The Dragon Keeper

“But, well, but Alise, six days should be more than ample, if what Captain Trell told us about the dragons is true. So we can wait here a day, or even two if need be, and find more appropriate transport up the river.”



Skelly was not paying any attention to the quibbling passengers. She had her orders from the mate and that was who she obeyed. She was waving to Hennesey who had swung a small cargo derrick over the side. Hennesey released the line and the girl deftly caught the swinging hook and began making it fast to the wardrobe trunk. Eider and Bellin were standing by to bring it aboard. Leftrin’s crew was good; they’d have the passengers’ luggage loaded while the man was still chewing on his lip. Best find out their intentions now rather than to have to offload it all.



“You can wait,” Leftrin told the man. “But I don’t think you’ll find anything else going upriver in the next few days. Not much traffic between Trehaug and Cassarick right now. And what there is will be a lot smaller than I am. Still, it’s your choice. But you’ll need to make it quickly. I’ve already waited longer than I should have. I’ve appointments of my own to keep.”



And that was true. The urgently worded missive from the Traders’ Council at Cassarick sounded as if it could mean a nice little profit for him, if he undertook their rather dubious mission. Leftrin grinned. He already knew he’d take on the task. He’d taken on most of the supplies he’d need for the journey here in Trehaug. But leaving the Traders’ Council in doubt until the last possible minute was one way to push the price up. By the time he reached Cassarick, they’d be ready to promise him the moon. So delaying for these passengers was not really that much of an annoyance. He leaned on the railing to ask, “You aboard or not?”



He was waiting for the man to respond to his words, so he was surprised when the woman replied to him. She tipped her head back to speak to him, and the sun reached through her gauzy veil to reveal her features. Her stance reminded him of a flower turning its face to the sun. She had large gray eyes set wide apart in a heart-shaped face. She had bundled her hair out of the way, but what he could see of it was dark red and curling. Freckles sprinkled her nose and cheeks generously. Another man might have seen her mouth as too generous for her face, but not Leftrin. The single darting glance she gave him seemed to look not into his eyes but into his heart. And then she looked aside, too proper to meet a strange man’s eyes.



“. . . no choice, really,” she was saying, and he wondered what words he had missed. “We’ll be happy to go with you, sir. I’m sure your boat will suit us admirably.” A rueful smile twitched at her lips, and as she turned her attention to her companion, Leftrin felt a pang of loss as she tilted her head and apologized to him sweetly. “Sedric, I’m sorry. I’m sorry that you were dragged into this whole mess with me, and I’m ashamed that I must drag you from one boat to the next without even a cup of tea or a few hours on dry land to settle you. But you see how it is. We must go.”



“Well, if it’s a cup of tea you’d like, that’s something I can brew up for you here in the galley. And if it was dry land you were after, well, there’s little of that in Trehaug, or anywhere else in the Rain Wilds. So you haven’t missed it, it was never there. Come on aboard, and welcome.”



That brought her eyes back to his. “Why, Captain Leftrin, how kind of you,” she exclaimed, and the sincere relief in her voice warmed him. She lifted the veiling on her hat to look at him directly, and he nearly lost his breath.



He seized the railing and swung over it, dropping lightly to the dock. He sketched a bow to her. Surprised, she took two small steps backward. Young Skelly made a small sound that might have been a giggle. Her captain shot her a glare and she quickly went back to work. Leftrin turned his attention back to the woman.



“Tarman may not look as fancy as some of the other ships you’ve seen, but he’ll carry you safely upriver where few vessels as large as he is can manage to go. Shallow draft, you know. And a crew that knows how to find the best channel when the current takes to wandering. You wouldn’t want to wait for one of those little toy boats to carry you. They might look a bit fancier than my Tarman, but they rock like a birdcage in the wind and their crews battle to push them against the current. You’ll be far more comfortable with us. May I assist you in boarding, ma’am?” He grinned at her and dared to stick out his arm for her to take. She glanced at it uncertainly, then at her disapproving companion. The man crossed his arms. He was no husband of hers, or Leftrin was certain he would have objected. Better and better.