remains scattered on the deck, and my uncle helped me up, turning my face away. But I'd seen, as well, that some wreckage from a crossjack brace was hanging over the side near the ruined port, still tied by its lines to the ship, and it was afire.
I picked up the axe and ran to cut it away. Swearing colorfully, my uncle dragged me toward the bulkhead at the stern, tossing my axe to one of his mates. He hauled me into the shadows opposite the fire, and gripped my shoulders. I saw it all in his face. We were going to be defeated, and it was going to be soon. And I saw as well that in all his burdens, at that moment the heaviest he bore was me, as he damned his luck that on this voyage of all of them, I should have been put in his care.
He glanced to the bitts storing the oar boats, nested within one another.
"If I put you on the water, they'll find you in a wink."
It took as little as three minutes for a skilled crew to swab and reload. And these men were terrifyingly skilled. Another broadside hit us, rocking the bulkhead behind me, raining debris around us.
My uncle's grip tightened as fate overwhelmed him.
"Listen to me. They'd rather take this ship than sink her. I can't out-fight them. All I can do is go on trying to tack with the mast I've got left, and run like a rabbit. Go below, to your cabin. The little cabinet there. Hide in it. Don't come out until I tell you to. Don't come out for anything you hear, or think you hear. Do you understand?"
Unfortunately, I understood full well.
"And God protect you, Létice."
I threw my arms around his waist, then turned and ran down the gangway steps. When I closed my cabin door I started to bolt it, then changed my mind. A bolted door would suggest there was something worth hiding behind it, and could be easily kicked in anyway. I gathered up my things, hiding them under the berth so none would see a woman was onboard, then crawled into the primitive wardrobe built into the wall.
Chapter Six
For the next hour I heard the Sophie being annihilated. Though I had no fear of water, my stomach was in knots when I realized the probability that we could go to the bottom, and that I would die there, trapped in the airless cabinet. Then the planked walls around me shuddered as their ship closed alongside ours, preparing to board us.
I could hear it all. I heard the men fighting on the deck above, the shots and the screams, then, far worse, the silence that descended over the decks. Finally the sounds drifted down the gangway, the thud of boots, voices in a language I didn't recognize.
I knew, of course, who had won the day, but I did as my uncle told me, for what seemed an eternity. They were all over the ship, and my heart lurched violently when I heard them enter my cabin. I kept still, aware they were searching, knowing what was bound to happen.
After so long a time in darkness, when the door swung open the light blinded me, and rough hands reached in, two men shouting with undisguised glee, though I fought and kicked with everything that was in me. I struck my head as I was hauled out, and my knees buckled. I heard their laughter, my heart plummeting into my stomach.
There was excited chattering in the gangway, and I knew it was over their discovery. More of them came crowding into the little cabin. I'd been stunned by the blow, my head throbbing, and it was like a kaleidoscope, a broken series of eager and ugly male faces, coarse and excited voices, all in a language unknown to me. And laughter. The laughter was burned into my mind, branded there, as the hands began to explore, grasping my breasts and stomach, even pulling at my skirts.
Dazed, I realized another man entered, and the air shifted. Everyone turned, and my eyes followed theirs. He looked like a European, despite the tanned skin. He wore no particular sign of rank, but when he appeared, they fell silent. He was dressed as the others, loose breeches tucked into heavy boots and a linen shirt with a
I picked up the axe and ran to cut it away. Swearing colorfully, my uncle dragged me toward the bulkhead at the stern, tossing my axe to one of his mates. He hauled me into the shadows opposite the fire, and gripped my shoulders. I saw it all in his face. We were going to be defeated, and it was going to be soon. And I saw as well that in all his burdens, at that moment the heaviest he bore was me, as he damned his luck that on this voyage of all of them, I should have been put in his care.
He glanced to the bitts storing the oar boats, nested within one another.
"If I put you on the water, they'll find you in a wink."
It took as little as three minutes for a skilled crew to swab and reload. And these men were terrifyingly skilled. Another broadside hit us, rocking the bulkhead behind me, raining debris around us.
My uncle's grip tightened as fate overwhelmed him.
"Listen to me. They'd rather take this ship than sink her. I can't out-fight them. All I can do is go on trying to tack with the mast I've got left, and run like a rabbit. Go below, to your cabin. The little cabinet there. Hide in it. Don't come out until I tell you to. Don't come out for anything you hear, or think you hear. Do you understand?"
Unfortunately, I understood full well.
"And God protect you, Létice."
I threw my arms around his waist, then turned and ran down the gangway steps. When I closed my cabin door I started to bolt it, then changed my mind. A bolted door would suggest there was something worth hiding behind it, and could be easily kicked in anyway. I gathered up my things, hiding them under the berth so none would see a woman was onboard, then crawled into the primitive wardrobe built into the wall.
Chapter Six
For the next hour I heard the Sophie being annihilated. Though I had no fear of water, my stomach was in knots when I realized the probability that we could go to the bottom, and that I would die there, trapped in the airless cabinet. Then the planked walls around me shuddered as their ship closed alongside ours, preparing to board us.
I could hear it all. I heard the men fighting on the deck above, the shots and the screams, then, far worse, the silence that descended over the decks. Finally the sounds drifted down the gangway, the thud of boots, voices in a language I didn't recognize.
I knew, of course, who had won the day, but I did as my uncle told me, for what seemed an eternity. They were all over the ship, and my heart lurched violently when I heard them enter my cabin. I kept still, aware they were searching, knowing what was bound to happen.
After so long a time in darkness, when the door swung open the light blinded me, and rough hands reached in, two men shouting with undisguised glee, though I fought and kicked with everything that was in me. I struck my head as I was hauled out, and my knees buckled. I heard their laughter, my heart plummeting into my stomach.
There was excited chattering in the gangway, and I knew it was over their discovery. More of them came crowding into the little cabin. I'd been stunned by the blow, my head throbbing, and it was like a kaleidoscope, a broken series of eager and ugly male faces, coarse and excited voices, all in a language unknown to me. And laughter. The laughter was burned into my mind, branded there, as the hands began to explore, grasping my breasts and stomach, even pulling at my skirts.
Dazed, I realized another man entered, and the air shifted. Everyone turned, and my eyes followed theirs. He looked like a European, despite the tanned skin. He wore no particular sign of rank, but when he appeared, they fell silent. He was dressed as the others, loose breeches tucked into heavy boots and a linen shirt with a
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