Cybele's Secret
Résumé
The deck tilted to port, and I tilted with it, grabbing at a rope to keep my balance. One day out from Constanta, the wind had turned contrary and the waters of the Black Sea rose and fell under the Stea de Mare's belly like a testy horse trying to unseat its rider. “You have excellent sea legs, Paula,” my father commented. He stood perfectly balanced, a veteran of more merchant voyages than he could count. This was my first. The sail crackled in the wind. The crewmen, grim-jawed and narrow-eyed, were struggling to keep the one-master under control. When they glanced my way, their expressions were hostile. “It unsettles them to have a woman on board,” my father said. “Ignore it. It's superstitious nonsense. They know me, and you're my daughter. If the captain doesn't like it, he shouldn't have accepted my silver.” “It doesn't bother me, Father,” I said through gritted teeth. Having good sea legs didn't mean I relished the bobbing motion of the boat or the constant drenching in salt spray. Nor did I much care for the sense that if the Stea de Mare sank, these sailors would put the blame on me. “Is this going to delay us, Father?”
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