Chapter 3

            “Oh my!” I gasp, expecting one room with five or six beds and a tiny table in the center and not the small main room with eight little rooms off to the side that greets me. Each small room has a bucket, a rather inviting bed, a desk, and a chest that looks like my old toy trunk. The main room has a medium sized table, eight dining room chairs, a cabinet with wine glasses hanging upside-down in it, and a coat rack filled with coats of various sizes. A bigger room is off to one side with all the same things as the smaller ones but has a little bit more space.

            “Mathews, Raeburne, Turner, Marcus, Owling, and Lowden, come out here to meet a guest!” Travis bellows out, his voice filling the room. Six boys appear in front of me. “Please tell Miss Maria your name and age.”

            “Thomas Mathews, age 6, ma’am!”

            “Jacob Raeburne, age 7, ma’am!”

            “Joseph Turner, age 9, ma’am!”

            “Maden Marcus, age 10, ma’am!”

            “Steven Owling, age 11, ma’am!”

            “Joshua Lowden, age 13, ma’am!”

            “Travis Westing, age 16, ma’am!” Then, all seven of them salute me.

“Maria Cara, age 15.” I say as I curtsy to all of them in return.

 “Now, Thomas, go to the kitchen and tell Pratt to make an extra dish and send wine for our dinner. Maria is going to join us. All you other sods, go into your rooms. Maria needs privacy to change. Thomas, don’t come back down here until I send for you, all right.?” The young boy goes up the stairs and out onto the deck, closing the hatch behind him. Travis turns to the other midshipmen, all of them starring at me. “GO!” he booms out, causing them all to scatter to their rooms, tripping over each other as they go. He turns to me. “Sorry about that. The midship…” he begins to speak but I cut him off.

            “Why not just call them middies instead of midshipmen? It is a lot shorter and takes less time to say.” I say, thinking out loud.

            “Middies has a certain ring to it. I think I’ll call them that.” He stops for a second before he remembers what he was saying beforehand. “They haven’t been around women in a while and they are starting to remember…” He pauses, blushing once again. “What women are for.” He continues, his voice barely above a whisper.

            “What is the extra room for? There are only seven of you but there are eight rooms set up.”  I take the clothes and begin to unfold them as I ask, Laying the unfolded clothes over the nearest chair.

            “All will be explained while we eat. Now, you need to change.” He says to me, though he continues to stand in one place.

            “Well, if I am going to change, you need to leave.” He turns as red as a shiny, red apple, causing me to let out a girlish laugh.

            “S-sorry.” He stammers as he attempts to back up into his room, the larger of the rooms. Instead of backing straight into the room, he trips on the floorboard and falls into the wall. I run over to see if he is all right, helping him up. When he is standing, I give him a kiss on his burning red cheek, causing them to burn a brighter red when I remove my lips. He turns around and quickly stumbles into his room, hovering in the doorway before he carefully closes the door behind him. I put my ear to the door and listen to the mumbling coming from inside.

            “Man, oh man I am so lucky. I should have kissed her back. I am so stupid! Her lips were so…” I take my ear off the door, not wanting to hear anymore. Another girlish giggle bubbles from my stomach. I step towards my clothes and begin to change, thinking as I take the overdress off. You are so bad! Look what you did! You big flirt! I take one look at the black, skin tight pants that I’m going to wear and know right away that I won’t be able to wear my underclothes under it.  I pull off my underclothes and  put the trousers, socks, shirt, and jacket on. Lying in the chair is a pair of boots with a note on it.

You will come and dine with me. Come to my cabin at three bells past the midwatch. I have bought you these fine Spanish work boots for you.

 

-Captain James Willard

            I crumple the note into a ball, throwing it to the floor and pull on the boots, a perfect fit. Instead of going to eat with the captain, I choose to stay with Travis and the middies.

            “I’m finished dressing, Travis. Come on out, I need to speak to you privately.” I call softly through his door as I knock. He hurries me into his room and goes out to the main room, knocking on the other middies’ doors and letting them out. I sit down on his bed and cross my legs, waiting patiently for him to return.

            “No, you little curr! Get away from her clothing!” He yells in the other room. Golly, he is protective! He walks into the room, his face flushed from anger. “Stupid curr. Pratt has no right to be snooping around her things.” He murmurs to himself, forgetting that I am in fact in the room. He angrily looks at his feet and kicks the deck before looking up and realizing that I am sitting on his bed. His expression changes from anger to embarrassment. “Your heard that, didn’t you?”

            “Yes, but that isn’t why I need to talk to you. I actually have two reasons. The first reason is the…” I pause in embarrassment, my face now turning red. “kiss.”

            “It is all right.” He states, turning as red as I am.

            “I don’t know what came over me. You fell and-and-and…” My words come out in a jumble and my cheeks turn a brighter red than they ever have. Tears begin to form in my eyes and one big, wet one rolls down my left cheek.

            “Maria.” He sits down next to me on the bed and begins to rub my back melodically, calmingly. “It is all right, Maria. Please don’t cry. I would have done the same thing. Just forget about it.” I lay my head on his shoulder, and I am transported back in time, transported back to the carriage. I can almost hear the sound of horse shoes hitting the uneven cobble. I am settling down when a knock comes on the door. “Who is it?” Travis yells through the door, not wanting to move from our comfortable position.

            “Owling, Sir. Someone is here asking for Miss Maria. It appears that the captain has summoned her to dinner.”

            “I am not hungry!” I yell loud enough so that all the people in the other room can hear me. “That is the other thing I needed to talk to you about.” I whisper in Travis’ ear.

            “Miss, if you do not come I will be whipped! Then the captain will come and get you himself and all the boys in this berth will be whipped!” the man sent to fetch me calls through the door, his hands now knocking on the door in desperation.

            “But I am not dressed properly to be received by a man such as the captain!” I call back to him, hoping that the reason is good enough to get me out of having to go.

            “Please, Miss, just come in what you are wearing.” The desperation in his voice grows because of the fear he has that I will not comply and he will be beaten.

            “Talk to me when you come back.” Travis whispers into my ear so only I can hear. I nod, stand up, and  open the door. Jacob hands me a ribbon to tie up my hair. I nod and smile at him to say thank you.

            “Please come with me, Miss.” The man who was sent to summon me says. I follow him up the stairs, onto the deck, and to a cabin at the back of the ship. The man knocks on the door and it swings open.

Author's Note

So I had some difficulties. The second typing that appears in the middle is supposed to be in a box like a note but this site doesn't support that. if anyone could give me technical hints, I'd love you forever! Thanks and hope you enjoy.

Reviews

[Theresa]

I like the descriptions you provide in this chapter. It helps paint that picture like I was talking about in my last review.
"of them solute" --Salute
"Please, Miss, just com in" --come
I like the relationship that seems to be developing between Maria and Travis. I'm not sure if it's friendship, or more especially on Maria's end. I'm also not quite sure how old Maria is. Did you mention that at all? I'm assuming close to Travis' age since her father is shipping her off. Ok other then that another good chapter.

[Moyo]

You mispelled the word "wear" with "were" three lines above the captains note. And in the part where Maria begins to cry and Travis comforts her, he says, "It is all right, Maria. Please don’t cry. I would have done the same thing. Just forget about it." He would have done the same thing? Maybe it's just me, but I don't understand what is going on there. Didn't they just meet? Could you please explain?