Forgotten Fragrance (19 page)

‘When the sun goes Cookie brings food and water. We go up on deck for some air,' Mina said.

Charlotte turned and perched on the lowest rung and studied Mina's face in the fading light.

‘What do you think will happen to us, Mina?'

‘We'll be taken to The Whaleman's Rest at Boyd Town.'

‘I thought you didn't know.'

‘It's not difficult to guess. The girls don't know.'

‘And then what?'

‘I'm not sure.' Mina lifted her hand to her mouth and lowered her voice. ‘I am sure. Do you know The Whaleman's Rest?'

‘No. I can guess. Tell me anyway.'

‘It's a place the sailors use, the whalemen. They like to drink. Have a woman. They like South Sea women. They visit us and give presents, like my knife. We offer comfort and pleasure. Often the men are bad and want to hurt the girls. My father, he is one of the chiefs and he makes sure they do no harm. At The Whaleman's Rest,' she wrinkled her nose in distaste, ‘they will do rough things to the girls. They hurt them. I know. My father told me.'

Charlotte swallowed hard. Just because the Islanders chose to entertain the sailors when they visited their home didn't mean they wanted to be carted away and imprisoned in some sordid brothel servicing ten men a night. She pulled Mina's knife from her pocket and handed it back. Mina would have a greater need of it than she would if what she said was true. What Marcus' plans were she had no idea. His continual change in attitude confused her. In Hobart Town he'd violently opposed the brothels; surely he wouldn't allow this travesty to occur. The girls were being sold into slavery. Even the colonial administration had taken a stand against the slave trade. At least convicts had a chance to work out their sentence and weren't sold as animals to a master. How could he condone this? ‘There must be something we can do. When we get to Boyd Town we will alert the authorities. They will prevent it happening.' Charlotte's words sounded hollow as she tried to offer Mina some hope.

‘And how will you do that, my lovely lady?' Mina asked with a grin. ‘You are trapped down here with us.'

‘Marcus will put a stop to it.'

‘Marcus locked you down here. We heard his words. He called you a whore.'

Charlotte winced. Perhaps Marcus acted within his rights. Given the torrent of passion Christian's hands had unleashed perhaps the label was closer to the truth than she had ever thought possible. A rush of heat filled her face. Christian's smooth skin as she had washed him, the long strong length of his body, the bubbles of excitement in her blood when he'd pulled her close and kissed her. Maybe her response to Christian made her no better than her sister, a whore as Marcus said.

Like flowers seeking the sun the girls turned their faces upwards as heavy strides approached. Mina touched her finger to her lips and emitted a low hiss. The silence hung, palpable in the darkness. She gathered her skirts and edged back up the ladder until her head butted the timber lattice of the hatch.

‘If you're goin' to kick up a bloody fuss I'll have to tie you up.' Bristol's no-nonsense comment sent her scampering back down the ladder.

Then her heart lifted when she heard Christian's deep voice reply, ‘Just put me down in the hold and have done with it, Bristol. I can do without being tied up. I'm still as sore as buggery.'

Charlotte gasped then held her breath tightly. Christian must be in such pain if he was up and walking around. The man's shredded back and the wound from the hull splinter was still red and ragged. If Bristol put him down in the hold, down with her, then she could discover what was going on and talk him into helping these poor girls.

The steps grew closer and slowed. Her heart almost stopped beating in anticipation.
Put him down here. Please put him down here
. If Marcus' God listened she would have turned it into a prayer but she somehow doubted she was in his good books.

Mina's fingers wrapped around her ankle and squeezed.

‘Don't imagine I'm going to put you down there with all those women. Half your bloody luck. No chance. You're set for the forehold.' Their tread fumbled and crashed making Charlotte flinch as she imagined Christian staggering. She sagged as their steps faded. Mina's hands grabbed her around the waist and pulled her down the ladder. ‘Come with me,' she hissed. ‘Remember?'

In the darkness she envisaged Mina's grin of excitement and answered with a smile. Of course, the loose panels in the forehold where they had released Christian the first time would give them access.

With Mina leading the way the girls closed ranks behind them. They tiptoed around the hammocks, their collective breath held until they reached the stored barrels and the small passageway where Christian had slipped through. Charlotte strained her ears trying to pick up the sound of Bristol and Christian's footsteps again. After an eternity the grumble of Bristol's indistinct words and some scuffling gave way to a hatch slamming shut followed by the clank of metal.

Unable to wait a moment longer Charlotte pushed past Mina and ran her hands over the timbers searching for the loose panel, her finger slipping into the hole left by a knot of wood. It released leaving the narrow passageway. Wrapping her skirts tightly around her legs she turned sideways and eased through the space, squinting into the darkness. As she lifted her hand from the timber panel Mina pressed the small knife into her palm. She could kiss the woman for her thoughtfulness! She eased through into the small hold.

‘Jamie!' Charlotte whispered. Her pounding heart reverberated in her ears filling her head with a beat like native clap sticks.

‘Jamie,' she hissed a little louder. Switching the knife to her right hand she clutched the hilt tightly. The small menacing blade gave her a surprising degree of confidence. With her left hand she fingered her way along the curve of the hull in the darkness. She found nothing. No hatch, no shaft of light, only an impenetrable blackness cloaking her. She screwed her eyes tightly shut and for a moment she was back in the crypt at St Martin's, Jamie's favourite hiding place when the chase became too hot.

Charlotte's fingers bumped against the timbers, the damp seeping into her skin until her knuckles hit a solid wall. She snapped her eyes open as her nose grazed the bulkhead. With her palms planted flat she pressed her lips to the timber and called again, ‘Jamie! Jamie!'

Where was he? Below decks somewhere…she'd heard the rattle of a chain and the slamming hatch. Clenching her fist she rapped the old pattern.
Ratta tat tat ratta
then dropped her hand, held her breath and waited. Still nothing. Gasping in the dank fetid air she tried again.
Ratta tat tat ratta
. A scuffled noise and the answer she prayed for.
Tat tat tat
.

‘Jamie!' She stamped her foot and shouted his name in frustration.

‘You have found him.' Charlotte jumped as Mina's warm breath touched her neck. She hadn't even known she stood behind her.

‘Charlotte, I'm here.' His distorted voice filled her with a rush of pleasure and heat raced to her face, dispelling all her doubts. Laying her palms flat against the wall she could almost feel Jamie's hands and the touch of his warm fingers on the other side.

‘Are you all right?'

‘Yes. Mina is here with me. I don't think we can get you out this time.'

‘No, angel. Not this time. Bristol has more nous. This is the centreboard. I know there is no break in it because I replaced it when we were in Hobart Town.' He gave a harsh bark of laughter. ‘Shame I did such a good job.'

‘Where are we? What is happening? Why aren't you in your cabin?'

‘One question at a time. Speak slowly.'

‘Where are we?'

‘We are about four hours out of Boyd Town.'

A cold stone sank in Charlotte's belly. In four hours Henk would off-load the girls and take them to The Whaleman's Rest.

‘What can we do? We cannot let Henk take these girls to a brothel.'

‘Stop!' Mina's hand came down over her mouth, and dragged her away from the wall.

‘No, Mina. Stop it. I need to talk to him.' Charlotte shrugged Mina's strong hands away.

‘No, we must go. Cookie is opening the hatch. The girls have passed the word through to us. Come. You must leave him.'

‘I have to go. I will come back later.'

‘Take care, my angel.'

But for Mina's determined grasp on her arm Charlotte would have been incapable of leaving. Together they made their way back, far faster this time because of the line of girls marking the route, leading them through to the relative light of the main hold. By the time she and Mina stepped through the rows of barrels the late afternoon light flooded the hold and the hatch stood open.

Cookie's voice rang out. ‘Come on, girls. You can come up on deck now for your fresh air. There's food up here.'

The girls jostled up the ladder keen to be out on the open deck.

‘He's a good man,' Mina whispered in Charlotte's ear.

‘Yes, Mina he is. We must get him out of there.'

‘Yes, your Captain is. I meant the Cookie man. He is a good man. He is not like the others. He has a heart and maybe also a soul. The Gods watch over him.'

Charlotte couldn't resist a quick smile. Her thoughts had centred on Jamie since the moment she'd rediscovered him and it was as though no one else existed. In the hierarchy of importance everyone ranked very, very low by comparison. Her Jamie. She beamed at Mina.

‘You love him,' Mina said as they climbed up onto the deck and into the delicious fresh air.

Charlotte couldn't reply. To give voice to her love would be a betrayal. Jamie's words filled her mind.
Secret's only a secret ‘tween two
.

The pleasure of being up on deck once more calmed her and Charlotte sucked in the fresh air, relishing the clean taste of the salt and the touch of the wind on her face. In the twilight she took a good look at the women and girls. Even dressed in the ragtag remnants from the ship's slops chest Mina's breathtaking statuesque beauty made her stand out as the leader of the group. Her skin was the colour of polished honey, not marble like Jamie's. Her full-bodied curves marked her as the eldest of the group; the long legs and budding breasts of the others signalling the first flush of puberty. Her flesh crawled to think of men such as Henk, Catz and Bristol abusing their young bodies.

Forcing back her anger she answered Cookie's call and squatted with the other women on the leeward side of the mainmast. Charlotte fought her long cumbersome skirt. The girls settled easily cross-legged on the deck like a flock of brightly coloured birds in their sailors' garb. Compared to them she may as well have been tethered.

Charlotte's mouth watered and her stomach rumbled noisily as she broke off a large chunk of bread and dunked it in the warm brown gravy of Cookie's stew. Almost two days since she'd eaten in the mess with Marcus. She'd only snatched a bit of this or that as she'd cared for Jamie and now he sat imprisoned in the hold once more, deprived of food and water.

A shadow fell across her plate as she wiped the last morsel of gravy into her mouth and she looked up. Marcus stood above her, his eyes bulging and his face a mottled red. ‘Rise to your feet, woman.'

Mindful of the group arraigned around her she put her plate down on the deck and made to stand. Mina's hand reached out to her knee restraining her. ‘Don't do it,' she hissed.

‘I must.' Charlotte brushed Mina's hand aside and stood to face Marcus.

‘You whore!' His hand connected with her cheek knocking her aside. Speechless she gawked at him, her mouth gaping as the pain radiated out across her face.

‘Whore! You deserve your punishment.' His hand rose again but Mina stepped between them and caught his wrist in a vice-like grip, breaking the swing of his arm.

‘Get your hand from me, you heathen bitch.' He leapt back, eyes wide like a frightened horse, rubbing at his skin where her hand had touched him.

‘Mina! Don't. You will only make matters worse. Let me deal with him. I know how this works.'

‘He should not raise his hand to you. You are not his.'

‘Mina, I am — I am his assigned servant, he can treat me as he wishes. He has never paid me a wage; I couldn't travel to Sydney without his permission and signature on my papers. He controls my life and if I complain I will be sent back to prison.'

Mina blinked heavily and sank to her haunches while the girls watched in horror. Charlotte stepped closer to Marcus, drawing his attention from Mina.

‘Whore!' he spat at her again. ‘Come here.'

His long talon-like fingers reached out to her neck as if to choke her, then at the last moment his fingers uncurled and he reached for her and pulled her close. ‘I saw you with him. I saw him touching you here.' He poked at her chest and then slid his fingers down the bodice of her dress.

She pushed at his hands, her stomach clenching in revulsion. His eyes lit up like beacons and he grabbed at her chain and reeled her in like a fish on a line. The veins in his bloodshot eyes and his pale lashes filled her vision. A waft of his unwelcome breath filled her face and she jerked back. With a violent twist he yanked her closer again, snapping the fragile links of the chain. Crying out in triumph Marcus dangled her necklace aloft and it rotated slowly. The gold coin clanking against the little bottle the only sound in the awed silence.

‘Whores have no need of trinkets,' Marcus screeched in a high-pitched voice. With a final flourish he flung the necklace over his head.

It looped through the air, landed and skittered across the deck coming to rest against a coil of rope. Sobbing, Charlotte lunged after it, her knees scraping across the decking through the thin cotton of her skirt. Marcus' booted foot snaked past her nose and with a flick of his toe he kicked her treasure away.