Devil's Rock - Chris Speyer [74]
Zaki taught Anusha how to adjust the sails to suit the wind. During their lesson, the wind picked up and Zaki showed Anusha how to tuck her toes under the foot strap and lean out to keep the boat upright.
‘Ever fallen out?’ asked Anusha, as they both threw their weight back, leaning out as far as they could to balance a fresh gust.
‘Not yet!’ laughed Zaki.
‘Hey, yeah! I could learn to like this!’ shouted Anusha as the dinghy took off, skimming across the water in a flurry of spray.
‘Look there!’ Anusha pointed to something behind them.
Zaki saw the distinctive cotton sails and black hull of Curlew as she rounded the point and entered The Bag.
‘Do you think she’s following us?’
Zaki shook his head. ‘But let’s keep out of sight and see where she goes.’ He looked around for a suitable hiding place and spotted the high sides of Queen of the Dart. ‘Over there – we’ll tuck ourselves in behind my grandad’s boat. Get your head down, I’m going to gybe.’
‘What?’
‘Head down!’
Anusha ducked just as the boom whizzed over her head. ‘Does it have to do that?’
‘’Fraid so. Now, get ready to drop the sails. Those two ropes on the mast – let them go when we’re alongside.’
Hidden from view, they waited until they saw Curlew’s sails pass by on the other side, then Zaki eased the dinghy forward so that they could peep around the bow of the motorboat. Curlew turned into Frogmore Creek, dropped her sails and let go of the anchor.
‘Can I borrow your dinghy?’
‘What do you mean?’
‘I mean, I want to go and talk to her.’ Anusha’s voice was determined.
‘But . . .’
‘Don’t worry. I can row that far.’ The determination in her voice had a nervous edge.
‘I don’t know . . .’
‘This is your grandad’s motorboat, right? So you can wait here. Look, it’s the perfect opportunity.’
She was right, and yet . . .
‘Listen! I’m going – so get out of the boat!’
Reluctantly, Zaki climbed on to Queen of the Dart.
Anusha slotted the rowlocks into place, drifted for a moment while she arranged her oars and then began to row towards the mouth of the creek. At first, her progress was a little erratic and her path far from straight, but she kept at it and the distance between the dinghy and Curlew gradually closed.
Watching from the deck of the motorboat, Zaki saw Rhiannon reach down and take hold of the dinghy as Anusha came alongside. Anusha scrambled on to Curlew and she and Rhiannon stood facing each other in the cockpit. Zaki did not need to hear what was being said to know that Anusha was not being made to feel welcome. Rhiannon’s arms were folded and her head tipped slightly back. It looked as if she would order Anusha off her boat at any moment. But Anusha was doing all the talking; she was gesturing with her hands – explaining, perhaps even pleading. Then Zaki saw her lean slightly towards Rhiannon and place her hand on the stiffly folded arms. They stood frozen, neither saying anything, looking into each other’s faces, until Rhiannon let her arms fall to her sides and indicated that they should sit down.
Round one to Anusha, Zaki thought.
Now they sat, their two heads close together. Anusha was still the more animated of the two, obviously asking lots of questions. At first, Rhiannon hardly looked at her and seemed to say little in reply. Then something Anusha asked made Rhiannon sit up and turn towards her. Now it was Anusha who hung her head and listened. Zaki was too far away to read the expression on Anusha’s face.
At last, they both stood up. Anusha asked one last question and Rhiannon shook her head.
They looked over towards him and he wondered if he should wave but decided against it. Rhiannon held the dinghy while Anusha stepped into it. She waited on deck until Anusha had pushed off and begun rowing back across to Queen of the Dart, then went below into Curlew’s cabin.
Soon the dinghy was alongside and Anusha climbed up beside Zaki. She brushed away the hair that the wind had blown across her