The Merman and the Barbarian Pirate by Kay Berrisford Page B

The servants and their master, an elderly gentleman named Sir Edward Humphrey, scurried in their nightgowns to accommodate the lord and his entourage.
    Greetings were exchanged amid the Grecian splendor of the entrance hall. "Lord Haverford," croaked Sir Edward, who wore a drooping white cap. "This is a surprise. Excuse an old gent's kerfuffle, and join me for some elderberry wine, eh?"
    "With pleasure," said Haverford, "though I have a small problem to contain." He jerked his thumb in the direction of Raef. "I've a prisoner in transit. One of those pirate rogues."
    "Oh." Sir Edward raised an eyeglass and peered Raef's way. "How unsavory. Yes, I'd heard about your trouble with the dreaded Pirate Kemp. Surely, this boy isn't him?"
    "No, just some shuffler off his ship," said Haverford. "We've got Kemp secure in the Lilhaven lockup. His recent attack on me was simply the last straw. He's stolen over fifty pounds worth of goods and crops from my landholdings over this past month. Fifty pounds! I feared to put my ships to sea because of the wretch."
    "Strange," said Sir Edward. "He's not taken a farthing's worth from me and my tenants, but I suppose it would only have been a matter of time."
    "Indeed it would have, I'm sure," barked Haverford, seemingly rankled by this revelation. "Now, I'm weary after a long day defending my grateful public, and would like a spot of supper and a decent rest without fearing for my safety. Do you happen to own an old chest, Sir Edward? A thick and strong one, preferably—though not necessarily—with a chink for air. I've a fancy that'll do the trick."
    "No, please!" cried Raef, who'd had enough of being stuffed in poky, dark holes.
    His plea was echoed by a shudder from Sir Edward, which Haverford's hawk-like gaze did not miss.
    "Would you like the blackguard to slash your throat in your sleep?" hissed Haverford in a tenor that suggested he might like to perform the deed himself. Sir Edward didn't dare argue and did have a chest, which his servants promptly retrieved and dragged across the checkered tiles of the floor.
    When one of the yeomen who'd accompanied Haverford started to press Raef toward it, he kicked and struggled. Up close, the chest looked like a bloated coffin, the bowed sides braced by iron strips. Haverford stepped forward to press him inside, mauling Raef's hair once more. "Sweet dreams," he said and slammed the lid shut.
    After overcoming his initial panic that he'd run out of air—there were, fortunately, a few cracks in the ancient wood—Raef tried to set his mind blank. When that failed, he pretended he was somewhere else. He imagined he was in Kemp's bunk, but the fantasy seemed distant and kept breaking. He couldn't muster the concentration to picture Kemp's face. He was more cramped and uncomfortable than he'd been in the bowels of the ship, and worse, he suspected Haverford had barely started the punishments promised to him. Raef's flesh crawled at the memory of Haverford's pawing, and only the mercy of utter exhaustion pressed him into slumber.
    When he awoke, jerking up and bashing his head against the lid, he felt groggy and bilious, and his heart galloped. Nothing was a dream. Everything was real, and the chest's constant movement and the sound of grinding wheels suggested he'd been loaded onto the carriage again. They were most likely traveling back to Haverford's castle.
    The journey was broken briefly. One of the yeomen plucked Raef from the chest, and they allowed him to relieve himself, a tricky task with his wrists bound. While the footmen served Haverford claret and cold beef, they bound Raef's ankles again, and presented him with water and a crust of stale bread to gnaw on. Raef rested on his knees and stared down at the crust. He fingered it with his tied and dirty hands.
    "I'd eat it, my lad," said Haverford. "You can expect something a lot meatier in your mouth later, but you'll still need all the strength you can get."
    Raef chewed the tasteless husk,