Pirated Love by K'Anne Meinel

right.”
    Claire was astonished.  The food on His Majesty’s ship had been basic, with soups and weevil-filled bread.  This was delicious and she ate up every bite.
    “It helps that I have an excellent chef,” Tina added as she watched her captive eat, an amused look on her face.
    “This is absolutely delicious,” Claire agreed as she lightly buttered her toast and added marmalade.  “You are very lucky to have found this chef,” she complimented as she would have at any friend’s table.
    “Well, found him, I did indeed,” Tina laughed as she remembered.
    “I do not understand?” Claire asked, as she looked over at the captain’s laugh.
    “I did find him.  He was in a jail that I broke him and a couple of the other lads out of,” her voice changed to an almost Irish brogue as she sat back in her chair remembering.  Her arm curled over the back of the chair as she gestured with her butter knife.
    “You broke him out of jail?” Claire asked, horrified and yet intrigued.
    The captain nodded as she related the story, “Aye, I frequently find the lads are more than grateful at the favor I do them and are willing to become my crew members in exchange.  Some stay for a while, some are still with me, and some ride on to other ports making their way back home.  No one is shanghaied on my crew!” she said forcefully, using the point of the knife to emphasize it.
    “Shanghaied?  What does that mean?”
    “It is when they are forced to go to work on a ship.  Sometimes they are knocked on the head, and while unconscious, thrown on a ship.  When they come to they are given a choice, either work for their bed and board or jump ship.  As the ship is out to sea at that point they really have no choice.  If they do not work, and work hard, they are usually whipped.  Since many ships that use this technique are heading for the Orient and a long voyage, sometimes to Shanghai, that’s where the term comes into play.”
    “But you do not do that?” Claire asked, fearfully, realizing how dangerous it might be to be on such a ship.
    The captain shook her head.  Her hair was clubbed back today in a tie and looped back up so its length would not get in her way.  It looked lovely, the red especially nice in the morning light through the windows.  “Nope, I give an honest day’s pay for an honest day’s work.”
    “But you are pirates!” Claire exclaimed.
    Tina laughed at her naïveté.  “Aye we are, but these men know what they are getting into on the Black Betty.  We may be pirates, but we are honest ones between us!”
    Claire did not understand, but she was not going to argue.  “If they are in prison, and you break them out, is that not illegal?”
    Tina nodded.  “Usually the jail I break them out of is grateful to me for relieving them of the burden of a trial.  I take men who are willing to work for me, willing to work for a woman, and who otherwise might end up on a worse ship, one that does not share the bounty of what they are risking their necks for.”
    “But don’t pirates steal?” Claire asked, in a little girl’s voice.
    “Aye, you could call it stealing, but you could also call it evening things out a bit,” Tina smiled at the word play.
    “But stealing’s a sin!” she said, horrified.
    “So is gluttony and a few other things.  We do not steal from those that truly need it, we are not bloodthirsty, and we ‘donate’ a bit here and there.”
    Claire shook her head at this argument; she could sense she would not win on the ‘stealing’ part.
    “Look, we do not steal from certain ships, only those fat enough to make it worth our while.  In the belly of your ship there were certain ‘articles’ that were quite valuable.  You were just a bonus,” she added with a grin.
    Claire blushed at the phrasing.  To change the subject, she said, “Thank you for having my trunk brought to me.  I was able to make some repairs on my clothing.”  She indicated the blouse and