Chapter 19 Duties
Talbot and Harv arrived, ordered an ale and sit down at the table.

"Everything go OK?" Elle asked.

The captain just nodded.

"It went fine." Harv said with a smile. "One man was concerned about pirates."

Elle smiled. Poor man, he had no idea.

They spent the next hour talking about upcoming shipments. It seemed, that one shipment had been added to. It wasn't much of a concern about space the problem was the man required a guard to go with the shipment.

It was a small chest of gold ingots. The gold and the guard would be stored in the hold in the cell used for prisoners. The guard and the captain would have the only keys.

Elle learned that this was not the way such shipments had been handled in the past. Mr. Thad had suffered due to pirate in the past two years. He insisted on the added security.

The guard would look, act, and for the most part be treated as a prisoner. He wouldn't leave the cell or the gold.

One of the crew would bring the man his meals.

Talbot wasn't happy with the situation but it did add legitimacy to the crew. Something he had been thinking lately was sorely needed.

It wasn't until Zara had joined them hours later that the subject of the man searching for a Elle came up.

A muscle twitch at the corner of Talbot left eye. He demanded an explanation. "Why didn't you mention this when I arrived?"

"Deanton took care of it." Elle stated blandly.

"He told him not to come back. I don't think he will. He seemed to have at least a small amount of self-preservation instinct." Zara told them quickly.

"He didn't recognize her." Miles added.

Elle held her breath. She shared a look with Zara. Zara nodded. Elle knew they needed to tell them about the portrait.

"There's - We did find out some information. Apparently Reginald is showing his searchers a portrait of me." Elle said. She watched both Talbot and Harv for their reactions to the news.

Talbot glared at everyone at the table. The muscle twitch had moved from the corner of his eye. It seemed to be pulling the skin over his face in a snear, relaxing and pulling again.

Harb tapped his finger on the table. It made a rhythmic thumping. The sound should have been relaxing but it wasn't.

"Where did he get the portrait?" Talbot asked when he gained control over his facial muscles.

Ella shifted in her seat. Once again she looked over at Zara. She was unsure why she was concerned about telling him about the portrait. She blinked slowly and looked back at him.

"Our wedding portraits." She said her voice just above a whisper.

"Wedding?" Harvey asked. He looked confused for a moment.

Elle nodded.

"You set for a wedding portrait?" Talbot asked his voice was tight and controlled. But Elle heard something that she couldn't identify.

"Don't they take weeks to complete?" Harv asked.

"I..." Elles eyebrows pinched in concern. "Well, yes." she said answering those questions. "But I didn't know it had been finished. I found out about his plans on the day of a sitting. The artist wanted me to sit again the next week but by then I was already on the ship. I didn't know he could finish it without me."

"What's the name of the artist?" Talbot asked.

"Leo LeBost." Elle told them.

Zara gasped. Everyone turned to look at her. Her eyes darted around them.

"He's my cousin." she said in shock. she slept a lot of hair back from her face. "I've not seen him for years. I didn't even know he was painting. He was 19 last I saw him."

"How long?" Talbot asked. His voice harsher than Elle believe necessary. She saw the Zara flinch. Elle glared at him.

"E-eight years." although her voice flinched her back straightened.

"Could you restablish a connection? He could have information we could use." Harv asked. His voice kinder then the captains.

"Yes. For Elle." Zara said casting a look at Talbot that clearly stated she was not doing it for him.

Elle felt her heart melt. She heard the emotion in Zara's voice. There was so much emotion in love that it humbled Elle.

"It's doubtful he'll have anything but we should still try." Captain Talbot said with a look at Zara. "Elle do you know where he lives?"

"No. He was doing the portrait in Sir Travis is drawing room." I only saw him there." She paused, "but I may remember he said something about cheapside."

"Cheepside?" Talbot said he looked over at Zara. She shook her head.

Elle felt left out of the loop. "Aren't we in Cheapside?"

It was Harv that answered her. "There are two. We're actually by the dock cheepside. Nobles and elite don't frequent either but there are places in the city Cheapside that elite may be seen."

"I assume he'll be in the city cheap side. It's unlikely your ex would have come to the Docks to find a painter." Talbot said.

"We have to find him quickly." Harv said thinking of the voyage.

"We have a starting point but I don't want to draw attention to the search." Talbot said but he did look Harv. "Will keep searching until we have to leave port."

"I know you don't think that he'll know anything. But we need to find him before we leave. In case you haven't forgotten I won't be coming back with you. I want to know what he has to say." Elle said sternly. The reminder that she would be stuck in a convent did not help her disposition.

"I'll find him. Elles not the only one with a few connections. Mine just happen to be in Cheapside." Miles said. Everyone looked at him. He shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "I grew up there." he added defensively.

It was soon decided what everybody's job would be. Miles word search city Cheapside, Elle would search dock cheapside, Harv would search other parts of the city.

Talbot however would spend much of his time getting ready for the voyage. There was still one person to replace on the crew. There was also one shipping contract that had not been finalized.