A New Course
Baron Britpop Blastfurnace • Chapter 12
Andelbert and I ate breakfast with the crew, as usual, the next morning.
“Britpop, the Captain told me to send you his cabin as soon as you finished breakfast,” Cookie said.
“Am I in trouble?” I asked.
“You will be if you keep him waiting.”
I looked at Andelbert. He shrugged and raised his eyebrows, so I went.
I knocked on the Captain’s door, and he told me to enter.
“Sit down, Britpop. I have been considering your situation for the past few days and have concluded that we need to change course for your home.
“I don’t understand,” I replied.
“It is quite simple. If Goatbeard and your father receive your letters, the murderer will find out his plot failed, and we may never catch him. Fortunately, the letters are bound for France on a ship that will not return to Kapri for some time. If we sail for Kapri now, we will be there well before the Sea Merchant II returns. I will talk to Goatbeard and explain your predicament and my plan to catch the person who put a price on your head.”
“Won’t Goatbeard have you arrested as a pirate?” I asked.
“I have no doubt he would love nothing more and may still try even after I tell him my plan. But if his affection for you is genuine, I believe he will help.”
“I will vouch for your integrity,” I quickly added.
The Captain laughed and said, “He already knows of my so-called integrity. But you won’t be going ashore.”
“What? Why not?”
“Because you, young Baron, will be dead.”
I stared in shock.
“Don’t worry, you will be safely alive onboard The Jellyfish. But for my plan to work, everyone in Kapri must think the plot on your life succeeded.”
“I’m confused,” I said.
“Here is the gist of it. Goatbeard will meet the Sea Merchant II, tell the crew of our plan, and pretend he has received news of your demise from the crew. The crew will then pretend they are looking for payment for the deed. When the man comes to pay them, we will have him.”
“What about my father? He will be heartbroken.”
“Goatbeard will inform him of our plan before the Sea Merchant II returns. But we dare not tell anyone else less the culprit find out by accident.”
My mind was spinning.
“Why are you doing this?
“Truth be told, in the short time you have been onboard The Jellyfish, I have grown fond of you and Andelbert. So has the crew. And I hate murderers.”
He stared off in the distance for a moment and then turned to me and smiled.
“Plus, it will be an adventure.”
I could barely believe it. A pirate captain was coming to my aid, and I was returning home. Almost.
