“My men back in the docks were going to board your ship at the dockside before you unload chest. But we were put off by the King who sent his cousin with a dozen archers, and that spoilt our plans. Lucky for us, no war again and the King not need his war chest to buy off the people of York. The chest left on board to take back to London, so everything turn out fine. I got the chest, and some bonus too. I have Lady Josephine for ransom and Welsh archers for slave market in Egypt.”
Jean saw Captain Morgan and his men all struggle in their restraints as they heard of the plan the Spanish Captain had for them. None of them stood up though, and the restless soldiers waited for the first man to step forward, so they could shoot him.
“My second task was steal this fine ship. It sell a good price. But me too lucky; the King give me extra: his cousin, the archers and this beauty.” He walked up to Jean and held her face in his hand. “I know a Sheikh that like young girl, just like you. He pay me big, fat price for you.”
“That’s my wife,” Steve-e-Joe shouted and made to step forward.
Sergeant Jones knew Steve-e-Joe, in his youthful foolishness, would be shot if he stood up and so he struck him across the jaw with his large head, knocking him out cold.
Captain Gomez had seen the little event that transpired and he smiled at Jean. “You thank big man for saving your foolish husband life, you was nearly a widow.” He walked away from her and went on. “So Captain Morgan, you and your men now my prisoners. I know you try to escape but I advice you, wait until you get to Egypt. My men have orders to shoot anyone who try to run.” He turned to the crew who he held as prisoners. “I don’t have much crew, so if any of you want to work and get freedom, they can help sail this ship to Spain for me.”
There was a lot of grumbling and swearing at Captain Gomez. None of the crew stepped forward; in fact, one of the older men spat at his feet. Captain Gomez laughed. He gave orders in Spanish to the men on his ship, and six of them ran over and dragged Lady Josephine’s maid, her two menservants, and the crew member who had spat in protest. The soldiers lifted the two servants and sat them on the gunwale with their feet hanging over the edge.
“It’s about half a mile swim to land, and I have no use for these,” the Spanish captain said. He flicked his hand, and his men cut the rope binding both men before pushing them overboard. They grabbed the maid, who began to scream, and placed her on the gunwale.
“For God’s sake Captain,” Ruddock protested. “She’ll drown with all those clothes on her; they’ll weigh her down.”
Captain Gomez seemed to think about it and nodded. “You right, first mate,” he turned to his men and spat a command in Spanish. They stripped her of all her clothes and threw her overboard.
The old crewman knew he was going to be next, so he asked, “Can I strip down and jump? Would that be alright?”
The Captain considered him: he didn’t have so much clothes on to risk drowning but if he wanted to go butt naked, why stop him? He made a motion with his hand and nodded to his men. They cut the old man free and he bent down to take off his shoes and his shirt. With only his breeches on, the old man yelled to the rest of the crew, “See you mates!” and jumped overboard
“Now Mister Ruddock, I need only nine. You going to be their first mate or maybe you want the long swim home?”
“What will happen to us when we get to Egypt, are you going to sell us at the slave market?”
“I only need your service until we reach Spain. I then take the ship and cargo to Egypt but I find you a boat back to your England.”
“And what will you pay us for delivering this ship to Spain for you?” Ruddock asked.
“Your life and a safe voyage home is enough, I think. Take it or swim.” Six of the crew agreed to work on the ship, as did Ruddock. Captain Gomez thanked them and turned to the remaining crew who had burning vile hatred for him etched into their very features. With a wave of his arms, he offered them the open sea, and they bravely took it.
As they leaped over the side of the ship, he shouted to them, “Have a safe swim home and tell King Henry he get my ransom.”
The most frightening thing for Jean was the muskets. She had heard many stories concerning them, including the claim that they could blow a hole in a grown man’s head. It must have been true for Captain Morgan and the archers seemed to behave themselves. Jean then watched as they took Steve-e-Joe and the rest of them back down the hatch. Steve-e-Joe shouted to her that he loved her and for her to be brave.
“Pedro, come here,” Captain Gomez called as he grabbed Lady Josephine and Jean by their elbows and led them into the cabin. “Ladies, this is Pedro, one of my men that speak English. He be your jailer for this journey.” He turned to Pedro and spoke English so the ladies could understand him. “You their jailer now but that not mean you can shag them. I want no harm to come to King Henry’s cousin and the young wench lose value if she become pregnant. If they get pregnant, I cut off your balls, do you hear me, Pedro?”
“Yes Captain Gomez, I look after them fine.”
“Good. I make sure to see you when we dock in Spain, with a bit of luck.”
Jean watched him go, and she heard him give orders to Ruddock. He would leave representatives on their ship but board his own ship with most of his men. He would be sailing right behind them and at any sign of trouble, his men would board the ship and kill every one of them. He also threatened that any of the crew who tried to release the prisoners would have his throat cut and his body fed to the fishes.
Jean sobbed quietly at the thought of the maid they had thrown overboard; naked and helpless. After they were thrown in the cabin, she noticed that Lady Josephine was still gagged and she was crying profusely. She was no longer elegant and lady-like, she was a huge mess. Jean heard the new captain giving orders to drop sail, and she felt the ship pull away.
“Well, I have me a lovely job.” Pedro said. He made Jean sit down on the floor then went and untied her Ladyship’s gag. “Now I want no trouble from you two.” He untied her hands and pushed her Ladyship down on the bottom bunk bed. He tied her elegant hands above her head to the top of the bed, while she cried some more. She kept repeating her maid’s name and Jean guessed she was hoping that her maid would be able to make it to land. Pedro came back to pick Jean off the floor and took her to the bottom bunk, tying her next to her Ladyship.
“You two sleep on the bottom bunk, it’s big enough, you see. I will climb and take the top bunk.”
Jean was in as much shock as her Ladyship, she just had less tears to spill. They both watched Pedro lock the cabin door and hang the lantern in the middle of the cabin. Suddenly it dawned on Jean that she had no rich or royal relative to pay handsomely for her and she was going to be sold as a slave, as were Steve-e-Joe and the others. She cried uncontrollably.
“Listen up ladies,” Pedro said, oblivious to their flowing tears. “There is the bucket so when you want a pee, call for me, I will come down and help you. I’ll be having a good sleep in the top bunk. I’ve bolted the door to stop those horny sailors getting at you, so try and get some sleep before dawn.”
Dawn broke on board silently and Jean wondered how she had not slept a wink. She kept going over the night’s events in her mind, and it still didn’t make sense. One minute she was letting the ship’s Captain, whose name she had never found out, have his way with her doggy style and the next minute, the ship was overrun with Spanish pirates. Jean, who was terrified of the water, couldn’t get the picture out of her mind of the people jumping over board or being thrown over and she especially wondered how someone could be so cruel as to throw a woman overboard. It was like the stories she had heard of pirates making people walk the plank. Not much different, actually.
“Okay ladies, up you get.” Pedro said. He had climbed down from the top bunk and was taking a piss in the bucket facing the girls. Lady Josephine turned her head away in disgust and mumbled a complaint under her breath. Jean, mostly out of curiosi
ty, looked at his cock. It was little and she knew it wasn’t for her. When he was done, he shook his prick a few times and tucked it back in his breeches.
Jean wanted to pee so she asked to be untied. Pedro was a strong man and when he handled her, his grip hurt her. She didn’t see how she could even defy such a strong man when he gave her orders. Jean and Lady Josephine did whatever he said without contesting it; he even took one of Lady Josephine’s petticoats off her and cut it up into small pieces, saying it was for them to wipe their asses with. Lady Josephine didn’t argue.
The day went by very slowly, mostly because she was still in shock, but also because they didn’t do much all day. In the afternoon, Pedro had taken then out on deck in turns with their hands tied behind their backs for them to get a little fresh air. The air didn’t feel very fresh to Jean though, it was salty and as such, very strange. The ocean was even stranger; there was no land in sight.
When night came, Pedro locked the cabin door and told them to have a pee before he turned the lantern down. Pedro tied them both up and they both sat there, still as statues. Neither of them had spoken all day, they were both very afraid of what the future held for them.
“Well ladies,” Pedro started, “I was told I couldn’t shag you, but Captain Gomez didn’t say I couldn’t have a little feel.”
“You come anywhere near me,” Lady Josephine said with a venomous tone, “and I’ll scream for the captain.”
“Go ahead; the captain would love to join us.”
“Ha,” snorted her ladyship. “I’ll see that Captain Gomez hears about this. In case you forgot, he gave you orders to look after us.”
“As long as I feed you and don’t get you pregnant, the captain doesn’t care.” He undid Jean’s skirt and pulled it off. He stood back to admire her lean legs and with a big grin on his face he said, “Oh yes.” He licked his lips and had to lean over Jean to get to her ladyship. “You can fight me if you want to but I’m going to have my feel of you both.”
He lifted up her Ladyship’s dress to have a look at her legs, saying, “You might as well give in, girls. There’s nothing you can do to stop me so I can either gag you or you can lay there peacefully and let me have my little reward for looking after you.”
It was no big deal for Jean, after all the horrors she had just witnessed and after all the men she had bedded in the last few months. From the confident look on Pedro’s face, Jean could see this was going to happen and she was in no mood to argue with him. “If I let you have a feel will you untie our hands?” she asked.
“I might when I can trust you, but not tonight.”
Jean let him have his way and he crudely fingered her and squeezed her breasts with a satisfied smile on his face the whole time. He then turned his amorous attentions to her Ladyship. She tried to kick him, but she was stuck in between Jean and the side of the ship beside her.
Pedro managed to get his hands through her legs and she spat at him spiritedly. He wiped his face and withdrew his hands to pull at her tits through her dress. “I don’t like this dress”, he complained. “Tomorrow night, I’ll have you both naked.”
The next few nights went the same way. Her ladyship gave in to Pedro with just a few choice words thrown at him. The further away from England they sailed, the more he seemed to trust them not to do anything stupid. He untied them at some point and both women made no move to leave the room, not even at night. There was nowhere to run to and if they went on deck without him, the crew would more than likely rape them.
Pedro liked talking; he told them that Captain Gomez had been captain in the Spanish army for years, until he found that being a pirate was more rewarding. He had spies in King Henry’s court and that’s how he knew all about the war chest.
Pedro also told Jean that Captain Gomez traded in slaves – among many other types of cargo – with a rich Arab Sheikh in Egypt that had ten wives. The Sheikh liked young, white girls with soft skin and so Pedro had to keep Jean out of the sun and well-fed. When Jean asked what would become of her husband and the Welshmen, he told her that the captain kept them because they all looked strong in the arms and chest, and so they would fetch good prices as galley slaves.
He also told Jean that if she wanted to stay alive in the Sheikh’s harem, as a concubine or as one of his wives, then she was going to have to pretend to enjoy having a lot of sex, learn to dance and learn to fake orgasms. If Jean was to give the Sheikh a son or two, then the Sheikh would hang on to her and she’d become one of his favorite wives. If she only gave him girls, he would sell her to someone else or give her to his men and if she was given to the men, she would die in two years or so, of the pox or some other disease.
Jean had never faked an orgasm and had never learned to dance. She made a mental note that it was something she had to learn as soon as possible. Jean got depressed at the thought of never seeing Steve-e-Joe again; she realized she would miss Steve-e-Joe the most for her first lover Steve was becoming a distant memory. Captain Morgan, now that she thought deeply about him, was just a man she had been infatuated with. In her horrifying situation, things seemed much clearer to her. It was Steve-e-Joe she longed for.
By the time they reached Spain, Jean felt she had spent a lifetime at sea, although it had only been weeks. She had no idea what month it was, but she was sure it was close to her nineteenth birthday. Jean said a tearful goodbye to Lady Josephine when they docked in Spain; her Ladyship would be held prisoner until her ransom was paid by her husband or King Henry.
They spent two nights at the Spanish docks with Captain Gomez coming on board just once to check his merchandise, telling Jean he would see her in Egypt next. His ship set sail a day before the English ship to see his friend the Sheikh. Jean asked Pedro if Captain Gomez had killed the Englishmen that volunteered to make up his crew or if had he sent them home. Pedro reminded her that the captain had given his word that he’d find the Englishmen safe passage home. According to him, the captain would keep his word, even if he didn’t like Englishmen.
The next few weeks were like hell for Jean. It seemed to take ages to reach Egypt. It didn’t help that they had to stop at another port to drop off some cargo. The time dragged by slowly and in the unbearable heat, Jean was forced to lay naked on the bed all day long. By this time, Pedro had become used to seeing her in the nude and took no notice of her as he complained of the heat. Jean was angry at him sometimes for paying her no mind and in those petty moments, she was glad that, unknown to him, she had been using him to learn how to fake a climax.
When they eventually docked in Egypt, Jean wasn’t sure she could go on deck, for she knew it would be the last time she’d see Steve-e-Joe before he would be dragged off to the slave market. The sight alone might literally kill her, she thought.
Pedro had told Jean that the captain was going to give his friend the Sheikh the first offer on her and if he didn’t fancy her, then she’d be hauled off to the slave market with the other men. Jean had just about run out of tears since the night Captain Gomez took the ship because every passing moment had been filled with a terrified anxiety. They docked late in the evening and Pedro told Jean that they’d unload the cargo first, while the prisoners would be taken ashore in the morning.
In the morning, Jean awoke in tears, waiting to hear Steve-e-Joe and the men being brought up from below. Pedro had promised her he’d take her on deck to wave goodbye but she was more convinced at this moment that she wouldn’t be able to handle such a goodbye. Jean heard Pedro speaking to someone outside the cabin and she turned her head slightly. Her head was heavy and hurt badly.
“Good morning Captain,” Pedro was saying, with a low bow like a servant, rather than standing up straight like a soldier.
“Good morning and how is the girl?”
“A little homesick,” Pedro said in English for Jean’s benefit. “But she’s not with child, I can promise you that. Not one prick has been anywhere near her.”
“Good man, I know th
at that must have been hard for you,” Captain Gomez said with a sarcastic grin. He turned back and walked to the hatch and shouted.
“Captain Morgan!” He waited for a response. “I know you hear me, I want to talk to you.” He motioned for their jailer to fetch him up. “Don’t do anything silly or I shoot you and there be no money in that for me.”
Captain Morgan was dragged up through the hatch, his hands tied behind his back, with his men cursing and shouting in Welsh at the Spanish Captain. Captain Morgan looked terrible. He hadn’t shaved or washed in the last two months, and the food they were given was just enough to keep them alive. Captain Morgan, dirty and malnourished, managed to stand up straight in defiance. He looked Captain Gomez right in the eye and said calmly. “If I do escape and we meet again, I’m going to kill you.”
“I expect nothing less, Captain,” came the equally calm reply.
Captain Gomez motioned with his hand to the second cabin. “But we talk first; perhaps there is way you and your men can get back home?”
They settled down in the cabin with two guards at Morgan’s side. “Untie him. Give him a drink.” Gomez didn’t wait, he went on. “My friend, the Sheikh has little problem with neighboring tribe, and if you can help him, he is willing to buy you off me for fair price then reward you and your men by setting you free.”
Morgan tried to snigger but it was a tired, lifeless sound. “Let me guess, he wants me and my men to kill his neighbors for him?”
“Close. His 10 year old son has been kidnapped and he wants him back.”
“If your friend is that rich, why doesn’t he just pay the ransom?”
“It’s not that easy. The two tribes are enemies for hundreds of years, and sons of Arabs are worth more than money. You may not know this. They not ask for ransom yet and they’ll kill the boy if the Sheikh tries to save him or attack the village. The boy’s blood will be spilled and it would be his father’s fault.”
Kill The President's Women (Joe The Magic Man Series Book 2) Page 33
