'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.'
CHAPTER 25
TRUE CONFESSIONS
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.
'Well, for once I have to agree with Max. It's true, I do like you.'
'Yes, obviously you like me. But, you know, he was trying to say that you really liked me.'
She glared at him. 'I do really like you.'
'Yes, of course, but he said that you really really liked me.'
'Oh, for goodness' sake!' Jenna drained her goblet of wine, wiped her mouth on her sleeve and set it aside. Then she took his goblet and put it down beside hers. 'Come here, Sebastian Darke,' she said. She grabbed him by the lapels and, pulling him towards her, leaned
forward to kiss him—
Right on cue, the door burst open and Cornelius came running into the room like a madman. 'Land ho!' he roared. 'Land ahead – we've found the—'
He stopped in his tracks and stared at Sebastian and Jenna in amazement. 'What's going on?' he gasped.
Sebastian stared back at him. 'I haven't the faintest idea,' he said. 'I think . . . I think Jenna was trying to explain something.'
There was a pause. Then Jenna sighed, a long regretful sigh. Her shoulders slumped. 'Go up on deck,' she told Sebastian. 'I'll be there in a moment.'
'But—'
She reached out her fingers to his lips to still them. 'Later,' she told him. 'We'll have time to talk about this. For now, we need to see if this is the island we've been looking for.'
Sebastian shot a baffled look at Cornelius. But he got up from the sofa and followed the little warrior out of the cabin.
'I thought you said you weren't that interested in Jenna,' hissed Cornelius as soon as they were outside.
Sebastian looked at him blankly. 'I'm not,' he said. 'But between you and me, I think she might have a bit of a soft spot for me.'
Cornelius groaned and slapped his forehead. 'Oh, the croat's finally dropped, has it?' he said.
'Yes, well, I think that's what was on her mind. But, you know, when it comes to stuff like that, I can't stop thinking about Leonora. I keep seeing her eyes looking at me. I pretty much told Jenna that.'
'I bet that went down well. Sebastian, you have got to get some help,' Cornelius told him.
'Help? What, you mean to find Leonora?'
'No, you idiot! To cast her out of your mind for ever and start seeing what's really important. It's quite obvious that Jenna is mad about you. I've been telling you that for ages.'
'Have you? It's funny, because Max said pretty much the same thing.' Sebastian made a gesture of dismissal. 'But I mean, who'd listen to Max anyway?'
'You usually don't have any problem doing that,' Cornelius told him.
'Yes, but on affairs of the heart I think I know a bit more than he does. And you see, I just have this powerful feeling that Leonora and I are meant to be together. It's just our fate.'
Cornelius groaned again. 'Sebastian,' he said, 'it's tragic. You can't even think straight any more.'
'Oh, forget all that for now!' said Sebastian. 'This is far more exciting. Let's go and have a look at this island of yours. And I hope for your sake it turns out to be the right one. There are going to be a lot of disappointed faces around here if it's not.'
CHAPTER 26
MYSTERIOUS ISLAND
They made for the bows of the ship, where they found the Kid sitting on a crate, staring through the twilight mist at the approaching outline of a large island. Cornelius took a seat beside him and Sebastian went to lean on the ship's rail.
There was a long silence and then the Kid spoke.
'What's going on?' he asked.
'Well, let me see now, where should I start?' murmured Cornelius. He thought for a moment. 'Sebastian's under an enchantment, which makes him hopelessly in love with the most evil woman I've ever met.'
'You're a born exaggerator,' Sebastian told him. 'There must be much worse women in the world than Leonora.'
Cornelius ignored him and continued. 'And to make matters worse, he's having a romance.'
'A romance?' The Kid looked astounded. 'Who with?'
'Well, there's only one female on the ship, so take a wild guess.'
'Not Captain Swift?'
Cornelius nodded. 'Got it in one,' he said. 'I don't like these entanglements, Sebastian, they make everything so much more complicated.'
Sebastian rested his elbows on the rail. 'But we're not having a romance,' he argued. 'I think Jenna is interested in me, yes, but it's not as if I've done anything to encourage her.'
'You're in love with the captain!' sang the Kid, in a mocking falsetto voice.
'Am not!' said Sebastian.
'Are too!'
'Am not!'
'Are too—'
'Oh shut up!' said Cornelius.
They heard a creaking noise on the steps behind them and a big shaggy shape loomed out of the mist. They saw Max's mournful face staring at them. His nostrils were flared and he was snuffling the air, as though he could smell the approaching island.
'Did I hear someone shout "Land ho"?' he muttered.
'Yes. But how on earth did you get up here?' Sebastian asked him. 'The steps . . .'
'Very slippery,' Max assured him. 'It's a wonder I wasn't killed. I've a good mind to complain to Captain Swift.' He studied Sebastian for a moment. 'What did she want, by the way?'
'Never mind,' said Sebastian.
'I was right, wasn't I?' said Max triumphantly. 'She's after you.'
'She's not after anyone!' protested Sebastian. 'Look, could we please change the subject?'
'You were right, Max,' said Cornelius. 'I caught the two of them down in her cabin. Canoodling.'
Max wrinkled his nostrils in a show of distaste. 'I knew it,' he said. 'I could tell. It's a gift I have.'
'Will you all please just mind your own business?' yelled Sebastian. He turned at the sound of boots climbing the steps behind him, and there was Jenna, back in her more familiar garb of waistcoat and boots, strolling towards him, her face deadly serious. The Kid started to snigger and Cornelius jabbed an elbow into his ribs, silencing him.
'So, gentlemen,' said Jenna. 'The moment of truth.'
They all turned their attention back to the approaching island. In the approaching darkness they could see very little save for the outline of some rolling hills, heavily clad with jungle. A few dark shapes flapped silently above the treetops and were gone.
'Birds?' murmured Sebastian.
'Bats,' Cornelius corrected him. 'Filthy things. They come out at night and suck your blood.'
Max glared at him. 'Ever since the grundersnat, I can't tell if you're making stuff up or not,' he complained.
'Oh, I'm deadly serious,' Cornelius assured him. 'I've seen those things descend on a troop of men and suck them dry as husks in the blink of an eye.'
'You see,' cried Max. 'He does it on purpose! There I was, looking forward to being back on dry land, and you have to go and tell me something like that.'
'You'll be all right, old shaggy,' said Sebastian, reaching up and rubbing the buffalope's nose affectionately. 'No bat is going to get its fangs through your thick hide.'
Jenna moved in to rest on the rail beside Sebastian, but kept a discreet distance from him. 'It's getting too dark to do anything right now,' she said. 'We'll go ashore at first light.'
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