Doctor Who_ The Roundheads - Mark Gatiss [29]
As dawn broke, Ben slept on, seemingly oblivious of the sickening, lurching movement of the ship in the heaving winter sea.
Beneath his rough blanket, he turned on his side, his mouth hanging slackly open until, out of nowhere, a torrent of sea water splashed over the ship’s rail on to his face.
He woke with a cry, spluttering and gasping, then looked rapidly around, trying to orientate himself.
In quick succession he saw the rolling grey sea, the deck, the full, billowing sails, and the two dozen or so men who were streaming over the ship, working busily at ropes, pumps and stores.
Ben groaned as he recalled the events of the previous night. How on earth had he got himself into this mess? He rubbed his weary brow and sighed.
The leathery-faced Isaac Ashdown walked carefully across the wet deck towards him, a pleasant smile on his tanned face.
‘Ah,’ he said. ‘So now you know, my lad.’
Ben managed to struggle to his feet, despite the dull pain in his head. ‘Know? Know what?’
Ashdown shrugged. ‘Where you are.’
Ben gave a short, humourless laugh. ‘That’s pretty obvious, isn’t it? Even if I wasn’t a sailor.’
Ashdown looked delighted. ‘You’re a sailor already!
That’s a novelty indeed. The scum we usually get are somewhat unsuited to life at sea.’ He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. ‘At first.’
Ben repositioned himself so that his legs were wider apart.
Trying to stand upright on the deck was proving difficult.
‘You can’t force me to stay here, you know,’ he shouted above the noise of the spray. ‘I haven’t taken the Queen’s sh—the King’s shilling or anything.’
Ashdown clapped him on the shoulder. ‘What’s your name, son?’
‘Ben Jackson.’
‘Well, Ben Jackson, don’t you fret. Captain Stanislaus was just a bit short for this voyage. I was in charge of... er...
recruitment last night. I saw you with your lady and I thought, aye, aye, there’s a likely lad if ever the opportunity should come my way. Which, as you know, it did. And you were hardly in a position to refuse, were you now?’
Ben shook his head and scowled as a sharp pain scorched through his brow.
Ashdown smiled kindly. ‘You’re free to go when we reach land.’
A little reassured, Ben turned his mind to Polly. ‘What happened to the girl? The one I was with. Did you see?’
Ashdown looked away evasively. ‘Can’t say as I did, lad.
When I found you, you was lying in the road.’
Ben nodded to himself. ‘I have to get back as soon as I can. Anything could’ve happened to her.’ He turned back to Ashdown. ‘You say I can get off at our first port of call?’
Ashdown gave a sly smile. ‘Aye.’
‘And where’s that?’
Ashdown began to chuckle. ‘Amsterdam,’ he said.
The London morning was cold and unpleasant, a fine rain blowing in sheets from the river and pocking the snow that still lay all around. The swans and geese that squawked and waddled through St James’s Park did not seem overly concerned, however, emerging into the light and sliding comically over the thick sheets of ice that covered the park’s waterways. There were cattle, too, huddled together at one end of the park, shifting miserably from hoof to hoof.
Emerging from his hiding place, Christopher Whyte stretched and groaned, feeling the muscles in his back pop and strain. His evening’s vigil had been more than a little unpleasant. He had followed the woman Polly around what seemed like half the capital, yet she had seemed to have little idea where she was going.
At first she had made straight for the street outside the inn where her friend had last been seen but, finding nothing, had then run like a mad thing towards a narrow alley some way off. She had waited there for the best part of an hour before giving up and, finding herself near the park, had managed to grab a few hours’ sleep in one of the small gardeners’ shelters.
Whyte had followed at a discreet distance. More than once he had wanted to intercede, to offer her food and a comfortable lodging for the night, but his job was to keep an eye on the woman, not woo her. She might yet prove to know more than she was saying and no interference could