Page 46 of My Gentleman Spy
Chapter Sixteen
“Areyou sure about this miss, your fiancé seems a decent enough man? He is always polite and friendly to the crew. Perhaps your fight this afternoon was just a little tiff. My missus and I have them all the time. We say things we don’t mean, but we still love each other,” the ship handasked.
“Yes, I am sure. Being a gentleman in public is one of his more admirable traits, it is when he is alone with me that he is not kind. You heard him curse in front of me. I have never known those words to be spoken before I met Mr. Saunders. You finally got a glimpse of the heartless brute that he is, you can see why I must escape,” repliedHattie.
Hattie stood on the side of the ship, rope tied firmly around her waist. She was not taking any chances of falling into the water. She could not wait to be off the ship andhome.
A swim in the warm waters of Gibraltar harbor was one thing, taking a chance on making it ashore in the busy shipping lanes of the chilly Thames was quite another. Adding to the danger was the fact it was the dead ofnight.
“Well yes, he did yell at you and he seemed mighty angry,” the manreplied.
Will Saunders was a decent man. He had done everything he could to secure her safe passage back to England. He had not deserved the display of over dramatic tears and wailing she had put on in front of the crew earlier that day. He most certainly did not deserve to be abandoned by his lover in the middle of thenight.
She had apologized to him in private, but Will rightly had refused to discuss the incident with her. When the cabin boy came later that evening bearing a bottle of wine as a peace offering Will had accepted the gift with a curt thankyou.
The ship was moored a mile or so downstream of the docks. The docks were busy and piers were not always easily obtainable. The captain dropped the anchor a little after suppertime and announced they would have to wait for the morning tide before making it to aberth.
Hattie had used her time while Will was in the captain’s cabin to good use. Once the crew knew she was willing to sell them her lovely possessions at deeply discounted prices, they were clambering over one another to give her their hard- earned coins. Coins she desperatelyneeded.
She handed over the hairbrush to the cabin boy as the ship entered the mouth of theThames.
After several glasses of the laudanum laced wine, Will fell into a deep sleep. Hattie had then broken his trust one last time and taken hisgreatcoat.
It would take more than a hundred mentions of her name at church on Sunday to make up for all the lies she had toldhim.
The sailor in the boat fell silent, his mind clearly on the lovely dress he had purchased for a handful of coins. His lady love would be well inclined to thank him properly when he made it home the next day. As for him, the matters of rich gentlemen and their ladies were not hisconcern.
As the row boat drew away from the ship, Hattie pulled up the collar of Will's coat and hid her face. Anyone who happened to glance over the side of theCanis Majorat this point, would only see three crewmen going ashore and likely think nothing ofit.
She could make out the lights along the river and hear the rowdy singing in the seaside taverns. A smile crept to her lips as she heard the words of a bawdy tavern tune. They were singing inEnglish.
Once ashore, the sailors gave her hurried instructions as to how she could find her way to the west end of London. She was about to walk up a nearby dark laneway when the sailors having had second thoughts about her safety, went out into the main street and hailed a passinghack.
“Not the safest part of London for a young lady, especially one wearing an expensive fine coat and with coins in her pocket,” theycautioned.
After thanking them for their kindness, she bade the two sailors farewell and gave the driver of the hack directions to herhome.
Settling back against the soft leather of the seat she sighed. Hattie Wright was back inEngland.
She washome.
