May 15, 1716. Off of Charleston, South Carolina

 

The Clitoris had made good time, with favorable winds and now lay just at the entrance to Charleston Harbor, in the lee of a barrier island, well hidden by overhanging vegetation.

I had sent a few crew members in a skiff to meet with Madame Lacroix, who assured them that the Good Fortune would be sailing on schedule. All the crew had to do now was wait.

However, the anticipatory mood had been disturbed by an unfortunate incident which had occurred the previous night. I had been reposing in my cabin, in the delightful company of FSG, a fleshy former prostitute from the streets of London, when a knock had sounded.

"Come in," I had said, my voice a bit choked with the pleasure I was feeling from the swirling motions that FSG's tongue was performing on the part of my anatomy after which the ship was named.

I had made it my policy to be quite open about my recreational activities when off duty, so the interruption, while unwelcome as I was very near taking the full measure of pleasure was not embarrassing, especially since it was the trusty Mate, Fiona. She had been given the charge of the ship that evening.

"I must inform you of something unpleasant, Cap'n," she said not batting an eyelash at the site of the two entwined naked female bodies. "I have found Susanna and Esther in connubial bliss under the fo'castle whilst on watch duty."

Now, I certainly didn't deny my crew the pleasures that I enjoyed when off duty, but on duty is an entirely different matter. We had to take watch very seriously as we had many enemies, both other pirates and the law, and could not afford to be taken by surprise.

"Clap them in irons, Fiona. We shall deal with this at sunup," I had ordered.

And now the sun was well over the yardarm and the crew was assembled on the main deck and a grating had been rigged against the starboard railing. "Bring the prisoners up!" I ordered. A couple of crew members descended into the hold and emerged shortly with the two miscreants, chained together at the ankles.

Now, Susanna van Dykman was one of the most troublesome crew members, often insolent and rebellious. She had grown up on a farm in the Hudson Valley of New York and when her parents could no longer handle her wild ways they had indentured her to a family in New York City as a housemaid. When she could no longer tolerate the incessant advances of her master, a married man with five children, she had run away and ended up being recruited for the crew of the Clitoris.

Esther, a slave who had escaped from a Virginia tobacco plantation, on the other hand, was normally a very good sailor and little trouble, but she had obviously succumbed to Susanna's charms.

I addressed the assembled crew in my sternest voice. "All of you must know that we have chosen a dangerous path and have many enemies. Other pirates are jealous of our success and would gladly kill us to take our place. The authorities wish to hang us all. So we must constantly be on our guard, particularly in the nighttime hours."

"Watch duty is of the utmost importance," I continued. "Last night, these two crew members were found to be derelict in their duties. Such cannot and shall not be tolerated. Susanna and Esther, you shall each receive three dozen lashes with the cat o' nine tails on your naked backs. I hope this will impress on you and on everyone else the need to be fully alert when on duty. Unshackle them."

Fiona removed a key from her pocket and bent down to unlock the shackles. "Strip to the waist, you two," she ordered. Susanna and Esther paused for a moment to let the order sink in.

"Be quick about it!" I barked, in no mood to be defied.

They shucked their blouses, exposing their breasts to the sea breezes. Susanna's pale skin and Esther's dark brown made a lovely contrast.

"Over to the gratings, both of you," I ordered. Doing their best to retain their composure they made their way slowly over to the side of the ship.

"Seize them up." Fiona extracted some cords from her pocket and raised Esther's hands over her head, fastening each one firmly to the grating. She did the same with Susanna, so they stood side by side, stretched up on their toes, defenseless against the lashes that would soon rain down on their bare backs.

Once the offenders were secured, Fiona stripped off her blouse, so that she would have full freedom of movement and extracted the cat o' nine tails from the cloth bag where it rested when not in use. It was a fearsome instrument, a wooden handle, two feet long, with nine tails of stout cord, each three feet long, ending in three knots. It needed to be fearsome to make an impression on such scoundrels as made up the crew of a pirate ship, be they male or female.

Fiona measured out her distance and nodded to indicate that she was ready to do her duty. "Begin," I ordered.