Raised By Wolves 1 - Brethren (13 page)

“What would we be doin’, sir?”

“Whatever your master finds you suitable for.”

“Me brother’s a cooper,” the younger added enthusiastically. The older promptly smacked him.

“I was an apprentice cooper, sir,” the older said diffidently.

“If you truly possess that skill, it will be of use and valued,” the clerk said. He pushed two contracts across the desk to them. “Make your mark there. Then wait outside. Someone will escort you to a longboat and out to the ship this evening. You will be fed then.”

That appeared to please them, but they eyed the papers timidly. The older fingered one of them. Surely neither of them could read.

“Hold,” I said and approached the table. The clerk and Belfry looked to me with alarm. I ignored them and smiled at the brothers. “I am the Viscount of Marsdale. We are recruiting for my father’s plantation, which I shall be involved in managing.” They looked to each other and sketched clumsy bows. This close to them, I judged both to be under a score of years. “May I ask why you two wish to journey to Jamaica?”

“Nothin’ here, my Lord. My master died,” the older said. “And Billy here has no prospects.”

“Well, I am sure we will be glad to have you. I just wish for you to be aware of what you stand to lose… and gain.”

Behind the table, the clerk cleared his throat nervously. I glared at him and he quieted.

“Jamaica and the West Indies are a dangerous land, but you look like two strong boys ready for adventure.”

They smiled.

“There is a good amount of disease there,” I added.

“Beggin’ your pardon, my Lord, but there be disease here,” the older said. “Our family died of the plague.”

I had to admit he had a good argument there. I picked up one of the contracts. “Can you read?”

They shook their heads as one.

“Do you wish to know what this says?”

They looked at one another as if I had presented them some great puzzle.

“Is it important, my Lord?” the older asked. “Truth be told, I’ve never had to make my mark before.”

I sighed. I was the fool, not they.

“It says that I will own you for seven years, and that I may do as I wish toward you within the laws of God and man. And if you attempt to escape, or in any way break whatever rules I may set, then your term of service will be extended.”

They nodded as if that were perfectly acceptable to them. I smiled wanly and handed them each a contract. Then I retreated from the proceedings and went to a tavern to drink.

I do not understand sheep. Though I do not feel pride at being numbered amongst them, I well understand wolves. I suppose that sheep do not understand wolves, either. I had often bemoaned all of this, but it is quite another thing to witness such an example. I drank and vowed to stop worrying about the damn sheep, or rather to care for them in a responsible manner, but not waste my time attempting to treat them as wolves.

I composed a letter to Rucker in order to air my frustrations and concerns to someone, even if it was only to the silent page. I knew I would not receive a reply prior to sailing.

We, or rather Steins’ clerk and Belfry, recruited twelve men that day.

And so we proceeded into the next, when we gained ten more. Steins was not pleased with our progress, but he held his tongue as to other options when next we met. On the third day, we garnered fifteen. This nearly gave me the twoscore I wished for.

I decided to wait one day further and move aboard the ship. I had my father’s men deliver my baggage to the wharf, and gave each several of my father’s coins before dismissing them with my blessing back to Rolland Hall.

As I came aboard the King’s Hope, men were forced to part and crowd about in little pockets, in order for me to gain the deck. My luggage further complicated matters. One would not think thirty-seven men could appear to be such a crowd, but upon the deck of the King’s Hope they were indeed. I wondered how the Devil the Captain ever thought to pack threescore or more into the same space. Surely with them crammed so closely together, they would not be able to recline to sleep unless they took turns at it. And the sailors were stepping over men as it was.

Though much of this was because the men were not allowed to spread out beyond the prescribed area of the waist of the main deck.

The sailors kept them clear of the two upper decks, those being the fore and aft castles. The forecastle contained the foremast and all manner of rigging. The aftcastle deck was the quarterdeck, which in this instance did not take up a quarter of the length of the vessel, but more a fifth.

The quarterdeck contained the aftmast and the rigging for same. And it was reserved strictly for officers and invited passengers, of which Belfry assured me I was one. The bondsmen were also kept out of the shallow but sheltered space below the forecastle, as that is where the King’s Hope’s fifteen crewmen bedded and the cooking was done. Neither were the indentured men allowed under the quarterdeck, as most of this space was taken with the three cabins. The Captain’s cabin ran the narrow width of the ship’s stern; and the other two cabins, one for all the officers and the other for all the paying passengers, were narrow little rooms on the port and starboard of the sheltered steerage area.

So we would have more than twoscore men packed into a space only half the length of the ship, that is to say perhaps forty feet and only a score of feet wide. They might have all fit as comfortably as they would in the common room of an inn, if that same deck had not been filled with the mainmast, the hatch, the windlass, rigging, and four six-pound cannon on their carriages.

Belfry assigned the stowing of my chests to a Mister Cox, the bo’sun.

He began to yell at his sailors to have them put the lot into what little space remained in the hold. I retained one bag with a few favored things and my weapons, and Belfry led me to my home for the next two months: the port-side passenger cabin.

I regarded the little room with dismay, while Belfry cheerfully informed me I would be sharing it with three other men. The cabin was only an arm’s length wide and maybe ten feet long. I did not see bunks.

“How are we to sleep?” I asked Belfry, not bothering to hide my mounting horror.

He swallowed and looked apologetic. “Hammocks, my Lord. It’s a thing they use in the West Indies.”

He indicated two sets of knotted rope affixed to the fore and aft corners of the cabin. He took up an iron loop on one of them and pulled it to a hook in the middle of the outer wall, thus extending a web of netting diagonally across half the room. This one was chest high, and there would be another below it. Once all four were extended, there would be no room to move in the cramped space.

“You, um, crawl into it, my Lord.” He demonstrated in a somewhat ungainly manner. Once he was in the bag of netting, he seemed quite comfortable. “It’s quite a bit cooler on the body when we enter the tropics, and they also preserve the space of the room during the day, as they can be hung, so,” Belfry added after he had managed to crawl out of it.

I noted that, with or without other nets of humanity swinging around one, it was seemingly difficult to enter or leave a hammock in a timely fashion, and it would be best to have one’s weapons handy while in one. I also thought it would quickly be obvious who had been in one, as the rope netting would surely leave marks on any skin it touched. My thoughts strayed; I briefly considered the possibilities of sex in one, and found myself quite amused. Then my unrequited needs in that regard filled me with annoyance.

“The Captain would sail soon, my Lord, there’s talk of a good blow descending on us in the next week. He would leave before it. He has spoken with Mister Steins.”

I nodded. “I will meet with Steins this evening after we know today’s count.”

Belfry nodded and added cheerfully. “We’ve had five this morning, my Lord.”

“So forty-two, that is excellent.”

He left me in the little room I would be trapped in. I set my bag in the corner and contemplated indentured servitude. For a maudlin moment, I wondered if my circumstance was any different than that of the men beyond the door. Was I not granting years of my life to another’s whim in exchange for the mere hope of a better future? Then I came to my senses and reminded myself I am a wolf. If I wished to sever my ties to the endeavor I would, and quickly, and God pity any who blocked my path of egress.

I set about learning of hammocks, and determined they would be far more stable if anchored in more than two places. Belfry had not made clambering into one look easy; and I was thankful for that, as it had shown me the possible points of contention before my own attempt.

Thus I did not throw myself head-first upon the floor. However, my sword became stuck in the mesh, and in attempting to free it, I almost fell out. Then I became somewhat bound in the edge, and felt a great urge to thrash about like a fly in a web.

Sometime later, I was relatively assured of being able to enter and exit one without looking the fool, and was beginning to find reclining in one quite comfortable. Upon hearing approaching steps, I quickly clambered out, as I did feel somewhat vulnerable hanging in midair.

Apparently my three roommates had arrived. I saw my own disdain and surprise mirrored in their eyes as they perused the cabin. Or maybe it was at the sight of me; but no, I was greeted with a smile by the first man in. He was an exceedingly handsome youth several years younger than myself. He possessed a slim and attractive build I found appealing, with bright blue eyes and white-gold hair.

He bowed graciously. “Lord Marsdale, I assume.”

“Aye.” I returned his bow. “And who might I have the honor of addressing?”

“I do not know if it be an honor, my Lord, but I am Thomas Eaton.

And these are my fine companions, Mister Harold Scofield and Mister Richard Benton.”

Scofield appeared to be an earnest but happy young man with dark hair and eyes and a boy’s smile. Being shorter then the others, he seemed quite young in comparison. Benton was tall, lanky, and seemingly older by a year or two. He was effete in the extreme, and dressed with exceptional care. Though his clothing was not notably expensive in cloth, it fit quite well, and was nicely coordinated in both color and texture.

“Oh, this is such a small room. However shall we… manage? Where are the beds?” Benton rattled on, and then took me in and beamed.

“And I have never had the pleasure of meeting an actual lord before.” I thought he might give me his hand to kiss.

I was once again annoyed with my heritage, or at least with others’

knowledge of it. “We will be sleeping on these hammocks, and I would greatly prefer it if you simply called me Marsdale.”

“You may call me Dickey if it pleases you, my Lord, everyone else does. And they are Tom and Harry.”

Eaton looked a trifle embarrassed. I smiled indulgently. “However you prefer to be called.”

“I am actually used to going by Tom, and he is used to being Harry,”

Tom said. “Though it is boyish of us.”

“If that be the case,” I shrugged, “I will not stand on formality. Please refrain from the my Lords and other acknowledgments of my title. I am rather used to going without them.” This seemed to please them.

I moved aside, and let them examine the open hammock and attempt to clamber into it. I initially offered no assistance, and was quite amused by their antics. Finally I decided to relent and offer them advice, and in time they were able to mount their respective hammocks. I made sure I maintained the upper one closest to the door.

We availed ourselves of the built-in bureaus and small shelves, and I warned them away from my weapons bag. When asked what it contained, I was quite forthright about the quantity, if not the quality, of the pieces inside. All three wore swords as any young gentleman would, but only Tom possessed a firearm; and they were quite surprised at the extent of my “arsenal” as Harry dubbed it. I also noted with interest that only Dickey’s sword appeared to have any wear about it. I assumed he had inherited it from someone.

“If I may ask, why are you three gentlemen traveling to Jamaica?” I asked. “And what have you heard of it?”

This caused looks of consternation to pass amongst them, and I waited patiently until they decided who would speak. It was Tom, as I surmised. He was definitely their leader.

“There was a bit of a scandal, my Lo…” He shrugged and continued sheepishly, “I have an uncle in Jamaica, and it was decided that I should travel there along with my companions, who were somewhat involved in the incident in question. It is truly not as if we had great prospects awaiting us here in England. We are not first born. If things do not go well in Jamaica, we plan to return in several years. By then the other matter should have calmed considerably.”

“I understand how scandal can befall a young man quite easily, and I would never presume to sit in judgment of such a thing,” I said. This seemed to relieve them, and yet none of them mentioned the nature of the tale. I was now quite curious as to whether it involved girls or boys. I chose not to pry.

I shrugged. “But as to my second question, what know you of Jamaica?”

“Nothing,” Harry said quickly.

“Does your uncle know you to be coming?” I asked Tom.

He nodded. “A set of posts were exchanged.”

“So this matter has been decided for a good four months?” Since it took forty-five days to reach Jamaica, I thought this was a good estimate of the fastest a letter could be sent and returned.

“Aye,” Dickey said with a wave. “Far longer, actually, as no ships traveled during the storm season or some such thing.”

I suppressed a curse at my foolishness. Here I was playing the expert, and I had forgotten no ships sailed to the West Indies in autumn. Their letter would have gone last summer and the reply received late this fall.

“We spent the months with my aunt until a reply was received,”

Dickey continued.

“So you have been in hiding for a time?” I grinned. “One would think perhaps long enough for the scandal to have resolved itself.”

Tom sighed and shrugged. “You have surmised correctly, sir. I seduced a prominent young lady and got her with child. As I had not sufficient prospects, my brother married her.”