Chapter 2 Chapter 2

Charlottes POV

I went to sleep thinking about the plan to escape. It could work. I would wear a servant's outfit and then sneak out the back. I would then meet up with Chelsea at the pub that was closest to us, and then I would sneak onto a ship destined for America. I knew that I would be homeless when I got there, but Chelsea said that there were people there who would help me. She would send word to them. She was going to come with me as well. Which was nice because then there would be something I know. How would we stow away on a ship? Don't they check those things from top to bottom? Don't they check everywhere on the ship before they sail? It did not matter that I would be free. If I died at sea, then I would be happy. At least I would not have an old man pawing at me and using my body.

I could not sleep very well. I tossed and turned the whole night in excitement about the journey I was about to take. I knew that there was a possibility of running into the dreaded Warlock Pirate Marcus. Again, just a rumor that he is a warlock. Which is the male version of a witch? It was hard to determine whether what was a rumor or a fact about him. He was very mysterious. Unless you sailed with him, it was hard to get any information about him. I had been told that he is handsome, but I don't know if that's true or not. Right now, I guess it does not matter. Even if he took over the ship I was going to get on, I didn't care. I would rather be a slave to a pirate than be married to a man three times my age. Could he even get it up to be able to consummate the marriage? Could he even make children anymore?

As far as I knew, he did not have any. Also, there was a rumor about his first wife. She had died, but the rumor was that he had murdered her because she could not get pregnant. Again, all these are rumors. I was not going to become a rumor. I was going to eventually marry someone I love. Someone that I wanted to be with for the rest of my life. Even if I could not find the one, then at least I would be happy with myself. We have never been to America, so nobody would know who I was. Around the tropics, my father is well known. Which I hated. There were many villages that we had visited around Seaside. They were merely places where people would farm or grow crops. Which I found amazing because it was hard to grow things in this soil. We got a lot of our crops from England.

I finally fell asleep. It was long before there was a knock at my door. It was Saturday morning. I had a dress fitting today. I got out of bed and slowly dragged myself to the parlor. My father was there. Great, he was going to be around all day, which meant that Chelsea and I could not finalize any plans. He would have her running back and forth. The seamstress was there. She was looking at the dress that she had made. She did not seem pleased about the way it looked. Originally, it had a low-cut bodice that my father said was too low, and he had her change it. No doubt she did not like how it looked.

"Charlotte, there you are."

" Im here."

" Stand over here."

She fussed over it. I did not have the heart to tell her that all the work she had put in the dress was for nothing. I would not be wearing it. But I stood there like an obedient child as she fussed over putting a pin here or there.

" Finally, I think we got it."

" I will have it ready for her in the morning."

"That sounds good."

" I have work to do in my study."

" Go to your room and stay out of trouble."

" Yes, daddy."

Part of me wanted to kiss him goodbye because I knew that was the last time I would see him. After I left here this evening, I knew that he would never want to see me again. My mother was already dead, thank god. She would never have wanted this for me. She had supposedly died when I was a child. All I remember is one day my mother was there, then the next day she wasn't. I was told that pirates had taken her and that she had died at sea. How true that was. I had no idea. We never had a funeral for her or any church service. So I had no idea if she was actually dead or if that was what I had been told my whole life. Wherever she is, I hope she is happy. I hope that she understands what I'm about to do.

I slowly climbed the stairs to my room and then gently closed the door. Chelsea was sitting in the corner of my room in a chair.

" Are you ready?"

" What are we leaving now?"

" In a couple of hours, we will be leaving."

Was I ready to face this world without the protections I have? I had no idea. I knew that I was not going to marry the man my father had picked out for me.

" I brought you dinner."

" Make sure to eat as much as you can."

On the bed was a bag with what I assumed was some clothes and food.

" When it's time, I will come get you."

" OK."

I sat down at the table that I had in my room and ate my dinner. I made sure to eat as much as I could. I then got up and checked the bag. As I had assumed, it had clothes and food in it. I then sat down at my dressing table and put a hairbrush in it. I debated with myself whether I should write a note to let my father know that I was OK, because he would come up here in the morning and think I was kidnapped. However, I ran away. I decided against it. I would wait for Chelsea to come get me. I must have paced back and forth for what felt like forever before Chelsea showed up.

"It's time."

She grabbed my hand and led me through the house to the back door. We then left the house as quietly as we could. I had changed into servants' clothes, so the guards didn't notice me. We reached the back gate and went through it. The whole time, I felt like my knees were going to give out. When we finally reached the pub, we went in.

"Wait here."

"Where are you going?"

" To make sure the ship isn't being guarded."

That made sense. I was standing at the bar when a man approached me.