The Armada Legacy Read Free Page B

dry.’ They pressed their way through the swarm and had to shout their orders to be heard by the harried bar staff.
    ‘I didn’t know you were a gin and tonic type of guy,’ Brooke said, once they’d escaped the chaos and found a quieter spot on the far side of the ballroom.
    ‘I’ve decided to become that type of guy,’ Amal replied, knocking back a slug of it, ice clinking in his glass. ‘Starting right here, right now.’
    She touched his arm. ‘You’re okay, aren’t you?’
    Amal swallowed a handful of peanuts, washed them down with another long swig, then gave a shrug. ‘I’m not about to go hurling myself madly off the cliffs, if that’s what you mean. What’s a bit of salt rubbed into the wound, between friends? Award-winning playwright,’ he added in a sullen undertone. ‘Like I really needed that.’
    These artists. She wished he didn’t have to be so sensitive. ‘Sam didn’t mean to hurt your feelings. It’s just her way.’
    The crowd was rapidly drifting away from the bar to gather at the foot of the stage. People were checking their watches in anticipation of the start of the show. The mayor and his little entourage had positioned themselves right at the front, where a photographer took a few more half-hearted snaps of them for the local news. There was a stirring behind the curtain to the left of the stage, as if someone was putting the finishing touches to whatever exhibits lay behind it.
    Sam reappeared through the door marked PRIVATE, spotted Brooke and bustled over to join her, diverting her attention for a few minutes with her animated chatter. When Brooke was able to tear herself away for an instant, she saw that she’d lost Amal in the crowd. Peering through the milling bodies she caught a glimpse of his back as he slunk over towards the bar for a refill. He didn’t look very happy. Shit , she thought. Maybe this whole thing had been a bad idea.
    ‘It’s so great you’re here for this,’ Sam was babbling happily for the twentieth time, clutching her champagne. ‘Should be starting any moment now … yes! There he is. Here we go. Shush, everyone.’
    To enthusiastic applause, Sir Roger appeared under the lights, stepped up to the podium and launched into his speech as the glittering Neptune Marine Exploration corporate logo flashed up on the big screen behind him.

Chapter Four
    ‘It’s no secret,’ Sir Roger began, ‘how in July of last year, after many months of exhaustive mapping and researching possible locations over countless square miles of the Atlantic Ocean, Neptune Marine Exploration, the world leader in historic marine salvage, succeeded in locating one of the greatest finds of the last several decades.’ He waved at the screen, and right on cue there flashed up an underwater image that Brooke had to peer hard at to make out. Against a murky, greenish sea bed was the shape of a decayed hulk barely recognisable as a sailing ship. Its masts had long since vanished, leaving just the crumbling ruin of its hull, scattered in fragments and half buried under countless tons of sand and shingle.
    Marvellous , Brooke thought, thoroughly unimpressed. She glanced over in the direction of the bar. Amal had his back to the rest of the room, sitting hunched over his second gin and tonic. Or maybe his third by now.
    ‘The previously undiscovered wreck of the Spanish warship Santa Teresa ,’ Forsyte announced proudly. ‘Sunk in 1588 off Toraigh Island near the Donegal coast after the Spanish Armada, repelled by the Royal Navy following their abortive invasion of England, were chased northwards and headed for Ireland in the hope of finding a friendly port and refuge among their Catholic allies, only to have the remnants of their fleet devastated by freak Atlantic storms.’
    He turned to gaze lovingly at the screen. ‘I know, she’s not much to look at after sitting at the bottom of the ocean for over four hundred and twenty years. But thanks to the unique 3D underwater