SIX
THE COMBINATIONOF too many questions filling my mind and so much free time wasn’t a good one.
I’d spent the past two days thinking about Sandro, Edward, Rennie, and my parents without finding any connection. How had Sandro found me on board a ship? And if he’d been to Lisbon, how was he going to Tunis? Was he travelling on another cruise ship? Following me? Did he have a private ship of his own?
Detective Norton hadn’t discovered anything about the mysterious man who had attacked us or the elusive Scot, and I hadn’t spoken much with Rennie, not because I was avoiding him. He was busy with Detective Norton. Anyway, my lack of communication with him turned out to be a problem because the nausea was back with a vengeance.
As we approached Tunis, which sparkled with its blinding white houses and blue roofs, I was left with no choice but to ask Rennie for a sip of the green potion. A little shiver of dread ran up the back of my neck when I knocked on his door, the memory of the attack still fresh. Heck, the bruise was still there on my ribs to remind me of that kick.
“Rennie?” I said.
No answer.
I hadn’t seen him in the dining hall, and he didn’t like to stay on the deck and watch the view unless he was following me. Perhaps he was with Norton. Or was he being attacked again? I tried the knob. The door inched inwards.
“Rennie?” I called, sticking my head into the cabin.
No noise. The good news was that he wasn’t being attacked. I pushed the door open.
The bed was made. His clothes were neatly folded on the chair. His shoes sparkled with polish and were put aside in a corner. Even the pencils on the writing desk were arranged in a neat line. Military order if I’d ever seen it.
I stepped inside. I could have a very quick look around and search for the green potion without having to ask him anything.
I loitered on the threshold. Rummaging through someone else’s room wasn’t a decent thing to do. I should wait for Rennie and ask him. But in my defence, the little game of lies we’d been playing had put me in a tight spot. We both had secrets, and I wanted to see Sandro. So I felt authorised to sneak into Rennie’s room. Also, the nausea was becoming unbearable. I needed the green serum now. Sorry, Rennie.
A thrill of excitement made me giggle. I had more questions than ever about Sandro’s and Rennie’s secrets, but solving the mystery and sneaking around were fun. Finally, I was doing something dangerous and thrilling.
The click of the door shutting behind me sounded like thunder in the small room. I tiptoed to the nightstand and pulled open the drawer. A bunch of letters tied with a red ribbon lay on the bottom. There was a document folded in a corner. I perked up. The elegant, neat writing on the piece of paper belonged to my father.
The curiosity was causing my breath to hitch. Should I read it or not? Leave or stay? The good Monia my parents had raised said to leave. But the naughty Monia, who’d been lied to, said to stay. I was through with being polite. I hated being lied to.
The document was soft to the touch, as if it had been handled and unfolded many times. My hands shook as I unrolled it. The piece of paper was a contract between Father and Rennie.
Rennie had been hired to escort me during the trip around the Mediterranean Sea. Nothing new so far. I pressed my lips together as I read the list of clauses Rennie had to observe while working for my father. He had to take an oath that he would never, under any circumstances, touch me inappropriately, approach me with indecorous manners, or develop any romantic interest towards me, on pain of being expelled from the Royal Occult Bureau—the royal what? What in Hades was that?—and of being flogged until unconsciousness took him.
What? I wasn’t sure if I understood it correctly. Flogged?
What pile of horse dung was that? No one had been punished by flogging in England since... well, I had no idea, but it sounded mediaeval, to say the least. Also, how could Rennie avoid developing a romantic interest in someone? If he was attracted to someone, he couldn’t stop it, could he? And my goodness, he would be flogged. It was absolutely barbaric.
I folded the piece of paper and put it back in the drawer. If my parents didn’t want Rennie as my suitor, as I’d originally thought, then what was I doing here with him? Why were they against Sandro as my suitor? The only explanation was Rennie was protecting me from the assassins who wanted Sandro dead. But was a cruise a good idea? I’d be safer in the country where I could have as many bodyguards as my parents wanted. Unless the assassins were in England. My head was about to explode. Nothing made sense.
A vial of green potion rolled towards me when I shuffled the envelopes. I took it and slid it into my pocket, a hint of guilt stabbing my chest.
More confused than ever, I exited the cabin and shut the door behind me. The more I searched for answers, the more questions I found. I paused in front of Rennie’s cabin, rolling my bottom lip between my teeth and patting the vial in my pocket. Footsteps padded from the other side of the corridor. I shivered when Rennie walked towards me, suspicion tightening his face.
“What are you doing here?” he asked.
I straightened. “I wanted to tell you that... I don’t feel well,” I said in a moment of inspiration. “I’ll stay in my cabin, sleeping.”
“What’s the problem? Is it the pain in the ribs?”
“No, it’s another thing. A private thing. A thing I don’t wish to share.”
A little crease appeared between his eyebrows. “Fair enough. Is there anything I can do for you?”
Oh, bother. Guilt stabbed me again. He was so sweet while I’d just rummaged through his things. “No, thank you. I’m going to my cabin.”
“I’ll be here if you need me.”
