Lost at Sea Bk. 01 Ch. 02

"Janie, would you-" Will began. His assistant was already there at his shoulder with a copy of his usual contract and an ink pen, plus an additional sheet of paper spelling out the specifics of their discussion for this expedition. "Thank you," he said. She gave him a small incline of her head. Will pushed the contract over to Lord Morant. The nobleman began to carefully read it over. Will leaned back in his chair. Jack was looking at him oddly. He couldn't quite place the emotions on her face before her haughty mask returned when she saw him look her way. She absentmindedly fiddled with a ring on her finger. Will's eyes widened. She noticed what he was looking at and quickly put her hands in her lap. His jaw clenched in anger. He couldn't believe she was wearing that ring. He gave her a hard look. She stared back just as hard.

"Everything looks in order," Morant said, taking the pen from Janie and signing. Janie collected the form and added her own signature as a witness then disappeared into the back again.

"I'll draw up a list of equipment and supplies you'll need," Will said.

"That's my job," Jack corrected, "I am leading the expedition."

"Alright, I'll draw a list of supplies and equipment you'll need," Will snarked.

"I already have a supply list," she said flatly.

"How many people on this trip?" Will asked.

"Ten sailors. Six porters on the expedition team. Four in Lord Morant's retinue. Plus the five of us, and your witch. Twenty six," Jack answered.

Will did a few short calculations in his head. "Does your supply list include nine smallboats, twelve spare gaff hooks, two forty-foot beams, an extra gib sail, and four thirty-by-thirty drag nets?" Will asked.

Jack looked at him like he'd lost his mind. "This is a commissioned exploration. Not a fishing trip."

"Oh, alright. I guess you don't need me then," Will said, starting to stand up.

Jack rolled her eyes, "Fine. Give me your list."

"How soon do you want to be leaving?" Will asked.

"As soon as possible," Morant answered. "Now that we have you signed on, we can get the preparations underway."

"You waited for me before starting?" Will's eyes went a bit wide. "Didn't realize I was that important. I should have charged more."

"We only arrived yesterday. I wanted to wait to see if you would come before I started making requisitions. Our plans would change drastically without your help," Jack said.

Will scoffed, "Yeah. You wouldn't go."

Jack rolled her eyes. "Captain Vex is reasonably sure she can get her ship through the Drifts without you."

Will looked at the woman at the back of the room, really taking her in for the first time. The bridge of her nose and her cheek bones were scattered with freckles. It made her look younger than she probably was. She was exceptionally attractive and carried herself with the easy confidence of someone who knew herself and her trade well. Still, the fact that she was willing to take her ship into the Drifts told him that she was reckless. She looked back at him with challenge in her eyes. He took his time answering, "Captain, I don't mean to offend by asking this, but are you out of your goddamn mind?"

There was a tense silence for a moment, then Captain Vex laughed. "Probably," she grinned.

"I've never heard of any ship making it through the Drifts. Everyone who ever claimed to have done it has turned out to be a phony," Will continued. "There are three ways through that passage. None of them involve seafaring vessels. If you brought your ship into that passage, best case scenario, it gets crushed, but sinks near enough to land that your crew isn't battered to death on the rocks before they make it to shore."

"Three ways?" Jack asked quizzically. "You mean two."

"Three," Will said.

"I've always wanted to try it. I got my ship through th' Capillaries and earned my rings a few times. After that I started running outta ways to make a name for m'self." Captain Vex said, still grinning. She had a hint of a seafarer's brogue and two gold teeth in her smile on the upper right side of her mouth.

"Please don't try it," Will said, "Not unless you have a spare ship. Or a death wish."

"This is irrelevant," Morant said, "Mister Sterling will be joining us, so there is no need to make the attempt. Captain Vex, your willingness to tempt fate is why I hired you. Hopefully we will not need to test your skills."

"As you say, m'Lord," Captain Vex said with slightly exaggerated disappointment.

"Back to preparations," Will said, "Sounds like you have some shopping to do."

"I expect it will take a week to buy and load all the cargo for the trip," Jack said tersely.

"I'll bring you my list at noon tomorrow," Will said.

Jack tisked, "Fine. Meet me at the ship."

"Captain, would you mind letting me take a look at your charts?" Will asked Captain Vex.

"We ain't underway an' ye ain't my crew. Until we set sail, ye get t' call me Belita," she said. "Ye're going to be at the ship at noon?. I'll go over our route plan with you when you drop off your supply list."

"Belita, then. I'll be there," Will said.

Morant stood. "I am quite glad you have agreed to accompany us, Mister Sterling."

Jack and Will stood also. Will offered his hand and Morant shook it with a firm, steady grip. "What are we after, anyway?" Will asked.

"Religious artifacts from a temple that was lost when the Blood Tide began." Morant answered grimly.

"Ah. So that's why you're going through the Drifts," Will frowned. "Better odds than going around the Devil's Horn and past the Red Seas."

"Indeed," Morant agreed, picking up his cane from the table and beginning to walk away. Quinn opened the door for him. He left without further words. Captain Vex gave Will a nod and followed. Jack looked conflicted. She gave him a look through narrowed eyes. "It is good to see you, Will."

"I'm not sure if I can say the same, Jack," Will said, watching her. She looked hurt, then angry and turned on her heel and left. Quinn followed her and shut the door behind him.

Will sat against the table, his mind spinning through the events he'd just gone through.

"What the fuck was that?!" Bella snarled coming out from behind the bookcase. "You don't need me to do your map thing! I'm not going with you!"

"Why not?" Will said, turning to face her.

"Because! You didn't even ask me if I wanted to!" She glared.

"You didn't ask me either. You just had me draw some cards and told me what to do," he shrugged.

"That's different! It's..." she huffed. "Alright, you have a point."

"You still haven't told me why I'm doing this." He sat back down in his chair. "Why we're doing this."

"The Eight of Swords!" She pulled a single card out of her velvet bag and flung it at him. It spun and hit him dead center in the chest. He caught it as it started to fall. "Take a good look," she growled. "See the girl? She's blindfolded. Surrounded by a ring of blades. She's caged in. Only one of them is out of place to give her a way out, and she can't see it."

"Right. Soooooo..." Will looked at the card, not following.

"This is the one about your relationship with Jack. She is in trouble! She needs a way out, but she can't see the danger she's in." Bella took the card back and poked him in the chest. "That's what you do. You find the ways."

Will looked pained. "So all this is to rescue Jack?"

Bella nodded. "I know you don't like her anymore, but do you hate her enough to risk letting her die?"

Will hemmed and hawed for a moment, rolling his head around in exasperation. "Dammit. No. If she dies I won't ever find out why the hell she did it."

"Good enough," Bella said dropping into one of the other chairs.

Janie came out of the office carrying three steaming mugs. She put them on the table and sat down in the chair vacated by Lord Morant. "This does not seem like good business, Will," she said carefully. "Lord Morant is a liar, and Jacqueline is awfully distracted to be leading an expedition."

Will nodded, "I noticed some of that too. Give me your take."

Janie sipped her tea. "Lord Morant is hiding quite a bit about the nature of this expedition. Nothing he said seemed false, but nearly all of it wasn't the full truth. At first, I assumed he might only have been omitting things toward you holding back until he got your agreement, but I think he hasn't told any of them what he's up to. Not a healthy thing to do, keeping the people responsible for your safety in the dark about your goals. That tells me he feels the rewards of his deceptions are greater than the risks of not telling the rest of you the truth."

"So we can't trust Morant," Will said, holding his mug and letting the warmth seep into his hands. "What about Jack."

"She was harder to read," Janie said. "You distract her a great deal. She is happy to see you, but also ashamed. She doesn't like feeling that way and it makes her tense and short tempered. You seem to have a knack for knowing exactly what to do to irritate her."

"He's good at that," Bella said over the lip of her cup.

Janie tried not to laugh and looked around the messy room. "Yes. He is."

"I irritate you?" Will asked, genuinely concerned, "You never say anything."

"Will, I work for you. You pay me well and I enjoy it. That said, keeping you on task and organized is not easy. I've been trying to get you to organize this place for months," Janie said patiently.

"If I move it all around how will I know where anything is?" he asked. Bella and Janie shared a long-suffering look. "Alright," he said holding his hands in front of him in surrender. "Sounds like I'll be gone for a while and you'll be running the place. You can organize it all however you want. I'll learn your system when I get back."

Janie smiled, "Why thank you, Mister Sterling. It is very nice of you to allow me to clean up your mess. I'm honored," she said, with enough saccharine in her voice that there was no doubt she was being sarcastic.

"I like her," Bella said.

"Me too," Will said. "Though, right now I'm struggling to remember why."

"I make sure you do not forget things, and I keep you from making deals with people who are trying to swindle you, both of which help you make a great deal of money. Also, I tolerate your attempts at humor, and apparently I clean," Janie said helpfully.

"Oh, right! Thank you," Will grinned.

"It is nice to be appreciated," Janie said taking another sip of her tea.

"As much fun as 'Berate Will' time is, we should talk about scheduling," Will said.

"I will divide your appointments for the next three weeks into things I can do without you and things I can't. The things that require your attention I'll arrange over the next week. Expect to be very busy," Janie said.

Will looked pained. "I suppose that's a better approach than just canceling them all."

"Given the amount of money riding on some of these, I think you will want to put in the work," Janie said.

"I do like money." Will finally sipped his tea. Mint. It was delicious. "Do up a budget for my absence that includes all the usual expenses, your salary for the time I'm away, plus a five hundred crown bonus, and an additional five hundred crown coffer for any unforeseen expenses that might crop up."

Janie's brows rose at Will's generosity. "Thank you."

"You've earned every penny," Will smiled. "I need tomorrow morning before we start pushing through my appointments, and I am meeting with Jack at noon."

"I will send couriers out in the morning informing clients of the openings in your schedule. I am going to offer one hour or half hour blocks on a first-come, first-serve basis," Janie said.

"You're going to start a riot," Will laughed.

"You aren't that popular," Bella scoffed.

"You can head home whenever you're ready to, Janie. Get some rest. Sounds like tomorrow will be rough," Will said, standing up.

Janie stood up as well, collecting her things. "Have a good night, Mister Sterling. It was nice to finally meet you, Miss Fortuna."

Bella gave Janie a hug, which Janie returned after a moment of surprised stiffness. "You are a delight," Bella said, "Thank you for your help today.

Janie blushed slightly. "Just doing my job," she said and swept out the door.

"I have never seen her blush. Not once," Will said with a half-grin on his face.

"I didn't think I did anything special. I just think she's sweet. And far too competent to be in this old lighthouse with you." Bella lightly swatted him on the arm.

"No argument there," Will agreed, "So what now?"

"I have to get to work," Bella said, "I'm already late."

"You're going to need to find a replacement. You're leaving in a week."

"Rahat," she cursed, "Chance is not going to like that."

"What, there aren't any other fortune tellers in Bastard's Bay?" he asked wryly.

She lifted and bounced her impressive chest with her hands, "Not with tits like these."

Will laughed, "Yeah, that's the truth."

"You still haven't told me why I should be going with you in the first place," she said, her unamused glare back in place.

"Because I'm bad luck. Everything goes wrong when I go out in the field. You're a fortune-witch. I'm hoping maybe you can help counterbalance me. I don't trust that I can help Jack at all without you. I'd probably just make things worse." Will looked at her imploringly.

She rolled her eyes and sighed, "Fine. I'll go." She eyed him archly. Then she smiled. "I've never been on an adventure before."

"It starts tomorrow morning. Be here after the nine o'clock bell rings," Will said.

"For what?" Bella asked, still a bit suspicious.

"Everyone's responsible for their own gear," Will said. "I'm dragging you into this mess, so I'm taking you shopping."

Bella immediately brightened. "Those are the magic words, Mister Sterling. You should have led with that. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Where's your monkey, anyway?" he asked, looking around.

"He's following Jack," she said turning toward the door, "I wanted to keep an eye on her."

"You are going to be a natural at this whole adventure thing," he grinned.

She winked at him and swished out the door.

Will lay back flat on the table and stared at the ceiling, his mind swimming with ideas, his heart full of excitement. He could feel it starting. It was always this way at the beginning. He loved it. It was intoxicating.

Later, it was going to go to hell.

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The next morning, it was Bella who was lying on the table. She had her skirts gathered up around her waist and her feet resting on Will's shoulders. His tricorn hat was resting haphazardly on her head. She held onto the edge of the table with one hand and squeezed one of her own breasts through her blouse with the other. "Keep swabbing, Mister Sterling!" she groaned.

"Aye, Cap'n..."