Looking pleased, Johanna steadied the boat and Jack climbed out. Giving the cat a wide berth, the Stouts gathered around Jack. Marie hugged him vigorously, and George clapped him on the back.
“Good to see you, Henry,” he said, for that’s the name Captain Jack used among the locals.
“Aye, and you and your family as well,” Jack said. He looked at Johanna and nodded. “And you, miss. How are you?”
Johanna had picked Rugby up and cuddled her. Upon being addressed by Jack, she blushed and curtsied slightly. “The Stout family has taken excellent care of me, sir, and Mrs. Stout has been learning me to cook and clean.”
“Such are good skills to have,” Jack said, approvingly. He and Johanna looked at each other a moment, as if unsure what more to say. By contrast, the children were full of questions, most of which involved the cat.
Seven-year-old Samuel said, “Why do you call him Rugby?”
“She’s named after her former owner, Colonel Rugby, of Glenshire.”
“And what became of the Colonel?” the ultra-precocious, ten-year-old Rose asked. “Was it ghastly?”
“Rose, hush!” her mother scolded. “If Henry wants us to know what became of Colonel Rugby, it’s for him to say, and not for us to ask.”
Rose pointed a finger at the cat. “No matter,” she said. “I suspect we’ll all be dead by morning.” Of all the Stout children, Rose was the least inclined toward optimism.
“Mind your tongue, child, or I’ll cuff your ears!” Marie said, though Rose looked as though she might welcome such a cuffing. She was, in all respects, an unusual child, and her siblings weren’t the only ones who regarded her as such. George and Marie learned early on to distance Rose from other families, after hearing visitors question whether she might be a witch.
Rose was not one of the Stout’s birth children. According to George, he and Marie had found her four years earlier, wandering the woods, speaking in tongues. They took her in as they would any stray. From her first days with the Stouts, Rose had shown a particular fondness for heights and could routinely be found high in the branches of trees. According to Samuel, Rose could talk to spiders, rats and snakes. Jack, though far less superstitious than most, always gave Rose a wide berth.
Jack watched Samuel tie his boat to the pier before speaking. “Colonel Rugby was set upon by either the French or pirates. I came upon their smoldering ship quite by accident, while fishing.”
He and George exchanged a look as Jack continued his story. “When I boarded, I found not a single person or thing on it, apart from this strange cat-like creature. I did manage to salvage a portion of the Captain’s journal and read mention of Colonel Rugby’s strange, furless cat. Not knowing the cat’s original name, I named her for her former owner, and she seems to have accepted it without protest.”
To Johanna he said, “Of course, she’s yours now, miss, and you may change her name as suits you.”
Rose said, “We could call her Calamity!”
“Calamity the Cat?” Samuel said. “That’s obscene!”
“She’s nakey!” said four-year-old Steffan.
George Stout said, “She does appear to be naked, compared to other cats I’ve seen.”
Marie scolded her husband. “George, the children are present!”
George nodded and said, “Odd looking animal, nonetheless.” He paused a moment. If he knew of any news Jack should worry about, he’d have told it by now. Instead, he clapped his hands and said, “Let’s head to the house, Henry. I’ve a bottle of rotgut that’s still got some kick left in it.”
After carefully depositing Rugby on the dock, Johanna sidled up to Jack. It was clear from her body language and attentiveness that she found Jack not only attractive, but also desirable. While he understood it was the way of young women to want to marry and raise children, he loved his carefree life and preferred not to settle down in the near future. Had he met Johanna earlier, who knows what might have transpired? After all, she was sweet and charming, could hunt, fish, cook and sew, could skin animals and take care of children, was eager to work, was strong, and pleasing to the eye in all respects. In short, she possessed all the qualities that would make any man happy. But Jack resolved not to take advantage of Johanna, or lead her on, since he had another young lady in his sights, a girl named Abby Winter, whose mother had a gray face. Jack planned to ride to the river crossing to meet Abby early the next morning, and, if it pleased her, he intended to give her a good fucking.
Johanna leaned into Jack and rubbed the side of her face against his chest. He gave her a light, uncomfortable hug for her trouble, and they began walking toward the Outpost.
Samuel worked up his courage and leaned over to pet the cat. “Does she bite?” “She does,” Jack said. “Fiercely.”
Samuel paused with his hand a foot from the cat. “You think she’ll bite me?”
“I’m certain of it.”
“Even if I’m really nice and gentle?”
“Even if. She’s quite independent, having survived a ship fire and starvation. Not many can claim that. After I rescued her she coughed up bits of rope and pitch, to show me what she’d eaten to survive.”
“Devils eat pitch,” said Rose. “They thrive in fiery places, too.”
George said, “Rose, you’re beginning to alarm us. Henry wouldn’t bring a demon into our midst, would you Henry?”
“She’s a sweet cat,” Jack said. “A biter? Absolutely. But not a demon.”
“There you have it,” said Marie. “Now let’s hear no more talk of devils and demons.”
As they headed down the dock toward the outpost, Jack said, “How’d you know I was coming?”
