Page 61 of Mardon

The door opened and Ramble walked in.

“Excuse me, my lady,” he told her. “I forgot to mention earlier, I keep some of my clothes in here. I just want to get a fresh tunic.”

“Of course. Go ahead.”

He dug down to the bottom of Aaron’s trunk, pulling out a tunic and holding it up. “Ah, here it is. Aaron lets me share his trunk since he doesn’t have enough to fill it.”

She eyed up the size of the tunic and had an idea.

“Do you have more of those?” she asked.

“Nay, just this one and a pair of hose. Oh, and I have boots in here somewhere, too.” He dug down to find them. “They were Aaron’s boots but he outgrew them. Plus, he never wears shoes so he gave them to me.” He held them up and showed them to her. “Nice, aren’t they?”

“We’re about the same size, wouldn’t you say?” she asked.

“What?” His smile disappeared. “Well, I know I’m small, but I’m still young yet. I’m sure I’ll grow to be the size of Mardon by the time I’m his age.”

“Of course, you will,” she said, looking at the clothes and boots and then glancing back at her trunk. “Ramble, I’m willing to make a deal with you. It’ll be a deal that you won’t be able to refuse.”

“I might be interested. What would ye need?”

“All I need from you is that tunic and hose and your boots. Also, bring me a pair of shears, a needle and some thread.”

“What for?” asked Ramble, not understanding at all.

“I have an idea, and I need to make a few adjustments.”

* * *

“So what do you think the clue means?” Aaron asked Mardon. Aaron was at the helm, taking his turn so Stitch could have a break.

“How the hell should I know?” Mardon stripped off his wet tunic and then his trews, standing there in nothing but his braies. He sat down on a barrel and stretched out his long legs, closing his eyes and turning his face up to the sun. He had been busy for the last few hours and hadn’t even had a chance to change out of his wet clothes.

“What are you doing?” asked Aaron.

“What do you think I’m doing?” With his eyes still closed, he let out a deep breath and ran a hand through his hair. “I’m trying to dry off from my near death experience earlier.”

“Aye, I can see that.”

“Then why the hell are you asking? You know I always dry my clothes in the sun.”

“Aye, but there are women on board now.”

“Relax, Brother. I’m sure Nairnie isn’t going to mind. It takes a lot to shock her.”

“Well, not just her. What about Emmaline?”

Mardon chuckled. “That won’t be a problem.”

“Oh, that’s right. She’s already . . . seen all that.”

“She didn’t seem to mind, either. As a matter of fact, I think she liked it. A lot.”

“Mardon, you’ve been distracted since the girl came onto the ship. You really need to focus on finding the treasure. We’ve got Emmaline back like you wanted, now let’s get the damned treasure.”

Mardon’s eyes opened. “What do you suggest?”

“I don’t know. All I know is that Nereus is looking for it, too. Last time, he beat us to the spot. This time, we need to move faster.”