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"Barbara, wake up. The captain is calling us! Looks like we're arriving!"
Barbara opened her eyes and turned in bed towards Vidal. She began to stretch herself like a cat. Vidal sat on the bed and kissed her on the lips.
"Let me sleep a little bit more. It's still very early!"
"Come! Get dressed! Let's see the city. We are almost docking!"
"I can't go out like this!"
"Put something on. Let's go to the deck!"
Barbara got up. She walked over to the table, poured water from the jar into a basin and washed her face. Vidal handed her a towel.
"Come, come... hurry!"
"Calm down, the world won't come to an end any time soon. If God has taken all this time to make it, the port can wait a few more minutes!
"Minutes, not hours! So hurry up!" said Vidal. "I'm going to the captain. We'll be waiting for you at the prow."
"Where's the prow, Vidal? I always mix up the prow and the stern. Is it the front or the back of the ship?"
"The front, Barbara, the front! I already told you that! Come on, hurry up."
Vidal rushed off and while Barbara undressed. After a while, a long while in fact, she appeared fresh-faced before the two men.
"Look ma'am. I introduce you to New Orleans, your new home!"
She squeezed by both and leaned against the ship's rail. She looked down and saw the water being sliced by the keel of the sailboat. Up ahead, she saw the harbor. She had never seen so much movement, even in Lisbon.
Both men approached and stood by her side.
"So many ships, captain! The city seems very crowded!" said Barbara. "What are those buildings to the right and the left? They seem formidable."
"And they are, my lady. To the right is the Fort of Saint Charles and to the left is the Fort of Santa Joana. There are three more forts at the back of the city. They are all united by walls, for protection."
Vidal seemed uncomfortable with the captain's remark. "Are there many attacks to justify all this security?"
"Not anymore. But the French fought hard against the natives of this land and the walls served as protection against us, the English," he smiled, "and against the Spaniards as well. Now, with all the agreements that have been signed the city can grow. Today it dominates the river trade. You see, next to the Fort of St. Charles is the city's hospital and next to it lies the soldiers' quarters. In the middle is the central square and in the background the church. On the left side of the square is the steward's building. Across the square are Her Majesty's warehouses. It's a beautiful view, is it not?"
"Yes, indeed, it is a beautiful city, seen from afar," agreed Barbara. "The top of the church steeples seem black from here!"
"And they are, the color of charcoal. I'd say they look like witches' hats all three of them, but don't say I said that to anyone, I may be taken for a heretic," laughed the captain.
"You can count on our discretion, captain," Vidal said, laughing too.
The ship slowly approached the harbor and the sails were lowered. The ship slowed down and Barbara noticed a change in its route. They were no longer sailing in a straight line, but gently curving to the right.
"The city seems to have a part that is higher. Is it really that way or are my eyes deceiving me, captain? asked Vidal.
"This place has been used before, it was an indigenous village. It is indeed an elevation to protect it from the floods of the Mississippi River.
"Is the nationality of this vessel a problem, captain?” asked Barbara.
"No, we have for some time now been able to use the port for trade agreements between our crowns. And it also offers an outlet to the Gulf of Mexico. It is a perfect place to set up a market and distribution center.
"If you'll excuse me, I need to mind the ship until we dock. If you wish you can go up to the bridge."
"Thank you, captain. We were anxious to see our new home. From what we are seeing, it will be pleasant to live here." stated Barbara.
Sometime after the anchor was dropped, the captain returned to the company of the couple.
"I have already given orders to take your luggage to my house. You will stay in my room. It has been furnished only with the best. I prepared it for my wife, but she has no intention of leaving England right now. In my opinion, the future is here!"
"I didn't know you were married, captain!" Do you have children?"
"Yes, a girl. She doesn't leave her mother's side even for a moment. God knows how difficult it is for me to stay away from her. Wives are wives, but children are a case apart. Unfortunately, we could not have others, so I only have eyes for this girl, who is really not a girl anymore. Every time I have to say goodbye to her it seems like a part of my flesh is torn away. If only both would come here, I would leave the sea. The sea is another wife, a very jealous one. I would gladly leave her to have more time with my girl." The captain's eyes fill with tears. He backed away from the couple.
Barbara finds the way the captain is referring to his daughter odd. He seemed to be talking about a lover. Could this be another abuser of children? Nothing in the world was strange to her anymore after everything she had been through. Maybe he was just a loving, lonely father, very different from the disgusting pig who raised her. But that pig had already been roasted! He probably continued to roast in hell, which is where he was now.
"Come on, let's disembark. James is certainly waiting for us at the pier. I promised to bring him some bottles of port wine. Here we get only distilled drinks. Wine is expensive and God knows how he likes his Pallister! But he will have to settle for this last shipment. It looks like old Pallister was burned alive, did you hear about it?"
Barbara shivered. Vidal lowered his eyes to the deck. The captain did not know her maiden name because now she carried Vidal's surname. But she recovered quickly.
"Was he one of those who were persecuted by the church recently?"
"He was arrested and condemned by the inquisition, the poor soul. Didn't you see the pyres in Lisbon?"
"Yes, we did," Vidal hurried to answer, "but we did not know he was among the masons, who were condemned, isn't that right?"
"Yes, for this futile reason. Holy ignorance, Portugal is going from bad to worse. Great figures of Lisbon's society have been sentenced to the gallows, poor devils. But only two burned, the Grand Master of the lodge and the winemaker. Are you familiar with his wine? It was excellent quality. Mr. Pallister's presence in Lisbon, however, is shrouded in mystery. Some say he was there for a macabre ritual. They are now looking for his daughter. She disappeared some time before he went to Lisbon. Maybe she's dead, who knows. Others say she married and left Portugal, but no one knows how the girl's story ended. Did you not know them? They were from Braga."
"No, we are from the central part of Portugal. We have no links with anyone from the north," Barbara hurried to say.
"Where are you from again? I don't think we ever talked about that."
"We came from Coimbra. Do you know the city, captain? Vidal replied, praying that the captain did not know the city because he had never been there himself. If he began to discuss local matters, they were doomed.
"No, I don't know it but I know it's halfway between Porto and Lisbon. Have you heard of the wine?"
"Yes, it's very famous. Tell me, captain, does anyone plant vineyards around here? It would be a profitable business, would it not?" Barbara tried to change the subject. Why the hell was he bringing up this story now?
The captain was thoughtful and scratched his chin. Barbara realized that her ploy had worked. The man's most inner thoughts were all about profit.
"That wouldn't be a bad idea. We can use a part of the plot of the mill for an experiment. What do you think? I could acquire some grape seedlings in Portugal." Vidal smiled and the captain noticed. He scratched his head a little awkwardly.
"Look, let me tell you something. I'm giving you the impression that all I can think of is profit, isn’t that right?
Vidal laughed out loud. "That's exactly what I was thinking, captain, if you will forgive my sincerity!"
The captain turned his back on them for a moment and turned back.
"Do you know why I worry so much about money? My daughter. I have a vision that torments me." Beads of sweat appeared on his forehead. "It's a dream, a nightmare. My ship is sinking, my last thought is about her and I am desperate because I think of what will become of her if I am not around. Yes, I look for profit and wealth. Only then will I have the true freedom that only few men have.”
"What freedom is that, captain?” Barbara asked, supposing that the captain was referring to leaving his European family so he could start another family in New Orleans without leaving the two women in England penniless.
"The freedom to die, Mrs. Barbara. The freedom to die depends on the economic situation of the family. As long as I'm not sure their lives will go where they should, while my daughter is not married to a good man who looks after both as I do, until this day comes, I'll be a slave. Yes, a slave to them. Do you understand?" The captain lowered his head in their direction and grinned. His hands were held behind his back, as if he were a teacher lecturing two students about life.
"What do you think of that, Mr. Vidal? Could you die here, right now, leaving your beautiful wife in difficulty?"
Vidal looked straight into Barbara's eyes and she looked back at him with a beautiful smile and an arching eyebrow. She began to twist her body from side to side with her hands held behind her, arching her breasts toward him as if she were a little girl who had committed a misdemeanor while she waited for his answer. Vidal felt the weight of the blood rushing down his body.
"Captain, who cannot die between us is Barbara. I would be the helpless one. But as for the matter of servitude, I am her slave as you are to your wife and daughter!" He took a step, embraced Barbara and kissed her.
"Good answer and very sincere!" said Barbara in a mocking tone.
The captain laughed at the situation. "Come on, come on, we have to disembark. I am in a hurry to show you my house!"
