Convictions (25 page)

“These two are in on this together, I warrant.” MacGregor stared sullenly at Davis.

“I know nothing about any missing coins,” Davis asserted. He rigidly yielded to being pinned by Coombs and Edwards, continuing to object indignantly as his pockets were searched and his body patted.

“Nothing.” Nate stared hard at Davis, who righted his clothes when they were done.

Angus and Old Ruddick had crept closer throughout the interactions.

“I reckon they hid them coins somewhere on board,” Old Ruddick mentioned.

Jennie scanned the deck. Her eyes alighted on the jolly boat. Red Bull and Davis had spent an inordinate amount of time by it.

Nate and Meadows followed the direction of her eyes.

“Perhaps we need to search on the deck,” said Meadows, striding toward the stern.

The others followed, including Red Bull, breathing heavily.

Meadows and Nate flipped the boat over and began probing under the gunwale.

“What might this be?” Nate drew out a tightly tied cloth on a lengthy cord. He fumbled the bundle open.

“Aha! Captain MacGregor, it looks like we found the rest of your coins.” Nate held out his hand where the gold winked in the sun.

“And extra to boot,” added Meadows, counting them. “There seem to be more than you reported missing. Now, I wonder where they came from.”

Red Bull’s mouth gaped open, but no words came out for a moment.

“I’ve never seen them before!” he sputtered. He furled his brows, feigning innocence.

Davis shrugged his shoulders. “First time I seen it.”

“I’d say it came from a certain piece of wreckage on the water,” suggested Nate, flashing a smile Jennie’s way. “This cloth looks familiar.” He held up the bag, showing the insignia of the
Emily Anne
.

A surge of relief rose through Jennie’s body.

Red Bull blustered, “Coombs could have put it there.”

Coombs stared hard at Red Bull. He began swearing and de
fending his innocence.

Meadows shook his head. “We know you were the only one who could have done it.”

Captain MacGregor eyed Red Bull with outrage.

Red Bull’s eyes darted in fear like those of a cornered animal looking for a way of escape.

“Arrest this man.” Captain MacGregor signalled to two sailors. Coombs quickly volunteered too.

Red Bull struggled, but they were quick to restrain him.

“I think you might have needed some help in procuring my coins,” MacGregor said, “and I’d warrant the girl was not the one to give it to you.” He gave Jennie a brief smile, then turned back
to Red Bull. “You certainly had to have inside information.”

MacGregor turned to Davis with a grim expression. “Lieutenant Davis, I charge you with theft.” He waved over Old Ruddick and another of his sailors.

Davis started to protest. “It must have been Angus! He had access to your quarters. I had nothing to do…”

“Blaming a young boy! What nerve!” Fanny shook her fist at Davis.

“Indeed!” said Sarah.

Jennie smiled at the passion of the two women.

“Save your breath, Lieutenant,” said Nate. “We already know you were involved.”

“How?” Davis staggered back, as Old Ruddick and the other sailor grabbed his arms.

“Let’s just say a wise old owl and a cou
ple of young birdies told us,” said Nate.

“Chain them to the mainmast, until we decide what to do with them,” ordered the captain with a quick glance at Meadows.

Meadows nodded.

Coombs and two sailors led Red Bull away. Davis and his guards followed.

Jennie rushed forward to thank Meadows and Nate. “And thank you too, Captain MacGregor,” she said.

“I didn’t want to believe a nice lass like you would have stolen from me, though I couldn’t see around the facts,” he admitted.

“Just who were the two little birdies and wise owl?” asked Jennie.

Meadows chuckled. Captain MacGregor’s eyes twinkled. Nate tilted his head toward Alice.

“Alice, and…,” Jennie paused, “Angus!” She grinned at the cabin boy, who beamed beside a blushing Alice.

Jennie’s thoughts turned to who might be the wise old owl.
Old? Of course!

“Old Ruddick!” she cried, suddenly remembering he’d told her he believed she was innocent, but couldn’t prove it.

She looked over to the where the wiry man uncoiled ropes to use on the prisoners. He dipped his head and gave her a toothy grin.

“But what did they know?” Jennie turned back to the captain.

“It wasn’t so much what each knew individually, but what we
were able to piece together. Especially with what you told us.”

“Each heard a little of the pair’s plans to steal the coins and get rid of you,” said Nate. “But thanks to you, we were already suspicious.”

Jennie kept her eyes on Nate as he talked. Her vision began to swim. Suddenly she felt weak. Perhaps she was sicker than she knew. She wobbled.

Sarah caught her under the arms just before she tumbled over.

“Time to get you something more to eat and then abed,” said Sarah.

“I’ll take her.” Nate picked up Jennie and cradled her in his arms. She laid her head against Nate’s broad chest, comforted by his strong hold. He wasn’t even breathing hard when he set her down in her nest of blankets. In fact, he didn’t seem to be breathing at all.

“Bloody hell!” Old Ruddick’s curse came from across the deck.

Jennie peered past Nate where Ruddick was picking himself up after being knocked down by Davis, who was attempting to escape a sailor’s hold. The sailor hung on, as Davis dragged and chopped at the sailor’s arms with the edge of his hands. The sailor finally had to let go. Once freed, Davis sprinted toward the jolly boat.

With the distraction, Red Bull bellowed. He butted his head into Coombs, then swung a punch at the neck of one of the sailors. The sailor’s eyes rolled back in his head, and he collapsed. Coombs kept a grip on Red Bull’s shirt. Red Bull kicked him between his legs. Coombs crumpled. Red Bull sprang over to Davis, and the two men pushed the jolly boat over the side of the ship.

Nate, Meadows and other sailors bounded toward them as the two prisoners lowered the boat, the ropes slipping easily over the side. The jolly boat hit the water with a hard slap. Nate grabbed at Red Bull and Meadows reached for Davis, but the pair eluded them.

Captain MacGregor strode across the deck, shouting orders for the crew to lower the sails and heave to. Coombs, Old Ruddick and the other sailors recovered enough to pursue their quarry. Jennie was up on her knees, the other women watching the fracas incredulously beside her.

Red Bull dodged his pursuers and faked a move around a pile of sails. He headed back around to the bulwark where the jolly boat had gone down, Ruddick in pursuit.

Red Bull managed to fling a leg over the side. Nate grabbed his other leg. They struggled, Nate trying to pull Red Bull back onto the ship.

Nearby, Davis fought off Meadows and other sailors. In a moment of freedom, Davis made a run for it and dived over the side. A moment later, they heard a resounding splash. Angus peered overboard. Yelps and weak splashing noises continued for a few more moments, then nothing.

“Didn’t make it,” Angus reported back to the women, shock on his face. “I guess he couldn’t swim.”

Jennie turned her attention back to Red Bull. He tried to stay balanced on the railing, one leg either side, while he pummelled Nate about his face and neck. Meadows hastened over. Red Bull flailed again and managed to break free of Nate. Just as Meadows reached for him, Red Bull lost his balance. He plunged overboard, screamed once, then for a short moment there was silence.

Splack!!

Jennie clung to Sarah’s hand. Angus turned to them, his mouth gaping. Nate bowed his head against the railing. Meadows stood stunned beside him. At last Angus announced, “Hit the jolly boat.” He swallowed hard, then turned to vomit over the side.

Captain MacGregor sucked in a breath. “Well, then, I guess I’m in need of a new first mate for our return trip.” He turned to Meadows. “It’s yours. If you want it. We’ll talk later.” He marched off to his quarters.

Jennie buried her face in her hands, sobbing. She felt a strange mixture of exhaustion and an enormous sense of relief. No more Red Bull, no more accusations of her stealing gold coins. No more…what? What was next on the horizon for her?

Chapter Twenty

Jennie woke on the deck
with a strange squeaking
in her ears. She blinked and looked around. The door of the captain’s quarters was firmly shut. She couldn’t see anything else on deck that would make that particular shrill noise.

Dawn had just broken and the ship rocked gently, the sails snapping occasionally. Old Ruddick was at the wheel and several other sailors were on watch, some perched on the rigging and one in the crow’s nest. They were peering at something starboard in the water. The high-pitched squeaky sounds continued.

Extracting herself carefully from between Alice and Sarah, Jennie pulled a blanket over her shoulders. Clutching it to her chest, she eased to the railing and leaned over. Several huge grey-blue fish dived in and out of the water in fluid, graceful motions. As they swam beside the ship, they chattered in high-pitched sounds. Jennie laughed as some even stood on their tails and jiggered across the surface, showing off for her.

“Good to see you’re up and about,” said Nate, sliding in quietly beside her.

She hadn’t sensed his approach, but his sudden presence and gentle manner somehow fit with the tranquillity of the pale pink hues of the morning and the peaceful smooth creatures
swimming below. A feeling of serenity and hope filled her heart. For a moment, she wondered if she was in a pleasant dream where her life was her own again. She glanced at Nate to make sure he was real.

“A pod of dolphins,” he said in a low voice.

“I’ve never seen dolphins before,” she responded softly, not wanting to break the spell. “Dolphins.” She said the word again, enjoying the way it sounded.

“Probably means we’re close to land,” Nate added.

“To Tenerife?” Jennie asked.

“Or nearby islands.”

“That means we’ll be leaving this ship soon,” Jennie surmised.

“Yes, and the captain will have to decide what to do with us.”

Jennie peeked at Nate. What did he mean by
us?

“Meadows is probably going to stay on with the
Lady Margaret
, at least until it finishes its voyage and returns home,” Nate said. “He’d prefer to be back with a British-crewed ship.”

“And Coombs and Edwards?” she asked.

“They will probably stay on too, if asked. A captain can always use more bodies. He’s lost a couple of men, besides Davis and the doctor, along the way.”

“And you?” Jennie asked lightly.

“I don’t know where I fit,” said Nate. “I’m no sailor, that’s for sure.”

“You seem to do well on a ship.”

Nate chuckled softly. “Not at all.”

“But you know so much about the ocean, and you rescued us and then saved Kate,” Jennie responded.

“That was with a rowboat,” he said with a grin. “I wouldn’t know which sail to hoist to save my life.”

“But you risked
your
life and saved so many of
our
lives. You collected us together, got us organized and tied the platform
together.”

“I’m
resourceful
, as my father would say. That’s all. We lived on a river and had a rowboat for fishing, which we had to do a lot for food, but I’m not fond of being on the open water.”

Jennie looked at him in surprise. “Then why were you working on a ship as a guard?”

“I wanted to see a new land, have an adventure,” he said, shrugging. “Besides, there were too many mouths to feed at home and we needed the money. I thought I might even find work in Van Diemen’s Land and send money home.” He grimaced. “I had no idea what it would be like.”

“To be on a ship, you mean? Or a guard for convicts?” Jennie asked carefully.

“Both.”

She waited for him to say more. He stared pensively out at the dolphins. They were chattering and swimming away into the horizon, now streaked with beams of bright sunlight.

“And so?” she finally prompted.

“I don’t like either.”

Jennie turned to him, leaning her back against the bulwark. “Why?”

He looked down at his hands. “The heartlessness of it all. The sailors are a rough lot; their masters can be cruel and the life is hard and unforgiving. The men have nothing much else in their lives.” He raised his head and stared out at the rippling ocean.

“You don’t think they were, like you, taking a job to feed their families?”

“Some may have started that way, I guess, escaping from something else,” said Nate. “But most are just trying to survive from day to day any way they can because they’ve got nothing to go back to.”