TWENTY-SEVEN
The captain ordered everyone to bed not long after dinner. Sassi guessed it had something to do with the alcohol the men had brought with them. She was grateful that Karen wouldn’t have to experience the crew being drunk on her first night aboard.
Sassi had spent some time with Karen in her cabin, reassuring her about her safety while Stuart was in the head. When her brother emerged, she said goodnight to them both and stepped into the passageway just as Swain jumped down the last of the starboard stairs from the direction of Foist or Jockey’s cabin.
“Everyone settled?” he asked when she pulled Karen and Stuart’s cabin door closed.
“Yes,” she said. “Thanks again for letting them stay.”
“Plenty of room,” he said, checking the door to the outer deck was locked tight.
They
