The next morning it was clear with the bright yellow sun rising behind the ship as she made her way west. The wind had not changed during the night and when the log was thrown she was making nine knots. The captain called for divisions after eight bells. When all the men assembled on deck, Amelia with her new shorter hair and dressed in her new ship's boy togs stood next to the captain on the quarterdeck, the captain called out the first lieutenant.
"Mr. Jeffries, is the ship's company assembled?"
"Yes Sir, all present, except for Lewis, who is in sick bay."
"Very, well Mr. Jeffries. Mates, I would like to introduce a new member of our crew. This is Adam Stackhouse," holding his hand out toward Amelia. "Mr. Stackhouse is my new cabin boy. He has signed our agreement and will be entitled to a full share. Does anybody have a problem with Mr. Stackhouse joining our crew?"
While it was unusual for a cabin boy to be entitled to a full share of the pirate's ship's booty, with Amelia fingering the dagger at her side, there was silence from the rest of the crew.
"Yesterday, one of the crew attacked Stackhouse here. Mr. Stackhouse was not injured in the attack and was able to defend himself against his attacker. The guilty party is now in sickbay recovering from his injuries. This sort of attack is against the rules of our charter and could be seen as grounds for marooning. It is my opinion that in view of the injuries sustained by the guilty party that reduction in pay to half a share and being left in Nassau is punishment enough for this offense. Be there anyone who disagrees?"
There again was silence from the assembled men.
"Good, we shall be Nassau in three days if the current winds hold. Initial shares will be distributed upon our arrival and we shall be in port until the rest of the cargo can be sold. You may go about your duties."
There was a cheer at the mention of shares being distributed as the crew went back to work. As the crew dispersed, William looked at Amelia and asked, "You know what your duties are?"
"Yes, Son of Edmund."
"Very well, you will kindly get to them then."
"Aye, aye, sir," said Amelia, saluting and walking forward to the main cabin.
On a real Royal Navy ship this amount of familiarity with the captain would have been unheard of and called for a flogging, but the pirate's crew, although they tried to run things like a king's ship, had no need much of the courtesy that would have been due a real naval captain and officers. The
Phantom
was a democracy, with the captain and officers being elected by the crew. Their orders were followed, but if the crew felt that they weren't taking the right actions to maximize the profit of the crew, new officers would be elected in their place. This was written into the agreement that all the members of the crew had signed and Amelia was now a party to.
Amelia spent the rest of the morning watch cleaning the main cabin. It had been a while since the cabin had been cleaned, and without a river to divert to wash away all debris of two years at sea it was a sizable task. She had finished cleaning the cabin and begun washing the captain's clothing when William returned that afternoon. He was pleasantly surprised at how good the cleaned cabin looked, but wasn't about to mention it to Amelia.
"What do you say to some supper?" he asked.
"Sounds good, I'll go get it."
Amelia left the cabin and went aft to the galley. As Amelia entered the galley a silence fell over the men assembled there. A normally boisterous group of men eating a meal suddenly went dead silent, all eyes on Amelia. Uncomfortable being the center of the men's attention, she went to the cook and got the captain's and her meals and carrying the meals she quickly left the silent galley.
Since the events of the day before, Amelia noticed that silence would descend upon crewmembers whenever she came into contact with them. At first she thought it was because they were scared of her, afraid she might do to them what she had done to Lewis. Soon the silence intimidated Amelia. If only there were some way, she thought, that she could prove she was just another member of the crew. However, each time she came into contact with them, they would stop whatever they were talking about, saying anything to her only when it was necessary. But, that would change with their time in Nassau.
The
Phantom
arrived in Nassau harbor just after eight bells in the morning. Sailing into the shallow harbor between Paradise and New Providence Islands the crew dropped anchor and made ready the long boat. It was a bright, beautiful island morning, however the town and the adjoining sailcloth tent city looked like a ghost town as most of the residents of Nassau were still sleeping off last night's debauchery.
There was no local authority, the British colonial government having long ago abandoned the island, leaving pirates and their ilk free reign. The shallow harbor was ideal for sheltering small-hulled pirate vessels because larger, deeper hulled men-of-war were unable to enter it. Additionally the high the hills of New Providence provided a valuable lookout when the Royal Navy came prowling. The island also provided abundant resources of timber, food and fresh water. All of this combined to make Nassau a pirate haven.
The Captain, Amelia and several of the men took the long boat to the quay along New Providence. Tying the boat up to the quay, the captain told the men who had come with him to stay by the boat; he and Amelia would go and reconnoiter. The men grumbled at being told they couldn't go into town, but he reminded them that nobody would be about yet and they would have plenty of time for revelry later, in the evening, when at least the island's taverns would be open and the whores would be awake.
Nassau was deserted. Though early yet the hot tropical sun beat down, baking the white washed adobe walls and canvas sailcloth tents of the town. Here and there the street urchins and bastards ran and played, huddling over some coppers found in the gutter or rolling a barrel whoop down the street. The Adult population (if it could be called that) of the city was still at rest, recovering from last night's revels.
William and Amelia walked through the town and he led her to a run down tavern. They walked up to the bar and William asked the man standing behind it if Louis was available. The keeper said yes, he is awake, and offered the pair some coffee while they waited. They sat down at a table in the deserted establishment, sipped their coffee, and waited for the proprietor. It was only a few minutes, when he came down the stairs, behind the bar, to greet his guests.
"William, how are you
mon ami
?" said the skinny Frenchman.
"Well, Louis, and you?"
"I am well, it is good to see you, how was your voyage? Profitable I hope."
"Yes, we did well, I have plenty of merchandise for you. Louis I would like you to meet the newest member of our crew. This is Adam Stackhouse, my new cabin boy."
"A pleasure, young sir, welcome to my establishment," said Louis, shaking Amelia's hand. "I hope you will be with us later tonight."
Amelia mumbled that she would.
"Adam, Louis here is the best fence in Nassau, and he runs excellent tavern."
"
Tres Bien
. You will have an inventory of your prizes for me?"
"Here" said the captain, pulling a sheet of parchment out of his coat and handing it to the Frenchman.
"Hmm. Let us see." Louis took several minutes examining the list of goods that the pirates had captured. "Well I will have to see the merchandise before I can give you a full quote, but you seem to have done very well. I will advance any of your men credit at the bar should they want it, but as you know the girls upstairs are a cash only business."
"As always Louis, thank you for your hospitality," said the captain, as he made ready to leave.
"I will see you this evening,
mon ami
?"
"Of course"
Amelia and William left the bar and went back to the longboat. Getting aboard they were rowed back to the ship, anchored in the harbor.
That evening, William assigned five men to stay behind on the ship and stand watch, while the rest of the crew were given a preliminary share of gold coin, until the rest of the goods could be liquidated, and sent ashore. The long boat ferried back and forth, carrying the pirate crew to the onshore establishments. William and Amelia were in one of the last groups to go ashore. Nassau seemed to be lit up with fire when they came ashore, as the evening's revelry was already in full swing. The streets were filled with drunken sailors rolling on the cobblestones, assaulting passers by, and begging for money for more alcohol. William and Amelia made their way back to Louis' place.
Inside the party was in full swing, as the crew was already quickly spending their booty on liquor and women. Louis quickly recognized William, as he entered, and hustled a couple of drunken sailors from a table so William, Amelia and a few other members of his pirate crew could sit down. William ordered tankards of ale for everyone sitting around the table and they were quickly delivered.
Amelia looked around the tavern. All the men around her seemed to be having a good time and drinking heavily. She sat and listened as the men sitting around them told tales of their times at sea and their conquests. It bothered Amelia that she had none of her own to brag about. Amelia started drinking the tankard or ale that had been set before her. William, sitting next to her, challenged her to finish her tankard before he could finish his. Lifting their tankards to their mouths, they stared at each other, each trying to finish their ale before the other. Amelia tried drink as quickly as she could, but she did not finish it before William. William laughed, and ordered another pair of tankards, which quickly arrived.
William produced a pair of dice and proposed that they play a game of chance, betting instead of money, they would bet drinks of ale. Amelia and the other men sitting around the table agreed. As the game proceeded and the men were able to assign drinks to the other players, and it seemed to Amelia that she was being given more drinks than the other players. She was afraid to say anything, but particularly when William was giving out drinks, he always gave them to Amelia. Soon Amelia was beginning to feel a bit strange as she noticed that her coordination in rolling the dice was suffering.
