“Did Moses feed him?”
“Aye, and we changed his nappy, tried rockin’ him.Nothin’.”He extended the babe to Cadan and, with great reluctance, he took the stinky, howling bundle.After Cadan’s mother died, he’d been forced to care for five younger siblings, and he seemed to recall they needed burping after a meal.Hoisting the child upright, he leaned him against his shoulder and gently patted his back.
Soot remained, relief loosening the lines on his face, though his right eye continued twitching.
A burp as loud as cannon fire emerged from the babe.
Followed by something warm and damp soaking through Cadan’s shirt down his back.
“Uhhh!”Cadan held out the infant, vomit dripping from the child’s mouth.A putrid stench saturated the air.
The babe gurgled in delight, quite pleased with himself, but when his eyes met Cadan’s, he began to wail again.
“Here, take him for a moment.”He handed him back to Soot, but the man backed away, eyes filled with more terror than Cadan had seen cross them during battle.
“Sorry, Cap’n.I got t’ check the guns.”And before Cadan could issue an order, the master gunner bolted from the cabin.
Traitor.
Ignoring the sour liquid running down his back, Cadan drew Matthew close, cradling him in his arms.Though he made every attempt to hate the babe, in truth, he found it hard to do so.’Twas Lady Fox’s face so full of love for her child that forced down his animosity.
And for the first time in four days, the babe quieted and stared up at Cadan, cooing softly.
“You’re just like your mother.”Cadan couldn’t help but grin.“Driving me mad one minute, and charming me with your winsome smile the next.”
Bootsteps brought his gaze up to see Durwin and Pell enter beside a slovenly looking man with a shock of greasy black hair atop a head as round as a cannonball.
Their eyes landed on Matthew.Pell grinned.Durwin’s face scrunched, and the other man merely stared dumbfounded.
Pell thumbed toward the stranger.“This man says he knows where Captain Allard is heading.”
“Out with it, man,” Cadan shouted a bit too loudly.
Matthew let out a whimper.
The sailor ran a hand beneath his nose as if he smelled something foul.“Cap’n Allard an’ some o’ ’is men came ashore two days ago.’E came into the Smelly Goat fer a drink an’ bragged about gettin’ the best of ye, Captain Hayes.Aye, he did, but I knew it weren’t true.”His gaze landed on the baby again and he cringed.
Matthew took up a howl, and Cadan began jostling him in his arms.“Did he say where he was heading?”
“To Martinique.That’s wha’ ’e said.”
Pell frowned.“A French port.”
Cadan studied the sailor, wondering if the information was trustworthy.“Are you quite sure?”
“As sure as a sailor loves ’is rum.”He tugged the blue scarf tied around his thick neck.“Said ’e were goin’ t’ a celebration or ceremony, I can’t remember.”
Cadan gestured for Pell to pay him, and he reached in his pocket and handed him a silver coin.
The man gave a toothless grin.“Thank ye, Cap’n.An’ if ye ever need anythin’, ole Mack Friggens be yer man.”
“Take him back to shore,” Cadan ordered Durwin, and with a tap to his hat, the first mate turned and escorted the man out.
“I think he likes you, Captain.”Pell gestured toward Matthew in Cadan’s arms.The child had fallen sound asleep, looking like an angel rather than the screaming demon he was.
Approaching, Pell held a hand to his nose and winced, gesturing toward Cadan’s shoulder.“Ah, there’s the reason for the stench.His tummy has settled.”
“Aye, all over me.”Moving toward the makeshift cradle he’d made in his teakwood chest, Cadan carefully laid the infant within.Then yanking his soiled shirt over his head, he tossed it onto the deck.
