Page 35 of Astrid at Sea

“She’s lied about it before.”

“I know. You don’t need to remind me,” I chuckled, but he didn’t find it very funny. “But just because she’s lied about it once before doesn’t mean she’s lying again. Or that she lies all the time.”

“You don’t know that,” he grumbled, and I couldn’t think of anything to say.

What could I say to a man who had already made up his mind?

An uncomfortable silence washed over us. Crosby allowed the tears to fall freely, making no move to wipe them away. I sat across from him, just watching him and feeling sorry for him.

Crosby wasn’t a bad person.

He wasn’t my person, but he wasn’t bad.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t say the same about Chara. It was sad that he had spent more time at sea than with his wife after their wedding.

“And you’ve been sneaking around the ship ever since?” I asked, having already figured as much.

“The blankets, food, clothes, it was all me,” Crosby admitted, still refusing to meet my eyes.

“And last night?”

“Yes, sorry about that,” he chuckled nervously. “I was sick on my tunic and wanted to replace it with a clean one. I haven’t figured out the rooms yet, so I picked a random one. I didn’t know it was yours.” His cheeks burned crimson. “And I didn’t know you two were awake.”

“That’s okay,” I murmured, gulping uncomfortably. It wasn’t okay. Not really. I had been really embarrassed, but not as embarrassed if it had been one of the crew that had been flashedwith the image of my legs wound around Viktor’s waist while he was buried balls-deep inside of him. Luckily, Viktor had pulled the blanket up over us just in time. “But it’s probably best if you don’t mention it again. Especially to Viktor. There’s no need to make things awkward.”

“Yes, of course! I wouldn’t dare to do that.”

I smiled gratefully at him, but my lips were quick to drop.

“I disagree with you running away from your newly married, pregnant wife, but what’s done is done. There’s no point in crying over spilt milk.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means that since you’re stuck here for the next few months, you might as well make yourself useful. And there’s no point in hanging around on the bottom deck anymore. You’ll make yourself even sicker than you already are.” And, as if on cue, Crosby started coughing. “Come on,” I told him as I rose to my feet, brushing the dust off the skirt of my dress. “Let’s go find Viktor and Laurence. I’m sure we can set you up in a room, but I must warn you, you’ll probably have to share a room with somebody. We haven’t got enough rooms for one each.”

Crosby got a peculiar, unsettling look on his face. At first, I assumed it was at the mention that he would need to share a room with someone, but when his eyes widened and he slapped a hand over his mouth, I knew it was due to something else.

Unfortunately, I didn’t have enough time to move and save myself.

I promised Viktor that I would scream as loud as I possibly could if I needed help, but I doubted Crosby’s vomit all over my dress and shoes was the kind of dangerous situation he had in mind.

Well, I guess this also explained the mysterious puddles of sickness all around the ship.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

To my surprise, Crosby found it much harder to integrate into life on The Serpent than I had imagined he would. He was usually so easy-going, and he had a lot of friends back at Jorvik, but things were different for him out at sea.

He started the morning in a chipper mood–the exact opposite of Laurence, who ended up with Crosby as a roommate simply because he was the only other person awake.

Crosby was determined to prove himself helpful and much more than an unwanted stowaway. He tried to take over the steering of the ship from Hammond, and perhaps if he were thinking clearly, he would have realised that it was far too soon for that. I wasn’t the least bit surprised when Hammond chased him away with a murderous scowl and harsh curse words I would never care to repeat.

Crosby then tried to help Jerrik with the fishing, but I laughed and watched as Jerrik jumped over the edge to escape him. But not before demanding that he get his blanket back.

After Jerrik, Crosby had gone out to look for Viktor, but he had been discussing something with Garth and Odin, both concerned about the lack of wind since yesterday. It was safe to say that interaction hadn’t gone down well.

When Viktor caught my eyes later, I sent him a pointed look. He sighed and nodded, making a point to invite Crosby to have lunch with us all. Crosby tried to join us all for breakfast, but he couldn’t get a seat in the usual circle where we all sat for meals. So, he ate outside the circle by himself, looking sad and mopey.

It was safe to say that none of the crew was particularly pleased about having Crosby on the ship, and I couldn’t blame them. Not when I felt the same way.

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