The Delfe Treasure

53. Of Independence

James ushered the twenty-five men into the great cabin, and as they entered, Aldrick said, "Welcome. I thought it would be best if we stand in a large circle." He swung his arm around to indicate where, then he pointed to the dining table. "Pick up a glass on your way by."

As the men settled in the circle, James poured wine from claret jugs into each glass, and when all had been served, Aldrick raised his glass. "Well done, lads. That was a fine example of how calmness, ingenuity and surprise can render impulsive heavy-handedness into impotence. They immediately saw there was no course but to yield." He raised his glass higher. "Let us drink to our success."

After he had savoured a sip, he continued, "But let us put that behind us for the moment and concentrate on here. This wine is not to quench our thirsts; rather, it is to satisfy our souls." He swirled the wine in his glass and brought it to his nose. "Note the depth and complexity of its aroma, and then of its flavours. Wines such as this are rare, and they are meant to be enjoyed slowly and with contemplation and introspection."

He smiled as he watched the hands copy his actions with their glasses. "With your shares of the treasure, you will be able to enjoy refinements such as this." He shrugged. "If this is to your taste. Or whatever other refinements you may choose. After our return to London, you will no longer need to be employed by others; you will be able to live with ease and independence and employ others to assist you in that."

One of the group spoke up. "But, we don't know how, Sir. We fear our unfamiliarity with wealth will make us obvious and easy pickings for the likes of the Avenger crew."

"My wife and I were examining this very thing a few minutes ago, Brock." Aldrick signalled across the room. "James, pour yourself a glass and come join us."

The group carried on a broad-ranging discussion, allowing Elizabeth and Aldrick to gain an understanding of areas of concern among the crew. When replying to a question about how to find trustworthy staff, Aldrick shrugged, then said, "You have all made this easy for us over the years, offering three generations of loyal family members from which we have drawn." He turned to Elizabeth. "Perhaps you have views on this."

"I think it is much the same with us. We have a staff of about eighty to maintain the household, the animals and the crops, and they are mostly families who have been with us for generations."

"Larger than this ship's crew? That must be a big house."

Elizabeth smiled at the young lad. "The central part was built over six hundred years ago as an abbey, and my family began restoring it during the early reign of Queen Elizabeth. We have added many buildings and lands since then, and the staff has grown along with it."

Aldrick chuckled. "When I first saw the gatehouse, I thought it was her home; it is larger than all but the grandest London houses." He shrugged. "But this does not answer the question about finding staff. There are four others aboard who are also among the landed gentry with independent means. We will sit with them and discuss this."

The men looked around at others with questioning expressions, then Brock asked, "Four others? Who are they, Sir?"

"This is another aspect of keeping yourself safe. As much as possible, do not let others know about your dealings and holdings. Quiet wealth is safe wealth. Braggards and their money are soon parted."

"Why are they aboard if they are independent?"

"To learn and to gain experience. Also for the adventure. Remember, wealth and independence do not mean we must stop adventuring and learning; rather, they allow us the time and the wherewithal to do these at our ease and choosing."

He looked toward the knock on the door, and as James went to answer it, he said, "That should be the cookery staff with our dinner."

A short while later, after the platters and trays of food had been arranged on the table, Elizabeth said to the Cookery Mate, "This looks splendid, but some of the items are unfamiliar. It would assist us in our enjoyment if you were to describe what we have here."

The Mate beamed a smile, then he swept his arm over the arrangement. "We have assembled a variety of flavour and texture combinations, and we have speared them together with mahogany slivers to keep fingers clean." He pointed. "Here, a cube of roasted chicken with a slice of mango. There, a slice of lobster tail with yellow pepper, and there —"

"Lobster tail? From where did you get that at such short notice? And the roasted chicken?"

"The chicken was from the dinner you all missed." Then he shrugged. "We had two empty ale firkins at the end of our day ashore, and a few dozens of lobsters still not cooked. It would have been a waste not to fill the firkins with seawater and bring the lobsters aboard alive."

He shrugged again and grinned, then he continued describing the food. "This is a Jamaican tradition, ackee and saltfish on bami, which is a local fruit and salt cod on thin cassava bread." When he had finished, he bowed and led his hands out of the cabin to the applause of the men.

Elizabeth again surveyed the table, then she said. "Let us enjoy. We can carry on our intercourse as we eat. This format provides us with means to circulate and seek conversations among those with whom we might otherwise not find an opportunity."

Aldrick added, "Often in large gatherings, this size and larger, one gets stuck in conversations with no graceful escape. But here, instead of staff circulating with trays of food morsels, we can use our visits to the table as convenient escapes if needed. Social graces such as these are among the skills you will need in order to move comfortably in polite circles."

A long while later, as Aldrick and Elizabeth spoke with the three Davis brothers, Tim said, "I ain't never ate so good till I came aboard this here ship. And the worst ever was what we had in Avenger. The holds was always wet, and they had a lot of mould and fungus seeped into the old timbers. The fruit and vegetables started spoiling and rotting in a few weeks, and finally, alls we was left with was barrels of salt pork and salt beef. Them, and biskets too hard to eat without a long soak."

Aldrick winced. "Little wonder so many were afflicted by scurvy."

Mick added, "And they blamed the leaking in the hold on us three shipwrights, and the cooks for not keeping the fresh food from spoiling. And the whole problem on Roberts. That's why we was left on the island."

"And they was planning on killing us." Jimmy ran a finger across his throat. "When I was been held upstairs, the two was talking about how they shoulda done it afore they left the island, so's to leave more of the treasure for themselfs. And not knowing what Mick and Tim's about, they was keeping me alive only as bait for them to come back for."

"All the better reason for you three to remain aboard and out of sight."

Jimmy smiled as he nodded toward the table. "With food like this, we's happy to do that."