Chapter Ten

They set out at a jog, Pug deftly weaving his way through the ever-increasing throng of people as they neared the docks. Their pursuers also increased speed.

“Two now closing in on port side, Cap’n.”

“Take this and run back to the ship. At this corner, you will be able to see it.” He handed her a sword. “Go.” He gave her a nudge before drawing his rapier and engaging the first two, packages tumbling to the ground.

She hurried to the corner, saw the ship and glanced back. Pug had all four of them on him, and while he held his own, she knew she couldn’t leave him. He’d saved her, and she needed to repay that.

Hefting the weapon, she headed back to the fracas, which was drawing much attention. One man behind Pug swung in a downward arc at the back of his head. Her arms shook from the force of his blow as she blocked it, but Pug wasn’t struck.

His sword was a bit heavier than hers, but she could wield it easily enough. Sure, she’d tire sooner, but she could last a while. She recognized the moment Pug realized she’d come back. He grumbled low.

“I thought I told you to leave.”

“You gave me a weapon, Cap’n. You knew what you were doing.”

“And, you came back for me.”

She smiled at his flirting even as she dispatched her opponent’s cutlass. They ran together after the fourth man fell, shouts from guards nearing, the packages split between them. After ducking into an alley and hiding behind something she didn’t want to think about, they went for the ship, heads down and brisk paced.

He ordered them set sail as they climbed on board. Drav immediately went to Pug’s side while Sabeen headed for her cabin. Her heart thudded as she breathed a sigh of relief to find all five children safe and sound.

They’d been bathed and all wore breeches and shirts. Crissy ran to her.

“Sabeen, look, we are little sailors.”

She cupped her cheek. “Were you good?”

“We all were. Mr. Krill made sure.” She tilted her head slightly. “Why are you bleeding?” Her young face sobered, and she frowned.

Glancing at her left arm, Sabeen saw the presence of blood. She’d not even realized she’d been injured. “I suppose it happened on shore. I will clean it.”

Jon and Crissy ended up cleaning the injury, after taking the parcels from her arm, then bandaging it. The other kids sat in the hammock, which had been hung up during her absence. From the movement of the ship, she knew they were getting underway. The children showed her the packages containing her items and oohed and ahhed over her dresses.

“Are you going to wear them?” Jon asked. “They are similar to the ones in the closet.”

His statement made up her mind for her. “I do not think dresses are all that practical for crossing the ocean.”

They looked at their stuff and tried them on. She spent the afternoon in the cabin sewing the clothing based on what she’d seen on the children. In her opinion, they just needed to fit a bit better on each of them. The children eventually went back out on the decks. Honestly, she’d been worried about them falling over, a fear allayed when she peered out and found there were always crew members near them.

“When I tell you to run, I expect my order to be followed.”

Sabeen directed her gaze to the man lounging in the doorway as if he hadn’t a care in the world. Only briefly before she returned to the work she had in her lap. “I did. You did not say for me not to come back.”

He snorted and entered, closing the door behind him. From below lowered lashes, she observed him as he made his way to the hammock and sat easily in it. “I think you and I need to talk.”

“About?” She tied off the final stitch for Ester’s breeches and bit it. After folding them and putting them beside her leg, she picked up Olivia’s and got to work.

“Where did you learn to fight with a sword?”

She exhaled sharply, barely avoiding pricking her finger. The room was mostly silent, broken occasionally by the creak of him swinging.

“Master Stanton had me learn.” It wasn’t easy to keep her voice bland with that statement.

“What did you drug me with in the cave?”

She examined her handy work, scratched her head, and got back to it. “Nothing fatal, just a mixture of things. Had I used my sword, you would be dead. That one is poisoned. Yours is on the bed.”

“I do not know many women who are good with swords. Who are not pirates, that is to say.”

Sabeen paused in her sewing and peered at him. His blue eyes waited for her, full of mischief. “I thought you were not pirates.”

He placed a hand against the exposed bronze of his chest. “This is not a pirate ship. And, we are not pirates.”

“But, you interact with pirates?”

His responding grin had her breath faltering. “We travel a lot. You spend enough time on the water, and you are bound to run into a pirate. Or two.”

“And, this female pirate?”

“Intrigued, I see. A deal we shall make, then. You sit with me at the meal, and I will tell you about Cheng I Sao.” He hopped from the hammock and made his way to the door, grabbing his sword along the way. “Until later, Sabeen.”

She captured her lower lip in her teeth and rested against the wall. Something about him made new and unsettling feelings crop up within her. Shaking off her musings, she gathered the rest of her sewing and found an out-of-the-way place in the sun and worked on deck.

“Excuse me.”

She lifted her head, squinting in the sun, to find a large man clad only in breeches with scars all over his chest. Inky dark hair blew around courtesy of the wind. Her familiar response of fear locked away as she blinked.

“Yes, sir?”

He crouched before her. Not really putting her any more at ease. “I see you can sew.”

She nodded. “Yes, sir.”

He shook his head. “No sir. Name it be Lus. Would you consider sewing my stuff? I pay.”

He held out his hand, and she noticed some of his fingers were shorter than the others. Meeting his black gaze, she nodded. Acquiring money on the trip to England would be pragmatic. She had herself and five children to take care of.

“Deal.”

He grinned, flashing a dazzling white set of teeth. “Good, I get from cabin.”

“I will be here.”

“Cap pick good woman.” He lumbered off, moving well with the ship despite his size. By the time she’d finished the clothes and began the trek back to the cabin, she’d agreed to sew for six other men as well. For pay.

Alone, she washed up, retied the cloth around her injury then made her way to dine with the captain and the crew. He waited for her, hip propped against the table. Taking in the sight of him, wearing what he had earlier but without the hat, she found her gaze drawn, again, to his broad chest. More specifically the bronze skin she could view beneath the open shirt.

Not that his black breeches helped any. Very few men she saw filled them out as well as he did.

“Evening, Cap’n.”

“Sabeen. Shall we?”

The long table before her sat laden with food. Far more than the two of them could ever eat. “Is it just us?”

His grin was positively wicked. “No. Others are on the way.” He arched a brow. “You want to only eat with me, and I will make it happen.” His gaze heated, and she couldn’t miss the desire in it. The sound of children prevented her from needing to respond. “Another time, then,” he said with a wink.