Chapter 10

CHAPTER 10

Callista’s announcement of the ballot, caught Connor by surprise. He thought she might have warned him first, but she was carefully keeping her distance from him. So, he had twenty-four hours to get the votes he needed to win the role. And Callista was making it clear he had to win it on his own merits.

With all the crew gathered on the deck to hear the announcement, even the night shift was tipped out of their hammocks to hear it, he was aware of the ripple that went through the crew as murmurs sprang up.

“What does a quartermaster do exactly?” asked a voice from the back.

“Yeah, and why would anyone want to be one?” asked another.

Callista, who was addressing them from the quarterdeck, which overlooked the main deck at the rear of the ship and from which the poop deck was accessible, leaned on the rail and was about to answer when a wag in the back piped up, “The quartermaster gets to divy up the spoils, and ‘e gets ‘is own cabin. Run’s the bloody ship ‘e does.”

This caused a murmur throughout the deck.

“Sounds like a lot o’ work!” said another voice.

“That is all true,” said Callista. “He, or she,” she smiled and let that sink in, “also speaks for the crew. He or she represents the interests of the crew to the captain. It’s an important and responsible job. Nominations close at sunset. Inform Mr Coats if you’re interested. Votes by secret ballot will be made tomorrow. The count will be done by Mr Coats and overseen by Mr Harper and-” she threw a look at Harper.

“Miss Wade,” was the surprising reply.

“She’s a woman!” a voice from the back objected.

“You noticed?” Callista quipped. “Well done.”

“She’s mad!” said someone else.

“Shut yer mouth Robert Stick or you’ll get a stick up the arse you won’t like!” Jenni Wade yelled.

This answer provoked a laugh amongst the crew and caused Rob to go red in the face. Jenni wasn’t winning any favours amongst the men.

“This is a democratic ship, gentlemen, everyone gets a vote. Even the children,” said Callista, when the laughter had died down. “Any other questions?”

When there were none, she dismissed them, and the crew broke up into smaller groups. Connor noted a number of the men clustered round Furness. He would need to speak to each of them individually later.

He turned away and ran into a cluster of men who surrounded him. “You going to put yer hat in the ring Irish?” said Billy, whose arse had recovered enough for him to be returned to light duties.

“Aye, I will.” Connor smiled.

“Good,” said Alan Chetwynde, “you have my vote Connor.” He offered his hand with a smile. Connor shook it.

“Thank you, Alan.”

Lob scratched his head and said, “If Hangers doin’ the count and Angel’s overlookin’ it, what’s to stop it bein’ rigged?”

“Jenni Wade.” said Nell, her arms crossed under her generous breasts.

“She’s Fury’s hand maid,” said Isiah, disgustedly.

Someone guffawed and said, “Hand jobby you mean!”

Pat, another of the female crew, socked the wag with a punch to the shoulder. “She is not, yer gobshite!”

“I dunno,” said Lob, shaking his head. “I’ve seen the way he looks at her. If she’s not got her hands on him, he sure want’s her too.”

McTavish, who’d been hanging back until this point, suddenly loomed over the company. “Ye’ll stop bandying Miss Wade’s name aboot, or I’ll sock ye one and ye’ll not get up fer a week, ye lavvy heided boggin!”

Lob raised his hands and backed off at this sudden attack. “Alright keep yer shirt on McTavish, it was just the way he looks at her. Maybe I’m wrong.”

“Ye are wrong!” McTavish glared at him, red-faced. “And if he so much as touches the lass, I’ll have his bollocks for me supper!”

An uncomfortable silence fell after this declaration, and everybody shuffled a bit.

McTavish cleared his throat and said mildly, “Ye’ve got my vote too Mor.”

Connor shook his hand. “Thank you, McTavish.”

“What’ll ye do for us, Irish, if we vote fer yer?” said a voice from the back of group.

“I’ll see everything’s fair and above board.”

“More grog?” prompted Lob.

“I’ll see what I can do, yes,” said Connor.

Lob grinned and held out his hand, “Ye’ve got my vote Irish.”

Connor letCoats know he was putting his name up for the job and spent the day collecting votes. Furness did the same and neither of them spoke to the other, circling the ship and giving each other a wide berth.

By the end of the day, he thought he had enough votes to win, but there were a few wild cards he wasn’t sure of. He had taken a small handful of the men into his confidence as to his real agenda. This undercut some of Furness’s support, since his agenda was basically the same, the difference was Furness was open about it. Furness wanted to lead a mutiny immediately he was elected. Connor explained to the few he thought would understand it, that such an action would destabilise the ship and if the mutiny failed would result in potential death and bloodshed. He was advocating for a bloodless coup at the appropriate time.

He had good numbers among the women, as most of them couldn’t abide Furness and saw the sense in having a man to control the men and support Chen and the captain.

He spent a restless night worrying about the outcome and rose early to roam the deck and watch the sunrise. He didn’t trust Furness, and suspected the man had more support than was apparent. After all, how many of the men who had assured him he had their vote, had told Furness the same thing?

He was leaning on the rail watching the sun turn the water red, as the first rays spilled across the deck, dispelling the cold night air, when he felt a presence, and turned. It was Furness.

“Morning Irish,” he said with grin. His scrappy beard had grown in, showing flecks of white amongst the red, his reddish-brown hair an unruly mop hanging almost to his broad, muscular shoulders.

“Morning Fury,” Connor acknowledged him, wondering what was coming.

“Think you’ve got the numbers?”

Connor tensed and nodded, his eyes alert for some trick. Are there men lurking about ready to take me down? Is that how Fury means to win? “Aye,” he said casually, leaning his arms back on the rail behind him, trying to look relaxed while he was anything but. I have a knife in me boot, can I reach it in time?

“By what I hear we want the same thing, Irish. Why oppose me?”

“I don’t fancy yer methods, Fury. Ye’ll fail if you do it yer way.”

“That’s your opinion,” Fury spat on the deck.

Connor nodded, maintaining his relaxed attitude with an effort.

“You know what I think?” Fury moved closer.

Connor straightened. “I’m sure ye’re dyin’ to tell me.”

“I think yer a lying arselicker! Ye’ve a raging cockstand for the captain, and ye’ve no intention of declaring mutiny. She’s got ye by the balls, ye molly!”

Connor just barely restrained himself from seizing Furness by the throat and choking the life out of him. Instead, he laughed.

“Ye think?” He shook his head, as if amused. “Ye know what I think? Yer shit scared of her, yerself. She got her bitty knife too close to yer cods and scared the living daylights out of ye.

“The difference between us, is she wants me. I’ll have her eating out of my hand in no time, and when I do...” He held out his hand palm up and closed it into a fist. “The ship will belong to me. Ye better watch yerself, Fury, because ye cods ’ll be no safer then than they are now!”

He leaned in to make his point and had the satisfaction of seeing the other man blink. He stood his ground though, straightening his shoulders.

Fury spat again and walked away. A shadow moved in Connor’s peripheral vision, and he wondered who it was and what they had heard. If what I said gets back to the captain... he shrugged it off. Even if it did, he could convince her he was lying to Furness. She wants me. I have more power over her than she realises.

A shiver of anticipation washed over his skin and his cock firmed at the thought of Callista Montmayne spread beneath him. Fuck he wanted her. He swallowed a groan, turning back to the rail to try to compose himself.

The vote was scheduled to start at 10:00 o’clock and grog was promised once you’d voted. Voters had the option to put either the name or initials of their preferred candidate. For the crew who could neither read nor write, they could opt for a cross for Connor and a tick for Furness.

The children were allowed to go first. Then each crew member shuffled up to the table to get their piece of paper and write down their vote, which was then put in a small barrel, under the watchful eyes of the scrutineers. Coats, Harper and Jenni also got to vote as did the captain, who went last.

When the captain’s vote was cast, Coats began the count, placing the votes into another two small barrels, showing each vote to Harper and Wade as he did it and noting the vote on the tally sheet. The crew milled about on the deck enjoying their ration of grog.

Furness, surrounded by his supporters, threw Connor venomous looks and Connor ignored him, maintaining a conversation with McTavish, Chetwynde and Njinga.

A number of the crew held aloof from either group, among them Chen, Dr Liang and the Captain. Juana was steering the ship; Mr Adebayo was below decks preparing the midday meal and Mrs Harwood was occupied in polishing the guns on the fore deck. Every time I see that woman she is working.

The wait seemed interminable, and a couple of the crew were called back to recast their vote because it was impossible to tell who they wished their vote to go to. When the numbers were finally tallied and had been checked and verified twice, everyone was called back to hear the results.

Mr Coats passed a piece of paper to the captain as she stood on the quarter deck, and she waited for everyone to settle down. Connor’s muscles tightened as Harper bellowed, “Silence on deck for the captain!”

The chatter died away, and all faces turned expectantly towards Callista. She shoved her hat on tighter and said, “the votes are in, we have a new quartermaster. With a vote of thirty-four to eighteen, Mr Mor carries the day. Mr Mor, please step up here.”

A cheer went up from Connor’s supporters as he made his way through the crowd to the quarterdeck.

“Congratulations Mr Mor,” Callista grinned at him, her eyes sparkling. As always when he was near her, he felt the wave of her energy and her natural scent envelop him. His skin prickled and his cock stirred in reaction.

She handed him a chatelaine with the keys to the ships stores on it as a symbol of his new role. “Keep this on you at all times,” she instructed.

He accepted it with a bow and attached it to his belt. “Thank ye, Captain.”

Then he turned to the crew and addressed them. “Thank ye all for the vote of confidence. I won’t let ye down.”

“Some of us didn’t vote for you Mor!” said a voice from the back.

Connor nodded. “I know, but I’ll represent yer interests all the same.”

“You won’t represent mine!” Bellowed Furness and with a hand-signal, a group of men followed him as he rushed the quarterdeck, a deadly sabre clutched in his hand. The other men were armed with knives and sabres.

Furness made a lunge for Callista as he landed on the quarterdeck but, Callista dodged and brought a knife up to parry his second blow. Connor, targeted by two men, had his hands full fending them off and couldn’t go to her rescue. By the time he was at leisure to check, Furness was being hauled off the quarterdeck in chains, supervised by Chen and the captain was wiping her bloodied knife on her breeches. Furness dripped blood across the deck as they hauled him away, bellowing curses.

“Toby Furness, shut yer cake hole ye daft bastard!” yelled Jenni, running after him. He stopped, pulling the two women who had him in custody to a halt and turned to confront her. She put a hand on his arm and said earnestly. “This aint the way Toby! I get that yer upset but ye can’t beat em like this! I learned that a might ago. Ye best t’ apologise and make amends.”

At this distance Connor couldn’t be sure, he thought the man blinked tears from his eyes, but it could just have been sweat.

“Jenni ye’re in enough trouble, ye don’t need to get mixed up in mine!”

“Yer an idiot Toby, but I know yer mean well. Think on it, ye’ll be lucky if they let ye out o’ the brig afor we get to Jamaica.”

He caught her hand. “Ye’ll promise me to stay out of trouble, woman?”

She smiled. “Aye I do.”

His jailer’s tugged Furness away and Jenni turned back, looking around the deck. “What ye all starin’ at? He’s no so bad when ye get to know him. He’s just cocked in the head ‘cause he misses his family. Wish I had a bloody family to fucking miss!” With which she stomped off the deck.

Connor glanced over at McTavish, who had stood like a statue throughout this exchange. Connor wondered if he would go after her, but he didn’t. Instead, he went to the bow of the ship. Connor made a mental note to go talk to him later. Seemed like Jenni Wade was a magnet for trouble.