Chapter 11: High Seas

"Nicholas!" the Duke called out, rising from his chair and moving to stand behind Sean with his back to the teenager. His body blocked the view of Sean and the sleeping dinosaur from the sight of the incoming sailor.

The door to the cabin swung open swiftly, and a man entered the room. His long brown hair was clipped at the back of his neck to secure it away from his rugged face. His beard showed a couple of days' growth, leaving a prickly covering over his firm jaw. His bright eyes searched the room in an attempt to deduce the wishes of his superior before anything had been said. His gaze centered on the Jenkins family, concluding the Duke must have called him to deal with the strange newcomers.

"Escort my guests to quarters," the Duke instructed. "They are to have meals brought to them there, and no one is to bother them with questions."

"It will be done," Nicholas promised. He directed his next statement toward the visitors. "Please follow me."

As the Jenkins family trailed after Nicholas, the Duke laid a hand on Sean's shoulder, halting him a moment.

"There will be enough questions about your presence on this ship," he imparted to Sean in a whisper. "Keep your hatchling out of sight and quiet. We don't want to raise suspicions further."

"I understand," Sean replied. He shifted the creature to his pack and closed the flap securely. The lizard didn't wake but continued sleeping peacefully, completely unaware of the commotion that would erupt if its presence were discovered.

Sean hurried to catch up with his relatives, trying his best not to jostle his pack and wake the sleeping animal within.

"Your cabin," Nicholas announced, opening the varnished door into their room. He kindly stepped back and allowed them to enter while he waited in the corridor. "Should you require anything, do not hesitate to call."

"Thank you," Mike said as he gave the sailor a nod of acknowledgement.

The cabin they'd been allotted was small but functional. A pair of over-under bunks lined the left and right walls. The narrow window on the far wall had multiple panes of glass, but it provided a decent view of the rolling waves outside the ship. A desk, not has ornate as the one owned by the Duke, resided in front of the window. Centered in the cabin, a small rectangular table of well sanded oak, surrounded by chairs, concluded the furnishings. The remainder of the room was empty, simply the same smooth paneling of dark wood common everywhere else on the ship.

The door latched quietly, but the family waited until the sounds of Nicholas' boots faded away before speaking.

"I assume we're going to pick up where we left off," Sean stated, bracing for the verbal whipping he was in for.

"I'm finished," Alison replied.

"We've stated our disapproval," Mike agreed. "Going over it again accomplishes nothing. As unappealing as this situation may be, it's where we've ended up. Our priority should be deciding what to do about it now."

Sean quietly sighed in relief.

"What are you going to do?" he asked.

"I don't know," Mike admitted. He sighed wearily as he sat on the edge of one of the lower bunks. "I'm loathed to kill it as it's now the last of its kind, but having a dinosaur reappear in history could change any number of things."

"Why don't we keep it with us?" Cassie suggested. "If we can't leave it in the past, we could bring it to our present day. A zoo would probably be willing to care for a dinosaur as it'd be the attraction of the century."

"Sounds good to me," Sean eagerly accepted. "And, I checked; it's a she."

"How much do you think she will grow before the device is recharged?" Alison inquired of her husband.

"I have no idea," he answered. "Animals in the wild have a tendency to grow quickly, so they can keep up with the parents, herd, or fend for themselves. Who knows if it applies to dinosaurs as well?"

"She's going to get hungry," Cassie pointed out. "What do her kind eat?"

"Since she's aquatic, I'd assume fish would make up the primary diet," Mike reasoned. "We might be able to catch a few and bring them back here, but as she gets bigger, her diet will also grow by an equal proportion. I don't know how long we can keep her hidden."

"Maybe, we won't have to," Sean offered. "If we can train her to come back, we can release her through the window, so she can hunt. When finished, we pull her back in. As long as no one sees, it should work."

"It's possible," Mike accepted.

"Do you have a name for her?" Alison asked.

Sean opened the flap on his bag and examined the sleeping reptile. Her long neck and four flippers made the choice of names easy.

"Nessie," Sean announced.

"She does look like the Loch Ness monster," Cassie observed, looking over her brother's shoulder.

"Then it's settled," Alison stated.

"Oh goodie," Mike muttered as he laid back on his bunk. He wondered how things had gotten so out of hand simply because of one misrouted package.

***

"Caught one!" Sean exclaimed. After nearly an hour of trying to ensnare a fish on the requested line and hook provided by Nicholas, Sean had succeeded.

As he pulled in the line, the large fish emerged from the wake trailing behind the ship. Nessie, previously relaxing on the top of the desk, sat up on all four flippers and looked hungrily at what would be her first meal. The fish, however, pulled loose from the hook and vanished below the waters. Before anyone could prevent it, Nessie dived out the window in pursuit.

"Nessie!" Sean called, but the dinosaur was already gone.

Mike stood behind Sean and rested his hands on his son's shoulders. Although not enthusiastic about Sean having a pet dinosaur, he understood his son's sense of loss.

"I guess we won't be needing this anymore," Sean said glumly, handing the fishing line and hook to Mike.

Mike solemnly took the offered items, silently wishing he could do something to make the situation better but not knowing what it might be.

A large splash of water sounded only a second before Nessie rocketed out of the ocean and through the still open window. The water on her smooth hide allowed her to slide slightly across the wood floor. Held securely in her jaws was a fish measuring nearly equal to her in size.

"Good girl!" Sean praised, happy his little friend had returned successfully from her unexpected hunt.

Nessie dropped the fish on the floor and looked expectantly at Sean.

"I think she's letting you eat first," Cassie guessed.

Sean knelt down and nudged the fish toward Nessie.

"It's okay," he encouraged. "Go ahead."

The coaxing worked as Nessie began reducing the fish to chewed bones in a matter of minutes. When finished, she looked toward Sean again.

"That's a good girl," Sean said, reaching out to pet the little creature.

Nessie moved toward his outstretched hand and shouldered up against his palm. Her long neck coiled around his wrist and arm like the loving embrace of a python. Her head was upside down on his upper forearm, but her gaze never drifted from him.

Sean used his thumb to scratch Nessie's shoulder above her right fin, and her eyes closed as her mouth opened slightly in a display of utter enjoyment.

"You like that, don't you?" Sean asked.

Nessie twitched her left flipper and tapped the floor repeatedly in response, gaining an amused chuckle from the Jenkins family because it reminded them of the actions of a pet dog.

"Well, it looks like finding food for her won't be a problem," Alison commented.

"As long as we don't have any more surprises, we ought to be able to get through this," Mike offered.

"What were you saying about the Duke being a pirate?" Sean asked Cassie.

"I never said that!" Cassie immediately denied.

"You should probably tell us what you did say," Mike stated.

"I'd certainly like to hear it," Alison chimed in.

"I don't remember what I read about him in history class," Cassie countered, feeling very uncomfortable and slightly picked on. "All I know is the Silver Duke has some historical relation to pirates. He could hunt them, have a relative who was one, or maybe he just had them over for afternoon tea. I don't know!"

"It's alright," Mike soothed, waving a hand to indicate she should settle down. "We have pieces of information, but we will require more, especially if pirates are involved. Their appearance could certainly make our stay in this time...interesting."

"I think we should speak to the Duke," Alison suggested.

"What would you say?" Mike asked her. "We can't ask if he's a pirate. If he is, he'll deny it, but if he isn't, he won't know what we're talking about. There's no way we can ask him anything about pirates without letting him know we have additional information about what will happen in the future. He's very smart and observant; we make any slips around him, and history could fall apart. He may know too much already."

***

Cassie was unable to sleep during the night. They'd been cooped up in their quarters all day, and it was beginning to grate on her nerves. Sean was fine spending his time with Nessie, and Mike had Alison to converse with about the time device and what might be required to get home. However, Cassie felt alone and bored out of her mind.

While the rest of her family slept, she eased out the door and toward the exit onto the upper deck. Cassie stepped carefully out into the darkness of the night. The air was cool and held so much salt, she could almost taste it in every breath.

The sky was covered in darkness, but the moon's reflection turned the surface of the ocean a silvery white. The sea was in constant movement, rising and falling, creating shifting peaks and valleys in the fluid landscape.

Stars sparkled in the sky, their brilliance not hidden by modern day pollution or lights. Cassie stared at them in wonder as she'd never seen so many in all her life. They covered the entire sky from horizon to horizon in all directions, packed so closely together they seemed to blend into a single mass in several locations.

"Beautiful, aren't they?" came an unexpected question.

Cassie inhaled sharply and spun around, surprised by the sudden arrival of another person on the deck with her.

"My apologies," the Duke offered. "I did not mean to startle you."

"It's alright," Cassie dismissed. "I probably shouldn't be out here anyway."

"You are a guest," the Duke explained. "You may go where you please."

"It's not that," Cassie denied.

"Your secrets," the Duke correctly speculated. He came and stood beside her at the railing, hands clasped behind his back. "Keep them if you will. I won't question you. If you would but grant me a moment or two of your company, I would be greatly honored."

"I don't know," she hesitated. The friendly offer from the handsome duke was very tempting, but her father's warning about history unraveling gave her pause.

"Even though I will not ask any questions of you, perhaps there are some you'd wish to ask of me," he suggested.

"What is it like to be a duke?" Cassie inquired.

"It has equal amounts of enjoyment and exhausting responsibility," he explained.

"What do you mean?" she questioned.

"When someone without power or authority makes a mistake, the consequences don't reach very far beyond them," the Duke clarified. "However, when given as much power and authority as I have, mistakes can ripple outward and affect hundreds, perhaps thousands of people. Governments can rise or fall; wars could end or be started because of my actions. Everything I do must be carefully measured and thought out, or the consequences could be very dire."

"I see," Cassie whispered in understanding.

"I believe you do," he agreed while looking at her. The pressure of whatever she kept secret took a visible toll he could detect. "Many are the days when I wished for less, but the needs of my people override such selfish thoughts. If my discomfort is to their benefit, then it is a burden I gladly bear."

Cassie didn't respond. Her eyes were closed as she listened to his wonderful words, savoring each virtuous statement.

"You didn't answer me before when I asked you if the stars were beautiful," the Duke reminded.

"Yes, they are," Cassie managed to reply, a knot of emotion in her throat.

"Beautiful they may be, but they pale in comparison to you," the Duke told her.

Cassie snapped her surprised gaze in his direction as he turned to face her fully. She felt instantly uncomfortable being under his intense stare.

"I...uh," she stammered trying to find the words. Cassie swallowed hard and took a step back only to run into some of the rigging for the sail.

"You need not fear, my lady," he assured her. The Duke stepped close, looking deep into her green eyes, but his hands remained clasped behind his back. "You are as an angel to me, and I would rather die than tarnish your halo or sully the purity of your wings."

He stepped back and bowed graciously to her.

"I am at your service," he promised.

"Th-thank you, Excellency," she managed to say.

"Please, call me Matthew," he bid to her.

"Cassie," she returned.

Reaching out, he took her by the hand and gently brushed her knuckles with his lips.

"I'm greatly pleased to make your acquaintance, Cassie," he told her with a warm smile.

Cassie mirrored his smile with her own. His kiss had been electric, and she felt as if her hair still quivered because of the thrill it had sent through her.