“Where is Ned?” the captain asked as we mounted the steps.
“Can we speak in your cabin?” Marcus asked.
The captain’s jaw clenched, and his eyes were hard with anger. He spun on his heel and walked toward the outer room.
Hawk remained outside, as was his custom, but Marcus and I followed the captain into his cabin.
When the door was closed, the captain demanded an answer. “Where is Ned?”
“Left. In the middle of the night.”
It took a second for the information to sink in, but when it did, the captain lowered himself into the chair and looked at the floor. I’d never seen him so defeated. If I hadn’t known that Ned was his mistress, his behavior would have puzzled me.
But he didn’t seem surprised. He almost seemed resigned to her parting.
Marcus waited a few moments and then said, “We have some good news for you. There is a sailor on board who claims his father knows where the Queen’s Dowry is located.”
The captain slowly lifted his face. “Who claims this?”
I stepped out from behind Marcus and said, “His name is Timothy. His father was a pirate—”
“What’s his father’s name?” the captain demanded.
“I don’t know.”
“Bring him to me.”
Marcus nodded in my direction, and I left the captain’s cabin to locate Timothy. I hoped I wasn’t getting the young man in trouble.
It didn’t take me long to find him. He was darning a pair of socks on the main deck, and when he saw me approach, he grinned.
“The captain wants to see you,” I said, not returning his smile.
He frowned. “The captain has never wanted to see me before. What did I do wrong?”
I had to be honest with him. “I told him about your father, about how he knows where the Queen’s Dowry is located.”
Timothy’s mouth slipped open, and he quickly put aside his darning needle and stood. “I gave you no leave to tell the captain!”
“I’m sorry, I—” How could I explain myself? “I need to get to Boston, and I knew it was the only way the captain would agree to go. We could both be done with theOcean Curse. You could return home. You won’t have to remain a captive any longer.”
“I don’t know if my father will tell him where the treasure is located. I don’t even know if the story is true or if it was a fairy tale my father told me to get me to sleep.”
“Wouldn’t you like a reason to go home? Get off this pirate ship and have your life back?”
That seemed to appeal to Timothy, and he slowly nodded. “Aye. It would be good to see my little sisters again.”
“You could start over,” I told him. “Do something good with your life.”
He sighed and said, “Come. Let’s get this over with.”
We returned to the captain’s cabin. Marcus was by the window, and the captain was pacing near the table.
Timothy paused at the sight of the captain, his ruddy cheeks paling with uncertainty.
The captain stopped pacing and demanded, “Who are you, boy?”
“Timothy Ludlow, sir.”
