True Treasure: Real - Life History Mystery by Lisa Grace Page B

Captain. He is the life and soul of the ship.”
    “Thank you, Charles for your honesty.”
    Mary finished her sketches and watched as the sun sank below the horizon and into the waves. There was a full moon and lanterns lit on both ships as the men kept working through the night. She sat and watched on the open deck. She could see the glow from the lamps lit below decks on the foundered ship.
    Her adventure was turning out to be nothing like she had planned. Magdela gone forever, and now she was all alone unchaperoned, pirates were a real threat, a bloody battle had been fought, men wounded or dead, and now a treasure needed to be dealt with. What would happen when more pirates came looking for it? Were they watching from the island, hidden by the steep sides and the foliage? Would they attack?
    A breeze took wisps of her hair and gently blew them in her face. She shivered. Mary looked up at the masts of the ship. She felt alone. Did Bennett have feelings for her? Or was she projecting feelings to his lust that simply were not there? Charles said he was honorable. But could a man who could kill so easily experience love?
    There were sailors straddling the crossbars with spyglasses on alert for pirates. She counted eight all together. All assigned to watch for any sign of more pirates. The captain did run an alert ship. He kept the men busy and informed as to their duty. She realized his respect to the details was his way of showing the men he cared.
    On deck Mary felt a part of a bigger purpose. She decided to stay on deck watching the orderly transport of their new unexpected cargo. She wasn’t ready to go back to her cabin, after spending so much time below decks, mourning the loss of Magdela, sleeping her pain away, she wasn’t tired at all. She could sketch the night away. She kept looking for Captain Graham, and every now and then she thought she heard his voice carried on the wind. His mind was no doubt occupied by the business at hand. Was his promise to her one he still intended to keep or was the matter of the treasure and what to do with it of such importance he couldn’t be bothered with the reputation of a colonial girl?
    Charles laid some sacks of barley against some coiled ropes and sat next to her, a faithful escort. He soon fell asleep.
    As the night wore on she leaned her head against the rail to rest her head. The breeze and the calls from the men at work were a comfort. Her pad slid off her lap onto the deck soon followed by her charcoal. She wished Bennett Graham would find the time to talk to her to reassure her she was still very much on his mind. She fell asleep thinking of him.
    ***
    Captain Graham came up to the deck at the start of the sixth watch, the one which would take them to dawn. He went to the lieutenant stationed on the Captain’s deck, “Report.”
    “At this rate we should finish late tomorrow.”
    “Good.”
    He looked down on the lower deck and saw her. Mary was asleep on a deck chair her head against the rail. The cabin boy, Charles, was curled next to her on a makeshift bed of coiled ropes and sacks. He smiled. He was not expecting her to take so well to life at sea. Granted, it had been only a week, but before he’d known her, he would have expected tears and pouting at her situation. Yet the only time she’d requested his presence, was the night she’d found Magdela ill.
    He’d made it clear she was a temptation, and she had kept her distance. He was left to do his work, and keep his men’s respect. A lesser woman would have fawned, pouted, pursued, or bothered him, leaving his men to doubt his leadership.
    She waited. She was willing to wait. Waiting would be a necessary trait for a captain’s wife. Today, a day of battle and death had not been a day to create a bond. Maybe tomorrow would if the weather held and the blasted pirates that were left kept their distance. He had not had the time to speak his intentions. Maybe after witnessing the fate he had bestowed upon