The Rosy Dirk (Working Title)

“Chicken.... Good choice.” He muttered as he stroke his chin. There was a silent pause as Elizabeth chewed on the chicken. It was awkward sitting there with a man watching her eat. The chicken wasn’t bad though it had a slightly acrid taste of the sea. Whoever made this must had used pure sea salt.
“Well. I’d like to get down to business.” He finally said, breaking the silence. Elizabeth nodded.
“I am the captain of this ship. You may refer to me as Captain and only Captain. The first man you met was the slave driver. Unless you become part of the crew, you are forever a slave on this ship.”
A slave? Elizabeth dropped her fork in alarm. Captain ignored her and continued.
“Your job is to mop the floors. Nothing else. Do not try to seduce the crew. There will be consequences.” Elizabeth let go of a breath she had been holding. Good. So she wasn’t going to be the prostitute. Captain paused for a moment, as if thinking of something before going on again.
“There were some reports of complaining. A slave that doesn’t want to work. You do you know what that means?”
Elizabeth looked at the shadowy face. Did that other man report her as complaining?
“I was told that you wished to join the crew. Is that true?”
Elizabeth shook her head bewildered.
“Really?” Captain gave a small chuckle. “I heard of mop kicking and someone throwing a temper tantrum.”
“I-” Elizabeth’s face flushed a deep red. Captain waved her off.
“Keep eating.”
Elizabeth looked down and resumed eating.
“You’re probably famished.” He finally said abruptly. Elizabeth nodded. “You know manners don’t matter here.”