Wicked Runaway: A Mark Cannidor Adventure

Chapter Eleven

How Mark was going to do this, he had no idea. Surely, shouting at the captain in the same way Elizabeth did was not going to solve anything. But he had been let down, after all. And whichever way he was going to get back to England, he was going to ask the captain.

Yet, strangely enough, despite how miserable he felt, he couldn’t help but feel more sympathy towards Elizabeth. She was in a vulnerable position now, and it was all thanks to the captain. Surely, as a working couple, he should have consulted her for permission. Or, at the very least, make her aware of what was happening.

Captain McGough wasn’t a very pleasant individual at all.

Mark figured that, if he had to be anywhere, it would be on the Sellina. He guessed that the captain would be handing the reins over to Quinte.

Mark shuddered. Why Quinte, of all people? Had Ste sold the ship to someone in power, an aristocrat, for example, the sale would have made much more sense to him. But to sell the ship to Quinte? Mark knew something wasn’t quite right about that. Quinte was an i***t according to Mark. He wouldn’t know how to captain his own ship. What would his plans be with the Sellina? He dreaded to think, but he knew Quinte couldn’t be trusted.

As Mark boarded the ship, the main deck had been cleared of anything to do with Ste’s crew. Or were they Ste’s crew? Mark had no idea if Quinte had assembled a new team of people already. He hoped not. They would be pretty much useless.

There was only one place the captain could be. His quarters.

Moments later, Mark was below decks. The captain was shifting furniture, preparing his office for his departure.

It was a sight which made Mark feel sick.

He burst his way into the quarters without any hesitation.

‘You ought to be ashamed of yourself!’

The captain stopped and turned towards Mark.

‘I don’t think that’s any of your business,’ Captain McGough snarled. ‘Now get out’.

‘You were supposed to take me home!’ Mark exclaimed. ‘This ship was supposed to sail back to England as soon as you picked me up from the sea. How do you expect to get me out of here now?’

‘Oh, come on, mate!’ Captain McGough exclaimed. ‘At what point did you hear me say that I was going to get you home?’

‘I’m thirteen years old,’ Mark responded. ‘I can’t be expected to get home on my own, you know’.

‘It’s funny you should say that,’ Captain McGough snapped. ‘You managed to escape just fine from Malcheffi all by yourself. Had you forgotten that you were stuck out there before?’

‘What about Elizabeth, eh?’ Mark asked, ignoring that last remark, and diverting the conversation to what was more important. ‘Do you have any idea how she feels about all this?’

‘Well, that’s her own stupid fault for not understanding what a business opportunity looks like’.

‘Don’t talk about her like that’.

At that moment, Captain McGough slammed his fist down on his desk.

‘Listen! I have a plan,’ Captain McGough explained. ‘I have planned this for a long time. I had every intention of telling Elizabeth, but as always, she makes everything about herself’.

Mark tutted.

‘Don’t!’ the captain snapped once again. ‘It’s a decent plan, and you know it. I’ve sold the ship to Quinte…’

‘Why him though?’

‘He’s the only person I can trust,’ Captain McGough continued. ‘He knows this ship like the back of his hand. And if he can get this ship to do whatever he wants, then we have a solid chance of defeating Malcheffi’.

‘I am not here to defeat Malcheffi!’ Mark shouted. ‘I shouldn’t even be here at all! I JUST WANT TO GO HOME!’

At that moment, the captain started laughing.

‘What is so funny?’

‘Well, you think you can make all the demands around here, don’t you?’ Ste snarled.

‘What is that supposed to mean?’ Mark asked.

‘If we took you back to England when we did, we would have lost our course,' Ste explained, much calmer than he was moments before.

‘How is that my problem?’ Mark spat.

‘We picked you up out of the kindness of our hearts,' Ste continued. ‘We offered you sanctuary. We are now currently offering sanctuary. We are your sanctuary. This is the only place you will ever call home. If we didn’t do that, you wouldn’t be here. You would be dead! In the middle of the ocean. We saved you for a reason. You can go home any time you wish. But I must warn you – you could be in more danger than you can every expect if you go back home. At least here, we can protect you. We made you a favour for the greater good, and that to me is a pretty thoughtful plan’.

‘Some stupid plan if you ask me’.

He had done it. They were the words that angered the captain. Without warning, Captain McGough, a vein throbbing manically in his forehead, grabbed Mark by his jacket and pinned him to a wall.

‘Never. Doubt. My. Plan. Understood?’

Nervously, Mark nodded.

On the inside, he still did not agree.

‘Is there a problem?’

The captain turned and found that Quinte was stood at the doorway.

Captain McGough released Mark.

‘Nothing,’ the captain sighed. ‘We were talking. That’s all.

‘You should go,’ the captain whispered to Mark.

Mark hesitated, but then swept past Quinte, refusing to make eye contact. As Quinte closed the door behind him, Mark leaned in closer to the door to listen in on what they had to say.

‘I’ll be out of your way soon, captain,’ Ste said courteously.

‘It’s no trouble at all, sir,’ Quinte responded. ‘It’s a fine deal you made, selling me this ship. And for twenty-five million Hules, too! My wife will be so impressed. Just think – I can finally take her on that sailing trip to Brazil. Just like she always wanted’.

‘I thought you said your wife passed away?’

Quinte snorted.

‘Oh…did I?’

The captain shrugged.

‘I guess it does not matter, does it?’ the captain chuckled. ‘It’s your ship now. You may do with it whatever you please’.

‘Well, you have no idea how difficult it has been over the past twelve years, captain,’ Quinte explained. ‘When I lost Mrs Hornby…that was it, I suppose. I lost my purpose. I took to the seas hoping to seek shelter and companionship. That was it. A grand old ship like this will be…an opportunity, as it were’.

Mark heard the c***k of glasses and a pouring of liquid. It sounded as though drinks were being poured. As expected, Quinte gasped.

‘Some fine bourbon whiskey you have there, Ste,’ Quinte said.

‘It’s been in my family since the 1600s,’ the captain explained. ‘My father brewed liquors you see. Owned one of the finest distilleries in Scotland. Burnt down, of course. The local villagers accused him of treason. They produce Allivan whiskey in Salvador now. Most people would not contemplate visiting the island for safety purposes. I, of course, have no fear. I think when all this is over…I might just relocate’.

‘Charming’.

‘You would do well to take notes on this recipe, you know’.

‘If you say so,’ Quinte responded. ‘Now – what does the boy know?’

Captain McGough stopped.

‘The…excuse me?’ the captain stuttered.

‘The boy,’ Quinte repeated. ‘The Cannidor boy. What does he know?’

The captain laughed.

‘Good gracious me, man! You don’t think I would tell a thirteen-year-old boy anything to do with our business?’

‘It did seem rather odd,’ Quinte continued. ‘I mean, for him to be here, that is. If any information was leaked…’

Quinte fell silent for a moment. Mark pressed his ear closer to the door to listen carefully. It sounded as though he was pouring himself another glass of bourbon. Perhaps all this had gotten the better of him’.

‘And what about Elizabeth?’

The captain scoffed.

‘Who cares what she thinks?’

‘I care,’ Quinte said. ‘She knows too much. If she sends any word out about this, she has to go too’.

‘I think you’ll recall a pub full of punters witnessing the near-death experience of yours truly,’ Captain McGough chimed, sounding amused. ‘If anything, I think you let that cat out of the bag yourself’.

Quinte swore loudly.

‘Never mind,’ he sighed. ‘Well, as for the boy – same protocol. Shall we sign the paperwork and get this over with then?’

Quinte handed Captain McGough the papers.

The captain stopped.

‘Exactly what were you intending on using the ship for?’ Captain McGough asked sourly.

‘Oooh. That would be telling!’

Hesitantly, Captain McGough took the papers from Quinte, who was chuckling with delight that the deal had finally been reached. His eyes stared down greedily at the papers as he scribbled an untidy scrawl on the line.

The deal had been done.

Mark had clearly heard enough for one day.

He had to go back to the Twelve Green Bottles and say something to Elizabeth.

***

Moments later, the parlour of the Twelve Green Bottles had grown considerably busier. More punters decided to join into that evening’s festivities. Mark could have sworn he heard a joke about a rabbit and a tortoise in a bar. The rabbit drank too much and collapsed, leaving the tortoise the clear winner. Mark shivered at that thought. Who could say such a thing about animals?

‘Hey, you!’

Mark turned.

It was one of the crew members from the Sellina.

‘J-jo-join us for a d-dr-drink, will you!’ the man said in a slur. It was clear that he was drunk. The other members on the same table started babbling.

‘It’s okay,’ Mark murmured. ‘I’m looking for someone, actually’.

There were jeers around the table. Mark didn’t need this.

‘Come on, man!’ another crew member shouted. ‘Sit yourself down and get yourself an orange juice. You’re too young for whiskey’.

‘Seriously, no,’ Mark snapped. ‘I’m not interested’.

The crew members laughed wildly as Mark ran up the stairs towards his bedroom.

He was aware that the captain and Elizabeth shared a room next door to them. He crept towards Elizabeth’s door and listened for any noise. But it was quiet. It was rather unusual. He figured Elizabeth would be in here, upset perhaps, or maybe asleep. Yet, there wasn’t any sign of her being in the room.

Just then, a pair of hands grabbed him. He was pulled into his own room, where he came face to face with Jeremiah.

‘What the devil are you doing, you i***t?’ Jeremiah snapped, shutting the door behind him.

‘I was just…’ Mark began.

‘You went over to the ship,’ Jeremiah continued. ‘Big mistake. That could land us all into trouble with the captain. You know that?’

Mark had no words for that. But he wanted answers about Quinte’s plan. How could Jeremiah not see that?

‘Look, I know you are desperate to get back to England, yeah? And I know this is difficult for all of us. But you cannot be turning into Sherlock Holmes just because Ste decided to sell the Sellina. You need to stay out of the way. Got it?’

‘But they’ve got a plan’.

Jeremiah scowled.

‘I don’t know what the plan is,’ Mark explained. ‘But I heard them talking before they exchanged the contracts. Apparently, I know too much. Elizabeth knows too much too. Half of the crew know too much. But about what? That’s my only concern. I wanted to try and speak to Elizabeth to find out what’s going on before we’re all landed in the deep end’.

‘That doesn’t concern you, though!’ Jeremiah said. ‘And Elizabeth went shopping an hour ago, so good luck finding her now’.

Mark could have kicked Jeremiah for that. He had no more to say on the matter. For the rest of the afternoon, he watched the Sellina sat at its port, just waiting to leave. He found it odd that Quinte did not do a way with the Sellina straight away. Surely, he was meant to leave that day?

As it turns out, that wasn’t strictly true.

Elizabeth came back from shopping just before dinner. She had bought some jewellery, clothes, and books from various merchants in the city. It looked as though she was working her way through the money that Ste had made selling the Sellina. Dinner was her treat that evening. They all tucked into a delicious pork roast with potatoes and carrots.

‘Not a word about this to Ste,’ Elizabeth told Mark over dinner. ‘I’ve spent his money, and he won’t like me for that. Then again, who cares about what he thinks? He sold my ship’.

Mark couldn’t help but feel torn between the captain and Elizabeth. Then again, Elizabeth had treated him a lot better than Captain McGough did. On the same side of that argument, the captain didn’t return to the Twelve Green Bottles that evening. Perhaps he was mourning the loss of his beloved ship. But it was his own fault he sold the boat.

Something else had to be going on.

And in fact, it had.

The next morning, Mark came downstairs to find the captain shaking hands with an elderly wizard with grey hair, golden spectacles, and a brown robe.

‘What did you just do?’ Mark asked curiously, as the older wizard left.

‘I guess it’s not really any of your business, lad. But I’ve bought the pub’.

‘What?’

‘Yeah, that’s right,’ Captain McGough continued. ‘You’re looking at the proud new owner of the Twelve Green Bottles’.

Captain McGough helped himself to a shot of sherry from behind the bar.

‘That’s for the customers!’ Mark snapped.

‘Don’t tell me what I can and…hiccup…can and cannot do inside my own…hiccup…bar!’

Captain McGough burped the last word out. If Mark didn’t know any better, he would have guessed that the captain was drunk.

Mark had no other choice.

He leaned across the bar and tried to strangle Captain McGough as he was knelt down stacking some bottles back onto a shelf. But it wasn’t possible. He was pulled back and dragged onto a chair. When he looked up, it was to see Elizabeth behind the bar, slapping Ste hard on the back.

‘DON’T YOU EVER PULL A STUNT LIKE THAT AGAIN!’ she screamed so loudly that Mark had to cover his ears.

‘I told you it was a business opportunity!’ Captain McGough responded, struggling with all his might to escape Elizabeth’s grasp. ‘I’ve bought this place for Sellina headquarters now. What else do you want me to do? Reverse the contract? You know you wanted to settle down, and now we are in a position where we can do just that whilst assisting Harry’.

Captain McGough then noticed that Mark was still there. His hands covered his ears, and he was just so frightened about the scene unfolding in front of him.

‘I want you to get gone!’ Ste snapped, nodding towards the door.

‘I want you to screw your head back on!’ Elizabeth snapped, stepping back to prevent herself from hurting him. ‘Just what were you thinking? No. Don’t answer that question. You clearly weren’t thinking at all, were you?’

‘Now, Liz, don’t be like that,’ the captain begged as Elizabeth walked away. ‘I was just trying to help! The parlour is supposed to be good for the both of us!’

‘You’ve done nothing to help, though, have you?’ she continued. ‘This entire trip has been all about you, and I’ve not had a say in anything. You treat me like I’m some sort of maid around you. Then you play devil’s advocate by selling the ship to Quinte of all people. Just because it’s good for Harry. You’ll do anything to get in his good books, won’t you? You buy the parlour without consulting me. And you go off and get drunk every night. How do you think that makes me feel Ste? How do you expect me to react when you’re taking control like this? I am hurt! I am upset, and you don’t seem to care!’

‘I’m not trying to take control, love,’ Captain McGough said, stepping away from the bar towards the door. ‘I’m trying to do what’s good for this country’.

‘Ste…’

‘Forget it!’

With that, Ste left once again.