Anger burned in the haggish woman’s eyes. She laid into the young women immediately, explaining very clearly how she would not tolerate any laziness. “I will not be trifled with!” she said.
The matron and several women working under her wore dark dresses covered by off-white, heavy aprons with pockets in the front. She introduced herself as Mrs. Palmer. The other women with her brought out stacks of uniforms.
“These will be your clothes for as long as you reside here at the palace of Lord Mordred. Take good care of them. If I have to issue you any more, you will receive ten lashes each time. Is that understood?”
Elspeth and all of the other young women nodded. It was not a nod of approval, but the nod of forced compliance, a nod which punctuated the hopelessness of their situation. As Elspeth gathered the garments meted out to her and fell back into line, she wondered where her brother might be at this moment. She wondered if he might still be alive and looking for her.
CAPTAIN BONIFAST
A pleasant breeze brushed over the sailing ship, Maelstrom. Ethan had been forced to breathe rancid air the night before in Tilley Town’s stockade, so this was more than he could have hoped for. He had expected dirt shoveled over his body in some mass grave back in Tilley by this time, but divine providence proved a force to be reckoned with.
Ash and his fellow shipmates, who had been sharing the gallows with him and Gideon only hours before, had known their captain, Levi Bonifast, would rescue them somehow. Apparently, Captain Bonifast had ordered the assault on Mordred’s munitions depot in Tilley to begin with and had made sure the job was completed the second time.
The monstrous explosion, rocking the city, had provided a wonderful diversion. Meanwhile, members of Bonifast’s crew, disguised as hangmen, brought about their escape. Fortunately, Ash had been willing to take him and Gideon along in the escape plan.
Ethan and Gideon remained on deck under the watchful eyes of the crew. Ethan suspected that they were pirates. Nevertheless, Ash had made it clear they fought with the resistance movement building in Nod.
Ash and the others had disappeared into the captain’s cabin at the rear of the ship. Ethan wondered if he would find Captain Bonifast as friendly a man as Ash. Gideon, for the most part, remained quiet. He generally did not talk unless he had something specific to say. “Even a fool is counted wise when he holds his tongue,” Gideon had said.
By mid-afternoon, Ethan wondered when they might see Ash again and meet this illustrious Captain Bonifast. He had never been aboard a ship like this before or a ship at all for that matter. He stared, amazed at how efficient the crew carried out their duties, performing their individual functions in concert like a well-oiled machine.
The Maelstrom, a weather beaten vessel, had more charm than outright beauty, like an old mule-ugly as sin, but hard working and worth its weight in gold to its master. As Ethan examined the main mast before him and the rail he was leaning against, he noticed a fair amount of patchwork. Careful inspection found the wood littered with pockmarks and seams where new wood had been added to replace hunks of it lost in numerous battles.
Many of the crew had the same sort of patchwork appearance. Some wore shaggy beards. Others had teeth missing or rotting out. Some of Bonifast’s motley crew were even missing fingers or entire limbs. Still, they performed their duties the same as everyone else.
The door to the captain’s cabin opened, causing Ethan and Gideon to perk up. They eagerly anticipated the man to whom they owed their lives. A man dressed in a navy blue waistcoat with a matching tricorn hat walked out of the cabin.
“Ash?” Ethan asked.
“That’s Captain Levi Ashbury Bonifast to you, young master Ethan,” he said.
“So you’re Bonifast,” Gideon said.
“I know, I know. You were trying very hard to figure out who could be more dashing and intelligent than your new friend Ash,” Bonifast said. “But your wondering is over, the answer is clear-no one is!”
One thing was certain, Ash or Bonifast, or whoever he was, had not lost his sense of humor. Ethan grinned from ear to ear. “I guess we owe you our lives then, Captain.”
Captain Bonifast patted Ethan’s shoulder. “Ah well, let’s save our thanks for the Almighty who deserves it, eh?” he said, nodding toward Gideon. Gideon smiled, nodding in agreement. He would not have admitted it, but Gideon seemed to like this fellow almost as much as Ethan did. Bonifast may have seemed a scoundrel at first glance, but somewhere beneath the veneer a heart of pure gold kept showing through.
“So, boys, what are your plans, or were you thinking of settling down in Tilley?”
“I’m trying to get to Emmanuel to rescue my sister,” Ethan said. “Gideon is helping me.”
“I see. Then Shaddai has you on the right track,” Bonifast said. “The Maelstrom is sailing for Emmanuel. I suppose you could tag along with us, right boys?” Bonifast said to his crew.
“Aye, Captain!” they shouted.
“Of course you’ll have to pull your own weight,” he said. “As the Word says, A man who doesn’t work, doesn’t eat, and the same goes on this ship.”
Ethan and Gideon looked at one another. “We’d be happy to serve in any way we can, Captain Bonifast,” Gideon said.
“Very good. Anthony…Brass?”
“Yes, Captain?” they answered.
“I want you to take these lads below and get them something to eat in the mess. Then get them some clothes, if they have need, and bring them back up on deck within the hour. Show them what needs doing and how to do it.”
“Aye, Captain,” they said. Ethan followed Gideon, hurrying below deck with Bonifast’s men. Once again, divine providence had guided them in the way they should go. Soon they would arrive at Emmanuel, and Ethan wondered if he would find his sister. And if he did, would she be dead or alive?
THE SLAVER
The four o’clock bell sounded. Exactly twenty-one minutes later, the alarm went out from the crows nest. A ship had been spotted off the port bow. The weather had been fair up until one hour ago. A storm lay ahead of them now, and the wind had been picking up steadily, allowing the Maelstrom to gain a great deal of speed.
Ethan and Gideon were engaged in a lesson on how to furl and unfurl the sails. They climbed up the rigging with Brass. Ethan had exchanged his clothing for some brown slacks and a white pullover shirt while Gideon had refused to change from his priestly garments, choosing instead to wash them in a bucket with a washboard.
Captain Bonifast ordered more sail to catch the increasing wind. Brass explained how Captain Bonifast enjoyed finding the edge of storm systems, riding the good wind to propel them like a slingshot. “The Maelstrom gets its name for this reason, and no seabird can ride them out better,” Brass said.
“Spyglass!” Bonifast called. Anthony, who happened to be the first mate, handed the captain a brass telescope. Bonifast drew it to its full length, setting it toward the ship on the horizon. It appeared to be coming on course for Emmanuel as well. The ship was flying Mordred’s colors, a black flag with a single red circle and black pupil, like a red eye watching in the dark.
Bonifast murmured to himself. “Wait, what’s she doing?”
As he watched the ship, he saw every scrap of sail unfurl. They shifted their course, taking them directly toward the storm system looming on the horizon.
“She’s spotted us, boys!” he cried. “Break out every scrap of cloth we’ve got, Anthony, and strike the colors!”
Anthony shouted the captain’s orders to the crew. The command repeated across the deck. The men flew up the rigging like spiders crossing their webs. Bonifast turned to Anthony saying, “If they want to ride the storm, then we’ll show them why this old girl is called the Maelstrom, eh lad?”