The safe option.

Brenan's mind whirled as he considered his options. The sum of money that Ambrose had mentioned for the smuggling job would pay his ship's expenses for over a month of exploration. On the other hand, he had a raw crew sailing a new vessel for the first time. This might not be the best time to attempt slipping into a secluded harbor under the noses of the Veertor coastguard and rendezvous with a party or parties that he had never met.

"What do you say Brenan" Ambrose leaned close enough to him that he could smell the faint smell of Reddust that hung on his embroidered high collar. "Fortune favors the bold."

"Maybe next time, Ambrose." Brenan's mood improved as soon as he made the decision. "I'd rather not have my ship taken from me on her very first run."

"Perfectly understandable my dear chap!" The ease in which Ambrose dropped the matter of his other cargo made Brenan suspect that he never expected him to take it on. In that case, why bring it up at all? Pushing aside the nagging doubt about Walter and his shady business in general, Brenan agreed to take shipment of several tons of perishable foodstuffs. Ambrose agreed to pay him 100 Cryn silver when he sailed and another 200 if he got to Telnon in less than ten days. For every day he was late he would lose 50 silver and if he didn't get the cargo to port in two weeks time, Ambrose told him not to bother looking for cargo anywhere in this chain of islands.

Ambrose's threat irked Brenan, but he was confident he could make the run from Freeport to Telnon in good time. This time of year the prevailing winds were easterly and he could run true all the way into Telnon. In fact if the ship was as fast as Davy claimed he might make the run in eight days.

"Good” Said Ambrose as soon as Brenan shook on the deal. "The merchandise will be delivered tomorrow morning, and the clock starts as soon as it reaches your ship." Damn! Thought Brenan to himself, he forgot to tell Walter that he still needed two days to wait for Red and Cindy. He considered trying to explain his situation, but as he watched the small man smirking at him he realized that Ambrose probably knew just about as much as he did about the readiness of his ship. Ambrose raised one of his plucked eyebrows in inquiry and asked:

"Is there a problem?" Brenan's smile was as insincere as the slimy merchant's and he tossed back the glass of port. The wine at least was excellent, even if everything else about the negotiation fell in Ambrose’s favor."

Brenan considered his dilemma as he headed back to the ship. It wasn't all bad, he conceded, the quicker he got out of Freeport with Sasha the better it would be for him and the rest of his crew. The Caruthers twins looked like pretty good prospects, much better educated than the typical recruits lured from their boring lives on the family farm with tales of exotic locations and limitless wealth. He'd have a better feel for their potential by the time he reached Telnon. Castillo and the Lantian boys were well seasoned, and once Cindy got used to the scale of the schooner, she'd be a reliable deckhand as well.

Brenan smiled to himself as he remembered her strong back and legs pushing the skiff down the skids into the breakers at Red's house. He counted the days until Red said she'd arrive on his fingers as he walked. Red said she and Cindy would need two days to weatherproof the house and another couple to sail the small boat around to Davy's shipyard. Waiting for her would cost him at least 100 silver, perhaps more. But sailing without a first officer he could trust to handle the wheel left him uneasy as well.

By the time he got back to Davy's shipyard he had a plan roughly worked out in his head. It involved sending one of the Caruthers twins across the island to tell Red she had to meet him at the northern face of the island. If she and Cindy could be there by tomorrow he wouldn't lose more than half a day. Of course all sorts of this could go wrong if Red didn't get the message, or they failed to meet at the same location. Perhaps it is worth sitting dockside for the next two or three days and hope to make up some of the time with the full ship’s compliment.