Read Online The Skull by Christian Darkin - Free Book Online Page B

the sea so that he almost felt as though he was drifting among them. His destination might as well have been Mars.
    The wind was good, and the weather calm, but it took all night and all the following day before he caught sight of the French coast. He knew the beaches well and had a good idea where he could bring the little boat in, hiding it among rocky outcrops protected from view from the sea or the shore. To be on the safe side he waited for dusk and high tide before slipping in to shore, securing his boat, curling up in the bottom of the hull and finally collapsing into sleep.
    This wasn’t going to be easy. The cart with its idol was important to the locals and William didn’t think that putting it on a boat and taking it out of the country, however briefly, would go down well with most of the people he did business with. The one trader who might be able to help was not someone he enjoyed meeting.
    He kept off the main street and put his head down as he slipped into town, circling around behind a shabby row of cottages to De Cuir’s back door.
    The fewer people who knew he was in town, the better. If things went wrong, they could go very wrong indeed, and William’s ability to trade here in France was the only thing keeping him and Elizabeth fed.
    De Cuir’s home was dark and shabby, just like the man himself. He was thin, sour and unshaven. As he ushered William in, his eyes darted along the street to make sure nobody had seen the Englishman enter, and he closed the door quickly behind them.
    Most of the people William dealt with in France were not criminals. At least, not real ones. They didn’t ask much about where the fleeces he sold came from, or where the brandy and tea he bought in exchange went. Like the farmers back home, they were not well off enough to refuse a good bargain, and they saw nothing wrong in striking one. Trade across the Channel was a way of life. Illegal and dangerous, but a way of life nevertheless.
    De Cuir was different. He charged high prices and would rip you off if he got half a chance. But he could get you
anything
. Whatever you needed, somehow,somewhere, he would know someone who could lay their hands on it, if the price was right.
    William sat on a hard chair in his back room, and explained exactly what he needed. The idol, the cart and the seeds. De Cuir listened, drumming his fingers against each other. William could see his narrow eyes darting from side to side, but his expression did not change.
    When William finished De Cuir laughed dryly, without smiling. ‘Your crops aren’t growing so well, are they?’
    William didn’t answer that. ‘Can you get me what I need?’
    â€˜The beans I can bring you. They are no problem. This charm… There is only one Lady of the cart. She travels from one village to the next. The farmers, they make an offering to the Lady – and another to the cart driver. Then he goes away, and returns next year. It is a… a service.’ De Cuir waved his hand. ‘He follows the season of sowing. You see?’
    â€˜You mean you cannot get it?’ said William.
    â€˜I did not say that. The weather, it is not so honest with us this year. In the South, it has been warm early – the seeds have been planted. The Lady, she has finished her work, and come early to town.’ Hepaused. ‘But we… we are still too cold for planting. We have storms. The lady cannot do her work for two – three weeks yet.’
    William smiled. ‘You mean it’s here?’
    â€˜Possibly,’ said De Cuir vaguely. ‘There would be a price.’
    â€˜Of course.’ William explained what money he had and that there was no way to negotiate – he could get no more. De Cuir looked disappointed, but William could tell he wasn’t really. ‘That’s all I have. We can make a deal, or not.’ William shrugged.
    The Frenchman nodded. ‘The driver keeps her in a barn, and