“Francesca improved immediately after her husband left, and seven months later, she delivered a baby girl. Francesca wanted to stay with her parents, but Jerrod demanded his wife’s and daughter’s return. Francesca pleaded with her parents to let her and her daughter stay, but neither could afford the debts Jerrod now held.”

Henry paused, allowing the silence to draw out the suspense. “Francesca took matters into her own hands and found a local Gullah woman and asked for a protection charm. She paid the woman in gold and received a magic charm designed to sink Liberty T. Mitchell if the captain insisted on delivering her to her husband. She didn’t tell anyone about her visit to the Gullah woman, but Charleston was a small town in 1870, and word got around.”

“The sea captain knew?” Talley asked Henry.

He nodded, narrowing his one eye. “He sure did. But if he told his crewmen, they would quit, and there would be hell to pay if he didn’t deliver Francesca to her husband. He was caught between the devil and the deep blue sea.”

“How could a charm sink a ship?” Bonnie asked.

Henry paced the deck. Behind him, the mellowing sun burned bright orange. He looked over his shoulder at the water and then back at the crowd. “The charm summoned sea monsters,” he said.

Several of the dads chuckled, Mr. Manchester looked annoyed, and the mothers, including Mrs. Manchester, were watching Henry closely, many clearly admiring his physique. The children, including Bonnie, Dora, and Jessie, huddled closer.

“The voyage started out just fine,” Henry continued. “No troubles. Smooth waters. And then about fifteen miles from these shores, after the captain refused to divert the ship, a storm came out of the south. Poseidon had unleashed his dragons, and their swiping tails churned up the ocean.”

“What happened to Francesca?” Carlotta asked.

Henry’s gaze lingered on Carlotta a beat, and then it wandered over the crowd. “She and her baby were huddled in their cabin as the ship ran aground and the waves began crashing into the vessel and flooding the deck. It was a terrible night. Rain. Lightning. High waves. The ship began to list. The sailors panicked because many didn’t know how to swim.” Henry shook his head. “Francesca was terrified as she realized her bargain with the Gullah woman had come to life. As the water filled her cabin, she opened a chest filled with blankets and nestled her baby inside. She placed a small cross with the child, praying the sea demons would take her instead of her child.”

The crowd was quiet, everyone paying attention to Henry. He jumped down off the wreck. Like Carlotta, he liked his place on the stage.