by J.D. Rogers
Chapter 15
The man whose hand I lopped off was standing on the gangplank arguing with Captain Hubbard. A pair of soldiers dressed in black silk balloon pants, red vests, and black turbans stood between the two men. As soon as he saw me, the would-be-assassin pointed his stump at me and started yelling. "This is all her fault. She ordered her thugs to attack me and my friends. I demand that you arrest her."
I walked over to the man, which took some time considering what I was wearing. When I finally reached him, I slapped him across the face. "You've been drinking again. After you promised me that you were off the bottle for good."
The man was so taken back by my action that he just stood there, dumbfounded.
"You know this man?" one of the soldiers said.
"He's my brother. And he has a bit of a drinking problem. When he's drunk, he tends to run around telling crazy stories about people trying to kill him. If you leave him with us, I can assure you that we'll confine him to this ship until we leave port. He won't give you anymore trouble."
"She's lying," Stumpy said. "I never saw her until a couple of days ago, when she ordered her thugs to rob me and my two friends."
I didn't bother to argue with the man. I just stood there and let the soldiers decide for themselves who was more credible, a screaming one handed man, or a well-dressed woman with a big fancy ship. Needless to say, it didn't take the soldiers long before they decided who they believed. When the man realized that he had lost the argument, he turned to run away. The two sailors Captain Hubbard stationed at the bottom of the gangplank had already moved behind him, so he didn't get anywhere.
"Take him below deck until he's sober," I said. The two sailors smiled knowingly and hustled the screaming man away, once he was below deck, I turned back to the two soldiers. "Once again, I apologize for my brother's behavior. I can assure you that next time we visit your great city, he will remain at home."
The two soldiers bowed. I turned to Captain Hubbard. "Captain, perhaps we should make a donation to the high sage's treasury, to pay for any damage my brother has caused."
"As you wish, Your Highness," Captain Hubbard said with a bow. He pulled a couple of gold coins out of the coin purse attached to his cutlass belt and handed them to the soldier that did the talking. The two soldiers bowed and headed down the gangplank. I had little doubt that the high sage's treasurer would never see those gold coins. Most likely, they would wind up in the hands of some tavern keeper.
Edgerton burst on deck. He was half dressed. One boot on, one boot off. His waistcoat only half on. "What's the problem?"
"Captain Hubbard is two gold coins short," I said. "I trust you'll see that he's compensated."