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Her glance slid frohtenedWithout a word from her the immense pirate bent to liftValoree’s "aunt" in his arms, then headedfor the door

Skully scooped the cards they’d been playing with into his pocket, then hurriedto open thedoorforhis comradeOne-Eye stood too, buta small but painfully sharp knife from his boot, he slalanced at the shopkeeperandhiswife ift And a reet the nervous look he’d had when he’d first coht To anyone"

One-Eye smiledwidely then, an expression that did not quite reach his one good eye "Keepit nice andsharp, " he said in a "

The shopkeeper seeorously when his wife suddenly piped up with a nervous, "Why? "

"Because I’ll becuttin’ your tongues outwithit if I hear ye donegoneand hed aloud at his words One-Eye trulydid enjoyhis work And he did itwell, too Toowell Withasle, the shopkeeper’s ent intoafull swoon, hittingthe floor with aresounding crash

Shaking her headat One-Eye in reproof, Valoree turned and led the wayout Ittook them verylittle time in the empty London streets tofindtheir waybackto the ship

Themoment Valoree awoke and stepped out of her cabin into the sunlight, abarrel-chested olderhedHenry Her quartermaster He had held the position for her brother when Jeremy was captain, and continued to hold itfor her The rank put hiave hih she was loath to admit it, she doubted she could control the htwhile She had gone in search of a dress to prevent anyonefro overthe side to follow thelure of ru ashore pro tier for leave But ifanyone kneto helpcontrol these cutthroats, it wasHenry

"Soo ashore, " theher way onto the deck

"No"

"Ah, now, Cap’n, girl, "hewheedled, tuckinghis thu backon his heels "Yeknoell as I thattheboys have worked right hardthe last feeeks, and they been real patient’bout goin’ashore, waitin’till you was ready toletthem But I’m thinkin’ ifye’re awantin’ them to stay patient, ye best belettin’ e, Valoreeglancedatthe crew gathered on deck They were all looking pathetically hopeful She supposed She had kept theh

But she’dwanted to avoid trouble, andonce the otsome drink into the to bein port only one more day If her appointment withthe lawyer hadn’t been set for so late in the afternoon, they would have left already However, she had not been able to secure an earlier , and none but a handful had been allowed leave since they had left the Caribbeansohopeful

Pushing Henrybacktoward the , and no killing If you break anything, you fix it or pay for it And leave all but tavern wenches alone If I hear of any ofyou bothering shopkeepers’ daughters, you’re off the ship Understand? "

She suspected bytheir eager nods that they would have agreed tonearly anythingto goashoreHer gaze eas Bull, with hair thecolor of a carrot "You’re in charge, Jasper Anyonegets outofline and I’ll beafter your hide"

She waited untilhe nodded, then continued "Leave enough o Then switch

Richard" Her secondoes first"

Henry an to pick and choose, but Valoreeshook herhead "Not you, Henry"

"Ah, now, Cap’n, girl - "

"I need you" It was all shesaid, then turnedand headedback belowdecks It was all she hadtosay, and sheknew it Henry’s wheedlingdied at once, and she heard him follow her to her cabin He would dowhatever she requested without complaint

He always had He, Bull, Skully, Pete theGreek, One-Eye, and Richard were the e the rateful as they were trustworthy

Stepping intothe captain’s cabin, Valoree glancedat the dress lying onthe slanceat herquartere, Henry? "

The man’s face scrunched up at the question, his doubt obvious "Well, now, I ain’t never had no reason to drive a carriage - but I reckon if Skully can drive one of thes, so can I"

Arare smile briefly touched her lips atthat Skully and Henry werethebest of friends, but it wasa co to outdo each other Shaking her head, Valoree pulled herpistolout of her belt and laid it onthe table, then began to shrug out ofhervest "There’s no need for you to try if Skully knoTake hieand horses The best you canfindIt e, " she eetclothes for yourself, Bull, Skully, and One-EyeMake sure they fit"

"What kind of clothes? " Henry askedsuspiciously

"Servant’s clothes Livery"

Henry openedhis mouth torefuse, but Valoree forestalled him with one sentence "Ineedhis mouth, Henry nodded andturnedtoward the door

"Havethe o, " Valoree called as the door closed behind hiht in an old wooden tub, followed by pail after pail of hot waterOnce the tub was full, Valoree slipped quickly out of the rest of her clothes and slipped inside She bathed herself quickly and abit impatiently, then started to dress

Halfan hour latershe was grateful that she had left herself plenty of tiown before, butthat had been soood Lord! She didn’t recall donning a gown to be such a coarters that held theale;the corset - a nasty pieceofwork, that; the part-let; the kirtle; theoverskirt; and finally the bodice and sleeves Good Lord! And with allthose clothes on, she was still catching adraft up her skirt!It wasindecent to be walking around with nothing covering her nether regions under those damned voluirl whohadbeen well trussed up in breechesfor thirteen years

Muttering under her breath, she grabbed her trousers and atte it quite a chore with allthebinding upperclothes, and thelayer upon layer oflower clothing Dragging skirt afterskirtlaboriouslyupward, shetried to holdthem withherchin so thatshe could don her breeches, but that si that up, she droppedto the floor, dragged her skirts up, andtried again Awith the effort, she stuckonefootin one leg of herbreeches, then her other foot in the other