Neville did not have to walk far down the street before he began to realize that the stories he had heard of Port Royal were probably not far from true. Even in the bright light of morning there were lewd acts being performed and dice games being played in the alleyways. Numerous men lay in the gutters sleeping off the previous night’s revelry, all with their pockets turned out and none with any other property apparent, including shoes; some even without even their shirts or belts. Vendors cat-called him from almost every doorstep. The prostitutes were worst of all, yelling from windows, doors and balconies. He stopped to ask a very large, rough Lombardsman for directions and was sent to a gentlemen’s club frequented by the Jamaican Council when they met in Port Royal. He was cautioned that the distinction did not mean the place was ‘genteel as a London club’. Neville took his meaning even though he could only imagine what a London gentleman’s club might look like.
He entered and sat. “Cor,” he mumbled, “It’ll be a long afternoon. At these prices I’ve only enough for two pints of beer and one of these ‘boucans’.” He supposed that when the pirates came in with their booty the shopkeepers in Port Royal then had their chance at piracy, and this was it.
Three in the afternoon found him sitting on the gunwale of Experiment’s launch on the strand, waiting for his oarsmen to return. By three-thirty, he was done waiting.
“All here but three,” Neville said. “You, Mr. …”
“Thomas, Sir.”
“Mr. Thomas, you stay here to greet your mates when they stagger back. I want no chance they’ll desert if they come back and find the launch gone. I promise you that you’ll be relieved as quickly as the launch can take me to the ship and come back.”
Lt. Verley found Neville pacing the quarterdeck, coffee tankard in hand, shortly after sunup the following morning. “Good Morning, Lt. Verley. I have an appointment to pay my respects to the governor today at six bells of the afternoon watch. I cannot imagine that it could take more than a few minutes, depending on what he might have to tell me. I have made a decision to proceed from thence to visit the Fuller plantation for three or four days before a general meeting of the fleet’s captains,” he added with a wink, and concluded with, “I have every confidence in you. You know what Mr. Gooden and Mr. Tilburne are to accomplish, and Mr. MacRead is on a personal project for me. I’ll show you the thing when he’s done.”
Ashore again that afternoon, he had arrived at the King’s House as scheduled. The aide ushered him though one of the large wood doors where he found the Fullers having an afternoon tea with the Governor. It was no secret that Experiment had arrived in the harbor. Obviously, Maria had cajoled her father into going to welcome the ship back. They had made a day of it. The governor and Colonel Fuller had had a discussion of the fleet before Neville had even arrived, and arrangements awaited only Captain Burton’s agreement to a meeting date four days hence and a departure date two days beyond that. Colonel Fuller had assured the Governor of the readiness of the six Jamaican sloops.
By four in the afternoon Neville found himself, with great gratification, sitting beside Thomas Fuller in the late Mrs. Fuller’s surprisingly elegant carriage. He was doing his best to pay attention to Colonel Fuller’s description of the preparations, available men and arms and the latest reports of pirate attacks on the island, but from his seat directly opposite Maria, concentration was difficult.
“Father, I think you’ve plenty of time to cover these things in the next few days, and you do not need me to listen to it all.”
“Yes, you’re right, dear. We could do with your sea stories, though, Captain. How went your voyage?”
“I may have seen the infamous pirate’s ‘barcolongo’,” Neville began. “It was a three-masted lugger, very fast and flying a red ensign with a skull over wings.”
“That sounds right enough. We’ll make inquiry on the ensign.”
“Experiment is an extraordinary sailer,” he said enthusiastically, looking from one to the other, “as I reported to the governor, although we couldn’t catch that lugger. We were tacking toward …,” and so on he rambled for the remainder of the ride ‘home’.
Neville awoke with great enthusiasm early the next morning. Finding no one else awake, he went for a walk down the lane to loosen his leg. Upon his return, he found Maria waiting breakfast on him, but Colonel Fuller was not to be seen.
“He’s gone down-island, as we say. He only agreed to take me with him yesterday because he’ll be gone for the next two days and wanted to speak with the governor and to hear your report before going,” she said. “We’ll have to think of things to do by ourselves,” she added with a wink.
“Have you practiced your Spanish?” she asked between a sip of orange juice and a bit of fresh bread.
His racing thoughts threatened to spoil his ability to enjoy the entire breakfast experience. He was finding it difficult to manage a polite job of eating.
“Not much, I must admit. It has been quite a busy time for me. There are two aboard who speak it, though, and I have at least managed to say hello and express my interest to learn from them.”
“Then I think that in order to advance your lessons we should go after breakfast to see if there’s another book in the library, don’t you agree?”
Neville’s thoughts continued to race; his desire for Maria was clashing with his need to avoid disrespecting her father. Where did I ever get such a strong sense of decency? he wondered. I cannot repay Thomas’ kindness to me by defiling his daughter. On the other hand, he does know that I wish to marry her. But I’m not a common seaman. I must act with the honor of a captain – an officer and a gentleman.
They did go to the library after breakfast, and they did take some time looking for a book of any sort that contained Spanish. Possibly, there was an old novel of Maria’s mother or some report on planting or weather conditions from a neighboring island that her father might have.
“I found this,” Maria reported, holding up a thin volume of poetry.
Neville went to her and put his arms around her and they kissed – a warm and close moment in which Neville became oblivious to the world. “You are heaven, my sweet Maria,” he said.
She whispered, “We must keep an eye for Juanita.”
“J-ador,” he said in French, and then translated: “I love you above all things.” He decided right then to proceed with what he thought a ‘left-handed non-proposal’. “Your father knows my intentions, as I think you must, but has declined my request pending…. pending my safe return in the coming months.”
Her sparkling brown eyes went wide and her smile larger than he had seen before, and Neville reveled in her happiness. She kissed him intensely, then stepped back to enjoy the view of him. The door began to open. This is a busy room, thought Neville.
“Hola,” sang Juanita’s cheerful voice.
The surprise startled them extremely, but as Juanita was not yet entirely into the room and her vision was taking that split second to adjust to the darker conditions of the room, they were able to hide their embarrassment.
Maria whirled ‘round and said, a bit loudly and with undue excitement as she held up the little book, “Hola, Juanita, Mira! Aqui es otro libro,” and skipped out the door, leaving a mortified Neville staring at a confused, and possibly somewhat suspicious, Juanita.
Suspicious, yes. She remembered the beautiful girl she had helped raise kissing this handsome officer when he left, and she may have wanted to ask a dozen questions, but she turned and followed Maria out. Neville followed them both.
Neville and Maria spent the morning reviewing vocabulary. She read a few poems to demonstrate proper Spanish intonations, and quizzed him on his pronunciation. They sheltered from a morning rain shower by going to the kitchen for a new pot of coffee, where they had a moment’s privacy for another few kisses. When they returned to the wet table outside the sun, now approaching its zenith, was rapidly converting puddles to humidity. The logical choice was to retreat to the cool of the librar
y in order to continue Neville’s studies. Juanita’s decision to sit in a corner chair and read, not directly facing them, was not unexpected.
I suppose I deserved this, thought Neville - an acting captain in the British Navy being treated like a schoolboy.
They passed the most enjoyable dinner and evening either had experienced in a long time - possibly forever, they proclaimed to each other. The evening ended in the muggy courtyard garden watching hundreds of fireflies light the dark corners under broad banana leaves.
Neville was quartered in the same room where he had been a patient, so he was quite familiar with it and its sounds in the night. There were no patients in Thomas Fuller’s hospital now, so this night was particularly quiet except for the usual chorus of crickets and cicada. Neville, uncovered owing to the tropical heat, was sleeping well. The buzz of an insect in his ear woke him, but not completely. He brushed it away and began slipping back into the comfort of sleep when a scrape, followed by a swish-and-click noise, jarred him fully awake. These were not the usual sounds of his night room, and his first thought was to wonder where he had laid his sword. He had got about so far as to admonish himself for being careless enough to assume there could be no intruder here when a dark form lurched toward him. His reactions were slow enough in his waking state that a soft finger reached his lips before he could provide an effective defense. His hands came up to grasp her sides as she tossed herself on top of him. He felt her warmth through her very sheer nightdress, and this time there was no hesitation. The nightdress did not remain on her very long. Her lips pressed his for a long, luxurious moment before they began, with no words, to prove their love for each other. As the force of the unstoppable storm subsided and they lay together in the heat of a Jamaican autumn night, Maria whispered, “I love you, Neville Burton. I couldn’t bear your leaving without your knowing it beyond any doubt in your heart with the possibility, however slight, that you might not return. I am beside myself with anticipation of the day you return for father’s approval.” Neville had no doubts of either the truth of her words or the inner strength of this woman, but he felt a face wet with tears, and kissed her yet again.
“And I love you, Maria Fuller. Have no doubt. I look forward to a long and happy future with you by my side.”
“Oh, I must go! The moon rises!”
Neville immediately felt as if the room had chilled when he heard the same swish and click he’d heard earlier – the door.
“Were your travels fruitful?” Neville queried Colonel Fuller as he alit from his horse in the outer courtyard at noon the following day.
“Yes and no,” Thomas responded. “I believe the Jesuit’s bark I took to Martin’s plantation will prove to have been in time to save his son from the ague. I also have news that a trading sloop, the Ferret, was recently taken by pirates from a plantation near Montego, as well as various other trivia for the council.
“Someday I must accompany you on such a tour, Colonel Fuller, to learn more of this wonderful island. Your hospitality here has been beyond words, though I must admit to growing anxious to return to my ship. This is my third day of shore leave, as you know, so I must go back to Port Royal tomorrow for the captains’ meeting.”
“I will attend that meeting with you, Neville. I must remain for a session of the Council that convenes immediately after that, although I am not looking forward to it. Let’s ignore that for now. I have been looking forward to tonight’s dinner and a quiet evening with you and Maria for two days now.” Glancing about for his daughter, and not seeing her, he added in a quiet voice, “You must assist me in this. By no means can we allow her to go with us. By now you have seen what that city is like, and with us both engaged on government business we cannot trust even two or three guards to assure the safety of that flower in such a place.”
“Aye, Sir, I fully agree.”
It is possible that the greeting of a young Captain Burton by six rough-looking privateer Masters and their first mates would not have been as cordial had he not walked in with Colonel Thomas Fuller, who was not only a stalwart and respected man, but also a member of the Jamaican Council. Neville was instantly aware of the strength and determination of this group. He also had no question that they also represented a collective experience in local waters beyond anything existing in Commodore Wright’s entire fleet.
It was an informal group, however. There was no doubt of that. Any occasion to gather was a social event to these men, obviously. With the exception of an austerely-dressed few who gave an air of having a religious intolerance of alcohol, every one had a mug of beer or rum. Lt. Verley had joined them and the two, together with Fuller, made their way around to meet and shake hands with each master and learn the name of his vessel.
“Take your seats and come to order,” announced the governor’s adjutant, pounding a gavel on a bench at the front of the Jamaican Council meeting chamber, thus heralding Lord Inchiquin’s entrance.
As formal as that beginning implied, the session was short and direct. The governor had learned that these men would not stand on ceremony. They were brusque colonials, accustomed to having their way immediately as they asked for it and familiar with the harshness and indifference of the sea. ‘Shoreside diplomacy’ was tolerated only briefly.
Their orders were simple. While they had agreed to sail in company with Experiment and loosely follow her direction, they were always free, especially in the extremes of battle or weather, to do as any master or captain must for the safety of his ship and company. Their mission was to sink any pirate ship they found, or bring her home as a prize, and deal with the pirates as seemed appropriate at the time.
Thomas Fuller had done more than simply meet the privateers during his circulation before the meeting; he had gathered information that he now stood to make known to the governor.
“If I do not misunderstand,” he began, looking around the room at the assembled masters, “two days are required for all to complete. Their men have been summoned, and are arriving daily. The fleet may sail on the third day hence.” A general murmuring and nodding commenced, with one man adding, “Well spoken, Thomas.”
“One last item,” continued Colonel Fuller, “This is Captain Burton. I think you have all met him. Personally, I’d appreciate it if you could keep him safe. I’ve had to nurse him back to health once already.”
The group laughed, one blurting out, “He’s the one wi’ all the guns!” and the laughter was louder yet.
“Flags,” said Neville, now on his feet. “Signals - How many of you have them or can read them?”
After more calling out and laughs about stolen pirate flags and hanging up ladies undergarments and the like, Neville asked Lt. Verley to step up with his package. Lt. Verley placed the contents in six piles on the desk in front of the room that was used for citizens to offer evidence or petitions to the Council.
“We will keep it very simple. Hold up the first, if you would please, lieutenant.”
Verley held up a large triangular flag. “Enemy,” said Neville. “See, the word’s writ on it. There’s one for each of you. If you see the enemy, raise this at the main as you chase him. He may be over the horizon for the rest of us. We will follow you. There is one flag for each sloop. Then there are these little books, one for each of you. I think you will see they are good enough to decipher the flags we may raise to signal you, which I will explain now, and we’ve writ the name on each flag to be sure.”
He had decided to use only ten signals, and went through each carefully. They were ‘Come to Experiment for a meeting’. “If I’m asking you all to come, we’ll use the usual gun and banner of council at the starboard quarter. Then we have the numbers one through six: each sloop will be assigned a number. Also, there are ‘Chase’, ‘Follow’ and ‘Run for Port Royal’. We’ll use the last if we encounter a French fleet and must split up to evade them.”
“Brilliant, Lt. Verley,” complimented Neville as they walked across the street to their waiting gig after taking th
eir leave of the governor, the sloop masters and Colonel Fuller, “I must give Misters Gooden, Tilburne, Hatter and MacRead my compliments on a job very well done. Those signal books were superb. I thank you for your diligence as well. I think it was well received, being so simple, no?”
Boats from the sloops, all of which had been beached in the same area by the King’s House, were gone, save one from Lord Aaron. Aaron’s master, one Mister Ridgeway, ambled down the beach as they readied to shove off, and he walked directly up to Neville, saying, “Pleasure to have met you, Sir. I think I can say for all of us that we look forward to serving with you.”
“Thank you, Sir, for an unexpected and flattering word. We shall endeavor not to let you down!”
“I see the Blue Peter is up, Lt. Verley.”
“Yes Sir, these two days past.”
As with his first experience with Experiment, Neville’s mood was crushed as he stepped aboard. Despite the proper reception with drums and sideboys, marines and the boatswain’s mates piping him up the side, the decks were asprawl with women and very un-naval behavior. Illicit liquor had obviously come aboard with the women, as well.
“Only two more days, Sir. You’ve been lucky to avoid it.”
8 - “Into the Blue”
At eight bells of the Saturday morning watch, the women were roused to the deck for transportation to shore, and the marines were ordered to enforce a cordon around them. The launch and jolly boat began ferrying their visitors ashore. The traditional morning routine of holystoning the decks had begun.
“It’ll take all morning to get them off,” Neville complained. “I don’t approve of this behavior at all,” he continued to Vincent, “but after what the men have been through the last few months it seemed right cruel to deny them such indulgence. Worse than that, they know what’s in there,” he said, waving his hand toward Port Royal. “We can only hope we haven’t done ourselves even worse with syphilis or a return of the ague or Lord knows what else.”
A Journal of The Experiment at Jamaica (The Neville Burton 'Worlds Apart' Series Book 2) Page 12