Secrets of a Pirate's Heart

Chapter Nine

Scarlett had been sitting back in her chair, listening to the Captain's captivating story. Besides the crashing waves and creaking of the ship, no other sound was made. He allowed time for his words to sink in, but Scarlett was unable to speak.

Her sister? He must be out of his mind. Not only was he feared throughout the Irish Sea, but he had gone mad as well! At this conclusion, Scarlett finally found her voice.

"I'm sorry, but I honestly think you have the wrong person," she said, with a laugh. "I don't have a sister! I only have two brothers."

"I know," he replied. "But you used to have a sister."

"How can that even be possible?" Scarlett threw her arms in the air.

"Oh, but it is. While I was in love with your sister, she only had one younger brother, who, at that time, was only a small child."

"William..."

"Yes," the Captain said. "You were yet to be born."

"But how have I never known about her?"

"I heard because your family disowned her. They did not approve of her marrying this man, and later, to be involved in such a scandal. It became quite the talk of the town. Word spread that I killed him, and everyone in that town and the one I lived in heard of it. Quickly, everyone despised me. I was never looked at in the same way again. I don't think people really knew the true story and what she had done to me. It was her lover who was a good-for-nothing scoundrel. Still, I lost my job and no one would offer me service. Eventually, I was living on the streets, hating everything and everyone, including myself.

"But after a while, I found a way to make some money. I joined the pirates on this ship. They were the only people that accepted me and allowed me to work with them. And eventually, I worked my way up to being Captain."

Scarlett thought for a minute, trying to piece all the information together to make sense. And here she was, talking to one of the most villainous pirate captains about her sister she thought was nonexistent. She remembered their first meeting, terrified when he stood in front of her and desperate to escape. But now, it was different. Not only did she want to find out more answers to her many questions, she also felt pity for him. Yes, seeing the human being he really was had actually made her heart feel compassion for him.

"Even if my family did disown her, why do I not know about her?" Scarlett thought out loud.

"Perhaps they didn't want you to feel burdened by such a scandal." The Captain quickly turned back to the floor. Scarlett knew he still regretted what he had done.

Realizing it was best to change the focus of the subject, she said, "So why are you now telling me all of this? What do I have to do with it?"

"I," the Captain stuttered, searching the floor for answers, but unable to grasp any. He squeezed his eyes shut in concentration. "I captured you, because I thought you were your sister. I watched you for days beforehand, learning your routine of work. I thought, possibly, her family accepted her back. I had to see her. After capturing you, I just thought you were pretending to be a different person and to not know me. But then I realized you were her younger sister, and I changed my plan. I was going to use you to lead me to where she lives, but I discovered you knew nothing about her at all." The Captain looked at Scarlett. "I almost withheld this information from you, but when you put yourself in harm's way to protect the boy, I saw her. And I knew I had to tell you."

He took in a breath to say more when Leslie burst open the door with an anxious look on his face. "Sir, excuse the interruption. You need to come out here."