(eng) Kage Baker - Company 05 by The Life of the World to Come # (v5.0)

Author:The Life of the World to Come # (v5.0) [#, The Life of the World to Come]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

As Alec walked back that evening, staggering somewhat, he reflected guiltily that Balkister wasn’t his oldest human friend; Lewin surely was. The old man had been through so much in the last week already, maybe he’d have already turned in and wouldn’t notice Alec’s condition. Asleep and dreaming in his nice grand stateroom. Nothing but the best for poor old Lewin.

But there was a light burning on board the Captain Morgan, shining across the black water at Tower Marina. Alec’s heart sank. He paused at a vending machine outside the mooring office to purchase a small bottle of distilled water, and rinsed his mouth several times. He groped in the pockets of the coat he’d bought for a roll of peppermints, remembered it was a new coat and had nothing useful in the pockets, and thumped the vending machine a few more times before it spat out a little packet of herbal cough drops. Not quite what was wanted, but it would have to do. He tipped most of the packet into his mouth and crunched them up, ignoring the Captain’s laughter. They tasted vile.

The mermaid was staring into the Thames fog with an ironic expression as he trudged heavily up the gangplank. She was the only one to greet his return; Billy Bones and crew had to stay below decks, deactivated, when he was in London. This had been the rule ever since an elderly yachtsman moored next to Alec’s ship had glanced out his porthole, seen Billy Bones crawling along the deck with a tray of breakfast, and suffered a near-fatal heart attack from the shock.

Concentrating on his posture, Alec strolled along the deck and past the door of Lewin’s stateroom. It was standing open. Alec ducked his head to peer through and stopped, dumbfounded at what he saw.

Lewin was sitting up at the table, resting his elbows on the polished surface and staring thoughtfully at a cut-crystal decanter in front of him. Earlier in the evening the decanter had been secured away in a locked cabinet, and it had been full of very expensive single malt. It wasn’t full now, by any means.

“Lewin?” said Alec.

Lewin’s head came up unsteadily and swung round. He focused his eyes and saw Alec. “Don’t chide me, son,” he said. “Ain’t had a drink in seventy-five years, have I? Have a li’l patience with the old guy.”

How the hell did he get into that cabinet? I secured that lock!

Alec stepped over the threshold and moved into the circle of lamplight Lewin peered at him. “Good God. Where jer buy that coat? Y‘look like … like something awfully tall n’ silver n’ purple.”

“I thought it was kind of neat,” Alec said. He attempted to slide into the booth across from Lewin and hit his head on the hanging lamp. “Ow.”

“You been drinking, ain’t you, son?” Lewin looked stern. “Thought so. Nobody’d buy a coat like that sober, for Chrissake. You’ll be sober tomorrow, won’t you, son? Promise me you’ll be sober.”

“I promise, sir.”

“I’ll be sober, too,” said Lewin sadly.

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