Page 27 of Be More Octopus

'Good to see that you're your usual happy self again.' He smiled.

'Sorry about last night.'

'No need to apologise. I'm glad you can be yourself with me.' He kept his eyes on the road.

'Thanks for coming to my defence. I don't think I said thank you properly last night.'

'That's ok. But I was worried that the woman with her phone out had recognised me.'

Em unlocked her phone. 'You're not trending on Twitter. I think you've got away with it.'

She turned her attention back to the roadmap on her lap. Jack had warned her that the data signal was patchy on the moor, so navigating the traditional way would be better than relying on the satnav.

She found Littleham slap bang in the middle of Dartmoor. ' If you're researching pirates, why are we going somewhere as far away from the sea as you can get in Devon?'

'Because that's where the other Em in my life at the moment was born.'

'Another Em?'

'This one's an Emma, and she's been dead for nearly 300 years, so no need to get jealous. There are some notes on her in the back of the map book.'

Em found a sheet of A4 lined paper filled with beautiful handwriting tucked between the final page and the book cover.

'Did you write this?'

'Yes.' He said with a hint of 'who else would've written it' in his tone.

'It's very neat. I didn't think anyone wrote by hand now.'

'Sometimes it's quicker than typing on the laptop, and I get fed up with staring at a screen all day.'

She read the first paragraph:

Emma Starling, 1688 to 1735, born in Littleham, Dartmoor. Killed by the British Navy in the Caribbean on board the Black Dragon.

'You've spoilt the ending,' Em said.

'I might write it differently in the book. Thank you for the tip.' Jack laughed.

'I thought women weren't allowed on ships. Something about them being bad luck or a distraction for the male crew members?'

'Where did you learn that?' Jack sounded surprised.

Em was going to have to fess up now. Lucy's dossier had mentioned that one of Jack's TV series was on Netflix. Em hadn't been able to resist checking it out. She'd enjoyed watching him on screen. He was a very engaging presenter. 'I may have watched a documentary by a certain Professor Carver.'

'Did you? You didn't mention it.'

'I didn't want to make you big-headed.'

'It's true that having a woman on board ship was generally frowned upon, but there were some women who did go to sea. If you'd watched the next episode, you'd have learnt that.'

'I was saving that excitement for another day.'

Jack grinned. 'They either disguised themselves as men or, like Emma, paid their crew generously, which had the remarkable effect of dispelling any superstitions.'

They turned down a track marked 'Private' which went uphill for about half a mile. As they reached the top of the hill, a ruined house came into view in a valley all on its own. Jack parked the car on the side of the track, away from the building.

'What a shame it's been abandoned. It's beautiful here.' Em got out of the car and looked around. There were no other signs of habitation in sight.