"Exactly so," the Captain tells her. "The Lord Bern had served under His Majesty's father, King Caspian, the ninth of that name. A much-beloved ruler he was, that I've always heard, and not to be blamed for his brother's evil.
"So Lord Bern pledged his fealty once more, to the son of his old king. His Majesty wanted to at once lay the Treader aside the slave-ship on which his friends were now being carried, but Lord Bern counseled otherwise, and together they struck up a plan. You see, the Governor of the Lone Islands – Gumpas was his name – was a craven, selfish fellow. He allowed the slave trade to thrive for the gold it brought to his own coffers, but he was a spineless sort, easily cowed."
Drinian laughs to remember. "And so His Majesty bade us sail down the channel between the islands, well in view of the Governor's house, while signaling for our fleet – which did not exist, I remind you – to join us at Bernstead."
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"So Lord Bern pledged his fealty once more, to the son of his old king. His Majesty wanted to at once lay the Treader aside the slave-ship on which his friends were now being carried, but Lord Bern counseled otherwise, and together they struck up a plan. You see, the Governor of the Lone Islands – Gumpas was his name – was a craven, selfish fellow. He allowed the slave trade to thrive for the gold it brought to his own coffers, but he was a spineless sort, easily cowed."
Drinian laughs to remember. "And so His Majesty bade us sail down the channel between the islands, well in view of the Governor's house, while signaling for our fleet – which did not exist, I remind you – to join us at Bernstead."