Zypheria's Call (A Tanyth Fairport Adventure) (28 page)

The burly man who had shown Malloy away appeared as if by magic in the arch. “The wind,” he said. “It’s shifted.”

The change was startling. Captain Groves pulled his pocket watch from his vest, flipping the case open with his thumb. “Ben, we’ve two hours until the tide turns. We need to be outside the breakwater by then. We’re casting off at eight bells. Pass the word. Anybody not on board by then gets left.”

“Aye, aye, Captain.” Mr. Groves stood and with a muttered apology headed out of the tavern.

Saul turned to the headwaiter. “Peters, give these ne’er-do-wells a bit of dessert, a tot of rum, and then kick them out. Put it on my bill.”

“Of course, Captain.”

He leaned over and kissed his wife, and Tanyth sat close enough to see her kiss him back.

“All-Mother watch over you, husband.”

“I’ll see you in six weeks.”

The captain seemed to notice Tanyth still sitting at the table. “I’m needed at the ship, Mother Fairport. You and Rebecca have time to finish your meal and take dessert, if you’ve a mind.”

She stood and picked up her coat. “I’m ready now, Captain. If you’ve got time to walk me to the ship.”

Rebecca followed suit.

“We’re off then.”

With a flurry of good-byes, Tanyth found herself striding down the pier between Rebecca and the captain as men ran along Front Street and funneled into the piers, racing around them in some cases to beat the captain to the vessel. Shouts echoed around the harbor and up into the streets above.

His eyes gleamed in the light of the moon and Tanyth thought he looked exuberant. “Good thing you moved aboard this afternoon, mum.”

“I see that, Captain.”

A few high clouds raced across the sky, hiding and then exposing the first quarter moon where it rode in the southwestern sky. The wind that had driven straight in from the end of the pier before now roiled sideways across the dock. Tanyth felt the warmth against her face and a bit of dampness in it as well. She had little time to consider the changes. In moments they boarded the ship and the captain started barking orders.

“Bosun!”

“Aye, Captain.”

“Single up all lines. Clear away the running gear. Get the running lights lit and tell Cook to put on the tea.”

“Tea’s already on, Captain!” Tanyth recognized Cook’s voice coming from the deckhouse.

“Good lad!”

“Jameson!”

The bosun answered, “He’s not aboard yet, Capt’n. Said he’d be back by seven bells.”

“How many others are missing?”

“Scooter, Rand, Nichols, and Franklin, sir.”

“Franklin’s here!” came a voice from the gangway as a gangly youth in a striped jersey pelted aboard. “Scooter’s right behind me and Nichols’s with Jameson. They’ll be along sharply.”

Benjamin appeared out of the night. “That’s the lot, Captain. Everybody’s either here or on the way.”

“Bosun! Get those lines singled up. We’ll need a spring line to push the bow out against the tide. Send three aloft to the tops and get those gaskets off the main and for’ard.”

“Aye, aye, Captain.” The man started bawling orders and cuffing heads.

The captain saw Rebecca standing beside Tanyth. “Scooter!” he yelled.

“Aye, Captain?” The lanky crewman appeared as if by magic from the gloom.

The Captain waved a hand at Rebecca. “She’s workin’ passage. Show her what do to.”

“Aye, aye, Captain,” Scooter said and beckoned with a sweep of his hand and a grin. “Come on, then,” he said and looked up at the rigging. “You know what a gasket is?”

Rebecca followed the youth across the deck and was halfway up the ratlines before Tanyth could blink. In a few heartbeats she was lost to view in the darkness above.

Tanyth crossed the deck and stood with her back against the deckhouse. She felt as if her head were on a swivel as she tried to watch everything and stay out of the way.

“Ahoy,
Zypheria’s Call
!” The shout came from the pier.

The captain ran to the rail to squint out into the dark. “Who goes and what’d ya want?” he called.

“It’s Peter. Peter Robertson! I’ve a package, Captain!”

“Peter?” The captain stretched his neck forward trying to see. “This isn’t some more insurance foolishness, is it?”

“No, Captain. I’ve a shipment for my man, Wiley, in North Haven. I told him you’d bring it when the port opened.”

“Why the devil did you wait until now to do this? I’ve neither the time nor the inclination to break out the cargo boom for one crate!”

“It’s not that big, Captain. We can horse it aboard. Please, Saul. It needs to go with you this trip.”

The captain spit into the sea beside the dock. “All right! Get it aboard, man!” He turned to the sailors on the deck. “Franklin, Cleeves. Give ’im a hand.”

Two sailors scampered up the slanted gangway and returned in a few moments with an oblong crate between them, stepping carefully on the way back down.

“Thanks, Saul.”

The captain spat again. “If you make me miss the tide, Robertson, you’ll be owing me more than thanks!” He turned to the bosun. “Get the stern line in and secure that gangway.”

“Cuppa tea, mum?” She turned to find Cook standing beside her in the semi-dark. He held out a heavy mug with a dark liquid in it.

She accepted it and nodded her thanks. She took a sip and nearly choked. “What’s in this tea?”

Cook’s smile glowed in the dimness. “Jot of rum, mum. It’ll help you sleep.”

Tanyth barked a laugh. “You think I’m goin’ to need it?”

“You ever been out to sea before, mum?”

“Not in the open sea, no.”

“Yeah. You’ll thank me in about two bells, mum.”

Considering the level of noise on deck and the hour, she thought perhaps he might have a point. “Thank you, Cook.”

“You’re most welcome, mum. And welcome aboard.”

Chapter Twenty-Two:
The Rolling Sea

Whether it was the excitement of getting underway, the heavy meal, or the rum, Tanyth couldn’t be sure, but she slept soundly. She awoke to a distant bell ringing and sun shining in the tiny window. She lay there in her nest of covers and felt the ship’s slow roll up and down. As she lay there she became aware of a low rushing sound, a kind of vibration that had no tone but should have.

“Good morning, mum,” Rebecca said, her voice low and sleep filled.

“G’mornin’, my dear.” She rubbed her eyes and peered across to where Rebecca sat cross-legged on her bunk, fully dressed and sipping a mug of tea. “You been out on deck already?”

Rebecca held up the mug. “Been workin’ and just got off duty about three bells ago. Been trying to sleep but every time I nod off, they ring again.” She grimaced.

“How’re your hands?” Tanyth asked.

“Mr. Harris was right,” the young woman said holding up her empty hand to peer at the palm. She turned it and Tanyth saw the redness of abrasion.

Tanyth winced in sympathy.

Rebecca shrugged. “Looks worse than it feels but I put on some of Harris’s liniment and it feels a lot better.”

Tanyth made a mental note to look at the liniment and see what was in it.

“When d’ya have to go back to work?”

“’S afternoon they said. Somebody’ll come get me.”

Tanyth tried to sit up and discovered that the movement of the ship made simple things like sitting up or getting down off the high bunk a bit treacherous. She focused on the slow lift and fall of the ship and, after a few moments, was able to stand without falling over. She held onto the bunk’s rail until she was sure of her balance.

“It’s a bit tricky at first, mum, but it gets better if you don’t think about it too much.” Rebecca rested her head against the wall behind her, closing her eyes and a small smile drifted onto her lips. “Kinda comfy in an odd way.”

Tanyth grinned and did her best to struggle into a pair of trousers and one of her heavier pullovers. The view out the small window showed a sunny day with a few high clouds, but her breath soon fogged the glass. It took her a couple of tries to pull on her boots, leaning back against the bunk and pulling on one boot at a time between the swells.

She congratulated herself for not falling over and noticed that her staff kept rocking back and forth, back and forth where it stood in the corner. “That’ll fall if you leave it there, old fool,” she muttered.

“Wazzat, mum?” Rebecca asked, opening her eyes and looking toward Tanyth.

Tanyth shook her head. “Nothin’, my dear. Just my staff. Wonder it hasn’t fallen down and hurt somebody already.”

Frowning she looked around the tiny cabin, trying to figure out where to put it where it wouldn’t be in the way and wouldn’t roll around. Eventually she realized that it fit nicely beside her mattress along the inner rim of her bunk and felt better for having stowed it. She looked around at the other objects and set about making sure things were either in the cupboards, hanging on pegs, or were secured somehow so they wouldn’t rattle around. By the time she’d finished, Rebecca snored softly where she sat, her head lolling to one side and shifting gently in the rolls.

The ship’s bell rang three times and Rebecca jerked awake, the empty mug gripped in her hand as if she thought she might spill it. She sighed in exasperation and looked at Tanyth with a small shrug.

Tanyth heard a soft footfall outside the door and a gentle tap.

She reached over and released the latch, letting the door swing open.

Benjamin Groves stood there with a big grin on his face and a haggard look around his eyes. “Good morning, mum. Miss. Cook’s compliments and he’s got your breakfasts when you want ’em.”

“Thank you, Mr. Groves. That’s kind of him.”

“Cook likes having passengers, mum. Don’t spoil him too much.”

“Spoil him?”

“Yes, mum, by telling him how good his food is. We like to tease him a bit. Passengers tend to be nice to him.”

She laughed. “I can’t promise anythin’, Mr. Groves, but I’ll do my best.” She peered at him again. “Have you slept?”

“A bit. Getting underway like that means a lot has to happen in a hurry. I got a couple of naps in, but I need to go grab some sleep now and relieve Jameson at eight bells.” He gave her a smile and a shrug. “It’ll even out as we get the rhythm down, mum. If you need anything, you can ask Cook.”

“Thank you, Mr. Groves. Don’t worry about us.”

“Good day, mum. Miss.” Even in his apparent exhaustion he managed a warm smile in Rebecca’s direction. “For a green hand, you did yourself proud out there.”

Rebecca smiled and colored, looking into her empty cup as if there might be something more in it. “Thank you, sir.”

Mr. Groves winked at Tanyth. “She did better than most of the ordinary seamen we get. ’Specially for her first time up the mast underway.”

Rebecca grinned. “Oh, mum, you can’t imagine what it’s like up there...” her exuberance met Groves’ flashing smile and she shrugged. “It was fun, sir. Thanks for lettin’ me work passage.”

“You’re quite welcome, miss.” He nodded once to Tanyth and headed down the narrow passage toward his bunk.

“Breakfast, my dear?” Tanyth asked.

Rebecca looked into her empty mug and placed a hand on her stomach. “Not just now, mum. I’m really sleepy and if it’s all the same, I think I’ll just try to lie down here and see if I can sleep between the dings.”

Tanyth nodded and relieved the younger woman of the empty cup. “You sleep. I’ll see about food.”

Rebecca slumped over, dragged a blanket half over her shoulder and was asleep before Tanyth could move.

With a grin, Tanyth stepped out into the passage and quietly pulled the door closed behind her. Getting used to walking on a moving floor took a bit of concentration, but she managed to get to the stairs leading up to the deck without falling. Having walls to lean on helped. When she got up to the deck, she stopped on the top step of the ladder and took it all in.

A clear yellow sun had barely cleared the eastern horizon, gleaming brilliantly across low rolling waves. Here and there it struck sparks that glimmered and glinted against the dark water. She looked up at the curved expanse of brilliant white canvas above her head gleaming in the dawn’s light and the heavy wooden boom along the bottom edge of it. With the horizon all around she realized that the deck was not just rising and falling but that it was tilted over to the side.

“That explains why I’ve been off kilter,” she muttered.

She took the last step up onto the deck and stood there with one hand gripping the hatch coaming to steady herself against the movement of the ship.

A sailor wearing a striped shirt and blue pants walked by. “You all right, mum?”

“I’m fine, but this ship seems to be movin’ about.”

He grinned. “Yes, mum. She’ll do that for the next couple weeks or so I ’spect.”

Tanyth grinned back. “So I been led to believe.” She looked at him standing there swaying in time with the deck and looking perfectly comfortable without holding on to anything. “Is there a trick to it?”

“To walkin’ on deck, mum?” He shook his head. “Just something you get used to. Easier if you just stand up and let go of the bulkhead, mum. Don’t think about it and you’ll be fine.”

“Really?”

“It’s how we do it, mum.” He held out his hand. “I’ll catch ya if you head for the rail, mum, if’n ya wanna try.”