The Merchant's Yield

by Lorri Dudley

  “Try anything, and I’ll cut out your innards,” he hissed in her ear before releasing her from his chest. He pushed her into the room with Julia, Paul, and the tenor.

  “It has been a long time, hasn’t it?” The lilt in Fielding’s voice was such that she could imagine him licking his lips and sneering a villainous smile, as if she were a rabbit and he a wolf. “Julia, aren’t you happy to see your good friend again?”

  Julia’s face paled when she spotted Lottie. “Indeed,” she said to the floor.

  Lottie stared, willing Julia to meet her gaze so her eyes could question her, but Julia’s focus remained averted.

  “How kind of you to spare us the time of fetching you.” Fielding wrenched her arm in an awkward position behind her back, and Paul tied her hands together.

  The captain yanked his handkerchief from his pocket and nodded to Paul.

  Paul’s fingers pinched her backside. When she gasped from the pain, the captain shoved the handkerchief deep in her mouth. She gagged at the awful taste of the rag, but Paul looped a rope over her head. He jerked it tight in her mouth and tied it off behind her hair. No scream could get past her lips without it being muffled by the cloth. The deep-wedged cotton reeked of his strong cologne and dried out her tongue.

  “What are you going to do to her?” Desperation rang in Julia’s tone and intensified the icy fear penetrating Lottie’s bones.

  Fielding leveled his wife with a scathing look. “We’ll take her aboard the Amory and sell her at auction for a pretty penny.”

  He yanked off Lottie’s bonnet. Her neck stung where the string broke. “Winthrop will believe the curse has struck again when we show him this and tell him she met with an untimely accident.”

  Lottie struggled against her bindings. She had to warn Nathan. They couldn’t get away with this.

  “No!” Julia’s eyes blazed.

  Lottie jumped at her shout.

  “You can’t sell her like chattel.” Julia clutched her husband’s arm. “You know what they’ll do to her. She doesn’t deserve that.”

  “Fine.” Fielding flipped his cutlass around and offered it to his wife. “Why don’t you do the honors? It’s time you got some blood on your hands.”

  Julia stared at the knife in horror. “There are other options.”

  “No, there aren’t.” Fielding nodded toward the back door. “Take her to where the row boat is stashed and lock her in the Amory’s cargo hold.”

  “What if someone spots her?” The tenor voice asked. A tanned young man dressed similarly to Captain Fielding stepped forward.

  “What of it?” Fielding snorted. “Do you think Winthrop’s going to come after her? Leave his fields in prime harvesting time? Is he going to disrupt his trading to come looking for a wife he never wanted in the first place?” He clapped the man on the shoulder. “Captain Phelps, you overestimate a woman’s hold over a man.” Captain Fielding pushed Lottie towards Paul, but her boot caught in her skirt and she tripped. Fielding jerked back on her arm to keep her upright, and a shot of pain jolted her shoulder.

  Julia stepped in front of them. “I won’t let you do this. I won’t let them do to her what was done to me.”

  “Stand aside, meine liebe.”

  Her defiant gaze held fast.

  Hope sparked in Lottie’s chest. Even though Julia had betrayed her, it didn’t stop Lottie from wanting to hide behind the woman’s skirts like a child behind its mother. She was a force of strength.

  The sound of his fist slamming into Julia’s jaw stole Lottie’s breath and weakened her knees. Julia collapsed in a heap. Her arms covered her face as she cowered from her husband.

  “You needed a reminder of who owns you, mon amour.”

  Julia’s eyes darkened with such malice, Lottie shivered.

  The captain either didn’t notice or didn’t care. He thrust Lottie through the doorway into Paul’s waiting hands.

  Paul shoved her through the kitchen. A few workers glanced up, but turned away quickly, continuing their food prep as though they’d seen nothing. Paul pushed Lottie through the back door, and she stumbled down the few steps onto a sandy path. Her knees quaked and her balance teetered, unable to steady herself with her hands tied behind her back.

  Please, Lord, help me. Her chest heaved as if she couldn’t draw in enough air. If she could gain someone’s attention… She glanced over her shoulder at the inn, but Paul shoved her hard enough to send her to her knees. Sand sprayed in her face, and she blinked it out of her eyes. He wrenched her back to her feet and half-pushed, half-carried her over the rocky descent to the water.

  Paul kept her close to the sand dunes and out of sight of any beachcombers trolling the surf until they reached the very alcove in which Nathan had held her in his arms. The piece of wood she’d nicked with a bullet rested a few yards away. A row boat lay over-turned in the sand. If Paul got her in the rowboat, it would be over. She wouldn’t be able to warn Nathan or have a means of escape once the Amory set sail.

  Julia’s words haunted her. I won’t let them do to her what was done to me. What did that mean? Would she be sold into slavery or become a lightskirt working for a petticoat-pensioner? God, help me.

  Paul knocked her to her knees as he lifted the side of the rowboat to turn it over. This might be her only chance. She jumped to her feet and sprinted for the docks. The tip of her boots caught the hem of her skirts, tripping her up, but somehow, she kept her balance. If only she could gain Cobble or Charlie’s attention.

  The gag muffled her screams, and her kid boots sank in the soft sand. The thud of Paul’s footfalls drew closer. The impact of the large man’s body knocked the breath out of her as he tackled her into the sand. Her lungs screamed, and her muscles cried out from pain. Fine grains of sand stuck to her face and slid into her bodice.

  He spit on her and cursed her in several languages. When he pushed to his feet, Lottie curled into a ball, waiting for him to pummel her. Sharp pain wrenched her head as Paul dragged her back to the rowboat by her hair. Her scalp burned, and her feet scrambled to get traction to alleviate some of the pain. He yanked her to her feet and tossed her into the boat.

  Something white flashed against the black backdrop of the volcanic rocks. Was that a shirt? Someone? Anyone?

  She hit the wooden seat of the rowboat hard with her shoulder, and a jolt of pain sliced down her arm and up her neck. Dizziness swept over her, but she fought it while she struggled to right herself. Once she did, she stayed low and whimpered like a wounded animal. If Paul thought she was injured, maybe he’d believe her to be less of a threat and leave her alone. He dragged the boat the few feet to the ocean. When he peered in the direction of the Amory, she dared to glance back at the rocks.

  Charlie stared at her, wide-eyed, half-hidden behind a large boulder. He clutched Franny to his side, one hand over her mouth to keep her from screaming.

  Charlie. Was he friend or foe? Lottie didn’t know the difference anymore. Did he have Franny hostage? No. He loved her. She’d witnessed their young love. Most likely they’d come to this secret spot for stolen kisses.

  God bless Franny. For once, Lottie could kiss her for disobeying an order.

  She turned back, not wanting to draw attention to them.

  Please, God, let them warn Nathan.

  Chapter 31

  I shall be departing on the next ship to ensure with my own eyes that my daughter is being treated in a fitting manner.

  ~ Letter from Lady Etheridge, lost in transit and never received by the Winthrops.

  “She and Miss Franny rode into town.” Adana passed plates full of saltfish and the bitter greens of callaloo to Nathan and Marcus.

  Nathan released a deep breath he hadn’t known he’d been holding. He kept remembering the feel of her next to him and the warmth in her eyes. He’d fallen in love with his wife. Her optimism was a light in the darkness, and he was drawn to it, craved it, desired it. Last night, he’d wrapped himself in her hope as if he could absorb her con
fidence. He wanted with all his being to have the strength of her faith.

  “I have something I need to ask you.” Marcus stared at his plate.

  The muscles in Nathan’s back and neck tensed, waiting for bad news.

  Marcus met Nathan’s gaze. “Adana and I want to be married.”

  Nathan relaxed, and relief brought a smile to his face. “When did this happen?”

  “We’ve been…” Marcus squirmed in his seat. “Ah…visiting with each other, until Lady Winthrop straightened us out and helped us see we were cheating ourselves of God’s best plan for us.”

  Lottie?

  Marcus relaxed a little. “Your wife is a good woman. She changed a lot of things around here in the brief time you were away.”

  “Truly?” Why was he so surprised? She certainly had turned his life upside down in a short time.

  “After we’d finished planting, there was a hail storm.”

  The same one had pummeled his ship and poked holes in his sails.

  “A lot of planters had to start over. They lost several months like we did in the north field.”

  Nathan rubbed his temples. He’d seen the damage—another costly expense. “How is that proof of making a difference?”

  “We should have lost it all. The neighbors to the right and left of us lost everything.” He leaned in toward the table. “You see, Lady Winthrop was doing these strange walks every morning, talking to herself while she went. She walked the perimeter as some sort of prayer vigil, but the north fields were too far and too steep.”

  “It’s not easy terrain,” he said, “as most of it’s straight uphill.”

  “Which is why she couldn’t pray over the north field. I’m telling you, I wouldn’t believe it if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes, but I stood right there. On one side of the path—the part she’d walked—the plantings stood healthy and strong. Less than a foot away on the other side, the part she hadn’t prayed over, the plants were torn to shreds. It was a blessed miracle. Next day, several workers asked her what to pray. Several got up before the day began and walked the north fields in the dark, covering it in prayer before the sun even rose.”

  Nathan would never have believed it if the healthy cane crop didn’t stand before his eyes, swaying in the breeze.

  “Lady Winthrop wanted to know how she could help,” Marcus continued. “I didn’t know what a gently bred lady could do, but she offered to help with mending the workers’ clothing. Said you had mentioned the poor condition of their clothes. Said you’d paid a pretty penny for bolts of cloths, but they were lost when the Amory was raided.”

  He squeezed his eyes shut to block out the reminder of the curse. “I did.” But now, all was going to be well. He was forgiven.

  “She got right in there and started mending, and the other women helped, too, when they weren’t in the fields. Changed the whole attitude of the men. Lifted their spirits. I’ve never seen a field get planted so quickly. She transformed my opinion of your new way of planting. I’m sorry I’d been so resistant earlier. It really is a much better way.

  “She showed me how it worked in the kitchen by designating specific tasks to specific women. They prepared our meal right quick. I implemented the same technique in the boiling houses. We finished each day with time to spare. People are even singing again.”

  Nathan frowned. “Singing their homeland songs?”

  “Naw, hymns. They’ve been singing hymns. Helps them enjoy their work.”

  So that was the music he’d heard the other day. But when he drew close, the people had quieted.

  “It reminds me of old times when there was joy here at Calico Manor.”

  But Nathan had returned, and with him the curse. “Don’t get your hopes up, my friend. In this life, we will have trouble.”

  “But we take heart because Jesus has overcome the world.” Marcus puffed out his chest. “Learned that from this Sunday’s sermon.”

  “That’s true but…”

  “Lady Winthrop’s has us saying what we’re grateful for each night during supper. She says we should be counting our blessings, not our problems.” Marcus snorted. “I tell you, before she came, all I saw was the negative. But dash it all if I don’t now see how blessed we are.”

  Nathan sat taller. Marcus’s words and the memory of last night shoved the inkling of doubts pecking at him back into their dark corner.

  “It certainly has changed my thinking for the better. And I’m as stubborn as they come.” Marcus glanced toward the outdoor kitchen and smiled.

  Adana smiled back at him and handed another plate of food to the staff.

  “It’s a wonderful feeling.” Marcus leveled him with a knowing look. “Maybe you should try it.” Marcus leaned in, resting his arms on either side of his plate. “Choose to be blessed and not cursed.”

  “Indeed. I’ve decided to choose—” The sound of a carriage rumbling up the lane cut Nathan off.

  He squinted against the sun to see who it was. A stiff-backed woman sat next to Cobble as he pulled up in front of Calico Manor.

  It couldn’t be. Nathan squeezed his eyes closed and re-opened them. The sight dropped his stomach straight to his toes. The woman issued commands to Cobble, who shrank back as if under attack. It couldn’t be, but it was.

  Lady Etheridge.

  Lottie climbed up on top of the stacked crates in the locked cargo hold. After Paul rowed her out to the Amory, she’d been roughly hauled aboard and half-dragged, half-thrown into what now served as her locked cell. She cupped her hands around her mouth and screamed once again toward the ceiling, “Help! Someone, help me!”

  Could they hear her? Would anyone care if they did? Was the crew aware of the captain’s misdeeds? Were they in on the deal, paid for their silence?

  Lottie sat on a crate in the cramped space of the hold. There were no windows, and the stale air smelled of mold, mildew, and rot. The bars that had once imprisoned Africans to be sold into slavery now confined her to endure a similar fate.

  If Captain Fielding had his way, the Amory would once again find masses of human cargo in this very hold, fetching a hefty price for the black ivory. Boards creaked above her as more cargo was loaded on another deck.

  Lottie shook each bar once again, pushing and pulling with her entire body, but to no avail. She tugged at the lids of each crate until her fingertips bled. A rat stopped and sniffed the air in her direction before scurrying away. Lottie’s entire body revolted with a shiver.

  She dropped her face in her hands. “God, I’m scared.”

  I did not give you a spirit of fear.

  “Nathan will believe it was the curse. He won’t learn the truth, and Captain Fielding will keep doing evil.”

  Don’t let your heart be troubled. Cast your cares on Me, for I care for you, and I care for Nathan.

  “Lord, I need to get off this ship. Their plans are evil.”

  Fear not. I am with you. I will strengthen you. I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.

  Lottie lowered her hands and fought to settle her troubled heart. “You’re right. I will trust You.”

  The muffled sounds of someone barking commands drifted from above, followed by the thumps of crates being dropped . How long did she have before they set sail?

  “Pssst. Lady Winthrop.” Charlie peeked around a barrel on the other side of the cell bars.

  “Charlie.” Lottie jumped down from her crate. She grasped the bars, pressing the sides of her face against the cold metal. “You’ve got to get me out. We must warn Nathan.”

  He crept closer, but stayed crouched out of view behind the barrel. “I don’t have the key.” He yanked on the lock, but it didn’t budge.

  “Who would have a key?”

  Charlie’s face fell. “Only the captain.”

  Her spirits plummeted.

  He searched the hold and found a wooden shim. Holding it in one hand, he dropped to his knees and used the piece of wood as a chisel to pick apart the wood at the base o
f the metal bars.

  Bits of wood splintered, but she couldn’t tell if it came from the floor boards or from the shim. “How did you get here?”

  “When I saw Captain Fielding’s man handle you rough-like, I knew something was amiss. I swam up and climbed aboard unnoticed.” A smug smile flittered on his lips. “It’s not the first time I’ve boarded an enemy ship. It’s merely the first time I’ve boarded one of our own ships.”

  “Where’s Franny? Is she safe?”

  His hair flopped into his eyes, and he shoved it back with his hand. “I told her to stay hidden under the pier. She’ll be safe.”

  “You’ve got to help me get out. Captain Fielding and Captain Phelps have been stealing from Nathan. They’re the ones who planted the idea of the curse so they could smuggle his cargo and blame its disappearance on pirates.”

  “Hound’s teeth!” He paused in the chopping motion and peered at her.

  “I overheard them talking about it. They plan to sell me on the black market to keep me from warning Nathan.”

  Charlie hacked faster at the boards and shook the metal bar. Streaks of lighter wood appeared, but the shim snapped with a loud crack. “Blast.”

  Two boisterous voices sounded outside the hold. Were they coming this way?

  “Go.” Lottie pointed towards the door. “Go quickly. Tell Nathan what they’re conspiring to do.”

  Charlie hesitated. “I can’t leave you—”

  “Don’t worry about me.”

  “But they’re prepared to make sail. The ship might leave before we return.”

  “God will protect me.” She reached through the bars and grabbed his shirt sleeve. “It’s more important for Nathan to know the truth.”

  “But—”

  “Be careful. Don’t let them see you.”

  The voices outside the hold grew distant.

  “Hurry.” She commanded, shoving him towards the exit.

  He scrambled to do her bidding.