Inferno
Page 14
Bebbington leaned over the table. “Don’t quote me, but I’m sure my employer won’t mind if you throw one or two overboard,” he whispered. “Lightens the load and serves as a warning to the others. Two birds with one stone, eh?”
Captain Tucker looked sick.
Bebbington stood up abruptly. “You have your orders,” he said. “The Dreadnought will sail on the fourteenth, as agreed. Oh, cheer up, damn you! This time next year, you will be a rich man.”
Tucker swept his hat on to his head. “Your obedient servant, sir,” he said. He stumbled out of the inn without a backward glance.
The night was cold and a sea mist had drifted in. It quickly leeched away what little warmth the wine he’d drunk had provided. Tucker pulled his coat around him and cursed the weather, the sea, that fat pig Bebbington and his blasted employer most of all.
Up ahead, the looming shape of the Dreadnought made Tucker shiver even more. He thought of three hundred convicts, crammed into that fragile wooden hull. Desperate sorts, all of them. Thieves. Beggars. Scum, with nothing to lose.
Suddenly he was very afraid.
“Damned souls,” he whispered hoarsely to himself. “And me, the captain of the ship chartered to take them down to Hell.”
Meanwhile, back at the inn, Bebbington was welcoming a colleague to his table.
“You talked him round, then?” the man asked. “I thought he was going to swing for you for a moment.”
“Men of the sea are like dogs,” Bebbington said, with a tight smile. “They’re not happy unless you keep them in their place. Whip ’em once in a while. Show ’em who’s boss.”
“He’ll sail?”
“He must. And he knows it.”
“Then here’s to prosperity,” the man said, raising his glass. “Gold uncounted. Riches galore.”
“A fair wind, a calm sea, and hundreds of golden guineas in the bank,” Bebbington agreed.
They clinked glasses and drank.
Bebbington smacked his lips. “I can’t wait to tell Mister Vale the good news. He’ll be so pleased with the two of us!”
Read New World to find out what happens next!
Other titles from the Secrets & Spies series – Treason
The year is 1664, and somebody wants the King dead. One November morning, a mysterious ghost ship drifts up the Thames. Sent to investigate, fourteen-year-old Beth quickly finds herself embroiled in a dangerous adventure that takes her right into the Tower of London. Will Beth be able to unravel the plot to kill the King before it’s too late?
Plague
A terrible plague is sweeping through London, and Beth and her company of actors are sent to Oxford to entertain the King’s court, which has decamped to avoid the deadly disease. However, Beth soon finds herself recalled to London by spymaster Alan Strange, and together with her friends and fellow spies, she must uncover a conspiracy that is taking advantage of the turmoil in the capital. A conspiracy that leads right to the seat of power...
New World
When it seems Henry Vale is planning to extend his conspiracy to kill the King to an elaborate plot in the Americas, Beth is offered the role of a lifetime. Strange, her spymaster, requests that Beth and her fellow spies travel to the new world to maintain their close surveillance of the would-be king-killer. But will their passage across the ocean be interrupted before it even begins?
Curious Fox
For more exciting books from brilliant authors, follow the fox!
www.curious-fox.com