Chapter 1

“You should have come straight to me,” Lord Morant said with an authoritarian stare.

They were standing on the deck of the fishing boat as it pulled away from the docks. Morant, Lynch and Jack had joined them without a word as they boarded the ship. Will had started to speak, but Morant had cut him off.

“Why would I do that?” Will snarled back, still fuming.

“Nae, Will. He’s right,” Captain Vex said. She wore her hat and coat, but her other clothes had still been wet and were packed away, so she was wearing borrowed clothes from Will’s bedroom. She looked a bit rumpled in his oversized breeches and shirt. “As Captain, it was my duty to inform Lord Morant of anything that jeopardized th’ mission. Ye have my apologies, m’lord. We were in a jam and worried about gettin’ caught on the streets. Still, we could’ae figured somethin’ out.”

“A representative of the Kidd family came to me looking for you, Captain. Needless to say I was quite shocked at what I heard,” Morant said sternly.

“I doubt they told ye how things really went down,” Captain Vex said bitterly.

“I do not care, Captain. Guilt in the matter does not concern me. You could have stabbed a dozen of those pretentious backwater nobodies and I would be unmoved. My point is that I should have heard the news first, from you.” Morant’s pale blue eyes were hard as flint.

Captain Vex nodded. “Aye, m’lord. Won’t ‘appen again.”

“You left Janie behind!” Will snapped, his tone pure rage.

“She was never intended to come in the first place. You negotiated for the addition of one extra mouth, not two,” Morant said, one white eyebrow raised.

“I accepted her as part of the crew,” Captain Vex said, “She was going t’ be my Purser.”

“Hmm. If I had known that, I might have been able to make alternate arrangements- yet another reason you should have come to me directly,” Morant said.

“You were the one who suggested that she be taken hostage in the first place!” Will snarled.

“Indeed. She is Magistrate. Half the soldiers on the island watched Mister Kidd put a gun to the head of one of their own. Captain Vex’s earlier brash actions forced the Magistrate into a position where they had little choice but to tacitly support those pathetic pirates. Now that is over,” Morant smiled in satisfaction.

“You planned this?” Will asked, angry and shocked.

“No,” Morant waved his hand dismissively, “As I said, I did not know she would be there. When I saw her, I saw an opportunity and seized it. I dare say everything worked out nicely.”

Will just stared at the nobleman. “I’m not going to forget this, Morant.”

“Lord Morant, if you please.” The pale-eyed nobleman stared back, utterly unmoved by Will’s anger.

“I’m not a citizen of the empire,” Will said. “You aren’t any lord of mine.”

Will turned and stalked away. Bella followed him. Jack watched them leave, then turned around and looked back at the docks shrinking in the distance. They passed the outer reaches of the cove and were in open waters.

The Kestrel sat moored a short distance away, waiting.

“Captain on deck!” Danica North shouted.

The crew of the Kestrel stopped what they were doing. Those that could stood and faced the Captain as she stepped onto the deck. They didn’t salute. This wasn’t a military vessel. Still, they gave Captain Vex the respect her station was due and waited to hear if the captain had any specific orders.

“As you were,” Captain Vex said with a small nod to her first mate.

“As you were!” Danica bellowed. The deck began to bustle again.

Belita’s boot heels echoed hollowly on the wood. Danica and her husband fell into step along side her. “How are you two holding up?”

“We’re alright, Captain. Lingering headaches,” Danica said.

“No worse’n a good hangover,” her husband added.

“Colin is going to be recovering for a while. We never did find a doctor willing to sign on for this trip, so we can’t tell for sure how bad off he is. Seems like a nasty concussion and some torn muscles in his shoulder,” Danica continued. “He’s insisting on working though. He’s at the helm now.”

“I assigned him a mate to help him out if he needs it and take over when he needs a break,” Mister North added. “He’s mostly fine when he’s leaning on the wheel, but when he has to walk it’s pretty clear he ain’t doin’ well.”

“That’s fine in calm waters. If things get rougher, pull him,” Captain Vex said.

“Aye, cap’n,” Danica said.

“Give me the report.” Captain Vex stopped midship to look around. Her studied eyes scanned the rigging first, then took in the deck itself, looking for anything amiss.

“We’re rigging the last of the smallboats now. As long as we stay out of choppy waters, we can do that on the move,” Missus North said.

“We had to leave without some supplies. We’re close to fully stocked, but we might need to put in an extra stop for provisions along the way. I’ll know for sure once I finish going through what we brought in with the smallboats,” Mister North added.

“Some of that is Sterling’s personal effects. Have them delivered to my cabin,” Vex said looking over the ship.

“Aye, Cap’n,” Mister North said.

The Captain finished her visual assessment. Everything looked good, save for the ugliness on the perimeter of the ship. There was a lot of improvising happening to secure all nine of the smaller craft. It looked like her master rigger had brought in some rigging ladders meant for a larger vessel. They’d already been hung from the main mast and were somehow being used to help secure the smaller boats. The Kestrel was a mess of excess rope. The smaller boats lined the entire perimeter of the upper deck. There were four on each gently curving side, and one already hung from the aft, right behind the helm, over the kestrel’s nameplate. The Captain sighed. “This is going to make her very topheavy.”

“Aye,” Danica agreed.

“Mister North, can we bring on extra ballast?” Belita asked her Quartermaster.

“We have a lot of Sterling’s barrels filling our hold already. I’ll have any that aren’t being used moved to the low deck and filled with seawater,” North said.

“Let me know when it’s done. We’ll want to do some turn tests. For now, have Mister Strong set the wheel knots at ... thirty degrees. Better safe until we know for sure what she can handle right now,” said Captain Vex.

“Aye, cap’n,” Danica replied.

“Oh, and Sterling’s partner has a monkey. Inform the crew,” Captain Vex added.

Danica laughed. “Aye. I’ll pass the word.”

“I’ll make sure the food stores are locked down tight,” Mister North smiled.

“And the valuables. Everything, really. Tell the crew that anything they don’t want to go missing is to be kept in their lockboxes,” Vex smirked.

“Not very well trained, is it?” Mister North asked, amused.

“Oh, quite the opposite,” Captain Vex shook her head. “I’ll be in my quarters. I was up all night, so don’t wake me for anything short of a fire. Get underway as soon as we’re able. You have the ship, Danica.”

The Norths looked at each other, wondering what she could have meant about the monkey, then gave Vex sharp nods and turned to go about their work. Captain Vex unlocked her cabin door and disappeared inside.

Once the fishing boat had the Captain and the others offloaded, the men who had rowed the smallboats out to the Kestrel disembarked. Lines were cast off and the fishing boat waved away. Danica called out for the anchor to be weighed. A few moments later the sails dropped and fully unfurled.

The Kestrel began to move.

In spite of his seething frustration and anger, Will felt glad to be aboard a ship again. The bustling top deck felt like coming home. The deck moving under him made him realize how much he’d missed the rolling of the waves. He stepped off to the side next to one of the smallboats to get out of the way and watched, getting a feel for the Kestrel and her crew. He liked what he saw.

Bella was not so glad. She felt like she was instantly in the way, and the listing of the deck made her feel unsteady. Her monkey climbed onto her shoulder and hid beneath her hair. Mister Lynch brushed past her carrying a sizable lockbox on his shoulder. For being a thin man, he was apparently quite strong. Lord Morant followed, not bothering to introduce himself to Bella or speak to Will further. Jack followed him, but stopped as she began to pass Will and Bella. She looked back and forth between them.

“You did not tell me you were bringing Bella into this,” Jack said to Will.

“There’s a lot I don’t tell you,” Will shrugged. After leaving Janie behind he was in no mood to deal with Jack.

Jack’s eyes flashed. “This is dangerous,” she snapped.

“You can talk to me, Jack. I’m right here,” Bella said sharply.

“You don’t know what you’re getting yourself into. You should not have come,” Jack said. She was trying to sound reasonable, but her voice was intense, almost pleading.

“That’s exactly what he said,” Bella pointed to Will. “He was smart enough to let me make my own choices though.”

“It was the wrong choice,” Jack said flatly. “He knows that. You should have listened.”

“He needs my help,” Bella said. “So do you.”

Jack gave her a withering look. “I most certainly do not.”

“That’s not what the cards say,” Bella shrugged.

Jack’s brows furrowed. She knew what the cards represented. “I do not want your help.”

“You don’t know what you want,” Will said flatly.

“Oh, that is rich coming from you!” Jack snapped.

“I’m here, Jack. Deal with it,” Bella said curtly.

Jack fumed, collecting herself. “Fine.” She looked at Will. “If she gets hurt, I’m taking it out of your hide.”

“Of course you will.” Will started walking away.

“Nice to know you still care,” Bella said sarcastically, following Will.

Jack looked hurt for a moment, then her temper rose. “Me! I wasn’t the one who-” she cut herself off.

Will stopped and turned around. “Go ahead,” He said patiently. “Finish that sentence.”

Jack just looked at him. Emotions roiled beneath the surface, but none of them came out of her mouth. Finally she just shook her head and began leave. She stopped halfway.

“I am sorry about your ... friend. I hope she will be alright,” she said quietly.

“Janie’s tough. She’ll be fine,” Will said. “Thank you, though.”

Jack left.

“Well, this will be a fun trip,” Will said deadpanned.

Bella shrugged. “That could have gone worse.”

“True. I’m pleasantly surprised, really.” Will sighed.

“She’s worse now,” Bella said. “Harsher.”

Will nodded. “Might just be us.”

“Hard to say.” Bella suddenly grabbed onto Will as the ship went from gently listing with the waves to surging beneath her feet as the sails finished unfurling and caught the wind.

Will steadied her with a smile. “You’ll get your sea legs soon. Let’s go to the rear of the ship. It’s more stable there.”

“I’m exhausted, Will,” Bella said. “Is there somewhere we can sleep?”

Will hadn’t even noticed how tired he was until she’d spoken. He’d been awake all night, with his blood up for most of it. He nodded. “Good idea. We’ll get the tour later.”

They crossed the deck. A number of the sailors paused their actions to watch Bella walk. She was clearly having trouble with her balance. As if that wasn’t comical enough, her haphazard swaying and jostling was doing impressive things to her chest. Will sighed and rolled his eyes. “You’d better get your sea legs soon, or you’re going to cause accidents.”

Bella glared at him. “You’re one to talk, Curse Boy.” All around them, sailors’ eyes wandered toward the gorgeous N’madi newcomer.

Behind them someone dropped something heavy and swore. Bella looked surprised, then glared harder. Will laughed, then looked sheepish. “That probably wasn’t your fault. Maybe.”

He knocked on the door to Belita’s cabin. A few long moments later the Captain opened the door with a glare that could have matched Bella’s. “Don’t knock. It’s your cabin too. Just come in.”

Will and Bella entered and shut the door. Bella grabbed the wall as the ship listed. It was dark. All the lamps on the walls were out save for the small one next to the door. They could make out Belita’s outline but not much else as their eyes started to adjust. She had pulled on her captain’s coat like a robe to answer the door. Now she pulled it off and hung it on the wall below her hat. Her silhouette, only faintly lit by the door lamp, was glorious. She wasn’t being teasing. In fact, she seemed a bit grumpy. She gracefully swayed with the ship to the bed and unceremoniously tossed herself into it.

“There’s enough room for all of us. Crawl in an’ shut up,” Belita grumbled.

Will and Bella looked at each other in the dim light, then started undressing.

“I don’t know what to do, Quinn,” Jack said. “I think I could have handled Will alone. I’m not ready for both of them. I’m ... I don’t know if I can do this.”

“You rarely speak of them,” Quinn said. He sat on the bed, his back against the wall. Jack was leaning back against his broad chest, her head in the crook of his shoulder.

“There’s too much to say. They hate me now. I thought there was some way to ... I thought Bella at least would understand, but she sided with him. Now, they’re ... together. I guess. I just have to accept my fate,” Jack sighed.

“Do they know what you did?” Quinn asked.

“They know the consequences. I tried to tell Bella once, but she didn’t listen. All she heard was that I’d left Will behind and she lost it,” Jack shrugged.

“Would you like me to speak with them?” Quinn asked.

“And say what? That is was you? Take the blame for me? It was my choice. Both times,” Jack said.

“Your motives were selfless,” Quinn said firmly. More than anything, that mattered to him.

“I still screwed up. It didn’t work. Well, not for Will anyway, and Bella doesn’t ... she thinks her own power got her through.” Jack rubbed her face and tried to calm her nerves. “She’s proud. Maybe she’s right? Who knows?”

“I do,” Quinn said. “Miss Fortuna would not have survived without you, and Mister Stirling has thrived because of you. The fact that neither of them understand that does not change the facts.”

“But it does change how they feel about me,” Jack said bitterly. “I don’t know what to do about it without breaking your rules.”

“You know how you could change this,” Quinn said gently.

“No! I do not want to lose you.” Jack turned to Quinn and put her hand on his face, gazing into his black eyes. “You are all I have left. I fought too hard for you just to lose you to amend my own mistakes.”

“I am glad for it,” Quinn said with a small smile. “I have enjoyed our time together. I would not want to see it end so soon.”

“How is it that you are the worst and best thing to ever happen to me?” Jack asked.

“It is my nature. The price of getting what you want always has been getting what you once wanted,” Quinn said with a small smile. “Often, the desire of a thing is preferable to the having.”

“I suppose you would know.” Jack took a deep breath. “What should I do, Quinn?”

“It is not my place to say, Mistress,” Quinn said gently.

“Well, what would you do in my place?” she asked.

Quinn was quiet for a time, thinking. “I would prefer not to say, Mistress. I am afraid my answer may influence you.”

“That’s the point, Quinn. I’m at a loss, and I trust your judgement. I’d really like some influence. Please tell me,” Jack slid herself down and repositioned so that she was laying with her head on Quinn’s thigh instead of against his chest. She looked up at him, waiting.

“I would tell them the truth,” Quinn said.

“I thought I couldn’t? Doesn’t that break the rules?” Jack was confused.

“You misunderstand, Mistress. You have been careful not to deviate from my instructions, but you never asked their purpose. Most of what I told you was in regards to the limits of what I can or will do, but others are simply preferences. You did not ask for clarification, so I did not give it,” Quinn said. “I cannot command you, and would never wish to.”

“So, all those rules ... they were just ... guidelines?” Jack asked.

“Strong ones, but yes,” Quinn said. He did not sound happy at having to admit that.

“I feel a bit like you tricked me Quinn,” Jack said with a small smile on her face.

“I did, Mistress. I have learned that it is best to give new masters very firm guidelines right away. I had hoped you would never find out. I will submit to whatever punishment you feel is necessary,” Quinn said. He did not sound upset or remorseful, merely resigned.

“You were protecting yourself. You did not know me then,” Jack shrugged.

“I appreciate your understanding,” Quinn said with a small, rare smile.

“So I should just tell them?” Jack asked, somewhat rhetorically. “I can see why you didn’t want to answer. That could create a lot of problems.”

“Yes, Mistress,” Quinn agreed.

“You didn’t have to tell me just now, did you?” Jack asked, still trying to work everything out in her head.

“Not so directly, no,” Quinn admitted. “I may have been able to come up with a way of wording things that would not have revealed my earlier deception. I have come to respect you in addition to simply serving you. I know this issue has caused you great pain for years now, and you have endured it for my sake even when the fastest way to be free of it would be to disregard my feelings on the matter. Having met both Mister Sterling and Miss Fortuna, I am willing to accept the risk to my wellbeing to help you. Neither one of them is what I would consider deeply selfish or immoral.”

“Isn’t it a bit soon for you to be able to tell that?” Jack asked.

“No,” Quinn said simply.

Jack chuckled. “Well, I appreciate that. You really don’t know them, though. They’re both utter scoundrels in their own ways. That’s why we got along so well,”

“You make my argument for me. You may consider yourself a scoundrel, but it is a superficial description. Of all those I have served, few have matched you in terms of selflessness and loyalty,” Quinn said, stroking his knuckles along Jack’s arm.

“They might disagree,” Jack sighed.

“Then they would be wrong,” Quinn said.

“I’ll think about it. I want to at least try to mend things without putting you at risk,” Jack said. She closed her eyes and, using Quinn’s leg as a pillow, drifted off to sleep.

“As you wish, Mistress,” Quinn said. He didn’t move at all while Jack slept.

Will hadn’t moved at all while Bella and Belita slept.

The bed was large, especially for a ship’s bed, but not large enough to sleep three easily, so they’d found the most comfortable position was for Will to be in the middle and Bella and Belita to press their backs against his sides. They’d piled their pillows against his shoulders. Bella had held onto Will’s arm like a child with a stuffed animal. On Belita’s side he just hung his hand off the edge of the bed.