Page 22 of The Pirate Lord
The tips of Hargraves’s prominent ears reddened. “I ran away to sea to escape the hangman, sir. I killed a man. I can’t go back there now.”
I can’t go back there now.There was a ring of truth to those words. But the rest of it…. Could the man be lying? Although his story seemed likely enough, something in Hargraves’s manner made Gideon think he wasn’t telling the whole truth.
Then again, most of Gideon’s men had secrets. That was why they’d taken their chances with piracy. And no seaman would stow away aboard a pirate ship unless he were desperate.
Gideon paused in sharpening his blade to survey the man with a critical eye. He was small, but looked sturdy enough. He’d probably be good at climbing the rigging. But that skill wouldn’t help Gideon anymore. “Tell me, Hargraves, what do you know about farming?”
Hargraves stared at Gideon as if he’d gone mad. “Farmin’, sir?”
“Yes, farming,” Gideon said impatiently. “Or carpentry or brickmaking. What do you know of those things?”
Hargraves glanced at Barnaby, who merely said, “Answer the captain, man.”
“I-I don’t know nothin’ about them. I’m a sailor, sir, and a good one, too.” When Gideon scowled, he hastened to add, “And I’m a right fierce fighter. I don’t look it, I know, but I can put a man down who’s twice my size.”
Gideon’s scowl only deepened. “I won’t need good fighters or sailors once we reach our destination, so you’re of no use to me. Barnaby, put him in chains until?—”
“I know how to butcher and dress an animal!” Hargraves burst out.
Gideon set down the saber and the whetstone and cast the sailor a skeptical look. “Do you? Could you skin a pig and preserve it?”
“Aye.” Hargraves was breathing heavily now. “My father was a butcher. Taught me everythin’ he knew. I went to sea after he lost his shop.”
A butcher. They could use a butcher on Atlantis.Ifthe man was telling the truth. Still, it was worth the gamble to have a competent butcher in their midst. “I tell you what, Englishman. You may join my crew for as long as it takes us to sail to our destination.”
When Hargraves started to thank him, he held up a hand. “But you’ll have to prove you’re worth keeping beyond that. I’ll tolerate no laziness. If you’ve got some fool idea that pirates are sluggards, you’re wrong. If we don’t get a good day’s work out of you, we’ll maroon you.”
He ignored Barnaby’s raised eyebrow. They’d never marooned anybody before, even the English nobles they hated, but Gideon meant to put the fear of God into the man. Maybe Hargraves would think twice the next time he thought to stow away aboard a pirate ship.
“Put him to sanding the deck,” Gideon ordered, then picked up his saber once more.
But his first mate didn’t move. “Captain?”
“Yes?” Gideon retorted without looking up.
“It’s nearing mealtime. What are we to do about feeding the women?”
The women. They’d been so quiet for the past hour, Gideon had almost forgotten about them. “We brought on enough food to feed them. Have Silas prepare a meal for them and the children, of course.”
“But shall we let them up on deck to eat?” Barnaby asked.
When Gideon glanced up, he noticed that Hargraves was listening intently to their conversation. Perhaps the man hadn’t been quite honest about his reasons for stowing away. Perhaps he had a sweetheart among the women. Well, that was an innocuous enough reason for his coming aboard, and Gideon couldn’t blame him for it.
“Not just yet. I have some things to discuss with the men before the women are allowed on deck.”
“What sort of things?” Barnaby asked.
Gideon glared at his first mate. “You’ll find out soon enough.” He drew out his pocket watch and looked at it. An hour had passed since he’d last spoken to Miss Willis. It was time to hear whether the women had accepted his offer or not. “But bring Miss Willis back here. She and I have to finish our discussion.”
Though Barnaby cast him a questioning look, he ignored it. He hadn’t yet told the others about the offer he’d made the women. He didn’t want to endure his men’s groans and complaints until he was sure the women were agreeable.
Barnaby and his fellow pirate left, taking Hargraves with them, but still Gideon sat staring into space. He hadn’t considered how difficult it would be to tell the men he was giving the women a choice. What demon had come over him to let him suggest such a thing? It wasn’t as if these women expected such privileges. In New South Wales, they’d have had no choices at all, or very little.
Opening a desk drawer, he dug around in the bottom until he found a little-used flask of rum he kept there for when he had the ague. He seldom drank hard liquor for any reason, but today it was warranted. He took a sip, coughed, then took another. A few more sips and his anger evened out a fraction.
So what if he’d given the women a choice? He wanted them happy. Then they’d add their skills to the men’s. Women were needed on Atlantis, not just as an outlet for the men’ssexual urges, but to perform tasks like cooking and weaving and gardening, things his men knew nothing of. And if giving the women a little freedom of choice made them more amenable to their situation, he’d do it. The men would understand once he explained it to them that way. Certainly, he’d prefer that his own wife, whomever he chose, married him of her own free will.
A knock sounded at the door. Thrusting the rum flask into the drawer, he settled back in his seat and called out, “Come in.”
