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"The boyknows all about that, One-Eye, " Henry interrupted, silencing the first-hed "But the Spaniards took the riches whentheykilled Jeremy"
Henrynodded "Aye And that lared at hiht years it took my brother toacquire thathtyears"
The man hesitated at that, then cleared histhroat "Well, now, I been thinkin’ on that, too It occurs to alleon with yer brother’s treasureon it - or soe to find that - "
"The Spaniard with the scar!" Valoree exclaimed Henry noddedsolemnly
"We could kill two birds with one stone We could have revenge and settle down in England allnice and proper, too"
"For life and vengeance, " she htfully
"Aye, "thequartereance"
Chapter One
Five years later
"I’laredatOne-Eyeas he walked beside her, then glanced toward Skully as he added his thoughts on the subject
"Redheads don’t wearpink It don’tlookgood"
"Aye, but the captain’s in need of some real felare from Valoree made the manhesitate, then murmurdiplomatically, "To make her look lesscaptainlike ’Sides, her hair’skind ofa brown-red Itpink It’s bad enough I have to put on a da the dark London streetswith her fell silentfor a moment; thenOne-Eye murmured, "Well, whatabout yellow then? Yellow’s real feminine Maybe - "
"One-Eye, " Skullyinterrupted, then paused in hiswalking
"What? " One-Eye asked irritably Heand Valoree paused, too
"Ain’t this the place? "
One-Eye andValoree both turned to peer up at the building they now stood before It was small, two levels, squeezed in between two other storefronts The building’s los were dark, but the upper ones were filledwith the soft glow of candlelight
"Aye, this is it Thehts upstairs is where they live, "
One-Eye announced unnecessarily
Nodding, Valoree gestured toward the door and waited Her two crewed like twobulls spotting a red cape Herangrycry of realization was lost in thesound of splinteringwoodThe doorcaved in under their co in every direction
Grilanced quicklyupand downthe street to be sureno one had witnessed the deed then followed thein atangled heap on the floor
"You were supposed to knock, you blathering idiots"
"Well, hoeto know? "One-Eye sputtered, juup to besure the patch thatcovered hishisfeetnearly as quicklyas his friend, despite his peg leg "Andif that wasall ye antin’, why didn’t ye doit yerself? "
"Why, indeed? " Valoree sighed as the sound of feet pounding down the stairs soh the quiet shop The bright light of a lantern appeared a moment later, and Valoree stepped forward to stop her it paused in the entranceto the roohtshirt
For aueashe took inthe scenebefore him, and Valoree couldn’t bla hole where thedoorhad once stood, but whenthat door had given way, Valoree’s piles offabric All of these were now strewn across the floor Added to that, the inti characters now filled up the little space therewas left in his shtlyas if he ht swoon
The man’s reaction was understandable, Valoreesupposedwith a wrygri over her She wore a billohite shirt, black breeches and waistcoat, boots, and a wide belt But One-Eyeand Skully more thanmadeupforher, ith their owndirty, less respectable clothes, Skully’s oft-broken nose and peg leg, andOne-Eye’s patch
"There was a bit of a mishap with your knocker, " she said pleasantly in aneffort to calht froshadows dance onthewallOne-Eyegave aguffaw at that, and sheturned to glare at hilanced back to the shopkeeper
Rather than appearing reassured, thefit to burst into a run at anyfor the authorities at the top of his lungs
Shifting impatiently, Valoreeheldout ahand toward One-Eye, whoi from his belt and dropped it intoher handShe proled h the air, and thehis lantern, the shopkeeper reached instinctively to catch the purse
"Iam in need of some dresses, "Valoree announceddryly
The little tailor looked startled at that announceuests a little lesswarily
"Ye brokeme door"
"Mylookco the day;they don’t drag abody out of his bed in thewhich One-Eye reached for his cutlass, butValoree stopped hiesture Instead, she held a handout toward SkullyThe cadaveroustheir betters, but he unhooked the bag at his oaist andhanded it overShe sent that hurtling toward the greedy shopkeeper aswell