Zypheria's Call (A Tanyth Fairport Adventure) (44 page)

Tanyth stood there for a few moments. After so many days of having the deck rise and fall under her, of having to watch every step, the ship felt oddly still.

“Tea, mum?” Cook asked.

She took one last long scan of the dilapidated waterfront and the dark forest looming behind the town. A chill breeze drifted across the harbor bringing the dusky aroma of wood smoke, the tang of fish, and an unmistakable whiff of horse dung. “Love a cup,” she said.

The bright ding of the ship’s bell seemed to echo across the harbor. With the sun nearly down behind the headland, the harbor and surround was all but deserted. The sound of a concertina playing a lively jig wafted uncertainly on the light, evening breeze. Tanyth caught the redolent, green smell of pine and hemlock cutting through the smokey funk of human habitation.

“Good evening, mum. Miss Marong.” Mr. Groves said, stepping onto the deck from the gangway.

“Mr. Groves,” Tanyth said with a nod. “Lovely night.”

“Aye, and it seems almost impossible that there’s a city there tucked among the trees. Later in the season when there are half a dozen vessels in port, it’ll seem a different place, but right now? I could grow to like this place.”

“Half a dozen?” Rebecca took the measure of the stone pier and surrounding harbor. “Large ships like the
Call
?”

“Larger. Malloy’s
Sea Rover
is half again longer and several tonnes heavier. Compared to most of the fleet, we’re a jolly boat.”

“Where will they put them all?” the young woman asked, eyes wide in disbelief.

He laughed. “They’ll fit. Sometimes they moor side by side in the height of the season, but some in, some out, once in a while they’ll lay at anchor out there and ferry crews ashore in long boats, but with that many vessels, the money flows and nobody asks questions about where to put them.”

The captain opened the companionway and stepped up onto the deck. He smiled and nodded at Tanyth. “Good evening, mum. Ready for a little shore food?”

“I am, Captain, and thank you for inviting me.”

He clapped his son on the shoulder in greeting. “You’re more than welcome, mum. A good meal is the least we can do after all you’ve done for the ship.”

“Indeed, mum,” the younger Groves added. “We’ve had ladies travel with us before, but I think you may be the only one that came without a male escort. And I know you’re the only one that’s been on the opening voyage of the season, mum.”

Captain Groves nodded. “And a good thing you were, too, mum.” He kept his voice low but Tanyth heard a burr of emotion in it. “Or we’d never have arrived.”

She gave a small shrug. “I had a bit of investment in the voyage, myself,” she said. “Seemed the least I could do.”

“And you, miss? Ready to stand on solid land again?”

Rebecca smiled and looked up at the bare spars above her head. “It’s been very nice aboard, Captain.” She gave a small shrug. “But yes.”

Both men grinned and the captain led the way up the gangway and onto the hard surface of the pier. They started toward the town, Rebecca and the first mate leading the way.

Tanyth found herself stumbling every few steps. “What in the world,” she muttered. “Is the dock shaking?”

Captain Groves offered his arm. “No, mum. It’s just you’re used to having the deck move under you, now. Your feet keep expecting the dock to do the same thing.”

She took his arm and his steady hand kept her from making too much of a fool of herself and noticed the younger Groves provided the same service to a blushing Rebecca. To fill the quiet she asked, “Do you know who that package was addressed to?”

The captain nodded, but the younger Mr. Groves answered. “Nobody. A false name according to the harbormaster, mum. I just got back from the office.” He craned his head back to speak over his shoulder. “Stevedores and cargo agents will be on the dock at eight bells in the morning, Captain.”

“Thank you, Mr. Groves.”

“What will you do with the...” Tanyth hesitated over saying too much where passers-by might overhear.

“The parcel in question?” Captain Groves offered.

“Yeah. The parcel in question. What will you do with it? Turn it over to the local constables?”

Mr. Groves leaned in to hear his answer, too.

“Honestly, mum? I don’t know.” Captain Groves screwed his mouth up and then wiped his lips with his free hand like he wanted to spit but was too polite to do it with a lady on his arm. “Constables like having things neat. We only have the box and our word where it came from.”

“Why would you lie about that?”

The captain shrugged. “No reason to, but constables aren’t prone to reason when they can hound you about lacking key facts in the case.”

“Like what, Captain?”

“Well,” he said, drawing the word out, “like who made it to begin with? That’s for one thing. How did we find it, for another.”

“You could just tell them you were inspecting after the squall and heard it tick,” she pointed out.

“We could, but then they’d confiscate it as evidence and we’d never see it again.”

“But they’d have to trace it, wouldn’t they?”

The captain gave her a rather jaundiced look and asked, “Not if they work for the insurers. That would be a nice little extra bit of change if they quietly took care of any funny business here for them, don’t ya think?”

Tanyth looked shocked but then realized he probably had the right of it.

“Lots of empty ocean between here and there, mum,” the younger Groves added. “Plenty of room for a ship that was supposed to be lost on the way up to tragically founder on the way back.”

“Aye,” Captain Groves said. “About the time they get down the list of questions to ‘Why aren’t you dead?’ That would be a stickier one to answer.”

As they walked off the pier and up the main street of the town, the sound of the concertina grew louder and, with it, the sound of voices raised in celebration. Some laughed. Some sang. Some merely shouted. She couldn’t understand any of them.

“That’s not where we’re headed, is it, Captain?” Tanyth asked.

The captain looked at her oddly for a moment before he realized where she meant. He shook his head with a laugh. “No, mum. My loud and rowdy days are long past. A quiet ale, a good slice of roast, and a few friends are more than enough for me.”

Mr. Groves grinned at his father. “And besides, you know most of the crew will be up there dancing on the tables and drinking their pay away.”

The captain nodded and answered with a shrug. “Tis not a pretty sight, but one they earned. It’s their pay to spend and no business of mine to tell ’em how.”

“And the big heads they’ll earn and have to work off in the morning won’t be any prettier,” Mr. Groves pointed out.

“Oh, true, but the amusement value of watching them suffer will do my cold, old heart good, my boy. Be grateful you’re not with ’em.”

“Speaking of pay...” The first mate shot a glance over his shoulder.

“What, boy? I paid you with the rest of the crew,” Captain Groves said.

“Not me, sir. Them.” Mr. Groves jerked his chin at the two women, his arm still encumbered by the younger of the two.

“Oh, of course!” The captain stopped, halting the procession right in the middle of the empty street. He thrust a hand deep into his trousers, fishing around and pulling up a handful of coins. He counted out several pieces of silver in his fingers and held it out to Rebecca. “There ya go, miss. Wages earned for a job well done.”

Rebecca looked confused. “But I thought I was workin’ for my passage.”

The younger Groves nodded. “You did, but you also earned a few silvers to help you on your way. It’s customary.”

“Indeed it is, girl.” The captain shook his outstretched hand. “Take it or we stand here until you do, and I’m getting hungry.”

Tanyth looked at Saul Groves and saw the twinkle in his eye. “Customary? Since when?”

He grinned at her. “We’ll get to you in a minute, mum. Just hold your main sheet a little longer.”

Rebecca held out her hand, and the captain deposited the coins.

“Thank you, Captain,” she said, with a bashful glance at the first mate.

“Very welcome, my girl, and if you ever decide to give up bein’ this woman’s travelin’ companion, you’ve always a berth on the
Call
.”

Rebecca seemed startled by the notion. “I didn’t know women could work on vessels, Captain.”

“It’s not common, but it’s not unheard of. You got along well with the lads and pulled your weight along with the rest of ’em. Better’n some.” The old man shrugged. “Good crew’s hard enough to find without getting’ too finicky over the plumbin’.”

Rebecca shook the coins loosely in her fist and then deposited them in her trouser pocket. “Thank you, Captain.” She didn’t say anything more but did spare another shy glance up to the younger Groves before reaching for his arm again.

“We’re not done yet,” the captain said. He counted more coins out of his hand and held his fist out to Tanyth. “You did more’n your share this trip, mum. Keepin’ Cook amused is a full-time job and you did it right smartly.”

Tanyth pushed the man’s hand away. “No, Captain. Cook amused me on what mighta been a long and borin’ trip. I couldn’t.”

“You will, mum, or I’ll just have to hold my breath until I turn blue.” He took a deep breath and puffed out his cheeks, his eyes bulging above the reddened skin.

Laughing at the staid captain behaving so childishly, Tanyth accepted the coins without looking at them. They rattled in her hand as she accepted his offered arm. They continued their stroll once more.

After a few steps, she started to deposit the coins in her pocket. The glint of gold caught her eye. “Captain...”

“Hush, mum,” he said, patting the hand he held captive under his arm.

“But this is—”

“Yes, mum.” He turned to look her in the eye. “You earned much more than your passage. If you hadn’t been there, and been willin’ to do what you did? None of us woulda gotten to port, let alone home.”

“Surely you’d have ridden out the storm,” she murmured.

His lips hardened into a thin line. “I’m not talkin’ about the storm, mum.”

Mr. Groves looked over his shoulder, and said, “If you two don’t stop mumblin’ with your heads together back there, I’m gonna tell Mother on you.”

They all laughed and Captain Groves led them to the front of a quiet inn a few paces off the main street. “Here we are.”

He grabbed the handle and swung the door wide, ushering Rebecca, Tanyth, and his son in with a sweep of his hand.

“I always said this uniform makes me look more like a doorman than a captain, but Murial likes it.”

Mr. Groves snickered at what was probably a well-worn family joke.

Tanyth just smiled and said, “Thank you, Captain,” as she entered.

They stepped into the common room and surveyed the place. A large stone fireplace offered plenty of heat, and two huge wheels hung from chains from the rafters, each featuring as many as a dozen lanterns around the circumference. They bathed the room in a warm, yellow glow. Somewhere close by a joint was roasting and it filled the room with an aroma that made Tanyth’s mouth water.

“Saul! Benjamin! You made it.”

A pot-bellied man wearing a clean apron and homespun leggings came out from behind the bar, his arms wide. Long gray hairs scuttled about the sides of his head without offering any shade to the shining skull above.

“Perry, you old sea dog. You’re still piloting the pub, I see.” The captain met the man with a back-thumping embrace and then stepped back to look him up and down. “You’ve lost weight since the last we met, haven’t you?”

A woman’s voice rang out. “Don’t encourage him, Saul. It just makes him more insufferable.” Tanyth heard real affection in the jibe and turned to see a thin woman walk through the swinging door from the back. She carried a tray of food and smiled at Tanyth before stopping at a booth and sorting the dishes out among the denizens.

“When we saw the sails, I knew it t’was you,” Perry carried on with a broad grin. “You made good time! But where are my manners? Here, sit, sit. Please. I’ll find you a small somethin’ to whet your whistle.”

Perry ushered them to a neat, square table just off the hearth, close enough to be warmed by the fire, but not so close as to get overheated.

The thin woman came over and gave the big man a playful swat before addressing the table. “Welcome back, Saul, Benjamin.” She held out her hand to Tanyth. “I’m Amanda. Perry’s just the dancin’ bear in this circus.”

Tanyth shook the offered hand. “Tanyth. Tanyth Fairport.”

Rebecca nodded in greeting. “Rebecca,” she said.

Amanda squinted at the younger woman. “Just Rebecca?”

“Marong.”

Amanda nodded. “You look like a Marong.”

“Well, I’m the black sheep so I hope I don’t act like one.”

Amanda laughed at the joke that Tanyth didn’t understand.

Perry returned with a large pitcher in one hand and four metal mugs in the other. He kissed the woman on the cheek on his way by. “Yes, love, but I’m your dancin’ bear.”

She gave him a grin and said, “For now.”

Perry plunked mugs down in front of them and poured the first one full, handing it to Saul. “Try that. See if you’ve ever tasted finer.”