By Fire and by Sword Read Online Free PDF Page B

your cabin, but don’t expect him to be as talkative as I am. Steen is what you call a very good listener, and he doesn’t speak anything but Danish.”
    Steen did not say a word, and neither did Kenna, until they reached the cabin, and she thanked him for bringing her there, even though he could not understand the words, but at least he would understand her smile.
    He smiled back and touched the brim of his hat. His face turned a bright shade of red, and then he was gone.
    She opened the door and stepped inside, very happy to see her traveling bags awaited her. She realized she was quite exhausted, and there was really no reason for her to remain awake. She wasn’t hungry. No one spoke English, save Captain Fischer, and his was difficult to understand. She was still embarrassed that when he tried to tell her he was of Dutch Huguenot descent and did not allow drinking, dancing or card playing on his ship, she had to ask him to repeat himself twice.
    Her cabin was quite small, crowded a bit with wooden boxes and a large, locked sea chest. Overhead an oil lamp swayed back and forth with the rolling motion of the ship, and filled the cabin with an oilyscent. She heard the ship’s bell strike twice and knew it was the first watch. She dressed for bed, doused the light and, using the light coming though the porthole, crawled wearily into the hammock, only to find herself on the floor a second later.
    It wasn’t as easy as it looked. She rose to her feet and gave it another try. Same thing. She was thinking there must be a more clever way to do this. She made two more attempts, and was at the point of sleeping on the floor when her fourth attempt ended successfully.
    As it turned out, the hammock was a better choice than the floor, for it compensated for the roll of the ship. The only drawback was, when she awoke the next morning, her nose was bent and poking between the netting at an uncomfortable angle. It was after the noon meal before the imprint from the rope vanished completely from her face.
    The next morning she awoke to a knock on the door.
    It was the cabin boy holding a tray of hot food and a mug of coffee. She knew it would do no good to speak since he did not know a word of English, which was exactly the same amount of Danish that she spoke, so she smiled and stood to one side, and motioned for him to enter.
    He was obviously uncomfortable around her, and as soon as he put the tray on the trunk, he departed with unbelievable haste, tripping as he went out the door.
    She picked up the mug of coffee and lifted the napkin to investigate the breakfast offering—a round, flaky roll with seeds, cheese and jam, all of which she ate, down to the last little seed that dropped on the plate.
    For the rest of the journey Kenna either slept or occupied her special place on deck, where she watched the men scamper up the rigging in a matter of seconds. She decided climbing aloft was something she would not like to try, for they climbed ladders that leaned backward to get past the platforms, then climbed to the end of the yardarms by walking a rope.
    She was beginning to feel like part of the ship and its crew, especially at the times when she observed them do the more menial chores—sweep, scrub, clean all surfaces, and then stand for inspection. She decided that even on a nice, clean ship, with a firm, yet congenial captain, it was a hard life.
    Only once were the seas so rough that she thought she might be sick. Captain Fischer apparently noticed the greenish cast of her skin, for he offered her an apology for the rough weather, then said there was a benefit to having such robust weather.
    “I cannot imagine what that would be,” she said, while she tried to judge the distance to the side of the ship, in case she had to make a dash for it.
    “It’s true. Rough seas are quite good for us.”
    “Now, Captain, is that really true, or are you saying that to get my mind away from the condition of my stomach?”
    His eyes were