“No. That will be all. We do not wish to be disturbed.”
“Understood, sir” the man said, and disappeared into another part of the captain’s quarters.
Captain Still turned to Willa. “Now…tell me what’s really on your mind.”
“I fear I’m stuck on the horns of a dilemma.”
“You’re on a Royal Navy ship headed to the middle of nowhere to ultimately sail in circles around the prison of an annoying ogre who thought he could rule the world.” He paused and sipped at his glass of wine. “Aside from that, what sort of dilemma could possibly be deviling a carefree young newlywed like yourself?”
His teasing evoked a hesitant smile from Willa, a maybe-this-isn’t-as-bad-as-I-thought smile. “But you haven’t heard my tale of woe. My dilemma truly has two different horns.”
He gave her an intense look that went on so long, she suddenly feared she might be in more trouble than she thought.
“Before Madame de Santis left the ship, she came to our cabin one night when Dr. MacCloud was taking his evening walk on the top deck.”
“And you were alone?”
“Yes.”
“Had you ever been introduced to her before she came aboard theArethusa?”
“No…which is why I was so surprised that she showed up alone and unannounced.”
“What did she want?”
“She showed me a letter she threatened to send to the Admiralty if I didn’t do as she asked.”
Until that point, Captain Still had been nodding amiably. He suddenly leaned forward in his chair, alert.
“What was in the letter?” His tone had turned sharp.
“She described an incident from the battle of Algiers, four years ago. The letter claimed that Dr. MacCloud had abandoned his station aboard theLeander. She said she’d seen him ashore near Algiers when he should have been aboard the ship, readying for casualties.”
“Did she say what he was doing when she saw him?”
“No.”
His next question caught her off-guard. “What do you think he was doing?”
“I don’t know.” Willa’s breath caught in her throat and she couldn’t speak.
“Do you think he’s capable of abandoning his station without a good reason?”
Willa buried her face in her hands. “No…I don’t know.” Her answer came out in a half-muffled sob.
Captain Still pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and gave it to her.
When she dabbed at her eyes and tried to collect herself, he suddenly asked, “What is the second horn?” At her quizzical look, he added, “of your dilemma?”
“Oh. They’re connected. She gave me a locket with a miniature of her aunt and asked that I deliver it to her cousin who lives on St. Helena with her English officer husband.”
“Does he have a name?”
“Yes - First Lieutenant Bernard Towle.”
Captain Still leaned back in his chair and steepled his hands. He gazed at her over the top of them a long time before leaning forward and asking in a low voice, “Do you have the locket with you?”
Willa’s skin prickled under the stares of the first watch crew on deck as she was walked back to her quarters by a marine guard. Captain Still had taken custody of the locket with its mysterious, hidden contents and had called in Captain Woodall to order a marine to stand guard outside the surgeon’s cabin until Dr. MacCloud was well enough to protect his wife.
