White Water (15 page)

‘Oliver!’ said Melissa. ‘I shall go up now and take Thomas his linctus. I shall break the news to him gently that you are here and then you shall go up and see him.’

‘Break it to him gently?’ cried Oliver. ‘You’ll do no such thing.
I’ll
go up — I want to see his face. Don’t fuss, Mama, no one dies of happiness. You shall not rob him of the excitement. Here, give
me
the linctus and I’ll surprise him.’

And, ignoring her protests, he took the jug and spoon and hurried upstairs. Melissa ran out after him and listened at the bottom of the stairs to Thomas’ shout of joyful recognition then, unable to resist seeing his face, she ran upstairs and into the bedroom. Oliver knelt by the bedside and Thomas was patting his head as one would a dog. He glanced up at Melissa and his smile was radiant.

‘I thought never to see him again,’ he confessed. ‘I never spoke of it but I thought it often and the thought tormented me. Oliver! See how you’ve changed. Look at him, Melissa.’ She took one of her husband’s hands in hers and together they regarded their son. ‘How broad he’s grown — look at his shoulders — and how fair. The sun has bleached it, I daresay. What happened to our young lad? He’s a man now — ’

Oliver said, ‘And with a wife and child, Papa. They are downstairs.’

Thomas’ jaw dropped. ‘A — wife, d’you say?’ He stared at Melissa. ‘And a child?’

Melissa nodded.

‘You are a grandfather,’ said Oliver and Thomas gave a roar of delight.

Then he threw back the bed covers. ‘A daughter-in-law and a grand-child and here I am lying in bed like an invalid. Get me my clothes, Lissa. What will they think of me?’

Pushing aside the proffered linctus he scurried around the bedchamber on his long thin legs. Oliver was secretly dismayed by the change in him. In his absence his father had become an old man. The blue eyes had faded. Gone were the brown curls to be replaced by grey. The once firm hands trembled slightly and the voice was huskier than he recalled. He watched as Melissa helped him into his best brown velvet and he nodded as Thomas turned to him for approval.

‘Will I pass muster?’ he demanded. ‘A daughter-in-law and a grand-child! I must look my best.’

‘They will be most impressed,’ Oliver assured him. ‘Nina will not speak to you, Papa. She is dumb — from what cause I know not — but she will hear and understand you. You will love her as I do.’

‘Dumb?’ Thomas was stopped momentarily in his tracks. ‘No speech at all? Poor soul! But we won’t touch on it, will we, Lissa? Come along now. No, Lissa, don’t hold my arm. You will make Oliver think I am an old man!’

When all the introductions had been made and all the tears shed, Maggie set to work to prepare a meal of roast pig and onions and a pan of honeyed plums. While she worked the whole family crowded round the kitchen fire so that Maggie, too, should hear the telling of Oliver’s story. He had seen them last seven years ago and, up to that time, been engaged on various ships that sailed from Plymouth, plying to and fro across the Channel, across to the Netherlands, or round the coast of England.

‘And ’twas very dull,’ he told them. ‘I considered seriously that I might quit life at sea and come home to shear sheep or plant turnips! But then I thought how much duller
that
would be.’ His laugh was unforced, with his head thrown back and his legs sprawled comfortably towards the fire. ‘So I took up piracy!’ he said as casually as he could and was rewarded, as he expected, with a stunned silence.

‘Piracy, eh?’ said Thomas at last, looking up from the child on his lap. He looked at Melissa for a lead on how to react to this piece of news. Maggie had paused also, the dish of plums halfway between fire and table and she, too, glanced at Melissa.

‘Piracy?’ said Melissa. ‘But that’s dishonest — and dangerous!’

‘Aye, Mama, ’tis both of those things,’ he told her, ‘but ’tis also profitable and I’ve no wish to die a poor man when there’s riches for the taking. I jumped ship and joined a privateer by the name of
Rockalleen
, a sweet little ship seized from Flemish traders a few months earlier with a cargo of wines.’

None of his listeners could think of a fitting comment when he paused and he laughed again at the look on their faces.

‘’Tis not so wicked,’ he insisted. ‘In truth, Mama, fortunes are being made every day on the high seas. You cannot imagine. The whole world is opening up. The high seas are full of ships of all nationalities and all loaded with rich cargoes. Where they go, pirates go! Drake has reached Panama and has seen the Pacific. The world is changed, Mama. ’Twill never be the same again. Gentlemen pirates grow wealthy on the proceeds, and even the Queen is not averse to foreign gold if it fills her coffers.’

‘The Queen!’ cried Melissa, finally spurred to protest. ‘You’ll not tell me, Oliver, that the Queen goes pirating or encourages such — such deeds!’

‘Oh but she does!’ said Oliver. ‘She pretends grave dismay and wears a disapproving face in public and condemns piracy to the world, but she has frequently helped fit out the self-same vessels with her own money. Aye, and takes a good percentage of the prize money. ’Tis well known.’

‘He’s right, Lissa,’ said Thomas. ‘I’ve heard the same report.’

‘But you don’t look like a rich man, Oliver,’ said Melissa. ‘Your clothes are faded and your wife and babe like two waifs. Where’s your good percentage of the prize, then?’

‘We lost it all again,’ he said cheerfully. ‘We took a fine prize off the north coast of Spain — a squat little ship sixty feet long with a heavy top hamper. And could she roll!’ They had taken the ship, he told them, and abandoned the crew on an isolated stretch of Spanish coast and had sold the cargo in Portugal. With the profits they had re-provisioned the captured boat and partially refitted her to make her suitable for longer voyages. The two boats had then set sail for the Bay of Biscay in search of rich cargoes, but had run into foul weather and storms had shredded the rigging, so they had been forced to run her aground and make such repairs as they could. The time thus lost left them short of food and what they had was rapidly becoming inedible. The biscuits rotted and the beer turned sour in the heat.

‘And you with your stomach!’ Melissa marvelled. ‘When I think how you jibbed at your food when you were so high — ’ She held out her hand. ‘You could scarce keep down an egg at times — There’s no cause for you to laugh behind your hand, Thomas. ’Tis the truth.’

‘An egg would have been a luxury,’ said Oliver, grinning at his father, ‘but the poor hens in their wicker cages had gone to a watery grave, worked free of their lashings and washed overboard in the first storm. So — back we came again and lost a prize on the way, for we passed a Spanish galleon on the horizon but had too little sail to come up with her. Even if we had we’d scarcely a dozen men left well enough to stand, let alone fight.’ He shook his head regretfully at the thought of their loss. ‘So we put into Portsmouth and I left them and took passage on the
Rose
of
Taw
. Oh that was a ship and a half! The beautiful
Rose
of
Taw
was bound for the West Indies.’

Maggie, listening enthralled, worked on, refusing to let Melissa help, insisting that she should feast her eyes on Oliver. Eventually, the meal was ready and they all sat round the table and Maggie watched proudly as they enjoyed the good food and wine she had set before them. What a home-coming! She thought how much better it was to be part of a family and no longer sole mistress of a bakery and, with the baby on her lap sharing her dinner, she ate with a good appetite and a happy heart.

Towards the end of the meal Melissa could no longer hold back the questions regarding Oliver’s wife. She had told herself that she would wait until they were alone — at least until the girl was out of earshot. But the strain of knowing nothing of the background finally proved too much for her.

‘Oliver,’ she cried, ‘tell us how you met your wife and her name. We do not even know that!’ She smiled at the young woman as she spoke and received a friendly smile in return. ‘How d’you
know
her name if the poor soul is dumb?’

It was Oliver’s turn to smile, not at all embarrassed by the directness of his mother’s questions.

‘I don’t know her real name,’ he confessed, ‘but I call her Nina. It seems to suit her and she likes it.’ Nina nodded. She obviously understood the direction of their conversation. ‘Tis a simple story, how we met, and I’ll tell it simply. The
Rose
of
Taw
was coming back from the West Indies when she met up with some scurrilous pirates!’

There was a roar of laughter.

‘The biter bit!’ said Thomas and Melissa tried to hide her trepidation.

‘Aye, and most cruelly bit! They took our cargo and so damaged our ship that they thought we would never make it to shore.’

‘They left you to sink and drown?’ cried Melissa.

‘Aye — and we’d have done the same in their shoes. And no doubt will if we ever meet up with them again. I’d give a lot to watch those wretches sink beneath the waves!’

Melissa looked at her husband, dismayed by Oliver’s aggressive talk, but Thomas gave her a sly wink and she was somewhat reassured.

‘But we survived,’ said Oliver. ‘At least some of us did. The
Rose
of
Taw
went down and a lot of good men with her. Most of the crew couldn’t swim. A few of us could and some of those that could reached dry land. A very few. I was one of them but I didn’t know the fate of the other survivors. I was thrown up, literally, on a beach in Portugal and would surely have perished. I was barely conscious and my left leg was badly torn on the rocks. I had lost a great deal of blood and was very weak. Too weak to tend my wounds or find food and water. I lay on the beach all night and was quite resigned never to see the dawn.’

Melissa put a hand to her mouth to hide her emotion. She tore her eyes from her son and glanced at Nina, who stared at him with such a look of pure adoration that Melissa’s heart went out to her in that moment. The child lay asleep in Maggie’s arms, but Melissa fancied she could detect a likeness to her son.

‘Don’t fret, Mama,’ said Oliver gently, seeing the telltale movement of Melissa’s hand. ‘You can see that whatever dangers I’ve encountered heaven has seen fit to preserve me. As I say, I thought I would die and most surely would have done so, but a dark-eyed girl appeared like an angel from heaven. She brought a pony and helped me on to it. Then she led me home to a rude little hut where she lived alone. Why I know not. She can’t tell me. I only knew she had no man of her own for she wore no ring but of her father or brothers — or any family — I could learn nothing. My dear little Nina is a mystery and will probably remain so.’

Thomas shook her head slowly, marvelling at the story. ‘But you are wed?’ he asked. ‘And the child is yours?’

‘Most certainly! How could such a beautiful child have any other father? No, we are wed and little Della is my firstborn. The second born — ’ He paused, waiting for the significance of his remark to sink in.

‘Another child?’ cried Maggie. ‘Nina is expecting another?’

There was an excited clamour of congratulations. He laid a gentle hand on Nina’s abdomen and She nodded and smiled.

‘But when?’ said Melissa. ‘She looks so trim.’

‘June of next year most likely. There is plenty of time for you to get to know each other. I shall leave her in your capable hands.’

‘Leave her? Oh, Oliver, you are not going away again? Say you will not leave us again.’

‘But I must go, Mama. I am a poor man but determined to be rich. All we have at present is in the stable. I sent Nina and Della ahead to find you while I took the pack pony to Jacob. He has unloaded it by now and there is precious little. A few trinkets, pots and pans, a blanket or two.’

Thomas leaned forward. ‘Finish your tale, Oliver. ’Tis not quite done and my head grows heavy with sleep. I don’t wish to miss a single detail. ’Tis all so daring and I am so proud of you. I have had so few adventures in
my
life that I am doubly enjoying yours.’

There was a chorus of agreement and so Oliver finished his story. The dark-haired girl had cared for him as well as she could. Their food was frugal — fish from the sea, a few birds’ eggs from the cliffs and milk from the goat. His recovery had been slow, but in all that time he had seen no other living soul, so remote were they from civilization. They had fallen in love and Oliver had determined to bring her back to Ladyford. They had followed the coast for many months, until at last they came upon a small fishing village where they begged a passage on one of the boats in return for Oliver’s labour. From there they had sailed to a larger port and Oliver had joined the crew of another privateer, agreeing to ask no wages if Nina could accompany him. They landed up at Calais and then it was a comparatively simple matter to cross the Channel. They were lucky enough to make Ladyford at Plymouth and had bought an ancient pony for their few items of baggage.

There was a long silence when he finally ended the story of his adventures.

‘We stopped in Plymouth just long enough to be wed,’ he said. ‘She is very brave, don’t you agree? To follow a perfect stranger to a foreign country and all with no language. She is an exceptional woman and very dear to me. I think she is Portuguese, yet she understands a few words of French but I want you to teach them both English. Nina must understand it even if she cannot speak it.’ Melissa sighed deeply and looked at Thomas. They exchanged a glance of complete understanding and Melissa stood up.