But Cherry was different. Cherry seemed to represent that other Admiralty, the one Essie believed in. He’d joined because he truly believed in their mission, and in his first year at sea, he really seemed to think he was making a difference.
In a way, she hoped he was right. It would be comforting to believe in his Admiralty.
But what was the point in her believing in it? She had cut herself off from all that when she ran away. After everything that had happened, there could be no going back, even if she wanted to. She was a traitor’s daughter. There was no way back to her old home, her old life. The best she could hope for now was to be reunited with Spinner and find a new place to hide. It was a slightly depressing thought. Could they build new lives for themselves if they had to stay in the shadows forever, always afraid that Beckett might come after them?
For she knew that Beckett would never stop. He would never be appeased. Charges of treachery were not something that would simply go away. They would always be hanging over their heads now, forever.
The train rattled its way across Gantua, stopping many, many, many times. Annalie dozed, woke, watched the landscape slip by. The journey was a long one, but at last the noisy announcement system called out the name of her station, the train eased to the platform, and she stepped out into hot, dusty daylight on the far side of Gantua. From there, it was a long and thirsty walk down to the port, where the Sunfish lay at anchor, waiting for her.
Will came in the dinghy to fetch her. She threw her arms around his neck, immensely relieved to see him.
‘Good work, getting away,’ he said.
‘Same to you,’ Annalie said. ‘You still haven’t told me how you guys got away from the pirates.
‘We had help,’ Will said.
They zoomed back towards the Sunfish. Annalie took the shell Cherry had given her from her pocket and threw it overboard, in case they had some way of tracking it.
‘So is everybody all right?’ she shouted, over the motor.
‘Yes,’ Will shouted back. ‘There has been one new development though.’
‘What’s that?’ Annalie asked.
They reached the Sunfish. Annalie clambered up, noting it now had a bullet hole in its hull, as Will tied the dinghy up securely.
The others were waiting for her on deck. Essie ran to throw her arms around her. Annalie hugged her friend, tears of relief springing to her eyes now that she was finally home. She turned to look at Pod—and saw, to her shock, a strange girl standing beside him.
She was younger than the rest of them, maybe only ten or eleven, with Pod’s thin build and her hair cropped short. She was dressed in Essie’s sparkly jeans and top, and she watched Annalie’s arrival with the wariness of a small wild animal.
‘Annalie,’ Pod said, ‘meet my sister Blossom.’
Blue Water Duchess
‘But what does that mean? Your dad will see what he can do?’ Will asked.
Will, Pod and Essie were anchored in the bay of Doria. Essie had triumphantly shown the boys the message she’d received from her father. Will was less impressed than she’d expected.
‘It means he’s going to try and get the money for us. We can save Annalie!’ Essie said. ‘C’mon, give me some credit here!’
‘Okay, that is good news,’ Will said grudgingly. ‘But how long is it going to take? You heard those pirates. They’re not going to wait forever.’
‘Hello?’ Essie said. ‘It’s a hundred thousand creds. He can’t just fish it out of the back of the couch you know! It’s going to take a bit of time, and if the pirates can’t recognise that, they’re idiots.’
‘That’s what you’re going to tell them, is it?’ Will said.
‘I’ll tell them that if they’re willing to be patient just a little bit longer, it’ll be worth their while,’ Essie said. ‘And I’ll make them believe it.’
Will turned to Pod. ‘What do you think?’
But Pod wasn’t paying attention. He was looking at the wide opening of Doria harbour, where a vast white shape had appeared and was moving in slow and stately fashion into the bay. A horn boomed out to announce its presence. ‘Pod?’ Will said again.
Pod turned to them, trembling with excitement. ‘That writing—can you read what it says?’
‘You mean the name of the cruise ship?’ Will said.
Essie read it for him. ‘It’s the Blue Water Duchess.’
Pod let out a cry of joy. ‘That’s the one!’
Essie twigged. ‘Your sister’s boat?’
‘Yes! Duchess! That’s the one! We have to go there—now!’
‘Wait—what?’ Will said.
Pod looked at him impatiently. ‘My sister was on the Blue Water Duchess. I have to find her and get her back.’
‘What, now?’ Will said.
‘Yes, now!’ Pod said. ‘This is my chance!’
‘But what about Annalie?’ Will said.
‘We can’t do anything until we hear from my dad,’ Essie said. ‘Why shouldn’t he go?’
‘Because we need to be ready,’ Will said. ‘As soon as we know the money’s there, we’ve got to go, like, immediately! Annalie and the pirates are in Dio. We’re here in Doria. They’re calling us at 5 with further instructions, and you know there’s no way we can get back to Brundisi in time, even if we start sailing right now.’
‘Yes, but we can’t leave anyway, not until we’ve got the money sorted out,’ Essie argued. ‘The links are good here. If the pirates want cash, we’ll be able to get it here. Why shouldn’t Pod go to look for his sister, since we have to wait here anyway?’
‘But what if something goes wrong?’ Will said. ‘What if we have to go get her in a hurry, and he’s off running round a cruise ship?’ Will turned to Pod. ‘You don’t even know she’s on it any more.’
‘That’s why I have to go!’ Pod said. ‘I have to find out!’
‘They threatened to start cutting bits off my sister!’ Will said.
‘They’re not
