Читать книгу To Slight the Jacket Blue - Bronwyn Sciance - Страница 17

The seas were calm, almost gentle. The crew members of the Swift Return went about their appointed tasks with a gay, cheerful air. Probably a good part of the cheer was that the captain was not roaring about barking orders. No man on board would have disputed that Bluejacket knew his trade, but any man works better when his master isn't hovering over him.

Sam, loath to completely relinquish control of his ship to its crew, paced the decks slowly and silently, observing how well the various duty stations ran and the free-and-easy chatter of the men. Even those taken off of the Danae had acclimated themselves to the life on the account and were swapping tales with the long-time sea-wolves as though they were sharing a pint at a tavern.

As he strolled past a pair who were sharing a water break, he heard one of the two saying, "...when I set sail with Commander Sharpe."

Sam paused, concealing himself behind a jutting bulkhead in order to listen without being overheard. He was curious about how Ned's men felt about him.

"Commander Sharpe," the other sailor said derisively. Sam recognized the voice of one of his best marksmen, Henry, a tough former merchant who had been quick to go on the account when his ship was captured and had actually asked to join Sam's crew because of his reputation. "The 'igh-an'-mighty Commander Sharpe, destined for a new life as a corsair's cabin boy."

"It's humbling," the first voice agreed. Sam guessed the sailor had been on his first voyage. "Couldn't have devised a more effective way to humiliate a man."

"Tell, Joseph, tell me truly. Why did you ever follow that dastard?"

Sam clenched his fists. He remembered that long-ago day when Will had chided him for calling Ned a dastard, and somehow, hearing it applied to his friend now–when he had seen his bravery–seemed to be an open chastisement of Sam. He was about to step out and give his marksman a piece of his mind when the lad called Joseph broke in.

"You've no right to call him a coward; you didn't sail under him, so you wouldn't know. Sharpe's a good man, I'd even say a great one. A braver man I've never known. He stands and fights when no other man will, and when he saw your device he didn't turn tail and run, though he knew what was likely in store–he stayed calm and told us we would fight."

"And a fat lot of good that did you."

"And had we surrendered from the start, what mercy could we expect? You know the Articles–no mercy, no quarter, until the majority of the crew be dead. Even not knowing the particulars, we knew we'd all be dead if we surrendered. At least fighting we stood a chance." Sam, glancing around the bulkhead, saw the younger of the two men spread his hands out. "He was always fair, to all of us, and he was an excellent commander. I followed him for that reason."

Henry scowled. "So why's the man so quiet now? Can't see Cap'n just sitting by and letting hisself get treated like a galley slave."

"He's hoping to get out of here alive," Joseph answered simply. "Cap's got a reputation. Sharpe is just trying to survive."

Henry drained his skin of water. "Ye mentioned the Articles–well, you just brought up the biggest problem with all this. Cap'n's rules say that all officers are to be killed. He's violated 'em by letting Sharpe live. Explain that, smart-arse."

Joseph shrugged. "Who can say? Maybe there's something special about him. Something the Cap'n knows the rest of us don't."

Henry sniggered. "Aye, I'm sure he's 'special'. Always suspected that was the reason the Cap'n forbade women on the ship–'cause he prefers the pleasures of men."

Sam unconsciously touched his left shoulder and began mentally running through the Articles to see if there was anything he could get Henry on. But Joseph was already vehemently denying it. "Never! Say what you will about Captain Bluejacket, but Sharpe would never do such a thing. He was always talking about the girl he had left behind in Portsmouth. He's no sodomite."

Henry held up his hands. "All right, all right! He's a fine gentleman, and woe betide me if I ever say another word against him. Come on, then, let's get back to work. I've a fair amount to do before I go off-duty."

The two sailors wandered off, but Sam stayed where he was, wrestling with his feelings. The thought foremost in his mind was, Why didn't Ned tell me he had a girl?