Page 24 of Mardon

“Mardon, I thought I told ye to cover up that paintin’ of the strumpet,” said Nairnie.

“I did,” he answered.

“Well, it certainly doesna look that way to me. Now hurry up, and keep that bluidy thing hidden while we have a nun on board. Yer soul is gettin’ blacker by the minute.”

Emmaline left the room still clutching her wedding ring in her hand, thinking that she was the one whose soul was getting darker every minute. If not, then why did she just get so aroused by a pirate’s words and by the way he lusted after a naked painting?

Chapter 6

By the time Emmaline had helped Nairnie prepare the meal and serve it to the crew, the winds had already picked up and the sky overhead was dark with ominous-looking clouds. She hadn’t had a minute to herself to go back to the cabin. Without any pockets, she had needed to find somewhere to hide the ring. Thankfully, before she’d left the convent, she’d donned a tight-fitting chemise under her robe. She’d found it in the back of a cart from a peddler who had come to the abbey.

However, she was much too busty for it and had worn it for one reason only. It was tight enough to hold her breasts together to hide the small bottle of poison in her cleavage. Earlier, she’d pretended to be using the bucket behind a hanging blanket to relieve herself. Instead, she had put the ring over the neck of the bottle and stuck it down her cleavage. Now, with all the rocking of the ship, the bottle had started to slip.

“Here you are,” she said to Ramble, handing him a square bowl of food. Nairnie told her that the wooden dishes were square so they wouldn’t roll when the ship veered back and forth in the waves. Mayhap the plates wouldn’t roll, but her stomach sure did from the movement. She was finding it hard just to stand. She heard a thunk and looked down to see that the bottle of poison had slid out from under her chemise with the ring still stuck on the neck.

“Thanks,” said Ramble, taking a big bite of the fish stew, seeming as if the rocking of the ship didn’t bother him. She reached down and snatched up the bottle just before the ship rocked back the other way.

“Ramble, take this to Mardon,” said Nairnie, filling up another plate with a ladle of food.

“Sure, as soon as I’m done eatin’,” said Ramble, licking his lips.

“The storm is comin’ fast and we need everyone to eat so I can get cleaned up,” spat Nairnie. “Now take it to him.”

“Let me do it.” Emmaline grabbed the plate of food, hoping to find somewhere to hide the bottle and ring for now. It was proving bothersome, and she didn’t want anyone to know she had them.

“Ye can barely stand, Sister Emmaline. Ye’ll never make it up the stairs to the sterncastle. Ramble will do it,” said Nairnie.

“Sure,” said Ramble, reaching for the plate, but Emmaline shook her head.

“Nay. I need to walk or I’m going to retch.”

“Have it yer way.” Nairnie slopped another ladle of food in a bowl, the sight of it causing bile to rise to Emmaline’s throat.

Clutching the bottle and ring in one hand, and holding the bowl in the other, she tried to walk to the stairs of the sterncastle, stumbling and almost falling several times. Pirates hurried back and forth, acting as if they weren’t bothered at all by the storm or the rocking of the ship. She supposed it was normal for them.

Stopping at the foot of the stairs, she took a moment to take a deep breath. Looking up at the dark sky, she saw lightning flash and the rumble of thunder scared her. She dropped the bottle on the bottom step, but quickly retrieved it. That’s when she noticed the wood on the stair was loose. Her eyes flashed up to Mardon at the stern, but he didn’t even notice her. He was focusing on bringing the ship through the storm.

She looked down at the bottle in her hand, wondering why she’d even kept the poison. If it ever came down to killing someone, she was sure she wouldn’t be able to do it. Still, she needed protection and didn’t want to throw it overboard just yet.

Placing the bowl on the second stair, she quickly lifted the top of the broken stair, slipping the bottle and ring inside it. She had just stood up with the bowl when she heard Mardon’s voice from above her.

“Sister Emmaline, are you all right?”

“Aye,” she said, making her way up the stairs, hearing the first stair squeak beneath her foot. “I am just having a hard time standing up with all the rocking of the ship.” She held out the food to him. “Nairnie wanted me to give you this.”

“Aye,” he said, taking the dish in one hand, never letting go of the helm with the other.

“Oh, I forgot to bring you a spoon.”

“No need.” He lifted the bowl to his mouth and slid the food right into it. In less than a minute, he had devoured everything. This only made her feel sicker than she had before. With her hand on her stomach she moaned.

“Did you eat?”

“Nay,” she answered. “I couldn’t. I’m afraid if I did, I’d become sick.”

“The storm is going to hit very soon,” he told her, handing her the empty bowl. “Get back to my cabin and stay inside. Do you hear me?”

“But I need to help Nairnie clean up.”