We had to find port, no doubt about it, but if any of us had known what fate awaited us, we would have taken our chances on the high seas.
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Chapter 25
The storm had all but died as we sailed into Nassau harbour. We were not the only ship that had run there for safety. The harbour was dotted with vessels of all kinds: frigates, brigantines, sloops and snows, showing the flags of half a dozen different nations. We edged into our berth as day gave way to night. Excitement rippled through the ship. Once we were secured and the watch set, Broom would allow the men into the port. The celebrations would begin.
He rang the ship’s bell and called the men to him.
‘Any ship is only as good as the men on her. If it weren’t for you, we’d have foundered.’ He drew a purse from his pocket, chinking the coins together. ‘I’ll thank you all to join me in sampling whatever entertainment this town can afford!’
Someone called for a round of three, and one deep-throated hurrah followed another. Broom stood, hands on the rail, grinning down at them. He was a fair man and generous. Most of the men had served under captains who gave them nothing but curses, beatings and haughtiness. That was not Broom’s style. By rewarding their hard work, he won their loyalty, even their love.
The men changed out of their ragged shipboard rig and into the clothes they kept for a run on shore. Broom donned his finery and went with them, leaving Vincent and Graham and a handful of crew: Jessop the sailmaker, with Joby to help him, and Gabe the carpenter, for there was work to do repairing the ship from the ravages of the storm.
Minerva and I stayed on board. I stood at the rail looking across the black water of the harbour. Lights spilled from the windows and open doors of the straggle of buildings stretching along the dockside, shining in the water as if there were another town mirrored there. I thought of Port Royal and the story my father had told me about how, back in the time of the buccaneers, half the town had slipped into the sea as the result of some terrible earthquake. God’s judgement, so some had called it, on the wickedest place in the world. I thought of the drowned town that lay beneath the waves, the church bells tolling in the restless currents. It was as if that town were calling up to me.
‘What is it?’ Minerva came to lean on the rail next to me.
‘I don’t know,’ I replied. Although I had no name for it, I tried to explain what I felt. We had been brought so close to death, and it had affected me. I could be dead now. At the bottom of the sea. So could Minerva. My initial relief had given way to another stranger set of feelings. A kind of melancholy, laced with recklessness.
Minerva listened, frowning. Then she said, ‘Perhaps we should go into town.’
‘Dressed as men?’
My male disguise had been confined to the ship. Until now.
‘Of course. Why not? When I leave the ship, I go as Jupiter Jones. You can be ... ’ she paused before naming me, ‘ ... Davey. Davey Gordon.’
‘But what shall I wear?’ I had only working clothes, stiff with salt and smelling of tar.
She smiled and her eyes sparked mischief. ‘Come with me. We will raid Vincent’s chest.’
‘Won’t he mind?’
She smiled. ‘It was his idea.’
Vincent was quite as much of a dandy as Broom and his trunk was full to bursting with the finest clothes to be found on the ships that he had taken. We sorted through his collection and Minerva picked out a jacket for me and a waistcoat of deep plum velvet, a cream silk shirt and black satin breeches, white stockings, and black shoes with silver buckles.
‘You look very well, very well indeed,’ she said as I threaded the latchlets of my shoes.
Then it was my turn. I asked her to wear the blue coat with red bars, because it was my favourite, matched with white breeches, a snowy lace-fronted shirt with long trailing cuffs, a stock of white satin, and a black silk waistcoat.
‘How do I look?’ She peered into the cracked glass of the small round mirror that Broom used when he shaved, trying to see her reflection.
‘I’ve never seen a
man
more handsome,’ I grinned at her. ‘You lack only one thing.’
I went to my trunk and took the ruby earrings from it.
Minerva took them, fixing one in her ear. The earring glowed against her skin, swinging as she moved her head, distilling the light to a deep rich brightness. A man would never dare to wear such a thing. It made her look even more handsome. The Brazilian had been wrong to think that white was the colour to show off the jewels’ perfection.
‘Handsome? I’ll show you handsome.’ Minerva held up the other earring for me to wear. She turned the mirror for me to see and smiled. ‘We make a handsome pair.’
When we appeared on deck, even Vincent was lost for words. He opened his mouth and closed it again, staring, looking from one to the other. We asked his permission to leave the ship, and I thought for a moment that he would not give it.
‘I know I said dress up, but – ’ He spread his hands.
‘Why?’ We looked at each other. ‘What’s the matter?’
‘Nothing’s the matter. Not the matter as such.’ Vincent spent so long with Broom he was beginning to talk like him. He started to pace up and down. ‘I wish I could come with you, that’s all.’
‘What for?’
‘To protect you, of course.’
‘From what?’ Minerva parted her coat. ‘We’re well armed. What man is going to give us trouble?’
‘It’s not the
men
I’m worried about,’ he said, laughing, and gave us permission to leave the ship.
As we walked along the quay, I felt a little unsteady, as if I were half drunk, although I had hardly touched a drop of liquor. Out in the harbour, the ships rocked on their moorings. The swell washing in from the open sea made their bells ring and their swinging lanthorns set little reflections dancing across the blackness like will o’ the wisps. I thought of the mirror world and melancholy tugged at me again. The wind had died now, the night air was warm about us. White stars blazed across the sky. I looked up at them, reading the constellations, wanting to set a course that would take us far away from everyone and everything, to a place where we could live together without danger and be free.
‘What are you thinking?’ Minerva asked.
‘Oh, I don’t know.’ I thrust my hands in my pockets. ‘I was thinking of a song. About a magical ship with ropes of silk and sails of silver and a mast made from the rowan tree. I was thinking how good it would be to set sail in her and steer for the sun and the moon and the stars.’
Minerva looked away from me. To the harbour.
‘Do you regret the turns your life has taken?’
I didn’t answer, because I didn’t know.
‘We’re set on a strange course,’ she said. ‘There’s no denying it. We live lives that are not ordinary and never will be.’
‘Sometimes I feel alone,’ I began. ‘I’ve cut myself off from everything I have known. Everyone I cared for, or who cared for me. It frightens me.’
‘How are you alone?’ She turned to me, her face silvered by the rising moon. ‘You have me. I love you, Nancy. You are more than my friend, you are like a sister ... ’ She stopped suddenly and looked at me. I thought she would say more, but instead she put her arm round my shoulders and pulled me towards the tavern door. ‘Come on, tonight is not a night for melancholy. We should find our shipmates.’
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Chapter 26
‘Welcome, young sirs.’ The young woman looked us over. ‘Welcome, indeed!’
She caught us both by the shoulder, steering us to an empty table. She was tall, with fine fair hair, and the face of an angel, but there was devilry in the tilt of her blue eyes and the curve of her smile.
‘I’m Alice. Alice Castle. This is my establishment. Polly!’ She sat down with us and called to another young woman. ‘Bring us something to drink here! Make sure it’s the good stuff!’ She leaned back, her stare both bold and appraising. ‘We’ll have a drop to drink, then we’ll keep company. I haven’t seen fellas as fine as you two for a very long time.’
Polly brought rum and sat down to join us. She was younger than her friend, with thick dark curling hair, bright blue eyes and a wide smile.
‘Now, let’s get acquainted, shall we?’
Alice looked to each of us as we introduced ourselves.
‘Pleased to make your acquaintance, Davey and Jupiter.’ Alice caught Minerva’s ruby earring in her hand. ‘There’s a pretty bauble.’ Her finger traced the line of the jaw down to the lips. ‘Suits you very well.’ She leaned closer. ‘No need to be unfriendly. What does a girl have to do to sit on your knee? That’s better.’
Minerva moved to accommodate her, put her arms round the girl’s waist and whispered in her ear. Alice giggled and gave her a friendly cuff. Minerva ducked her head and smiled back. The earring caught the light as it swung, and I wondered what she’d said. She was much better at this than I was, but then she’d had more practice.
‘My, what fine skin you have.’ Polly touched my cheek. ‘And so smooth! What most girls would give to have such skin!’
She leaned closer towards me, her arms going round me, under my coat. I turned my head away, putting my hands on hers, to stop them roaming further.
‘Don’t you like me?’ she asked.
‘It’s not that,’ I said. ‘It’s – ’
‘Perhaps,’ she glanced over at Alice and Minerva, who were looking at me now. ‘Perhaps you would prefer someone else.’
‘No!’ I shook my head, drawing away from her. ‘It’s not that, honest! It’s just that we ... ’
‘ ... are promised,’ Minerva said quickly. ‘We both have sweethearts waiting for us.’
‘Now that is a pity.’ Alice looked over at her companion. ‘Both promised in marriage. And so young and handsome. That’s a shame for the rest of us, eh, Poll?’
Polly nodded. ‘It’s what I call a real waste.’
‘But we’ll pay,’ Minerva said, taking a bag of gold from her pocket. ‘Escudo. Louis d’or. Silver dollars. Pieces of eight.’ She rolled the coins across the table. ‘For conversation. And your company.’
‘This’ll be an easy night, and no mistake.’ Alice smiled as she stacked the coins. ‘You off that schooner that just came in?’
Minerva nodded.
‘Thought so,’ Alice winked. ‘Dressed like a dandy with money burning through your pocket. I can always tell.’ She refilled her own glass, then Minerva’s. ‘Terrible storm this morning. Played havoc with the ships in the harbour and flattened a row of houses on the edge of town. Died down now, but there’ll be another one behind it, I shouldn’t wonder.’
‘That’s what brought us in here. We had to find shelter.’
Alice smiled. ‘Not the healthiest place for you, if I might say so.’ She looked round at the rest of the company. ‘Still, it’s nice to see gentlemen of fortune in again. It’s not been the same since they left. Calico Jack, Black Bart Roberts, even old Blackbeard himself. They all used to call here. Business has fallen off something chronic. We’re thinking of moving on. Ain’t we, Polly?’
But Polly wasn’t listening. ‘Do you hear that?’
From outside came the rhythmic tramp of men.
‘It’s the Navy,’ Polly said quietly. ‘No one else marches like that.’
Alice listened for a moment, then nodded. ‘Now, Poll, with the Navy coming, we’ll need a new barrel. Take these young gents down to the cellar with you ... ’
‘There’s a tunnel,’ Polly whispered, ‘out to the quay ... ’
She rose to take us out, but before we could go anywhere, the door was booted open. Chairs scraped back and tables fell over as a dozen men got to their feet, looking around for a way to escape. A hammering of musket butts shattered the shutters. A troop of marines was marching into the room, bayonets fixed.
At the head of them came William. My confusion was complete.
‘They might just be pressing men,’ Alice whispered. ‘Leave it to me.’
She walked up to William as if he were just another customer.
‘Why don’t you bring your boys in, Sir? There’s plenty of room.’ She turned to the grim-faced marines lined up in twos behind him. ‘What will you be having?’
‘We are not here for refreshment, Madam, ’ William answered. ‘We aren’t a press gang, neither.’ He looked around. ‘We come in search of pirates and, by God, I think they’re found!’
Men from the ship reached for their weapons, grabbing for pistol and cutlass, but before they were half out of holster or scabbard, a volley of shots rang out, filling the room with smoke, cutting men down where they stood. One man crumpled, clutching his belly, another man’s arm hung by a string. Peter, the Dutch gunner, fell back in his chair, a hole in the middle of his forehead.
‘Weapons on the table.’ William holstered his spent pistol and took out another. ‘Hands where I can see ’em.’
The marines began moving through the room. Anyone slow to comply received a musket butt in the face. His Majesty’s forces meant business. We did what we were told, just like everyone else.
The gunfire brought Broom to the top of the stairs, pulling on his breeches, the whores he’d been entertaining craning over the balcony to see what was going on. All eyes turned to him and William’s gaze flicked upward, just for a moment. Minerva reached down, slipping out a short-barrelled flintlock from her boot top, keeping it under the edge of the table, angled upwards to catch William under the chin. I heard the hammer click, as loud in my ears as a shot. One step nearer ...
William moved towards the stairs.
I knocked Minerva’s gun sideways, so it discharged into the floor. We were immediately surrounded by marines, muskets trained upon us.
Minerva stared at me, furious. A barrel jab in the back brought her hands slowly on to the table, fingers spread.
I put up my own hands. ‘I knocked the gun off the table! It discharged by accident!’
The marines were reluctant to believe us. More of them cocked their guns.
Broom had turned tail, hoping to escape by an upstairs window. A crash and cursing from outside the building indicated that he had not succeeded. He was brought in to be lined up with the rest of us.
‘Round ’em up!’ William said to his troops. ‘I want ’em alive so we can hang as many as possible, so no more shooting unless strictly required.’
The marines began collecting weapons into a sack and forcing men from their seats.
‘Sure you couldn’t do with a wet? This here is thirsty work.’ Alice smiled at William. ‘Once these rogues are rounded up, I’m sure your boys will want a drink. I got some excellent Barbados.’ She brushed away William’s protests and addressed the officer of marines, who was looking interested. ‘Take a barrel back to the mess with you. My compliments.’ She called the pot boy to her. ‘I want you to go and get some rum for the officers, Sam. In the cellar, far corner.
You
know where. Swift return!’ she added in a whisper. ‘Now off you go!’
The pot boy was no fool, and had obviously seen this happen before. He nodded and scuttled out before anyone could stop him.
‘Slip down and get a barrel up,’ Alice whispered to Polly, ‘There’s a good girl.’
We were ordered to line up, facing the wall. Minerva stood slowly, refusing to be hurried, despite the muskets trained on her. She stopped in front of Alice and dropped something into her hand.
‘For you,’ she said.
The ruby earring glittered, bright as blood, in the woman’s closing palm.
We stood, arms behind our backs, wrists manacled, ankles shackled. We were no longer a danger, but were told to watch the wall as the marines took their rum. They drank quickly and spoke in grunts to each other, ignoring Alice and Polly and the other girls’ attempts at flirtatious chatter. I stared at the rough-grained planking. The wood was unpainted, unfinished, the edges bordered with thick reddish bark. Behind me, boots scraped on the sand-strewn floor and the room was heavy with the buzz of flies drunk on spilt blood and rum.
‘I could have had him,’ Minerva murmured next to me. ‘We should have fought ’em while we had the chance.’ I looked sideways. Minerva’s face glistened with tears of rage. ‘That whore has more courage in her little finger than all of us put together.’
I realised then why she’d given Alice the earring. She had tried to get us out. When that hadn’t worked, she had sent the boy to warn Vincent on the
Swift Return.
Even now, she was causing delay, giving our ship time to get away. Alice had acted with bravery and resourcefulness. In Minerva’s eyes we were all white-livered cowards compared with her.
‘Why did you stop me?’ she hissed. ‘I had him in my sights!’
‘I couldn’t have you kill him. It’s William.’
She had never seen him before. How could she have known?
My revelation temporarily silenced Minerva, but her brows were still knitted with anger, her fists curling and uncurling with frustration.
‘Even so, we could have done something!’ she hissed. ‘Instead we allowed ourselves to be taken without any kind of fight!’
‘They outgun us,’ I said. ‘We could have all been killed!’
‘For me, it is better to die than to be captured,’ Minerva stared at the wall. ‘Perhaps it will be different for you.’
I knew what she was thinking. As a slave, she might not receive the same treatment accorded to us. At least hanging was quick. Death more or less instant.
‘You do not know – ’ I began to say, but was silenced.
‘Shut it!’ a marine roared close to my ear. ‘Or I’ll shut it for you!’ He caught me a blow across the side of the face with the butt of his musket to show just how he would do it.
We were herded together, shuffling in our chains between flanking lines of marines, loaded into long boats and rowed out to the waiting warship. The
Swift Return
was no longer at her moorings. Sam, the pot boy, had managed to warn them. She was already slipping away to lie in the darkness outside the harbour. There was no point in the ship being taken as well as half the crew. She might even be able to come to our rescue.
Any spark of hope was soon extinguished by the size of the warship looming above us. The
Eagle
was a naval third rater with seventy guns on two gun decks. The schooner would be no match for that.