Back to the Ship
Richard left the dock and its master to the gloom. He headed back into the lowest levels of the town. He had one more errand.
The lanterns cast a cheery glow all around the opulent sign which read "Miss Mayhew's". While the foot traffic had been somewhat light on his previous visit, and the matron was then actively trying to entice patrons to come inside, it seemed to indeed be the changing of the watch. There was a fairly steady stream of ruffians of every description arriving and there was actually a bit of a queue forming, quite orderly at the head of the line, less so at the end. Miss Mayhew had switched from enticing patrons to come into her premises, which was no longer required, to entertaining those patrons waiting in line, so they would not be off in search of a less busy establishment. Her entertainment was very precise, Richard noticed. Quite enough to keep a man's interest but not enough to make his interest suddenly flag. It would no doubt be bad for business to entertain patrons too much before they had a chance to pay. Richard, in his guise as one of the ruffians, went to the head of the line. This earned him many oaths and partially drawn cutlasses, which quickly became sheathed again at a glower from Miss Mayhew.
"'Ere, luv, you can't be cuttin' in front o' the line like that. Where's yor manners?" She took a more critical look at the pirate before her. "Why Sir Richard! I didn't recognize you, all dressed up like a reg'lar man. Come to pay the rest of yor tally I sees! Do step right this way! Gen'l'men, I'll leave you briefly. Please entertain each other for a bit. Ye knows how; ye've seen me do it." said Miss Mayhew, which earned a hearty laugh from all about, and more than a few rude gestures. The large woman escorted Richard inside before the spell broke, which would surely have meant trouble. She took him straight to Mary's room, the only one not in use at the moment. She closed the door. Mary was in the corner, holding her son and staring at the floor. She was quietly awaiting her evening's fate, Richard supposed.
"Right, now. The tally be about half paid I seems to recall. Have ye the rest about you? Then we'll be friends again and all will be well." she continued, in something approaching a hushed tone for her. The concept of non-payment was not something she wished to get around.
"Woman. And I say that because you cannot be a man. You are almost the worst kind of person I have ever had the misfortune to meet. That distinction surely goes to the demon in the guise of a man living at the top of the hill in this accursèd town. And you yourself are in league with that devil, madam, which where I come from makes you a witch!
"My oath, Sir Richard! I don't know what ye'r talkin' about! Ye've got no call to be talkin' about witches here." She looked about the hallway, and then closed the door again and continued in a very hushed tone indeed. "We don't mention that word here, sorr. It be ill luck to gain the Reverend's attention and that word'll surely do it."
"Tell me why you sent a boy to the Reverend telling him I was in search of a boy!" thundered Richard.
"Hush now! Because you were, sorr. Only the Reverend can sell a boy on this rock. Everyone knows it. He gets them in special, and girls too, so as to sell 'em to those as needs 'em. I have a few meself. Orphans they are, sir. Impoverished and destitute orphans from back Home. Given a good life here. That's charity, that is."
"And what if Macready had an immediate need of an orphan but wasn't expecting a 'shipment' for a while?"
"Why then he has some local orphans I expects, sorr. This be a dangerous place."
"It is indeed, woman. I have seen the gibbet myself. With a fresh rope."
"Oh lord, sorr. There's to be a hangin'. That happens from time to time. Ne'er-do-wells who strays into New Town mostly. And mostly they has no children, sorr, but if'n they did, why then I expect that might result in an orphan."
"And what if it were a witch?"
"There's that word again, sorr. We don't talk about that here. There is trouble from time to time in my line of business, sorr. The good Reverend don't quite approve of me profession, oldest though it may be, but if he tried to stop it even God hisself couldn't protect the town from the sailors what had no outlet for their boyish high spirits. And he knows it. So he keeps a sort of a balance you might say. As more young ladies progress from being scullery maids and the like to being ladies of the docks, then there seems to be a witch or two found. Mostly in the less wholesome establishments. Never here, God be praised."
"Praise be to God indeed, woman, but not for keeping your establishment free from the accusation of witchcraft. There's to be a trial tomorrow to establish the guilt of a witch from your very establishment. So that her boy may be sold into indentured slavery."
"That cannot be true, sorr. Why we has only the one young mother with us presently..."
Mary shrieked and fell to the floor in a wailing heap. Miss Mayhew lost her composure and had to sit down. The boy remained invisible, not quite understanding what was happening.
"Oh, Sir Richard. What are we to do." said Miss Mayhew. "Ye are quite certain?"
"I have just lately come from the church. It seems I was expected, in large part due to your efforts. The Reverend and I had words, madam, and not all of them pleasant. I have been fairly instructed to attend the trial or not myself, but in any case to assume the ownership of young Jonathon tomorrow afternoon. For a substantial fee. And my credit upon this accursèd rock has been frozen into the bargain. You'll not get a further penny out of me, madam."
Miss Mayhew took this news rather better than Richard thought she would. She seemed genuinely distressed at Mary standing trial.
"But how can Mary stand accused of the craft?" asked Mayhew. "She has none of the signs, I check all of the ladies meself. Not that I hold with the Reverend's views, I'm just wise enough not to harbour anyone who could be accused."
"You have a cat, my lady?" Richard said to Mary.
"I wouldn't say she's mine, sir, exactly. More her own I would say, or belonging to the establishment. Cats show up here from time to time, Sir Richard, as they live on the other side of the rock where it is wild but there is little to eat. Any male cats that show up are killed and taken to Macready who pays a few coins for them."
"What Macready does wi' cat's heads is betwixt him an' ol' Nick." said Miss Mayhew.
"But a female cat is usually considered good luck." Mary continued. "Though we tend not to talk about them. In public at least. The Reverend's spies are everywhere. Jonathon has befriended our resident cat and she is quite friendly."
"Well that is what accuses you, my lady. The possession of a cat, a familiar. A beast from hell."
"Why that be daft!" stormed Miss Mayhew. "The Reverend knows full well cats be everywhere. He like as not has a few himself. And he also like as not doesn't know f'r a fact that Mary has one, he just assumes it!"
"Nonetheless, that is the full story. The Reverend accuses Mary of witchcraft on account of young Jonathon's pet cat. She is to be tried and hanged tomorrow at noon, and Jonathon is to be sold to me to become a ship's boy."
Mary paled, and Jonathon ran out of the room. Blast, thought Richard. He could have phrased that better. It was easy to forget that Jonathon was there. The boy must be frightened beyond sensibility.
"I'm afraid, madam, that there are few options here. So I am leaving with the young woman and her son, and we will set sail away from this hell on earth."
"No, wait, Sir Richard. Ye can't simply run off with Mary and young Jon like that."
"I can and I will, madam!"
"No, not like that. Ye must yell and scream. And ye must strike me. Hard. Then ye may leave through a back door as Mary will show ye."
"I must what?"
"Yell, sir. Scream. And strike me such as it leaves a bruise. Otherwise it will be meself upon the gibbet tomorrow. Please, sir."
Richard had that unpleasant feeling one gets when a white-hot rage suddenly runs out of fuel. But an ember remained. He used that to play along.
Madam, you will get out of my way or I shall strike you. I am taking this young woman and her son. Do not cross me. he bellowed for whomever wished to hear. He did not care.
"Now strike me, sir." said Miss Mayhew under her breath, before gaining volume and yelling, "Ye'll do no such thing! Ye owes me for services to date, and ye'll not be takin' me wares!"
At which Mary herself struck Miss Mayhew. And struck hard. She was holding a tin chamber pot, whose objectionable contents were dripping down the shocked woman. This would surely leave a bruise, , thought Richard, and in fact Miss Mayhew might have issues eating for a while.
"We are not wares, madam. We are people. You have sold me for the last time. May God judge you fairly for all you have done. And then you'll surely go to hell, madam. Perhaps they have brothels there." said Mary. Miss Mayhew's mouth opened and closed a few times, causing her to aspirate some of the filth oozing from her hair, before she could find the words to respond.
"I have done me best for ye these last ten years, Mary. Captain Avery left very specific instructions concerning you. He said that if ye fancied yerself a whore, referrin' to yer pregnancy, ye sees, then a whore ye should be. Though he would suffer no harm to come to ye. And so ye never had to entertain anyone as was likely to hurt ye. Ye always had the best of the rooms, all to yerself. You and the boy. And many's the time the rest of the ladies went hungry but you never did. And now that it appears harm is comin' yor way I am not stoppin' ye from leavin'. Reflect upon that when ye be thinkin' terrible things about Miss Mayhew."
"Come, Mary. Take nothing but the boy." Richard suddenly remembered the sanitary arrangements aboard the Fancy. "And the chamber pot. Bring that as well. We must leave now. Where is the boy?" said Richard, looking around.
Jonathon returned, holding a young female cat, who appeared to be pregnant.
"Please, sir. Don't hurt me mam. Take the cat if ye will. But leave us be." said the waif, with tears in his eyes. He didn't understand all that was happening, and thought the cat was the source of all of the trouble.
"No harm will come to you, my boy. Nor your mother. Nor even the cat."
"It's alright, Jonathon. Sir Richard is a true gentleman, and he is going to save us from all of this." said Mary, with the faintest bit of hope in her eyes.
"Save us from what, mam?" said the boy. He had never known anything but the brothel, and considered all of the other troubles over now that Richard had the cat.
"It's alright. You just be a quiet good boy, and follow me and Richard."
She quickly rummaged about in a drawer and retrieved what appeared to be a locket, then took her son's hand, who was still clutching the cat with his other. That left Richard to carry the pot. Richard had done worse things today. He led his little procession out of the room and left the humbled Miss Mayhew to her fate and her tears.
"I shall indeed think terrible things about you, madam." said Richard as he was leaving. "But for the small mercy you have shown us this afternoon, some advice. Be well above high tide mark by morning, in a secure place."
"What?" said Miss Mayhew, but Richard did not elaborate. The woman would either heed the advice or not, as she pleased.
And with that the three of them left, via a back door that let out into a disused ally. Then quickly, with Mary leading, they made it to the docks area, and back to where the Captain and his ruffians were awaiting Richard's return.
"What be this?" said Avery when he saw Mary, the boy, still holding a cat, and Richard, holding a chamber pot. Richard drew his sabre and pointed it down at the ground, but left no doubt that he was ready to strike the Captain.
"I am bringing the woman and the boy. No one will stand in my way."
Avery tightened up, like a spring that has been bent to the breaking point.
"Ye cuts a dashing figure, Sir Richard, but enlighten me. Be ye threatenin' me wi' a pot full o'shite 'r wi' yer steel? If the former then I confess I have nought wi' me t'answer yer challenge. If the latter then I do. Either way if ye survives the next few minutes ye'll be t'first as has ever drawn any manner o' steel on me and talked about it later. Now I have told ye our evenin' is to be one of adventure. Adventure not suited to a lady. What be th' meanin' o' this?"
"Macready is nothing but a God-cursed slaver. He sells orphans from back Home. When he doesn't have any from Home he manufactures them here by killing their parents. Mary is to be hung as a witch tomorrow, and we are to acquire, at great expense, young Jonathon."
Avery melted at the news.
"Mary..." he said.
"Father." said Mary, though not with any amount of love. The boy, however, shook himself loose from Mary's grasp and ran to the Captain, burrowing his head in the smelly folds of the pirate's clothing. This left a confused cat that the boy had dropped on the dock. On a whim, Richard picked up the cat, a difficult operation while holding a sword and a chamber pot. The cat, for her part, seemed to happy enough with how the afternoon was proceeding and started to purr.
"Young Jonathon." said Avery. "Ye'll be having a grand adventure it seems, such as we have talked about. Richard, ye may put away yer steel. And ye may continue to draw breath. Ye'll have to make do with a pot full o' dung and yer fearsome beast if ye'r still in the mood f'r a clash." Then he tightened up like a spring again and faced Richard much as a piece of flint would. And then, quietly so only Richard could hear, and without a trace of his pirate's accent, he said, "But do not draw steel upon me again, Richard."
Richard sheathed his sword quickly. There was something about the Captain's manner that demanded obedience.
"Then let us all be off t' th'ship, clear in our various duties. Richard, has ye secured us the necessaries to a long sea voyage?"
Richard told the captain of his arrangement with Scuppers. Avery nodded, and laughed heartily when he heard about the sack of rats.
"A nice touch! It will do me eyes a treat to see that. Though it will make the Revenge something of flaming hornet's nest. Best we not get stung too badly. Now it seems, Richard, that thy fortunes be intertwined with mine. And as such I'll be lookin' at that map later."
"To be shorr, cap'n." said Richard. The shock of any manner of wit coming from him caused the Captain to look confused for a moment, before near doubling over from a belly laugh.
"To be shorr! Off t'th'ship me hearties!" he roared to one and all.
And with that everyone got into one or the other of the small boats and headed out into the channel towards the waiting Fancy.