Chapter 16
Chapter sixteen
Edward
I fear that, while living at sea, I may never have the opportunity to make a difference.
How am I to pursue our cause with nothing surrounding me but endless waves and an empty horizon?
I wish to do more, but until my commission is complete, I am stuck, constrained by duty and immobilized by my inability to do more than correspond with men who can do the work.
It is the most frustrating situation I have ever found myself in and stokes a fire of resentment in me.
Yet, I am beholden to it. For how can I resent joining the Navy when my new convictions would not exist without them?
Without my service, I would be a vessel without a wheel, drifting on the waters of life to wherever the current takes me.
I would not desire change, for I would know nothing of the horrors and suffering faced by so many.
How do I bury my anger when it consumes me to be idle in our cause?
–EP
Annette gasped at my words, pulling her hand from under mine to cover her mouth.
With any other woman, I would have refrained from making such a dark statement so bluntly.
But I knew this woman—saw her strength and resilience.
She could handle the truth of my past, though I still warred with the decision to reveal so much. Vulnerability was a delicate thing.
“He tried to kill you?” she asked in nothing more than a whisper.
“Indeed, he did.”
“Why?”
The question brought a grin to my face. “It seems I evoke that desire in people. Have you not glared at me on more than one occasion in a way that suggested you wished to throttle me?”
She swatted my arm. “I am struggling not to glare at you just so at this very moment. How can you tease me after saying something like that? You are a complete nuisance, Edward Paget.”
I chuckled, our banter easing much of the heaviness caused by our conversation. I needed it. “And you would have no respect for me if I did not aim to meet expectations.”
Her lips twitched. “Am I to expect your teasing for the rest of my life, then?”
“I would be fortunate should you allow me your company for that long.”
The twinkling amusement in her eyes faded. I had said too much—flirted too openly. She shifted on the bench, averting her gaze. “Why did Captain Hollinsby attempt to kill you?”
I drew in a breath to steel myself against the flood of memories that would come in tandem with my explanation. “After I turned twenty-one, the Royal Navy formed a branch known as the West Africa Squadron. Have you heard of it?”
She shook her head.
“It is a fleet of ships whose sole purpose is to scour the African coast searching for slave ships,” I continued.
“After the Slave Trade Act passed, it became illegal for English ships to capture slaves and transport them to the colonies.
Such activity became the equivalent of piracy in the eyes of Parliament, and a hefty fine was established for anyone caught participating in it.
Upon hearing of the Squadron, I immediately wished to transfer my service, but it required time and work to acquire the position.
It took me three years and a promotion to lieutenant before I transferred to the Freedom, a ship in the Squadron captained by Hollinsby.
“For five years, I sailed with him. We searched dozens of ships, freed hundreds of people. I finally felt as though I was making a difference. I could not sit in Parliament and fight for new legislation, but I could fight for the people who were yanked from their homes and chained.” Moisture gathered in my eyes, and emotion laced my voice, but I did not fight it.
“No one deserves to be enslaved. Every human being deserves freedom—a life where they are not required to work without payment and often with cruelty.”
I closed my eyes, shaking my head. “Like a fool, I assumed everyone serving aboard the Freedom believed as I did. I thought Hollinsby was a good man. He was a decorated captain, revered by all of England, but it was nothing but a facade.”
Anger pulsed inside me. I hated how easily I had been deceived.
Five years of serving with the man and not seeing his flaws?
His true nature? How had I been so blind?
Had I realized the man’s intentions sooner, Adda would not be in the predicament she was now.
She might never have been forced into a life of servitude.
“Edward?”
Annette’s soft voice bid my eyes open, and I turned to face her.
Sympathy shone in her gaze, and I felt at once a peace that curbed my anger.
Confiding in her had been the right choice; I could feel it.
That reassurance changed something within me.
Opened my heart in ways I’d been fighting.
To share my burdens with this woman—this woman, who might become my wife—unlocked a vision of the future I hadn’t considered.
My shoulders slumped, the tension draining from my body.
“What did Hollinsby do?” she asked gently.
I sighed. “One night, we captured a vessel carrying slaves.
Hollinsby had them brought aboard, and we were to return them to the coast the following day.
The captain of the slave ship faced fines for his miscreance—high ones, given the rate of one hundred pounds per enslaved person. The vessel was carrying over a dozen.
“I had thought we claimed another victory. Seeking to celebrate with Hollinsby, I ventured to his quarters later that night, only to find him in company with the slave ship’s captain.
The two of them were clearly drunk and had likely forgotten the door remained ajar.
That’s when I learned the true nature of Hollinsby.
The two men were celebrating their agreement, which included slaves for Hollinsby and a warning for the other man. ”
“A warning?” Her brows puckered. “You mean to say Hollinsby let him go without paying the fine?”
“Worse. Under the guise of darkness, Hollinsby returned the slaves to the ship, save for two.”
“You are certain?”
I nodded. “I hid on deck and watched them get transferred myself.”
“And you confronted Hollinsby?”
“Not right away. I suppose part of me hoped to find an explanation for what had occurred. It was naive of me to hold onto hope that Hollinsby was still the man I believed him to be. By the next morning, we were anchored off the coast. He gathered the crew and told us that we had successfully freed more men and women and that they had already returned to shore.”
She reared back, her expression indignant. “And not a single person questioned why the transfer was made at night? Or suspected anything was afoul?”
I smiled wryly. “They had no reason to doubt Hollinsby. Each of the men likely believed a small crew rowed the slaves ashore while the remainder of us rested. No one questioned it. No one found it strange. After all, it was not the first time the captain had done so.”
Her eyes widened. “You mean to say he had done this before?”
“Yes, perhaps many times. The slave trade has always been a lucrative business. Captains would pay handsomely for a Squadron ship to look the other way. Not only do they avoid the fines, but they are free to continue on with their cargo. A cargo that is worth its weight in gold. Hollinsby was paid quite well with bribery. The promise of wealth could convince a man to risk the gallows.”
Annette stood and began pacing in front of me. “But they are people! They are not pieces of silk or-or a painted vase. People should not be sold like cattle. Like things. Especially not for the gain of another man.”
“We are in agreement, but that was not the reality of the past. Or in this case, the present.”
“The whole thing is horrid.”
I huffed. “And illegal. After the crew had dispersed, I wanted to confront Hollinsby, but I waited until that night, until we were well on our way to Portsmouth.”
“And that is when he tried to kill you,” she said, wrapping her arms about herself.
I nodded, swallowing against my dry throat.
I could still remember the sharp sting of hitting the water, the ache in my muscles.
The desperation and hopelessness seeping through me.
“I visited his quarters and informed him I knew what he had done and would be notifying the Admiralty once we made port. It was foolish of me to inform him of my intentions—and to confront him alone—but I think some part of me still hoped he had a reasonable excuse. I had admired the man for years, and to have that admiration stripped away was shattering. Regardless, I quickly realized my mistake. He employed one of the lower officers, Mortimer Cratchit, to assist him in giving me a thorough beating before throwing me overboard.”
Annette gasped again. “They tossed you into the sea? Did no one on deck notice?”
I shrugged. “If they did, Hollinsby had them well enough in pocket to ignore my plight for help. I did my best to keep pace with the ship, swimming as close to it as I dared without being pulled under. I’m not even certain how long I remained in the water.”
She reclaimed her spot on the stone bench, her blue eyes piercing me with an intensity that drew me in and begged me to continue. “How did you survive?”
Emotion seized my voice, and when I finally spoke, the words were choked. “Adda saved me.”
“Your friend.” Understanding laced her tone. “The one you need to find.”