NIGHT by I Rin (best books to read .TXT) 📕

to dance with me, dear Angelica?”

“Of course,” she nodded. “But how we dance without music? Who will play the piano?”

“No one! We will count and dance without music!” the Captain smiled.

He gave his hand to Lica and they circled counting in waltz: ‘One, two, three… one, two, three…’ Angelica looked at Patrick's green eyes and he wasn’t a pirate now, but a gentle, courteous and handsome young man. She was sincerely sorry for him, but she did not know how to help him. So she just resigned herself to power of dance.

“Thank you!” the captain said and suddenly stopped. “Last time I danced at my mother’s balls.”

He led her to a chair and kissed her hand:

“Now go to bed! Tomorrow it is going to be a difficult day.”

“Sure!” sadly noticed Lica.

Patrick turned and left the cabin. For some time Angelica sat looking through the dark window, but then went to bed. ‘Tomorrow is a new day,’ she whispered. Soon she fell asleep.

In the morning, she woke up because of a sunbeam jumping on her eyes. Lica got up and tiptoed went out of the cabin to the deck. But before she could step on the deck, she heard voices: the first belonged to Patrick and the other was unfamiliar.

“Captain, you promised that we would leave the girl on the first piece of land!” the unknown voice said. “However, she has been here for one day. We have sailed past the hundreds of islands, but you have not kept your promise yet.”

“First mate, do not forget! I am the Captain here! And I make the decisions!” Patrick retorted.

“Yeah, but you know the crew are not happy with it! A woman on the ship will bring troubles! They are nearly to rebel!”

“I know that, the first mate. Today we’ll leave her at St. Mary's island.”

“Are you crazy? This is a sure way to the gallows! The government ships are there! Isn’t it easier to feed her to the sharks?”

Angelica shivered.

“That would be too easy!” the captain grinned. “And now, do your duties!”

The first mate cursed and Lica quickly crept back into the captain's cabin and sat down at the table, as if she didn’t come out anywhere. A few minutes later Patrick knocked on the door and entered the room.

“Good morning!” he said. “I hope the dusting didn’t disturb you?”

“I am all right,” she smiled. “Is it time?”

“Yes, there is going to be a large island soon. There's a harbor, with hundreds of ships. I think you'll find a ship which will take home!”

“But perhaps it is dangerous for you?”

“You are the biggest problem for me!” the captain grinned.

“Thank you!” Lica said sincerely. “Patrick, you are a real gentleman!”

“You will say thank you, when you get to the port! And now, please, play me something at parting!”

Angelica sat down at the piano and began to play everything that she ever played in her life. Patrick was listening to her attentively. Sometimes he seemed to be far away in his thoughts. Suddenly somebody knocked on the door and a tall, thin man entered the cabin.

“Captain, we sail up to St. Mary's! Once again, I want to warn you that to close to the island - is death!”

Lica immediately recognized the voice of the first mate, who talked to Patrick a few minutes ago.

“Okay!” the captain nodded. “I will be on the deck in a minute!”

The first mate looked at Angelica with undisguised hatred, and left the cabin.

“What a terrible person,” she murmured.

“I know!” Patrick grinned. “But he is a brave pirate; no one equals him in the battle!”

“Someday, he'll kill you!”

“I know that. And try to keep the situation under control. Now listen to me, Angelica. The island, which we are sailing up, is under the government protection. The royal court is in the harbor, so we won’t be able to come close. Our ship will be on a sufficiently large distance from the land, but I will give you a boat. I hope you know how to oar?”

“Of course!” Lica nodded.

“The earth!” somebody shouted from the deck. “Saint Mary!”

“Well, go!” said Patrick.

The girl looked at his face again and a wave of tenderness and gratitude had hit her.

“Thank you for everything!” Lica whispered and kissed the young man.

“Please, don’t be so sentimental!” said the captain, pulling her slightly away.

Then suddenly he leaned himself to the girl and kissed her passionately.

“Captain, the island ho!” they heard the voice of the first mate.

“Let’s go!” Patrick said sharply, pushing Angelica.

He turned and walked quickly out of the cabin. The girl had no choice as to follow him. On the deck, the sailors were scurrying. Having seen Lica, they began to sneer and say biting remarks:

“Maybe we will have some fun, dear?”

“What sexy forms!”

“Did our captain like you? Maybe now is our turn?”

Angelica stubbornly pretended not to hear them. Patrick gave the order to prepare the boat. Finally, the boat was lowered into the water. The Captain personally helped her down and said:

“I wish we had met not now and not in such situation. At another time and in another place it would be different!”

Lica so desired to kiss this young man, but the snide faces of pirates, dangling from the ship restrained her. Patrick kissed the girl's hand and climbed to the ship; she waved him and took up the oars. ‘Black Patrick’ moved into the seaway...

Angelica was rowing for about an hour, and finally, her boat nuzzled a sandy shore. A few minutes later a strange, fat man in a waistcoat and military hat ran to her and exclaimed:

“Young lady, where did you come from?”

“I was sailing on a merchant ship, when suddenly a storm broke out, and I was blown away at sea,” said Lica.

“But the boat? It is a sign of the "Black Patrick” on it! Where did you get it?”

“Boat?” the girl hesitated. “Ah, the boat... When I was washed into the sea a pirate ship was chasing behind us. The storm was so strong! Maybe this boat is from their ship. Only thanks to this boat I could survive.”

“Yes, of course!” said the fat man quite intrigued.

“And don’t you take me to the harbor?” asked Angelica.

“I’ll request the pleasure!”

And the fat man held the girl to a beautiful lagoon, with a lot of ships. She examined them all, but saw no one resembling the ship of Julien. Then Lica asked captains to find out if anyone is sailing into the desert. On this day, she had no luck. No ship was going there.

“What will I do?” Angelica said sadly to herself. “I have no money, no food and no ship.”

To pass the time, she went to the tavern, which was not far from the harbor.

“Could you give me some food?” she asked the saloonkeeper. “I'll help you to wash the dishes in return.”

The saloonkeeper critically looked at her and nodded.

“Go to my wife Martha, she will tell you what to do!” he snapped.

Angelica came to his wife. She was a big, tough woman.

“Well, what happened?” she asked Lica sharply.

“I was blown away from the ship in a storm,” she murmured. “Now I have to be here until I find a ship, which is moving in the same direction.”

“Where?” asked the woman.

“To the desert!”

“Ha ha ha!” the woman laughed. “Then it is only one every six months!”

“It’s impossible!” Angelica said.

She went pit-a-pat and sat down on the floor.

“Well! Come on!” exclaimed the hostess. “You're lucky that you met me! I will not let you starve to death. You will wash the dishes, clean the tavern and give drinks to the customers.”

“Okay!” Lica nodded.

“And now, you should eat something!”

She gave Lica a fried chicken breast and some rice.

“Thank you!” said the girl.

Immediately after the meal, she started work. They had many customers. Almost all of them were rude men, who met Angelica on ‘Hurrah!’ Each of them tries to grab or pinch her. But Lica as she could evade it...

Unexpected meeting

Two weeks had passed since she started working at the tavern. The saloonkeeper’s business had been prospered with Lica’s help, what made him kinder and now he began to take her differently. And his wife became Angelica’s best friend. Under the mask of a rude woman hid very sensitive lady. Lica told the saloonkeeper’s wife about her adventures and she really wanted to help the girl. Martha went to the harbor everyday to ask her friends if the next ship was leaving to the desert. One day she came home not alone but with a blond young man.

“Julien!” Angelica exclaimed. “God, Julien! How did you get here?”

“She is asking me?” the young man laughed. “I was looking for you! But how did you get here?”

“I see you have a lot to talk,” said Martha. “I am leaving you alone; I need to help my husband!”

“Let’s go outside!” Julien suggested. “And talk there!”

Lica gladly accepted. She told the man about all the events that had happened to her during that time.

“...and the captain of pirates gave me the boat. And I am here on the island. Not to starve, I had to work in the tavern!” the girl finished her story.

“And you are a brave girl!” the captain admired sincerely. “I was definitely sure that you died in the sea. But Huron insisted on searching all the islands around. Not finding you anywhere, the sorcerer spent some magical rite and said that he saw you save and sound on a big island. Only two big islands were nearby. We spent a few days looking for you on the first island, and then came here - to the St. Mary. As soon as we went on shore, we heard rumors that a young beautiful girl worked in the tavern. Then I bumped into the saloonkeeper’s wife, who was asking captains, if their ships were going to the desert. That's how I found you!”

“I am so happy!” Angelica cried and rushed to hug Julien.

“What a hot rush!” the captain smiled. “And now we have to go, Huron is waiting for us!”

“Wait, Julien! I need to say goodbye to the tavern owners.”

Lica ran into the tavern thanking the saloonkeeper and his wife.

“You brought me good luck,” said the owner. “So if you ever need a job, I'm always happy to take you!”

“Take care of yourself!” said his wife, Martha. “I think that your adventures have just begun!”

She hugged Angelica and even shed a few tears in the end. Lica ran out of the tavern and shouted to Julien:

“That's it! I am completely free and ready to sail right now!”

The captain smiled and went towards the harbor. The girl followed him. Twenty minutes later, Angelica ran up to the deck of the ship, where Huron was waiting for them.

“Well, did you have a good time?” the sorcerer smiled.

“If only did you know how glad I am to see you all!” cried the girl.

“We are setting off today!” said Julien. “We have already lost too much time. I hope they won’t cancel the order.”

He gave some commands to the sailors and they ran on the deck obeying them.

“Let’s go into the cabin!” Huron said to Lica. “Tell me what happened to you!”

Angelica went down with the sorcerer into the captain's cabin and retold her story again.

“It's amazing that Patrick didn’t feed you to the sharks,” Huron mused when she finished her story. “Apparently, you were born under a lucky star!”

“I do not know...” handed Lica. “It seemed to me that Patrick was unhappy man with a very kind heart.”

“Hmm...” grumbled the sorcerer. “This ‘unhappy person with a very kind heart’ ruined more than one hundred lives. All well that ends well. Now the main thing! When we get back to my cave, you have to perform another mission.”

“Mission? What mission?” surprised the girl.

“I need you to persuade your friend Isa to stay with Leila as long as we win the evil. If everything goes well, I will either go back to my cave or take away Leila with me - to a new home. Until then, I