‘I insist,’ said Dagon.
I had no choice but to be escorted from the dining room with Dagon following me into the entrance hall. A few of the older sailors wolf-whistled as we left together, and Dagon gave them a rude gesture with his middle finger. I wasn’t sure how much he’d had to drink, but I’d seen him gulp down three pints during the time we’d talked.
Dagon followed me up the stairs, chatting merrily along the way. When we reached the door to my room, he lingered, rolling on the balls of his feet.
‘So, uh … goodnight,’ I said, pulling out my key and unlocking the door.
‘Goodnight, Elizabeth,’ he said. I’d almost forgotten that I’d given him a fake name. ‘I’ll see yeh tomorrow?’
‘Maybe.’ I wanted to hit the road after a good night's sleep. Staying in one place for too long could be dangerous.
Dagon eyed me beadily. ‘I’ll pick yeh up at nine o’clock tomorrow mornin’. No excuses.’
I made a mental note to be out of town before nine o’clock. Dagon would probably be mad at me, but it was for the best.
‘Right,’ I agreed, half-hearted. I felt bad that I would ditch such a friendly guy.
After saying our goodbyes, I entered my room alone to find a dripping-wet Hawthorne curled in front of the fireplace. I was glad Dagon hadn’t seen into my room - that would have raised more questions than I cared to answer.
‘Clever boy,’ I said to Hawthorne, crossing the room and closing the open window. I sat in front of the fire with him, stroking his neck absent-mindedly. At least Hawthorne didn’t smell of garbage anymore. Instead, he smelled fishy, which wasn’t really much better in my opinion.
‘You went for a swim, huh?’ I asked him, noticing how coarse his coat was from the sea salt. Hawthorne rested his chin on my knee and looked at me sadly.
I heaved a sigh. ‘I know. I want to go home, too.’
Chapter Ten
An Army
I woke up to a banging sound.
I’d had the most wonderful sleep and awoke feeling refreshed. It wasn’t until I looked at the clock on the mantelpiece that I’d realised I’d overslept.
It was past nine o’clock in the morning.
I jumped out of bed and rummaged around for clean clothes, of which I did not have many. I needed to find somewhere to wash them very soon.
Bang, bang, bang.
I realised that someone was knocking on the door. Crap! It would be Dagon; I knew it.
‘Just a second!’ I called, pulling off my nightgown and snatching up a dress.
‘Didn’t wake yeh, did I, Lass?’ Dagon’s Irish accent called from behind the door.
‘No!’ I lied.
Hawthorne let out a low growl, eyeing the door fiercely. He was still beside the empty fireplace, curled up on the rug.
‘Stop that,’ I hissed. ‘He’ll hear you.’
I pulled on my boots hurriedly, tripping over my own feet in the process, and landing on my bottom.
‘Yeh all right in there?’
‘I’m fine!’ I said, getting up and rubbing my backside. Hawthorne sulked moodily, watching me get dressed.
‘I’ll only be gone for an hour or two,’ I promised him. ‘Then we’ll get going, okay?’
The look that Hawthorne gave me sent a trickle of guilt down my spine.
‘It’s not what you think. I made that very clear to him last night.’
Hawthorne held my gaze without blinking, his expression condescending.
‘I wouldn’t … I’d never hurt Jack. You know that. Now stop looking at me like that and get out of here.’
I rushed to the window and opened it for him. Hawthorne slunk to the window ledge before jumping out of it and vanishing.
When I answered the door to greet Dagon, I was aware of how dishevelled I looked.
Dagon raised a hand and flattened the top of my hair, which I hadn’t brushed since waking up.
‘So, yeh hungry?’ he asked, swinging his hand by his side like a pendulum.
‘Starving,’ I admitted, stepping out of the room and locking the door behind myself.
‘The diner down the road does a great breakfast-’ Dagon began.
‘Sounds great … but I really can’t spend all day in town. So … why don’t we grab some breakfast and then I’ll be off?’
Dagon exhaled. He quickly looked around to make sure no one could hear him. ‘Look, yeh don’t have to be worried in Port. Everyone who comes here has a secret, an’ it’s no big deal. This is the place men come to escape judgement. It’s just you, me, and the sea. No one here seeks riches, or glory. We all jus’ want a simple life.’
Something about the way Dagon spoke made me think he knew why I was here. It had been the same with Merl.
‘Now, I don’t know why yer travellin’ alone, and I ain’t gonna ask yeh. No one here will. We keep to ourselves, all right?’
I nodded and remained silent.
‘Now, let’s get some food into yeh,’ he said with a smile.