Chapter 22

The chef had dinner out by the time the four ladies returned from notifying family about their accident and assuring them that they were safe, showering, cleaning up, and dressing. They all looked more content than when we met. I guess a hot bath and some clean clothes will do that for you.

Fiona spoke for them all as they filed back into the salon. “Did I hear some of your crew address you as, ‘Lord Terrance?’” she asked, clearly perplexed.

“I bet my American accent confused you. My Great Grand Father was very British, and knighted shortly after World War One. By happenstance I was born and raised in America and inherited my Grandfather’s title when he passed last year,” was all I said. Nobody needed details that I was loath to share. My brief answer managed to allay Fiona’s curiosity enough that the topic did not come up again.

Nan Reynolds smiled when I explained myself. “You certainly do not act like a royal. I’ve had the misfortune to meet a few due to my late husband’s business obligations and they tended to be stuffed shirts.”

She was blunt and truthful.

I smiled and said, “I’ve met a lot of royals, and many of them in non-public settings. They tend to be less full of themselves when in private.” Nan figured out that the subject wasn’t one I wished to pursue and let it drop.

Her daughter had other fish to fry. “Who is this lovely companion that refuses to let you get away? She’s beautiful.”

“This is the lovely, Baby Girl. She wandered onto one of my properties one afternoon, up in Scotland and stole my heart before dinner. She decided that my company was good enough, and now wouldn’t hear of being parted from me.” I scratched behind her ears as I explained how she came to be my shadow.

Robin’s presence had me on edge. For reasons I couldn’t begin to explain, I felt sure that she wasn’t who she pretended to be. Her behavior was perfect for her age, but there was some ... something that rang false about her.

If she wasn’t who she pretended to be, maybe none of them were.

I excused us and took Baby Girl into my stateroom to speak privately with my security head. “Garner, check those four people out, very carefully. I feel like something is not right about their story, their identity, or their circumstances. Please let me know whatever you can find out. Call Joan Davidson, if necessary, and ask for her help.”

That request, made like that, was as close to pushing the panic button as I could go, and Garner Timson knew it. He came to me during one of our meetings with the contractor who provided security. I knew I was buying a yacht and wanted them to have prior warning, so they could put together a plan to secure the boat and me while I was on it. They suggested adding Garner to the team, as he was retired Navy and had decades of experience with vessels of all types and sizes.

Garner was a very healthy fifty-five, and came to me less than a year after retiring from the Royal Navy. He was an expert at military intelligence, proficient with all kinds of weapons, and rather fun to be with for all of that. His martial arts skills were over the top and we sparred for hours whenever he had the time. I felt safer with him than at any time since landing in Ross’ body. Having handed my concerns off to the pro, I returned to the salon and joined our guests for dinner.

Young, our Asian chef, produced a wonderful meal. The beef Wellington was well named and tasty. The women got a kick out of the play on words, and Baby Girl just enjoyed the food.

Dinner conversation was pleasant but lacked much in the way of identifying information about our unexpected guests. Nan tended to talk about her children and potential grandchildren. Fiona and Cecily seemed to avoid any discussion of home, and Robin acted disinterested in anything resembling verbal intercourse. There was something so off about all four of them, that I slipped away to my stateroom and reminded Garner that he needed to make certain that they were covered every second they were on my boat.

He hadn’t unearthed anything about them in the hour since we first talked about it, but the lack of solid information available by way of the web was a concern on its own. MI6 hadn’t called back, but they had confirmed their intent to dig for the facts behind our guests, and why they happened to have their boat sink conveniently near us as we cruised among the Bahama Islands.

Dessert was hitting the table when I returned and the selection of sweets was broad. My mouth watered when I saw what Young could do with fresh fruit and sorbet. The one time that Fiona and Cecily spoke with anything more than a monotone, was when they discussed what to choose off the dessert tray. At least sugar motivated them to act like they were alive and not zombies.

“Mom, forget your never-ending diet and enjoy this incredible dessert. It’s not like dad is going to ever come back and decide to get back together just because you’re skinny. She sounded hurt and angry about their breakup. I secretly hoped Garner got that through the surveillance system and could use it to help nail down their real identities.

Fiona relented and selected a generous amount of fruit and peach sorbet. “Cecily, dear, don’t share our family difficulties with everyone we meet, ok? It’s really nobody’s business, and no one cares anyway.” She was hurt as well. Those two facts, at last, appeared to be obvious.

Fiona turned to me and seemed to think very hard about her next words. “Lord Wellington, we ... that is ... the four of us are sort of on the run from some very bad people. We were in the US Witness Protection system until our new names and assumed identities were sold by some federal employees.” She looked frightened, confused, and a little lost, all at the same time.

“Please call me Terry. My father and grandfather were truly royals. I’m sort of a hybrid, like Baby Girl, here,” I interrupted only to make it plain how I wanted to be addressed.

Fiona continued. “We were sailing as a way to remain somewhat invisible while the government captured the people after us, but when the sailboat was sliced in two by that freighter, it seemed like our hiding place was sold once again...”

Before she could go on, I picked up the phone and found Garner on the other end calling me. “I’m on it, Boss,” was all he said.

I returned the phone to its holder, and turned to the women. “That was my security chief. We’ve also had our share of difficulties. He will get in touch with some very proficient people that we hire to keep us safe, and they will do what is necessary to safeguard all of us until it is once more safe for you to go about your lives.” I could feel the tension go out of the room as the four women digested what that meant for them. “The first thing for them to work out is whether that accident was bad luck, or intentional mischief. Since no one from the ship attempted to offer aide, I am tempted to think that you were targeted, but others with greater skills than I have will be able to ascertain that soon enough.” We talked about their circumstances for a bit, while Garner made contact with MI6 and the CIA. Between them my guests would find some protection from their pursuers.