Safe below

Before he had a chance to raise his voice Sasha's pleasant greeting eased his irrational response,

"Oh hi Captain." She still wore the same simple clothes as before but now a dusting of flour covered her face and hair. "Did you get me my chickens?"

Brenan had to fight back the urge to sweep her into his arms and hug her slender body. Instead he gave the odd woman a simple nod, and turned away before his strange behavior was misinterpreted. Was this going to be his reaction for every crew member, or was it simply because Sasha reminded him of Red? Brenan wasn't sure which of those options bothered him more.

It didn't take long for him to carry the full wagon load up onto the ship's deck and by the time his crew returned (eager to sail and mostly sober) he had the powder stored in the weapon's locker in Mr. Michael's forward cabin, the chicken coop secured under the main mast and all the rest of the foodstuff in the pantry across from the galley. He was as eager to be underway as his crew and even before the ebb tide he gave the order to cast off and used his mizzen sail to catch the sea breeze that gently the agile schooner into the harbor.

It took a few more minutes to clear the thicket of ships that bobbed gently swinging on the turning tide, but as soon as he cleared the last of the potential hazards he ordered the main sail raised and smiled in response to the sudden surge in speed. Behind him leaving the harbor on the same tide he saw the Peregrine slowly maneuvering through the same maze of anchored ships that he had just successfully negotiated.

The Peregrine was a pirate ship, and Brenan was pleased to be well ahead of the frigate and increasing the lead with each minute. Freeport was a safe harbor, so in theory he was safe from Captain Roland's crew, but just the same he had no desire to have the Peregrine follow him into blue waters. The pirate ship out-gunned him by eight to one and had at least six times his crew. Best to put as much distance as possible between himself and the frigate as he could.

Turning roughly to the North-East Brenan ordered the two top sails raised as well. Under full sail and catching the full breeze his little ship responded as sweetly as he knew she would. When the cool evening breeze struck him squarely on the left cheek he sent Mr. Michael's below to inspect the powder and ball he had bought and while he worked with Castillo, the lantian twins and James on trimming the sails until he found the perfect combination to maximize their speed. He was soon sure he'd be able to outrun the frigate unless he tried to run with the wind dead astern, but the Peregrine continued on a westerly course so by the time the sun was sinking here white sails were barely visible.

By the time the crew ate their dinner it was fully dark and Brennan was confident that he had cleared the Easternmost promontory of the island. Once again he had all the crew on deck trimming the sails as he turned as close to North as he could noting with satisfaction that his speed had only dropped slightly even sailing this close to the wind.

Sasha's dinner was better than most he'd eaten. A stew made from the salt pork spuds and carrots topped with basketfuls of light biscuits and a salad made from fresh greens. Served with the meal was a grog made from a mixture of tea, sour grapes and cane sugar - not bad. His crew agreed with his assessment of the cook's skills and she was greeted with raucous cheers when she climbed out on the deck to gaze up at the night stars by Brenan's side.

"I feel free for the first time in nearly a month Captain. Thank-you." Brenan tried to maintain his gruff demeanor, but despite his best efforts he found himself starting a rowdy chantey using the steady rocking of the waves as the beat that drove the words of the multiple verses. To his surprise he found Tyler had a knack for tapping the beat with a pair of belaying pins and James returned from below decks with a pipe adding a high pitched melody line above the voices of the crew as they sang along.

Castillo twice tried to invite Sasha to dance, but both times she refused with a gentle smile. The second time Brenan gave Harry the helm of the ship and as soon as he felt confident that the man could follow a compass heading he went below decks to see what happened to his gun officer.