Sebastian Darke: Prince of Pirates (28 page)

Cornelius finally gave up his vigil and announced he was going down to the cabin to study the chart. Sebastian told him he'd be along in a little while, but in fact, the stuffy confines of the cabin were not an option at the moment. A terrible restlessness had come over him, mounting steadily through the day, and he was now in a state of high excitement. So he continued to pace the deck, wrapped in a long cloak against the evening chill. There was a strange calm – hardly a breath of wind – and the
Sea Witch
was moving at a much slower pace than usual. Everywhere was silent save for the creak of ropes and the faint splash of waves breaking against the prow. He walked along the main deck and climbed the steps to the bow, where he strained his eyes staring into the thick, undulating banks of fog up ahead, but he could see nothing. Looking up, he could just make out the figure of a sailor crouched up in the crow's nest, who was no doubt in a much better position to see something if it was out there. Any moment he might give a cry of 'Land ho!' but the time passed and he remained silent.

Not for the first time, Sebastian wondered if the treasure map that Cornelius had paid five gold crowns for was genuine. Maybe the island was a figment of somebody's imagination. Maybe it was some elaborate practical joke. How long would they go on sailing south before Jenna concluded that the island they were seeking simply wasn't there?

Sebastian was walking back towards the stern when he noticed the big shaggy shape of Max looming out of the fog. The buffalope was backing carefully up against the rails, trying to manoeuvre his huge rear end over the top of them. Sebastian approached, smiling.

'What are you doing?' he asked.

Max looked startled and then vaguely sheepish. 'What do you think I'm doing?' he snapped. 'I'm trying to have a quiet poo. I thought I was alone,' he added primly.

'But why bother?' persisted Sebastian. 'Just do it on the deck – somebody will come along and shovel it over the side.'

Max shook his head. 'I'm not running the risk of upsetting Captain Swift. She's had it in for me ever since I came on board.'

'Oh, Jenna's not that bad. You must admit it is a bit strange having a buffalope wandering around the deck of a ship.'

'What's so strange about it?' persisted Max. 'As a member of this expedition, I feel I have every right to be here.'

'I'm not saying you don't. But you can see her point of view, surely? A great clumsy beast, wandering the decks, getting in everyone's way. It's not ideal, is it?'

'No, but I suppose they just have to put up with you!' quipped Max.

'Oh, very funny!' Sebastian gave Max's huge shoulder an affectionate punch. 'She's just saying that buffalopes and ships don't go together.'

'Hmph! I might have known you'd take her side.'

'What's that supposed to mean?'

'It's quite apparent from the way she stares at you that you've made a big impression. And I suppose you've gone all gooey over her.'

'No I haven't. I can't think about anyone these days, except . . .'

Max gave him a disparaging look. 'Leonora,' he said.

'Yes. Is that so wrong?'

'About as wrong as it could be.'

'Yes, but I can't seem to help myself. I mean, I close my eyes and I see her face, staring at me.'

Max shivered. 'It's enough to give you the creeps,' he said. 'I wouldn't fancy having her leering at me like that. It'd give me nightmares.'

As if cued by his remark, a dark figure with a pale, grizzled face came looming out of the mist. Max gasped in terror but it was only Lemuel, wrapped in a warm blanket. He grinned, displaying his many gold teeth.

'Ah, Mr Darke, there you are! Captain Swift asked me to tell you she'd like to see you in her cabin.' He nodded and went on his way.

'Just friends, eh?' said Max, looking at Sebastian accusingly.

'Yes, of course!'

'Then why do you suppose she wants to see you?'

'I don't know. Perhaps she wants to show me some map references.'

'Oh, is that what you call it? You'd better hurry along, she's waiting.'

'Look, it's not what you think.'

'Oh, just go, will you, and give me a bit of privacy!'

Sebastian stared at him, not understanding. 'Why do you want privacy?' he asked.

'Because . . . you
know
!' Max turned his head to nod back towards his rear end. 'What I was doing when you happened along? I'm
bursting
!'

'Oh, I see!' Sebastian grinned. 'You're getting very prim and proper in your old age, aren't you?' He turned towards the stern of the ship, wondering why Jenna had asked to see him. Cornelius was always saying that the captain was sweet on him, and she did seem to stare at him rather a lot. The problem was, he felt absolutely nothing for her other than a sense of friendship. He hoped she wasn't looking for anything more than that. He'd only taken a few steps when he heard an explosive sound of rushing wind from behind him, followed by a groan of relief from Max.

'Charming!' he called over his shoulder. 'There's nothing quite so inspiring as the sound of a buffalope voiding his bowels!'

'Sorry,' murmured Max. 'I'm not getting enough greens in my diet.' He thought for a moment. 'In fact, I'm not getting
any
greens. You know, while you're down there with Captain Swift, you might mention the fact!'

'I might,' muttered Sebastian, under his breath. 'But I seriously doubt it.'

Sebastian descended the wooden steps, strolled the short distance to the captain's cabin and rapped on the door.

'Who is it?'

'Jenna, it's Sebastian. Lem said you wanted to see me.'

'Sebastian!' There was an unmistakable smile in her voice now. 'Oh, er . . . yes, wait a moment!'

'If it's a bad time, I can always come back later.'

'It's a perfect time. I'm just . . . not quite ready, that's all.'

There were rustling noises from within, as though somebody was hurriedly getting dressed. 'Just give me . . . a moment longer.'

Sebastian heard the sound of heavy boots clumping on the floor. 'Are you all right in there?' he asked.

'I'm fine. I'm changing out of my work clothes.'

'Well, don't change on my account.'

'I wasn't!'

There was a long pause and then the sound of Jenna humming a half-remembered tune. 'Won't be a second,' she said at last. 'Just brushing my hair!'

'Oh really, there's no need for any of that. Look, maybe I should come back another time.'

'No! I'm nearly ready . . .'

'The thing is, Jenna, if it's about the expedition to the island, we can always—'

He broke off in mid-sentence as the door swung open, revealing Jenna, dressed in a long embroidered robe of rich red velvet, tightly belted around her slender waist. Her freshly brushed chestnut curls spilled over her shoulders, and she had outlined her eyes with a dark brush and rubbed a little rouge into her cheeks. Out of her usual captain's uniform, she looked quite stunning, and she was wearing a powerful fragrance that smelled of wild flowers.

Sebastian just stood there and stared at her in surprise. 'Wow,' he said. He couldn't think of anything else to say for a moment.

'Sebastian,' said Jenna. 'Please come in.'

He stepped into the cabin and closed the door behind him. Jenna gestured to an upholstered couch in a corner of the cabin.

'Please,' she said, 'have a seat. I'll get you a goblet of wine.'

She went across to her desk, the movement making the full velvet gown flare out behind her, and Sebastian noticed her bare feet moving across the wooden boards. They were dainty little feet, hardly what you might have expected to find inside a sea captain's heavy boots.

Jenna poured out two goblets of red wine, carried them across to the couch and sat down beside Sebastian.

'Now,' she said softly. 'What can I do for you?'

'Er . . . sorry? I thought you wanted to talk to me.'

'Yes. Yes, I do. Sorry.' She took a large swallow of her wine. 'I've been thinking,' she said.

'Thinking?' he echoed.

'Yes, I've been thinking . . . about you. And about me. Well, about both of us, really.'

'What about us?'

'Well . . .' Jenna paused to take another gulp of wine, as though she was trying to summon some courage. 'I asked Lem to call you down here. I hope you weren't doing anything important?'

'Oh, I was just talking to Max . . .'

'Ah. Max.' Jenna's face fell, as though the very mention of the buffalope had cast a cloud over the proceedings. 'Your beloved buffalope. And how was . . . Max?'

'If you must know, he was having a poo over the side of the ship.' Jenna's eyes widened and Sebastian immediately wished he hadn't mentioned it. 'But that's not important! What
is
important is that we talked about Leonora . . .'

'Oh!' Jenna sat back in her seat as though he had punched her and took another large gulp of wine. 'Leonora,' she said. 'The witch.'

'No, you mustn't call her that. She's not a witch, she's just . . . misunderstood. And she is devilishly good looking – you said so yourself. And her eyes . . .' He shook his head. It was all getting horribly mixed up. 'Anyway, that's enough about her,' he said. 'I wonder, Jenna, do you think I could . . .?'

'What?' asked Jenna softly.

'Do you think I could have some more wine?'

Jenna snatched his goblet from his hand and stalked across to the desk, where she replenished it for him. There was an uncomfortable silence.

'So did you and Max talk about me at all?' she asked him.

'Yes, yes we did. He was having a poo over the side and we started talking and he had this ridiculous notion about you.'

'Did he now?'

'Yes. He thought that you . . . Well, don't laugh or anything, but he thought that you liked me.'

Jenna came and sat beside him again and thrust the goblet of wine none too gently into his hand.