Mark, thanks for the feedback and as I've noted above, you're right. Charles did cross the line and there really wasn't an excuse for it. I don't know where my head was when I wrote what I did. I know that one of the reasons Charles went after the Sea Nymph was because the ship was rowed by slaves and as I've pointed out many times Charles has a hate on for slavery, however that in itself isn't enough justification for him to attack a merchant vessel unprovoked. After all, Charles has shown some tolerance towards Izmir and Blue Harbour because they still maintain a slave owning culture.
Since reading your feedback I've given it some thought and I alread reposted the chapter with changes to give Charles' attack on the vessel a little more legitimacy. I plan to have the ship owned by the Emir of Araknis and while its current cargo is goods, the vessel normally returns carrying slaves taken from the east coast of Africa. Hopefully that will help eleviate the problem with his actions.
Thanks,