After the craziness that was Port Chamblay, two uneventful weeks passed for the crew aboard the Christina. The captain was still trying to determine why the Wickham jewels had been stolen, but to no avail. Kalinna, meanwhile, retreated back into herself.

It wasn’t like she was angry with the captain, or any other crew members for that matter, it’s just that she was afraid of somebody discovering her secret. If Trenton was easily able to figure out that she was hiding something, then it would only take one small mishap for the whole crew to discover her lies.

“Kip, what do you make of this chest?” Justin suddenly questioned, startling her out of her daze.

She had been working with the captain all morning translating letter after letter. Her hand was beginning to cramp up, but she was enjoying the busy work. It kept her mind from straying too far.

“It looks like a regular old jewelry box to me,” Kalinna commented as she fleetingly glanced at the small chest Justin had set on the table in front of her.

“I know, but look closely at the lid,” Justin instructed, “Does it not look like there is another compartment?”

Kalinna examined the chest further and knew that he was right. There seemed to be a shallow compartment on the top that was shut tightly with a lock, as attained by the small keyhole located near the back of the case. She ran her hands over the hole, a memory suddenly stirring in the back of her mind; something her mother had said long ago…

Unfortunately, Kalinna had never figured out what her mother had meant late that night. With the death of Elizabeth, she had forgotten all about the mysterious conversation and the locket her mother had placed around her neck. Now, for some reason, it all came flooding back.

Without thinking, and not knowing quite what possessed her, she pulled the locket out from beneath her tunic. After turning the chest around, she fitted it to the keyhole and was shocked when the lid popped open. Lying in the shallow compartment was a few pieces of folded parchment and a small leather-bound book.

She heard Justin make a low noise in his throat and turned confused eyes to him. What was this supposed to mean? She had no recollection of this chest, had no idea where it came from or who it belonged to, so how was it that she came to hold its key?

“Kip, where did you…” Justin began, prepared to interrogate his cabin boy until he finally got some straight answers. They were interrupted, however, by a crew member named Robert, who burst into the room at precisely that moment and cut off the rest of the captain’s sentence.

“Captain, we’re under attack!” the man breathlessly stated, his eyes filled with a worry that Kalinna had never seen before.

“What? By whom?” Justin demanded, his interest no longer on Kalinna and the jewelry chest.

“French ship by tha name ‘o the Manicle,” Robert stated, “She gots her guns drawn and is headed straight our way.”

“Prepare for battle,” the young captain snapped as he began to buckle his sword to his waist, “Tell Jackson to steer us back towards Port Chamblay as fast as he can.”

“Aye captain,” Robert said before disappearing from the room to carry out his orders.

“Captain…” Kalinna began.

“Are you prepared to fight?” Justin demanded as he returned from his desk, a loaded pistol in hand, “I’m going to need that swift arm of your’s if we’re to escape. The Manicle is supposedly the fastest French schooner the country has.”

“I’m at your service, Justin, as always,” Kalinna stated as she stood up and shuffled the papers together.

“Good,” the captain said as he snapped the compartment of the jewelry case shut and grabbed it and the letters Kalinna had been working on and locked them in his desk, “Don’t be afraid, I need you to fight with all you’ve got, you hear me?”

“I hear you captain,” Kalinna responded as she held her head high, green eyes sparkling with fire, “I’m not afraid.”

“Let’s go then,” Justin commanded as he walked quickly out of the cabin, Kalinna close on his heels.

The two of them were topside in no time at all, and Kalinna stared in horror at the huge French ship that was fast approaching from the east. Its cannons outnumbered their own, as did the number of crew members. Kalinna wondered if they would be able to make it back to the port alive.

Of course, the crew aboard the Christina was battle-worn pirates who had probably faced worse odds than this. No, she was just letting her mind run away with her because of the adrenaline pumping through her veins. Everything would turn out okay, it just had to.

“Bonjour garcon,” a rather burly-looking man with jet black hair and a trimmed moustache yelled above the crash of the waves. He could only be the captain of the Manicle.

Justin practically glowed with anger, resenting that the man had called him a boy. It was an insult, plain as day and the captain clenched his hands to his sides. He willed himself to stay calm; it would be rash for him to charge right at the man and endanger himself and the rest of the crew aboard the Christina. No, he would bide his time.

“Good day sir, what is it that you seek?” Justin called in a loud, clear voice, “We are pirates, so be warned that we do not take kindly to being pursued.”

“Pirate or not, you stole something that belongs to the French,” the French captain replied, his eyes as cold as steel on a winter day.

If Justin was surprised at the man’s mastery of the English language, he did not let it show on his face. The man was after something important, which could only mean that he had somehow stumbled upon something pertaining to the plot against England. If only he knew what precisely that was.

“I have not seen hide nor hair of a French ship for the last year,” Justin replied, “So I do not know how I would possess something that would rightly belong to you. Besides, kind sir, a pirate would never give up what he has plundered, no matter who it was stolen from.”

“You will hand over the chest I seek, or I will take it from you. It is your decision,” the Frenchman concluded as his men pulled out their weapons and prepared to do battle.

“I should like to see you try,” Justin challenged in return as he crossed his arms over his chest, a look of cool disdain adorning his features.

Kalinna watched in dismay as the large Frenchman drew a wicked looking sword and moved like lightening to lash out towards her captain. Without thinking, she spun forward, drew her sword, and deflected the blow. The Frenchman cursed as he was denied his target.

“You think yourself tough, eh boy?” the foreign captain taunted, “You are too weak to defeat the likes ‘o Captain Tobias Bontecou.”

Kalinna felt the blood in her veins boil with anger at the insult. But she immediately moved back when Justin pulled her away. The cocky Frenchman was right that he was no match for her, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t help defeat the Manicle’s crew.

“Men, attack!” Bontecou cried as he jumped aboard the Christina.

Justin’s men drew their weapons and prepared for the oncoming assault without being told to do so. This was going to be their fiercest battle yet, a far cry from the English merchant vessels that they normally attacked, but they were up for the challenge. After weeks of turning up nothing, they were ready to take their frustrations out on this cocky French captain and his mangy crew.

The attack was swift, the Frenchmen quite talented with their swords. But Justin’s crew fought back, refusing to be beaten on their own ship.

The clash of swords and many a swear words filled the open sea air. The Christina’s men pivoted and spun, blocking swing after swing the Frenchmen delivered. They were sure-footed and confident on the deck of their lady ship who had never let them down before.

One by one, the crew of the Christina won their personal battles with their opponents. Frenchmen flew over the side of the Christina to land back aboard their own ship, or to splash into the cold spray of the unforgiving sea. They were no match for the determined pirates and they immediately realized their mistake and cowered on the deck of the Manicle.

Meanwhile, Justin kept himself busy battling with Captain Bontecou, unaware that the tide of battle had turned in their favor. The men of the Christina were slowly disposing of the last of Bontecou’s men and turned to watch the battle of their captain and his enemy. Bontecou may not have had the greatest skill with a sword, but he overpowered the pirate captain in the strength department, which had Kalinna fearing for his safety.

She stood on the ledge of the Christina, holding tightly to a rope that secured one of the sails. Her attention was solely focused on Justin so that she didn’t hear the Frenchman sneak up on her until it was almost too late.

“Eh laddy, me thinks you’ll be coming with us since you tried to kill me captain,” the Frenchman declared as he tried to grab for her.

Kalinna quickly stepped out of the way and looked at the man in disgust, his scarred face and fetid breath making her want to gag. She quickly pulled her sword back out of its sheath and prepared to fight.

Unfortunately, she underestimated the man’s skill with his weapon as well as his agility, and charged stupidly in his direction. He twirled out of her reach, balancing on the ledge of the railing. Kalinna took a deep breath as she steadied herself, not wanting to fall.

Their swords clashed, creating a blinding light from the overhead sun, meeting again and again in a scoreless battle. Kalinna’s breathing became ragged as she struggled to keep up with this man, who had more talent with fighting than she had originally thought. She had to take every precaution or else she’d be on a ship heading to France.

The man struck out again, and Kalinna twirled out of the way. But she was not fast enough. The wicked blade cute through the front of her shirt and left a jagged cut in her stomach. Kalinna felt the pain course through her body, but before she could react, she felt herself falling. Falling. Falling.

She splashed into the freezing water of the sea and flailed about. God help her, she did not know how to swim. And even if she did, the wound in her side would have kept her from making much leeway anyway.

She used all her strength to try and keep her head above the water, but slowly and surely, the dark blue murkiness surrounded her and blocked out the sunlight. Her lungs gasped for air and her head pounded with the loss of oxygen. She flailed around, but it was no use.

A blinding white began to surround her and she was terrified. This was not how she wanted to die. She had so much left to live for, so many more things to see and do.

With that last thought, she slipped out of consciousness and gave up the struggle.

Out of the corner of his eye, Justin saw Kip teeter dangerously on the ledge of the railing before finally falling overboard. With a cry, the pirate captain quickly finished off Bontecou before running to the railing. He stripped out of his coat and hat and set his sword on the deck before climbing up onto the ship’s railing.

Justin dove off the ship and into the murky water. He quickly made his way to the surface, his long, muscled arms cutting through the cold sea. After taking a fresh breath of air, he dove down to search for his fallen cabin boy.

He swam around until his lungs finally gave out on him. After grabbing another lungful of air, he dove beneath the surface once again, his search becoming frantic at this point. Kip had been underneath the water for altogether too much time.

Finally, just when he thought the search was hopeless, his hand brushed a body. It was Kip and without thinking, he grabbed a hold of the limp body and made for the surface. He broke into the air, the small body of his unconscious cabin boy clutched to his chest.

He looked down to see if the lad was breathing and was surprised to discover a wet mass of brown curls framing the still face. The face that looked more feminine now that it was rid of the dirt and grime. Lord in heaven, Kip Davenport was a girl!

He wanted to be angry. He wanted to cry and yell at the deception she had pulled. But his first concern was getting back aboard the ship and making sure she lived to tell her tale.

Justin quickly swam to the side of the ship where a rope had been thrown over the side and grabbed a hold. His crew hoisted him and Kip up and he collapsed onto the safe haven of the Christina’s deck.

Without thinking, and ignoring the curious and surprised stares of his crew members, he turned the lass onto her back and listened closely to her chest. There was a faint heartbeat, but she was still not breathing. Frustrated, he began to breathe for her, hoping she was not beyond saving.

He was rewarded for his effort a few moments later when she started to cough up sea water. Justin quickly turned her on her side so she did not choke and breathed a silent prayer to the heavens.

After a few more moments of relieving her body of the foreign water, Kalinna rolled onto her back once again. She lay there taking deep breaths, her body exhausted and a sharp pain radiating from somewhere near her middle. She opened her eyes as she felt the sturdiness of the deck beneath her body and discovered blue orbs staring back at her.

It was Justin. He was saying something to her, but everything was a little bit fuzzy and out of focus. She felt like she was adrift on a soft cloud and a small smile played on her full lips before she drifted back into blackness.

Justin tried to shake her awake again. He had seen her eyes open for the briefest of seconds; his eyes had not played tricks on him. But she was as unresponsive as when he had first pulled her from the water, the only difference being her quiet, even breathing.

He was just about to turn away in frustration when a dark red stain near her abdomen caught his attention. No wonder she had fainted. That French scoundrel had given her a good-sized slash in the stomach.

“Justin?” Jackson suddenly questioned, interrupting the silence on the deck, “What’s going on?”

“Our Kip is actually a girl,” Justin said as he stood up and pulled her small body into his arms, “She’s injured, tell Trenton to prepare some hot water and clean rags. I’m going to put her in my cabin and I don’t want anybody going near her, is that clear?”

A rumbling of agreement met Justin’s requests. If they found it odd that their captain’s cabin boy turned out to be a girl, they didn’t voice their opinions. After all, Justin was their leader and knew precisely what he was doing.

“Once she wakes up, I’m going to find out exactly who she is and what she was doing posing as a boy,” Justin concluded as he walked off, not bothering to wait for comments from his crew.

The young captain quickly walked down the stairs and with his long strides, was at the door to his cabin in no time. He immediately opened it and crossed the spacious study to the bedroom which he occupied. He didn’t care if he had to sleep in his chair later that night, he was not going to take any chances where this lass was concerned.

He didn’t know her name or her motives for pretending to be a boy. With the danger and secrecy of his mission, he wanted to be sure that she was not a spy. There was no way he was going to mess this up because of one willful and spirited lass with a good sword arm.

His stomach suddenly dropped as he realized how much danger he had put her in. Spy or not, she was still a woman and the protective side of him screamed in protest at the travesty. In his opinion, a woman should not be exposed to such kinds of dangers that he faced and his unconscious cabin girl was no exception, no matter her explanation.

Sighing, Justin set his burden gently on the bed, careful not to jar her wound. She didn’t move except to curl deeper into his comfortable mattress. Looking at her, unconscious to the world, he felt his heartstrings playing a ghostly, unknown melody.

“I brought ye some hot water and clean rags,” Trenton suddenly said as he bustled in and interrupted the silence and Justin’s thoughts, “How is she doin’?”

“Wait, you knew she was a lass?” Justin questioned, shocked. The portly cook blushed at the inquiry.

“It was two weeks ago when she ‘ad her monthly times. I told ‘er I’d keep ‘er secret for as long as she wanted me to,” Trenton explained with a shrug of his shoulders, “Poor lass is runnin’ from somethin’ tha she is.”

“What’s her name?” Justin demanded.

“Kalinna Davenport,” Trenton replied, staring the pirate down when he glared, “I already asked ‘er why she be runnin’ and she told me it was ‘cause ‘er father was makin’ her marry some chap she didn’t take no fancy to marryin’.”

“Are you certain?” Justin responded as he took a fleeting glance at his unconscious patient who was oblivious to their conversation.

“Absolutely cap’ain,” Trenton assured his superior, “I jus’ think she was dealt some nasty cards in life an’ didn’t know no other way to escape.”

Justin just grunted in reply as the man set down the pot of hot water and rags and left the young man alone with the injured woman. He didn’t quite know what to make of the cook’s words, but he knew he was going to find out exactly what Kalinna Davenport was hiding. And it would come from her own lips.

With a start, he pulled a chair next to the bed and began to dress her wound. He was glad she was unconscious because otherwise she would have been fighting him the entire way. That would have only added to the pain she already was in.

He had to remove her shirt to properly clean and bandage the cut. He grimaced to himself as he noticed the tight bindings that bound her breasts down; she had definitely gone all out in playing the part of a boy. He itched to undo the bindings, but he quickly turned his attention back to his task. No sense in getting drawn in by her luscious body when he had no idea where her loyalties lay.

Finally, after gently cleaning her wound and bandaging it up, Justin carefully pulled one of his clean tunics over her head before tucking her securely beneath the sheets of his big bed. With that task done, he sat back down in his chair and sat watching her. With each rise and fall of her chest, more and more questions flooded his brain.

“What secrets do you hold Kalinna Davenport?” Justin quietly whispered as he brushed a stray piece of hair from her face.

The only answer was her even breathing and slight stirrings as she drifted on in uninterrupted sleep. He sighed. Maybe, just maybe, the beautiful lass would be the key he needed to unravel this traitorous plot that loomed ever closer on the horizon.