The Adventures of Pocahontas and John Rolfe: Book I

Chapter 3: No One Makes a Fool of Finley Flame

The Adventures of Pocahontas and John Rolfe: Book I

Chapter 3: No One Makes a Fool of Finley Flame

SEPTEMBER 16, 1613

The next morning, Pocahontas was very nervous about trying to separate John Rolfe from the crew—or even approach him in sight of the others. She had to keep the bosun trusting in her and she knew for certain that she could not afford to rouse his suspicion.

In the late evening, John Rolfe showed up in the mess hall and sat at one of the less populated tables. At last, Pocahontas saw an opportunity. The bosun had yet to arrive, so she found a stray piece of parchment in the galley and jotted a brief note on it. When she went to serve Rolfe, she slipped it into his hand as she laid his plate before him. The man blinked in surprise at first but said nothing more than, "Thank you, cabin boy."

John Rolfe watched as Pocahontas nodded and left to fill other men's orders. When she was gone, he unfolded the note in a concealed position and read it.

J,

Meet me in the hold after hours. Destroy this note once you've read it.

~P

The Englishman immediately tore the parchment up and chucked it out the small port-side window hatch behind him when nobody was glancing in his direction.

When Pocahontas finally arrived in the hold later that night, John Rolfe was already there with an expression of deep concern on his face. "Pocahontas, what is it? Did something happen? Is it bad?" he blurted the moment he caught sight of her.

Pocahontas did not reply at first, placing her lantern on a barrel. As he approached, she held up her hands to receive his. Their fingers automatically intertwined as they met. She peered around, double-checking that the door was closed. Turning back to John Rolfe, she bit her lip. The emotions she had felt the night before upon hearing the horrifying tale returned when she felt it safe at last to purge them. Her eyes filled with tears.

Seeing the glassy look in her eyes, John Rolfe started to feel panicked. "Pocahontas, what is it?!" he hollered, bringing a hand up to cup her cheek. He gazed intently into her dark brown eyes in an attempt to assess what could possibly be going through her mind.

Pocahontas paused, pondering on how best to express her worries. When she started, her voice broke immediately. "Something h-happened last night," she uttered.

John Rolfe furrowed his brows, feeling a vein bulge on his temple. "What? Did someone hurt you?! Who? I'll kill him!" he bellowed, his heart starting to race. He was relieved when Pocahontas shook her head, though his concern still showed. "Then what? What's made you so upset, love?" he gently interrogated, still fearful of the answer.

Pocahontas sat down with John Rolfe on a couple of short kegs on the floor. She began to recount the story, starting from when she had eavesdropped on the pirates in the mess hall. The Powhatan princess strangely found herself leaving everything about the spirits out, as she seemed to worry that a man of Christian faith like Rolfe would not understand. Regardless, she observed that he was listening intently to what she was telling him.

When she got to the part about the murdered woman and child, her voice cracked again. She started hyperventilating. John Rolfe placed a hand on her shoulder. "Love, I think I know where this is heading. If you don't want to finish, you don't have to."

"It was bad, John. What they did—I can't imagine why anyone would..." Pocahontas left the thought unfinished and wiped a tear from her eye with a long sleeve.

"Poor woman," John Rolfe lamented. "I know what she did is technically considered a sin, but I personally find it hard to blame her considering the fellow already had over thirty wives. In my estimation, that is just plain greedy. A lady should never have to share with so many. Think of how little attention she would get anyway when he took a new bride after her," he remarked as Pocahontas buried her face in his chest.