Rising tide - Mel Odom [90]
The revelation didn't surprise Jherek, but it did turn him a little cold wondering what the statement implied.
"Those men I knew," the captain went on. "I can't say that I always approved, but I did know them. I don't know you at all."
"I can cancel on her invitation," Jherek offered.
In fact, he thought it would take some pressure off if he was told not to go. He hadn't been able to turn the invitation down on his own. It wouldn't have been the right thing to do, especially to a lady.
The captain looked at him in disbelief. "You'd cancel eveningfeast with Sabyna on my say so?"
"Aye, sir. I'm just looking for passage to Baldur's Gate. I wouldn't want to cause any trouble."
Shaking his head, the captain laughed slightly. "Every manjack aboard this ship has tried to get close to her and she won't have any of them, and you were asked by her."
Jherek didn't see what that had to do with anything so he kept quiet.
"No," the captain said. "You go on to eveningfeast and have a good time, but I won't suffer to see that young woman hurt in any way."
"No, sir. Not by me."
"Prepare yourself for a treat. Sabyna is a good cook."
Dismissed, Jherek walked away, but he couldn't help wondering how the captain knew.
* * * * *
"Can I get you something to drink?"
"Water, please," Jherek replied, fidgeting.
"I've got a meager selection of wines," Sabyna offered.
"Water will be fine."
He stood just inside her doorway and gazed around at the tiny room that was her personal quarters. A small bookshelf covered one wall, filled with tomes and knickknacks that he felt were more personal items than magical ones. A miniature fold-out desk was built into another wall and pigeonholes held correspondence, files, and paper. At the moment, the desk doubled as a dining table. The chair was on one side of it instead of in front of it, and the bed was within reach of the desk on the other.
"Water it is. Have a seat," Sabyna invited.
She worked over a large food tray sitting on the floor. Dressed in breeches and a sleeveless yellow blouse, she looked more feminine than ever, and she smelled of lilacs.
Jherek took one look at the neatly made bed and felt as out of place as he'd ever felt before. He wore a long sleeved shirt to hide the tattoo, and his best breeches.
"Thanks," he said, and took the chair.
"Do you like spicy food?" she asked, removing covers from dishes on a tray she'd brought from the galley.
"Aye," he answered politely.
Food was food, and it got a man from one meal to the next. Madame litaar's dishes, made from the vegetables and fruits from her garden, had always been particularly pleasant, though.
"I got some of these recipes from another ship's mage who'd traveled to Maztica. Spices are part of the prime ingredients to any meal prepared there, she told me."
"It smells good."
"Thank you." Sabyna served out, putting portions of the different dishes onto plates and placing the plates on the desk. "Have you ever had Maztican food?"
"No."
"Then be careful."
Tense because of the closeness forced by the size of the room, Jherek followed her lead, taking a flat, thin piece of bread and mixing some of the vegetables she'd prepared with a cheese concoction. He wrapped it all in the bread then ate. He was surprised at how hot it was, but after the curry Hagagne and some of the others used aboard Butterfly he found it wasn't anything he couldn't handle. A sailor's palate wasn't a cultured thing, but it was sturdy enough.
"I saw the captain speaking to you."
"Aye."
"Did he warn you about me?"
Jherek worked at building another bread sandwich out of the ingredients, adding the spiced chicken chunks as well, and said, "Aye."
"There's not much I miss on this ship," Sabyna said. "I can't afford to and do a good job." She picked