Interlude 2: The San Telmo

* More sexual story at the end, after the asterisk.

The carriage stopped before the port of Cádiz, raising a small cloud of dust beneath its wheels. A woman descended, shielding herself from the sun. After her came her young cousin, who immediately went to the rear of the carriage to collect the bags. She scolded him, reminding him that that was why they had brought along a footman.

He had never liked having servants. He came from a well-to-do family and had grown up surrounded by them, but it had always made him uncomfortable to see another person carrying something he could perfectly well carry himself.

The early summer heat was proving much harder for him to bear. Coming from San Sebastián, that dry, scorching southern air seemed to wrap around him completely. His shirt was stuck to his body and his face beaded with sweat.

The port was teeming with activity. Stevedores loaded sacks and crates, barrels rolled over the wood, and the voices of sailors and merchants mingled with one another. Over it all floated an intense mixture of salt, fish, tar, and damp wood from the ships.

A man came over to greet them and welcomed them to the San Telmo de Gracia. The young man followed his gesture and read the name painted on the hull, accompanied by a cross and other religious symbols. It did not surprise him; a Spanish ship whose name did not refer to a saint, the Virgin, or some figure of faith was rare.

His cousin, far less interested in the vessel, began loudly demanding that someone bring out her parasol. The young man took the opportunity to snatch one of the bags before the footman could, and headed toward the gangway.

When he reached the deck he found many sailors preparing the ship to set sail. Some hauled ropes, others secured barrels and crates or received the cargo still coming up from the port. They were men hardened by sun and labor, sweating in the heat, their sleeves rolled up and some almost stripped of their shirts. The young man stood watching them, absorbed.

He and his cousin were traveling as passengers, taking advantage of the merchant ship's crossing to reunite with relatives settled in New Spain. The journey, in fact, had been planned for him. His family had commercial interests on the other side of the Atlantic and hoped that, once settled there, he would take charge of some of them. He was also to marry the daughter of another well-to-do family, an arranged union meant to forge closer ties and join the two houses' business affairs.

One of the sailors noticed his presence and came over to ask if he wasn't hot in so many clothes. He was dressed as befitted someone of his station: white linen shirt, long coat, and knee breeches. The sailor explained that on the open sea he would not have to keep up such formality and that he could dress more comfortably if he wished. Then he added that he had been tasked with making sure that both he and his companion we...