“Are you looking for a job on one of the merchants?” the woman asked while Alexis ate.
“That’s right, mum. Oi expect ta get on a ship fer the States.”
“You’re very young to be traveling so far.”
“Sixteen. And now l’ave a good meal in me Oi’ll be strong as any wots older.” Damn. It was have, not ’ave. I, not Oi.
The woman searched the intent features of the young ragamuffin. He was not the first of the children who thought they could flee London by signing up to go to sea. She doubted very many of them ever reached their destinations alive. Scurvy and foul drinking water were the demise of most of them. She wondered if she should tell him these things, then thought better of it. It would be a waste of breath if she was any judge of character. The firm set of that mouth and the determination of those amber eyes told her he would not be put off by what she had to say. His kind had horror stories of their own.
Sighing at the injustice of it, she packed him a small lunch. When he was finished eating she handed it to him. “You sweep the walk and be on your way. I know one of the Thorton merchants is leaving this afternoon for Charleston. That’s in the United States.”
“I know that,” Alexis answered.
“Yes, of course you would,” she said dryly. “Well, you may be able to get on it but don’t tell them you’re sixteen. Try for fifteen and if they don’t want to have eyes in their head they may just believe you.”
Alexis smiled and thanked her. As she swept the stoop she realized that while she hadn’t passed the age test very successfully, she had had no difficulty with the gender part. Her plan was going smoothly.
TheConstellationwas not hard to find among the other vessels. Alexis was familiar with the flag of the Thorton Line as well as the type of rig they had. TheConstellationwas one of the newer merchants. She knew it had made only a few trips to America; its sides and underbelly were not encrusted with barnacles and the red-and-white paint used by the line had not peeled or splintered from the corrosive salt water. Alexis watched men loading cargo aboard for some time before she approached.
Summoning her courage, she asked one of the workers if she could speak to the captain. He brusquely pointed out the direction she should follow.
She had gone only a few steps when he called her back.
“Ye lookin’ fer a job?” Alexis nodded. “Then don’t go lookin’ fer th’ captain. See tha’ man over there?” He pointed to a great bear of a man presently directing the movement of cargo.” ’E’s th’ one wot does th’ ’iring. Name’s Pauley Andrews. Maybe ’e can ’elp ye.”
Alexis murmured her thanks and started to climb up the gangway, trying to ignore the growing knot in her stomach. She waited for a pause in the man’s activity before she sidled near.
“Sir,” she said softly. He didn’t turn. More loudly, “Sir, I’m lookin’ fer a job.”
Alexis managed to keep her feet firmly planted on the deck of the ship as the man swung around to face her. “Are you now? And what makes you think I’d have any work you could be doing?” He glanced at the pitiful specimen of a human being in front of him. They were getting younger all the time. If he had half a kindness in his heart he would send this one away. Pauley shrugged. He needed a helper for the captain and he didn’t have time to search for one. “How old are you, lad?”
“Fifteen,” Alexis said firmly.
“Fourteen’s more like it. Your voice hasn’t even changed.”
“It will soon.” She cracked it expertly, the way she had heard her brothers do it.
Pauley put his hands on his hips and laughed a deep, throaty laugh. “If that’s a sign of your determination to get aboard, then you’re welcome to cast your lot with the rest of us. Just don’t ever curse me for taking you. You’ll find it’s not the opportunity you think it is.”
Alexis looked up at him, puzzled. Finally she said, “Why would I curse you? This is my decision.”
Pauley laughed louder. “Making decisions at fourteen. I hope you’re prepared to bear the consequences of those decisions.” He stopped laughing when he saw how the boy was looking at him. By God, the lad was serious. He shuddered to think of his own sons trying to get aboard a ship like this. And his boys were older and stronger than this mite. Still, the child seemed to know what he wanted and Pauley Andrews was not one to stand in the way of the grim determination he saw expressed in the face below him. He felt almost uncomfortable under the steady gaze of this child. He spoke to break the silence.
“What’s your name, son?”
“Alex.”
“Is that all? Just Alex?”
Alexis remained silent while she considered an option. She did not want to use the name of the people who had masqueraded as her family, but she had no other. Her eyes scanned the wharf, stopping when she saw the sign above the bakery. Why not? She had spent the first night of her new life on that stoop and the woman had shown her more kindness in one morning than she had known most of her life. She struggled to pronounce the name on the sign to herself. It would not do to get it wrong and her knowledge of reading was limited.
“Danty,” she said. “My name is Alex Danty.”
Pauley had watched Alexis as her eyes wandered along the waterfront shops and he’d also seen the object of her interest. He tried not to smile when she said her name. The sign read Pantry. If Danty was the name, then so be it.
“All right, Alex Danty. Come with me and I’ll show you where you’ll be quartered. You’ll have to sign some papers saying that you took this job of your own free will.”
Alexis was shown to a small cabin not far from the captain’s. “This is yours. You get a place to yourself because the captain will be needing you at all hours. He likes to have his cabin boy within bellering range. I’ll see about getting you some more clothes. I think the old cabin boy’s are still around.” He paused. “He’s dead, you know. Wasn’t strong enough. That doesn’t bother you, does it?”
