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"It depends on whether he has to die or not, " she decidedat last

Henry nodded solemnly

She shifted impatiently and muttered, "I know little about maritallaw Do you or any of themen? "

"If ye erly

Her htened "I fail to see what makesyou so damn happy about allof this, " she said in a snail "If I oes toso control over htly "AyeWell, it isthe way of the world, girl erCaptain" Expelling a breath, he took a step closer "If ye wanthter in the hands of DanielthanwithBeecham, and that’s afact"

"I don’t want your opinion, " Valoree snapped, herThen she shook her head impatiently "You do not understand at all Thereisno threat that soive up allyour authority and respect to stand behind a woman!"

He blinked in surprise at that "But I’ve already done that

When I agreed towork feryou"

She frowned at hi deliberately obtuse, Henry You knohat I , he ainst the strearoeary from allthe responsibility? That you do not sometimes wish to lay downyour heavy load and allow soe by yourleading of the men so far, but I knoeariesye"

"I’ll not deny that But to share it with so ruled by another"

"I’ Thurbornewillbeartheworst of the burden, butallow ye the freedom to be yourself"

"You suspect, " sherepeated tiredly "But what if hedoes not? "

"Do you truly think ye would behappier with Beecha By row to be very likeDaniel in tiive hihtwork outanyway, but most likely wouldnot Besides, to be honest, I don’tthinkye’d enjoy bedding him like youwillDaniel Lord Thurbornesees ye for what you are; there areno illusions He’s s Ye respect hi it And ye wanthied "It’s plain talk I’ ye but thereisno time for other Ye wanthiineafter today he must return the sentiment, " he added "It’s moreto start on than a lot ofpeople have"

"But willhe wish torimaced "Aye, well, that may be a probleht now"

"Ifhe will not marry me, I will have to seehiive him some time for his temper tocool"

"How much tihtfor a ive hiivehietover today, then putit tohim realdiplo’? " she asked dryly Henry s, Valoree leaned back in her chair and nodded "A week Maybe a couple days more But then ill have to deal with him and return to collect Beechao have a chat with hietthelay of the land"

"You do that, " Valoree said

Stepping onto the deck, Henry glanced about, his eyes wideningas he saw Daniel seated ona barrelwith Bull, One-Eye, Jackson, and Skully gathered abouthi down rum asifthere wereno tomorrow

"Henry" One-Eye s "Wewere feeling like a touch of ruhty close, didn’t it? "

"Tooclose, " Danielain

The men all noddedsolemnly

"Thinkthecaptainwould mind? "

Henry shook his head

"How many lashes are we tohave? "Bull asked at last

"It depends"

"Lashes? "Daniel frowned fro froainst the captain in bringing ye here, "

One-Eye explained"It alht, " Henry lanced at hi"

"How many lashes? " Bull repeated

"It depends"

"On what? "

"On her "

Chapter Thirteen

One-Eye and No-Nose joined Henry at therail, one on either side, takingin his grirunt, "What’s got you looking all prune-faced? "

"I’ve been thinking about the captain andThurborne"

"Aye, well, that’s enough toroused The last teeks had been hell on board ship

Thurborne had stor even to look at the captain, let alone speak to her - and the captain in turn was gettingcrankier and crankier with the crew

Meg, the first s over between the couple She was chewed out by both Valoree and Thurborne for it, and had since taken to stayingin her room to avoid the unpleasant atmosphereThe menweren’t so lucky They had work to do to keep the shipsailingsouthward, and they couldonly try to stay out of the way Worst of all, it was looking likethe stupidwasn’t done

"They’re both too daood, " Henry coreed"ButI say it’s mostly his fault"When Henry and One-Eye peered at hi his pride stand in the way The captain’s a fine woman"

"Aye, sheis Butshe’s notexactlythekindof woman he is used to, " One-Eye pointedout

"Well, ifshe were, she wouldn’t bethecaptain, noould she? Besides, like other woot herfinepoints - which anyone could see if they bothered tolook For instance, she’s smart"

One-Eyenodded "Never meta smarter woman"

"She knowsthe threemen’s attention to thefact that he, Bull, andPetey had joined them

"Aye, and she never loses at poker, " One-Eye said as he, No-Nose, andHenry turnedtoface them He added, "Much to my dismay"

"She holds her drink well, "Henry pointedout, andNo-Nose nodded in agreeht course"