The Turning Tide Read Online Free PDF

women’s quarters,” Pusasn said, giving a little bow.
    Carolina blinked as his words set in. “But I want to stay with my crew! And my capitan ! And—” She glanced at Diego but didn’t finish her sentence.
    “Oooooh, I would love to meet some nice, civilized ladies for a change,” Marcella said, beaming. “I’ll go! She can stay with the others. She’s practically a boy anyway. I mean, look at how she dresses, and you should see her table manners—” This was a rather unfair accusation, as Carolina had grown up in a fine Spanish court and knew better than anyone on the ship exactly which fork to use for what…not that that mattered when you were sharing three forks between the entire crew.
    “We must insist,” Askay said, turning to Jack. “It is our custom.”
    “Sorry, love,” Jack said to Carolina. “Don’t worry, we promise not to have any fun without you.” He paused, thinking for a moment. “Unless there’s rum. Then I can’t promise anything.”
    Carolina protested, and Diego chimed in, but there was nothing they could do. A tall woman wearing thin veils and a lavender sari appeared to firmly escort the two girls through a low doorway at the far end of the palace wall.
    As Diego followed the others up through the center doorway into the palace, he glanced behind him and saw Carolina looking back at him at the same time.
    He touched his heart, wishing he could send some magical protection with her. He hated being parted from her in this strange, dangerous place.
    His heart banged in his chest as she blew him a kiss. His last glimpse of her was her long, dark hair swinging loose as she ducked through the doorway, and then she was gone.

C HAPTER F OUR
    “I t suddenly got a lot quieter, didn’t it?” Jack observed pointedly after the girls were gone. This snide remark, mainly about Marcella, was lost on Jean, who stood on tiptoe to watch her leave, wringing his hands anxiously.
    “I hope she’s all right,” Jean said. “Well, actually, what I mean is I hope she behaves herself. If anyone could set off an incident, I’m afraid it’s my cousin.”
    “Oh, marvelous,” growled Barbossa. “That’s all we need: a pack of women outraged because that girl made fun of their hair.”
    “Sensitive as always, Barbossa,” Jack commented.
    Inside, Sri Sumbhajee’s palace was a maze of corridors and courtyards. Rich silk tapestries hung on the walls; inlaid marble tables and doors glittered with semiprecious gemstones. Jack could hear streams bubbling in the enclosed gardens and small waterfalls cascading down the walls, cooling the rooms. He spotted more stone screens and realized that there must be a whole other labyrinthine complex of women’s quarters on the other side.
    They were walking down a hallway with smooth, white walls when they passed a courtyard with another multicolumned enclosure like the one at the entrance. Sri Sumbhajee glanced casually into it as he walked by, and then, a few steps further down the hall, he stopped suddenly in his tracks. His aides threw out their arms and barely managed to keep the rest of the group from crashing into him.
    Sri Sumbhajee whipped around, the points of his moustache trembling violently. He flapped his hands at Askay and Pusasn and stormed into the courtyard, nearly at a run.
    Curious, Jack hurried after him. Something had clearly set off Sri Sumbhajee’s temper, and Jack enjoyed seeing another Pirate Lord mad. Sri Sumbhajee pulled a long knife out of his waist sash as he stormed across the stone paths, kicking a peacock out of his way. He was heading for the enclosure with the columns, where, Jack now saw, there was a throne set up high in an alcove of the back wall.
    The throne was made of gleaming black wood with gold covering nearly every inch of it; gold lion heads glared from the top of the throne, gold claws jutted from the arms, and gold lion paws formed the base of each leg. Red velvet pillows embroidered with gold were piled high