Free Mutineer by J.A. Sutherland

she asked. “That would be a bit dear, but I was only introduced to this last evening — I fear I have no experience at all with whiskeys.”
    “Aye, now there’s a fine bourbon from right here on Penduli that I could recommend. Three shillings the bottle — not the least cost, but a decent drink and not the dearest, neither.”
    “I’ll be guided by you then. A bottle of that and I’ll return for more if it’s to my liking.” The chandler’s eyes lit up at the prospect of repeat business, but dimmed at her next words. “Please send it along with the other items to Hermione , will you? To the bosun’s attention, as he’ll be seeing to my packages for me.” Alexis had learned early in her life aboard ship to not trust pursers or chandlers, and the threat of the bosun, who wasn’t bound by the niceties of an officer, finding things amiss always kept them closer to honest.
    “Of course, sir.”
    “And if I may, a bit of time alone with the things I’ve ordered before you send them off?” She shrugged. “I realize it’s unusual —” She made as if to leave. “— if you cannot accommodate it, perhaps another —”
    “No, sir, not necessary.” He furrowed his brow at her request, but was clearly unwilling to lose a customer. “No trouble at all. I’ll just put things together for you and leave you to it, yes?”
     
     
    * * * * *
     
     
    Alexis hurried back to the ship and found Boxer storing deliveries for the other officers in the pantry. She glanced quickly around to ensure they were alone in the gunroom and then slipped into the pantry with him. The empty shelves where her stores should have been made her clench her jaw. All the others had bottles of wine, canisters of tea or coffee, packages of biscuit, and a dozen more items, but hers were bare. And the gunroom’s freezers would be the same. Well, that’ll be changed shortly.
    “Sir?”
    “I’ve some stores being delivered, Boxer, and I wanted to speak to you before they arrived.” She kept her voice low, so as not to be overheard if anyone entered the gunroom.
    “That’s good, sir, weren’t right. I’ll watch ‘em close — mayhap I’ll speak to the carpenter about a locking box fer ‘em.”
    “No, Boxer, I want you to treat them no differently than before, do you understand? Save in one very important way.” She caught his eye to be sure he was paying attention. “You’re not to serve me, nor give to the cook for sharing, any of these stores save what I’ve given you directly. Do you understand?”
    “Not rightly, no, sir.”
    Alexis laid a hand on his arm. “You don’t need to understand the reason, just the order, yes? Nothing to me, the cook, nor even for your bit that you haven’t had from my hand directly. Do you understand that?”
    “So if there’s a chicken needed?”
    “I’ll pull him out of the freezer myself and hand him to you. Can you do that?”
    “Aye, sir. Seems a bit of trouble, though.”
    “There’ll be more trouble if you forget, so follow me on this, will you?”
    “Aye, sir.”
    “Good.” She turned to go, then spun back. “Oh, but there’ll be a bottle of something called bourbon in my things. That you can find a hiding place for, can’t you?”
    “One bottle? Of course, sir. Be nothin’ ter hide that. Safe as houses.”
    “Thank you, Boxer.”
    She slipped out of the pantry and back to her berth. She quickly stripped out of the dress uniform she’d worn onto the station and donned the simpler ship’s jumpsuit, glad that Timpson wasn’t yet back aboard. He never said anything and he was subtle about it, but he watched her change with a look that made her uncomfortable.
    She settled on to her bunk with her tablet. There were still no messages for her, which was a disappointment, but there were more articles from the Naval Gazette that told of several ships taken from the Hanoverese. Little about the cause of the war itself, though, which she was curious about. She’d studied