“To what destination?”
After a slight hesitation, she said, “Where is the princess going?”
“Now, how would I know that?”
Kendra said, “Okay, what is the most expensive passage I can buy? And where will it get me to?”
The scowl faded into a sly grin that indicated no humor. “It will get you right back here if you buy a round-trip ticket.”
“Then sell us a ticket to the farthest port—without the return trip. Three cabins, the nicest you have available, please.” Kendra managed to keep her tone civil.
Consulting a sheet in front of her, the woman ran a dirty fingernail down the entries. “Sorry, only one cabin available.”
“We’ll take it,” I said.
The woman looked up with a hint of compassion in her eyes for the first time. “You haven’t sailed before, I take it?”
“No,” I admitted.
She spread her short arms out wide, then adjusted the span to a narrower length. “The cabin is this wide. Two hammocks to trice, one above the other, so you have enough room to change your mind if there are only two of you. It’s below the waterline, so it’s wet and it smells of rot and mold.” Her eyes went to the girls.
Kendra said, “The girls go with us. We’ll manage in the cabin.”
“Extra cost for food for four. I don’t know how four will fit into the cabin at the same time. You might consider sleeping in shifts, but it’s your cabin if you have the coin.”
Kendra pulled her purse and waited. The sour-faced woman calculated her numbers. She gave Kendra the price and my sister counted out the exact amount before saying, “The king’s exchequer will review the cost before reimbursing me, of course.”
“Oh, there may be a miscalculation, I fear.” She scribbled a few more numbers and quoted a far lower number.
“When may we board?” Kendra asked with a superior tone now that she had caught the woman trying to cheat us even as she gave us good advice.
The woman handed her a signed receipt and said, “Any time before midday, but I’d suggest you spend part of that time gathering food for yourselves since you have not had the pleasure of sailing and the food served. Apples, smoked meat, hard crackers, anything that will help you avoid the ship’s food. You can’t cook on a ship, of course. Fires sink ships.”
It was good advice. On the way out, I left a half-copper on the counter and received a wink in exchange for her suggestions despite her attempt to cheat us. We went shopping, gathering the recommended items as well as a few others. Kendra tracked down the royal escort officer and told him where our horses were. She ordered him to take charge of them. She also explained Alexis was a gift from the princess and she would expect the horse to be treated as such. He assured us he would see them returned home safely.
I wished to return to the inn to say goodbye to Flame and gather our belongings from the watchful eye of the innkeeper. I needed my sword and new bow if nothing else. Kendra wore her new double-ended throwing knives, of course. We hurried back and reclaimed our belongings but saw no sign of Flame. Instead of eating there, we opted for a hot meal of stew in a restaurant near the waterfront with a view of the Gallant, the ship we would sail on as the tide turned. The current would help us move down the river, and out into the sea, we were told.
Not understanding our intent, the girls giggled, ate, and laughed out loud as I mispronounced words on the sheet in my hand until I suspected Penna had provided the wrong ones. However, Kendra assured me that was simply the way girls of that age acted when any adult made a simple mistake, and they knew the answer.
We sat at a small table on the wooden walk outside where we could watch the Gallant, hoping to see the princess and further hoping another passenger would arrive at our side and explain her actions. Instead, we saw cargo lifted by a crane and placed in the holds. Sailors did seamanship things, painting, cleaning, and repairing all manner of ropes, sails, and lashing cargo on board. When the ship sailed later, most of the work would be finished. For now, it all seemed confusing.
When the last of the cargo was aboard, and the activity on the pier slowed, we knew it was time to depart the restaurant. We gathered our few belongings and our sacks of food and walked down the slope to the ship where a man with gold braid on his sleeve waited impatiently at the top of the ramp for us.
“We were beginning to wonder,” he said in a voice with an accent I’d never had heard, a sort of twangy way of pronouncing each word. His eyes glanced cautiously at my sword and bow, both of which were carried in my hands instead of worn.
Kendra said, “We were told the ship wouldn’t sail until midday.”
“And here it is,” he said in a snide voice. “Midday. You’re the last to arrive. I am the ship’s purser.” Then he turned to another sailor and told him to lift the gangplank and standby to remove several lines from the pier. He turned back to us and continued, “We’ve been waiting a short while and would have soon sailed without you. In the future, please arrive well before we sail. If you’ll follow me, I’ll escort you below to your quarters. Were you told the cabin you’re assigned to was intended for two? Ah, two people of very limited means.”
“We were,” Kendra said shortly. “We’ll make do since it is all you have available. And thank you for waiting. We didn’t know the ship was ready to go.”
He moved across the deck with easy familiarity, dodging workers in one area, and circling wet white paint in another where there appeared to be layers and layers of paint. He opened a door, and instead of standing aside as manners on land dictate, he ducked and entered first. We trailed behind in the narrow passages and down a fixed wooden ladder one deck below, then another. The passages on the lower decks were so narrow we all had to turn sideways to move, and the question of accommodating obese people came to mind. Were they denied sea travel? The obvious answer was that people who could afford a steady diet of good food wouldn’t book passage below decks.
Ahead, a crewman approached and opened a cabin door to stand aside while we passed. The officer moved to the end of the passage and opened a door with a numeral two on a dull brass plate. Across from it on the other side was number one. Ahead of him, the passage ended with the point of the bow. We were as far forward in the ship as possible.
The cabin, if it was proper to call the tiny space that, was smaller even than the booking agent had indicated. The outer wall of the cabin was the hull of the ship as it bent sharply forward to the bow, and it slanted downward and inward, leaving barely enough room for our feet if the door was closed. The ceiling brushed the top of my head.
The forward wall and the rear had stout iron rings mounted, one above the other. At the forward rings hung two hammocks. The obvious solution was to stretch the hammocks to the rings at the rear for sleeping. There was no porthole. The air was thick and smelled of things better left unspoken. However, a metal chamber pot with a hinged lid explained part of it.
Kendra raised her chin slightly, an action that must have been difficult under the circumstances. She wouldn’t complain, therefore neither would I. If the girls could speak our language, they would have made up for both of us if their expressions were accurate indicators of their adverse feelings.
The officer excused himself and crabbed back down the passageway. Kendra looked at me and said, “At least we won’t forget where our cabin is located. Here, give me your bag of food, sword, bow, and we’ll try to organize things a little.”
At first, I believed her joking. There was nothing and no place to organize, from the little I could see, which was all of the few things we’d brought aboard in the tiny space. However, I was wrong again. On the forward bulkhead protruded several random nails of various sizes. She consolidated the food into three bags, using a method to sort that wasn’t apparent to me, and hung them. Our heavy outerwear was likewise hung, and she strung the hammocks while examining them critically for insects or filth. The dirty, heavy canvas had been white a long time ago.