The Dust of 100 Dogs - A. S. King [35]
“You’ll like seeing the sun, boy, after three months on this bloody ship. It’s the sunshine that brings us all back, isn’t it, lads?”
The Irish men grunted in assent.
“The sun? What do you mean?”
“The sun shines so hard down there that you’ll barely be able to keep a shirt on your back! But don’t you take it off, son, or you’ll go the brightest shade of red a man has ever been! Ask O’Malley over there.”
O’Malley answered with a laugh.
“I didn’t know the sun shone so much more in Paris. I had always guessed it was the same as—”
“Paris?” the man asked. The rest of the crew let loose hearty peals of laughter.
“Isn’t that where this boat is going?” Seanie asked, feeling his heart pound, half knowing the answer.
“No, boy. You have it all wrong. Is that what that English bastard told you?”
He nodded.
“Well, you can kiss your dreams of Paris goodbye, son. You’re being sent to Barbados like the rest of us poor sods.”
“Barbados? Where’s that?”
“Down in the hottest part of the world, boy. Like hell on earth, I tell ya.”
“We have to stop this boat! I must get to Paris! You don’t understand!”
With that, the crew fell about laughing at him again. Some even mocked his words, repeating them in girlish tones, howling and grabbing their bellies.
“There’s no stopping the boat, and there’s no chance you can swim to Paris, so don’t think about trying,” the man said. “Besides, what’s so important about Paris anyway?”
“Nothing. I’m just—just—surprised.” No matter how hard Seanie tried, he couldn’t hold back the mighty sob inside his chest. He released it with an angry groan and buried his greasy head in his arm.
When the rest of the men fell asleep that night, Seanie was still awake, thinking of Emer. Had he just stupidly sealed their fate by believing the word of a lazy Englishman? He had wanted more than anything to save her from what she faced. He’d wanted to arrive in Paris and whisk her away before anyone saw them disappear. He’d spent a month on foot getting from Connacht to Drogheda, each night settling into sleep with one thing on his mind. Now it wouldn’t be. Now he was stuck on a ship bound for hell on earth, and he couldn’t save her from anything.
When her boat arrived in Paris, Emer was brought out on deck. Still bound at the wrists, she winced every time she moved; she’d suffered rope burn for too long. But it was a relief to see the sun again. She’d been locked in a special room for over a week at that point, eating only once a day from a tray brought by the ship’s cook. When she appeared on the gangway, two well-dressed men came to greet her. One was older and overly fat, the other was petite and quite young. She wished she could use her hands. She needed a wash and a new plait. She was sure she looked dreadful after a week in the moist, dark room.
“Emer Morrisey?” the older man asked politely, in Gaelic, his big mouth smiling so that his fat lips divided into two.
She nodded.
“You’re more beautiful than your father promised! Let’s get you out of that rope, yes?”
He looked back at his servant and snapped his fingers. The man produced a small, sharp knife and the older man used it to carefully cut the rope from Emer’s wrists. She moved her hands in circles and stretched out her fingers, but felt more pain from the burns than she had felt when the rope was on.
“Do you recognize me?” he asked.
She shook her head no.
“Did your father not tell you what I looked like?”
Emer stood, confused. Surely this fat old man wasn’t her fiancé. In all the bad images her mind had conjured up during the voyage, she had never thought of this.
“I’m the man that will soon be your husband, girl!”
She couldn’t help but stare at him, dumbfounded.
“Oh, come on now, dear. You can smile with that pretty face, can’t you?”
She made sure not to smile, and carefully looked around for an escape route.
“William, put her in the carriage. I have business to attend to.” He turned to Emer. “Try and be a little happy, won’t you? Tonight will be a very special night for you, love.” He grazed her face with his plump hand. “A very special