In Search of Spice (8 page)

Pat passed his oar to Sara who held it, picked up a long pole with a spike and a hook on it and waited as the boat cruised towards the ship, slowing as it did so. He deftly hooked the chain hanging down the side. This acted as a pivot for the boat to come around and slap gently alongside the ship, bow pointing towards the bow. Pat’s muscles rippled as he took the strain under the boatswain’s watchful eye, while the others moved not a muscle.

“Right, stow the oars and secure the boat.” The boatswain’s voice was quieter now, as the crew stowed the oars under the seats and arms reached up to grab the ropes coming down fore and aft from the ship. Each rope split into two and each separate strand ended in hooks, which slipped into rungs on either side of the boat. “Climb aboard, lads and well done. We are the first boat back. Get her up and your liberty starts as soon as she is secure.”

The rowers swarmed up the side of the ship using the ropes for their hands and walking up the side as they had learnt. A couple of feet slipped, but regained their hold. Pat secured his boathook and shot up after the boatswain. The rowers had laid hold of the ropes and were pulling them as he reached the deck. The ropes went over a double pulley and the boat rose to the deck in seconds. As soon as it reached deck height, two waiting rowers pulled another rope and swung the yard back over the ship where the boat dropped into a waiting cradle. A canvas tarpaulin went over it and they tied it down.

“Good stuff, lads,” cried the swain, “off you go and see you in the morning. Don’t get so pissed you spend your first day at sea chucking up in the scuppers.”

The rowers all cheered and turned to run towards the fo’c’sle. Big Dan Hemmings cried out, “Don’t get pissed, he says! We’re not going to have a drop for weeks, so I’m going to get rat-arsed. Hey Pat, where are you and Sara going?”

The assumption irritated Sara, more so when Pat replied, “The Herdsman! Good pub, great beer and good food, and my family will still be there.”

“Good shout that,” said a little chap with a pointed nose who everybody called Rat to the extent nobody could remember his name. “I’ve drunk there, great place, barmaids’ got tits like the Mountains of the Gods. Let’s all go there, good to go together, we’re a team.”

“No we’re not, we’re a crew!” Pete crowed. “To the Herdsman!”

“Err,” said Sara, who had intended to lie low on board.

“Don’t say it, Sara,” said Pat. “We’re not leaving you behind if I have to tie you up and drag you.”

“Oh, alright then. Just spare me the barmaids.” Truthfully, she found she was looking forward to it, although she was a bit worried. She had hidden her tracks, surely there wouldn’t be a problem.

Paul took a pull on his flagon and looked at the man opposite him. “She’s here. I can feel it. I am sure that was her horse she sold - the dealer paid too little for it, so she was in a hurry.”

“Could have been anyone. Lots of reasons to get rid of a horse in a hurry, and why come here? Too close and nowhere to go. She will have made for the Elvish court, mark my words. The boys in Bardton will pick up her trail, not us.”

“I don’t think so - too obvious, the princess is clever. She is likely to be here, and I am damn sure she is going to be on that ship.”

“Why? What’s the point? It’s a death sentence, they’ll never come back or if they do, half of them will be dead.”

“Don’t you believe it. Don’t you know the crown is underwriting the trip? And the Church? They expect it to succeed and it will. Just wish we could have got a few more men on board.”

“Yeah, Gerry is a useless little shit. I guess that’s why he got on board, they turned down half my men. I was sure that somebody like Rafe would get a job.”

“He’s a vicious killer and a troublemaker.”

“Well, they’ll need that sort if they get into trouble.”

“He’d make sure they did get trouble, and would cause it amongst the crew. Mark my words, that’s why they turned down all your men, to stop in-fighting. I would too.”

“Hang on, there’s Gerry. Gerry! GERRY! Over here. Glenda, another round and one for my friend.”

A nervous looking man dressed like a sailor came up to the table and sat down.

“Uh, boss, sorry not to be back before, but this is the first liberty I’ve had. Last one too, as we sail in the morning.”

Paul grunted. “What about the girl?”

“Uh, I think she is aboard. There’s this girl, she’s damn good and just smarter than everyone else. Right size, but her hair is wrong. It’s black and short. Otherwise it would be her. Moves like a fighter and looks a bit like that painting you showed me, except for the hair.”

“Hair can be cut and dyed. I need to see her. Has she got liberty as well?”

“Yeah, her group are all going to the Herdsman’s Inn, if we cut across to Lime Street, we should see them going up it in a few minutes.”

“Right. Let’s go and see. Glenda, put them back in the barrel, we’ll be back shortly.” He jumped up and headed for the door, pushing past the barmaid as she came up with a tray of drinks. She glared at his back, but his companion put a coin in her hand and winked at her before hurrying after him.

A group of about ten sailors were coming up the street, led by Rat who was delivering a running commentary on the area, shops, people and anything else that passed his mind. The others were grinning at him and occasionally adding a comment, with Sara in the middle flanked by Pat and Dan. Perryn brought up the rear looking a little lost and unsure, standing out in his robe.

Paul stiffened and turned away. “It’s her for sure. Has she seen me?”

“Nope, carrying on as before, not looking this way at all. You know her?”

“Seen her at court and the training arena. Come on, back to the rooms. Not you, Wilf, you go and round up Rafe and his boys, take them to the Herdsman’s and start drinking at the bar. I’ll come in with Lance and go to the back. Give us half an hour and start a fight. Lance and I will take her out with that distraction. Got it?”

“Yup, like we got Glanton last year in the Tailings. Simple, I like it.” Wilf turned and was gone.

“Uh, what about me Boss? If I come along, my cover will be blown,” said Gerry.

“So what?” Paul snapped. “The job will be over. Once she’s dead you don’t need to be on board. Wait! If they see you with us, they may be suspicious. So go and do what you want, join us at our rooms in the morning.”

Gerry slipped away relieved. He did not like Paul and thoughtfully considered his position. He did not like any of his companions, and wondered how a man got into that sort of job in the first place. He sighed. A series of bad decisions, taking the easy way every time. He realised that in his short two days on the ship he had enjoyed himself more than at any time in his life. For a moment, he considered warning his crew-mates, especially Sara, but thought better of it. He was determined to be on the ship in the morning and would never see Paul again.

Rat pushed open the doors and the crew surged into the Herdsman’s, which only had a few customers as it was still afternoon. They swarmed up to the bar and started looking at the bottles.

“Rat!” shouted Dan, “I reckon you’re a thief, or used to be!” He grinned at Rat’s outraged look, especially at the tide of red going over his face. “So you’re going to be the bagman. Here’s a sov from me. Everyone, give Rat a sov. Rat, you tell us when it’s gone and we’ll give you another one.”

Rat was still spluttering as everyone threw money at him laughing. “First time I’ve seen you speechless.” cried Tom, “How come you’ve still got two hands?”

“Nah, he’s too slow and stupid to be a thief,” said Linda, “I reckon he was a wanker looking in windows. EEEEEK!!” She screamed, “a wolf!!!!”

Something furry blurred down the bar and leapt high at them. They scattered, except for Pat, who took Mot right on the chest and fell back laughing to the floor in a shower of saliva as Mot licked and barked for all she was worth.

“So,” drawled Sara, “is this the family you said would be drinking in here?” The crew laughed except for Linda who was still having palpitations. “Aren’t you going to introduce us?”

Pat grinned. “This is Mot,” he said, roughing the dog’s neck. “She normally isn’t so over the top, but we’ve been through a lot together and I reckon she knows I am going.”

“Why don’t you bring her along?” Sara asked. “She could be useful on the ship.”

“Doing what?” Dan asked, “keeping the number of cats down?”

“No need for that,” said Terri, “you’ll see Tom eating those fast enough. But it would be nice to have a ship’s dog. Lots of ships have them, don’t they?”

“They sure do,” said Sara, “extra guard when you are in port. Helpful on shore expeditions. Worth it, I reckon.”

“Yeah, well this isn’t doing anything for my thirst.” Dan complained. “Bartender, gimme a beer - same for all of you?”

“No way,” said Terri, “we’re not all hulking brutes. You got any nice wines for us girls, sweetie?” She smiled at the bartender. Dan rolled his eyes.

The bartender smiled at her. Not surprisingly, Terri was pretty and a bit too well endowed to do a job in the rigging. “Sure, we have a nice shipment in from Varn. Lovely white wines and we have reds from Westport.”

Sara pushed her way forward. “Let’s have a look at what you have,” she smiled at the bartender who started putting bottles on the bar while Dan grunted and squirmed, though the other boys looked on with interest.

“Ooh!” Terri squealed, “this one looks pretty! Shall we try this one?”

“No,” said Sara. “It’s thin and sharp and bloody awful, as is most of this stuff. Where’s the Chalk Valley whites?” she asked at the bartender, who looked at her with some respect and started to replace the bottles.

“Not often we get girls who know wine in here,” he said with a smile. “Here, this is from three years ago. Good year and ideal for the afternoon as a drinking wine.”

“Yes, that’s perfect.” smiled Sara, “we’ll take that.”

The bartender drew the cork with a faint plop and started to pour the glasses, did a double take and put a small amount in a glass and pushed it to Sara. She tasted it, smiled and said, “Perfect.”

“Why did you do that?” Terri asked as the bartender poured the girls glasses and passed them round.

“Often the wine goes bad in the bottle if it hasn’t been stored right or moved too much by the carter,” replied Sara. “Always check your wine first so you can change the bottle if it’s bad. Make sure you remember what each wine you drink tastes like so you can repeat it the next time.”

“Yeah, yeah,” said Dan. “Never mind the girlie drinks, can we get a beer now?”

“Actually, I want to try the wine,” said Pat, “Sara’s got me interested and I’ve never tried wine before.”

“Yeah, me too” said Rat, echoed by Tom. Dan looked on with disgust as the boys sipped the wine.

“Wow, that’s really good!” Pat exclaimed, “why haven’t I found this before?”

“Because it is much too good and expensive for you, darling,” said a new voice and a slender arm plucked the glass from his fingers. “Farm boys stick to beer because you drink far too quickly and this would be wasted on you.”

“Sal!” Pat cried and hugged her. “We got liberty and came to have a drink with you. Hey guys, this is my sister, Sal. Where is everyone Sal?”

“Oof. Put me down and get yourself a beer. Hi guys, girls. Great taste in wine you have, sister. I’m keeping this glass.”

Sara acknowledged her with a nod and a smile, while most of them chorused a greeting and Dan smacked Rat firmly on the side of the head to deflect his gaze upwards.

“So, you are all new crewmen? How do you like it on the ship? What have you learnt?” Sal smiled at them, which caused Rat to drop his beer.

They all started talking at once, showing off their blisters and describing their day while Mot curled herself protectively over Pat’s feet. Selwyn came in, shortly followed by Mikkel and Connor. They formed a large group and soon went over to a long table. Food flowed out of the kitchen. When Selwyn started to sing, Sal objected and threw the men off the table to go and make a noise at the other end of the bar while the girls sat and talked.

More people came into the bar, and soon it was full. The girls were at one end of the table while another group were occupying the other half. They were deep in discussion about how to wash hair in seawater without ruining it, when Mikkel wandered over. Sal eyed him suspiciously, fearing he was drunk, but he smiled and stood behind Sara and listened to the conversation.

There was a crash from the far end of the bar, and the girls looked over to see Dan swarming off the floor in furious anger at a laughing stranger, while the others started to pull him back, looking very unhappy with the stranger.

Sal began to stand up when Mikkel whirled and his fist crashed into the face of a man at the table behind them with solid power. The man’s eyes rolled up and he fell to the floor, out cold. As he landed, his arm flung forward, dropping a dagger onto the ground. Mikkel swerved to avoid the stab of the man’s companion, deflected the blow and started to swing at him. The man put up his arm to deflect the punch and his eyes went wide with surprise as a long arm came under Mikkel’s and Sara’s knife slid between his ribs.

Mikkel dropped his hands and caught the man, lowering him gently to the floor as his eyes glazed over. He nodded approval at Sara and stood up, bellowing above the noise of the impending fight down the bar.