“Funky?” I said. I dug one of my tailormades out of its case — this time I’d brought some along without the “N.C.” in gold on the filters — and lit it, sending a blue trail of smoke in the breeze.
“Yes. Funky. Look, now we back all to make her take a stern board. In the middle of the channel we will point the yards into the wind and let the tide carry us again. As we approach the mouth of the river we will first fill the fore topsail, then fill all, and once we’ve trimmed them by the wind, making sail...”
“Clear as mud,” I said.
“...we’ll stand to sea under all sail on the starboard tack. Oh, Harry. You really should make some attempt to get into the spirit of things aboard the Vulcan. Otherwise you’ll find it such a bore here.”
“Sailboat talk is pretty weird,” I said. “How do we manage to go that way when the wind is going this way? Even with the sails all turned around...”
“There is a maneuver, Harry, for everything the wind can do... except, of course, when the wind dies altogether. If that should happen right now — if we were becalmed — we would have to seek new orders from Komaroff. We would either have to anchor and await a change in the wind or use the auxiliaries. Look: the wind is coming in from offshore. We set the sails, so; now the boat is what we call sailing on the wind.”
“How does that differ from before the wind or with the wind?”
“Easy. Let me show you...” But one of the boys in white came up — that spankingly clean, gold-piped livery everyone but us professional help (plus some hangers-on like Michel) wore aboard the Vulcan — and handed me a folded note on a silver salver. I looked at Michel, not opening it. He pursed his lips, made a thy-will-be-done gesture with his palms together, and moved away, a cynical little smile curling up the sides of his mouth. I said “Thanks” and the servant moved away too, leaving me standing by the windward rail, one foot irreverently resting on one of the antique brass cannons that decorated the bark.
Mr. Archer—
I will need a complete chart for the twenty-seventh; location, the border between Israel and Syria. Please have it ready for my inspection by to-morrow afternoon.
In the meantime, may I expect you at dinner in my cabin at seven tonight? On second thought, I won’t take no for an answer. My servant will call at your door at a quarter to. Black tie. Welcome aboard—
“Well,” I said. And then I thought about that a moment Israel and Syria. Four days from now. How could I get through to Sonia as quickly as possible?
And Alexandra Komarova? I hadn’t even met her yet. I’d seen her coming and going, always at a distance. The one peep I’d had at what the help tended to call the “Forbidden City” — the great saloon of the ship and the posh suites that radiated out from it, aft — had given me a clear picture of the incredible wealth of Alexandra’s surroundings; the saloon was a regular museum of weaponry and the armorer’s craft, and the fittings were all antique brass and fruitwood paneling. Now I’d be getting a close look at her own digs. And how close a look to the old man’s? I wasn’t sure. I hadn’t seen him at all so far, and I wasn’t sure which cabin was his, but I intended to case the area tonight if any opportunity presented itself at all.
I folded the note and stuck it in a pocket. Then I headed below to my own cabin to dress. That imperious summons of hers didn’t leave me much time.
I was just putting the knot in my tie — I still tie my own; pre-knotted ties always look so sleazy — when there was a rap on my door. Small. Quiet. Timid.
“Yes?” I said.
The knock came again I opened the cabin door — elegant cherry paneling, I noticed — and Sonia, in a messy painter’s smock, slipped inside without a word.
“Nick,” she said with a harried-looking smile. “I’ve been wanting to fall into your arms for days, and the first time I find you alone, you’re dressing for dinner and I’m wearing this.”
I tipped her chin up and kissed her delicately, keeping my splendor clear of all that fresh oil paint. “Just the person I wanted to see. I think I’ve got a lead, for Leon. A big one.” I pulled out the note and showed it to her. She looked — and gasped audibly, one hand to her mouth.
“My God,” she said in a small voice, looking at the wall, eyes out of focus. “Four days? That’s not much time.”
“That’s what I figured. That means the arms delivery has been made, I think. And it probably means...”
“It means somebody’s going to make some very quick use of them, blitzkrieg style. And the last-minute plans... I’ll bet they’re going to be discussed ashore tomorrow night. But... but Nick. That means...”
“That Alexandra’s part of whatever it is? Maybe. It’s her party. Her idea to go ashore. And in the course of a big village whingding, it’d be easy for her to get together with her friends, and...”
“Nick. I don’t know what to think. Alexandra? She’s a bitch, all right. But this...”
“I haven’t met her yet. What’s she like? Has she changed? I mean, since you saw her last?”
“Yes, but...”
“How?”
“She’s... she’s the same as she always was. Only more controlled. It’s as if she’d found some sort of purpose in life. It’s... but Nick. That would mean...”
“Komaroff’s ill, you know.”
“Oh? I hadn’t heard.”
“Michel let on today that we’re under sail, cumbersome as that is, because of Komaroff’s stomach. He can’t stand the hum of the diesels underfoot.”
“Then maybe he has her doing some of his dirty work. Yes, that would fit. I had been wondering, you know. There I was a rumor that filtered down — from the other side of the salt, as one says — that she had taken a new lover. It was during the last cruise. And... but no, this makes more sense. Of course; he has never trusted anyone else to do the work for him, and if he is deathly ill...”
“Sonia,” I said. “I think tomorrow night’s the big night. The more I think of it...”
“The big night? For them?”
“No, for us. Tomorrow night the party will give you a chance to slip ashore and make some sort of contact with Leon — with the organization.”
“Me? What about you?”
“I’m going to case the Forbidden City tonight. And tomorrow, when the party’s going on...”
“Nick.” She grabbed my arm in her strong little hand. “Yes. I saw the duty roster today. There will only be a skeleton crew aboard her. Almost all the crew has been given shore leave. Yes, yes...”
“Right. And even if it blows my cover, it may not matter much longer. With the big push set for four days from now...”
“Splendid. Nick — I have the little wireless Leon gave me. I will hide it in the bottom of the picnic basket. I will take it to town and set it up and call Leon. If I were to do it here someone would pick up my carrier frequency, so close by. But tomorrow, with, more than likely, only a substitute in the radio shack...”
“Dandy,” I said. “Okay. And I’ll slip back aboard at the same time and see what I can find out.”
“Nick,” she said, squeezing my arm. “I... I am going to worry about only one thing.”
“What’s that?”
“That woman. Alone with you... tonight...”
I bent over and kissed her again, still keeping the shirt clear of her smock. “Not to worry. That’s an order. I’m immune. Now skedaddle.” I patted her on the bottom. Komaroff’s flunkey is due here any minute now.
“Okay. Nick... it will go all right, won’t it?”