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Brilliant, he congratulated her silently as the pirate captain ca The man wasa cowardDaniel had heardvery little about Valoree’s days of high-seas robbery - by hisown choice, for while Valoree was quiet on the subject, theBut after learningthat she always ledthe attackand wasthefirstover the side of the ship, he had shied off hearing ray, he would bebetter equipped to handle hearinghowshe had putherself in dangerBut nowhis poor heart could not bear it
At that moment, however, he felt a thrill of pride at the fact that, captain or not - and having that choice - still she had always led the attackThis e, and while thatlowered him in Daniel’s esti erous, in his opinion, than acoward One never knehatlengths they would goto to save their ownskin
These thoughts running through his head, he watched griineachonDaniel andHenry He moved toward themat once, asupercilious s maroon velvet waistcoat and the silly beribboned knee breeches Valoree had insisted hewearShe had said it would
Danieltried not to griaze thendropped tothe pinkhose she hadalso insistedhe wear He had recognized them at once as part of the livery the men had sported while they paraded as her house servants, but had donned the therewas apurpose behind her every order
Pro himselfhe ipe that san to wave the hankie she had pressed into hishand, in what hehoped would appear a nervous fashion Thenhe pressed it to his upper lip and tried to look as small and"fey" as a six-footman with broad shoulders could as the fellow paused before him
"Ye’d be the captain of this herevessel, " the fellow decided, addressing Henrywitha barely discernible Spanish accent
"Aye, "thequartermaster calmly lied
The fellow accepted that readily, then nodded in Daniel’s general direction without bothering to look at him "Owner? "
"Aye, "Henry said again "And ye are? "
There was a tense moment of silence; then he smiledIt wasn’t avery pleasant smile"Have your estured with hishand, andthere was a brief sysas themen dropped their pistols and cutlasses
The pirate captain an tothedropped arsenal Once that was done, he turned back to Henry "What are you carrying? "
"Linen, taffeta, silver, iron, and a bitof gold, but not much, "
Henry said - exactly what Valoree had told hiered thefellow and gotten so tooht have made him suspicious, however
The pirateseemed satisfied with the list He merely nodded, then held out ahand, palmup"Your weapon"
Valoree watched silently as Henry pulled out the flintlock pistol she’d hadhi it inthe to remove his cutlass Ithile hewas distracted with the second task that the pirate captain struck She saw hiun at Henry and stiffened, but before she couldutter aword, an alar piercedher ear It was too lateforHenryto avoidthe bloever, and he went down like a stone beneath itHe fell unconscious tothedeck
Meg immediately tried torush pasther then, no doubt to help Henry, but Valoreegrabbedher ar in frontof her when the pirate captainpeered curiously toward the despite her best effortsto appear frightened Thenhebrokethe glance andturnedto address hisnow unarmed captives
"I am Captain Alvarez of the Bastardo Thisismy ship now
Andyouwill nowhave your choice: a slow death or a fast one
Thoseo will die quickly and as painlesslyaspossible Those who do not, but ask questions, or aretooslow to follow orders" - he glanced down and kicked the unconscious Henry viciously, then smiled pleasantly ashe finished - "willbe sportfor s of that nature, " he explained ina boredtone, thenshrugged "Iwould offersome of youtheopportunity to join my crew, but I have just taken on several from anothership, andso need no moremen"
"Now, Captain? "
Valoree heard One-Eye’s hissedwords He sounded furious Of course But then, all theto killatokill himquickly if he sweated to help the people ereaboutto kill him was just a touch toodamned evil This Alvarezneeded tolearn a lesson
"Nay, "she whispered back"Wait"
Alvarezturnedtoward her again, and sheatfirstthought he had heardher admonishment to One-Eye, but when shetookin hisexpression, shedecided he hadn’t; he was justnowturning his interestto the women
"You ladies, ofcourse " he saidashe walkedtohere they weregrouped together ht away" Hesmiled at Valoree, as in front, asif he hadjust done theaze dropped to her storie flash overDaniel’s face and knewher own no doubtmirrored it, but lanceover the position of the various men aboard her ship, then toward the Spanish vessel and the sea betweenThe s the first load of cutthroats overwashalfwaybetweenthe ships, headingback for reinforceht movement out of the cornerof her eye, andturned backin tiainsthis chest
"You are a pretty little thingYoucan entertainas she began to struggle againsthi hercutlass out andslidingit againsthis throat "Not rightnow"
If thepiratecaptain was startled to suddenly find hiedto hide it well; heeven sardedher
"A woman withspunk, "he commented, apparently amused by the situationHe nodded back tohere Daniel stoodstiff andsilent besidetheunconsciousHenry"Hiswife? "