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“I’m saying if you want her, take her,” Colin answered.
“Aye, sure I want her and I know she likes me,” Bunky said, touching Heather’s hand as though to reassure her. “But what can I do about it with all the crew gawking at us?”
Colin laughed. “Why should that matter? Right then, you’re young, so I’ll allow your shyness, but you need to get over that. Learn to take what you want when you want.”
“Well…this time…?” Bunky hemmed.
“Very well, very well, go ahead, take her down dockside, in the tall grass…she knows what it’s all about. She is no virgin, so…go ahead, pleasure yourself,” Colin said, and snickered.
Heather was astounded. Colin was offering them a way to escape. Yes, he was drunk, but even so, he wasn’t stupid. What was he doing?
Bunky was on his feet and helping her up by holding her upper arm. Colin stepped up to the two of them and said, “Hold on now, why don’t you just take her to the brothel and tell them I said that part of our selling price is you being her first customer. Then you could take her in comfort and for a good hour, as we don’t set sail for another two hours. How is that?” Colin put up his hand. “But tie her wrists again. I know you’d like her to use her hands…but not this time, lad.”
Bunky’s fists clenched at his sides. He had never realized how truly low his captain had sunk over time. However, he did as he was told, turning Heather as she quietly stood, and fixing her wrists lightly with the rope. When this was done, he looked at his captain and said, “I’m not a fool, Colin. I’m young, a stripling, aye, but not dumb. And as to the rest, I won’t be sent about like that. I don’t hold with brothels and I don’t mean to take her there.”
Colin broke out laughing. “Go on then, lay with her in the weeds, doesn’t matter to me, but when you are done, bring her to me, and I’ll take her to the brothel so you won’t have to. How is that?” his voice trailed off as he watched one of his men cackling to a passing woman, and moved off to shout at him to get back to work.
“Hush now, miss,” Bunky said as he led her off the boat. “We have to make it seem we are headed for the weeds. Coli
n is good and bosky he is, or he wouldn’t let us do this.”
“Then what?”
“We make a run for it, that’s what,” Bunky said, and grinned wide. He helped her off the boat, and pulled her along. She was shivering and he stopped a moment to tie her cloak tightly about her.
They used the cover of darkness to duck first into the tall grass, rush across the paved avenue, and take a dirt footpath towards the upper street that ran parallel and overlooked the harbor docks.
Out of breath, Bunky and Heather paused before they rushed into an alley between the two streets and leaned against the side of a wood building.
The odor of urine permeated the air and Bunky grimaced. “We have to move fast, we do, before some drunk comes this way.”
They hurried towards a more populated part of town. Everywhere Heather looked she saw bawdy women and rough looking seamen. One in particular cursed in French and took out his member to relieve himself in the street while the woman he was with laughed raucously.
Heather didn’t have time to dwell on the fact that she was in the worst environment she had ever encountered as the thought skipped through her brain. Just what were they going to do? How would they hide amongst such a crowd? They were so different and stood out in such a crowd. “Bunky, hold my hand, we have to look like lovers out for a bit of fun and adventure, nothing more.”
“Aye, ye be in the right of it,” he said, and clasped her fingers.
She knew they were racing against time with no clear destination. “Where are we going? We have to have a plan.”
“First, let me undo your wrists.” He moved her cloak aside and that done, he clucked his tongue. “As to plans, only have one. We stay out of sight and don’t get caught. We’ll figure out the rest after Colin sets sail. He won’t delay his sailing. He can’t, not with all that brandy they are loading on board. All we need to do is lay low until morning. I have some money, not much, but mayhap I can offer my services if they take us both.”
“I have enough, I think, for the two of us to buy passage home,” Heather said.
They moved slowly into the hub of the town and stayed close to one another as they hid their faces. They did all the right things, hugging when someone looked their way, and keeping to the shadows.
Bunky spotted someone he thought gave them too long a glance and he pulled Heather into yet another alley. “Let’s just stay here a bit…ye catch yer breath.”
“Yes, yes,” Heather agreed, but then they heard someone at their backs.
“Eh, what are you two up to?” a man shouted in French as he poured out a pale of dirty water.
“Naught,” Heather answered in French. “We are leaving now.”
They picked up their pace as they rushed away with no clear notion where they were going. Finally, the two fugitives came to a fork in the road and stopped.
“Which way, do you think?” Heather asked.
“Not sure, ye see, I never have a chance to go farther than the bake shop,” Bunky answered, and grinned. “I’m always hungry.”
