Page 34 of The Swan Syndicate
He squeezed Stella’s arm and turned her toward the door.
“Why are we leaving?”
Her words weren’t loud, but the few men who heard her chuckled. That was good. Most of the men saw the entire incident as a good-natured accident and probably liked Stella’s spunk at standing up to a man a good foot taller than her. The question was whether the men at the table bought her ploy.
13
Stella folded a swan while she listened to Beckworth repeat their short evening at the pub for a second time.
When they’d left the pub, Beckworth dragged her down the dock, mumbling “What were you thinking?” over and over. At first, she wasn’t sure whether he was asking the question of himself or if he was speaking to her. She decided both answers were probably correct and it would be best not to interrupt. It appeared they were returning to the ship, and she’d hear an earful there.
She’d sighed in relief when they met Fitz in the galley, feet on the table as he nursed a whiskey, but her brow rose at seeing Lando sitting next to him.
“I’d just left Lane and Michelson at the inn and was going back to a pub I’d been at earlier,” he explained. “It wasn’t difficult to pick out Fitz ducking in and out of the crowd in his rush to the ship. I’ve seen that limp a dozen times and knew something was wrong. I updated Lane and Michelson and then hurried back here. They’ll be along shortly.”
Beckworth had been halfway through the first telling of their evening when the two sailors arrived, and he began from thebeginning. Once the story was finished, Lando went to find Jamie.
The young captain must have been asleep because he yawned before he dropped into the closest chair. Since Cook was visiting his family, Michelson brought him a tin of coffee. Jamie looked quite irresistible with his bedhead look. She’d have to pay more attention to what type of woman interested him, for Mary and Elizabeth, of course. They loved to play matchmaker. She grinned as she made the next fold. At his age, he probably didn’t have a type yet and was most likely not fussy. Ah, to be young again.
Beckworth must have finished the second telling because Jamie sat straighter and his eyes regained a focused brightness. He poured a shot’s worth of whiskey into his coffee. If he was going to comment, he never had a chance as Beckworth turned toward her and unleashed his pent-up frustration.
“I can’t believe you stood up to him. We’re supposed to be unobtrusive.” He stood with hands on hips, and she bit a lip so she wouldn’t grin. If he weren’t so mad, she’d point out that he was using her angry pose now that the tables were turned.
Rather than throw gas on the flames, she tried for a middle-of-the-road approach. “He looked like he was following Fitz. I thought I’d give him a head start.”
“Fitz is a professional. He knows what he’s doing.”
“Actually,” Fitz cut in. “The delay got me to the ship before anyone could follow.”
Beckworth turned on Fitz. “You’re not helping.”
“You have to admit, he caved quickly once he realized we’d drawn a crowd.” Stella finished her last fold and set the swan on the table, lightly tapping a wing before giving him her full attention.
“Except now he knows you. He remembered you from earlier today, and he won’t forget the next time.”
“We’re leaving tomorrow.” Her reasoning seemed sound. “There won’t be a next time.”
“Alright, the lot of you. I’ve heard enough,” Jamie barked.
“Well, that might not be exactly true.” Fitz had removed his boots from the table when Jamie had joined them, and he now leaned his elbows on it instead, knowing he’d gotten their attention.
When it didn’t appear he was going to continue, Beckworth sighed and asked, “What isn’t true?”
He shrugged and pulled out his pipe but didn’t light it. “You’ve all been so interested in Stella’s daring that you’ve overlooked the important part.” He gave them each a long look. “The reason why I was hurrying out of there in the first place.”
Everyone glanced at each other and realized at the same time he was right. The laughter eased the tension, and when Stella glanced at Fitz, happy he redirected the conversation, he gave her a wink as he polished a spot on his pipe. Once the laughter stopped, the men leaned in to hear what the first mate had to say.
“I’d been to two other pubs before this one and just happened to find a spot toward the end of the bar between a couple blokes more interested in their mugs than conversation. I was hunched over, listening to a nearby table while keeping my face hidden. So, when these three men strode by, I was able to get a decent look at them, but as far as I could tell, they never looked at me.
“They stopped at the end of the bar on the other side of the man to my right. Since my mate was the quiet type, I was able to listen to them while still paying attention to the discussion at a nearby table.” He tapped his ears. “I’ve trained them to do that.”
Stella understood. She’d developed a similar skill after listening to husbands and wives who spoke over each other when voicing their likes and dislikes as they toured a house forsale. She gave him a nod in understanding, and he grinned as he moved on with his tale.
“This new group was speaking Welsh, which made me think about what Stella reported earlier. I was able to pick up a few words—shipments, a cove just north of here, and then a ship.The Horseman.” He shook his head. “And that was right about the time some drunken sod ran into me, which caught the attention of the three men. One of them had been giving me a glance every few minutes, but I didn’t think he found me of any interest. But the drunk wouldn’t stop apologizing, and that’s when I decided a swift exit was the best. I knew when I was halfway to the door that one of them was following me. Not a better time for Beckworth and Stella to enter.”
He sat back. His eyes were hard, and his lips thinned as he gripped the pipe. “I know we have our mission, but can we really forget what we’re hearing? You know what must be in those shipments.”
Stella glanced around the table as they all nodded, expressions solemn. “Well, I don’t.”
