Page 10 of The Condemned (Echoes from the Past #6)

SIX

Somewhere in the Atlantic

Mary stretched out on the hard wooden floor and wrapped herself in her cloak.

Thankfully, with the approach of summer, the weather had warmed up considerably, the howling, bitter wind replaced by a gentler spring breeze.

Still, at night it grew cold, and Mary and Nell often snuggled together for warmth.

Mary had become friendly with all the other women, given that there was nothing much to do but talk.

After years of hard work and little rest, Mary found herself spending hours each day just being idle, a pastime she found nearly as difficult.

There was nothing to do, and nowhere to go.

The brief strolls on deck were usually accompanied by baleful stares from the sailors and lewd comments, whispered behind hands and coupled with insolent smirks and rude gestures.

It was safer down below, but the lack of even the most basic comforts was difficult to bear.

The buckets reeked of human waste and often tipped over when the ship tilted and rocked on the roiling waters of the Atlantic, leaving the small space virtually uninhabitable until it was thoroughly washed with sea water.

The women stank of unwashed bodies, menstrual blood, and simmering discontent.

The further they traveled from England, the more unsettled they felt, having left a life they knew, but not having yet had a glimpse of the life that awaited them on the distant shores of the American continent.

Mary spent most of her days talking to Nell and Betsy, with whom she felt most comfortable.

The sisters, Faith and Prudence, kept mostly to themselves, and the rest of the women were younger and more idealistic, except for Alice, who’d been widowed twice, and Gwen, who was sour and quarrelsome by nature.

Being forced to spend so much time in each other’s company led to arguments, and there had even been a near fist fight when Gwen called Rose’s intended, who’d died several months before Rose made the fateful decision to sail to Virginia, a “hapless milksop.” Mary avoided Gwen as much as possible.

The woman’s bitterness filled every crack and spread like a noxious odor, poisoning what was already a difficult journey.

“I feel sorry for the poor sod who winds up with her for a wife,” Nell whispered to Mary one night. “Imagine having to wake to that sour mug every morning.”

“I’m more worried ’bout what I’ll have to wake up to,” Mary replied. “Surely, not all the bachelors are young and well-formed.”

“Be easy in your mind, Mary. No point fretting about something as hasn’t happened yet. You might get the best one of them all.”

“Thanks, Nell, but I find it hard to share your shining dream of the future. I’ve spent the past seven years living above a tavern. If you want to see a man at his worst, just wait till he’s had a few pint pots.”

Nell sighed. “I won’t argue with you there. I only hope there aren’t too many taverns in Jamestown.”

“If what I’ve seen so far is anything to go on, the first two permanent buildings erected in Virginia must have been a tavern and a church.”

Nell giggled. “Well, then let’s hope the third wasn’t a whorehouse.”

Nell was often the first to fall asleep, while Mary lay awake for a long time, thinking and wondering. She was too shy to ask for information, which made her doubly grateful for Betsy, who had all the reserve of a hunting dog on a fox hunt .

“So, how does it work, Master Harrington?” she badgered the quartermaster, who, despite his stern looks and curt answers, seemed to find her amusing.

“How will we know our intended, and what will happen once they take us to their homes? Will we be living in sin?” Betsy asked, batting her eyelashes as if living in sin with Master Harrington was her fondest dream.

The quartermaster sighed and gazed heavenward, likely asking the Lord for patience. “You will come ashore with me, and I will make the introductions.”

“Have you met our future husbands, then?” Betsy persisted.

“No, Mistress Smyth, I haven’t, but I’m one of two people on this ship who have the authority to take charge of you once we dock, the other being the captain, and he can’t be bothered with you lot.

He’s got more important business to attend to.

After we dock, I will escort you to church, where you will meet your intended and be wed. ”

“What? Right away, like?” Betsy gasped.

“Right away. Revered Edison will not permit any of the men to take their women home until their union has been sanctioned by the Church.”

“Master Harrington, can we trouble you for some water and soap before we reach Jamestown?” Mary asked shyly. “I’d like to wash and launder my clothes.”

Master Harrington wrinkled his nose and looked at the assembled women. “That’s a fine idea, Mistress Wilby. You won’t be winning any hearts smelling as you do now.”

“You piss-drinking son of a poxed whore,” Gwen hissed at Master Harrington’s retreating back. “I’d like to see how fine you’d look after being caged for weeks on end and eating nothing but hard tack and salted pork. ”

“Come now, Gwen, he’s not so bad,” Betsy said, giving Gwen a sharp look. “At least he answers our questions and treats us with respect.”

“Respect?” Gwen spit the word out as if it were poison.

“If Master Harrington felt inclined to abuse his position, things could have gone a lot harder for us. He is a man, after all, one who’s denied the comforts of a woman for months on end. He wouldn’t be the first to help himself to what’s right under his nose.”

“You are right there, Betsy,” Alice agreed. “He’s a true gentleman, no doubt about that. And he keeps the sailors in line. For all their crude comments, not one of them has laid so much as a finger on any of us.”

“I can’t wait to get off this ship, Nell,” Mary said quietly. “Whatever awaits us on shore has to be better than being trapped in this wooden box for two months.”

The following morning, when Mary and Nell were allowed up on deck, she decided to ask Nell the question that had been plaguing her for weeks.

All the other women spoke of their lives back home, and Mary knew more than she ever wished to about the circumstances that had led them to the Lady Grace .

Nell, on the other hand, was always evasive when asked about her past, and adept at redirecting the conversation toward someone like Alice, who liked nothing more than to talk about herself.

Except for Faith and Prudence, who had each other, all the women were either orphaned or widowed and had no one to rely on but themselves.

“Nell, did you leave anyone behind in England?” Mary asked when they leaned against the ship’s railing.

It was a glorious spring morning. The ocean was as placid as a puddle after a heavy rain and the sky a deep blue, its perfection unmarred by even a single cloud.

Even the sailors seemed to be in better spirits and called out a greeting to the two young women as they came up from the bowels of the ship.

Master Harrington had tipped his hat to them and smiled, wishing them a pleasant stroll .

Nell turned to look at Mary, her expression thoughtful. Mary thought she might not answer, but she did, her voice surprisingly quiet. “I have parents and two younger brothers.”

Mary tried to hide her astonishment by fixing her gaze on a seagull that swooped down to the water and came back out with the hapless fish flapping in its beak.

“If my parents were still alive, I’d never leave,” Mary finally replied, hoping the sentiment wouldn’t upset Nell. “What decided you to go, then?”

“An offer of marriage.”

“Was the man so awful?” Mary asked, wondering why Nell would need to cross an ocean to get away from someone who wished to marry her.

“No, he was wonderful, handsome, and kind. I’d known him all my life and always thought I’d marry him when the time came.”

“I don’t understand,” Mary said, searching Nell’s closed expression.

Nell sighed and turned away from Mary, staring out over the tranquil sea. “My ma was sixteen when she wed. Da said she were all rosy cheeks, riotous curls, and a smile as could coax out the sun on a gloomy day. He’d never seen anything so beautiful as her when he stood up next to her in church.”

Mary remained silent, waiting for Nell to continue.

“My ma is thirty-four now. Her hair, what’s left of it, is all gray.

She’s lost half her teeth and her hands are so raw from doing chores and cleaning fish from morning till night, they look like bloody meat.

She birthed nine children and buried six, three of them stillborn.

She’s lived a life of unrelenting hardship and crippling poverty and will likely not live to see her fortieth birthday.

” Nell sighed and brushed away a tear that slid down her pale cheek .

“Had I married Toby, a fisherman like my da, I’d have lived my ma’s life.

I’d work my hands raw from the time I awoke to the time I fell exhausted into bed.

I’d bear children who’d have less chance of surviving than a pup born to a stray dog, and I’d get old before my time, turning into a toothless hag who barely has enough energy to speak to her children at the end of the day for being so careworn.

I don’t want that for myself, Mary. I want a chance at a better life. ”

“How can you be so sure you’ll have a better life in Virginia?” Mary asked.

“There are opportunities in Virginia, Mary. A man can work to better his lot. He can buy land, expand his holdings. What can a poor fisherman do other than pull fish out of the sea and hope he doesn’t drown for his pains?

With Toby, I wouldn’t so much as have a bed of my own, much less a home.

I’d have to move into his parents’ dwelling, a shack that’s already home to seven people.

Toby might love me now, but will he still love me once my looks are gone and my spirit is broken?

Will I still love him when he becomes a broken old man who’d rather sleep on a floor smeared with fish guts than lie down next to his wife? ”

“You’re a brave lass, Nell. I’d not have the courage to do what you did.”

Nell nodded, still staring at the ocean. “Don’t tell the others. They wouldn’t understand.”

“I think they would, but I’ll not breathe a word. I hope you find what you’re looking for.”

“I will, and so will you if you stop looking back and face forward. That life is behind us now. All we can do is make the best of the one that’s to come. I think I’d like a moment alone now, if you don’t mind.”

Mary left Nell by the railing and took a turn about the deck.

Master Harrington had forbidden them to walk around on their own, but she needed to stretch her legs and think on what Nell had told her.

She admired Nell’s courage and practicality, but she also pitied her.

She’d never see her family again. It was as if they had all died the day Nell left England.

As she ambled along, oblivious to the lewd stares of the sailors, Mary wondered if a prosperous life was worth such a sacrifice.

Would she have been able to walk away from a man who’d loved her all her life?

Probably not. She wasn’t as strong as Nell, or as pragmatic.

Nell was three years her junior, but she was years ahead of Mary in her thinking.

Perhaps it’s time I started acting more like a woman and less like a child, and tried to forge my own future, like Nell, instead of meekly going along with what life has in store for me , Mary thought defiantly.

She’d taken the first step by taking her leave of Uncle Swithin.

She’d taken charge, and it felt good. Nell was right; it was time to start looking forward and make the most of what life in Virginia had to offer.