Chapter 40: Cruise For A Princess

When Tamsin was thirty-three she discovered that she was again pregnant, this time by Charles, and that she was to have a baby boy. Both of the parents were delighted by this news, but worried when the doctors said she should spend the last month of her pregnancy in hospital. They would not explain why, merely saying that it was a precautionary measure.

Janice often went to visit her in the pre-maternity accommodation in Kobek. It was awkward to visit, particularly for a woman, since it was over a hundred miles from the ship's dock at Mayia Asrag to the capital, so she usually went one day, stayed one or two nights and then returned to the ship, always travelling with an escorting eunuch.

Admiral Henry Hargreaves was off duty and asleep when the orders came to put to sea without delay, and Janice was in the capital. Thus it was that the Second Officer, Charles LeBoeuf had the ship under way before the Admiral woke. It was only the revving up of the engines as they went to full ahead after clearing the harbour bar which woke him. Five minutes later he was on the bridge in full uniform.

"What's happening, Charles?" he demanded.

"We had orders to sail through the Canal and up the Adriatic to pick up Princess Elaheh who will be in Venice waiting for us," was the reply; Charles adding with pride, "I had us cast off and through the harbour bar in fifty-seven minutes from the moment the order came. It really made them hurry on the escort ship, I can tell you. They were a full four minutes behind us."

"Why was I not woken? You know my orders."

"Yes, Sir. Your orders are that you are to be woken at the slightest emergency. I did not consider setting sail constituted an emergency in any sense of the word."

"Yes, well, next time wake me before we set sail to anywhere."

Charles gave an exaggerated salute, "Aye, aye, Sir."

"And stop taking the piss with your bad imitation of a comic opera sailor."

Both men smiled at each other with the trust that comes from working together for years.

"Do you have any idea why we have been ordered to the northern end of the Adriatic?" asked Charles, "We don't need any more women do we, or do you?"

"No idea," replied the Admiral, "What do you mean, do I need any more women?"

"Well there's an illicit slave market on the island of Rab, off the Croatian coast where Admiral Peitsche used to buy Albanian girls. I wondered if that was to be out destination, since the wives are both away."

"Sorry. I had never heard of it, and I have no more idea than you why we are sailing. Who ordered it?"

Charles thought for a moment and then said, "I was told by someone from the Golden Palace that it was the Emir's orders."

Henry merely shrugged. As far as he was concerned, the ways of the Emir were, if anything, more mysterious than those of the Almighty.

It was a long hard driving slog at the Imperial Voyager's maximum cruising speed to do the seven and a half thousand miles, down the Persian Gulf, through the Gulf of Oman, and up the Red Sea. They were forced to move very slowly through the Suez Canal, taking fourteen hours to transit its hundred miles, but it was full speed again across the Mediterranean and up the Adriatic. They refuelled at Trieste just an hour under seven days after leaving Mayia Asrag.

Shortly after leaving Trieste, they had five minutes notice to assemble a small guard of honour before a large twin rotor helicopter in the colours of Air Kobekistan touched down on the Imperial Voyager's pad and the first part of Princess Elaheh's party arrived. Henry had been forewarned who was coming, but he was surprised that there were no attendants with them. As soon as the passengers had safely cleared the rotors, beneath which they stooped quite unnecessarily, they were piped aboard and he stepped forward and greeted them with a deep bow.

"Princess, welcome aboard the Imperial Voyager."

"Admiral, may I commend you on a very smart turn-out of the crew of your boat?" the Princess replied.