Colin turned and planted his palms on the table, looking Duncan in the eye. “But what? What is it ye have to say?” Colin was in no mood to deal with insubordination. “Ye know where the shore is if ye canna follow orders.”
“Aye, Cap’n.”
Colin nodded. “That’s better. He’ll start tomorrow. I’m going to show him around the ship today.”
He led Sean out of the galley and down the hall to the men’s quarters. Hammocks hung from rafters and pallets were strewn everywhere. “This is where ye’ll sleep.” He told Sean, then continued down the narrow hallway until they came to the captain’s quarters. He opened the door and walked in, then waited for Sean to enter.
The lad looked around, taking everything in, eyes wide. The large four-poster bed, the writing desk in the corner. The navigational maps on the walls. He walked up to those, showing an interest in the coastal routes.
“Ye can read?”
His head bobbed up and down. “Aye. And I know numbers as well.”
“Do ye now?”
“I do. My da made sure to educate me in those areas. He said all good men needed to know those things.”
“Yer da was a smart man.”
“He was,” Sean agreed with a sniffle.
The last thing Colin wanted was to have the lad start crying, so he quickly changed the subject. “How well can ye read?”
Sean wiped his nose with the back of his hand. “Verra well.”
“Read to me.”
“Excuse me?”
He nodded to the shelf that held a pile of various documents and missives. “Grab something and read it to me.”
Biting his lower lip, such an odd trait for a lad, Colin thought as he watched him shuffle meekly to the stack of papers and pick up the one on top.
The boy perused it, then glanced at Colin over the top edge of the paper and cleared his throat. “The eighth of March, the year of our Lord one thousand four hundred and eighty-six. ‘Dear sir,’” he paused and looked at Colin apologetically. “I’m only reading what is written.”
Colin was impressed as he listened to the boy read the missive he’d received. “The ship ye previously inquired about,Hades Revenge, has been located in waters nearing Aberdeen.”
“That’s enough. Ye’re right. Ye read verra well. Especially for a lad so young.” Colin watched the boy shift from one foot to the other nervously. Something didn’t seem quite right with the lad. He seemed overly nervous, as if he were hiding something. But he didn’t pose a threat to anyone, so Colin chose to ignore the nagging feeling he had. At least for now.
“Ye’ll stay in here with me.”
Sean’s eyes widened. Was that fear? “But, the men’s quarters?”
“They arenae going anywhere. Yer reading skills will be of use to me. I’m in need of someone to audit my books. When ye’re done with Duncan in the galley on the morrow, come back here and I’ll get ye started.”
Mouth agape, Sean said nothing, before snapping his mouth shut and nodding.
“Good. I need to check on my crew. Feel free to look around the ship, but stay out of the way. The men have plenty to do without having to worry about a lad running underfoot.”
Chapter Six
Seonag breathed asigh of relief when Honey left her to oversee his crew. She nearly cried out when he stated she would be staying in his quarters with him. Pray tell, what was she going to do? If she was going to sleep with the rest of the men, she assumed she’d be able to blend in. They’d all be too busy to pay her any attention.
But with just her and Honey locked in a room together? She couldn’t think of a worse scenario. Why, oh why did she have to tell him she could read? And do numbers? She was in this awful situation because she couldn’t keep her mouth shut.
“Argh!” She sputtered in the empty room and then remembered the letter she was reading before Honey stopped her. She walked over to the desk where the letter sat and picked it up. It had mentioned her father’s ship. Sitting in the chair, she read on.
As you suspected, the ship is being manned by Storm Barr, Sean’s former quartermaster.Hades Revengedoesn’t appear to have suffered any damage and looks clean on all sides. My contact said he heard talk of gold coin hidden somewhere on the ship, but did not see it with his own eyes. The ship continues to head north up the east coast of the North Sea.
