Riding on the Rocks ((47))

[kragjorgensen]

Arthur led her through the hall, past the berths and into his own quarters. Before closing the door, he took off his cap and placed it on a nearby valve.

The room was not very big, a berth was bolted to the wall underneath a porthole, which was covered by a wool curtain. A small, round table sat in the middle of the room, bolted to the deck. A footlocker was wedged under the bed. On the wall, there were a few framed photographs, the largest of which was one showing several hundred cats posing on the front section of a large warship. The tinge of tobacco permeated the room.

"Please, have a seat." He said, pulling a chair out.

[victoriousscarf]

She considered the seat for a moment before sitting, crossing her leg over the other and rearranging her skirt. Perhaps it was a bit farther than she should have gone, but she was more comfortable with the idea of being able to reach her gun with no problem. She didn't expect trouble from this tom, but preferred to err on the side of caution. Once settled, she turned her gaze back up to him. "Well then," she said, smoothing her skirt down again. Blasted thing.

[kragjorgensen]

Arthur took a seat on the other side of the table.

"So, what business do you have in mind. Cod, Salmon, Haddock. . . Sardines?" Arthur asked, playing the issue a bit. "Or maybe something a little more exotic. . ."

[victoriousscarf]

"Hm, something more exotic I think," she murmured, leaning one elbow against the bolted down table in front of her. "Do you have suggestions on that?"

[kragjorgensen]

"How about Herring, Caught last week off the shore's of western France." Arthur said, opening his footlocker and taking out a bottle of wine.

[victoriousscarf]

"French Herring eh?" she murmured, eyes trained on the bottle. "And what a nice looking batch it is..."

[kragjorgensen]

"Well, I do have other things I go after. I've made some forays off the coast of Ireland, Scotland and a few islands down in the Caribbean." Arthur said. "We try and offer a good selection to our customers."

[victoriousscarf]

She nodded. "Selection is very important after all," she murmured, glancing from the bottle back up to him and leaning back. "Ireland, Scotland and the Caribbean. Do you ever make it up to Canada as well?"

[kragjorgensen]

"I'd be a fool not to." The tom responded, pulling out what looked like a 5 round charger clip for a Springfield. "Do you like sardines?" He asked.

[victoriousscarf]

"Not usually," she replied, smiling faintly. "But I can perhaps be convinced of their use.

[kragjorgensen]

"Well, I have American Sardines, but you can buy those at your local fish market. However, how many cats do you know that can get appreciable amounts of English Sardines?" Arthur said, placing the ammunition on the table. "I know rich fishing grounds that haven't been visited since the Great War."

[victoriousscarf]

For a moment Clara froze completely, eyes trained on the ammunition before forcing her gaze back up to him. "Oh?" she hummed. "Well, such a wealth of untapped waters should be worth quite a lot, would you think?"

[kragjorgensen]

"Indeed, but I have few buyers for imported Sardines." Arthur said.

[victoriousscarf]

"Well then," she replied. "Perhaps we could look at some sort of arrangement to get some of those off your paws?"

[kragjorgensen]

"Maybe." Arthur said, mulling the idea over in his head. "But what's a sardine without something to cook it in?"