The Palace Library by Steven Loveridge

Author:Steven Loveridge [Loveridge, Steven]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Fantasy
ISBN: 148017663X
Goodreads: 16284783
Publisher: CreateSpace
Published: 2012-10-30T00:00:00+00:00

14. The Saint George

The smell assaulted the noses of the three children when they first boarded the boat. They were glad of their little leaving gift from Anwen; three little cloth bags full of scented herbs. Now they knew what they were for. Even Harry, who thought it was a bit girly, held the bag to his nose to disguise the horrid smells. There was the smell of raw sewage, which hung over the air alongside the smell of sweaty bodies. Then there was the rotting offal from the abattoir that stood by the quayside to supply the ships with meat. They weren’t even sure that the smell of Purple Bane or Dragons’ Bane scratched from Eleanor’s book might not be better. Poor Sophie with her sensitive nose didn’t have a cloth bag, but Eleanor sat down with her from time to time and shared her own. The deerhound breathed in the scent of the cloth bag deeply through her nose before lying down again and panting through her mouth to avoid the nauseous smells going up her nostrils.

The children were standing right up on the poop deck at the back of the boat - or the stern, as they soon learned to call it. There had been tears from the girls when they said goodbye to Master John and Anwen on the quayside. Even Harry had been very silent and upright when he shook Master John’s hand, feeling little wells of water forming in the corner of his eyes.

Edwin was down on the main deck, organising his tools and belongings to his own satisfaction. Eloise was below the decks, making up the Captain’s cabin, which had been handed over to Eleanor, Grace and Eloise for the journey. Harry was to sleep in a hammock in a tiny cabin with Edwin, while the Captain would make do with a cot in his chart room. But these were all places of supreme comfort compared to rest of the crew, who simply had to find a space to hang a hammock anywhere they could, sometimes on the open deck.

If Harry had been asked to describe how the Captain of the King’s flagship might have looked, he might have imagined a man in a long blue coat with gold braid and smart white trousers. But the man who had welcomed them aboard looked more like a pirate than the captain of his imagination. A hook and a parrot on the shoulder would not have seemed strange.

“I don’t like the look of the Captain,” said Eleanor. “His eyes never seem to stay still. They look around the place all the time.”

“I don’t know how we can tell,” said Harry. “He seems to be doing so much all at once getting ready to leave.” Harry had had the sense to show the Captain the Queen’s signet ring at once when they arrived. They had been expected and there was little trouble getting on board.

“Once we are underway down the river with the oars, you can tell me our destination and we will plot a course.

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