Firstly, I must thank those of you that are re-reading this tale, and welcome those of you that are reading it for the first time. There are five tales in this saga and all five tales are complete. However, I have learned much since I started and am in the process of re-editing them. I recently made the mistake of trying to bring all five tales under one heading and the new chapters I had uploaded were deleted as the power- that-be considered it a duplicate, even though it was not for I deleted the original version of the first tales. Now the first tales are back, and I hope you enjoy it. There are many new and expanded bits, especially a much better proposal scene and the requested infill for Kitty working her way back from the slaver ship. I do hope you like the new bits.

I must thank a few people here before I start. Firstly, my friend Kazren (Bainpeth) who's story about Mister Wells started my tale spinning and kindly allowed me to run with it. Secondly to MulberryBlueShimmer for being my initial editor and also to Pendragginink for being my ruthless second editor on these re-writes. I must finally thank Ani Sparrow for being a great friend and fellow poppet and to all my reviewers – especially Omala for being the very first of the first and for being still with me.

Right… usual disclaimers apply throughout this tale. If you recognise it, it probably belongs to the Mouse – else it is mine!

On with the tale!

Chapter 1 – Departure from Portsmouth

Year 1 - Late August

It was nearly dark when she walked along the dockside at Portsmouth, seeking the merchant ship Lynn amongst the numerous ships tied up in the port. The fog was just starting to roll in off the swirling grey waters of the Solent, giving the night an eerie feel. Shivering, Catherine pulled her cloak closer to her shoulders, the chill wind seeming to find the slightest gap. The weather was one thing she would most definitely not miss about England.

Light poured from the windows of the numerous taverns as she carefully stepped across the slick, damp cobbles, drunken laughter echoing from within, but few noted her passing. Dressed in a heavy dark grey dress with a mourning veil obscuring her face, she carried a small babe wrapped in thick blankets for protection from the cold. A young blonde boy, dressed in mourning black, walked beside her. She and her two recently orphaned charges, four year old James Schott and his baby sister Sarah, were travelling to Jamaica where they were to live with their uncle who served at Port Royal in His Majesty's Navy.

At last, Catherine found the ship she was looking for. The Lynn was not a large ship and was old and slow, but it had been the only ship sailing to the Caribbean that was willing to take passengers to Port Royal. Many sailors were superstitious about having a woman aboard, so she considered herself lucky to have found passage at all.

"Permission to come aboard, Captain?" she called out, waiting for a reply. She had been drilled in ship etiquette from an early age for although her grandfather had been a local fisherman, her father had joined the King's Navy and achieved respectable rank of bosun. Her older brother had joined the King's Navy as soon as he was old enough, and aided by his father's tutoring, had achieved a much higher rank. She was to become his housekeeper on her arrival in Port Royal and she was looking forward to seeing him again for they had always been close.

"Welcome aboard Mistress Reyes. I have readied a cabin for you." Captain Gauny paused, scratching his balding head as he looked at the babe. "The goat arrived yesterday and is safely aboard. You'll have to care for it yourself though…" She heard one of the sailors muttering darkly at seeing her aboard, but a sour glance from his Captain soon silenced him. Captain Tobias Gauny would suffer no superstitious nonsense on his ship.

"Thank you Captain Gauny," she smiled wearily. "It is most kind of you to assign us a cabin. I can assure you that I have sailed many times before and will try my utmost not to inconvenience your crew".

He grunted, leading them to a small basic cabin on the main deck, adjacent to his more luxurious one. A dim candle gave little light within, but she could at least see that their trunks were aboard. The bunk was narrow, but adequate and the bedding was reasonably clean.

"I trust you have eaten this evening, Mistress?" Catherine merely nodded, as she placed Sarah on the bunk. "We sail with the tide within the hour. Breakfast will be at dawn... I hope you will join me in my cabin?" he offered.

"Thank you again Captain, you are most kind." He backed from her cabin, closing the door behind him. Sighing, she removed her hat, relieved to be free of the mourning veil that obscured her sight, stray tendrils of rich auburn hair escaping their confines. She pushed the trunks into the small space between the bunk and the bulkhead, trying to gain as much room to move about in the limited cabin space as possible.

Sarah was still asleep and James was weaving alarmingly as he bravely tried to stand upright. Catherine tucked the baby into the bunk before turning to attend to him. "Come on James, let's get you into bed for the night," she smiled, quickly finding his nightshirt in one of the nearby trunks. She knelt to undress him before picking him up and tucking him securely into the bunk next to his sister.

It was going to be a long five weeks journey to the Caribbean.

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Catherine Reyes was twenty six years old, just five foot tall and slim figured with long wavy auburn hair - fox red her mother had always called it. Her deep hazel eyes, which once twinkled with humour, were now saddened by grief. She had been widowed for barely two years following the death of her husband Gregory Reyes, a naval lieutenant on HMS Comet. He had been killed in a skirmish somewhere in the Mediterranean. The authorities would not tell her what had happened; simply that he had been killed and buried at sea, leaving her with not even the comfort of a grave to visit. The pitiful amount of money they paid for her loss was not enough to live on and soon gone, so she had been forced to take employment as companion and then nursemaid to her dearest friend Ester Schott who had been expecting her second child. Ester's husband William had also been serving on HMS Comet, but had died of a fever whilst at sea, unknowing his wife was pregnant. Now Ester was also dead, never having recovered from his loss nor from the trauma of the birth of her daughter. Ester had been buried only a few days ago in a small graveyard in Southsea on a grey and dismal, rainy day. Her children were to be sent to Jamaica and Catherine was to accompany them as their temporary guardian.

Catherine felt the smooth roll and pitch of the ship beneath her feet as it left the protection of the harbour, automatically swaying with the gentle movement that became rougher as the Lynn entered the English Channel. She had always loved the sea, having grown up beside it, often wishing that she had been born a boy so that she too could go to sea like her brother. Now, at last, she was going to sea herself, her own adventure, although she wished it had been in happier circumstances. She quietly clicked the lock shut on the cabin door before awkwardly unlacing her dress and slipping out of it. She lay next to the children in her undershift, falling asleep listening to the sounds of the Lynn as the ship headed out to sea.

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Year 1 - Late September

Every morning Catherine would rise early to clean, feed and then milk the goat, ensuring that Sarah had enough sustenance to get her through the day. She had learned to milk it following Ester's death and she and the animal were old adversaries. If there was any spare milk she would send it to the galley for which the cook was always grateful. She and James dined with the Captain, morning and night, basic fare but hearty and usually hot unless the seas were too rough for the galley stove. Despite his dour exterior, Captain Gauny was a kindly man and shielded her and the children from many of the comments from his crew.

The journey passed slowly for there was little to do but watch the scenery when the weather permitted. But gradually the weather warmed and the seas turned from green to azure blue, permitting them to spend more time on deck. Catherine lazed over the rail whilst Sarah was sleeping in the cabin, James at her side on deck, watching with delight the dolphins playing along the bow wave. Captain Gauny came to stand beside her. "We'll be stopping over at Nassau in the Bahamas, Mistress Reyes. Drinking-water is low and we need more fodder for the goat. From there it will only be a week or so with favourable winds to Port Royal."

"Thank you, Captain," she smiled. "Will there be time to disembark and stretch my legs? I think I've forgotten what solid ground feels like."

"Well, as long as you stay on the dockside," he cautioned. "We will not be in port long, just to take on supplies."

"Of course," Catherine replied, thinking that even just a few minutes would be welcome.

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Captain Gauny kept a close eye on his passenger as she paced up and down the dockside, her gait slightly rolling from the amount of time she had spent on board. She had been no trouble on the journey and had even won over some of his more superstitious crew with her demeanor. He wished all his previous passengers had been so courteous and friendly.

However, it was less than friendly eyes that watched them sail from Nassau, heading south for the Windward Passage which would take them on towards Port Royal. A slow, heavily laden ship like the Lynn would make an easy target for the Blessed Mae and her crew of pirates, a very easy target. Nobody noticed the scruffy sailor in the small ship's boat pick up his oars and slip from the harbour as the light was fading, disappearing around the headland.

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It was the young ship's lad, Jesom, who spotted the sail following them the next morning from his perch aloft in the crow's nest. Captain Gauny watched through his old spyglass, worrying and trying to get as much speed as he could from the Lynn. Catherine felt a change in the sway of the elderly ship, rougher and choppier as she fought her way through the waves.

"Captain?" she asked worriedly as she emerged from her cabin.

"Sail following, Mistress... could be innocent, but she's not changed course this last hour," he warned. "I'll not risk pirates in these waters so we will try to outrun them."

Catherine's eyes locked onto the sail on the horizon, watching fearfully from the small quarterdeck as it got nearer. Despite the Lynn having every possible square inch of canvas aloft, she knew in her heart that the other ship would catch them. Her size and sails declared her to be far more manoeuvrable and faster than the heavily laden Lynn who rode low in the water, groaning as she lumbered through the waves. Although Captain Gauny was attempting a brave front for her sake it was obvious that he as well as the crew were uneasy and worried, if not outright frightened.

The ship was closing.

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