Zypheria's Call (A Tanyth Fairport Adventure)

  “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.”

  Captain Groves took the mug and gave it a sniff then a swallow. He screwed up his face and repeated the process. “Ugh! What is this, dishwater?”

  Perry nodded. “Right the first time, old dear.”

  The captain took another hefty swallow and sighed. “Someday you’ll learn how to make a decent ale. Someday.” He shook his head sadly.

  “Well, I’ll just go pour this out then...” Perry started to take the pitcher away.

  “Hey!” Captain Groves said. “You might just leave that here. We’ll...um...empty it for you. No need to spread the damage any farther than you already have.” He glowered at the man who laughed.

  “As if,” he said and poured mugs for the rest. “Drink up, drink up. There’s plenty more dishes need washin’ so I’m unlikely to run out of dishwater to serve as ale tonight.”

  Benjamin lifted the mug in salute to the innkeeper and took a long swallow of his own. “Thank you, Perry. Delicious as ever.”

  Captain Groves slapped the table and scowled at his son. “My boy, how many times do I have to tell you.”

  “Sorry, Father. It just slipped out.”

  The general level of jocularity made Tanyth think that the odd greeting must be some part of a long-standing tradition, and Captain Groves’ wink in her direction confirmed it.

  She took a careful sip of her own ale and smiled. “That is delicious!” The words were out of her mouth before she could think.

  “Mum, you’re supposed to insult it and tell him how terrible it is. Otherwise he’ll keep it all for himself!” Captain Groves explained.

  “Oh! I’m sorry. I didn’t know. This is my first time here.”

  That got a general round of laughter around the table and some from the neighboring table as well.

  Amanda broke in by putting her tray against her husband’s chest and pushing on it with her narrow shoulder. “Back to the bar, you. I need to feed these people. Go. Shoo.” She waved the tail of her apron at him and he lumbered off, not unlike some of the bears Tanyth had seen.

  “Tonight I’ve got a nice haunch of venison on the spit. There’s some tubers and greens as well. If you’d rather something lighter, there’s a nice spiced fish soup that’ll warm ya up.” She looked from face to face. “What’ll it be?”

  Captain Groves claimed her attention with “We’ll have the venison, Amanda, and are you still making those crusty loaves of sourdough?”

  “I am, and I just got some out of the oven before my dancin’ bear started doin’ the hornpipe out here. Lemme get those for you.” She turned and disappeared into the kitchen without another word.

  Tanyth took another sip of the ale and felt it warm her from the inside. “Why, I believe there’s a bit of bite in this beer,” she commented to nobody in particular.

  The captain grinned at her. “This is his ice beer. It’s only available in the springtime.”

  “He makes beer from ice?” Rebecca asked.

  “No, miss. He makes a fine ale, to be sure, but this beer he brews and then sets it out on cold nights through the winter. It’s cold enough here that the water in it freezes. In the morning, he scoops the ice out and then kegs up the rest.”

  Benjamin said, “It’s got more than a bit of a bite, mum. It’ll have you singing sea chanties and dancing a jig if you’re not careful.”

  “Trust me, mum,” the captain added, “hearing me sing sea chanties and watching him dance a jig is not an experience I recommend.”

  “That sounds like the voice of experience, Captain.”

  “It is, mum. Dark and bitter experience.” In spite of his lugubrious tone, the captain’s eyes twinkled in the light of the fire.

  Tanyth helped herself to another sip. “It is tasty.”

  “Oh, aye, mum. That it is,” Benjamin said. “That it is.”

  Amanda returned with plates piled high and Perry right behind her carrying a basket of bread. With the deftness of long practice, the two delivered a feast in a matter of moments. “Enjoy, enjoy,” Amanda urged and disappeared back into the kitchen while Perry circulated around the room, visiting with the diners and pouring ale from his pitcher whenever the occasion called for it.

  Tanyth took in the plate full of food, the meat steaming and juicy and the ruddy tubers slathered in butter. “Mother have mercy, I’m never gonna be able to get on the outside of this.”

  Captain Groves dug into his meal and grinned across the table at her. “You may have to roll me back down the hill and onto the ship, but I’m going to give it my best, mum.”

  Mr. Groves nodded but didn’t waste breath with words.

  Rebecca was already carving a bit off one of the tubers with a smile of anticipation on her face.

  Tanyth took the first bite of venison and found she had nothing else to say for rather a long time. When she looked up again, the two men had silly grins on their faces and nearly empty plates. Rebecca had pushed her plate back and lounged in her seat with a sleepy smile of satisfaction curving her lips. The captain used a heel from the loaf to sop up the remains of the drippings from his trencher and savored it with great gusto.

  “For somebody who was not all that sure, you did very well for yourself, mum,” Mr. Groves said, nodding at the plate in front of her. Only a bit of tuber remained.

  “I won’t need to eat for a week,” Tanyth said leaning back in her chair. “But it was so good, I just couldn’t stop.” In truth, she felt not just full but almost uncomfortably stuffed. She took a swallow of beer to wash it all down. She was nearly mortified with the resulting belch, but the men just laughed.

  “Good beer, eh, mum?” the captain asked.

  She murmured an apology but nodded her agreement.

  Perry appeared at her elbow and started to fill her mug again from his never empty pitcher. He went right around the table filling as he went. When he was done, he stood back and looked as pleased as if he’d eaten the dinners himself. “Now, who has room for a sweet? Eh? Amanda has a lovely squash pie she just made this afternoon.”

  The four of them looked at each other and uttered a collective groan.

  Perry smiled and pulled up a chair, plunking himself down and placing his pitcher on the table. “All right, then,” he said, and looked to Saul. “How was the trip? You made good time?”

 
“Just under twelve days from Kleesport,” the captain said.

  Perry’s eyes goggled. “That’s a record if I’m not mistaken.”

  The captain nodded. “I think so, too.”

  “You musta had some fair winds to make that time.”

  “Well, yes, and no. We ran into a bit of a blow about three days out of Kleesport. Got knocked about a bit.”

  “Any damage?”

  “Nothing to speak of.”

  “Where’d you make up the time?”

  “A few days later we caught a current. Not on my charts. It pushed us along right steady,” the captain said. “Dead reckoning with the taffrail logs had us making goodly progress with the winds, but the shoots at noon showed we almost doubled our legs.”

  Perry sat back, his face slack in disbelief. “A new current?” He looked back and forth between the two Groves.

  Mr. Groves shook his head. “I know. We’ve sailed that same course a dozen times. Never picked up anything like that.”

  Rebecca nudged Tanyth and gave her a knowing look but didn’t say anything aloud.

  The captain said, “Might be something to do with the time o’ year. I don’t know that I’ve ever been on that reach this early in the season.”

  “Could make getting back a bit of a bother,” the younger Groves pointed out.

  “Oh, aye,” Perry agreed. “Don’t sound like somethin’ I’d like to be sailin’ against.”

  “We’ll pull off to the west’ard. See if we can dodge it on the way back,” the captain said.

  “So, I’m guessin’ you got a jump on the rest of ’em coming out of Kleesport,” Perry said with a sly smile.

  “I don’t think the watch flag had much more than shifted before we cast off,” Mr. Groves admitted. “One bell. Two at the most.”

  Perry chuckled. “How far ahead of them are ya, do ya think?”

  The captain shook his head. “Hard telling. Malloy and at least two other syndicate ships were waiting for wind to change. That’s not saying how many were laying up without saying. Some of those ships can bend on a lot more sail than the Call. With the westerly winds all the way across the bight...” He shook his head again. “Hard telling.”