Read Online The Death Ship of Dartmouth: (Knights Templar 21) by Michael Jecks - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Michael Jecks
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– it was a terrible shock to the town. Many people of Dartmouth had stated that they felt sure the devil had taken the men, but Kena himself believed that if the devil intended to take any man, he would have taken some of the others from the town. There was plenty of choice for his eternal fires, truth be told.
Still, if superstitious shipmen refused to sail, men like Kena would suffer. This could not be permitted to continue. It was a matter of urgency that those responsible for the crime should be discovered as soon as possible.
It was bad enough that business was already suffering because of the squabbling between the English and French kings. When rulers fell out, it was lesser beings who suffered, and just now, all merchants in England were watching the sword-rattling with growing alarm. The new policy of sailing in convoy meant that most ships were safe enough, but it also meant that a man had trouble finding crew. The sailors were all spoken for, and unless a master chose to offer bribes to tempt matelots away – as Kena himself had done – he might have to sail with a skeleton crew.
That was why Pyckard had been forced to take on strangers, which was always bad luck. Unknown crew members could well prove untrustworthy when attacked, after all. They had nothing to tie themselves to a ship or a master but his money, and where was the trust in that? Kenahimself had bought off four or five of his men, so Pyckard’s ships were definitely undermanned. Kena’s poaching of the sailors was but one source of the enmity between him and Pyckard.
Pyckard had been unlucky with his ship, but soon all the local merchants would suffer similar losses if this war proceeded. Hawley seemed a bright lad, much like his father John Hawley before him. Both had a nose for a contract and a bargain, and both would happily spit in the eye of the devil himself if it meant more profit for them. They had the ships and men, too. They could easily afford to run greater risks than others. Then there was young Beauley. He had two ships he could call his own, and his attire and demeanour were looking richer every year. Like Hawley, he would draw a sword and yell defiance rather than give up his craft or his cargo. Beneath the skin, all ambitious merchants were but a breath away from felony. Certainly he himself would kill any man who got in his way.
As had Pyckard that once …
All merchants would dispute now and again. There were so many issues on which they were in competition: the best victualling spot; the best mooring; the best merchants in Britanny who would provide the most profit. The rewards went to the man who could demand and take what he wanted. When other merchants wanted the same resources, fights were inevitable.
The fight with Pyckard had been bitter and long-standing. Paul Pyckard and he had started in the trade early in the King’s reign, back in 1307. At the time, Pyckard had been a forceful young merchant – but so had Kena. Pyckard hadshipped a great cargo of cloth from Totnes, beating Kena to the best of the merchandise at the local market, and Kena was convinced that it was because he had paid a bribe to someone there.
That was fair business. All the merchants did it, and the fines which were imposed when a man was found to have acted illegally were so negligible compared to the money to be made that all merchants looked on the fines as nothing more than minor business expenses to be taken into account during trading.
Yet it had infuriated Kena to be bested. The only remaining stock which he could purchase had been rough ‘dozens’ – a thicker, less desirable cloth, and therefore not so profitable. All the while as his men stored the stuff in the hold, he had wondered how he might win his own back on Pyckard, but to no avail. Then, some months later, he met with a King’s Purveyor, who was seeking transport of cargoes to King Edward’s French possessions; Kena saw the potential immediately. He kept the deal
Still, if superstitious shipmen refused to sail, men like Kena would suffer. This could not be permitted to continue. It was a matter of urgency that those responsible for the crime should be discovered as soon as possible.
It was bad enough that business was already suffering because of the squabbling between the English and French kings. When rulers fell out, it was lesser beings who suffered, and just now, all merchants in England were watching the sword-rattling with growing alarm. The new policy of sailing in convoy meant that most ships were safe enough, but it also meant that a man had trouble finding crew. The sailors were all spoken for, and unless a master chose to offer bribes to tempt matelots away – as Kena himself had done – he might have to sail with a skeleton crew.
That was why Pyckard had been forced to take on strangers, which was always bad luck. Unknown crew members could well prove untrustworthy when attacked, after all. They had nothing to tie themselves to a ship or a master but his money, and where was the trust in that? Kenahimself had bought off four or five of his men, so Pyckard’s ships were definitely undermanned. Kena’s poaching of the sailors was but one source of the enmity between him and Pyckard.
Pyckard had been unlucky with his ship, but soon all the local merchants would suffer similar losses if this war proceeded. Hawley seemed a bright lad, much like his father John Hawley before him. Both had a nose for a contract and a bargain, and both would happily spit in the eye of the devil himself if it meant more profit for them. They had the ships and men, too. They could easily afford to run greater risks than others. Then there was young Beauley. He had two ships he could call his own, and his attire and demeanour were looking richer every year. Like Hawley, he would draw a sword and yell defiance rather than give up his craft or his cargo. Beneath the skin, all ambitious merchants were but a breath away from felony. Certainly he himself would kill any man who got in his way.
As had Pyckard that once …
All merchants would dispute now and again. There were so many issues on which they were in competition: the best victualling spot; the best mooring; the best merchants in Britanny who would provide the most profit. The rewards went to the man who could demand and take what he wanted. When other merchants wanted the same resources, fights were inevitable.
The fight with Pyckard had been bitter and long-standing. Paul Pyckard and he had started in the trade early in the King’s reign, back in 1307. At the time, Pyckard had been a forceful young merchant – but so had Kena. Pyckard hadshipped a great cargo of cloth from Totnes, beating Kena to the best of the merchandise at the local market, and Kena was convinced that it was because he had paid a bribe to someone there.
That was fair business. All the merchants did it, and the fines which were imposed when a man was found to have acted illegally were so negligible compared to the money to be made that all merchants looked on the fines as nothing more than minor business expenses to be taken into account during trading.
Yet it had infuriated Kena to be bested. The only remaining stock which he could purchase had been rough ‘dozens’ – a thicker, less desirable cloth, and therefore not so profitable. All the while as his men stored the stuff in the hold, he had wondered how he might win his own back on Pyckard, but to no avail. Then, some months later, he met with a King’s Purveyor, who was seeking transport of cargoes to King Edward’s French possessions; Kena saw the potential immediately. He kept the deal
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