Marcus walked to the window near my cot.
In the distance, on the southwestern horizon, a wall of clouds darkened the evening sky. Lightning jumped inside the oncoming storm as another gust of wind pushed at the ship.
“Will we be safe?” I asked.
“Aye. Safe enough.”
Even though we were floating on the open water and an ominous wall of clouds was pushing its way toward us, something in his voice was soothing. Reassuring. He’d probably seen countless storms from this very window.
“Did you run away from home, like your mam?” he asked, his back toward me again.
There was no space in this room for guile or pretense. Something about Marcus made me want to be honest. “Aye.”
“Is your grandfather still alive?”
“Aye.”
He finally turned to me, leaning against the window ledge, his arms crossed.
We were closer now. I could see the lamplight flicker in his brown eyes. His gaze seemed to penetrate mine as he said, “And he doesn’t know where you are?”
Shame made my cheeks burn. “No.”
“And you have no one to search for you.”
It wasn’t a question, but a statement.
We stared at each other, and though I should have lowered my gaze, something compelled me to watch him. I felt like I was being put to a test—though I didn’t know the stakes—and I was afraid I might fail.
“Do you want to stay on theOcean Curse?”
I should have immediately shaken my head, but my traitorous heart seemed to have a mind of its own. Just because Marcus Zale intrigued me, it wasn’t a good reason to stay captive on a pirate ship.
“No,” I said. “I want to find my mother.”
The storm clouds were moving quickly toward us, and the wind had picked up. The ship began to move again.
“No one should be held against their will.”
My heart twisted with hope, and my mouth parted. Would he allow me to leave?
“When the opportunity arises,” he said, “I’ll help you escape. But I don’t want you to go from one bad situation to another. I’ll keep my eyes open for the right time.”
Tears threatened again, and I had to look away from him as I said, in a quiet, broken voice, “Truly?”
“Aye. The captain is willful and stubborn. He has no care for other people’s freedom and only has one thing in mind.”
“The Queen’s Dowry?”
“Aye,” he said again, this time with irritation tinging his Scottish brogue. “For twelve long years, every decision he’s made has been with the treasure in mind. He hopes to leave pirating and becomea gentleman one day, but he can’t do it unless he has the treasure. That’s why he chose you. You’re small and can fit into a diving bell to look for the treasure at the bottom of the ocean. But ’tis a dangerous job, and I don’t want you to do it. You cannot let him know I’m helping you escape.”
I was a lowly cabin boy, and Marcus Zale was the quartermaster of a massive pirate ship. He didn’t owe me an explanation or a promise to help me, but he was offering both.
Could I trust him?
My life experience in both timelines had taught me that almost everyone had an ulterior motive—even if it was a selfless one. Why did he want to help me?
He left the window and took a seat across from me at the table.
