Charles led three brawny sailors into our cabin, he carrying the bag of gold and they each lugging a bag of silver, while I followed with the empty bags and the bundles of parchment. When the bags had been placed on the deck beside the long table, he asked, "Have you other duties to attend?"

The sailors looked from one to another, shaking their heads, then the oldest replied, "No, Sir. We're now released from scarin' away the purse-cutters."

"Had you seen any?"

"There was two right spicious-actin' louts skulkin' early on, but they drifted away when they saw no chance, what with us there on the wharf and the muskets atop the af'c'sle and fo'c'sle."

"Excellent!" Charles pointed to the bags. "These need to be sorted into crowns, half-crowns, shillings and sixpence. A pile for each, plus another pile for what copper there may be."

The three sailors and I sat around the end of the table, scooping handfuls of coins from the bags and sorting them in silence for a long while, then the oldest one spoke, "Captain, Sir. This here one looks Spanish."

"Ah, yes, Simpson." Charles looked up from sorting the gold. "And there might be some French and Dutch in there as well. Make a separate pile for any foreign. You might also find Portuguese."

"A diffrent pile for each country?"

"No, one pile for all."

We continued sorting, and after a long silence, the one called Simpson asked, "Curious, Sir. Bout how much is there here?"

"Our cyphering showed fifty-three pounds short of four thousand."

"Gadzooks! A lot moren we figgered 'twould be. Will this be lotted out among us? Like it is writ in the ship's articles?"

"Aye, much of it will be. First, though, we must count for the cost of the goods sold and for the cost of victualling. But before that, we will use some of it to purchase goods to sell in our next ports to gain even more. Mind you this well; holding money of itself gains nothing. Using it to make more money is how the gentry have become wealthy and independent."

The three sailors nodded, then Simpson asked, "Will we come independent?"

"You will no longer need to labour, if you do not wish. Your work can be with your mind, with your inventiveness. So, yes, independence will be yours for the taking."

We all continued sorting, and when Charles had finished the gold, he counted the crowns and half-crowns into stacks of ten, and he had begun doing the same with the shillings when the last of the bags had been emptied and all the coins had been assigned to piles. He paused his stacking and looked up, smiling. "Well done, lads. You may now take ease."

"Should we remain quiet about all this, Sir?" Simpson asked as he waved his hand over the coins.

"No, you may spread the word, if you wish. In a while, when the offloading is done, I shall address you all from the quarterdeck, so that all will know."

After Simpson had led the other two out of the great cabin, I said to Charles, "That was wise; allowing them to see the quantity and to know the details. Father had said word spreads forward of the masts near as fast as ignited gunpowder."

"Aye, it does. And it is best that the stories start with fact. Nothing hidden. They are soon embellished and distorted, but I shall set them straight again from above."

I pointed to the small pile of foreign coins. "How do we trade these? None of the merchants in Portsmouth would take any that Father had given me, so I set them aside as a collection."

"We took them at their silver value, and we will sell them to smiths for crafting. Size for size at one-quarter face."

I giggled, shaking my head. "You have lost me with this. How do you mean?"

"The standard in most countries now is to mint coins which contain only about one-quarter their value in silver. This is to prevent the smiths from melting them to rework." He picked up a shilling. "A foreign piece of this size will have only thruppence worth of silver, and that is what we offered."

We finished counting the coins into stacks of ten, and after we had tallied them all, we arrived at £3946.12s. 9d. I sorted through the small pile of foreign. "The remaining seven and three must be here."

"Aye, it should be."

"Might I purchase them? Some are rather attractive, and I would like to add them to my collection."

Charles smiled as he nodded. "A splendid idea, and it will save the bother of taking them to a silversmith."

A while later, as we placed the crowns, half-crowns, shillings and sixpence, plus the copper and the gold each into separate bags, Charles said, "We will pay for the casks of rumbullion with the smaller coins; the merchants are always in want of them to make change and to ease their commerce. Also, it will make our handling and safekeeping easier."

"Safekeeping? I had not considered that. Have you determined where we will we keep this?"

"We shall sleep on it."

"So, no decision until the morrow? And what of it overnight? Is that safe?"

Charles burst into loud laughter, and when he had calmed, he said, "No, the decision has been made. It shall be beneath us in the bed,"

"Oh! Would that not be uncomfortable?"

Charles laughed again. "No, not in the least. Beneath the mattress is a hatch giving access to the space behind the drawers." He pointed to the chart table. "I keep the key over there."

After I had giggled at my misinterpretation, I asked, "Might I also keep my Guineas there?"

"Yes, most certainly." He tilted his head as he looked at me, questioning, "And where do you keep them now?"

I patted my belly and my sides. "I have stitched them into the cincture which secures my breeches."

Charles looked down to my waist, chuckling. "And if you were to remove it, your breeches would fall. What would you do then?"

I shrugged. "Ask you to pleasure me."