Chapter Nine

Legions of seagulls squawked and flapped their wings madly overhead as I stood on the docks at five minutes before noon the next day, searching for a sign of any irregularity, hoping to pick out Jack Trade from amongst the hustle and bustle surrounding me. Rainy as it had been the day before, this day saw intensely blue skies with wispy white clouds traveling lazily under the bright gold sun. I took the perfection of this day as a good omen for the rest of my travels. Suddenly, there was an increase in the noise level to my left. Jack Trade. My eyes followed the commotion and I let out a gasp of incredulity. What on earth is the madman doing?

Trade had apparently set the cargo of a cage of racing dogs a loose on the deck of a small clipper, giving the crew a distraction. From where I was standing, I could make out four, maybe five, men dashing about the deck, trying to recapture the dogs without getting bitten. While they frantically tried to restore order, Trade made his way to the captain's quarters. The door shut behind him, and I couldn't see what went on inside of the room, but a few seconds later, the door burst open again and the captain of the ship was pushed overboard at the point of Trade's sword. After gazing wide-eyed at this spectacle, I seemed to snap out of a trance and remembered exactly why I was here. So as not to raise suspicion, I walked briskly towards the clipper instead of running, as I truly wished to do. There was already a crowd milling about, watching. The Naval Patrol would realize what was happening soon enough. How does he expect me to get on that blasted ship?

I looked up once again; Trade had caught the attention of the crew, who had managed to secure all of the dogs into their cages. They circled him menacingly, but only two of the four were armed with swords. Trade grinned and winked before he flew at them, saying something ludicrous, I was sure. Still, the dilemma remained…once he had commandeered the ship, how was I supposed to get on? The only obvious solution would be to swim…oh no. I recalled our conversation in the tavern:

"Alright," I said hesitantly. "Where do I meet you then, Trade?"

"The wharf. You'll know which ship is mine when you get there. Might have some trouble gettin' you aboard, but we'll make it. You swim any?"

I thought back to the time when one of the stable boys had tried to drown me in the pond behind the stables. I don't know if what I did qualified as swimming, but I was still alive and the stable boy was a bit worse for the wear for a while after that.

"A bit."

"Good enough," Trade nodded at me and pushed away from the bar.

He couldn't be serious. I watched one crew member fall from the boat after another. No, no, he was definitely serious. Oh well, I must do what I must.

I inhaled a deep breath before jumping into the water, giving a little shriek when I found it to be icy cold. If I had any breath to spare I would be using every bit of it to curse the day I met Jack Trade.

"Hey, look at the crazy darkie in the water!" I heard a voice shout.

Chuckles and other random comments followed.

"Idiot girl must think it's the newest fashion to take a dive in the wharf!"

Damn Jack Trade to the fiery pits of hell.

I ignored the jeering crowd and doggedly swam as best as I could to the side of the clipper, which upon closer inspection I found to be named Blade. The dress I wore was making this supremely difficult, but I supposed it could have been worse: I could have been wearing my heavy cloak. Just when I was nearly close enough to tread water in Blade's shadow, I felt a strong grip encircle my ankle. Sea monster! was my first (and very irrational) thought. When I turned around however, I found it was only a fallen member of Blade's original crew.

"You aint boardin' my ship!" he snarled, pulling on my ankle, making me choke on the sea water.

"Let…me…go!" I ground out and kicked out with my foot.

"Oooh!" he howled and his head snapped backwards. Not sparing a second glance, I continued on. When I was finally within distance of catching a rope, I was nearly breathless and experiencing muscle fatigue like I had never felt before, but I found enough energy to holler up to Trade.

"Hey! Trade! You made me swim out here, now give me a rope! Oy! TRADE, YOU TOSSER!"

His face appeared over the side, smiling a ridiculously cheerful smile. "Oh, hello Oribelle, nice to see you again…what are you doing in the water?"

My face must've gone through twelve different expressions of extreme anger because it was only a moment later that the smile slipped hastily from his face and a rope came down the side to meet me. I grabbed it and began to climb, muttering to myself.

"Stupid, infuriating, detestable, slimy little―"

I broke off, panting.

"I could use some help!"

No answer.

All of the sudden the ship began to move. I banged against the side of it.

"Hey!"

I turned my head to look at the wharf. The Naval Patrol had arrived and was coming after us. Shite. Trade had to have cut the mooring ropes in hope of out-sailing the Patrol. I didn't think they'd be too fussed about catching a small ship carrying racing dogs, and Trade didn't seem to be a high-stakes criminal, but I could never be sure. I climbed faster, against the wind. Once I get some rest, he's going to be answering to my fist, for sure. Heaving great breaths, I pulled myself up over the banister and fell unceremoniously onto the deck. Against my will, my eyes slid closed. My last thought was a fervent prayer that the Patrol did not catch us. I could never return to the Eve if I was a convict.

When I came to, I was lying on a bed in what must've been the captain's quarters. Night had fallen and the only sound to be heard was the gentle slapping of the waves against the sides of the ship. Blade rocked from side to side gently, comfortingly. I sat up slowly, stretching as I did so. There was still an intense tightness in my muscles, but I stood and walked out of the room anyway. My dress was still uncomfortably damp, and I knew it would dry stiffly because of the sea water. As I looked to the front end of the boat, I saw Trade standing at the helm, looking as peaceful as I had ever seen a man. He was quietly humming to himself. Shame I was about to do what I did.

"Bastard," I rasped, coming up behind him.

His head whipped about, sharply. "Well that's not very nice."

"You could have killed me!"

"Don't be so dramatic, if you'd fallen off the rope, I would have lowered the lifeboat."

"Life― the whole time I was climbing the rope, you had a lifeboat on deck?"

"Aye, I did."

I gaped, lost for words. He took a look at my face and quickly made to explain.

"It would have taken too long for me to drop it safely with the Patrol following us. Luckily, they lost interest. It's not so bad, right? I did pick you up and put you in the captain's bed."

Grudgingly, I grunted some noise of agreement. "What are we going to do with the dogs?"

"Well, we're going to stop in Port Gillian to sell them, buy some provisions and pick up a crew. I know some people."

"Since you've made me ruin a good dress, I'll be needing another one of those."

"I checked in the hold, there's a fair few fine dresses down there. It seems I picked a private ship en route to some rich family that had sent someone out to do their shopping. I'm guessing the man of the house bought the dogs and the woman bought the dresses."

"Alright, but if they don't fit―"

"We'll get you a dress," he sighed.

"Good. How long until we reach Port Gillian?"

"We'll be there by the time the sun rises again."

I was silent for a moment. "Who do you―"

"Would you just go and try on the dresses?" Trade interrupted me.

"Fine, but we're talking later."

I tuned and gingerly found my way to the hold, going down some narrow stairs into the belly of the ship. It was dark and humid, and I could barely see three feet in front of my face with the small lantern I held in my hand. Just as I was thinking how pointless my nighttime search was, I nearly tripped over a large trunk. The dresses.

Upon hanging the lantern I was carrying on a peg in the wall, I found there to be a series of lantern lining the side of the hold. I lit another two of them, significantly brightening the place, and set about discovering what finery lay inside of the trunks. With a good quantity of effort, I lifted the top of one and gasped. I had only dreamed of such things. I had watched Christelle twirl merrily in vibrantly colored dresses of the finest silk. It had to be my turn. Please let them fit.

Peeling off the seawater-soiled dress and linen chemise I'd been wearing, I slipped the soft cotton chemise over my head, marveling at the feel of it, loving the way the sleeves billowed around my arms. If I hadn't been Christelle's lady maid, I wouldn't have known what to do with the assortment of costume I saw next. I settled on trying on the black silk skirt under the wine-colored satin jacquard one. They were a bit snug, but I supposed that was how those fashions were worn. Under the faint candle light, the gold embroidery at the hem of the skirt shone richly. Upon further inspection of the trunk I found the matching bodice, which, thankfully, laced at the front with golden ribbon, dipping low across my chest and cinching at my waist.

"They'd die if they could see me now," I whispered to the empty hold. "Just die."

I wasn't sure to whom I was referring, but I supposed it could have been anyone who'd ever belittled me. The dress gave me an extra something, which made me feel as if I could do anything. I closed the trunk once again and blew out all but one of the lanterns, taking one with me as I made my way up the stairs.

As I expected, Jack Trade was still at the helm.

"When are you planning on sleeping?" I asked.

He answered me without even turning around. "I don't."

"That's ridiculous, everyone sleeps."

"If I promise I'll sleep after we reach Port Gillian, will you leave me alone?"

"Maybe," I sang. I was silent for a few beats before thinking of another question. "So how long d'you think it will take to reach the Caribbean from Port Gillian?"

I could sense rather than see the muscles in his jaw twitch.

"Rough estimate?"

"A month and a half. Why don't you go do some exploring, yeah?"

"Alright, but one last question."

"Aye?" he sighed heavily.

"Why are you so keen on taking me to my father?" I asked with a sharpness present in my voice that had not been there before. I'd had him thinking I was a simple, curious girl with my questioning before; not so. "What's in this for you, then? There's got to be a profit in this for you."

Unsurprisingly, I didn't get an answer. Trade stood stiff-backed at the helm, appearing as though he hadn't heard me at all.

"You can answer me tomorrow, but I will get an answer."

He gave a short bark of laughter. "You think you can command an answer from me?"

"Oh, I can."

I had to be his bargaining chip of some sort. From our conversation in the tavern I garnered that Trade had ill feelings towards my father. He seemed to be embittered towards him at the very least. Trade was going to use my existence to get something from my father; that much was evident. But what, and how…and why? If I suddenly disappeared from the ship, Trade would be out of luck once again. I was betting on the chance that I could find another ship en route to the Caribbean and board it disguised as a young boy. He would not use me without me first knowing how, why and for what purpose.

I left Trade to think on my words and made my way back to the captain's quarters where I reluctantly removed the skirts and the corseted bodice of my fine dress and settled under the covers in my chemise. Before long the rocking of the boat lulled me into a deep sleep.