“Pull all you want. You wouldn’t be the first to try escaping.” The man stood as if someone had caught his attention and went up the steps. I couldn’t hear the conversation at first, until he said something about us being fine as we were.
Then a female voice said, “Agor wants them treated like guests. I’ve got some water here to refresh them.”
At the first word, my heart had stopped cold in my chest, for it was a voice that I knew as well as my own. But only seconds later, before I could even begin to grasp what it might mean, Imogen walked down the stairs.
She avoided my eyes, but clearly wasn’t surprised to see me. True, several people knew the pirates and I had unfinished business, but it was also supposed to be true that a person couldn’t just find the pirates. They had to let the pirates find them. How was she here?
“Will you keep an eye on these two while I’m at the outhouse?” our vigil asked. “They shouldn’t be any trouble.”
“Of course.” As the man ran up the stairs, Imogen turned to us. “Agor doesn’t want you mistreated. So how are you?”
The question was so simple I almost couldn’t comprehend it. All I could do was stare at her with my mouth hung open. Imogen’s servant braid had returned, as had her far more humble clothes, a muslin chemise with a brown overdress that laced up the front. Back at the castle she’d said she would leave as she came, but I’d had no idea then how literally she’d meant it.
“We’re fine,” Fink said.
I caught Imogen’s eye, but only for a moment before she looked away. Had she volunteered to bring us the food so that I would know she was here, or had she come reluctantly, and only on orders?
“The pirates rarely get visitors,” she said. “So we were all surprised when you rode in.”
Fink pointed to me. “He has something for them.”
“Ah. And what could a ragged boy like him have that’s worth offering Avenian pirates?”
Fink looked at me, unsure of whether he should answer her. I was too consumed with questions about Imogen to care if he did or not. She had been in my court only five days ago. To be here now, she must have come directly to Tarblade, and yet I couldn’t believe she had any prior connection to the pirates. There were very few people in this world whom I trusted completely. Imogen was one of them.
She smiled at Fink. “Is your friend a mute, or is he just pretending that he can’t speak? What’s his name?”
“Oh, he can speak plenty, though most of it’s not very nice. His name is Sage.”
Imogen’s cheery expression deflated when she looked at me. “Really? Something so familiar?” A frown formed as she dropped the pretense of being a stranger to me. “That can’t be your name.”
Fink looked from Imogen over to me, and back to her again. Clearly confused, he asked, “Do you know each other?”
Recovering, Imogen shook her head, dismissing our friendship as coldly as I had rejected her back at the castle. “I once knew someone who looks like him. But no, I don’t know this boy at all.”
“I demand to know what’s happening,” I finally said, sounding as angry and confused as I felt.
“Your friend has a harsh tone to his voice,” Imogen said to Fink. “Does he always talk that way?”
“Yes,” he said. “I warned you.”
“Then tell him he’s in no position to demand anything from me,” she said.
Fink looked over as if to tell me that, then saw my hands already in fists and wisely decided against it. Obviously, she was still upset for how I’d sent her away. But if this was her idea of revenge, it made no sense. Why was she here?
Fink said, “I didn’t think they let girls become pirates.”
“I’m only hired help,” Imogen said. “We work in the kitchen mostly and serve the food.” Then she looked back at me. “But I hope my time here is very short.”
It would be. I’d make sure of that.
“Can you explain why your friend keeps staring at me?” she asked Fink. “Does he know how rude that is? How obvious it is?”
Fink giggled. “Maybe he likes you.”
“Maybe I think this is no place for you,” I said.
“As if a boy like you would ever care about me.” She dipped a ladle into a bucket of water and held it out for Fink, who eagerly drank. Then she put the ladle back in the bucket and moved to leave.