Chapter 2

I woke at four to the bleeping of my watch, and slipped out of bed without bothering with lights, grabbed fleece trousers, socks and pullover, and made my way forward, through the cockpit to the saloon. There I started a kettle to boil in the galley and dressed. I made myself coffee and filled two flasks with boiling water – not that it'd stay boiling for long, but better than nothing – before starting to prepare to get under way.

As it happened I was in the cockpit when Grace emerged from the master-cabin. My cabin. Quite naked. There was enough light from the moon, not to mention lights in Harwich and the powerful floodlights of Felixstowe port, for me to get a good look at her. Okay, she was thin, but I wouldn't have said 'skinny' and definitely not 'skeletal', which was how I'd visualised her. She had curves in the right places, f'sure, and I've never minded whether breasts were A cup or D cup or anything between. Bigger, not so keen, though I wouldn't say no if they were pushed in my face. Anyway, she flicked a glance in my direction, but kept going and disappeared into the saloon en route to her cabin, I assumed.

Having got the tiers off the mizzen, I went to the main to undo the tiers there. By the time I'd done and was started on hoisting the main, she was back on deck and came to me.

"What shall I do?"

I was tempted to ask, right then, what the hell she thought she was doing, sneaking into my bed, but, rightly or wrongly, left it until we were under way.

"You could get the mizzen hoisted, if you will."

"Okay." I thought I detected relief in her tone in that one word as she turned and headed aft. I finished getting the main up and headed forward to get the anchor in. She wasn't far behind.

"Now what?"

"Brush," I said, pointing to a scruffy coarse broom. "Dip it in the river and see how much of the mud and weed on the chain you can get off as I heave the chain in."

It was cold, wet and not terribly pleasant, but not a word of complaint did she utter.

Serendipity was 'wind-rode' – that is, she was facing into the wind, rather than in line with the current ('tide-rode') and I'd left the helm with some starb'd wheel on.

When I thought the anchor was about to leave the ground, I said to Grace, "Go aft to the cockpit, please, and when I say, turn the wheel to port."

She nodded. I watched her until she was at the wheel, then heaved in the last few feet of chain. Serendipity, pushed backwards by the wind, began to sheer off as I secured the anchor. The wind began to catch the sails and the backwards motion first stopped and then reversed.

"Now!" I called.

She turned the wheel and Serendipity continued to turn away from the wind.

"Straighten up, now," I called, heading aft myself. "Good," I told her as I arrived. We were heading, slowly, down river. I sheeted in the main-sheet, unfurled the stay-sail, and sheeted in the mizzen. We were sailing toward the North Sea again. South for a little over a mile, then a little north of east. "Breakfast," I said. "Do you want to steer, or make the sandwiches?"

"I'd rather stay in the fresh air, if that's alright?"

"Okay. Stay out of the fairway," I told her, "to the right of the port-side buoys."

"The red ones," she said, checking.

"Right." I went below and made sandwiches. She had some sort of mushroom paté. I decided I was going to have bacon. So while the kettle was boiling again and the bacon was sizzling, I took the mushroom paté sandwiches out to her.

"Ted..." she glanced at me, then back at the burgee and the luff of the staysail, "I..."

"Not now, Grace. Let me deal with breakfast. You want tea?"

"Redbush, please."

Redbush, or Rooibos, is a caffeine and tannin-free leaf that can be used to make something that vaguely resembles tea, though sweeter and without any stimulating qualities. I'm told it is high in 'antioxidants', whatever they are. It comes from South Africa. Only from South Africa. Anyway, she got an insulated mug of the stuff which I placed in the convenient socket next to the wheel I'd installed soon after purchasing my vessel. By the time I'd made coffee, the bacon was about ready and I slapped it between two slices of bread and took it to the cockpit. She sniffed. I ignored it.

It was half an hour to the Landguard cardinal and the sky was lightening in the east again as we turned east and a little north. I reckoned we'd be about one and a half hours to the Cross buoy, where we'd turn north. Our sandwiches and drinks were history by sunrise. We watched the ... spectacle ... together.

Once the sun was well above the horizon, we were ready to turn north, which meant a gybe. On course, however, I decided to broach the issue.

"Grace, what were you thinking of?"

She blushed hotly. "I..." then was silent for some seconds. I didn't press her. "I'm sorry, Ted. I didn't think you'd mind..."

It was my turn to be silent as Serendipity curtseyed onward over the slight swell.

"But what's it about?" I asked eventually.

"I ... can't say."

"Look, I need to have some idea of what's going on ... of what you expect from me."

"I want a few months adventure before ... well, while I can. I really do want to visit the Scottish Islands. I'm interested in the Norse, you see, and archaeology. The sea has always fascinated me, and sailing. You were ... recommended."

"I was? I can't think why. This is my first time sailing north of the Wash. And I know next to nothing about the Vikings."

"It ... wasn't that. Oh, you've a reputation as a competent, safe, skipper, or I wouldn't have come with you..."

"Then what?"

There was a very long pause. "Will you take the wheel, Ted? I want to get another drink. Would you like one?"

I shrugged. Would I get to the bottom of this? I stepped forward and reached past her for the wheel. She let go and leaned back against me for a moment, then went below.

She returned with a mug of steaming herbal something-or-other for herself and a black coffee for me, placed mine in the bracket and sat next to me, cradling her drink.

"I'm pregnant," she said, abruptly.

I glanced at her, her head was down. "I hope you weren't hoping to manoeuvre me into marrying you," I said sharply.

"Oh! No! Nothing like that ... No, I know who the father is, but he – his family is rich, they'll support me, but he ditched me once he had my virginity. I just wanted, well, a bit of adventure before I was stuck as a single mum."

"That's not all, though, is it?" It didn't hang together for me. Why me?

Her colour was already high, but she blushed even darker. "It's ... well ... you're supposed to be ... really good ... in bed."

That ... was a new one to me. I knew I was rarely without a bed partner, but never really thought of myself as Casanova; I just tried to make sure my partner had as much fun as I did. It was my turn to be silent.

"It's okay if you don't want me," she went on, "I mean, I know I'm not attractive. No-one ever took any interest in me except Rupert, and all he wanted was my cherry. But I do want my adventure, even without any sex."

I didn't know what to say, so I said nothing until we passed the North Shipwash cardinal.

"I don't know what to say," I admitted to her, eventually. "this isn't something that's arisen before. The trouble is, you and I have a contractual relationship. I'm just not sure how it would work with sex mixed in. It's definitely not that I don't think you're attractive..." okay, a bit of a white lie, there, but quite honestly looks didn't bother me much anyway and she wouldn't crack any mirrors.

"So ... can I stay? Can I have my adventure?"

"Well, I was going to head for Berwick on Tweed. I thought you'd like to visit Lindisfarne. I know it's not Scottish, but it's quite a place in its own right and It's got a Viking connection. Berwick's about four hundred miles and if everything is straightforward, we're talking about maybe four days of watch-and-watch. Are you up for that?"

Her eyes widened. "I'll have to stand watch on my own?"

"Well, I'll need to sleep. I can get by on four or five hours, but more is better. You can always call me if anything is bothering you. If necessary, I'll do the night watches and sleep in the day, but..."

"No! It's okay. I was just surprised. I hadn't thought ... of course you'll need to sleep. It was more that I was surprised you'd trust me."

"Right then. When we get to Berwick, we'll talk some more. Okay?"

"Okay!" She took my left hand from the wheel and kissed the back of it, then released me. I shook my head.

"You need to know..." I looked around; there was no traffic in sight, so I locked the wheel. "Come below to the chart-table."

"Are you going to teach me to navigate?"

"Not really. Pilotage, and dead reckoning. You know about buoyage..."