Sea Change Read Online Free PDF

is my hand, and my decision, David. You are not responsible."
    Yes, I am, David wanted to shout. I have been responsible since you were in clouts and I held your hand to teach you to walk! I have been responsible since father died! I was responsible for taking you privateering instead of leaving you behind as Mother begged me!
    He only looked at Henry and said hoarsely, "Are you certain?"
    Henry nodded, his face pale and sweat streaked, but resolute.
    "Dr. Alcott and I talked. He will see that I'm fixed up. And then," Henry swallowed, "when I am recovered I will talk to Purcell about carving me a wooden hand so I do not frighten the ladies."
    David blinked his eyes and looked away, examining the lantern hanging aft of the bunk.
    "Well." He cleared his throat and tried again. "I will leave you then, Henry, to get some rest until...until the doctor is ready for you."
    He turned back to the silent doctor, who was swaying slightly, and not entirely from the motion of the vessel.
    "Doctor!"
    Alcott's head snapped up, and his eyes focused on David.
    "You need to rest. Henry will not get any worse over the next few hours, will he?"
    Alcott straightened up and looked at Henry.
    "As long as he doesn't move about he should be able to wait that long. You may have small amounts of water, Mr. Fletcher, but no food until after--after we are finished."
    "You will stay in my cabin since I don't have quarters ready for you, Doctor," David said.
    Alcott looked prepared to argue, but nodded.
    "If I can nap, I will be better able to deal with Mr. Fletcher."
    He scrubbed his hand over his face, and David suspected the lad had been up all night with that laboring woman on the Lady Jane. He wanted to yell and rail at him, but knew in his heart that Henry's hand was beyond repair. Terrorizing the man who was needed to remove it would not do any of them any good.
    "I will send Lewis to stay with Henry and see to his needs."
    Alcott nodded again and, picking up his gear, followed behind David.
    David glanced around his cabin, checking for any stray weapons or other items that might tempt a man held against his will, but everything was properly stowed away. Between Lewis and his own lifetime habits, there was not much to remark on in the sparsely furnished cabin.
    Alcott set his bag down on the deck.
    "Captain--do you have a sick bay or a cockpit aboard this vessel?"
    "No. What do you need?"
    "I need my own space," the doctor said waspishly. "A room suitable for operating on a wounded man."
    David put a hold on his temper and crossed his arms over his chest.
    "Tell me what you need, Doctor, and I will instruct the crew."
    Alcott scrubbed at his face again. "A table long enough for a man to lie upon, with restraints. A brazier. A second table or shelf for my instruments. Plenty of hot water. Sand on the deck. Good light. As much stability as this ship can offer." Alcott looked up at him. "Aboard the Caeneus the surgeon's cockpit was in the orlop and it seemed fairly steady."
    "That was aboard a frigate. We do not have facilities like that here, but you will get what you need."
    Alcott nodded. "I will need an assistant also. Someone strong, who won't be too frightened to help."
    "I will assist you."
    "No, you will not. No, do not argue with me, Captain. I am the surgeon and I say you are not suitable for this procedure. Find someone else."
    David Fletcher was not used to being gainsaid, certainly not on his own ship, and not when his brother's life was at stake, but after a moment's hesitation he acknowledged it would be foolish to argue with the man who would be wielding the knives.
    "Brown is the best man for the job. I will assign him to you."
    David didn't want to ask, but he had to. All the doctors and surgeons he'd known had been mature men, steady and reliable for the most part, though some weren't worth the powder necessary to blow them away. This nondescript lad in his rumpled brown coat and stained shirt looked like he was more prepared to open