“I ain’t hungry,” I muttered.
“You are a cunt.”Esmaralda chirped.
I gave her the finger.
“The captain’s cock is a truncheon!”she stated with reverence.
I rubbed my hands over my face.
Domingo set a plate in front of me.
“Here.You’ll like this.”
“I don’t want it.”
“It’s got powdered sugar on’t.Go on, take a bite.”
I eyed the lump of pastry on the plate.The treat did look tasty and smelled even better.But I sighed and pushed the plate away.
“What’s the bloody point?”
Domingo sighed and sat on the bench beside me.
“What’s the point?The point is, you need to keep your strength up.”
I shrugged.
Domingo pursed his lips.“Whatever this thing is, it’s trying to either kill you or drive you mad.And if you’re going to keep fighting, you need to be healthy and strong.”
“I’m not sure that’s the way magic works.”
“It’s the way people work.Now eat.Or I shall tell Mr Guthrie, in detail, all about our escapade in your rooms last week, in front of you.And you shall die of embarrassment.”
“I don’t care.Do your worst.”
He gaped at me, then narrowed his eyes.
“Oh, Mr Guthrie!”he called out, standing up and looking towards the back room.
“Eh?What do you want?”Guthrie said as he came out of the back galley where he’d been presumably preparing dinner.
“Well, you see, Guthrie, the other night I was invited to a bit of a shindig in the captain’s quarters.Where, you’d be interested to know, Dinesh and Rooster here fucked me to within an inch of my life, and gamahuched each other so much that—”
Guthrie turned bright red and slapped his hands over his ears.“I don’t want to hear this!”
“Stop.Stop right now.That’s not fair,” I protested.
“I told you I would do it.”
I stared at Domingo.Then I grabbed the pastry off my plate and bit off a chunk, chewing and swallowing before I realized how good the treat tasted.
“Oh.This is all right,” I said, words garbled.“I suppose I am hungry.Are there any more?”
Guthrie looked between me and Domingo with wide eyes and an expression of distaste.As Domingo went past him to get more pastries, he put a hand on Guthrie’s shoulder.
“I’m so sorry.I was only fooling.We only had a rather vigorous game of chess, you see.”
Guthrie looked doubtful, but he lowered his hands and cleared his throat.
