“You had no right,” he snarled.
“I had every right,” Roark growled back.“Your father entrusted me to see this plan through and to keep yourhotheaded temper in check.”
“No, he didn’t.”
“Yes.He did.”
“Don’t think I won’t ask him when we getback,” Leif grumbled.
“Do.But be ready to explain why.”
Leif drained his cup with one long swallow,the beer dripping down his chin into his beard, and then he threwthe empty cup onto the deck.“What are you looking at, bitch?”
Alina stepped back at the vitriol in hisvoice and the rage in his bloodshot eyes.
“Leave her alone, Leif,” Roark said, hisvoice deadly calm.“She has nothing to do with this.She doesn’teven understand what was said.”
“She understands you took her side and theirsagainst me well enough,” Leif said, whipping his arm out toward thecrew, who listened and watched and made no pretense of hidingit.
Roark took a deep breath in and blew it out,shaking his head and grinning good-naturedly.“You’re drunk,” hesaid.He slapped Leif on the shoulder and kept his hand there.“Youshould go below deck and sleep it off.”
“Yeah, yeah.”Leif let Roark guide him to thehatch.“Sleep sounds good.Not much else to do on this stinkingbarge.”
Roark helped Leif down the ladder and Alinamade her way over to the crew.She knew Roy spoke the Northerntongue, and she addressed herself to him.“I’m Alina,” she said.“May I know your names?”
The two who could be brothers and the cooklooked to Roy, who spoke for them.“I’m Roy,” he said.“This isDwyer, and Kerry and Kerwin.”
“Roy, Dwyer, Kerry, Kerwin,” Alina nodded toeach man in turn, and then looked from Kerry to Kerwin.“Brothers?”she asked.Roy nodded.“Twins?”
“Close enough,” Roy said.“They were bornonly ten moons apart.Kerry here,” he pointed to the stockierbrother, “be the oldest, and Kerwin be his baby brother.”
The brothers, knowing they were being talkedabout, grinned and jostled each other.
“I have brothers,” Alina told Roy.“My twin,and two younger brothers.”She thought of what they must be goingthrough, how worried they must be for her, especially Aleksi, whotried to hide his soft heart behind a tough exterior.“I missthem,” she sniffed and did nothing to stop the sudden welling oftears in her eyes.Better to let these men see her as a person, asister and a daughter who’d been ripped from her family.
Roy translated what she’d said and thebrothers nodded in sympathy.Alina glanced around.There was nobodyelse topside.
“Whatever Laird Roger is paying you to takeme to him,” she said, “my father will pay you double.”She held uptwo fingers.“If you turn around and take me back.”
“First ’a all,” Roy said, “Roger isn’t ourlaird.”Alina widened her eyes as if this was news to her.“Secondly, your father’s more likely to kill us for taking you thanhe would be to reward us for bringing you back.”
“Not if I told him I promised your safety,”Alina swore.
Roy translated what she said for the others,and Alina heard the name Roger spoken as the men whispered amongthemselves with plenty of curses and hand gestures.
“Despite our personal wishes,” Roy told her,“the decision is Captain Murtaugh’s.”
“And the captain will not go back on his dealwith Roger,” Roark said from behind her in the Northern tongue.“Nomatter how much your father might pay him.”He stepped up and stoodbeside her.“To help you do what you’re asking them, they would notonly have to mutiny against their captain, which could get themkilled, but what if they did manage to get you back to your father?Even if he didn’t kill them, what do you think Roger would do tothem and their families?”
***
Roark steered Alina away from the men as Royexplained what he’d said to her.
“I hadn’t thought of the consequences totheir families,” she said, sounding contrite.They stopped at therail to the bow.“You understand I had to try?”
“I do,” Roark told her.“In truth, I would’vebeen disappointed if you hadn’t.”
Alina tilted her head.“Why?”
