“Och, ye know he’s got a soft spot for those in need. Look at the lad. He’s underfed. Honey wouldna have turned him away.”
“Aye, but he’s just another mouth to feed. He’s too weak to be of any real help.”
Seonag blew out an exasperated breath and tried to block out the conversation happening around her. She struggled to move the cannon balls, but refused to give up.
“Sean,” a familiar voice called, but it took a few long moments before she realized he was talking to her.
She straightened and turned. Colin’s massive height had her putting her head all the way back so she could look up at him. “Aye, sir.” She bit her tongue, forgetting once again to not address him by the moniker he disliked. When she’d spoken with him yesterday she hadn’t realized he was so tall. Broad? Yes. His shoulders were massive.
And she was taller than most women, but he made her feel tiny, amongst other things.
Chapter Five
Colin watched thelad as he struggled with various tasks in relation to loading the ship and eventually failed with each one. It was obvious that physical labor was not the boy’s strong suit.
“Come with me, lad.”
The boy’s eyes widened.
“Ye’re fine. Leave the supplies to the men.”
“But I can help.”
Colin chuckled. “I think it best we leave the hauling to the crew. Let’s get ye on the ship.”
They walked side by side to the edge of the water. The lad was just a wisp. He had to take at least two steps to equal Colin’s one. Duncan wouldn’t be happy, but he could think of no other place besides the galley where the lad would be of use.
He entered the water to walk the last few paces to the boat and was ready to climb in when he noticed Sean wasn’t with him. “Well, what are ye waiting for? Ye scared to get yer toes wet?”
The lad jumped into action and hurried after him. “Sorry, sir.”
“I told ye, dinna call me sir.”
“Sorry.” They got into the boat and Mac grabbed the oars and began paddling them to theThe Hella. At the side of the ship, Colin pulled himself aboard and then turned to Sean, offering a hand. The lad placed his small hand in his and Colin shook it off and grabbed his arm and hefted his slight weight on board with no effort.
“Thank ye.” Sean said quietly.
“Follow me. I’ll give you a quick tour.” The boy followed close on his heels as he made his way below deck. He pointed to a small room. “This is our storage room. It’s where we keep our food and ale. The door is usually locked and Duncan and I are the only ones with a key.” He showed her a length of cord wound through a key and tied around his tanned neck.
“Who’s Duncan?”
“One of my best men, but he also serves as our cook. At one point I had the men taking turns, but we soon discovered none of them could cook anything worth eating besides Duncan, so now he’s the cook, whether he likes it or no’.”
“I can cook, hopefully as well as he can.”
“So, ye’ve said. I’ll put yer skills to the test. Lord knows, the meals Duncan feeds us are barely edible.” He continued walking. “Galley is over here.”
Duncan was hunched over the table, knife in hand when they walked in. He paused mid-slice and narrowed his eyes at Sean. “Cap’n. Who do ye have there?” He pointed the knife in Sean’s direction.
“I’ve brought ye some help.”
“I dinna need any help.”
The man was right. He’d been a member of Colin’s crew since the beginning and he was more than capable of feeding the crew with no help. Working alone hadn’t hindered him in the past.
Colin leveled him with a stare. “Ye do need help. He says he can cook. Mayhap, ye can learn from each other.”
“But…”
