Chapter 6
Isabella reflects on a past meeting with two soldiers and finds new friends in North Africa. She and Thomas share a special evening.
Isabella and Thomas sat there on the covered bridge of the pirate galley, hardly talking. At one point, she heard Thomas groan quietly and remembered his wound for the cannon accident.
"Let me see," she insisted and helped him roll up the sleeve of his cassock. Isabella inspected the gash, a few inches long and almost an inch deep, just below his shoulder. It was still bleeding slowly. She took a clean rag from her pocket, doused it with fresh water and cleaned the wound.
"Nasty," she said, "but you'll live. We should have someone look at it properly and give you a couple of stitches when we reach ... where are we going?"
"Porto Farina", said Thomas. "It's a pirate port at the town of Ghar El Melh, north-west of Tripoli."
"Tunisia." Said Isabella. "Is Ghar El Melh the base of these pirates?"
"No, this company is from further south. Ghar El Melh is the base of one of their competitors but it is where they are taking us. I have friends there."
Isabella was further confused about the nature of Thomas's deal with the pirates but let the matter rest. She tied his wound tightly with a rag soaked in seawater and sat back in silence.
The declining sun reached her back and she slipped into a light dreamy sleep. She was vaguely aware of the objects in the pockets of her pantaloon apron, Keira's horn weighty against her inner thigh. Thomas's earlier remarks about the janissaries taking her before sending her off to the slave market sent a little shudder through her intestines. And yet, at the same time, the thought of being handled and taken by several men together did resonate with her lustful side. An especially sordid memory of an earlier encounter with two men came back in images and feelings.
It was in her third summer at Henri's farmhouse and he had taken off to the mountains some weeks earlier. She was expecting him home any day and had prepared the house for his return. Despite Anton's urgings, she had not at that stage, taken lovers, more, she reflected, out of lack of opportunity than desire.
One particular cavalry officer had taken her fancy a few months earlier. He had arrived at the farmhouse initially with a message to Henri from the local battalion commander. Something to do with a raid being planned on a neighboring principality. Henri was clearly impressed with him and engaged him in animated conversations about animal husbandry and the weather. The animation was mostly on Henri's side of the discussions. The cavalry officer, whose name was Roberto, seemed somewhat more reserved and a little reluctant to take up Henri's offers of an overnight stay or a ride to the upper pastures to see his flock. Roberto did however show greater interest in Isabella, his eyes often wandering to her while Henri explained the finer points of some aspect of pasture management or shearing. On Roberto's third or fourth visit to the house, Henri had been away and he seemed to relax and enjoy Isabella's company as they took refreshments on the porch. She flirted innocently with him and tried to assess his intentions. He talked of his wife in the town, their plans for a vineyard, her desire for children and his hope that cavalry service would elevate his chances of a government post. Isabella was left with the impression that, while he was sorely tempted to make more explicit advances towards her, he was both shy and a little torn by his genuine love and devotion to his young wife. She let the idea of an affair pass.
That summer, bored and not particularly looking forward to her husband's return, Isabella had been pleased to greet Roberto and a friend when they stopped to water their mounts at the farm's troughs. They greeted each other as old friends and inquired after each other's health and happiness. Roberto's friend was Paulo, a strapping young man, very full of himself and inclined to swagger. He tried to catch Isabella's eye several times and he developed a slightly unattractive leer when she spoke to him. Roberto revealed that they were both on leave from their unit and had decided to come to town to see the performance of an English play that evening. Roberto's wife was pregnant and had returned to her parent's home in Naples to be nearer a competent midwife and her family's support. Roberto seemed happy and suggested that Isabella accompany them to the play. Isabella was certainly keen on the idea, but wary of allowing herself to be left alone with Paulo. She had had her fill, literally, of young bucks like him in previous years and was not interested in renewing what she was sure would be a brief and not particularly satisfying acquaintance. She took Roberto aside and confessed her concerns. He was sympathetic but defended his friend as a gentler and more sensitive person than he appeared. In any case, he promised not to leave them alone.
She had a wonderful evening. The play, A Midsummer Night's Dream by an apparently famous English writer, was funny and lewd and the entire audience joined in the fun. Roberto had found the three of them a grassy position overlooking the little stage and had procured tankards of ale, which they drank heartily. In the darkness, Isabella had moved close to Roberto, resting her head on his arm or shoulder during the first Act. Paulo turned out to be witty and reasonably intelligent, making clever and rude comments to the actors and paying particular attention to Isabella's comfort and the level of ale in her tankard. During the interval, both men went off into the trees to relieve themselves. When they returned, they took up positions on either side of Isabella and moved close. As the play unfolded, she felt more comfortable with Paulo, but still clung to Roberto for comfort and protection, hoping he might even return some of her gentle caresses. But it was Paulo who made the first advance, running a hand up under her skirts while she was laughing at the antics on stage. She caught his hand through the material, but rather than making a scene, she simply held it firmly and whispered to him "Enough for now."
