To my increasing frustration, no one else came to be studied until well after nightfall, when Captain Jax arrived moments after Mr. Smalt delivered our dinners.
“You owe me some answers,” I announced.
Bluebeard arched his scarred eyebrow in reply.
Chapter six
Jax
“Ialsoneedtostudyyou,” the sorceress said by way of continued greeting. “You were the touch point for the curse, after all.”
Straight to it, that one. Couldn’t even let a man enjoy his dinner. I’d known many people from the northern isles, and even had a dozen or so in my broader crew ofCarabosse,my flotilla of ships. They could be blunt, it was true.
Something about Sofie’s directness, however, made me itch as though I were beset with sand fleas. Though she was seated at the table, already tucking into another fine dinner by Mr. Smalt, she might as well have been physically prodding me.
It was her eyes, I decided. Her blue eyes were like a cold northern river in hue, and just as unwelcoming. She could’ve been part siren for all I knew. The ticking clock of the curse didn’t exactly give me time to get to know my wives first.
I brushed her off with a low chuckle. “I said you could study the crew. I never said you could study me.”
“I’m fairly certain you did.”
I sat myself down at the captain’s table, grimacing at the intimate feel of our private dinner and the dancing lantern light of the cabin. It suddenly felt too warm in here.
“Now’s not the time.” I took the seat across from her. “It’s been a long day.”
“Oh? Why don’t you tell me about it,husband?Because I am here to listen to your privateer’s woes like a dutiful, caring wife, and not to break this curse for you with my years of training and considerable skill, after all.”
“Pirate.”
Her red brows contorted. “What?”
“I’m a pirate,nota privateer, thank you very much.”
“What’s the difference?”
“If you don’t know, I despair of our future together as husband and wife.”
“Droll.”
“I’ve been known to amuse a woman or two in my time.”
“By making them laugh at you? I could see that.”
Thatmade me laugh, a snort from the nose before I could stop myself. I scratched at the bearded underside of my chin. “At least you won’t be boring.”
“Because that’s what matters here. You not being bored by your cursed wives.”
I arched a brow at her. “Something tells me those weren’t the answers you wanted. Or even the questions you meant to ask. I’m flattered that my good looks have so distracted you from your work.”
A visible ripple of irritation ran through her as her hands tightened on her knife and fork. I followed suit—albeit withoutbending any of the previous captain’s good silver—and tucked into Mr. Smalt’s little feast.
It was hardly the first time I’d shared a meal with a new wife. But something told me it would prove more…invigorating than many of the others.
We would either be on to something by the end of it, or despise each other. I sort of looked forward to seeing which it would be.
“So?” I prompted, speaking between hearty bites of food. “If you have questions, you must’ve discovered something about the curse.”
“Quite a few things you left out, in fact,” she replied in a clipped tone.
