Southwood shook his head. “Resistance would be futile,” he told his first mate, who had already known it. “Look at their guns. Besides, I want the ship intact. Eventually we’re going to steal it back, Francis Bolton.” He chuckled. “You’ve told the crew what I said?”
“Aye, sir, but two of them is Irish papists, and half a dozen are hard-nosed Puritans. The sailmaker is a Jew, and the cook says he don’t believe in anything. They won’t convert,” the first mate replied.
“Well, I’ve warned them, and hopefully enough of the lads will so we can sail this ship home one day,” the young captain replied. “Heads up, Bolton, here they come!” He stood straight, his green eyes sweeping over the corsair’s vessel. It was the largest of the galley class, with twenty . . . -four, -five, -six, -eight . . . benches of oars. Each bench would hold four or five men. This particular ship had an enclosure over the stern, which meant it carried janissaries. The rest of the deck was open to the sky. There was a large fixed cannon located on a low deck area, and several swivel guns sat amidships.
Then a large, tall man was standing before him. He spoke accentless French. “I am Aruj Agha, a captain in the royal Ottoman janissary Corps, based in El Sinut, and sailing under the command of its dey. Who are you, sir?”
“Captain Thomas Southwood, out of London, commanding the Royal Charles, under the aegis of the O’Malley-Small Trading Company. We are usually allowed unmolested in these waters, Aruj Agha. Why have you stopped us? Did you not see the pendant we fly?”
“It means nothing to me, sir,” came the polite reply. “Whatever meaning it might have had once, it obviously no longer has that meaning. You and your ship are fair game, and now belong to the dey of El Sinut. What cargo do you carry?”
“Wool, Cornish tinware, hides, fruit, and barrels of sherry,” was the response. “I also have two passengers, both of whom can be ransomed. One is the son of the earl of Oxton, and the other, who happens to be my own cousin, is the daughter of the duke of Glenkirk. Her younger brother is King Charles’s bastard nephew. Her father will pay a fortune to regain her custody. I was taking her to visit her grandmother in Naples.”
“If you are familiar with our world, Captain Southwood, then you know the rules on captives. I hope for your cousin’s sake that she is an ugly little girl.”
Thomas Southwood grimaced, and Aruj Agha laughed.
“No? Well, then, you had best let me see her,” he said.
“I have locked her in the main cabin as I feared for her safety, sir. Please follow me.”
“Very wise,” Aruj Agha agreed. “We’ll be taking your ship in tow, and so you, your passengers, and a few of your crew may remain until we reach our destination. I shall put my own men aboard to sail this vessel. We are three days out of El Sinut.”
“And the rest of my crew?”
“They’ll come aboard my galley, to be put in chains, of course. The dey will decide their fate once we arrive,” Aruj Agha said.
Tom Southwood was not surprised. It was to be expected. The dey would give the men a chance to convert to Islam, and those who did would sail aboard his ships. Those who did not would be sold, go to the dey’s ships as galley slaves, or go to the mines. It was a well known and common practice. Reaching the main cabin, he unlocked the door, calling to India as he did, “Cousin, it is I.”
She stood in the center of the cabin, a sword in her hand. “You gave up without a fight,” she accused him.
“We are a merchant ship, India. The corsair has guns,” he explained. “Where the hell did you get that sword? Put it down. Now!”
“I cannot. I must uphold the family’s honor, Tom, which you have so easily besmirched. I found the sword beneath your bunk. I will not give up without a fight,” India declared.
Aruj Agha looked admiringly at India. The girl was a dazzling beauty. She wore a dark claret-colored velvet skirt and a man’s full shirt. A large black leather belt surrounded her tiny waist. Her long, dark curls were loose, and her eyes flashed fire. She was utterly magnificent!
“En garde, infidèle!” India taunted, waving her weapon at him.
“Jesu!” Tom Southwood swore helplessly. How could he have forgotten the weapon beneath his bed?
Aruj Agha, however, burst out laughing. “Come, my beauty,” he cajoled her with a friendly grin. “Your cousin did the right thing. It would have pained me to have to blow this lovely ship to pieces and kill all aboard. You will not be harmed. Indeed, I foresee a wonderful life ahead of you as the favorite in your master’s harem. Give me the sword.” He held out his hand. India slashed wildly at it. Fortunately, the agha pulled his hand back swiftly, receiving only a glancing blow that nonetheless opened a small ribbon of blood across his fingertips.
Then India leapt forward, flaying at Aruj Agha wildly. The janissary captain was no longer in a mood to coax the girl. He met her attack, yanking the weapon from her hand and shoving her rudely to the floor, where he held her down with his booted foot. Tom Southwood never moved a muscle. He knew that the agha would not seriously harm India. She had too much value as a captive, but if she didn’t learn the place she held in this strange new world, she was going to get herself killed.
“Tom! Are you going to let him do this to me?” India shrieked. “Help me!” She squirmed beneath her captor’s boot.
“I warned you, India,” he told her in their own tongue. “Now, shut up before he has you whipped, and don’t say he wouldn’t because he would. That is how recalcitrant slaves are dealt with here. I hope by now you realize the danger you are in.” He turned to the jannissary, speaking French once more. “I have told her to behave herself, Aruj Agha, but she has always been very spoiled. I cannot guarantee she will listen.”
“I’ve handled wild mares before, Captain. I am ashamed to have been taken off guard by a mere, unskilled girl. She is a virgin, of course. They are always more skittish in an unfamiliar situation.” He looked down at India. “Are you prepared to be a bit more docile, my beauty.” He lifted his foot from the small of her back and pulled her up.
“Go to the devil!” India spat at him. “I’ll kill you given half the chance. I’ll be no man’s slave, damn you!”
Aruj Agha chuckled. “A spirited filly is always the finest,” he announced. “Is she always this sweet-natured, Captain?”
“I’m afraid so,” Tom Southwood replied.
“Where is Adrian?” India demanded of her cousin. “If they have harmed him, they will pay dearly!”
“Shut up, India!” he cautioned her. “You will only make it worse for your friend. He may be ransomed if this dey is generous of heart and greedy of spirit. Now, just do as you are told, Cousin.”
“If he can be ransomed, why can’t I?” she insisted.
“Because you are a beautiful virgin, and more valuable as a concubine. These people cannot imagine any father paying what you would otherwise fetch on the block, when, having been captured by pirates, you will be considered spoiled by our own people. Now, India, just be quiet and do as you are told. With Aruj Agha’s permission, I will come and see you later.” He concluded the last sentence in French so the janissary captain could understand him.
