Sadness returned to his gaze. “Wish I could believe that, mephearse. But too often I’ve seen much proof to the contrary.”
“And I respectfully disagree, Mr. Dupree.” She folded her arms over her chest, then cocked her head to scowl at him. “By the way, what is that, that you keep calling me?”
“What?Phearse?”
“Aye. ’Tis a term I’ve never heard before.”
That wicked grin returned to tease her. “It’s Myrcian. Our term for our queens. The word means a ferocious wise woman or counselor.”
His words caught her off guard. “Why would you call me that?”
“’Tis how I see you, me lady. For that’s what you are to me.”
She would think he was using it to mock her, but there was only sincerity in his gaze. Even so, she found it impossible to believe that a man like him would see her as someone so special. “I’m not so fierce.”
“You think not? A woman who crosses an ocean alone to track down her errant brother and wrestle him from the hands of the devil himself to get him back alive? How is that anything else?”
“Well, when you put it that way… it sounds more akin to stupid, if you ask me.”
He laughed. “I would never say such about you.”
Suddenly, they heard the faint strains of music drifting through the boards.
Cameron grinned as she recognized the familiar voices that began to accompany it. “Sounds like Roach and Will found their fiddle and flute.”
“And Kat his drum.”
From the distant sounds of it, they were playing a lively jig. The kind her parents used to play to entertain her and her brother when they were children.
Kalder didn’t miss the longing in her eyes as she savored the strands. “Would you like to dance, Miss Jack?”
His offer surprised her. For some reason, she wouldn’t have thought him the sort of male who liked to partake of such things. “Are you obliged for it?”
He shrugged. “Well, it is ‘All for Me Grog,’ after all. You’ve got to dance tothat. The gods might rise up from below and strike us down if we don’t. Only thing more demanding of our respect would be ‘Whiskey in the Jar.’”
Biting her lip in sudden enthusiasm, she couldn’t resist his offer. “Well, I am Irish and French, and raised up in taverns and inns. There be nothing more I love to pass me time with than dance and music.”
Before she could blink, he led her up to the deck, where the others had already begun their gaiety that they’d oft break into for no apparent reason whatsoever. It sprang up as regularly and unexpectedly as crew fights and vicious preternatural attacks.
Cameron wasn’t sure why. Perhaps because they were a crew of Deadmen who appreciated the brevity of life, or because, having been betrayed by those closest to them, they knew to appreciate what little happiness could be found in something as simple as a song. Whatever it was, the crew never failed to play as hard as they fought. To laugh as deeply as they brawled.
And the sight of their merriment made her own heart light.
Elyzabel and William were already dancing together while Katplayed his drum in time to Will’s fiddle and Roach’s flute. Meanwhile, Simon and Sallie sang the tune in a harmonized round that was quickly being taken up by the others as they swapped drinks and laughter.
Kalder turned her around with an unexpected grace and expertise before he led her into a flawless jig. Her jaw went slack as she watched him keeping pace with her. If she didn’t know better, she’d swear the man was as Irish as her father had been. He didn’t miss or hesitate at a single step.
“You’ve been keeping talents hidden there, Mr. Dupree.”
“I hide a lot of things about meself, Miss Jack.”
That was true enough.
As they spun about the deck, Cameron froze at the sight of Paden and the fury in his eyes while he glared utter hatred for Kalder. It sucked every last bit of humor from her.
The moment he caught sight of the blistering venom, Kalder let out a tired sigh and stopped their dance. He straightened his clothes with a sharp tug then cleared his throat. “Thank you for the dance, Miss Jack. I should get back to me brother, and you should see to yours before I give in to me urge to beat him for that undeserved glower.”
Fury scalded her cheeks as she struggled not to murder her brother for him.
