by Lynn Collum
“Nay, the lad’s off with Gilbert Sprat. I warned him how it would be when you got home and found him gone. But there’s no talkin’ to a cheeky pup like our Benny when he’s wantin’ to have a lark.”
Jacinda didn’t voice her concerns. It wasn’t as if Lili could stop the lad when he wanted to have his way. Jacinda had begun to think that returning to Westbury would be the best thing for Ben, who was like a brother to her now. There she could see that he had proper schooling and provide a safe haven from the cutthroats and ne’er-do-wells of this world. Who would have thought they would not have found her father’s killer by now? She bid Lili goodnight, then climbed the stairs to the small room where she and Ben lived.
Warm, stale air greeted her. She lit the rush lamp on the rickety table covered with a faded blue gingham cloth. The light illuminated their few belongings: sleeping pallets they’d purchased cheaply at one of the local stores where the sailors shopped, an ancient cabinet filled with their bits of crockery, and a tattered old painted screen behind which Jacinda dressed.
She pulled one of the table’s three chairs to the window, which looked out over Ratcliffe Highway. She lifted the latch and pushed opened the shutter, releasing the heat before she settled into the chair to await Ben’s return. The long cobblestone road below disappeared into the darkness. She watched the throng of sailors, both foreign and English, come and go from the taverns, which wouldn’t close until midnight. A slight breeze came out of the west. With it came the smell of tar and newly milled timber from the nearby shipyards, but at least it helped to cool the room.
What could Ben be doing so late? She worried about him because he, like many of the Wapping lads, always had some get-rich-quick scheme in the works. He knew the truth about her legacy, but to him it was only a story. Over the years it seemed that he had come to doubt she was in danger and that she would one day be wealthy. Her lips curled upward when she thought about what Ben’s reaction would be when he saw Chettwood for the first time.
Then the smile disappeared. If she ever returned home again. The thought of going back to Cousin Millie’s iron rule was not the least bit enticing. Jacinda lived her life much as she wanted, and she wasn’t certain she wished the rigid structure of a young lady’s world again, to be idle and bored out of her wits day in and day out.
The thumping of footsteps on the stairs made her turn around with anticipation. But to her dismay the door burst open and only Gilbert Sprat entered. His hat was missing, his face was flushed beneath muddy streaks. It was an obvious sign he’d been down at the docks, where she’d expressly forbidden Ben to go. The lad could barely catch his breath as he coughed. “They’ve ... taken ’im.”
Jacinda rose even as her heart sank. There could be no doubt about the “ ’im” to whom the boy referred. “Who has taken him?”
“The Impress is out. Tryin’ to refill the ships what took such a thrashin’ from the Yanks.” Even a lad like Gilbert was aware of the American victories in the recent naval war. “They took ’im to St. Katherine’s Rendezvous.”
Jacinda’s knees grew weak and she sank back into the chair. What could she do? She hadn’t the money to bribe the Gangers to release the boy. And once they put the men on the barge it was almost impossible for them to get free unless the navy deemed them unseaworthy, which wasn’t likely to happen to a healthy lad like Ben. A sob escaped Jacinda and she put her head down in her hands. She couldn’t think of Ben forever lost to her.
“Lud, child, yer filthy,” Lili called from the doorway. “Ye dashed past like a banshee was after ye. Where’s Ben?”
“He’s been pressed, Miss Lili,” Gilbert cried.
Jacinda lifted her head, tears still streaming down her face. “What can we do, Lil?”
“Hush now, child, and let me think.” After several minutes of stomping round the room softly swearing, she stopped. A martial light came into the large woman’s eyes. “I’ll tell ye what we’re goin’ to do. Ye dry yer eyes and listen to me, Jack.” With that, the woman laid out the plan. Jacinda and Gilbert listened and nodded.
For the first time since the boy had brought the news about Ben, Jacinda had hope. She put her hand on Lili’s arm. “Do you think it will work?”
A twinkle glinted in Lili’s gray eyes. “It did in Bristol about ten years ago. I read about it in the local papers when I was out touring with my last company of players. Two lasses pulled it off and so can we. Give me five minutes to get ready and we’re for St. Katherine’s. You”—she grabbed Gilbert’s collar and shoved him into the hall—“go home, wash, and stay there. If this goes awry, we don’t want you caught.”
He looked from Lili to Jacinda, about to protest.
“Go, Gilbert.” Jacinda ordered. “If we’re caught there’s little they can do but turn us over to the magistrate, but you would likely end up in the navy.”
An uncertain look came into the lad’s eyes. “Aye.” He started down the stairs then stopped and looked back at the two women. “Bring Ben home, please.”
“We’ll do our best, lad,” Lili called as she swept across the hall to her room.
Jacinda went to the small hearth and found the tool she would need, then went out to await her friend. The door to Lili’s room stood ajar. In a matter of minutes the actress reappeared at her table. Her golden blonde curls had been combed away from her face, which gave her a much younger appearance. The rouge on her lips and cheeks made her prettier than Jacinda had ever seen. A strong scent of floral perfume wafted on the air and the tucker had been removed from the blue stripped gown Lili wore, exposing a great deal of her ample charms to the world. A pretty lace shawl was draped low over her shoulders. From the table, she picked up a half bottle of gin. She held it up and took one last swig and sighed. Then she took a brown flask and poured a small amount of liquid into the gin. She replaced the stopper and shook the bottle. With one last regretful look at the bottle, she thrust it into her tatted reticule and stepped into the hall.
“Come, Jack, you must do exactly what I tell you. Do you have what you need?”
Jacinda pulled the tool from under her coat.
Lili nodded. “Very well, we are off.”
They made their way to the street where traffic had grown light. Jacinda offered Lili an arm as if she were a true gentlemen and they set off for St. Katherine’s Rendezvous.
Don’t worry, Ben, Jacinda whispered to herself, we’re coming to rescue you.
CHAPTER TWO
Drew’s head throbbed as consciousness drifted just beyond his grasp. A wave of nausea curled in his stomach and he feared he might be sick. If only he could open his eyes. Jumbled images flashed though his brain, leaving him disoriented. Was he still battling a bout of fever in Calcutta? He remembered the tender mercies of the old Chinese herbalist his friends had found to treat him. The illness had been years ago. The image disappeared and another took shape. Drifting on a sea of darkness ... visions from Madras surface. A knife wound from one of the drunken sailors on shore. But he dismissed the memory since this pain was in his head.
With a determined struggle, Drew opened his eyes but saw only darkness surrounding him. He blinked twice to make certain his eyes were truly open. A soft groan sounded nearby and he knew he was awake. He took no comfort from that fact that he wasn’t alone in his torment. As he tried to move toward the sound, another wave of pain surged through his head. He leaned back against the wall and tried to think, tried to recall where he was and what he was doing in this dark place with others who seemed to be suffering as much as he. Everything was mixed up in his head. He’d departed India months earlier. Had his ship been taken over by pirates? No, the Flying Dragon was harbored in London. He remembered the crew had been paid off and his first mate was seeing to stores and cargo for another trip.
A heavy weight formed in his chest when the day’s events came flooding into his foggy brain. The visit to his father’s solicitor—Blanchett dead, the daughter missing, the decision he’d made to do something about it. He
’d had dinner with his friends to tell them he wasn’t returning to Calcutta immediately ... or did he tell them of the decision? He pressed his eyes closed as the pain in his head throbbed with the beat of his heart. When he lifted a hand to his temple, the clank of a chain sounded and a heavy iron cuff slid down his wrist. He extended his arm and realized he was chained to the wall. His thoughts scattered a bit and he couldn’t think why he would be in prison.
Another groan sounded further away in the darkness and a young voice cried, “Oh, Jack, I’m sorry,” then diminished into a whimper.
Drew gathered his wits and took stock. The musty smell of wet wood, unwashed bodies, and stale gin surrounded him in the darkness. As he strained to listen, he could hear water lapping on the wooden wall behind him. Was he in the hole of a ship? If so, they hadn’t yet set sail, for there were no swells or waves rocking them.
The soft crying continued and despite his own dire circumstances, Drew took pity on what was clearly a young boy. “What’s your name, lad?”
After a loud sniffle, a timorous voice answered, “Ben, sir, Ben Trudeau.”
Drew could hear fear in the boy’s voice and thought to keep him talking. “Do you know where we are, Ben?”
“Aye, we’re in a barge what the Gangers use to transport men to the fleet, sir.”
Drew’s stomach plummeted. Great heavens, he’d managed to get himself pressed. A vague memory of being on the East India Docks flashed in his mind but he couldn’t bring the actual event into focus. As a seasoned sailor and ship’s officer, he would be considered valuable to the Impressment Service and that would make it all the more difficult to escape his fate. At present his head hurt too much for him to even try to reason out what he could do. Perhaps there was nothing to do but pray. He’d been around docks in enough seaports to know that His Majesty’s officers showed little concern for those who’d been caught in their sweep for new recruits. They needed men and that was that.
Drew leaned his head back and tried to concentrate on something other than the pain and the sick feeling in the pit of his stomach. But the word “pressed” and all that it meant continued its endless swirl in his brain.
The street lamp’s dim yellow glow brightened a narrow stretch of street near the Tower of London. A forest of ships’ masts cluttered the night sky ahead of them as Jacinda and Lili made their way through the dark alley to the Impressment Service’s Rendezvous beside the River Thames. From Thames Street they heard a watchman call the hour as midnight and they paused to listen, but only the sounds of the river greeted them. At this late hour, few lights twinkled at them from Southwark on the far side of the river. The stench of fish, rotting food, and bilge in the water almost overpowered Jacinda. A longing to see the lovely River Axe, so near to Chettwood Manor, filled her.
Lili squeezed Jacinda’s hand, then put a finger over her lips and pointed to the lone guard, who lounged on a stack of old fishing nets stacked on crates at the wharf ’s edge. The roof of the Impressment barge was just visible in the water below him. A small lantern on deck hung on a peg and illuminated a closed door at the entrance to the cabin below.
Jacinda’s pulse jumped at the thought of Ben being alone in that dank, dark place. She resisted the impulse to rush the man on the wharf, knowing that such a noise would likely bring others from the Press Gang to his aid. If she got Ben safely back, she would need to find a way to take him to Chettwood. She was no longer a child and could take care of herself, and Ben was getting to an age where he was vulnerable to the dangers of a big city. But first she had to get Ben off that barge. She prayed that whatever Lili had poured into the gin would work quickly.
The large woman stepped into her role with ease. She patted her hair, then strolled across the damp cobblestones, humming a cheerful ditty, until she reached the wharf. She pretended to spy suddenly the guard, whose wary attention had locked on her the moment she stepped into the glow of the lamplight. The man appeared to be in his thirties and was dressed in the Impressment uniform of ivory canvas breeches, stripped shirt, and blue coat. His round black hat sat low over a bush of dark hair.
The sound of Lili’s voice barely reached Jacinda in her hiding place.
“Well, and here I was thinkin’ I’d have to drink alone this starry night.” Lili pulled the stopper from the bottle. She pressed the stem to her lips as if she were taking a large swallow. She wiped her mouth, then said, “Oh, and ye be a handsome fellow at that.”
The ganger licked his lips and grinned, his gaze moving from the bottle to her ample bosom, then back to the bottle. “Yer a fine lookin’ lass. I’d be ’appy to share your refreshment.”
Lili giggled, then made her way over to where he waited. At the last moment, she pretended to lose her balance and tumbled into the man’s lap. There was a great deal of laughter and Jacinda couldn’t make out what the man whispered to Lili and she wasn’t certain she wanted to know.
Lili handed him the bottle and whispered into his ear. He took a good swig, gave a hearty laugh, and nuzzled her neck. Jacinda’s cheeks warmed as she watched the man’s hand wander over the larger woman’s curves. She knew she would owe their neighbor a large debt for what she was enduring for them. Lili playfully batted his hand away and said, “Why, yer a naughty one. Lucky me.” He chuckled and again drank from the bottle.
The next fifteen minutes seemed an eternity to Jacinda as she sat crouched behind the boxes, half afraid to watch what was happening on the crate. But Lili was masterful and it took only a short time for the man to finish the gin. Jacinda’s knees grew stiff and her patience short, but she stayed where she was until the ganger’s head slumped against Lili’s shoulder. The woman lifted his head and called to him. When she received no response, she slid to her feet. She signaled to Jacinda.
After a quick glance about revealed no one nearby, Jacinda dashed across the road to the wharf while Lili pushed the unconscious man over onto the fishing net, making sure he wouldn’t fall off.
The Tower Stairs led to the water and took Jacinda to the muddy river bank. She scrambled over the gangway onto the gently rocking barge. Moments later Lili stood behind her, lamenting the ruination of her best slippers by the mud.
Mentally Jacinda promised to buy her friend ten pairs if they all got out of this unscathed. She scanned the wharf for movement but all was quiet. Uncertain what they would find inside, Jacinda slowly pulled open the door to the lower cabin. Darkness loomed, so she lifted the lantern from the peg and went down the steps.
To her horror, she discovered ten males, mostly young men shackled to the walls. Some were asleep; others shielded their eyes from the glare of the lantern. Her instinct was to find Ben first, but how could she ignore these lads, each and every one of whom had family who likely didn’t know where they were at that moment.
Lili stepped into the small space behind her. “The Gangers have been busy I see. You start on the left, Jack, I’ll work on the right. The large woman pulled a hammer from beneath her skirts and smashed the wall of the barge where the first chain connected to the wall. “We’re here to set you free, lads.”
There was a stirring among the captives, but they fell silent as Lili give the bolt two more good whacks with her hammer and it broke free. Jacinda, released from her dilemma of where to start, pulled the small ax from her coat and began work on the opposite wall. When the first man was free, she said, “Go up and keep watch.”
“Aye, lad, and may God bless ye.” He rose and moved past her as she began on the next set of chains bolted to the wall. She’d released three lads when Ben tugged on her leg. “I knew you’d come, Jack.” She hugged him, then with two forceful strokes of the ax had him free. “Get up on deck, if you see someone coming, shout a warning, then run.”
“I won’t leave without you and Lil.”
“Don’t be a fool. You know we’re in no danger.” She gave him a knowing look and the boy’s eyes widened in understanding. He gave her a hug, then raced up the stairs. Jacinda moved further down to
the last man and noted that of the captives, he alone was dressed as a gentleman. His head was leaned again the wall and blood oozed from a wound at his temple. A cockade hat lay beside him on the floor, yet he wore no uniform. A merchant sailor perhaps? If so he would be very valuable to the navy, who were always looking for experienced men. She looked around and realized that Lil had finished and gone topside; only she and the gentleman remained.
She asked, “Are you able to run, sir?”
He groaned, and lifted his head. “I’ll make it lad, if you’ll finish the job of freeing me.” He tugged on the chains that still held him to the wall.
A strange sensation raced through her. It was almost as if she knew him ... but how could that be? Thinking it was just her heightened nerves betraying her, she gave the bolt two quick strikes and the man gave it a mighty tug. It pulled free, and he tried to struggle to his feet. Jacinda hesitated a moment as her old fear of strangers surfaced. It had haunted her since the night in the rocks. She pushed the anxiety aside, knowing this man needed her assistance. She took his arm and helped him rise. He swayed as he stood and put a hand to his head.
“Sorry, I’m not as steady on my feet as I thought. Lead the way.”
Jacinda watched him swaying and without a word, pulled his arm over her shoulder. “Lean on me, sir.” They made their way up the stairs on the deck. Strangely, she was very conscious of the feel of his well-muscled build through his coat when he leaned against her. This was no Town Tulip, but a man of activity. She pushed the thoughts aside and concentrated on leading him out of danger.