Remember Me - Lesley Pearse [32]
It was barely dawn, just a faint pink glow in the east, as she walked across the deck, the chains back on her. Graham was in front of her, and as he reached the first of the two doors to the hold, he turned back to her.
‘Do not speak of this to anyone,’ he said, his face tight with tension. ‘If you are asked to explain your absence tell them you were locked up on deck as a punishment. Next time I will try to have a dress for you.’
He said nothing more, just unlocked the first door, then went down to the next and unlocked that, gently nudging her in without a word of farewell.
If anyone heard or saw her come in, they said nothing. Mary made her way to her bench, nudged Anne over as she had taken up her space, and lay down. After the warmth and softness of Graham’s bunk, the planks seemed very hard and cold. But she noticed it smelt far more pleasant in the hold, and that pleased her. Yet Graham’s last words had made her feel uneasy, for it was obvious he didn’t know how the other women would react to one of their number going missing for a night. They wouldn’t ask where she’d been, they’d just ignore her.
To Mary’s utmost surprise there was no animosity towards her when she woke again later. In fact her status appeared to have been raised to one of heroine. ‘Did they flog you?’ Anne asked first, and with that every single woman, even the sick ones, raised themselves to thank Mary for her courage in demanding to see Graham. Only Sarah gave her a knowing look, and she grinned when Mary told the story that she’d been chained up on the deck until dawn.
All the women seemed much less apathetic now the hold was cleaner, and throughout the day Mary was unable to get to speak to Sarah for them complimenting her, asking questions, and remarking on how no one else had ever dared do such a thing. The men were cleared out of their hold that morning too, for cleaning, and later, as they came back, Mary was subjected to shouted praise from them too.
Will Bryant called her over to the grille. ‘You’re a plucky little lass,’ he called out. ‘Bless you for it.’
‘You got to marry her now,’ James Martin shouted, and Mary laughed along with the men, amused as much by their ribald remarks as their praise for her.
‘I won’t be holding you to it, Will Bryant,’ she called back. ‘I know you’re all talk, and besides, I’ve got no wedding finery in here with me.’
While it felt good to receive so much admiration, Mary felt guilty too. The next time Graham called her out, not only would she lose all this respect, but they’d hate her for deceiving them.
After dark she managed to slip on to Sarah’s bench to talk to her. ‘I was with Graham,’ she whispered. ‘What do I do now about all this?’
‘But for you there would be many more deaths,’ Sarah whispered back. ‘Besides, they’d all be offering their fannies if they thought there was anyone up there wanting them. But never mind that, what was it like?’
‘Not so bad,’ Mary replied. Much as she would have liked to share her experiences with her friend, she couldn’t out of loyalty to Graham. He had after all been kind to her.
Four days later Mary was called again by Lieutenant Graham. This time she had been set to work cleaning the galley alone, and when she finished the filthy job, Graham appeared and ordered her into his cabin. It was late afternoon, and seconds after the door was locked behind her, she heard the male convicts arriving back from their outside work.
Again he removed her shackles, and again there was water for her to bathe in. But he didn’t stop to undress, and took her swiftly, before she was even dry, and when he had finished thrust a clean dress and petticoat at her.
‘You can’t stay up here,’ he said. ‘It would be noted. Put these on and be gone.’
‘Can I have something to eat?’ she asked as she put the petticoat on. It was very worn, but soft and clean. The grey dress was equally worn, but it looked wonderful to her as her old one was in shreds.