The beginning of a long journey
Two days later I stood on the landing stage in the bay, which was lying behind the Davenport-homestead and regarded the ship which was going to bring us over the open sea to England. It was a brig, not quite big but in a good condition and this was all I needed to know. I wanted to reach our destination with my feet as dry as possible and I hoped that the crew would be conducive to it. I watched the sailors carrying the last supplies on board. Their voices were echoing loudly through the bay and were only drowned by the cries of seagulls which were circulating high above in the sky. I looked up to them, watched them flying their paths and I remembered that a sailor had told me once that you could appraise the weather only by watching the seagulls´ flight. I had never asked how that works and I couldn´t believe it anyway. But while I was looking into the sky, I hoped that the seagulls´ circling was a good sign.
In the night before a violent storm had swept through the homestead, had pulled on doors and windows, lifted off some roofs and made me fear for our departure. But now everything was calm. Nothing stood in our journey´s way now, unless Connor didn´t turn up soon. I looked down the landing stage and let my gaze wander to the manor, which stood above the bay near the cliffs. There lived Connor alone since his master had died. He had told me it nearly casually after my enquiry, but it had been visible that this loss still caused him pain. So I hadn´t ask any further questions about this and I also hadn´t tried to learn something about the ineloquent assassin by asking the settlers. Even though I was curious, I felt that it was wrong to get to know him through the narration of someone else. He should tell me something on his own but that was the problem´s core. He wasn´t one of the chatty kind and I was sorrowful looking forward to the upcoming weeks on sea. How should I stand a horde of men alone for such a long time and how shouldn´t I become mad if no one was speaking to me? Until now the crew hadn´t seemed to be thrilled about a woman coming along with them on their journey and so I decided for myself to spend most of my time in my cabin…as long as I would get one. As I said: The ship wasn´t quite big.
A sigh escaped my lips while I watched one of the men carrying my only piece of luggage on board. Corrine, Ellen and the other women had clubbed together clothes and even some jewellery for me. I was still overwhelmed by this gesture. In the last few days I had experienced the settlers only as friendly and big-hearted and my fears that they could dislike me had vanished soon. I had nearly taken them to my heart and I was sorry that I had to leave them. I hadn´t met people like them before and I would take this experience with me to my home as a gift. Unfortunately I had only been shortly able to bid farewell to everybody because all of them were involved with tidying up the homestead after the storm and to steady it in case that another storm follows. So I stood here alone and waited for Connor, full of impatience. He should had been here already and the crew had brought everything on board in the meantime and seemed to be waiting, too. But no one of them got the idea that he could accompany me on the ship. Consequently Connor didn´t seem to be the only boorish man I would have to deal with during the next months. That´s going to be fun.
Briefly I thought of just getting on board by myself but footsteps behind me held me off it. I turned around and paused the movement in surprise when I saw who was approaching me. It was Connor who looked totally different than I used to know him. With that I didn´t mean that he had a bright smile on his face and was humming a melody. It was the clothing he was wearing and which made him nearly another man. He had replaced his assassin-robes with a navy blue coat with white fittings and golden buttons and on his head he wore a likewise blue tricorn with golden decorations. You could have take him for an officer if there weren´t the native embroidery on this sleeves, the hidden blades on his arms and the tomahawk on his belt. But he looked handsome. Quiet handsome actually.
"Are you all right?"
Connor had stopped in front of me in the meantime and looked me up searchingly. I needed a moment until I noticed that I was staring at him like he was an attraction in a circus. Caught I cleared my throat, pointed my gaze hastily on a spot somewhere over his shoulder and responded sharply: "Of course. You just took your time." I turned away and walked towards the ship. "Can we get on board now?"
Now I didn´t care if one of the present men would behave like a gentleman and would accompany me on board. I was just hoping that my face wasn´t that red like I felt it was. Luckily Connor didn´t comment on my behavior but followed me wordless on board of the ship and was greeted by the crew loudly.
A black-bearded man with broad shoulders and in an officer´s clothing approached the assassin, greeted him, nodded to me and addressed Connor. "The men are ready, Sir. We can hoist the sails in every moment."
Enquiringly I raised an eyebrow and my gaze scampered between the two men. "Shouldn´t we…wait for the captain?"
I heard the crew chuckling while Connor gave me a short gaze from the side. But I didn´t get an answer to my question. The assassin turned back to his counterpart instead. "I would like to address some words to the crew before we set sail, Mr. Clutterbuck."
The man nodded and Connor climbed the stairs to the upper deck, rested his hands on the balustrade and looked down to the crew, which viewed him quietly and expectantly.
"I know that some of you, including me, have never left our domestic waters before. We never turned our back to the American coast but we will change that today." Connor didn´t need to raise his voice. Everyone on deck could hear what he was saying and heard the determination in each of his words. "We will shoulder this journey to fetch back our friends, especially our first mate. Faulkner isn´t going to join us on this journey but he will be back soon, standing beside me and barking his instructions, that I promise you. So prepare the sails, hoist the anchor and let us fetch him back." The men started to yell, to applaud and to stamp on the ground and it wasn´t necessary to ask for the ship´s captain. Maybe I should stop wondering about anything concerning Connor. He had managed to surprise me again and again so far and I asked myself whether and what I was going to learn about him during this journey.
A few hours later we had left the bay behind us and had reached the open sea. A stiff breeze carried the Aquila, the ship´s name as I had learned in the meantime, forwards and ensured furthermore despite of sunshine that a frosty temperature prevailed on deck. Although I had wrapped the coat I was wearing tight to my body and tried to keep me warm through walking, I was freezing and envied the crew their work which was keeping them warm. I had crossed the deck of the Aquila several times now, more than the men were grateful for, because I seemed to distract them as soon as I came nearer to them. Having enough of the gazes they were giving to me, I returned to the ship´s bow, where one of the sailors had taken the wheel, which had been in Connor´s hands before.
The assassin himself stood by the railing, having his arms rested on the wooden balustrade and the gaze directed to the more and more departing coast. "It´s always hard to leave his home", I said while I joined him. Connor gave me a short look from the side and nodded. "But I know that I will come back." The way he said it dispelled every doubt in his words. He was nearly as determined as he was rude. A short silence reigned between us while we watched what was laying behind us and I became aware of that I wouldn´t had entered a ship which was heading for England, if I hadn´t met Connor. Maybe I would sit by my window, drowning in my self-pity while the slaves on our property were suffering. So much had changed in the past few days and now I was really on my way back home. "Thank you for taking me with you."
Connor leaned back from the railing and looked at me. "We have a deal. I take you with me and you tell me, what you know about the templars in London. There is no reason to thank me." So he turned away and went back to the wheel.
