Taste of the Devil (27 page)

Tyler caught Ginny’s eye and shook his head clearly warning her to not even think of causing that kind of trouble on board his ship.

Ginny blinked back at him dumbly.

Tyler wasn’t fooled for an instant. He had seen that act before.

Sharp as a razor’s edge she was. Hiding his irritation, he instructed Cappy. "Splice the mainbrace." Both crews yelled out a cheer at the expected order for grog all around. Then the Panther faced the other pirate captain and said two words. "My cabin."

The Lion audaciously winked at Ginny before strolling leisurely after the Panther to his quarters.

Serenaded by crusty sea shanties, the crews would continue to guzzle watered rum far into the night.

As gentle waves knocked the ships together under the moonlit sea, Ginny had another epiphany.

It would prove to be more dangerous than her last.

* * *

"So who is she?"

Julian Lionel Huntingdon Alexandre’ crossed his arms over his broad chest and leaned back against the door of the captain’s cabin.

"No threat to you, Julian." Tyler sprawled into a seat and stretched out, leaning the chair precariously against the wall.

"I never thought she was. I simply want to know who she really is– and don’t tell me she’s just your prisoner. I know how much you detest taking hostages, even beautiful ones– the sound policy of which eludes me, by the way, as it is quite often cold and lonely at sea.

Especially at night, mate."

Tyler cast him a measured look.

"And this one," Lion continued on astutely, "is a bit too sure of her place on your ship. Not an ounce of fear in her. Is that wise, d' you think, Tyler?"

Tyler locked his hands behind his head and crossed his ankles. "You don't know Ginny. The royal palace or a brethren ship– it's all the same to her and she remains the same." His lips curled up in a smile.

"True to herself? A treasure, indeed. So did you marry her quick?" The Lion asked sharply.

The grin froze on Tyler's face. "How did you know?"

The Lion snorted. "It was obvious to me, boyo. What is she doing on your ship then? I can't imagine you brought her aboard willingly. Not you. She is in danger."

“That I well know– but it wasn’t exactly my plan.”

Tyler proceeded to fill him in on the business with Creaze and how he had found Ginny strictly by chance when he boarded the Abernathy.

The Lion was stunned by the tale. "Blimey, perhaps pirates do live right. Fortunate for you both that you found her in time."

No longer relaxed, Tyler stood and paced the cabin. He rubbed the back of his neck under the fall of his hair, his real concern showing. "When I think how close she almost came to–"

The Lion left his post by the door to rest a comforting hand on his friend’s shoulder. "She's safe now, Tyler. Either get her back to England as soon as you can or show her the life. She is defenseless and that is a danger to her; her presence on board this ship is a danger to you."

Tyler's jaw clenched. "What are you implying?"

"A blind man could see that you are in love with her.”

Silent, Tyler stared out the transom windows at the sea beyond. Lion respected his distance.

Finally he spoke. "It was really most unexpected."

"Yet welcome, I’d wager. Does she know how you feel?"

Tyler visibly winced; the Lion’s question scraped something deep that caused him pain. “She would never believe me.”

He paused. The poignancy of the moment was not lost on Julian.

“I never wanted her to know about this side of my life,” Tyler revealed in an undertone. “I had hoped to shield her from it.”

“You do her a disservice then. She is no hothouse flower– can you not see that?”

Tyler shook his head. “She is young and innocent; certainly no match for the rigors or realities of such a harsh life.”

Lion grimaced. “I think you’re wrong, boyo.”

“I won’t gamble her decency against the sordidness that vengeance can inflict.”

“You might not have to– or hadn’t you considered that?”

“I won’t consider it. I will not compromise her.”

Lion thought it wise not to mention that the Panther had undoubtedly compromised her already.

Opening his life to her might be his friend’s one, best option. “Let her go or let her in. It’s your only choice.”

“No. For now I’ll keep her here with me where I can keep an eye on her. She is headstrong; trouble finds her and she finds trouble with an ease that frankly, unsettles me.”

“You are making a mistake.“ The Lion said quietly.

“In this instance, I would rather err on the side of caution. If a dire situation finds her while she is next to me, I am ready to sacrifice myself to protect her.”

“Then what would become of her?”

Tyler smiled ruefully. “Why, then, you would watch over her.”

The Lion stared at him, serious for once. “You should not jest because I rather envy you, matey.”

Tyler glanced at him, turning away from the ocean view. "Why would you ever envy me?"

Julian paced in front of his desk, appearing confined even in the spacious cabin. He was like a caged beast when he got in these moods. Tyler had seen it repeatedly in the past; a restlessness that sprung from having no home, no family, no country.

"What do I have in life?” Lion grimaced. “I eat. I sleep. I raid. I swive. That sums up my existence. That's what I do.”

“And well by all accounts, I am told.”

Lion frowned at him.

Tyler’s attempt to lighten the mood worked somewhat. Julian was a true renegade in every sense of the word. He had never led a double life like Tyler.

The sea was all he had. The man had been banished from the British Isles years ago, stripped of his titles and property by men who had conspired against him.

If he should ever set foot in England again, he would be summarily hung. There were rumors on the Pirate Round that Lord Lion might have within him the blood of ancient kings. No one knew the truth of his past except Tyler– and he suspected he knew only a small portion of it.

He had never realized how much Julian was questioning his lot in life; the man certainly took to marauding with a relish.

"Think of it this way, Julian, at least you are damn good at what you do."

“The best,” he affirmed quietly. "Which brings me to my point and the reason for this little tea party–

were you able to get it?"

Tyler instantly knew what the Lion was referring to. His recent trip to Cornwall and the small package that had ended up saving his wife’s life.

"Aye." He stood up and walked over to his chest.

Opening it, he retrieved the velvet box and tossed it to the other man.

Lion caught it clean. He paused for a beat before opening the lid, holding his breath.

When he gazed inside he exhaled heavily. "I never thought I'd see you again, you little beauty," he whispered to the contents.

Tyler walked over and gazed beyond his friend's shoulder to the item that had caused so much grief.

Nestled in folds of red silk was a very curious ring.

By all accounts, Lord Lion’s ancestral ring.

The man might have been stripped of everything else, but that ring, with its unique cartouche, stood for all that he had been and perhaps, all that he was meant to be.

Its possession was a symbol of what could not be taken from him.

Slowly, he took it out of the box and slipped it onto his index finger. The intricate onyx design with its carved golden egg center was unique.

Even so, Tyler knew that what it represented to Julian was worth more than the actual value of the piece itself.

Chances were that Julian would never prove his prior innocence or reclaim his bloodline.

And he was certainly not an innocent anymore.

Not of other crimes.

But, the ring was his honor. And honor was strangely important to the Lion.

And that was one reason Tyler trusted him.

It was more than honor amongst thieves.

Both men knew they could count on the other since the first day Lion had aided Tyler in his plot to seek vengeance on his grandfather. When the Lion had attacked one of the Duke’s ships and he happened to be on board...

He had commended the fearsome pirate on a job well done and had then saved the notorious pirate’s life when one of his grandfather’s crew became overly bold and threw a knife at the pirate’s back. After a discrete conversation between the two of them, wherein Tyler let his wishes be known, the pirate secretly took him under his wing. Tyler had been little more than a youth back then, maybe seventeen years. A long time ago.

Since then, the men had become fast friends and friendly competitors.

"Thank you for this, Tyler." Lion's voice was rough with terrible memories he was trying to suppress. The betrayals, the suffering, the beatings, the dishonor.

"No one else would have done it for me."

Tyler shrugged nonchalantly. "It wasn't so much."

Lion glanced over at him and shook his head.

"Aye, it was. You risked your life to procure it, and I won’t forget it."

"You'd do the same for me, Julian. In fact, you have done the same for me many times over.” Tyler smiled.

“So you’d best never speak of it or I shall have to sink another ship.”

The Lion’s eyes glittered with piratical glee. "Aye, speaking of that, do you realize, Panther, that you are raiding and I am getting some of the blame?"

Tyler snickered. "Caught onto that did you?"

Lion arched his brow at the younger man. "And do you have to braid your hair before every raid?"

The Panther held up his hands and grinned broadly.

"Not every raid. Just enough to irk you. It’s not so bad–

I get the treasure whilst you get the fame."

Julian chuckled. "Blame is more like it. Ah, well.

At least it spreads my fearsome reputation far and wide, boyo. You didn't think of that when you concocted the mischief up."

"Actually, I did. You see, no one knows where, when, or who will strike, the Panther or the Lion.

Helps us both. Besides, you can't step foot in England again so you might as well become a British legend."

Lion scratched his jaw. "That sounds as if it should be reasonable– so why do I think there must be a flaw in it somewhere? Probably to my detriment?"

They both laughed.

"So, as a legend, does that mean I can be your wife's ‘other’ pirate?" The Lion goaded slyly.

The grin died on Tyler's face mid-laugh. "No."

"Not even if–"

"God’s teeth, Lion, I trust you but I can still kill you."

"Of course." Lion swept him a bow.

They were almost equally matched at the blade, but Tyler thought Lion might be a shade better. Of course, he was the better shot.

"Blades," Lion called out a fraction of a second before the Panther called out. "Pistols."

The two crafty pirates grinned and shook a finger at each other.

And then, liking a good challenge, they proceeded to drink each other flat under the table. Cold rum and warm sea air were a pirate’s blessing.

* * *

Later that night when the Lion walked onto the main deck, he sought out a hidden corner at the aft of the ship.

By the light of the moon, he removed the ring from his finger. Holding it in his hand, he performed a series of measured taps on the top and sides. A whirring sound issued forth.

The ring suddenly opened, unfolding its faceted secrets.

Something was etched inside its metal surface.

Discretely, Lion took a small jeweler's glass from his coat pocket and held it up to his eye to examine the curious piece through its magnifying lens.

There, resting perfectly in his palm, was a hidden, miniature map. A treasure map.

He exhaled, relieved.

It would be a long, difficult journey, fraught with danger– but that's what pirates lived for. In the end, there would be plunder aplenty.

Pirates lived for that as well.

As soon as he returned to the Chimera, his next course was clear. It would be his last adventure.

But a great one.

Chapter Twenty-Four

When Tyler entered the cabin that night Ginny was already in bed.

Mabel had thought it would be wise to go back to their cabins and stay out of sight for the rest of the evening as both crews were kissing the grog and throwing their arms about each others’ shoulders to sing the most scandalous sea shanteys.

By that time, Hack was running a rig on Slash by pointing to something he suddenly spotted at sea whenever the other man’s mug was refilled. While Slash blinked drunkenly at the water, Hack quickly drowned his friend's brew. Worse, Henley, having nothing better to do and tired of constantly retching from his mal-demer, partook of several tankards himself.

The last they saw of him he was skipping across the bow in a flutter of lace and rum.

The commotion was still going on up on deck.

Above the din Ginny noted quiet rustling as Tyler removed his clothes and silently slid into the bed beside her.

As if someone could actually sleep over that clamor.

A loud snore immediately sounded from his side of the bed.

She rolled her eyes; he was stone drunk.

The cloud of rum fumes surrounding him validated her. His naked presence in bed indicated he was delusional as well as loud.

The sharp elbow in his side surprised Tyler; he thought Ginny was long asleep. The hour was very late; they had all drunk too much. Nonetheless, he valiantly opened one eye.

It seemed that his turtledove had something to say.

“What can I do for you, my lady,” he croaked.

"Can you not use another bed?" she snapped, irritated.

He turned onto his side and rested his face in his palm. "This is my cabin, love."

"Is there not another bed for me then? This is quite a large ship; there must be some other place." Ginny felt his breath across her arm.

“Funny thing,” he tapped his upper lip with his forefinger, "But this is your cabin as well." The playful tone was still final.