and forth on platforms or walkways that had been built on the roof tops of their homes. The ‘widow’s walks’ provided a bird’s eye view for the women as they tried to catch a glimpse of the ship that would bring their husbands home to them. Many women spent countless hours walking and praying for their husband’s ship to return safely while they also prayed they would not be left a widow.
Joanna didn’t see herself as the pacing sort; she would have most likely been out on one of those ships seeing some action first hand. It would be fun to travel back in time, but only for a short visit. Modern conveniences were not something Joanna would be willing to give up.
Turning to watch as one of the tourist filled horse-drawn carriages passed by; she decided it was time to move on.
Joanna pasted a determined smile on her face and began moving toward the retail district. She couldn’t resist glancing at the harbor over her shoulder one last time.
#
Joanna stopped midcourse, ripped the sunglasses from her eyes, and ran to lean as far over the seawall bordering the battery as possible. She blinked…and then looked again.
“Holy--” she didn’t finish her outburst. She had already received strange looks when she had sprinted to the wall like a crazed woman. The little girl was right about the ship. “Oh, Baby, that ship wasn’t in your ‘mag-i-naion’ after all,” Joanna mumbled.
Queen Anne’s Revenge once again graced Charleston Harbor just as it had in 1718. As if seeing a ghost ship was not freaky enough, the flag was downright disturbing-- a skeleton spearing a heart-- while toasting the devil. Joanna felt shivers dance down her spine.
She spun toward the gardens behind her, looking in the direction the mother-daughter duo had taken. She searched frantically for the child who apparently could also see the ship. Of course, the little girl and her mother were long gone.
Ok! Retail therapy would have to wait! Joanna had a ship to explore. Forcing herself to stop and think for a minute, she decided that disappearing with so many people milling about was not an option. It was the sort of thing that would definitely cause a stir. Quickly crossing the street, she ducked into a heavily shaded corner of the gardens.
For the briefest of moments, Joanna considered calling Sean, but then she dismissed it as unnecessary. He would report to Royce, and she didn’t want to deal with all of that right now. Royce would throw a fit if he knew what she was about to do, but this was too good to resist. Besides, it would be a quick in and out. There was no way to guess how long the ship would be here, and Blackbeard was rumored to be quite the ladies’ man.
#
“Don’t think I will forget that ye hornswaggled me, ye doublecrossing scalawag,” the gentleman pirate, Bonnet Stede, groused. Yet, he lifted his glass of grog in salute of his old frienemy Edward Teach, aka Blackbeard.
The last time their paths crossed, the scoundrel Blackbeard had left Stede high-and-dry. Literally, he had left Stede’s ship the Revenge marooned on a sandbar. Now that he thought about it, Blackbeard’s actions had ultimately led to Stede’s current state of ghostliness.
“Aye, sorry about that, me harty. As they say now a days, business is business, savvy? ‘Twas more ‘n a century ago,” Blackbeard said stroking own ghostly beard.
“‘Tis a shame ye didn’t get a chance ta enjoy th’ booty before ole
Alexander turned his soldier boys on ye,” Stede remarked mirthfully. “Aye, the bilge sucking landlubber,” Blackbeard agreed. “Alas, the
Scurvy Dogs weren’t as smart as they thought! Me loot is safe and
sound,” he bragged.
A century ago, Blackbeard had tricked Stede into sailing to North
Carolina to receive a pardon. Stede did indeed receive his pardon, but he
returned to Charleston only to find the Revenge, his ship, marooned on a
sandbar. Twenty-five of his crew members were stuck on the sandbar
along with the ship. After Blackbeard had not-so-accidentally trapped
the Revenge, he pillaged the ship. He stowed the spoils of his deed on his
own ship, Queen Anne’s Revenge.
Bonnet was livid and vowed to get revenge. Unfortunately, he was
captured, tried, and eventually hanged before he could find Blackbeard
to square things up.
Blackbeard met an even more gruesome end. Virginia Governor
Alexander Spotswood ordered First Lieutenant Robert Maynard to find
and kill Blackbeard. The Lieutenant did just that. After locating and
capturing Blackbeard, the Lieutenant severed Blackbeard’s head. He
actually hung the severed head from the sloop’s bowsprit to prove