"Well, no sense in delaying." Ray gave Solomon a grin, and they continued on their way, knowing they'd be seen by those on the ship very soon if they hadn't been spotted already.
"Ahoy," Solomon called once it was clear that the small boat was headed towards them. He waved and turned back to Ray, returning Ray's cocky grin. "Let the fun begin."
Ray laughed and took up his oar, helping Solomon to navigate towards the dinghy. It seemed to take the small craft a long time to reach them, but well before that, their rescuers called out to them by name.
"Greetings gentlemen," the larger of the two sailors called as he maneuvered the boat alongside the raft. "Would you be acquaintances of Florian di Rochefort? He was very persistent in convincing our captain to search for you." He neatly caught the vine Ray had twined into a towline and used it to close the gap between the two crafts. "Trembly's the name, and this is Davidson. Steady there."
"We are indeed," Solomon assured them, speaking quickly before Ray did. He pressed a hand against Ray's arm, urging caution. Normally it wouldn't be a concern, but these weren't normal circumstances.
Solomon insisted Ray get into the boat first and then helped to steady him until he was seated. Grabbing their meager assortment of belongings and supplies, Solomon handed them to Davidson before climbing into the boat himself.
"What about the raft?" Solomon asked.
"We'll take it along. No sense wasting your hard work." Trembly handed the towline to Davidson who fastened it to the back of the boat. They made it back to the anchored boat in good time, although Ray's impatience made it seem longer.
Davidson scrambled up the ladder first, jumping down onto the deck and moving aside to let other crew members give Ray a hand up. Although he was doing his best to pretend he was fine, he wasn't really convincing anyone.
Florian had been waiting to the side with the captain, but as soon as Ray's feet touched the deck, he surged forward and took hold of his arms, guiding him gently aside and surveying him for injuries.
"Got lost again," Ray teased, his voice rough from illness, the sea air and repressed emotion. If they were alone, rather than standing in a group of strangers, their reunion would have been much more passionate. Instead, they held on to each other as closely as decorum allowed.
"Solomon!" Florian released Ray long enough to greet his friend, but quickly returned to Ray. "You're not injured?"
"I'm fine, Florian, just a bit of sunburn. How are you?"
"All the better for your return. Both of you. I thought-" he choked on the rest of the sentence and had to shake his head rather than finish. After clearing his throat several times he said, "Allow me to introduce you to the captain. She and her crew have been very kind."
"Ray. Solomon." The captain shook their hands in turn, then motioned towards the crewman who had been standing nearby with mugs of ale. "A small drink now, and a chance to rest if you'd like. We'll share a meal in my cabin once you've rested." She nodded and walked away, leaving Trembly to take charge of the new arrivals.
"Ray?" Florian was holding his arm tightly, peering at his face in alarm. He'd only seen Ray so pale and his eyes so unfocused once before – and that was at the beginning of a long and terrifying illness. He turned to Trembly. "He needs a medic. Could you…?"
"Of course. This way." Trembly led them down into the ship where the medic was busy tending a man who'd gotten a bad rope burn. He finished with the man and dismissed him, and then turned his attention to Ray.
"Get him up on the bunk before he falls over." He poked and prodded Ray in random places, noting the partially-healed injuries from the shipwreck. It was when he got to the bump on Ray's head that he paused. "Bumped your head, did you? And then you didn't have the good sense to rest up and heal. Like the rest of these boys – stubborn sods. No, don't sit up yet – I'm going to give you something to help with that headache. Probably wouldn't refuse something for the stomach either, I'd wager."
The medic turned to Solomon and surveyed him from head to toe before clomping off to get the promised medicine. Florian took the opportunity to take Ray's hand.
"Don't fuss," Ray grumbled. "I can't stand it."
"Unless it's you doing the fussing," Florian teased. He brushed Ray's hair back from his forehead and frowned. "You're warm. " He looked up at the medic who was returning with the medicine. "Does he have a fever?"
"A slight fever, nothing to worry about. This will settle it along with his head. This other is for the stomach – same stuff I gave you. Need another dose?"
Florian wanted to refuse, but both Solomon and Ray were giving him warning looks, so he just nodded and accepted his portion after Ray took his.
"Get up on deck for a while. The air will do you good. And you," he poked at Solomon, "take it easy. I've got enough patients at the moment." He waved them away.
"Captain's waiting," Wilkins told them once they arrived on deck. Trembly returned to his duties, letting Florian lead his friends to the captain's cabin.
"Gentlemen," the captain motioned for them to join her at the small table in the corner where a meal of ham and potatoes followed by apple tart had been laid out for them – a treat after days of fish and fruit. There was a nice red wine to go with it, and they finished the bottle as they dined and started another as they lingered at the table afterwards.
Conversation during the meal had been kept light – weather, location, travel – simple topics that wouldn't cause any undue upset. But once the captain had signaled Wilkins to clear away the dishes, she took control.
"Perhaps you gentlemen will tell me," she said with deceptive mildness, "How you came to make a sail out of my dress?"
"What?" Florian asked, confused. Beside him, Ray and Solomon exchanged glances.
"Apparently Madeline Pennington wasn't lost at sea after all," Ray said as he leaned forward and extended his hand. She took it with a cold smile.
"Madeline Pennington was lost well before that ill-fated voyage," she assured them. "Do you have any idea how difficult it is for a woman, even an aristocrat, to become a pirate? It took years to make the arrangements."
"But your family?" Florian could not imagine wanting to leave family behind. But then he remembered those terrible days, when he turned to his aunt and uncle for help after his mother's death, only to discover that they had been the ones to murder her and frame him for it. They'd been ready to kill him too, all for the sake of the fabled family diamond. In the end, the diamond killed them, leaving Florian without family, except for a few distant cousins.
He felt a light touch on his arm and looked down to see Ray's hand resting there. He looked up into Ray's eyes and offered him a smile. He had a different family now – Ray and Laila, little Noel, and even Solomon. Florian gave Solomon a smile too, before returning his attention to the captain.
"My family has other concerns," she said, ignoring Florian's breech in manners. She'd tried to leave that judgmental, disapproving life far behind. Her crew might not be the best, and they certainly weren't the smartest, but they were hers, and they were loyal to her in their own way.
"So, about that dress. The fact that you found it and know my name suggests that you found my trunk."
"We did. It was washed up on the shore like we had been. I regret to say that we deconstructed two of the dresses to make a canopy and blanket as well as the sail." Solomon acted as spokesman - Ray had gotten quiet as the meal progressed, and it seemed as if he had used up all his reserves of energy. Solomon hoped he could end this soon so Ray could rest.
"It's not the dresses I'm interested in. Can't exactly flounce around on deck like a dizzy aristocrat if I want to be taken seriously as a captain." The captain leaned forward into Solomon's personal space. "I need other things from the trunk. Things that you might have found?"
"There was a jewelry case," Solomon offered, keeping eye contact with the captain. He had a suspicion that Ray wasn't in a hurry to offer any information about the gems or the map they'd found in the secret compartment.
"Let me see it?" Madeline Pennington had mastered the art of smiling sweetly when she was at her most venomous. It had been a basic survival skill among her peers. As a ship captain and aspiring pirate, it was somewhat less effective. But these were aristocrats - at least Florian and Courland were, and Sugar clearly spent enough time around them that he understood.
"It was with our belongings. I believe your crewmen left them on deck when we went to see the medic. Shall I get it?"
"No need to trouble yourself. I'll get it." She left without waiting for objections; not that she would have listened to any regardless. Her intent was clear, and she wanted them to know it: every one of their belongings would be searched. The only possibility for concealing anything was if it was on their person.
Fortunately, that was exactly where the map and small pouch of gems were - in the secret pocket of Ray's jacket.
Neither men mentioned the items to Florian - Captain Madeline Pennington was an unknown, and not to be trusted and they couldn't risk her or one of her crew overhearing their conversation.
While they waited for the captain's return, Ray took the opportunity to pull Florian close and press a kiss against his ear. Beneath the layer of salt he smelled like Florian. Ray breathed him in, letting his body rest against Florian's. He wished they were alone in their rented house in Australia - better yet, he wished they were home in Paris where there was no need to worry about proper behavior.
Ray really, really wanted to be improper right now. He'd even let Solomon stay if he wanted to.
Florian's cool hand rested against Ray's left cheek, and Ray closed his eyes and leaned into the contact. He opened his eyes and closed them again, more slowly this time.
"Ray?" Florian sounded concerned, but Ray couldn't work up the energy to respond. He shifted more fully into the contact.
"Ray!" It was Solomon this time - and Ray felt his familiar grip on his upper arms, shaking him gently. "Wake up, Ray. You're upsetting Florian. Hang on just a little longer. When the captain returns I'll ask her if there's somewhere you can rest."
They waited in silence until the captain returned a few minutes later. She carried the jewelry case and wore a very unhappy expression.
"This is all you found?" she demanded, setting the case down on the table.
"It was." Solomon looked at Ray, who was leaning against Florian. "I'd be glad to show you the trunk if you'd like - we probably missed whatever you're looking for. But Ray needs to stay here and rest."
"I'll stay with him," Florian offered quickly.
The captain studied the two men, frowning as she weighed her options. She wasn't worried about the safety of her ship - there was no way those two men could overtake her crew.
"Fair enough. You might as well use my bed again Florian."
It was a casual comment, with no apparent hidden meaning, but the words stuck in Ray's mind even as he allowed Florian to fuss over him.
XXXXX
"Where is it?" The captain demanded, standing in the center of Solomon and Ray's recently abandoned camp and scowling.
"It was right there," Solomon insisted. "There's still an impression in the sand." He pointed out the rectangular depression in the sand where something heavy had been sitting. There were footprints all through the camp, but it was hard to tell which prints belonged to Ray and Solomon, and which prints might belong to someone else. Only the captain's prints were distinctive - she had small feet.
"There's the canopy and the bed. There's the campfire we used. There's a pile of shell fragments over there that we used to scrape scales off of the fish we caught." Solomon pointed out all of the signs of their camp, trying to gauge the captain's feelings. She was clearly displeased to find the trunk missing, but could he convince her that they hadn't taken it? "Why would I lie about any of this? We had the trunk - you recognized the fabric. In all the time we were here, Ray and I never saw another person. If we had, we would have asked them for help."
She still didn't look convinced, but Solomon didn't know what else to say to make her believe him. Instead, he gathered the various pieces of her dress, but she stopped him with a sharp, "Leave it."
She turned and walked away, demanding that he show her where the trunk had been found. He hurried after her, suddenly very aware of Trembly following closely at his heels.
Until they were safely back in Australia, they had to do everything they could to avoid challenging the captain. Solomon knew that Ray wouldn't want to hand over the map - especially since they had no idea what it led to, but it wasn't worth their safety. Unfortunately, there wouldn't be any way to discuss this with Ray. Even if they could find somewhere away from the ears of the captain and crew, it would be much harder to get away from Florian. And Solomon didn't want Florian involved any more than Ray would.
"Where was it?" the captain snapped as Solomon joined her in looking at a debris-strewn area of beach that showed a lot of footprints.
"It was either here or the next spot just a short distance up the beach," Solomon pointed in the direction where he had walked that first day after being stranded. Solomon thought he would exactly where he'd found the trunk, but it looked different now, especially since a lot of the debris had been moved while he was building the raft.
They examined both places, the captain and Trembly kneeling to study sections of sand that didn't look any different than the rest to Solomon. He found a convenient rock and waited. He hadn't realized how tired he was until now.
"Back to the ship," the captain ordered after a length of fruitless searching. "We'll circle the island and see if there are any other ships. If we don't find anything, we'll have to send out search teams."
Solomon stood, every part of his body begging for rest. He trudged back to the boat and climbed in, reminding himself that he had to stay alert.
He wondered how accurate the captain was when she called herself a pirate. Solomon had met a few over the years, and while they'd been rough-mannered and short tempered, they'd also been fair minded. He hoped Madeline Pennington proved to be the same.
XXXXX
As desperately as Florian wanted to crawl into bed beside Ray, he was too aware of their surroundings. He and Ray had always been careful of their behavior in public, and this situation required them to be even more circumspect.
Florian had no intention of telling Ray about the captain's test. She hadn't actually forced him to do anything, but just knowing that she had suggested it would upset Ray. Ever since their trip to Morocco, Ray had been very protective. When Florian had been kissed by an old acquaintance at a party, Ray had been barely civil to her for the rest of the evening.
They simply couldn't risk doing anything to upset the captain until they were safely back in Australia. Usually Ray was the master of subtle displeasure, but when he was ill, he was more likely to say or do something that had Florian scrambling to cover for him.
Among the Paris aristocracy, a gaff was embarrassing but fixable. Florian didn't feel the same kind of surety here.
With a sigh, he leaned over Ray and brushed the sweat-damp hair from his forehead. Taking up the wash cloth, he wrung it out and ran it lightly over Ray's face ending at Ray's mouth. He pressed the wet cloth lightly against Ray's lips. It was the closest he dared come to a tender kiss.