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hilsWell, since it's WIP weekend, here's the only one I have left on my hard drive. It started off pretty well, but I decided to go with the idea that became Press-Ganged instead
Liverpool, England, 1672.
In a world which was constantly changing, life seemed to remain constant in the shipping town of Liverpool. London had been devastated by fire a few years previously which had meant that the majority of trade had moved north. Countries overseas still needed their goods, regardless of what was happening. Now King Charles wanted to go to war with Holland which just meant that things were even busier. The soldiers would need supplies shipping out to them and where better to go than the most thriving town in England. Everyone was talking of the war, but in one household there appeared to be a war of its own raging.
"You want me to WHAT?"
John Summers winced at he peered over his small wire-rimmed glasses at his only child. He should have known this would go badly. Elizabeth was so independent and now he was asking her to do something which went against everything she was.
"I'm sorry." He apologised weakly."But we don't have a choice."
"I don't understand." Elizabeth said, her voice lowering a little but her rage still blazing in her eyes."I've helped you run this business for years, ever since mother died. And now you want to ship me off to the other side of the world?"
"Lord Angelus is a very wealthy man." John offered."He owns most of Virginia. It's a great honour that he's chosen you to be his wife. He'll be able to provide you with everything you need."
Elizabeth sighed. This was insane. She'd been working with her father since she had been old enough and now all of it was going to be taken from her because some stuffy lord had taken a fancy to her. She was almost certain he was only interested in her because her father was now one of the wealthiest men in England. He may not be of noble birth but in these times money seemed to be all that mattered.
"It's not fair."
"I know." John agreed softly."But I need to start thinking about your future. I won't be around forever, and you'll need someone to take care of you."
Elizabeth wanted to argue but she knew that he was right. The law prevented him from leaving the business to her when he died; it would go to his nearest male relative. The only way a woman could get by was to marry into wealth. Love wasn't an issue.
"May I be excused?" She finally asked. She needed to get out of the house; anywhere where she wouldn't have to look at the man that had more or less sold her into slavery. She didn't blame him, not entirely, but she didn't want to be around him in case she ended up saying something she couldn't take back.
"Of course you can go." John replied gently."Take as long as you want, I can manage things here for a while."
Elizabeth turned and headed for the door, pausing only to collect her shawl on the way. As the door firmly banged behind her John let out a weary sigh. He'd known this was going to be difficult, all he could do now was pray that she'd come around and see that he was trying to do what was best for her.
* * *
"I suppose he thinks this is what's best for me." Elizabeth muttered as she walked, oblivious to the hive of activity around her. She'd often walk along the waterfront when something was on her mind. She found it easy block out the sounds of ships being loaded and unloaded, she just enjoyed the soothing sound of the water breaking against the pier.
As she continued her walk she spotted one of her father's ships and smiled. Most of the crews knew her well and they were always happy to talk if she stopped by. Sometimes she'd bring them some fruit and water for lunch, other times she'd just stop by and listen to them talk about wherever it was that they'd been.
"Morning Miss Elizabeth." James, the foreman greeted as she boarded the ship.
"Good morning." She forced herself to smile despite her heavy heart."How was Spain?"
"Hot." James replied with a shrug."But we managed to get a good deal on the supplies we picked up."
"Father will be pleased." She answered, trying to keep the bitterness out of her voice.
James didn't seem to pick up on it at any rate and continued to talk about how Spain had been and where they were headed next. As Elizabeth listened politely she could help but feel envious at his life. He never stayed in one place for more than a couple of weeks and he got to see the world. She'd never seen anything aside from the town she'd been born in. She often wondered what all these other places must be like. She imagined they must be exciting, full of strange languages and other wonders that she couldn't even begin to imagine.
"Are you alright?" James asked, cutting into her thoughts and bringing her back to her current and rather less pleasant situation.
She shook her head and forced a small laugh."Oh, yes, I'm fine. I should really be heading back though."
James nodded, merely thankful for the company and not wanting to detain her any longer than she wanted.
"Goodbye." She smiled, squeezing his hand warmly.
"Goodbye Miss." James replied with a small smile of his own, watching until she was out of sight before resuming his work.
* * *
As she walked home Elizabeth's mind went over again and again what it must be like to live on a ship, to be surrounded by the ocean and fresh air all the time. She imagined it must be heavenly and the more she thought about it the more an idea began to form in her mind. It was madness, but then again so was the idea of marrying a man she barely knew.
As soon as she got home she hurried to the kitchen, packing as much food as she could into a bag. If she was going to act on her idea then she was going to need to do it soon before her courage failed her.
Once she had as much food as she could carry she hurried up to her room and packed as many of her dresses that she could manage. She tried to select the ones that were the most practical, the ones she would wear when she was delivering to the men on the ships. Non of them were really entirely suitable but she'd have to manage.
Now all she had to do was wait for nightfall.
* * *
In the cover of darkness Elizabeth made her way back down to the pier, her cloak wrapped tightly around herself to ward off the cold and the nervous feeling in the pit of her stomach. She could do this. She had to.
She soon found what she wanted; one of her father's ships, the Mary-Rose moored at the far end of the harbour. While her father had been asleep she'd checked his shipping records for the one which was headed the furthest from England. This one was headed for the Bahamas, their chief cotton trader. It was due to set sail in a couple of hours.
With a deep breath she climbed aboard and crept into the cargo hold. She settled herself down onto a stack of sacks and placed her bags on the floor beside her. Now all she had to do was wait. With a small yawn she curled herself up and closed her eyes, deciding to rest while she could. Hopefully by the time she woke she'd be far away from England and Lord Angelus.
* * *
Father
I hope you can understand why I've done this but I had to go away. I cannot imagine being the wife of anyone, least of all Lord Angelus. Please don't attempt to find me, it's better this way.
Remember, I'll always love you
Elizabeth
As John read over the letter one more time he finally allowed the tears to fall. He'd done this. He'd driven his only daughter away to who knows where and there was no way he was ever going to find her. All he could do was pray to God that she'd be kept safe.
* * *
Elizabeth woke to the gentle rocking motion of the ship and she smiled. She'd done it. She'd managed to get away and she was safe. Or so she thought. As she fully awoke she became aware of the sound of canon fire and she froze. She'd heard stories of pirates looting ships for their goods, but never this close to home. They must have only been sailing for a few hours.
As she sat there wondering what to do the door to the cargo was roughly thrown open and she found herself facing a man she'd never seen before, certainly not a member of the crew.
"Well, well, well." He smirked."What have we here?"
Liverpool, England, 1672.
In a world which was constantly changing, life seemed to remain constant in the shipping town of Liverpool. London had been devastated by fire a few years previously which had meant that the majority of trade had moved north. Countries overseas still needed their goods, regardless of what was happening. Now King Charles wanted to go to war with Holland which just meant that things were even busier. The soldiers would need supplies shipping out to them and where better to go than the most thriving town in England. Everyone was talking of the war, but in one household there appeared to be a war of its own raging.
"You want me to WHAT?"
John Summers winced at he peered over his small wire-rimmed glasses at his only child. He should have known this would go badly. Elizabeth was so independent and now he was asking her to do something which went against everything she was.
"I'm sorry." He apologised weakly."But we don't have a choice."
"I don't understand." Elizabeth said, her voice lowering a little but her rage still blazing in her eyes."I've helped you run this business for years, ever since mother died. And now you want to ship me off to the other side of the world?"
"Lord Angelus is a very wealthy man." John offered."He owns most of Virginia. It's a great honour that he's chosen you to be his wife. He'll be able to provide you with everything you need."
Elizabeth sighed. This was insane. She'd been working with her father since she had been old enough and now all of it was going to be taken from her because some stuffy lord had taken a fancy to her. She was almost certain he was only interested in her because her father was now one of the wealthiest men in England. He may not be of noble birth but in these times money seemed to be all that mattered.
"It's not fair."
"I know." John agreed softly."But I need to start thinking about your future. I won't be around forever, and you'll need someone to take care of you."
Elizabeth wanted to argue but she knew that he was right. The law prevented him from leaving the business to her when he died; it would go to his nearest male relative. The only way a woman could get by was to marry into wealth. Love wasn't an issue.
"May I be excused?" She finally asked. She needed to get out of the house; anywhere where she wouldn't have to look at the man that had more or less sold her into slavery. She didn't blame him, not entirely, but she didn't want to be around him in case she ended up saying something she couldn't take back.
"Of course you can go." John replied gently."Take as long as you want, I can manage things here for a while."
Elizabeth turned and headed for the door, pausing only to collect her shawl on the way. As the door firmly banged behind her John let out a weary sigh. He'd known this was going to be difficult, all he could do now was pray that she'd come around and see that he was trying to do what was best for her.
* * *
"I suppose he thinks this is what's best for me." Elizabeth muttered as she walked, oblivious to the hive of activity around her. She'd often walk along the waterfront when something was on her mind. She found it easy block out the sounds of ships being loaded and unloaded, she just enjoyed the soothing sound of the water breaking against the pier.
As she continued her walk she spotted one of her father's ships and smiled. Most of the crews knew her well and they were always happy to talk if she stopped by. Sometimes she'd bring them some fruit and water for lunch, other times she'd just stop by and listen to them talk about wherever it was that they'd been.
"Morning Miss Elizabeth." James, the foreman greeted as she boarded the ship.
"Good morning." She forced herself to smile despite her heavy heart."How was Spain?"
"Hot." James replied with a shrug."But we managed to get a good deal on the supplies we picked up."
"Father will be pleased." She answered, trying to keep the bitterness out of her voice.
James didn't seem to pick up on it at any rate and continued to talk about how Spain had been and where they were headed next. As Elizabeth listened politely she could help but feel envious at his life. He never stayed in one place for more than a couple of weeks and he got to see the world. She'd never seen anything aside from the town she'd been born in. She often wondered what all these other places must be like. She imagined they must be exciting, full of strange languages and other wonders that she couldn't even begin to imagine.
"Are you alright?" James asked, cutting into her thoughts and bringing her back to her current and rather less pleasant situation.
She shook her head and forced a small laugh."Oh, yes, I'm fine. I should really be heading back though."
James nodded, merely thankful for the company and not wanting to detain her any longer than she wanted.
"Goodbye." She smiled, squeezing his hand warmly.
"Goodbye Miss." James replied with a small smile of his own, watching until she was out of sight before resuming his work.
* * *
As she walked home Elizabeth's mind went over again and again what it must be like to live on a ship, to be surrounded by the ocean and fresh air all the time. She imagined it must be heavenly and the more she thought about it the more an idea began to form in her mind. It was madness, but then again so was the idea of marrying a man she barely knew.
As soon as she got home she hurried to the kitchen, packing as much food as she could into a bag. If she was going to act on her idea then she was going to need to do it soon before her courage failed her.
Once she had as much food as she could carry she hurried up to her room and packed as many of her dresses that she could manage. She tried to select the ones that were the most practical, the ones she would wear when she was delivering to the men on the ships. Non of them were really entirely suitable but she'd have to manage.
Now all she had to do was wait for nightfall.
* * *
In the cover of darkness Elizabeth made her way back down to the pier, her cloak wrapped tightly around herself to ward off the cold and the nervous feeling in the pit of her stomach. She could do this. She had to.
She soon found what she wanted; one of her father's ships, the Mary-Rose moored at the far end of the harbour. While her father had been asleep she'd checked his shipping records for the one which was headed the furthest from England. This one was headed for the Bahamas, their chief cotton trader. It was due to set sail in a couple of hours.
With a deep breath she climbed aboard and crept into the cargo hold. She settled herself down onto a stack of sacks and placed her bags on the floor beside her. Now all she had to do was wait. With a small yawn she curled herself up and closed her eyes, deciding to rest while she could. Hopefully by the time she woke she'd be far away from England and Lord Angelus.
* * *
Father
I hope you can understand why I've done this but I had to go away. I cannot imagine being the wife of anyone, least of all Lord Angelus. Please don't attempt to find me, it's better this way.
Remember, I'll always love you
Elizabeth
As John read over the letter one more time he finally allowed the tears to fall. He'd done this. He'd driven his only daughter away to who knows where and there was no way he was ever going to find her. All he could do was pray to God that she'd be kept safe.
* * *
Elizabeth woke to the gentle rocking motion of the ship and she smiled. She'd done it. She'd managed to get away and she was safe. Or so she thought. As she fully awoke she became aware of the sound of canon fire and she froze. She'd heard stories of pirates looting ships for their goods, but never this close to home. They must have only been sailing for a few hours.
As she sat there wondering what to do the door to the cargo was roughly thrown open and she found herself facing a man she'd never seen before, certainly not a member of the crew.
"Well, well, well." He smirked."What have we here?"
