Out you come, said the captain and Hal reached up and took the extended hand. He almost groaned from the stiffness in his shoulders, back, and legs as was glad for the help up. He pulled Ty out and in turn they helped the Princess and Lady Gabriella out of the cramped hiding hole. No troubles, then? asked Hal.
No, said the captain. This one took to haggling a bit longer than usual on the price of the fine for the bag of Dream, and I didnt want to make him suspicious by agreeing too quickly to the fee for safe passage. It may be Lady Franciezkas gold Im bribing him with, but I had to act as if it was my own.
You bribed him?
Not a ship leaving Roldem gets past that Keshian picket without a hefty bribe, sir. The captain grinned. Its why I think the Kingdom wins the war at sea. Less corruption, you see, almost as hide-bound as Roldems fleet; comes from being island kingdoms, I expect. If I tried to bribe a Kingdom picket captain, well, Id be clapped in irons and my ship impounded straight away. He glanced at the ladies as they adjusted crumpled clothing and said, Id wait a bit, but soon youll be free to come up on deck and get some air.
Ty said, We need it.
Ty said, We need it.
It was a bit close in there, said the Princess. She glanced at Hal and gave him a small smile.
Lady Gabriella shot Ty an appraising look. You didnt seem to mind.
Ty had the good grace to flush. Lady, I assure you
No insult, sir, she said with a slightly mocking tone. You were as much a gentleman as the circumstances allowed. Then she added, sotto voce, Which wasnt much.
Hal laughed. Shes onto you, Ty.
Shaking his head Ty said, Apparently so. Anyone thirsty besides me?
When affirmative replies were voiced, he said, Ill see about getting something to drink, wine perhaps if they have it?
On this ship? said Hal. Spirits most likely, or ale, but Ill settle for fresh water. He indicated the almost depleted water skins.
As will I, said Stephane.
Ty stepped out of the cabin and was back inside moments later. Sailor says hell fetch us something.
An awkward silence followed as the four waited. The two young men had various encounters with young woman in their day, but neither had been forced into such familiarity with ladies of rank. Now that the immediate danger was past, Hal was profoundly aware of just how close he had been to the Princess. Silently he cursed to himself; did her skin have to be that soft? He forced himself to take a breath and studied the object of his affection. She seemed lost in her own thoughts; or perhaps she was avoiding eye contact.
Something similar seemed to be going on with Lady Gabriella and Ty, though Hal thought she seemed amused by Tys awkwardness rather than embarrassed.
It was hard to judge. Even after all this time in close quarters, Hal knew next to nothing about her. She was a big woman, but there was nothing about her plump or soft. Her face was classically beautiful, with her brown eyes and a nose that was straight and delicate, her mouth occasionally revealing a stunning smile. In her leather travel togs, she looked as if shed fit right in at Crydee, and Hal could imagine her riding next to Bethany on the hunt.
Thinking of Bethany he realized he had barely spared her a thought, or at least no more than he had his brothers and parents, since coming east. He missed Crydee, and worried how his family fared now that war had come, but he felt no more for Bethany than before he had left the West. She was nothing like the Princess, who was everything he expected in a court lady: more, she was his perfect image of a princess.
What Hal found remarkable about Stephane was she was tough; not strong in an overt fashion, in the way Bethany or Gabriella were, but she had a subtle toughness, a resilience, an ability to face threat quietly and with dignity, rather than crumbling before what must certainly be the most terrifying experience of her life. The most eligible woman in the Sea of Kingdoms, the most sought-after bride in recent history, she had been spirited from her home in the middle of the night, away from her family for the first time in her life, hidden from men determined to capture her and use her for their own political ends, risking dangers undreamed of in her life, yet here she sat, quietly chatting, composed and showing glimpses of humour, and calm.
Hal realized he was falling desperately in love with her.
He buried such emotions deep inside. His father had always expected him to marry Bethany, but had often talked of political marriages for Martin and Brendan. This much Hal knew: his wife, if it wasnt Bethany, would be a woman who gained some political advantage for Crydee, and the marriage would be a benefit to the Kingdom as a whole, or at least the Western Realm. And in this time of war, who knew what that might mean? But if it was Bethany, it would be a woman he loved already, even if it was as a sister, and one who would prove to be worthy of all the devotion he could provide. He closed his eyes a second and tried to will his mind away from his true feelings.
Moments later, the door to the cabin opened and the captain stuck his head in. Its time.
They rose and followed him up to the main deck.
The departure went quickly and quietly. A dinghy rigged with a sail was already halfway over the side by the time they had reached the deck and a rope ladder was thrown down. Ty and Hal were first over the side, followed by the Princess and Lady Gabriella. The captain had pointed the heading and Hal and Ty fixed their position by the early morning stars and shoved off.
The sail had proven problematic as the boat tended to drift to port, but as they were aiming for a long stretch of Kingdom coastline, a slight deviation from their course shouldnt be a problem. Either side of the Kingdom city of Ran would be acceptable, and should they spy the harbour, all the better.
There was little conversation as the women huddled under a great cloak provided by the captain against the nights chill. The two young men were intent upon keeping their course as the sun rose and when it did they thought they could see land.
Hal pointed to a brown smudge to the northwest and said, Head for that!
Ty nodded. If Hal was correct that smudge would be cooking fires from a coastal town or even the port of Ran. The wind rose with the morning sun, a spanking breeze but from the north-west, forcing them to tack on some very long reaches. Hal sat at the tiller with Lady Gabriella and the Princess sitting on the windward side of the boat, while Ty waited in the bow ready to haul on the sheet to trim the single sail. Each time they shifted course, Hal had to duck his head under the wide swinging boom while the girls ducked down and waited, then shifted to the opposite side of the dinghy.
The coast grew progressively closer each time they swung to the north, but as they were almost sailing into the teeth of the wind it made for slow going. Two hours after sunrise, Ty shouted, Sails, off to port!
Ty risked standing for a moment, then sat down again and said, That cant be the Keshian picket. We havent sailed that far.
Ty shielded his face from the low sun. Finally he said, I see red sails!
Oh, bloody hell, said Hal. Pirates.
Ty said, Thats a Ceresian raiding fleet or Im a duck. Turn about and make a run for the coast!
Ready about! Hal cried warning he was turning the boat hard, and to be wary of the swinging boom. It would be very inconvenient if someone fell over the side at that moment. The girls ducked as he pulled on the tiller, saying, Hard alee!
The two women moved swiftly to the windward side of the boat and Hal lost any concern for a cautious approach to the coast. He shouted to Ty, Are we seen?
As low as their boat was to the water and as far as they were from the sails, it was possible that they would go unnoticed by any lookouts aloft on the pirate ships.
I cant tell! Ty called back. Then he pointed. Look!
The brown smudge they had first spied was resolving itself into a column of smoke rising from fires along the coast. As they were heading straight to it, it quickly became apparent this was a coastal raid.
Where are we? shouted Hal.
I dont know, answered Ty. Thats too small to be Ran. Lister perhaps? Or maybe Michaelsberg?
The air now had the acrid tang of smoke and was turning hazy as they were sailing directly into the wind as best as Hal could manage. Their eyes teared from the sting and Gabriella sneezed.
Weve got to get out of here, said Ty.
Hal pulled gently against the tiller until the sails started to luff. He was gauging when best to turn back towards the coast on a long tack away from the fight.
Weve got to get out of here, said Ty.
Hal pulled gently against the tiller until the sails started to luff. He was gauging when best to turn back towards the coast on a long tack away from the fight.
Ty said, That ship were following is slowing!
Hal stood slightly to look over the girls heads. Theyre trimming sails.
Suddenly they were running straight at the stern of the ship and Hal shouted, Ready about!
The girls ducked as Hal turned the boat and the wind blew away a particularly hazy patch of smoke so that the sterncastle of the ship they had been trailing could now be clearly seen.
The three-masted ship heeled over slightly as the crew adjusted the sails and Ty shouted, Its a Ceresian dromon! This one was painted black with red trim around the rails, and the sails were dark red tanbark. The ship was common to Kesh, but many such had found their ways north to the shores of the Eastern Kingdoms. Usually crewed by forty to sixty men, plus a bank of rowers, they were not as fast as Kingdom ships but their shallow draft and lateen sails allowed them to sail much closer into shore than the deepwater square-masted Kingdom frigates. And in close, with the rowers providing the power, they were good for short bursts of speed that could bring them into contact with their prey before a ship with only sails could manoeuvre away.
A lookout on the stern chanced to turn; he saw the small dinghy, pointed and shouted.