Page 66 of Stilettos & Secrets on the 7 Seas

“Ace, focus on the mission. Marco isn’t on board. Rowan, the giant guy, is not the captain.”

“I know. He’s the quartermaster. I got the down low from the kitchen hand.” Ace handed me the mug. “Drink up. You don’t want to get dehydrated.”

I looked down at the brown liquid. “What is it?”

“Tea. They’ve got barrels of it from the East India Trading Company.” Ace sat in one of the chairs, and I took the other.

He pursed his lips. “They say Captain Smith is in high demand by the special ladies, if you know what I mean.”

My face contorted. Geesh. He was only a boy. He was Peter Pan.

“So, what’s this Captain Smith look like?” Ace batted his eyelashes at me. “Is he as sexy as they claim?”

“He’s cute. Auburn hair, button nose, brown eyes a girl could die for, and… he’s about sixteen.”

“Say what?” Ace’s eyes grew wide.

“Yeah. This entire ship of men flock around a captain who hasn’t had his first shave.”

“That explains why all the special ladies want to be the first to…you know.” Ace wafted a hand in the air like he did when he shared gossip.

“Poor kid’s been forced into a man’s job. He wants to play pirate, search for hidden treasure.” I wished I could help him. I sipped the tea, and my eyebrows rose. Surprisingly, it tasted good. Sweet and spicy with a touch of honey.

“I added the honey.” Ace blew on his knuckles, then his face fell. “However, the ingredients for the evening meal will be more of a challenge.”

I took another sip and licked my lips. “I expected more drudge in a mug.”

Ace plucked a chunk of mango off the plate of bread, cheese, and fruit and ate it. “Rowan won’t let the special ladies on theSea Stormbecause he’s been searching for a perfect wife for the captain.”

I sputtered, spewed, spilled tea on my dress, then set the mug down harder than I’d anticipated. “What?”

“That’s unfortunate. It’ll leave a stain.” Ace handed me a cloth to wipe off the spill, then continued with the back-fence gossip. “According to my source, Captain Smith inherited the ship. They’re not pirates, they’re smugglers. Isn’t that even sexier?”

“Ace, focus. What about the captain-forced-to-marry thing?”

“Oh, yes, yes, yes. Captain Smith’s father was the captain of theSea Storm, but he died. His last wishes stated that to own the ship, his son must marry when he came of age or surrender the ship to joint ownership with the crew. Many a not-so-fair maiden has been brought to the ship, but the quartermaster has rejected all of them.”

“But he’s only a boy.” I wondered if Rowan refused the women because he wanted to gain control of the ship. I didn’t get that vibe from him. He hovered over Max with the concern of a caring uncle or older brother. I lifted my cup to drink, then paused. “He’s a nice kid. I hate to see him forced into marrying a girl he doesn’t love just to keep some wooden ship that’ll probably go down with the next hurricane.”

“Uh, oh. I know that look. You fancy him.” Ace dabbed mango juice from his mouth with the corner of my tea-stained cloth.

“Yeah, he’s sweet. He’s got a good head on his shoulders. The ship should be his without all the pirate hoopla, but I can’t get involved. I promised Jake no more interfering with the past. Besides, I’m here to rescue Marco.”

“My source also told me, Marco, a.k.a. John Silver, was on board until a few days ago when Vane boarded theSea Stormand forced Captain Smith to join his fleet of ships.”

I tore off a corner of the baguette and chewed over Ace’s words. “I heard the same, and that makes theSea Storma pirate ship by association. A part of Vane’s pirate clan.”

“Vane’s fleet isn’t all that big, and supposedly Marco did a swapsies to get on board Vane’s ship. Most likely because that no good Russian trollop, Sasha, is swishing her scabbard on Vane’s deck. At least we know what happens next.”

“We do?”

“Doll. Don’t you ever study?”

“I did. But I’m a little fuzzy on the history. I focused more on the layout of Nassau, Vane’s ship, and the Marco thing.”

“According to Wikipedia, Woodes Rogers, the future governor of the Bahamas, sails here tomorrow night with a blockade of ships and prevents the pirates from leaving the harbor. He offers the pirates a pardon, but Vane doesn’t take it. Instead, Vane sets the biggest ship in his fleet on fire and sends it toward Rogers’ ships while escaping on a smaller sloop.”

I remembered reading about the fire ship and about Vane holding a meeting at Fort Nassau with his group of supporters. He held a vote to reject the pardon.

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