Chapter Two

 

O’Neil fidgeted under his pressed and cleaned shirt. He hated this kind of pretty boy clothing. It made him feel like some kind of fop. He tugged at the collar as he looked around the dinner table. Not even the tug of the ship across the water, the lull of the current moving underneath him, could give him comfort.

The captain sat directly across from him. The old man cackled at something said by one of the Dutchmen at his side. The Dutch sat in perfect rows of six and eight on each side of the table with only two seats left open for the scientist and his daughter.

Something rubbed O’Neil the wrong way about Wagner and his men. They all sat up straight and true, like little clones of one another. They almost seemed like some kind of machines, programmed to act like men.

O’Neil pushed the thoughts aside. Perhaps it was only because the men were so formal. He wasn’t used to much formality in his life; his annoyance at his own clothes was proof of that.

The other two tables in the hall were filled with the crew and the remainder of the Dutch contingent. They already were eating a hearty potato soup. The smell of it made O’Neil’s stomach tingle. Unfortunately for him, the captain insisted that the entire table be present before any of the food was served.

By the time the young lady and her middle-aged father walked into the room, O’Neil had given thought to gnawing off his own leg. Their arrival felt like a God given miracle.

Captain Roy rose from his chair and welcomed them to the table. He invited them to have a seat. O’Neil said a silent thank you when they quickly obliged.

Cookie came out of the kitchen with the third and final stewpot. He placed it in the center of the captain’s table and started ladling the contents from the bowl. O’Neil felt his mouth water.

The Captain leaned over to the new arrivals and ‘whispered” loud enough for the entire room to hear.

“Mr. Prynne, I know that we have been properly introduced. Would you like to meet the rest of the table?”

“Of course,” Prynne said with a weak smile. His daughter looked up and down the table with a casual disdain. Her eyes stopped at O’Neil.

O’Neil raised one hand and waved even as Roy started to rattle down the names of the Dutch contingent. He arrived at O’Neil just as he finished the wave.

“Oh, it seems like you know my first officer then. His name’s O’Neil, but for obvious reasons everyone calls him Armless.”

“Yes,” Genevieve said coldly. “We’ve met.”

“Good, good,” Captain Roy said. “If you need anything and I’m not available, Armless is the one you should seek. A better sailor I’ve never met.”

Without pausing, Roy continued reciting the names of the rest of Wagner’s crew. He finally reached the far end of the table, just across from Genevieve.

“And this is of course, Mr. Wagner, the agent for the Dutch concern. What it is you’re after again, diamonds?”

“Rubies, actually. I have an excellent lead from one of our exploration teams.”

“Rubies, that’s an odd one for these jungles. But I don’t judge.” Roy cackled. “As long as I’m paid, that is.”

“Indeed,” Wagner said. O’Neil could feel the man’s disdain, but the captain showed no sign that he even heard it. Knowing the old man’s hearing, he may not have.

Wagner looked across the table. “Tell me, Miss Genevieve, what brings you and your father to the Nile. This is still quite dangerous territory to traverse.”

Genevieve smiled as she sipped at the hot stew. O’Neil was impressed that despite her finery, she seemed all right with the simple ship’s food. He wondered where she picked up a taste for something as simple as Cookie’s sludge.

“We are in search of a flower that grows on the banks of the lower Nile. My father has done experiments on a few samples brought up the river and carried all the way back to the United States. He found that it had immense painkilling potential and—”

“And nothing, daughter. We wish to experiment more with the plant. Perhaps I can find more uses for it, but none that I can confirm at this time.”

“I see,” Wagner said. “Very interesting.”

Genevieve nodded. Wagner took a slow sip of his soup. He nearly gagged on the thick concoction. O’Neil couldn’t suppress a chuckle, even as the young woman covered her own mouth to hide a smile.

Wagner cleared his throat. “My apologies. I must say, despite the lack of quality food, that the captain comes well recommended. I look forward to perhaps more time in your company before this voyage comes to an end.”

“It seems we will be dining together on the regular, Mr. Wagner,” Genevieve replied.

“Indeed,” Wagner said. “But I meant perhaps outside of a dinner situation.”

“We will have to see, Mr. Wagner. We will have to see.”

O’Neil smirked as he swallowed the last of his soup. He couldn’t help thinking he liked the girl already.