26th May morning - Perry's punishment

Perry felt numb as he was taken below to await his punishment, whatever that might be. He was not stupid, and he did not resist when made to sit on the deck and to present his feet for the irons. His ankles were still sore from the last time, and the iron chafed and bruised. He hoped this was not going to become the ship's habit, locking him in irons twice weekly, but it was to be expected that he would be the target of enmity as an outsider and an American. Men naturally became hostile when made to feel defensive, but there was no defense for having seized him on the shore, and now they knew it. Well, it would not be his first unpleasant voyage with ill-tempered shipmates and harsh officers, and if he survived, it would not be his last either. They would have to return to England before too long. Just a few more months or maybe a year, and then he would be back at home with Lena. As long as Lena was still there.

Along forward in the gloom of the deck there was a sneeze and a sniffle.

Perry rolled his eyes. It sounded like a little child's sneeze. Ship's boys were always prying into others' business and gloating over their misfortune, little scamps.

Allen came down to the deck where Perry was being held, grumbling to himself over his rotten luck in having to guard the American. He hoped Perry would keep his trap shut and just sit there, but somehow he felt that was a forlorn hope.

Spotting the sailor sitting in irons, he grumbled again. As he came over and took his place by Perry, Allen made a point to give the American a dirty look to show his displeasure.

"Oh shut it," Perry grumbled, even though the marine had not yet spoken a word. "You think pulling faces will make me feel any worse'n I do already? It won't."

Great, Perry was harping on him already and he had not even said anything. Allen frowned again. He just knew the sailor would not have been able to keep quiet.

"That's funny, you tellin' me t' shut it. You're th' one in irons. An' maybe I can't make you feel worse, but I'm sure th' Captain can make you feel a lot worse if'n he has a mind to really lay on your punishment. So you'd better watch your mouth."

"Oh, you're gonna have a private word with him, are you?"

"You keep it up an' I might! Think he'd be more likely t' listen t' me than you, at any rate."

In truth, the Captain most likely would not listen to either one of them, but Allen fancied he would have a better chance than Perry if it would ever come to that.

"Don't matter anyway. That Lieutenant Bush will have it in for me since my wife - well, she made him look a right fool," he chuckled quietly, in spite of his predicament. He wished he could have been on deck to see the man's face at the moment when he realized...

"Not a good idea t' get Mister Bush mad. If she got him riled up, then you are in a mess o' trouble."

Allen certainly would not want to run afoul of the first lieutenant under any circumstances, so he could only imagine what was going to happen to Perry. His wife had seemed to be quite a handful, which probably had made Bush even more angry.

Perry snorted. "Bit late for that now."

"Well yeah, now it is. But you should've thought 'bout that 'fore you had your wife come out t' th' ship an' start causin' trouble."

Perry looked up at the marine with reproach. "You ain't married, are ya."

"No I ain't." Allen shook his head. "An' after seein' th' way your wife acts, I don't think I want t' get married anytime soon."

Perry chuckled to himself without answering.

Allen raised an eyebrow at the sailor.

"O' course, if'n I ever do marry, it sure won't be t' a woman like her..."

Now Perry laughed outright.

"What's so bleedin' funny?" Allen snapped, "It's not my fault you went an' married her. I've got more sense than t' get hitched t' a woman like that."

"Fat chance you'd have with a gal like that!" Perry laughed, eyeing him up and down.

"Oh, so you think I couldn't handle that kind o' woman? I'd be able t' handle her fine--I just wouldn't bother. Why put up wit' a lifetime o' aggravation? Just look at th' mess she got you in!"

That was true enough, after all. Perry just shrugged, still slightly grinning. "She's somethin' else though. She did all that just for me."

"Yeah well, I suppose that's good o' her t' try an' help you," Allen admitted begrudgingly, "But she should've thought about what might o' happened if it didn't work out--which it didn't."

"What's it to you if it worked out or not?" Perry snapped, finally irritated out of his daydream state. But he quickly settled back into it, purposefully smug. "You're just jealous is all. Cause you ain't got a woman what loves you, unless maybe your mamma."

At this precise, and possibly quite inappropriate moment, the owner of the childish sneeze decided to come aft. Fletcher had been below through all the commotion of Perry's wife coming aboard, seeing the safe stowing of some flour sacks, deciding that it would be best to stay and stick to his work despite his natural curiosity desperately urging him to take a look; either Slater or one of the others would tell him what happened anyway later.

Now, with legitimate business to go on deck and report to Mr. Bush that all was safely stowed away, Fletcher was making his way up when he heard voices bickering. Deciding to see who it was he had walked towards the noise and was surprised to find Perry in irons and a Marine private standing over him.

"What is going on here, Allen?"

Perry was about to tell the snot-nosed boy to bugger off and mind his own business when he realized that it was one of the midshipmen. Not Kinsella or Chandos, not that other one, but the other other one, the little one. He offered the lad an awkward salute.