I smiled.
“I’m obliged and I gladly accept your invitation.”
“Good.”
Someone came to put more dirty dishes on the pile and left. I glanced at Callum, still standing there, looking at the entire gun deck behind my back.
I put my sleeves up again; they kept sliding down and getting wet in the water inside the washbasin.
“Callum, may I ask you a question?” My voice was softer than I expected.
“Isn’t that already a question?” He smiled.
I rolled my eyes; ignoring his joke, I proceeded.
“Why are you so determined to keep me safe and well? I mean, you’re here right now to guarantee it, aren’t I right?”
He sighed. “I told you, many members of the crew are drunk all the time and—”
“Yes, I know.” I cut him off. “You’ve told me this before. What I mean is, the reason why you want to keep me safe.”
He was taken aback. “Isn’t it obvious? This is my ship and I want everyone here to be safe.”
“Oh…” I trailed off without even thinking, my attention back to washing.
“What? Why the disappointment?” He stepped closer.
“I’m not disappointed!”
“Of course you are, it’s in your face! What’s the problem? Aren’t you happy here? Don’t you feel safe?”
“Yes.”
“So what’s wrong?”
“I guess I expected more from you, that’s all.”
“What do you mean?” His voice was indignant.
“Well, you only want to keep me safe because I’m on your ship. So, if you saw one of them doing something wrong to me on land, that’d be fine? Or if it was something against a child or an elderly?”
“What…no!”
“So would you stop them if that was the case?”
“In fact, I’ve done that before.” Pride washed over his words as he pointed at his chest.
“Good, but why? Was it just a sense of duty?”
“Maybe. What’s wrong with it?”
I put more clean dishes to the side and picked up the last dirty ones. I moved without even thinking, my hands were already used to the task; I glared at the captain. Knowing his positive traits were nothing more than some sort of prideful ownership was rather disappointing.
“The problem is that you should do it because it’s the right thing, not because of duty or pride. If you do something good only to tell others you’ve done something good, does that make you an honorable man? No.”
“Why not? I am doing everything I can!”
“For the wrong reasons.”
I knew I should just stop talking; I was pretty lucky here, however, learning that all of that was nothing a little deeper than the eyes was so frustrating! He could have fooled me into thinking he was a good man.
“Does that make any difference?”
“Of course! An honorable person strives to do the right thing and doesn't need to tell people about their good deeds.” I sighed. For a moment, I thought he was like that, but no, he just wanted to brag about how good he was.
He opened and closed his mouth a few times, trying to say something, but couldn’t. Then he looked away. He looked so lost I almost felt sorry for him. Maybe uncle Oliver was right; I really had this tendency of talking too much.
“I’m sorry, I exceeded myself a little…”
“No.” He shook his head and his voice sounded hoarse. “You’re right. I’ve just forgotten it.” He shrugged. “I guess sometimes we’re so focused on our daily lives it’s easy to forget what really matters or what should matter. You know, my dad used to say a person only shows their true self when people aren’t looking. But I’m usually so concerned with my appearance I forget to be who I truly want to be.”
As I finished washing everything, I grabbed a cloth to dry the plates and put them in the cabinet above my head. I had to stretch myself to put the plates in there.
I could feel his eyes on me and my sleeves slid from gravity, now going the opposite way of what I wanted them to be when I was washing. The right side descended until it showed my elbow, so I quickly put my arms down. I didn’t have time to adjust them, though; Callum’s sharp eyes had spotted what I didn't want him to see. He grabbed my arm with a hand while the other held the sleeve up so he could examine the purplish spot there. It had almost vanished by now, turning an ugly greenish yellow shade.
“Was that Nate?”
A shiver ran down my spine, and I pushed his hands away from me. Luckily, he didn’t try to stop me, bringing his hands to himself.
“No. I had this before I came aboard the ship. I had fallen in my house a day before I decided to go on this journey.”
“It doesn’t seem like a falling wound.”
“I don’t care what you think. I speak the truth and you have nothing to do with it.”
I resumed my task and was relieved when he backed away, noticing how tense I was. Of course, I hadn’t said the truth, but I didn’t want any nosy pirate acting as if he cared or wanted to help. I didn’t need anyone’s help, and I needed to prove it if I hoped to ever be able to command my lands. There was nothing he could do anyway, so I wanted to keep my problems to myself. He should respect that.
Callum remained silent as I finished putting away the dishes and then escorted me to the navigation room, where Hayden was checking his maps.
CHAPTER FIVE
The afternoon ended soon and as soon as we finished having dinner, the three of us went back to the navigation room. I didn’t want to admit it, but my heart was booming in joy. Not only because I wouldn’t be stuck at the galley for hours, but also because the promise of an evening with games was amusing. I hadn’t played any games for at least seven years, after all.
“So what shall we play? What do you usually do on these occasions?”
Callum smiled, and with only a glance, he told Felix to get the games. The captain positioned a chair at the head of the table so I could sit there. He sat by my side after he got three metal glasses from a shelf and a bottle of wine from a chest in the corner of the room.
Felix walked to one of the shelves and got a small wooden box from there, opening it as he sat by my left side. He set a pack of cards in the middle of the table, his pale fingers mixing them up.
“It’s been a while since I’ve played card games, so you’ll have to remind me of the rules.”
“Don’t worry, I have something easy in mind…” Felix had a sly smile on his lips.
“Not again.” Callum laughed as he rested his chin on his hand.
“Come on, it’ll be fun with a new person around.”
“I’m sorry, what is it?” I was looking at Felix for the answer, but it actually came from the other side.
“It’s a guessing game.”
“Called Bullsh—” Felix started, but was quickly cut off.
“Please, Felix, we have a lady among us tonight.”
“I mean Cheat.” He corrected himself. “It’s simple, the goal is to run out of cards and all you have to do is get some cards and discard them in the middle saying which are they. If we suspect you, we call the name’s game.”
“And let me guess, if the guesser is wrong or if the liar is caught, they get the cards in the middle, right?”
Felix cheered and pointed at me.
“That’s it, girl!” So he started the game, discarding some cards. I didn’t call it a bluff, and neither did Callum, who was the next player.
“I have here three A’s.” He looked at me as he placed the cards in the middle. His eyes were suspicious somehow, squinting slightly as if he was daring me.
“Bullshit,” I called out before I could stop myself, and his jaw dropped as he heard the word. I shrugged. “What? I know the word. Thanks for being polite, though.”
“So we go with that name.” Felix giggled after a moment of surprise.
Callum sighed and grabbed all the cards in the middle. Then it was my turn, and we co
ntinued the game. Felix called out a bluff from me, but he was in the wrong and took the cards and both Callum and I laughed.
As we played, Felix turned out to be an expert at it. He not only knew at least 90% of the times Callum was lying, but he also frequently knew when I was bluffing. It was no surprise he won the game in the end.
“So why didn’t you want to play it at first?” I asked the captain.
“It’s not that it’s boring, it’s just that it’s not that challenging.” Callum raised his hands, palms facing up.
“We know each other far too much,” Felix explained. “So we know when the other is lying pretty easily, however, having a new player to shake things up makes for a rather amusing game.”
“Which I agree,” Callum said.
I hid my smile behind the card in my hand. Indeed, I haven’t had that much fun in a while. Felix started gathering the cards.
“How did you meet? Was it all of you at the same time?”
“No, it wasn’t, I was the first, though. Our mothers wanted us to be friends.”
“As any sane children, we were against it, of course,” Callum said. “It all changed when we began sharing the same hatred for an annoying teacher.”
“He says a teacher, but he was more like a coach.” There was something off in Callum’s eyes; it was almost the same as when he’d called the three A’s bluff. “He wanted to teach us how to fight, but he was so bossy. I believe he delighted himself in hurting other people.”
“So we both pranked the man, putting grass in his underpants. Well, I did it while Felix was distracting him.” Callum’s shoulders shook as he laughed. “And of course, he punished us later, but it was fun.”
“You know what they say if two people hate each other, nothing better than giving them a common enemy so they can hate it together.”
“Well, it worked!”
“Indeed. And later came Enric, followed by Alastair and Hayden who were the last one to join.”
“We were more open to receiving them, though. After all, if we had much fun with only two, imagine what a bunch of kids would do…” Felix shrugged playfully.
“Give me one example, then. What did the five of you do that was so fun?”
“There was that time in the kitchen,” Felix said and Callum’s eyes screamed he knew exactly what he meant, but there was a hint of fear in them as soon as he heard my next question.
“Kitchen? Like a regular kitchen from one of your old homes?”
“No, it was a big kitchen.”
“From a very large tavern.” Felix completed way too quickly. “In our village.”
“Yes. They made a wonderful apple pie, and we wanted that. So, once they made some of them for an event, we spent hours plotting how to get there, because there were always people around and our parents had forbidden us to go there.”
“So we sneaked out of our rooms at night, avoiding people passing by, and we headed there. Hayden and Al stayed at the door to guard us while the rest of us searched for two pies. Then we all hid to eat.”
“Our parents were so mad at us when they found out…”
“It was totally worth it, though.”
“Don’t you have stories like these, Lenna?”
“Unfortunately, not. I’m afraid I was too well behaved when I was a child. However, I did have fun with my friends.”
“They can’t be that fun if you didn’t play games or do pranks with them for so long. I mean, what else is there to do?”
I forced my smile this time.
“Unfortunately, I haven’t seen them for a while and when I rarely do, we usually just talk. We don’t really have time for games anymore.”
I miss my friends. But they were getting married now, some were having children, even. I wish I could see them, visit them, or at least have them come to visit. However, Oliver doesn't let them. It’s easier to control prey when it’s lonely.
“Oh, I’m sorry about it, then…” Felix’s voice was sincere, but I still didn’t like it when he reached to my hand. I knew it was just a comforting gesture, but I hate having my personal space invaded like that by people I barely know. Even if he was a true gentleman, I slowly retrieved my hands closer to myself.
“It’s alright. I will make time for them soon and then we can play it.” I gestured at the cards.
Felix agreed while Callum stared at me, his face was serious and he was so attentive it was like he wanted to read my thoughts. I stood up.
“I’m tired now, so I’m going to the cabin if you don’t mind.”
“Be my guest.” Callum gestured to the door and so I left.
CHAPTER SIX
In the morning, I didn’t find Callum in his room or at the galley, so it wasn't really a surprise to see him in the navigation room with Hayden after breakfast. Both had frowns and their voices were tougher than usual. But I only noticed it after I had opened the door, making them cut off in mid-sentence.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt…”
“It’s alright.” Callum gestured me to come in. “We’re just talking.”
Although I didn’t know if I should enter or not, my legs were persuaded to enter, complying with his unspoken welcome. I decided to keep my distance. So instead of sitting at the table with them, I walked around, admiring the ship miniatures as Hayden continued to talk.
“The problem with that is Enric spotted a ship last night. We were lucky he changed the route so fast, otherwise, we could have been seen.”
“It’d only be a problem if it was a foreign navy ship.” Callum rubbed his short beard as he thought out loud.
“Which is likely,” I said before I could stop myself.
Callum squinted his eyes. “Why do you say that?”
“Sorry, I shouldn’t meddle in it…” I stepped back.
“That’s not a problem, Lenna, but why do you say that?”
I gulped, but I came forward.
“I know there are some navy ships from Estanya around here.” I pointed at the map around Keanys and up. “I’ve heard that a wealthy duke was coming here for a business meeting with a noble in the region. He’s very careful and worried, so he asked his king to have the navy patrol the area for…pirates.”
“How do you know that?” Callum asked.
I bit my lower lip. I’ve heard Oliver talking about it with the man who brought the news two days before I left. The man was talking about possible delays of shipments from my lands to this region because of that. However, I couldn’t say it.
“I’ve heard it at the docks before I entered the ship. Haven’t you heard it?”
“No, we haven’t. Thank you, though.” His honey eyes blinked at me. “We shall be more careful from now on. Estanya is a complicated country in which we have robbed many times before, their navy hates us.” He turned to the blond man. “Find possible safe routes so we have options if we need to change and tell the guys about it later.”
“Aye, captain,” Hayden answered, then he turned to me and surprised me by asking what I thought of the routes he was taking as he showed them on the map.
“I know that the duke is traveling with two navy ships and that it’s possible that there’s going to have intense navy traffic around the cities he’s visiting.” I pointed to the cities I remember being discussed, Keanys was between the last two.
Hayden thanked me and put his attention on the map, planning the safest route possible with the new information.
I was washing the dishes after lunch when Alastair’s deep voice echoed around the gun deck.
“Come on, lazy assholes! Get your bloody bodies to work. You need to practice more. I’m tired of seeing you all lying around uselessly all day!”
Faster than I’d have imagined, everyone in the deck stood up, grabbing their swords to practice fighting in pairs. Curious, I kept distracting myself, looking over my shoulder at the men fighting behind me. I was astounded to see how they moved so swiftly and precisely. It was almost like a dance, a very
deadly dance with pointy blades smashing against each other.
Alastair walked around the group of men, telling them how to improve their fighting. The pairs would change constantly and eventually, Alastair turned to one of his friends, challenging him. Enric took off his dark red jacket and drew his sword. Soon they began a fight. They were so quick I stopped washing to observe them better; yet, it was all so fast I could hardly follow their movements. Alastair won all the attempts, and now I knew why he was the one to take care of the safety of their ship.
Callum stood up from the bench in the galley, leaving his coat behind and lifting his sleeves, challenging the big guy. They fought as well, and although Callum lasted longer than Enric in a more amazing fighting practice, he ended up losing. Either way, the men paying attention to it cheered; I didn’t know if it was because he lasted long or if they just wanted to give some moral support to their leader.
Enric came to the galley and drank a cup of water from the barrel in the corner, which reminded me I still had my task to fulfill, so I turned around to finish it.
“So, enjoyed the show?” Enric’s voice came behind me, his breath brushing against my hair.
“Yes, it was fun.” I stepped to the side, getting away from him. He didn’t take the hint, though.
“Good. Did you like my performance?”
I shrugged. “I don’t believe I’m qualified to analyze sword fighting performances.”
He smiled, reaching out to touch my arm.
“Oh, but I’m sure you—”
“Give her some space, she’s working.” Callum pushed Enric away from me, then grabbed a cup to fill it with water to drink.
I finished the washing part and began putting everything away in the cabinets.
“You’ve all been friends for a long time, right?”
“Indeed,” Callum answered.
“I believe you also have trained together, right?”
“For the most part, yes. Why?”
“I was just wondering. Why is Alastair so much better than you all?” I was curious and distracted looking at the people still practicing and the big man helping them that it took me a while to notice I was rather impolite.
The Duchess at Sea Page 3