Page 12 of New Storm Rising
“Oh yes, indeed!” I jabbed a thumb behind me. “Do try and pretend! Something is off about what you’re doing. That ship over there…it’s not just extravagant. It’stooextravagant. As in…royally extravagant. Those fancy-dressed people locked up below deck, screaming for thebastardos negrosto let them out—who exactly are they?”
“Pray, how would I know?” he enquired innocently, his statue-like face still not betraying a single little thing. “We only encountered these people by chance.”
“But youdoknow.” Eyes narrowing, I took a step towards him, gazing up at his chiselled, impeccable façade. “Do you think I got hitched to you without getting to know you, Mister? You’ve known who they were from the moment the name of that ship was mentioned!”
“Did I indeed?”
“What exactly are you hoping to accomplish?” I gestured to the massive statue in the distance. “Taking them all tothatplace?”
“I heard it’s the home of the brave and the land of the free.”
“Yes, one half is free to enslave people, and the other free to shout themselves hoarse about it! And you want to sail a ship full of rebel slaves, with the actual owners locked up in the cargo hold, into the biggest harbour within range? What could possibly be your goal? The slaves will be arrested![4]The owners will be arrested! There will be a scandal the size of Bloody Buckingham Palace, and a lawsuit that’s every solicitor’s wet dream! Everything will be a huge mess, and all people on that Spanish ship, regardless of skin-color or origin, will most likely be detained…for…months…”
There was a long, long pause.
“Oh.”
“Indeed.” Mr Rikkard Ambrose gave a curt nod. “It’s really quite amazing how long lawsuits in the United States tend to take. People can be tied up for months and be far too busy to deal with…other matters.”
Like their misappropriated ship, you mean?
Oh, that sly, stony son of a…!
I would definitely have had more to say on the subject. But at that moment, the deck under my feet swayed, and I felt something that wanted to come out a lot more urgently than words.
“Bluuurgh!”
“Just so you know, Mr Linton, the money for any additional meals will come out of your own pocket.”
“Hey! Right now, I’m the boss around here, rememb—bleeeargh!”
“You were saying?”
“M-Mr Ambrose?”
“Yes?”
“Will you be needing help with your scheming before we reach land?”
“No.”
“Excellent. Bluuurgh! Grrg! Nnmmf!”
After a while, I came up for air, just in time to see the giant statue of a lady in a bedsheet pass by. For some reason, I couldn’t really appreciate the sight. Right now, any woman that wasn’t puking her guts out was an eyesore, even if she was a hundred feet tall and made out of metal.
Just then, the bank of mist covering the horizon parted, and a vast harbour appeared in front of us. Behind the harbour rose a city of tall buildings rising high into the sky. Horse carriages were rushing along the waterfront, people were running and shouting everywhere, carrying crates, barrels and stacks of goods. But I didn’t pay much attention to the bustling scene on the shore—mostly due to the massive fleet taking up most of the harbour.
Ships.
Ships upon ships upon ships. Towering ones, with seven, eight, or even ten masts. And atop the tallest mast of each ship fluttered a flag in red, gold and red, with a tower, a lion and a crown emblazoned upon it.
I swallowed.
During my studies of Spanish, I had come across a variety of flags belonging to said country. Such as, for instance…the Royal Spanish War Ensign. The flag used exclusively on war ships under the direct command of the Spanish Imperial Crown.
I licked my lips, which suddenly felt dry. Not taking my eyes off the ships for an instant, I leaned over towards Mr Ambrose.
“Say…you dragged me to this place because someone was making trouble for one of your businesses, right?”
