As swiftly as they took the Florence, they also stripped her of cargo. It was a huge cache—the biggest Jessop had seen to date, and would surely force them to unburden the Revenge of her payload as soon as they could upon Diamond Island. Surely those dealing with the captain would be very happy with this boat load.
Jessop did notice that during the fighting there was no sign of the captain’s cabin boy and he wondered if the poor skinny boy even knew how to fight. He had seen the boy’s face through the window of the cabin door as fighting was upon them and he truly looked feminine in his horror.
Maybe Jessop could teach the boy to fight with a sword. That would surely build his confidence and give him the ability to defend himself. He decided to take it up with the captain the next chance he got.
* * *
The next morning Jessop knocked at the door of the captain’s cabin. Patrick opened the door lowering his eyes immediately to Jessop and with a gesture of his hand allowed him entrance.
“Mr. Andrews, what might ye be owin’ to this impromptu visit,” the captain said sipping tea at his desk.
“I wanted to offer my services to your cabin boy, sir. It occurred to me last night when I saw him watching our battle, that he may not know how to sword fight.”
“That’s very kind of ye. Indeed, I don’t believe Patrick has any trainin’ to be had,” the captain said eyeing the agitated looking Patrick.
“I expect it would be an asset for a boy so young and small to have aboard a pirate ship,” Jessop encouraged.
“T’would have to be his decision, though. I won’t be forcin’ it upon him,” the captain said directing the conversation at Patrick.
“Uh. I…I don’t want to burden your men, sir,” the boy said. Jessop noted the boy’s voice hadn’t even changed yet—he was very young indeed.
“It’s not a burden,” Jessop said.
“You’d be learning from my best swordsmen,” the captain added as Patrick’s large cat came to Jessop and rubbed his cheek then his entire left side along Jessop’s ankle.
“Your best, sir, I don’t think that is accurate.”
“It is, I’m sure of it. Why else would I have offered ye a position on the Revenge? I’m sure you’ve heard I don’t do that very often.”
“I had sir, but…”
“Don’t argue, Andrews. It’s a compliment. Take it. Now, Patrick, what say you?”
“I…I accept,” he said, though he didn’t seem very confident about it and seemed a little disheveled when the captain spoke of Jessop’s skill.
“Good. Shall we start on the morrow? At sunrise? That won’t interfere with your duties, will it?” Jessop asked.
But before Patrick could answer the captain spoke, “Not at all. Even if it did, we could be workin’ around them.”
“Perfect. Then I will see you on the quarterdeck in the morning.”
Patrick nodded in agreement. Jessop reached down to scratch the purring cat on the head and cheek before taking his leave. He heard the captain say to Patrick as he closed the door:
“Did you see that, Patrick, Chester would be liking Mr. Andrews. I’ve never seen him rub himself on the likes of anyone but ye and ol’ Salty. What do ye know?” This made Jessop smile.
As Jessop had promised he climbed to the deck at sunrise breathing in the brisk salty air whipping past him. He held a belt and scabbarded sword in one hand as he waited for Patrick to meet him.
“Good morning,” Jessop greeted.
Only a nod came from the pupil.
Handing the belt and sword to the boy he said, “Here. This was the smallest sword I could find. Don’t worry, with a little work you’ll be able to wield a larger sword as your muscles develop,” he tried to encourage.
“Have you ever used a sword?” Jessop asked.
Patrick shook his head.
“That’s fine,” Jessop said. “Are you left-handed or right?
“Right,” Patrick mumbled.
“Okay. Pull the sword from its scabbard.”
He awkwardly slid it from its sheath, struggling with the last inch or so.
He pointed out the finer points of the sword naming them and instructed Patrick how to hold it properly.
“Good. Now toss it to your other hand like this.”
He did and it hit the ground with a clang. “So be it…it takes a while to get to know its weight and feel, but you’ll get it with practice.
“Now let’s try something else. Bring your sword up to meet mine. Right. Now tap it to the left. Yes. And the right. Uh huh. Again. Good, now we’re going to move while we do it. Tap, step forward tap right, move forward, tap left, move backward, good, but don’t look at your feet or the sword, look at me. You want to anticipate what I’m going to do. Am I going forward? Backward, hitting right or left. Very nice.
“I’m going to come up on your right stop my blade with yours. Good.”
They carried on like this for the better part of an hour until he was sure the boy would be very sore from the weight of the sword.
“You did very well, Patrick. We’ll try more difficult footwork tomorrow, but you need to make eye contact with your foe to anticipate his actions. I’ve noticed you find this hard to do during our time and with the men aboard. If you look them straight on, they’ll respect you more. The more confident you look, the less they’ll pick on you.”
Patrick took a long hard look at Jessop in an attempt to do as he suggested. Jessop shook his head and said, “You suddenly look familiar. I haven’t met you somewhere, have I?” Jessop asked.
Patrick dropped his gaze and said, “No.”
He wondered where he might have seen the boy. “See you on the morrow?”
Patrick nodded and turned to leave and Jessop headed down to Woody’s workshop to see if there was anything he needed him to do this morning.
* * *
Back on Diamond Island for leave while the Revenge was unloaded, Jessop, William, and Olaf headed to the Cock and Bull once more, but this time Jessop was hellbent on following the captain.
William and Olaf wanted none of it and stayed at the inn eating, drinking, and signing the day and night away.
Jessop was getting tired of hiding out behind the inn waiting for the captain to pass as he had before he’d run into Miss Patti. He prayed that mishap would not hamper his plans on following the man to where ever it was he went. He’d been waiting for several hours and William and Olaf had laughed at him several times as they came out back to relieve themselves.
“Laugh all you want, but I’m going to find out where it is he goes, whether I freeze or not,” Jessop said holding his jacket tightly around his neck and blowing into his hands to keep them warm.
The sun had set and Jessop was just about to give up and go inside for warmth and food, when lo and behold the captain and Patrick walked past the inn and into the woods beyond. Jessop followed silently behind them.
Darkness grew dense as they made their way through the woods. He kept a fair distance from the two. He was grateful when they had made it to the large meadow where they’d spent the night in the barn. The only light Jessop had was the lamp Patrick held yards ahead of him. He hoped there would be no climbing sheer cliffs for this journey for he would surely fall to his death not to be found until Patrick and the captain made their way back to the ship.
Thankfully there were no sheer drops just the up and down of the dirt road heading across a land mass to a small cove with a lighthouse.
It started to rain and Jessop was getting soaked. He had planned poorly for his adventure. No gloves, no hat, no rain gear. He kicked himself for not knowing better since the last time he’d been here, it had rained too.
The tiny light bobbed up and down as Patrick and the captain walked ahead. There were no other houses in this cove, at least on this side. He could see far off lighted windows closer to the water on the far side of the bay, but this side was only the lighthouse.
The rotating light was blocked, relieving anyone
who might be living there from being blinded during every rotation. The mist of the rain shone the light as it reached to the water and swept over the distance in a large arc, warning any oncoming boats that land was near and hazardous.
The two he followed entered the little house that butted against the base of the tower and closed the door behind them. He crept closer shivering. How stupid had he been not to grab some bread or cheese from the inn before he had left.
If he had been more like Fin, he’d have been efficiently prepared for this escapade. His stomach growled as he peeked in the golden glow of the window. Patrick was boiling water and had started a fire in the hearth with a large cauldron over it flames. He cut up vegetables and cubed meat while the captain sat near the fire smoking a pipe and talking to the boy.
Jessop adjusted himself when he tripped over a clay pot and a couple of small casks making a terrible noise and nearly smashing his head open on the wooden stump probably used for chopping wood. Before he could stand and assess the damage he’d done to himself and the pot, the captain was standing staring at him arms crossed and looking annoyed.
“Well, since you’ve gone to all this trouble to expose my secrets, you might as well come inside and warm yourself—maybe have a bite to eat.”
“Thank you, sir. I’m sorry for the intrusion.”
“I doubt that,” he said, completely dropping his pirate jargon as he did before and waving him in the door.
Patrick looked shocked at first then cracked a smile. Jessop could only assume that he looked positively ridiculous, covered in mud, plant material and who knows what else.
“Warm yourself, son. You’re chattering teeth will wake the dead,” the captain said.
His coat dripped around his feet and the fire made steam come from the wool as it warmed. “Let me have your coat,” Patrick said trading the coat for a cup of tea.
* * *
“I imagine you came here to hear my story?”
“That and find out where you mysteriously go every time we come here,” Jessop answered still shivering. Patrick handed him a quilt, which he wrapped around his shoulders.
“Well, you know the where, now, so I’ll get on with the story. I was a captain for the British Royal Navy and a loyal servant of the king until about five years ago, when my wife took ill.
“I asked for leave to tend to her, but my commander refused. He said if I made this last mission for him, it would solve my problem and his. I asked how that could be since there was no cure for consumption.
“He said there was a newly developed antidote—experimental, but promising, and with the task’s completion, I could go home with a dosage to cure my wife.
“Well, of course I led the expedition with a vengeance and then some, only to find I’d been duped by my commander. When I confronted him he said he felt no guilt, he was doing his country a favor. By the time I got back, my wife was dead. He knew she would be and there would be no need for me to leave the service of the Navy.
“My wife died alone and my child had to suffer the loss without my support. I’ll never forgive my commander or any of his superiors. They all knew what had been done and they all felt it to be the right thing to do.
“I left the Navy first chance I got, and I’ve been a deserter henceforth. Seeing as sailing and commanding a ship was all I knew, I changed my name and commandeered my own ship with what I had put away for a retirement with my family and here I am—a pirate. I steal from the Brits and give to their biggest non supporters, and right now that’s the colonists.”
“Where’s your child now?”
The captain didn’t answer, then Patrick spoke up.
“That would be me, sir.”
“Aw, well that makes sense.”
“It’s not what I would have wanted for Patrick. Not the most honorable thing a father can offer a son,” the captain winked at Patrick. I tried to keep him out of the pirate trade but with my illness…”
“Right, you mentioned something about that on the ship. Something about ‘sugar and eating regularly,’” Jessop tried to quote.
“Yes. That’s why I come here. Patrick is able to concoct an herbal medicine that helps me manage things, but my illness has taken a turn for the worse and the herbal medicine is not enough.” He took off his boot and showed a swollen foot blistering with sores. Patrick brought over a bucket of water for him to soak.
“That looks terribly painful.”
“It is and it will only get worse.”
“Will you lose the foot?”
“And probably the leg, at least to the knee.”
“When?”
“Don’t know, but I’ll try to put it off as long as possible. But it’s because of my foot that I’ve had to bring Patrick aboard the Revenge. I can’t let on that I’m ill or Fin will surely take it over.”
“You do know that Fin has quite a few men he’s been rallying against you.”
“I do know. He’s been working his way over the men for some time now, though I must admit, bringing you and William on has certainly slowed him.”
“How so?” Jessop asked.
“You’re inventions, the men love them. I gander to guess that even Fin finds them convenient, though he’d not likely ever admit it.”
“Definitely not.”
“The men like you, and your innovative ways. In that way, Fin fears you. You’re a better fighter, a kinder man, and smarter than all of us put together. The closer you get to me, the more he fears you. He probably thinks I’m grooming you to take over as first mate.”
“But isn’t first mate the quartermaster?”
“Most often they are one in the same, but not always, they are two different positions and I could easily make you first mate and foil his plot to raise a mutiny against me.”
“Is that your plan?”
“Truthfully I have no plan. I live day to day making what I can to better Patrick’s future, but I don’t like exposing him to such a cut throat life. I don’t particularly like it myself, but it’s the only way I can make money and stick it to the British Navy at the same time. Until you came along, I figured I’d fight ’til I couldn’t fight anymore, making deposits to Patrick as often as I could so there would be no stockpiling of funds that Fin could take over in the face of his coup.”
“I see. And now that I’m here?”
“Your presence could prolong the present plan past my point of losing my leg, at the very least.”
“Would that really help you?” Jessop said doubting it would.
“It wouldn’t help me, but it would guarantee Patrick’s future. Either way, it’s not a decision that needs to be made now, but you should definitely think on it—for the boy’s sake.”
“Right. For the boy’s sake,” Jessop agreed glancing Patrick’s way. Patrick was staring at him in that same way when Jessop had thought he’d looked familiar. It was so frustrating not knowing where it he knew him from.
“Another thing, no one can know my secret. If Fin caught wind that I was a British officer, he’d turn me in and I’d be shot for treason.”
“What about, William?”
“My preference would be no, but if you must, then do so only if you trust him with your life, because I will kill you if I find you’ve put mine and Patrick’s life in danger.”
“Why not just get rid of Fin? You’re the captain, surely you can fire him.”
“No more than he me. Upon the ship every sailor has a vote and there’s just not that many people who would want to get rid of him. Truth be told, he’s an excellent quartermaster. He’s diligent, organized, and follows orders. He may not have a lot of friends per se, but that’s not the job of the quartermaster. He’s there to keep order and administer punishment for insubordination.”
“Well, he does do that well.”
“Indeed.”
Patrick took the cauldron from the hearth placing it on the table set for three. “Supper is ready.”
“Hungry?” the captain asked.
“Starved,” Jessop admitted.
“Good. Patrick’s an excellent cook. Learned it from his mum, he did.”
Patrick smiled at the reference to his mother and spooned out a bowl of steaming stew in front of Jessop. “Eat up,” the captain said.
“Thanks.”
Chapter Fourteen
Jessop left early in the morning. He had a little chuckle when he passed the barn and saw the stinky coat William had deposited there. It didn’t reek as badly as it had been aired out and rained on over the last month. He had half a mind to pick it up and have it cleaned properly since William had taken such a liking to it, but then thought better of it since he’d have to explain why he was at the barn and he didn’t want to lie anymore to William than necessary.
When he reached the village the men were starting to rise and migrate to the docks. He slipped in with some men and followed along as if he’d been in the mass line all along.
William and Olaf caught up with him onboard. Olaf was carrying a large cask.
“What did you procure there, Olaf?” Jessop asked.
“Honey. I enjoy the ale at the inn, but I do miss my mjod. I asked Bean’s if I could start a batch and he was fine with it.”
“How long will it take?”
“It varies, but about three to six weeks.”
“What do you use for yeast?”
“I have my family’s totem stick. Been carried down from batch to batch for generations.”
“You brought it with you?”
“Ja. All my worldly goods came with me.”
“Can’t wait to try some.”
“You’ll be the first, we’ll aside a wee taste now and again.”
“Let me know when you start, I’d like to watch the process.”
“I will.”
* * *
Back at sea, the crew fell into their normal routines as did Patrick’s lessons in swordsmanship. Jessop was glad to see the lad had been progressing and getting stronger each day. This lesson was a little less structured with the intent of using the non-sword swinging arm in a variety of defensive maneuvers.
Things were getting heated between the two in short attacks. In one move Jessop was hard struck head on, then spun swiftly behind Patrick taking him by surprise and grabbed the boy around his chest, blade to his neck.
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