New York_ The Novel - Edward Rutherfurd [44]
And for the next two years, everyone in New York was complaining about the king.
It was a spring day in the year 1689 when the Mistress came hurrying to the house with a big smile on her face and told us that the English had kicked King James II out of his kingdom.
“God’s will is done,” she cried.
The cause was a child. After years of having no more children, King James suddenly had a son, that was to be a Catholic. “Even the English wouldn’t stand for that,” she said. It seemed that in no time they’d kicked him out, and sent for his elder daughter Mary. The Glorious Revolution, they called it.
“Not only is Mary a Protestant,” said the Mistress, “but she is married to our own William, ruler of the Netherlands. And William and Mary are to rule England together.” She was almost dancing for joy, to think that we should be under Dutch rule again.
Soon after the Glorious Revolution came news that the Dutch and English had declared war on Catholic King Louis of France. King William’s War, they called it. We were all afraid that the Catholic French up in the far north would join the Iroquois Indians and come all the way down to New York. And the French and the Indians did attack some of the Dutch settlers far upriver. But for merchants like the Boss and Mr. Master, a war can also be a big opportunity.
I shall always remember the sunny day when the Boss told us we were to come with him down to the waterfront. So we all went. The Boss and the Mistress; I was allowed to bring Hudson. When we got there, Jan and Mr. Master and his son Henry were waiting for us. And we were all rowed out to a ship at anchor in the East River. That was a fine ship, with tall masts and several cannon. Mr. Master took us all around. Hudson was looking at everything on board; I never saw him so excited. Several merchants had invested in that ship making a voyage to attack the French merchantmen, now that we were at war with them, and take their cargoes. Mr. Master had taken an eighth share, and the Boss and Jan had taken another eighth. I could see that the vessel was well built for speed. “She’ll outrun anything the French can bring against us,” Mr. Master said. He was very pleased with himself. “And the captain’s a first-rate privateer. With luck she’ll make a fortune.”
Just then Hudson started to pull my sleeve, wanting to ask a question. I told him to keep quiet, but Mr. Master said, “No, let him ask.” So then Hudson says: “Please, Boss, what’s the difference between a privateer and a pirate?”
The Boss and Mr. Master looked at each other and laughed.
“If the ship’s stealing from us,” says the Boss, “it’s a pirate. But if it’s stealing from the enemy, it’s a privateer.”
A little while after the ship left, Miss Clara’s husband became sickly and died. She had no children, and so she returned to live in the house with her parents for a while. I wondered if there was going to be trouble, but the years had passed and she and her mother got along fine. Naturally Miss Clara was grieving for a while, but I heard the Mistress say to the Boss, “We must find her another husband.” For the time being though, I think the Mistress was glad of her company.
My Naomi was good with a needle, and used to do all the mending needed in the house. She’d also started to teach little Martha how to sew. And it wasn’t long before Miss Clara noticed Martha’s skill. Being so young, her fingers were so supple and quick, it was amazing