“Indeed.”Cadan gestured for a barmaid and ordered mugs of ale.In truth he rather enjoyed the respect and fear he’d earned from the Brethren of the Coast.His reputation as an expert swordsman and skillful captain—one he’d worked hard to achieve—had its privileges.And one day he hoped it would bring him both the wealth and power he craved.
Durwin took a seat beside Pell, but before Smity could join them, Cadan waved his bosun away.“Keep your eye out for that scug One-tooth Leadwig and report back to me.”
With a scowl, the man wandered away.
The barmaid returned, slamming mugs on the table and spilling foam over the rims.No doubt because her batting eyes were all over Cadan.Leaning forward, she gave him a full view of the crests of her over-sized bosoms peeking above her stays.“Can I git ye anything else, Cap’n?”
It had been a while since he’d been with a woman, alongwhile, but now was not the time.And this was not the woman, if ever there would be one again after Elyna.
Grabbing his mug, he waved her away and took a long draught.
Durwin’s lusty gaze followed the barmaid as she swayed off.“I could use a bit o’somethin’ else, if ye’s know what I mean, Cap’n.”
“That’s not why we are here,” Cadan replied.
“Remind me again, Captain.”Pell sat back with an incriminating huff.“Why exactly we are here in this redeeming establishment?”
Durwin chuckled.“Ye sure talk pretty, Pell.”
“He was a preacher.”Cadan snorted “They all talk pretty.”He glanced over the tavern, alert to any malevolent looks cast his way.One unfortunate curse of being a respected and powerful pirate captain was that someone always wanted to knock you from your throne.“We are here to set a trap, as you well know.”
Across the room, shouts and curses blared over the normal clamor.A table crashed to the floor.Blades chimed, drawing a mob of ruffians toward the altercation like rats to cheese.
Durwin’s right eye twitched as he shifted his gaze about anxiously.
Was the man nervous?Nay.He’d more than proven his courage in battle.Then why did he always appear as twitchy as a schoolgirl in a brothel?Perhaps ’twas his lanky figure that resembled more mast than man.Though only in his twenties, the sun had left lines upon his brow, forming a perpetual frown.That and his hawk-like nose made him appear untrustworthy, but he’d more than proven his loyalty to Cadan.
“You should eat more,” Cadan shouted to the man over the violent tumult in the far corner.
In the distance, a sailor flew through the air, landed on a chair, crushing it into pieces.
Above him, a parrot squawked from the rafters, flapping its wings.“Blast me barnacles!Blast me barnacles!”
“I eat plenty, Cap’n.”Durwin gulped his ale.“Thanks to ye!This be the most flesh I’ve had on me bones in years.”
Cadan nodded.Indeed.The man had been a mere shadow when he’d found him begging for work in Jamaica.Cast off from the royal navy for continued illness, he had a difficult time convincing the captain of any ship—pirate or merchant—to bring him on board.Cadan was glad he’d given him a chance, for he’d turned out to be a worthy first mate.
Light from a lantern overhead shifted over Pell as he stared at his ale, deep in thought, oblivious to the clamor and debauchery surrounding him.
“What say you, Pell?”Cadan asked.
He slowly raised his gaze, the look in his dark eyes intense as if he were planning how to save the world.
“I say naught, Captain.Merely that I wish this night to be over.”Lifting his mug, he took a sip and wiped the foam from his lip.
As if his words summoned Lazy-eyed Smity, the crotchety pirate emerged from the throng, a man in tow.
Not just any man, but One-tooth Leadwig, the most unscrupulous, dung-souled skunk ever to sail the Caribbean.The man would sell his own mother for a shot of rum.
Which is what Cadan was counting on.
Smity shoved him into a chair next to Cadan, then grabbed an empty one and straddled it backwards, gesturing for Durwin to hand him his mug.
In the corner, a pirate began banging out a tune on a harpsichord.
Leadwig smiled nervously at Cadan, his single tooth resembling a man hanging from the gallows.
“Cap’n Hayes.”Headjusted his black periwig.“Didn’t expect t’ see ye ’ere.”
