The Duchess out of Time

XIX

"Liz"

"Lizzzzz? Lizzie!"

"ELIZABETH!"

"AHH WHAT!" Liz found herself falling off the edge of her bed with a startled jump as Edward struggled to not laugh. Desperate to untangle herself from the sheets that had fallen to the ground with her Liz looked up at her brother in frustration. Henry had disjointed her sleep again and Liz was exhausted.

"What do you want?" She grumbled as she sat on the side of the bed, brushing her wild hair from her face.

"The Captain has called for everyone to be on the deck in ten minutes" He told her before he left to give her privacy to get ready. Still half drowsy, all the sleep left Liz's bones as her brother's word echoed in her brain. Was the Captain going to tell the men that she had tried to steal the letters? Was she going to be publicly tried and punished under the judgement of the crew? A million thoughts raced through her mind as she quickly got herself dressed. Spending half her time trying to tackle her long hair, she managed to brush out majority of the knots as she figured she would leave it down for the time being. She could do some fancy up do later. Hopping on one foot she managed to slip on her boots as she finished tying her stay when her brother knocked on the door once again, signalling her ten minutes were up.

"Coming" She huffed nearly tripping over her own boots before she followed her brother. They were standing near the end of the pack as the Captain stood at the helm overlooking his men. Everyone on board was present as Liz could feel her heart begin to thump against her chest as sweat trickled down her neck. The Captain's firm gaze caught hers straight away as his mask was sitting perfectly on his chiselled face.

"Men! There is an transgression that has been brought to my attention" His words were calm but firm as the whispers broke out on deck. He paused allowing the men to gaze upon one another trying to figure out what their Captain was talking about as Liz squirmed in the back.

"It has come to my attention that after our latest endeavour we stumbled upon a chest full of letters" He finally announced as Liz let out a breath of relief. He wasn't going to sell her out to his men that he had caught her trying to steal.

"We always knew you were a romantic Captain" Laughter erupted from the men as the Captain smirked shaking his head.

"The letters are of a different nature. We have reason to believe they are letters of treason," He told them as they all went silent. Liz watched as their faces turned to stone realising the seriousness of the position they were now in.

"Now these letters are in a variety of languages and it seems the Duchess could translate them for us." He pointed, as every head turned towards Liz at the mention of her name. Holding her chin up Liz did her best to stand firm under their gaze when in reality all she wanted to do was hide. "But before we have her translate the letter, I want to put it to a vote. We either throw them overboard and be rid of them. Or we keep them and find out what they say and decide what to do from there. I will have your vote before sundown. Back to work"

The men were slow to return to their posts as they all murmured and talked amongst each other. Liz couldn't begin to comprehend just how dangerous this situation was for the men. The Captain knew and he wanted to be honest and upfront with his men. If he was going to keep the letters then he owed it to his men to inform them of the danger they carried on board. The Captain called for a vote, he valued his men's opinions and treated them as equals on his ship. Every major decision was a group decision, it wasn't right in his opinion to make life and death situations on behalf of them. They had every right to choose their own fate.

All throughout the day one by one the men would find their Captain in his cabin and give them their vote. He would keep a tally on a piece of parchment as he counted up the votes. Before the deadline everyone had cast their votes as the Captain calculated the final numbers. He was just missing one vote as he pushed himself away from his desk and went searching for the last person he needed.

"Duchess" He huffed as she looked up to see him glaring down at her. She had been a surprisingly hard woman to find as Liz wiped her hands on the back of her breeches and looked up at the Captain.

"Captain, can I help you with something?"

"Your vote."

"Vote?" Liz looked at him in surprise as he rolled his eyes. He hated having to repeat himself and it seems to be something he was doing a lot of in her presence.

"Yes, you are apart of this crew are you not?"

"I...well uh..." Liz's tongue seemed to knot in her mouth as she looked up at him. She didn't realise that she was considered to be a part of the crew. Even then, women didn't have the right to vote in this century or make decisions. She figured her opinion wouldn't have been wanted.

"I didn't think I got a vote" She whispered.

"Even after your little adventure last night I need your vote. So what will it be Duchess? Yes or no?" His voice dropped an octave lower as he stepped closer closing any gap that stood between them. Her breathed hitched as he recalled the night before. Even though nothing happened her cheeks still burned as she refused to lower her gaze from his.

"Yes"

"Adequate" In a flash he was gone allowing her to breath once again.

"What is it about this man?" She muttered to herself before she found herself following after him. Shielding her eyes from the afternoon sun the Captain was back at the helm before he put his fingers in his lips and let out a series of whistles. Within minutes every man was back on deck as they looked up at their Captain.

"Men! The vote is unanimous, we keep the letters" He announced as they all nodded in agreement before they dispersed. They had all voted to keep the letters. They all wanted to know the content of those letters. If there was potential treason against their own country they wanted to know about it. True they were pirates when they sailed the seas, but they were still English men at heart, even those who had originated from other countries. If anyone was going to attack the heart of Britain it was going to be them. It was similar to the concept siblings had when they picked on each other. They could tease and pick on each other as much as they liked but the were quick to their defence if someone else thought to bully them.

"Looks like you have your work cut out for you" Edward chuckled to Liz as she nodded. There were a lot of letters to get through, it was a good thing she didn't have any other prior engagements. She had all the time in the world.