Page 20 of Of Magic and Rum
I have no place speaking of trust when I’ve deceived them once and am already doing it again, hiding my immortality.
“Trust is a fragile thing, Mary.” I spin to face her again. “And say I learn to trust you. I can’t see myself ever trusting Jack.”
“And you shouldn’t,” she says bluntly.
“What? He’s your captain, and you don’t trust him?”
Mary’s gaze shifts to Jack ascending the helm, garnering the attention of every crew member without an announcement. “I trust him with my life, yes. But do I trust him not to swindle me out of coin during a card game? Fuck no. Persuasion and deception skills are as important in this lifestyle as swordplay and a good sense of direction. And Jack Rackham? He’s one of the sneakiest and smartest bastards I’ve ever met.”
She trusts him with herlife.
“Everyone, excellent work. We brought in more haul than an average merchant ship at half the effort.” Jack’s voice resonates with command. He paces back and forth and rakes a hand through his long, dark hair.
“I do like it when someone else does the dirty work,” one man says, followed by a laugh.
“I’d say the distraction was rather bountiful, too, eh, lads?” Another man stammers, standing on a crate so everyone can see him holding two melons in front of his chest.
The distraction. Me.
“Yes, but we also must consider how kind fate has been to put Anne in our path. If it weren’t for her, we wouldn’t have had such an enticing hand to work with.” Jack still spots me despite dozens of people cramming the space between us. “She’s already been on board for a week and officially committed her first act of piracy. I ask you all, should she swear by our code, will you see her on our crew?”
Committed her first act of piracy.
There’s no end to the games, and I doubt there will ever be one. And none of them know the most cunning game of all plays right under their noses—a sea nymph in their midst. I’m as bad as they are.
“Why the bloody hell not?” A man says, throwing his hand up.
Mary smiles at my side and throws her arm into the air.
The deck becomes an endless ocean of raised limbs, the waves of cheering and hollering foreign to my ears. A numbness starts at the tips of my fingers and works into my chest because despite this crew voting for me to become one of them, I remain transfixed on the captain. He’s strolling toward me, the men parting ways like a seam unraveling.
His hand is outstretched, beckoning mine. “We have a few things to discuss, Anne. My cabin?”
The kiss was pure fire but a performance nonetheless. Jack did it because he knew it’d only enrage Vane further with his want for me. And I’ll still only trust him as far as I can throw him, but welcoming me into their crew has to count for something.
I look to Mary for reassurance, and once she gives me a confident nod, I slip my palm against Jack’s and follow him into his quarters.
“Even if you’re thinking of swearing to the code and joining this crew, there are a few things to set straight before you do.” Jack closes the door behind me and moves to his desk, sitting on the corner.
“Then why put it to a vote now?” I try to hide my smile when Truffles leaps behind Jack and begins to rub himself up and down his arm.
Jack tries to ignore him but quickly succumbs to the cat’s will and pets him. “No point in wasting my time or breath on you. If they would’ve voted no, why would we need to talk?”
“I’ll give you this, Jack,” I scoff. “You certainly don’t sugarcoat anything.”
“Life is too short to piss in the rain and pretend it’s not happening.” Jack scratches behind the cat’s ears.
Pressing my back to the door, putting distance between us, I throw my hands at my sides. “You said there are matters to discuss?”
“First and foremost. Is there anything I should know about you that may jeopardize the lives of myself or anyone aboard this ship?” Jack grabs a ball of twine from the corner of his desk and rolls it to Truffles, distracting him as he pushes to his feet and crosses the room.
The proximity gives me nowhere to retreat and no choice but to stare up at him.
And here I am about to lie to the face of a renowned pirate captain. If I wish to make it to the Mediterranean Sea—tohome—there’s no way out of it.
“Me? The daughter of a dead grape farmer trying to seek passage to Greece to lay claim to the land?” I inhale deeply, the scents of brine and something citrus-like lacing his skin, making my head fuzzy.
He presses that damn tanned forearm above my head on the door again. “Lying doesn’t become you, Anne. But I applaud you for thinking so quickly on your feet. We may make a pirate out of you yet.”
