Free A Stroke of Luck by Andrea Pickens Page B

his expression to grow grimmer. Like the blisters on his toe and fingers, she was a niggling irritation, a constant prickling against his skin. But like them, she would soon be gone, he assured himself.
    And his shout of relief would echo up to the very summit of Mount Olympus!
    The small craft rounded the jutting rocks and with one last pitch and roll sailed into calmer water. A small wharf materialized from out of the mist, along with the silhouettes of several other boats and a cluster of whitewashed buildings.
    "Hell's bells!" exclaimed Stump, shading his eyes with his hand. "Do you see what I see?"
    "Land. Not quite dry land, but it will do." The duke forced a quip though he was not really in any mood for joking. Hell's Bells, he repeated to himself. It made no sense. His spirits should be as light and airy as a Handel chorus, yet for some reason they felt as dark and stormy as a Beethoven symphony.
    "No. Over there," said Stump.
    He peered to where his valet was pointing. After a blink or two he was able to make out two masts, then a sleek hull, its polished brass fittings winking brightly despite the hazy light.
    "It's Nereid , sir!"
    Indeed, it was his private yacht that was tied stem and stern to the barnacled pilings. McTavish maneuvered his own boat in between the graceful ketch and a fishing dory, and made the mooring ropes fast to a pair of rusting cleats.
    "Here you be, lassie." He held out a hand and helped Zara scramble onto the weathered wharf.
    "Thank you, sir. I—"
    "Auch, no need te be thanking me. A deal be a deal, an you all worked herd for your part of it." He gave a wave of his pipe at Prestwick. "Even His Majesty, I reckon."
    The two lads were quick to follow, the canvas bags clutched in their arms. The duke and valet took a bit longer to navigate the slippery stones.
    "What a corker," murmured Nonny admiringly, his eyes running over the rake of Nereid's masts and the graceful lines of her hull. His elbow poked into his brother's ribs "Look at the tuning of the rigging. I'll wager she can do over twelve knots under full sail—"
    His words were drowned out by a loud clatter as a uniformed captain and several of the crew raced down the yacht's gangplank and surrounded the duke.
    "Your Grace!" The man's voice was awash in relief as he sketched a low bow. "Thank Heavens! We thought... we feared..." He ceased fumbling with the brass buttons on his navy coat long enough to take a deep breath. "Good Heavens, sir, let us escort you to your stateroom, where we can see to laying out hot water, a razor, fresh linen, a proper meal..."
    Prestwick, feeling as if there were still a storm-tossed deck beneath his feet, let himself be carried along on the tide of his captain's concerns.
    * * *
    "Come along, boys," said Zara, glad to note that her voice sounded a good bit steadier than she actually felt. "We have more important things to do than stand gawking at a gentleman's fancy toy."
    "That's it? He's gone?" asked Perry, staring rather forlornly at the deserted deck of the yacht.
    "What did you expect?" she replied, then instantly regretted her acid tone on seeing the crumpling of his expression.
    "I—I don't know." The words were barely a whisper. "He seemed... different, that's all."
    "Well, he's not." She took the bag from his unresisting grip and slung it firmly over her shoulder. Turning quickly, so that neither of them could see the disappointment etched on her own face, she surveyed the narrow street.
    The sight did nothing to buoy her spirits.
    There was no sign of a coaching inn—not that they had the blunt to pay for even an outside passage. But usually such an establishment was busy enough that there was some sort of menial work to be had. A few coins would at least get them started. And after that? Her hand fingers tightened on the drawstrings and she took a step forward, refusing to think that far ahead.
    "Lassie."
    Zara looked around.
    "Are you going south, then?" asked McTavish.
    She nodded.
    "Best