Stormy Seas: Part 5

 I had decided on the balcony. If I tried to go out the door someone would see me, and I would not ask them to lie to Aunt. There was always a bit of a chance that the groundskeeper was still out, but I doubted it. I planned to leave only a few footprints in the grass for him to notice tomorrow morning.

My room was on the second floor, but there was a large, soft looking, bush just below the balcony. If I could land on it correctly I should survive the fall unhurt.

Sarah had just left the room after dropping off a packed lunch and saying a quick whispered goodbye. I picked up a long blue coat from my bed and pulled it on. I laced a brown under-bust corset on top of it and stood back to look at myself in my vanity mirror.

Perfect, I thought. It was plain enough that I wouldn't stand out around the docks but still made me look enough like myself that if I was noticed before getting to the lower part of the city, I could talk my way out of being dragged back home.

I picked up a little bag that held my money and a few small belongings, including a full change of underclothes, and tucked the lunch from Sarah into it. I tossed it over my shoulder and blew out the lamp on the dressing table.

Lamplight from the street lit the room through the glass door to the balcony. I opened it, stepped outside, and let it click softly closed behind me. I peered down at my target, the large fat bush. Uncertainty began to creep toward me and glanced back at the door. I sat down on the railing anyway and swung my legs over the edge. I aimed myself at the bush, hoping to land somewhat in it, and jumped.

I hit the bush, crashed through a few of the branches at the side, and landed solidly on my back. I laid there for a moment, winded, but began to worry about the groundskeeper. I forced myself to stand, find my bag, and hurry away from the scene of my crime to the iron fence.

I found a dark space away from the lamps and checked to see if anyone was out. I saw a carriage a ways away but I saw no driver. I put one booted foot up on part of the metal and swung one leg over. I had to spend a moment dragging my skirts over before I could bring my other leg, but I hopped down on the other side in one piece.

Half of my escape was already completed. I turned myself toward the docks to complete the rest of it.

I hurried down the street, keeping to the shadows as best I could, and out of alleys. All of the shops I passed were dark and empty until I crossed over the little bridge to the lower city. I passed by a rowdy tavern and quickly found the docks. I stepped lightly, trying to keep my boots from making too much noise on the wooden dock, and continued keeping to the shadows.

“Hullo thar,” a slurred voice called from the darkness. A man emerged from the shadows, reeking of alcohol. “Whut's a purty gal like you doin allllll by herself.” He came closer.

“I'm delivering a message to one of these ships,” I lied. I tried to make myself sound bold.

“Which ship?” he asked. He belched and I resisted the urge to slap him.

“Lethargy,” I said, remembering the sailor earlier. I couldn't think of any other ship names.

“She's thatta way,” he pointed. “How bout a kiss before ya go?” he grinned toothlessly at me.

“Aren't you charming?” I said sweetly. My heart was pounding so hard I was afraid it would make my voice quiver. “If you stay right here I'll see you when I come back.” I inched around him. “So stay right here until I come back.” I pictured him sitting there years later.

“Stay here,” he repeated. “I'll stay here.”

“Will you be here? If you move I might not see you.”

“I'm stayin right here.” To prove his point he pulled a barrel over to where he had been standing and sat upon it.

“Then I'll be back,” I lied. I turned and ran in the direction he had pointed. When I was out of sight I stopped and let myself calm down. I heard sailors shouting to each other from the deck of one of the ships and hurriedly slunk further away. If I met a sailor any less drunk I was certain to end up murdered in the street.

I turned a corner and saw in the lamplight the name Lethargy painted across a metal hull. It was a big, fat looking ship, and I could see where the name had come from.

I heard stumbling footsteps advancing behind me and a slurring voice calling out “Pretty lady!” The drunkard was following me. I panicked again when I realized that there was nowhere else to run.

There was a rope above me leading up to the darker end of the ship where no lamps had been lighted. It looked like my best chance. I climbed up onto a wooden support for the dock and grasped the rope. I tugged on it and hoped that it would hold my weight.

I pulled myself up and tried to mimic sailors I had seen in moving pictures, crawling upside down with their legs and hands. How ladylike I've become, I thought. Luckily I was in the dark and I hoped that no one would notice me with my petticoats exposed to the air.

I was surprised at how hard it was to get myself moving. The rope was slanting away upwards and I ended up dragging the ankles of my boots on the rough rope. The fibers bit into my hands but the approaching calls made me go on. I was nearly up to the deck when the drunk came into view. I immediately stopped moving and began praying that drink made one's vision poor.

“Pretty lady!” he nearly screamed. I saw him go over toward the walkway that led onto the ship. He passed out of my sight but I could hear him trying to make his way on board.

“Hey! You can't come on here!” A booming voice called.

The drunk stumbled backwards and fell on the dock. A large dark man came down after him. “The pretty lady was comin here!” the drunk insisted.

“There's no ladies on board this ship,” the other man said. I was glad that I wasn't on board yet or I would have made him a liar.

“She said she'd come back but I'm not stupid,” the drunk said.

Not that I had never lied, I thought.

“Look here,” the man said. He picked up the drunk and stood him on his feet. “You leave young women alone. Do you have a wife?”

“Yessir,” the drunk said.

“Then stop drinking and go home to your woman. Do you hear me?”

“Yes, yessir,” he saluted and tried to wriggle free. The man still held him firmly.

“You're lucky we're not so desperate for crew that we'll shanghai lousy drunks. Get yourself home!” He released the drunk and watched as he hurried away back to the town.

I waited silently until the man turned and went back on board. I was beginning to lose my grip and slide downwards.

I began to crawl upwards again and soon my skirts brushed the railing at the front of the ship. I craned my neck back and searched the dark, upside-down deck. When I was sure that no one was there I swung my feet down and let myself drop lightly on board.

I stood for a moment letting my hands have a rest and checked to see if they were bleeding. I was certain that they must look like pin cushions with bits of rope fiber stuck in them.

There was a sort of trapdoor below me that I could see a ladder through. I knelt down and pulled it up slowly and quietly. When I had opened it halfway it began to squeak. I crawled in and climbed down the ladder into a very dark room full of crates and boxes and ship equipment.

I felt my way around, looking for a good hiding spot. I found a little corner behind a stack of barrels with extra coils of rope and what I thought were extra sails folded up. I sat down and put my bag beside me. This will do, I decided.