it should be laid out in articles signed by us all.’ Mr Barlow sneered at the Captain. ‘On any other pirate ship, the crew would overthrow you for acting so mighty and thinkin’ yourself above them.’
‘You’re not on any other ship but mine.’ Captain Rose brought the back of his hand down hard across Mr Barlow’s cheek, knocking him to the ground and making Cassandra gasp in horror. Captain Rose towered over the weasel who clasped his face and shrank back against the hull, a line of blood dripping from his cracked lip. ‘I’ll brook no mutinous talk from any of my crew. If you don’t like how I run my ship, then you’re free to leave it at the next port, or sooner if I deem it necessary. Do I make myself clear?’
‘Yes, sir,’ Mr Barlow whimpered.
‘Good. Then find some work on deck and get out of my sight.’
Mr Barlow stumbled to his feet and pushed through the men still clogging the cabin door to watch the drama between their Captain and Cassandra, no doubt wondering when she would receive the same treatment for her defiance. Cassandra feared it, too, thinking this man’s patience already at an end, but when he turned back to her he laid one wide hand over his heart, as sincere as a magistrate.
‘I’m sorry you had to see such a thing, Lady Shepherd. My apologies.’ Before she could tell him what she thought of his despicable behaviour, he fixed on Dr Abney. ‘Sir, are you a man of the cloth or one of those useless physicians who know nothing more than to bleed and purge a man?’
‘I’m a physician and a surgeon.’ Dr Abney’s voice carried a slight warble of fear.
‘Then would you be so kind as to assist our surgeon in treating the wounded?’ It was an order dressed up in a request.
Dr Abney exchanged a hesitant glance with Cassandra. After what they’d witnessed, it was clear they were in no position to refuse. Even if he did, and despite being a spry man of fifty with a thick chest leading down to solid arms, Dr Abney couldn’t protect her against this mob and they both knew it. It was better for him to co-operate and hope for the best than to fight. He placed his pistol on the top of the chest he stood behind. ‘If it means the continued safety of the ladies, I will.’
Captain Rose turned to the slender man standing next to the one in the Monmouth cap. ‘Mr O’Malley, take Dr Abney to Mr Perry.’
‘Yes, sir.’ Mr O’Malley motioned for Dr Abney to follow him and, with hesitant steps, Dr Abney complied, as reluctant to leave as Cassandra was to see him go.
‘Everyone else, back to your stations.’ Captain Rose’s thundering command strained Cassandra’s already tense nerves. Despite his manners, he was mercurial and she wondered when he’d finally turn his temper on her. ‘The lady and I have a great deal to discuss.’
The pirates scrambled to obey, exiting the cabin as quickly as they’d entered it, except for Mr Rush and one other man who picked up the legless desk and the scattered papers and carried them out.
When they were gone, a quiet louder than the battle settled over the cabin, broken by the creak of the rigging and the snapping of sails. Cassandra nudged Jane and Dinah back behind the trunks, then stepped forward to face Captain Rose, unwilling to relinquish her weapons. ‘When you’re done plundering the ship, will you let us go, unharmed?’
He strode in a semicircle around her, once again eyeing her like the hungry tiger did its prey. ‘What are you willing to offer me in return for your safe passage?’
She swallowed hard against the thick heat in the cabin and his expression, taking small comfort in the door lying on the floor instead of on its hinges. Though she doubted anyone would rush to her aid should she cry out. ‘Anything not on or of our persons.’
He stopped in front of her and raked his hand through the thick tangle of his ebony hair hanging loose about his shoulders. ‘A tall order for one with so little to bargain with.’
‘I have two guns pointed at you.’
‘Do you intend to aim at me all the way to Virginia?’
‘If I must.’
‘Then let me propose another solution, one more pleasurable for us both.’ He straightened and fixed her with a smile charming enough to make him the toast of every bawd in the Bahamas. ‘I will allow you, the Captain and the crew to continue on your journey in exchange for two favours. First, you will honour me with your presence at dinner in my cabin aboard the Devil’s Rose. Cultured dinner partners are difficult to find among seafaring men. I miss the pleasures of a well-set table, of hearing London gossip and the delight of dining with a charming and beautiful woman.’
Cassandra’s arms ached from holding the guns, but she didn’t lower them, their slight protection offering her some comfort. If she dined with him, alone, aboard his ship, she’d be entirely at his mercy and the restraint he’d shown with her might finally vanish. ‘Drawing-room prattle won’t interest you.’
‘Perhaps, but I can’t help but be captivated by anything spoken in your melodious voice.’
‘It isn’t conversation I’m concerned about.’ She cursed the slight tremble in her words and her hands.
He shifted closer until the barrel of the pistols touched the white of his shirt. The smell of man, leather and sea cut through her like lightning until she couldn’t tell if it was the ship or her that rocked.
‘You have nothing to fear, Lady Shepherd. I assure you, you will be safe with me.’ A change came over him, so subtle it was like a shadow seen along the periphery of her vision. The planes of his face softened and he reached up behind his head to where the strings of his mask were tied, as if his true identity would vouch for his trustworthiness. She held her breath, waiting for him to undo them and reveal what it was about him he believed would comfort her. She couldn’t imagine what it might be but she waited, curious to see the man behind the mask. A breeze drifted in through the narrow pane of open glass in the window, heavy with the tang of salt air and fading gunpowder. Then he dropped his hands. ‘Do you agree to my terms?’
She shouldn’t trust her life or her sanctity to this rogue, but the depths of his blue irises and the softness of the lines at the corners told her he would honour his word. She slid her fingers off the warm metal triggers and rested them on the cool mother-of-pearl handles. If agreeing to his terms meant the freedom and safety of those aboard the Winter Gale, then she must do it. ‘I will dine with you, as long as Dr Abney is allowed to remain with my child and her nurse while I’m gone.’
‘Granted.’
‘And the second favour?’
‘I’ll explain that when we dine.’ He laid his hands on the barrels of the pistols and, with a subtle pressure, lowered them, leaving nothing between them to protect her. He slid his hands off the silver, his fingers never touching hers although she was keenly aware of how close his skin was to hers. ‘I’ll send Mr Rush for you in an hour. Bring both pistols when you come. Unloaded.’
‘Why?’
‘You’ll understand in an hour.’ He shifted back into a bow worthy of a courtier, then turned and strode out of the cabin.
Cassandra sagged against the crate beside her in brief relief before the next wave of tension gripped her. She laid the pistols on top of the trunk, dropped to her knees in front of Dinah and clasped her close. Dinah and the others were
