Page 68 of Mrs. Endicott's Splendid Adventure
“If the owner has given you permission, I can’t really object, can I?” Ellie said.
“True.” He nodded but didn’t elaborate. “I find it convenient to keep my things there, especially if I dock my boat at the little harbour below the villa. That way, I don’t need to go all the way into the harbour.”
Of course, Ellie thought. He could bring smuggled goods in and out without anyone seeing. So that was why he wanted to make sure he stayed in her good books. She had almost forgotten that she suspected him.Tread carefully here,a voice whispered.
“Oh, by the way,” he said as they finished the meal with coffee. “I have bought a new motorboat. It’s lovely. Sleek. Made of polished teakwood. And fast. A proper speedboat.”
“Goodness,” Ellie said. “You can hardly go fishing in that.”
He laughed. “Not for fishing. For the tourists. Probably not the English. They are too timid and proper. When the French come in the summer, I will take them out for rides, or they can pay to rent it by the hour. A good investment, I think.”
“Oh, definitely.” Ellie was thinking that a speedboat could outrun any coast guard if necessary.
“So would you like to come out for a trial run?” he asked. He looked around the table. “All of you ladies?” he added politely.
“Oh, not me,” Mavis said. “I get seasick.”
“And I am too old to be bumped around on a speedboat,” Dora added.
Nico looked at Ellie. “How about you? Are you ready for an adventure?”
“Absolutely,” Ellie said.
They went out in the boat the next day. It was as attractive as Nico had described it, and a crowd had gathered at the harbour to watch them.
“Where did you get the money for that, Nico?” one of the men shouted. “Did you rob a bank?”
Nico looked up, laughing. “It was a steal,” he said. “Jewish banker from Germany fleeing to South America before Hitler confiscates his property. Couldn’t wait to hand me the key.”
Ellie tried not to glance at him as they eased out of the dock. Just how did a fisherman from tiny Saint-Benet meet a Jewish banker from Germany? As they left the harbour walls, Nico gunned the motor and the boat took off with a roar of power, flinging her back in her seat and leaving a white trail. Ellie felt pure exhilaration. She glanced at Nico and saw that he, too, was half excited, half scared, but the warning voice in her head told her not to get too friendly. She had taken in Yvette, and now it transpired that Yvette’s lover was a robber and in prison. Did she want to find herself accused of accepting and storing Nico’s ill-gotten goods?
When they were out to sea, Nico slowed to a crawl and turned to her. “Your turn,” he said. “Do you want to know how to drive it?”
“Oh, I don’t think—” she began, but he cut her off.
“Be brave. Try. You may not get this chance again.”
“All right,” she said. He stood up, and she slid into the driver’s seat. He explained patiently the throttle, the steering. “It’s so easy a child could do it,” he said. “But one thing. If we ever encounter a big wave, you make sure you face it head on. If we are sideways, it can flip the boat, and that would be most unpleasant.”
Ellie nodded, her heart now beating fast. She pulled back on the throttle, and the boat picked up speed. “Faster,” Nico shouted. She obeyed. White spray flew around them. She felt her heart pounding. Nico watched her, her mouth and eyes wide open, a silent laugh coming from her. Then she slowed it again. “We’re getting close to the islands,” she said. “I’d better hand it back to you.”
“Not at all,” he said. “Let’s see you take it back into port. If you can do that without a mishap, then you can take out the boat whenever you want.”
“Really? Oh, I don’t think I dare.”
“Dare,” he said.
She brought the boat back towards the harbour, conscious of the stone walls and narrow entrance, but she slowed to a crawl and managed to reverse the throttle, cut the motor and drift into the docking space without a scratch.
“See, I knew you could.” He gave her shoulder a friendly shake. It was the first time he had touched her, and it felt as if a new level of intimacy had been reached.Watch out,a voice whispered again.
Chapter 27
Ellie climbed the steps to the house, the sun and salt stinging on her skin. It was the first thing she had done in her whole life that had felt dangerous, but exciting. And Nico had told her she could take the boat out if nobody was renting it. The thought of taking it out alone was terrifying, but she knew she was going to do it.
Opening the front door, she called out, “The pirate woman returns. You won’t believe what I’ve just done ...”
Silence met her. “Dora? Mavis?”
