need to get our land legs back.”
After a pause, we walked down the dock and along the path toward the busiest part of the village. I instantly felt nervous, nearly tucking into Larry’s side. I didn’t know these people. Should I worry about what they might think of me? Or was that just my father’s voice still in the back of my head?
“Miss, part of blending in is looking confident. Like you belong here. If you’ll pardon my sayin’, you look like you want to disappear into the pathway. Try standing tall with your chin up. Pretend that’s a thousand gold pieces in your purse.” He flashed a grin
as I tried to arrange myself. “That’s it.”
It was the first time I'd ever seen Little Larry in a long-sleeved shirt. I almost asked him why, then realized it was to hide his tattoos. Normal villagers likely didn’t take too kindly to frightening looking men, or long-distance sailors.
“Larry, is it Sunday?”