It was a sleepless night. By morning, he had come up with scores of questions and no answers. His mind was scrambled, he was stiff and cold and he wondered if he had been condemned to death by thirst and hunger. Soon after dawn, however, the cabin door was unlocked and a grizzled old man entered with a plate of bread and chicken and a cup of water.
‘Good morning, sir,’ he said with a toothless grin, ‘I’m Ned. I’m to look after you. Make sure you get food and water and don’t run off.’
‘Where would I run to, Ned? I can’t walk on the sea.’
Ned managed a throaty gurgle. ‘No, sir. And lucky for you, because it means you’re allowed an hour on deck each day. I’ll fetch you this afternoon. In the meantime don’t go getting ideas. There’s two guards outside the door and both of them is a mite hasty with a knife.’
Thomas passed the morning dozing and thinking. He wondered what had induced him to volunteer to act as Willoughby’s envoy and what lies Rush had been telling Ayscue about him. He wondered about Margaret and the girls. And he wondered how Willoughby could avoid a battle which he must surely lose.
That afternoon, having walked ten times round the ship with a cloak provided by Ned over his head, Thomas was about to go below when a longboat emerged out of the rain and spray and came alongside. Out of curiosity he waited to see what it brought, expecting barrels of food and drink to be manhandled up to the Rainbow.
To his surprise, however, the first person who clambered up the ladder and on to the deck was a woman. She was followed by eleven others, all complaining noisily about the scabby soldiers and the leaking boat that had brought them there. After the women came the marines, each armed with a pistol and a cutlass. These were tavern women, doubtless offered a few shillings to boost the morale of men who had been more than ten weeks on the Rainbow.
The marines set about herding the women towards the bow, where a short ladder led down to the deck below. Thomas followed them down. At the bottom of the steps, the woman in front of him stumbled. Thomas put his hand under her elbow to steady her. The woman turned. It was a face he recognized at once. Snub nose, green eyes, auburn hair. The last time he had seen her, this woman and her mother had just been savagely raped by the brutes. He had never forgotten the hatred on their faces.
Seeing Thomas, the woman smiled. Without speaking, she touched his face, just as she had once before. Thomas was about to say something when there was a shout from in front of them and the woman hurried off to begin her night’s work. He watched her go, then went to his cabin. It was her, beyond doubt, and she had recognized him. So she had survived; as, he supposed, had he. Survivors both.
The second of Thomas’s daily meals came at six o’clock. When it arrived, Thomas said, ‘Looks like you’ll be enjoying yourselves tonight, Ned. Twelve women I counted.’
Ned grunted. ‘No use to me, sir. Long past it, I am. Caught the pox in Jamaica and lost interest years ago. It’s the bottle keeps me company now.’
‘The young men’ll have a good time, though. How long will the women stay?’
‘The boat’ll be back before the eight o’clock bell. That’s our orders.’
‘Do they visit all the ships?’
‘Must do. The sailors are bad enough but those Virginia farmers are worse. They expect a new woman every day.’ Farmers, not soldiers.
‘Do they now, Ned? Farmers, eh? Must be all those bulls they keep making them lusty.’ Ned laughed and left Thomas to his dinner.
Now Thomas knew the truth of the newly arrived fleet, he must get a message ashore, but how? He sat and thought.
When Ned returned for Thomas’s plate, he had decided that a risk must be taken. ‘It’s been lonely down here on my own, Ned, even with you for company,’ he said. ‘Could you find me one of the girls for half an hour?’
‘I don’t know about that, sir. I’d be in trouble if I was caught.’
‘A shame, Ned. Just what I need, a woman, especially if she has the Irish look about her. Red hair and green eyes are what I’ve always had a weakness for. Are there any like that, do you know?’
‘There might be, sir. I couldn’t rightly say.’
‘Could you take a look, Ned? There’ll be five sovereigns in it for you when I’m released.’
‘If you’re released, sir, as I hope you will be. Five sovereigns, eh? You must be lonely. I’ll see what I can do.’
‘Thank you, Ned. Don’t be too long, mind. I might fall asleep.’
Before long, Ned was back. ‘You’re in luck, sir. There’s one just as you like ’em. Young, too. She’s busy now, so I’ll bring her along when she’s free.’
An hour later, there was a knock on the cabin door and Ned ushered the woman in. ‘There you are, sir. Red hair and green eyes, as ordered. I’ll be back for her when the boat arrives.’
The woman stepped into the cabin. Her hand went to her mouth.
‘Don’t be frightened,’ he said gently. ‘What’s your name?’
‘Agatha.’ It was the first word she had spoken to him.
That was promising. ‘Agatha. It means good. Did you know that?’
‘No, sir, I didn’t. But I remember you, sir. You helped us. Are you wanting something in return?’
He smiled. ‘Not in the way you mean, Agatha. I’m glad to see you alive. And your mother?’
‘You knew she was my mother? Yes, sir, she’s alive. One of them is dead, though, thank the Lord. He was wounded. We made sure.’
‘So is the other. I killed him.’
She nodded. ‘Both dead. I thank God.’
‘There is one thing I would ask of you, Agatha. It won’t be easy and it might be dangerous. Before I tell you what it is, I must know if you will do it.’
She grinned. ‘It won’t be the first time I’ve done something dangerous. And but for you, sir, we might be dead. I’ll do it if I can.’
‘Good. First let me explain how I come to be here.’ While Thomas told his story, Agatha sat silently beside him and listened. She was no stranger to injustice so she believed him when he told her of his arrest and indenture and of his treatment by the Gibbes, of his escape and rescue and of the deaths of his friend Patrick and of the brutal Gibbes brothers. He paused in the telling. ‘Before I explain what I ask of you, have you any questions?’
‘No, sir. Though I’m sorry for the loss of your friend.’
Not just a cold-hearted whore, he thought, she must have heard it in my voice. A deep listener, just like the Ranters. ‘Thank you, Agatha. Now here’s the important part. I was promised my freedom and passage home in return for a service I provided and for acting as envoy from Lord Willoughby to Sir George Ayscue, who commands this fleet. As you can see, the plan hasn’t worked and here I am a prisoner. However, I do now have some information of great importance which I must get to Captain Charles Carrington, who is with Lord Willoughby’s army. Will you take it for me?’
‘Where will I find him, sir?’
‘First, Agatha, tell me that you will take the message.’
‘I will, sir, if I can.’
‘Good. The message is “Thomas Hill, on the Rainbow, says they are settlers from Virginia, not soldiers.”’
‘“Thomas Hill, on the Rainbow, says they are settlers from Virginia, not soldiers.” Who do I give it to, sir?’
‘Charles Carrington. Find Lord Willoughby’s army and you’ll find him. Ask around but do not give the message to anyone else. No one, Agatha.’