Free The Noble Pirates by Rima Jean Page B

three inches off of my long black hair, which I tied back in a queue with string.
    I have always had a slight figure, thin and flat-chested, and the girls at Nan’s joked that I was a “good-looking lad,” one they’d happily fight over as a customer. I took to spending more time at Nan’s brothel, if only because I felt welcome there after saving Nel’s life – more welcome there than at England’s.
    Edward England had quietly disapproved when his crew had voted to take me with them to cruise abroad. I couldn’t understand why he was so against it. Was he so averse to having a woman aboard that he’d risk the health of his crew? Or was there something I was missing? Since then, I spent more time at the bawdy house than at his house, and we only spoke in passing. He kept his eyes averted when we spoke, his tone cold and brisk. I was, needless to say, distraught by this development, but was not going to let the pirate leave Nassau without me. He’d come around.
    The night Woodes Rogers arrived, I sat on a stool in Nel’s room, sorting my herbs, when I became aware of a cry in the streets. Nel hurried to her window and leaned out, her long dark hair swept over one shoulder. “You there! What’s doing?” she called down. She suddenly jerked erect, turning breathless toward me. “It’s Woodes Rogers, it is! Royal Navy sails been seen off Hog Island!”
    I jumped up. This was it. Would there be a battle? Surely Charlie Vane wasn’t planning on fighting? Adrenaline pulsed through my veins as I gathered my belongings – my medicine chest, the items from my backpack (in a less conspicuous sack) – and rushed down the rickety stairs, out the door. I blew kisses up to Nan’s girls as I hurried down the street, tilting my head back to grin at the prostitutes as they leaned from the windows. I saw Kat wiggle her fingers in a reluctant wave as Nan called playfully, “Take care o’ yourself, lad!”
    I was terrified. It had been getting easier, living in 1718 Nassau. In the couple weeks that had passed, I figured some things out, gotten into a groove, so to speak. And now, I was going to board a ship – me, seasickness-prone Sabrina, who hated boats – for a voyage to the shores of Africa. With pirates. In the world of bad ideas, this was probably one of the worst ever. But I simply couldn’t imagine what I would do if England left me here, to fend for myself. I couldn’t imagine having to start over.
    Plus, I’d grown attached to the solemn, gallant pirate, despite the fact that he’d barely spoken to me in the past several days.
    I found the pirates aboard Vane’s huge French galley-rigged ship, a 250-ton vessel with some thirty guns. England, Vane, Rackam and some others stood on the quarterdeck, looking across the harbor through spyglasses at something my naked eyes couldn’t see. I waited until England noticed me and came over.
    The excitement of the royal governor’s arrival glowed in England’s face. He was wound tightly, every muscle in his body tensed, moving like a beast of prey on the hunt. Edward England was not a handsome man, but what he was – a pirate, a man of action, a courageous, enlightened hero – made him attractive. That much I had to admit to myself, and the suddenness of this realization made me feel awkward and embarrassed. I wondered how much of my soul I had bared to him, me and my twenty-first century sensibilities, and how much scorn or pity I elicited from him for having done so.
    He pointed to one of the many sloops anchored around the ship. “Get on board that one and don’t move,” he instructed. He looked over his shoulder at his peers. “I don’t know what the night may bring, lass, but I need ye to stay put, am I explicit?” I nodded as he rubbed his chin, considering something. “Also… Keep the lad’s clothes on, will ye? We’ll let people think yer a boy, and it’ll perhaps keep the crew from… succumbing to temptation.” He put his hand on my head as