Sebastian Darke: Prince of Pirates (25 page)

They found themselves standing in a dark, crowded interior, packed with seafaring types all drinking ale, smoking pipes and talking in a raucous babble consisting mostly of 'oohs' and 'arrs'. A rich aroma of cooking hung in the air, making Sebastian realize how hungry he was.

The three of them pushed through the crowds and found a vacant table at the far end of the room, screened from the bar by a high wooden stall which gave them a little privacy. They sat down and a serving girl came in to take their orders. She was elvish, petite and curvaceous, with big black eyes and a tangle of dark curly hair spilling over her shoulders. She noticed Sebastian's pointed ears and favoured him with a warm smile.

'Welcome to the Salty Dog, gentlemen,' she said. 'What's your pleasure?'

They each ordered the fish pie and a tankard of ale.

'You'll like the pie,' she told Sebastian. 'Made it with my own fair hands, I did. The recipe's an old family secret.'

Sebastian smiled back at her. 'I'm sure it's delicious,' he said.

'You could do with putting a little fat on your bones,' added the wench. 'I like a man to be slim, but you'd blow away in a strong wind. Maybe I'll get you an extra-large portion.'

Cornelius coughed impatiently. 'If you wouldn't mind getting a move on,' he said. 'We're in a bit of a hurry.'

'At once, sir,' she said and turned away, but not before directing another admiring look in Sebastian's direction.

'I think Megs is sweet on you,' observed the Kid as the girl made her way to the bar. 'You want to watch out for her – she's a man-eater.'

'What, you mean she's a cannibal?' gasped Sebastian.

'No, you twit! I mean she's already had three husbands.'

'Well, she won't be making me the fourth,' Sebastian assured him.

'We'd best not tarry too long,' Cornelius reminded them. 'Jenna thought those repairs would only take a short while and she'll be anxious to get away from here.'

'There's always enough time to eat,' Sebastian assured him. 'Besides, it will make a welcome change from Thaddeus's lumpy porridge.'

The Kid pulled a face. 'I don't know how you eat that stuff,' he said. 'I got him to make me some pancakes instead.'

'Yes, how did you manage that exactly?' asked Sebastian.

'I've got big appealing eyes,' said the Kid. 'Like a puppy dog. Works every time.'

Megs returned with three frothing tankards and set them down on the tabletop. As she leaned forward, she directed a wink in Sebastian's direction and he immediately felt his face colouring.

'I found an extra large bowl, just for you,' she told Sebastian. 'And I'm going to pick out the nicest, juiciest pieces of fish I can find.'

'That's, er . . . very kind of you,' said Sebastian, squirming in his seat. 'But really, there's no need.'

'You going to be in Lemora long?' she asked. 'Only it's my evening off and I'm not doing anything special. Maybe you'd like to—'

'We're only here for a short while,' Cornelius told her bluntly. 'Until our ship is repaired. And as I mentioned earlier, we are in something of a hurry, so . . .'

'Hmm? Oh . . . yes, sir! Of course, sir!' Megs turned away with visible reluctance and trudged off towards the kitchen.

The Kid grinned, enjoying Sebastian's discomfort. 'She's after you,' he taunted. 'You two are gonna get married!'

'Are not!' said Sebastian.

'Are too!' said the Kid. 'Gonna get married and have babies!'

'Are not!'

'Are too!'

'Oh, shut up!' protested Cornelius. He shook his head. 'What do women see in him?' he asked the room in general. 'We can't seem to go anywhere without some dratted female fluttering her eyelashes at him.'

'You're just jealous,' said Sebastian, and now it was Cornelius's turn to go red in the face.

'Nonsense!' he protested. 'You know I have no interest in women! They're nothing but a blasted nuisance!'

'Ah, but I bet if a
Golmiran
wench had brought the ale, you'd take a very different view.'

'Pah! There's no such thing as a Golmiran wench! And a Golmiran
lady
wouldn't lower herself to wait on tables in a dump like this!'

'Hey, this is the best tavern in Lemora!' protested the Kid.

'Number one, a boy your age shouldn't be frequenting taverns and drinking ale,' said Cornelius. 'And number two, if this is the best, I should hate to visit the worst. I mean, just look at the customers!'

The three of them studied the other drinkers. Sebastian had to agree that the ones they could see were a pretty motley crew – and that didn't include the hardened drinkers who were standing at the bar behind them, hidden behind the stall. In fact he realized it was an ideal spot to eavesdrop on their conversations, and the three friends started listening with interest when they detected a bit of a stir back there. Somebody had just entered the tavern and pushed his way straight over to the bar.

'Hey, lads!' said the newcomer, shouting above the hubbub of voices. 'You'll never guess what I've just heard!'

'What's that?' asked another voice, sounding barely interested.

'The
Black Hand
's been sunk and most of her crew killed!'

'What?' There were sounds of disbelief all round.

'You're making it up,' said a third voice.

'It's true, I tell you! There's a galleon in the harbour, out of Ramalat – the
Sea Witch
she's called, put in for repairs. I got talking to the son of Ben Thomas, the ship's carpenter. He says as how his father's patching her up. One of the crew let slip that they got the damage during a fight with a ship called the
Black Hand
. Ben reckons that those of her crew who weren't killed are caged below decks like animals.'

There were gasps of astonishment and anger at this news. Somebody suggested that if that was the case, they should raise a party of armed men and go and free the prisoners at once. There were several cries of agreement. Sebastian gave Cornelius a worried look and wondered if maybe it would be a good idea to forego the fish pie and make for the exit as quietly as possible. But then another voice spoke, a deep croaky voice filled with spite and arrogance; and Sebastian was aware of the Kid freezing beside him, his tankard halfway to his lips.

'What about that young brat of a captain? What happened to him?'

'Sorry, Bones,' said the newcomer. 'The man didn't say.'

Now they heard yet another voice, soft, breathy, but in its own way every bit as unpleasant as the one that had spoken before.

'With any luck he'll be inside the belly of a kelfer.'

'I'll drink to that, Sully!'

'Shame on you!' said a third voice. 'He's only a young 'un.'

'Young 'un or not,' growled Bones, 'the cheeky little rip had me and Sully put ashore only a few days ago. Said we was disputing his authority.'

'You should be glad about that. It could be you two floating around in the ocean like sprats at feeding time.'

'It would never have come to that,' whispered Sully. 'Not if we'd got control of the ship. We'd be rich men now, living in the lap of luxury. And the
Sea Witch
would have a new owner.'

'Whatever do you mean,' asked the newcomer, '
a new
owner
?'

Sebastian leaned cautiously out to peer round the end of the alcove seat. The two pirates stood at the bar amid a crowd of their cronies, grasping pints of foaming ale, both of them red-faced, their tongues doubtless loosened by the drink. They were a nasty-looking pair. The one called Bones was a tall, thin, almost cadaverous fellow, with greasy black shoulder-length hair. He wore a filthy striped tunic under a leather waistcoat and a plumed hat that had once been rather grand but now looked like it needed to be taken outside and buried. Sully was shorter and plumper. He was almost completely bald and had lost the end of his nose at some point in his career. When he grinned, he displayed the fact that he barely had a tooth left in his head.

'A contact of ours in Ramalat was ready to pay us a thousand gold crowns apiece for the ship,' said Sully, in that soft, honeyed voice. 'All we needed to do was get control of it. We had it all worked out. First of all we made sure that the Kid's father didn't come back from his last trip.'

'What are you saying?' asked the newcomer, who clearly wasn't all that bright. 'I heard he fell overboard.'

'You heard right,' said Bones gloatingly. 'What you didn't hear is that we gave him a helping hand over the side.'

"Twas in the heat of battle,' whispered Sully.

'That's when things get overlooked,' said Bones.

'Nobody's paying attention,' added Sully.

'Good time for accidents,' said Bones. 'And of course, that's exactly what it was. An
accident
.'

'Yes. We "accidentally" smacked him across the head, and he "accidentally" fell into the water. Then, when the fight was over, we "accidentally" forgot that we saw him fall in.'

There was a brief silence; and then the drinkers at the bar burst into peals of raucous laughter.

'So who is this mysterious contact in Ramalat?' asked the slow-witted man.

'Can't you guess?' said Bones. 'Trencherman, of course! He's been helping us sell our stolen goods to respectable folk for years. He's also a collector of ships and he's had his eye on the
Black Hand
for a long time. We figured the way was clear to sell her to him, but then Jack Donovan's brat turned up and claimed her for his own. I thought the rest of the crew would mutiny, but no, they agreed to abide by the Code of the Sea. Imbeciles! So instead of earning a fortune, we got thrown off the ship, and now she's at the bottom of the ocean where she can profit nobody. So I hope the Kid
did
go into the water. And I hope he was torn to pieces by hungry kelfers before he gave up the ghost. Good enough for him, I say!'

Sebastian turned to look at the Kid, his mouth open to tell him to stay quiet; but the seat beside him was empty. Looking up, he saw that the Kid was already leaving the stall.

'Wait!' he hissed, and hurried after him, closely followed by Cornelius.

As they stepped out from the cover of the stall, Megs appeared in the doorway carrying a tray of food. The Kid snatched up two steaming platters of fish pie and kept right on going. By the time Sebastian and Cornelius caught up with him he was standing in front of the men at the bar.