Gemini - Dorothy Dunnett [134]
Henry de St Pol was pale when he arrived, but he arrived. And Nicholas, pulling him in as if his own breathing had not stopped, began talking at once of the rigging, the cargo, the sailing qualities, punctuated after a moment by breathless comments from Henry, and Jodi’s eager voice. Then Yare shouted again, from below, and Nicholas said, ‘Mind you, it’s even better out at sea, but perhaps not with this wind.’
‘I’ve been out in worse,’ Henry said.
‘I suppose we all have,’ Nicholas said. ‘But if we sail, we couldn’t get off until Berwick. The King would dismiss you.’
‘I have three days free,’ Henry said. ‘More, if I wanted. I could send a message.’ His knuckles were white, his eyes dark.
Nicholas said, ‘Wait a moment. No clothes! And Jodi and I were going home.’
‘I like Berwick,’ said Jodi. ‘Master Yare or Master Brown would have clothes.’
Nicholas looked at them, frowning. ‘Dammit,’ he said. ‘Shall we sail?’
The ship leaned over and back. ‘I don’t mind,’ Henry said.
NICHOLAS DIDN’T KEEP them long on the top: only for so long as it took for the Marie to edge out of the Water of Leith and head south. Then he took them below and remarked that he was hungry. So were they. Jodi said, ‘I’ll tell Master Yare,’ and went off.
Nicholas, peeling off his boat-cloak beside Henry, said, ‘Thank God he’s reasonably good at this stuff. You don’t mind keeping an eye on him? You must have done a lot of small-boat sailing as well. What’s the water like round Funchal?’
Then food came, and ale which Henry rather indulged in, so that when Nicholas, his meal over, left to make a quick round of the ship, he returned to find the representative of the King’s Guard fast asleep on a bench, with someone’s old cloak wrapped about him. Tom Yare had carried off Jodi.
Tom Yare said, ‘No, I don’t mind, and neither does Alec. But I thought the St Pols were after your hide? You might woo the boy, if you’re lucky, but what if something goes wrong? Accidents happen. If Henry is buried at sea, his grandfather will have you buried on land.’
‘You sound as if you can’t sail this ship,’ Nicholas said. ‘Nothing will happen. Neither are we going to fall in love and marry each other in three days. Henry may not commit actual murder, but he’ll still offend the crew, and madden Alec and you, and snap at me or Jodi whenever he’s worried. On the other hand—’
‘I know. You can’t help admiring him. There were sixteen men down here watching the style of him as he worked up those ropes, however nervous he was. A comely man draws the eye, and makes men lenient.’
‘All right,’ Nicholas said. ‘So long as no one gets too excited. His grandfather will bury me also if he finds I’ve diverted his line by implanting a new taste for sailors.’
All his predictions were correct. He kept Jodi beside him, so that he had some protection when Henry lost his nerve or his temper. But Henry let fly with his tongue, not his sword or his fists, and never at any time was Veere mentioned, or anything that had happened between Henry and Nicholas in the past. And Jodi had been well primed. When an argument arose, he just opened his grey eyes on Henry and said, ‘I don’t agree,’ and walked out. And when Henry said, ‘Oh yes! Run to your father!’ Jodi just said, ‘Well, you’re older than me.’ And quite often that silenced him.
The best times were the times of danger when, triumphant after some crisis, Henry would joke with the crew, as he heard his captain joke with the Guard after a contest, and join Tom or Alec or Nicholas over a tankard in the cabin and talk it all over. Once Nicholas said, ‘Does everyone call you Henry? No short name?’
‘There aren’t any,