Page 58 of The Admiral's Daughter

“Wehad our fun,” I continue, “and I was in the process of leaving the next morning when I ran into someone in the hallway.”

“Benson,” she says matter-of-factly.

“Right, Benson. Turns out the woman was his younger sister.”

“Okay.”

I chuckle. “Not okay. He was livid, but I swear I had no idea who she was.”

Cleo tips her head slightly. She does it when she’s puzzling something out and is ready to ask a question. “Was she underage or something?”

“Fucking hell, of course not. No way! I might be a tit most of the time, but I’m responsible where age and consent are concerned. No, she was most certainly over twenty-one.”

“So, Benson was just pissed because…”

I shrug. “I’d railed his little sister, and he’d be reminded of that every time he saw me at work, I suppose.”

“Right,” she says, looking off to the side. “And was he in charge of your bunk inspections before that incident?”

“Um, no. Why?”

She doesn’t answer me straight away. This line of questioning wasn’t what I was expecting. As far as I know,Benson isn’t going to feature in Cleo’s article. Maybe she’s changed her mind.

“Do you have evening rounds, too?”

“Most evenings, but not with Benson. It’s the Officer of the Watch who conducts them.”

“Is that the same for the rest of the crew?”

“Cleo, what’s going on?”

She huffs. “Don’t you find it odd that a Warrant Officer is conducting morning rounds?”

“I haven’t really thought about it. It’s a bit beyond my pay grade, to be honest.”

Cleo nods. “Okay, but now I’ve made you aware, what do you think?”

She’s not wrong. Benson isn’t an officer and normally wouldn’t have that kind of responsibility. “Alright, I’ll bite. Yeah, it’s out of the norm.”

“Especially,” Cleo begins, her voice quieter, “if your bunks are the only ones getting extra rounds.”

“You think Benson is targeting me and the girls, specifically?”

“Isn’t he?”

“No, he does rounds on two other bunks as well.”

Cleo grabs her notepad. “Can you tell me who is in those bunks?”

I list off the crewmates, and she writes them down. This is all a bit weird, but I can see Cleo feels she’s on to something I’m clearly not seeing yet.

“Ruby Mitchel is in one of the cabins Benson inspects?”

“Yes,” I say slowly.

“Any other queer people?”

“What are you getting at, Cleo?”