Chapter Forty-two
I nearly fell out of the chair as the ship lurched forward. Charles sat with his hands folded in front of his face. His brows furrowed, and he appeared to be lost in thought. Angeline looked as though she were fighting the urge to vomit. Cassius leaned back in his chair occasionally taking a swig of ale. Robert dozed off.
"Let me get this straight. Lady Joselyn is a trained assassin. Angeline, who is not a lady, is something called a watcher? Your majesty, you are the one who uses the services of Lady Joselyn? But you two are in love which is against the rules. Sir Hode, how do you factor in all of this?"
"I love the lady we're going to rescue," he replied never opening his eyes.
"Okay. This is a very fascinating tale. Is any of it true?"
"It's all very true, Charles," Cassius said, holding the stein to his lips. "She's lethal."
"Lady Joselyn, you do not seem any more dangerous than a newborn kitten."
"That's the point of having a lady trained, captain," Angeline informed him. "They appear delicate and mild-tempered, but in actuality, they are vicious killers."
"I wouldn't say I'm vicious."
"You're a vicious killer, Joselyn," Cassius agreed.
"How did you end up as an assassin?" he asked.
"Should we be discussing this with him?" I asked.
Robert shrugged his shoulders, Angeline pursed her lips, and Cassius watched the man's face.
"It's too late not to. He's going to have to swear an oath to never speak of this to anyone. Ever on pain of death."
"I could die?" he asked, staring at Angeline in horror.
She simply nodded her head. The pain on her face rang loud and clear. She didn't want to threaten him or for him to know what was going on. "I'm sorry, Charles."
He held a hand up to silence her. "I wish you all would have told me the circumstances of your trip prior to boarding."
I chewed my bottom lip and wrung my hands together. This is why I hate ships!
"We needed passage. I should have informed you it was more than a pleasure visit; however, nobody is to know the true identity of Lady Joselyn. Not only will her life be at risk, but mine will also be as well."
"I would have given you passage, but I would have also been able to take better precautions and a faster route."
We stared slack-jawed at the man.
"I don't understand," Angeline said.
"If Lady Joselyn is keeping the king alive, I cannot have ill will towards her for being an assassin. I understand secrecy. There are times when we captains must do things a little less, Uhm, conventional. As long as the king is safe that is what matters. Plus, you were quite beautiful as you slew those men."
Angeline gasped. I didn't think she'd ever been complimented in such a way.
"I never thought of my movements as beautiful."
"It appeared as though you were dancing."
"I suppose a bit of my classical dancing comes out at times. I forget about everything around me and focus. Plus, I like to twirl and spin."
This side of Angeline surprised me. She seemed to be a normal girl who had a penchant for killing people. Her cheeks flushed crimson red as Charles smiled at her.
"Angeline is not married," I said quite suddenly.
"Joselyn!" she sputtered.
I shrugged my shoulders and accepted a plate of biscuits and a mug of steaming, brown liquid. I sniffed and cringed. It smelled bitter and looked as appealing as licking a fence post.
"What is this?"
"Coffee, Lady Joselyn," the cook said.
"Coffee?"
"It's a wonderful beverage we picked up on our travels. It does not have a pleasant taste; however, it does a marvelous job of keeping one awake with short amounts of sleep."
Cassius took a mug from the cook and stared into it. Little pieces of black things floated on the top, but he was brave enough to take the first sip. His face scrunched up and he coughed as the hot liquid slipped from his mouth.
"How is it?" I asked.
"As awful as it looks and smells."
"It is an acquired taste, my lord."
Robert tipped his head back and drank till the last drop. I stared in disgust at the man. He seemed to be able to eat or drink anything.
"How do you do that, Lord Hode?'
"What?" he asked, swiping at his mouth.
"Drink and eat everything?"
"I just do. I'm not picky. I love it all."
"Now that we've determined that it is of the utmost importance that you get to Constantinople in a timely fashion, we shall keep the prisoners in the hold for an extended period. Getting you to your destination is much more important."
He stood and strode from the table, Angeline following his every move.
"Go after him," I urged.
"What? No, I'm sure he's much too busy."
"Angeline, the man couldn't stop staring at you! Please, go!"
She looked from me to the retreating back of Charles for a long moment before leaping up and scurrying after him.
"What is wrong with her?" Cassius asked, watching Angeline.
"She's in love."
"With Charles?"
"Yes, with Charles," I said, picking up a thick slice of fried meat and chewed on it. "What is this?"
"I believe it's supposed to be bacon," Robert said, gnawing on a slice. "It's pretty good."
I side-eyed the man who gratefully accepted another plate from the cook. I stared back down at my own few slices. This is why I hate ships.
"It's not so bad, Joselyn," Cassius said, swallowing his in one bite.
"Sure." I winced and chewed the fatty hunk of meat. He was right. It wasn't terrible, not the best though.
"To your liking, Madame?" the cook asked.
"It's satisfactory," I mumbled, picking apart the biscuit.
"It won't be long until we reach land."
"I hope so," I grumbled. My stomach rolled as the ship rolled back and forth. "I would like to have regular food and my appetite back."
"Are you seasick, ma'am?" the cook queried.
"A bit."
He nodded and continued putzing around the kitchen. I put my head on my arm, taking in deep breaths. A warmth spread on my arm quite suddenly. I looked up to see the cook walking away. I pulled the hot brew towards me, sniffing it suspiciously.
"It's hot barley water. It should help your stomach."
"Thank you,' I said, sipping at it. It was bland but helped with the somersaulting stomach.
"Are you ready to go top deck?" Cassius asked, holding his arm out to me.
"No, but I don't want to be down here either." I accepted his arm and shielded my eyes as we emerged into the sunlight.
I gasped in shock. It appeared as though nothing had ever happened. The bodies and blood were gone. The crew looked downtrodden and there was a great deal fewer than before the attack, but the ship was in working order already.
"I'll have to look for more crew once we dock in Constantinople. Those pirates decimated us." Charles frowned, looking about his men.
"They fought brilliantly," Cassius told him, leading me up the stairs to the helm.
"Yes, they did. Unfortunately, we were not as well prepared as I'd hoped. I have all of you to thank for us not falling to them."
"Please, don't think anything of it," Cassius said, scanning the ship. "I only wish we could have done more."
"There's not much you can do. Pirates are an unlawful group of ruffians. We'll always have problems."
"I can increase the ships I have in the seas."
"That can only do so much, my lord there will always be more pirates than guards."
"I suppose."
"We shall be docking in approximately eight days."
"I can hold on for a week."
"Are you sure, love?" Cassius asked.
I nodded my head. "It's taking entirely too long to get to Belle. I need to find her."
"With your permission, my lord, I would like to join the fight."
"Charles?" Angeline asked.
"I want to help find your friend. Someone is threatening people of the kingdom, that's not right." He shook his head.
Angeline held onto his arm, her face downtrodden and sad.
"We will gladly accept your help, so long as it will not interfere with your sailing."
"It can be postponed. My men can hold down things for a few days. My first mate can scour the area for more sailors to join our crew."
"Thank you so much for wanting to help. I can't tell you how much it means having so many others care about this." I extended my hand to the captain. He took it and kissed the back lightly.
"What are you to do after we find this Belle?" he asked.
"Return her home, where if she agrees, she'll marry Robert."
"Marry? You love her?" he asked Robert, who finally joined us.
"Yes. I've loved her for quite some time now."
"Fascinating. So, everyone has some stake in this?"
"Yes," Cassius answered.
The waters ahead of us were calm. Barely a wavecrashed against the hull of the ship. The crew moved about methodically doingtheir jobs. Despite being short men, they were able to adapt quickly and pickup extra jobs. They were a hard-working bunch of people.