“I suppose I might have seen him peeking at me a little,” Rhonda admitted. “But you know it’s for —”
“Oh, good grief,” interrupted Kate, already at the door. “He won’t want to miss Moocho’s pie, will he?”
Reynie took a chair between Miss Perumal and her mother, both of whom patted him affectionately. They couldn’t have him close enough these days — Miss Perumal looked anxious every time he left the room — and Reynie had been patted so often he worried he might be ground to dust. (“Consider yourself lucky,” Miss Perumal had said the day before, when he’d jokingly complained about it, “that the pats aren’t significantly harder.” And she’d fixed him with such a stern look that Reynie reminded himself not to make such jokes in the future. His return had been greeted with enormous relief and happiness, but like Sticky he’d also found himself in considerable trouble.)
Across the table, Constance had taken a chair next to Mr. Benedict, and making a sly grab for the sugar bowl (which Rhonda quickly slid out of reach), she announced that Captain Noland and Cannonball had just arrived. The Washingtons and Perumals looked at her curiously, for it seemed impossible that she could know this, and Miss Perumal’s mother said in a too-loud voice that she must have misheard what Constance said — was it something about lowlands and cannonballs? — but Sticky went straight to the window. He saw an annoyed-looking Mr. Bane scraping falcon droppings from the gate, and Madge perched in the elm tree looking satisfied, but no captain or Cannonball. Drawing a chair to the window (because of his bandaged hands, he had to hug it awkwardly between his arms), Sticky climbed up for a better view.
“I don’t see them,” he said finally.
“Oh, they’re already inside,” Constance said. “Mr. Bane let them in. He wasn’t happy about it, either, but I suppose Mr. Benedict told him he must.”
“I did indeed,” said Mr. Benedict.
Sticky scowled. “You let me drag this chair over and stare all around even though you knew they weren’t outside? Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because it was funny to see you do it,” Constance said.
The Perumals and Mr. Washington were looking more and more confused by all this, but Mrs. Washington was distracted by Sticky’s risk-taking behavior. “Do get down from there before you fall,” she said, pressing a hand to her forehead. “You make me so nervous.”
Sticky started to argue, thought better of it, and finally sighed and stepped down from the chair just as Captain Noland and Cannonball appeared in the dining room doorway. They were welcomed with a great deal of enthusiasm, which the men gladly returned. Indeed, Cannonball’s natural enthusiasm overpowered everyone else’s, and by the time they were all seated again, Sticky was wearing Cannonball’s cap and Reynie’s hair was frightfully mussed from tousling. Miss Perumal, having heard of the captain’s love of coffee, had already set him a cup of Moocho Brazos’s gourmet brew. Captain Noland expressed his thanks and lost no time in taking a sip. He smiled — it was a very strained smile, Reynie thought — and set the cup carefully back onto its saucer. Still smiling, the captain twitched, swallowed, and politely commented upon the coffee’s excellence. He did not touch his cup again.
After some moments of friendly, boisterous conversation, Mr. Benedict tapped his teacup with a spoon. “Will you all please turn your attention to Phil? I understand he’s pressed for time, and he has a few things he wants to say before he goes.”
Captain Noland looked up and down the table. For a man who had just wrecked his ship — and, as a result, his cherished career — he seemed perfectly happy, even exuberant. At the same time, there was a hint of sheepishness in his manner, which was quickly explained when he said, “If you will indulge me, everyone, I have some apologies to make — apologies and explanations. Especially to you, Reynie. I’m afraid once we were aboard the patrol boats there was too much confusion for us to talk. I’m very glad to have the chance now. Ah, and here’s Kate, just in time!”
Kate had entered the room frowning — she’d failed to wake Milligan up from his “sleep” — but she brightened when she saw Captain Noland and Cannonball. After a hearty exchange of greetings, she took her seat, and the captain resumed his speech.
He looked at each of the children in turn. “I realize how distressed you all must have been when you reached the bay shore and the Shortcut wasn’t there yet. I want you to know that my delay wasn’t a result of indecision. I simply thought it best to time our arrival exactly. Reynie’s note said to meet you in two hours. I feared that if your pursuers hadn’t found you yet, the Shortcut’s early arrival might tip them off. As you saw for yourselves, there’s no discreet way to ground an ocean vessel. So though I hated to wait, it seemed wise to follow Reynie’s directions precisely. Of course, if we arrived too late, we intended to come ashore and fight for you.”
“Luckily it didn’t come to that,” said Mr. Benedict.
“Indeed,” agreed the captain, and here his expression grew quite serious. “I must say, Reynie, how honored I am that you trusted me to come. Deeply honored, and not a little surprised. I imagine you’ve told the others about our exchange in my cabin, the one involving the decoy diamond?”
“Sorry, I know you told me to keep it between us,” Reynie began, “but under the circumstances —”
“Never apologize to me,” Captain Noland hastily interrupted. “I’m the one who must apologize. In retrospect, you see, I’ve realized what a lubber’s move it was to give you that decoy and ask you to keep it secret. I must have seemed quite the scoundrel, especially with all that creeping about and closing doors and whatnot.”
“I did wonder about that,” Reynie admitted.
“I was nervous to have you in my cabin,” Captain Noland said. “If Mr. Pressius had seen you he would have disapproved of your wasting my time — that is how he would have viewed it, you understand. As for my asking you to keep the decoy secret, well . . . I have an explanation, though hardly an excuse. The truth is I had asked Mr. Pressius for decoys to give to all four of you. I wanted to give you keepsakes as an expression of my admiration and thanks. But Mr. Pressius refused, offering instead to sell them to me for a price — a price so exorbitant I felt I could only afford one. I’m extremely embarrassed to tell you all of this. I was far from my best during that voyage.”
“It was just a misunderstanding,” said Reynie, not wanting to point out how serious that misunderstanding had been. The captain, he realized now, had never dreamed Reynie might suspect the decoy was an actual diamond. No doubt he’d feel even worse to learn Reynie had thought him capable of swiping a precious gem.
“Thank you for saying so,” said Captain Noland, “but it’s a misunderstanding for which I take responsibility, and I can only hope you’ll all forgive me.”
With the exception of Constance — who declared that she would forgive him, since he’d asked so nicely — the children hastened to assure the captain that apologies and forgiveness were hardly necessary. After all, he had sacrificed everything dear to him on their behalf, and what more could be asked of anyone than that?