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Chapter 11
The crew of the Rosemary watched silently as the pirate ship swept up beside them, passed them by, and neatly hove to alongside. It was a neat manoeuvre, and Anamaria knew that Jack Sparrow would be keeping an eye on things critically as much as Captain Harvey would be. By her side, one of the crew whistled softly. "Nicely done," he said.
But there was no time for further comment. A party of buccaneers had gathered on the deck of the Aruba, all armed impressively with pistol and sword. At their head was the green-sashed man, with a long, curved scimitar hanging from his belt.
Without asking permission to come aboard, the pirates swung grappling irons and, once the hooks had caught in the Rosemary's pristine woodwork, followed across the narrow gap between the two vessels.
Anamaria felt for the dagger she kept always strapped to the small of her back, and was reassured to find it there.
Captain Harvey, straight and proud, came to meet the invaders.
"Captain Van Arps, I am told," he greeted them, polite but distant.
"You are told well," said the tall man in the sash. "You have come into my waters, captain."
"Harvey," said Harvey, "and this good vessel is the Rosemary. We're sailing out of Portsmouth for the Caribees and have little for you, I regret. What valuable items we carry are here." He gestured towards the crates, cases and barrels on deck.
Van Arps glanced towards them disdainfully, and gave one of his men a nod to investigate the contents. Whilst the pirate was doing this, the Dutchman walked up and down the length of the Rosemary's deck, examining the ship and her crew with a calculating eye.
"You have a good ship," he said, at length.
Harvey bowed his head slightly in acknowledgement. "Likewise, captain."
Looking back towards the pirate ship, Anamaria thought Harvey was being too kind. The vessel certainly had speed, but she was showing the signs of age. Patches of new, pale wood showed where she had been repaired after a fight, and her sails needed some work too. Loose lines lay uncoiled at the foot of the foremast. Anamaria glanced across to where Sparrow stood, and he met her gaze and returned it with an eloquent eyebrow lift and a slight grimace.
The pirate going through Harvey's offerings closed the lid of the coin chest and crossed to his captain with a handful of golden guineas. Van Arps picked through them, bit one to determine its quality, and deposited the handful in a pocket.
"Your coinage is good."
"It ought to be!" said Harvey, with a slight tone of umbrage. "It was meant to pay for the cargo I am to pick up in the Caribbean."
Van Arps smiled. It was unpleasant - a narrow-lipped leer, really, more than a smile. "It will help pay for you and your men to get to the Caribbean, Captain Harvey. But I cannot believe that one small box of coin, and a few plates and some barrels, are all the riches you have aboard." He turned to the other pirates and snapped an order in Dutch. Five of them disappeared below decks.
Harvey remained unmoving, but Anamaria could feel her crewmates fidgeting with anxiety by her side. From below there was some banging, and shortly two of the pirates emerged with another barrel of wine. After a few more anxious minutes for the Rosemary's men (and woman), the remaining three Dutchmen came back on deck, carrying an armful of clothes taken from the captain's cabin. A brief exchange in Dutch followed.
Facing Harvey, Van Arps spread his hands. "Well, captain, it appears you are either telling the truth or this boat is built with many hiding-places. I congratulate you. And for your generosity," he indicated the things on deck, "and for your obliging way in heaving to for us, I propose to take what you offer and leave."
"I thank you," Harvey returned. "Very good of you."
"One last thing," said Van Arps, "I have a long memory, and I know we have not encountered one another before. Who is your man who recognised my ship?"
Harvey looked around, as if deciding whether or not to brazen this one out or risk exposing his sailor Swift. But Jack Sparrow stepped forward.
"That would be me, cap'n," he said, tugging at the brim of his hat politely.
There was a long moment as Van Arps examined Sparrow from top to toe, taking in every inch of his appearance. "You are?"
"James Swift, cap'n. Fisherman-turned-merchant sailor out o' Whitby."
"And you came across me before?"
"Once, cap'n. Just after I started sailing blue water. Not an event to forget, sir." Sparrow put on an expression that Anamaria recognised; it was his best 'innocent sailor' look.
"Hmmm. Yet you look somewhat familiar, more than that should account for. Swift, you say?"
"Aye, cap'n."
Anamaria held her breath, and readied herself to whip out the hidden dagger and spring to Sparrow's aid.
Van Arps shook his head. "I cannot place you. You have done your captain a service today, Swift."
"Thank'ee, cap'n."
Sparrow retreated, touching his hat again. And finally the pirates left, more slowly than they had come as they lifted the cargo aboard their ship. The grapples were unhooked, and thrown back aboard the Aruba. Her sails were unfurled, and with the same skill as she had been brought alongside the Rosemary, she pulled ahead, and then took a northeasterly course towards the coast of Africa.
As the pirates disappeared, the Rosemary's men let out a resounding cheer, and Sparrow was surrounded by crewmates slapping him on the back and generally congratulating him. There were congratulations called up to Harvey too, for the steady way in which he had handled the situation.
Harvey accepted the praise, and then speaking to his bo'sun crossed to Sparrow.
"A word, Mr Swift, if I may? You might want to bring young André along too."
Anamaria followed the two men below. Above their heads they heard the sound of orders being called and the cheering replaced with the familiar noise of sails unfurling and catching the wind. The Rosemary was on her way again.
In Harvey's cabin, they moved the parchments the pirates had displaced off seats and sat down. Harvey surveyed his ransacked wardrobe ruefully.
"I fear I shall be forced to appear in the same coat for the rest of the voyage," he said. "Now. Mr Swift. Time was pressing earlier, and I could not waste it asking you how you knew that ship. But now, and in the light of that appalling Dutchman's remarks, I ask again. There is no reason why he should have even thought he recognised you, unless you are more than you appear."
"Must have reminded him of someone he once knew," said Sparrow easily. "I find that happens often."
"Come, come!" Harvey chided. "Please do not treat me as a fool, Swift. I am not one, and neither are you."
"But what would you do, hypothetically-speaking," asked Sparrow, "if I turn out to be something you wouldn't like? Not that that's the case, of course."
"What could I do?" Harvey said. "We are in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, Swift."
Sparrow steepled his hands. "There are ways of gettin' rid of folk aboard ship, cap'n. I've seen it done."
"Don't be ridiculous, man!" said Harvey. "You've just saved this ship from what could have been her end, and the end of her crew. If we had kept running, and that man had caught us …" He shuddered. "Well, I'd rather not think about it. Whatever your crime could be that necessitates you hiding your identity, let's have it."
Anamaria glanced at Sparrow, who seemed lost in thought. Finally he looked up.
"You're undertaking to keep us on," he said, "should you not like what you hear?"
"I do undertake that," Harvey agreed. "Safe passage to the Caribbean, and back again, provided you continue your work, naturally."
"Let's shake on it," said Sparrow.
He and the captain shook hands, and Harvey settled back. "Now."
With a sideways half-grin, only slightly apologetic, at Anamaria, Sparrow rolled up his right sleeve and unwound the ties of the handguard he habitually wore. Tossing the bit of worn leather on the table, he untied the filthy piece of cloth wrapped around his wrist and bared his forearm for Harvey's inspection. Even in the dim light of the cabin, the livid pink scarring of the old East India Company brand was clear.
Harvey looked up, and met Sparrow's eyes. "'P' for pirate," he said, and it was not a question.
"Aye, 'P' for pirate," said Jack Sparrow. He was still using Swift's northern accent. "Not, I must hasten to add, a pirate like that blackguard we've just met. Some of us have a little honour."
"Honour amongst thieves?" Harvey questioned, with a raised eyebrow. "I fail to see much of a distinction, I am afraid."
Sparrow leaned back in his chair, and Anamaria knew that poor Captain Harvey was about to be treated to a session of philosophy. "You can steal without taking what those you're stealing from need to survive," Sparrow said, holding up a finger. "You may kill, but there's no need to murder. Maim a vessel, not scupper her." A wave of pain crossed his face, briefly. "Show someone the point of a sword, give 'em a fright; not put a bullet in them."
"Small differences," Harvey said, "yet I think I see what you're driving at, Mr Swift." He shrugged. "Well, I gave my word. I will not act on this knowledge, as you have given it in good faith. I assume that you, André, are also of the buccaneer persuasion?"
Anamaria nodded.
"I can," said Sparrow, "help you out a bit, cap'n, if you need more coin to get your cargo on board once we're in Barbados. I've got a bit hidden away, close to the fair isle of Tortuga. If you've need and no objection, we could take a small detour, s … see?"
"Thank you for the offer," Harvey returned, "but I believe we shall manage." He rose from his seat. "Pirates are not the only ones to practice deceptions. We have plenty more coin aboard for our cargo. I brought more than was necessary - these waters are, after all, notorious."
"Very sensible of you, cap'n," Sparrow approved. "I'm glad we've come to this accord." He began to wind the cloth around his forearm once more.
"As am I," said Harvey. "We shall keep our conversation between ourselves, I believe. Best that the men do not know, given this afternoon's events. Thank you, Mr Swift, André."
Jack Sparrow and Anamaria stood up, acknowledged the captain, and left the cabin.
Sparrow, his eyes dancing, grinned a proper, shiny grin at Anamaria. "That went well," he said.
She shook her head in exasperation, and hurried up on deck. It was their watch, and there was much to be done.