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Beau looked down at her hands. She had no idea how the conversation had turned to such things and even less idea why she was tolerating any of it. Or him, for that matter, and she turned her attention back to her charts.

“There is only my father and myself … and the Egret ,” she said crisply. “And we are quite happy to keep it that way. Now, if you don’t mind, Captain, I have work to do. You will have to excuse me.”

“We seem to making good speed,” he observed, ignoring her request.

“You sound surprised.”

He brought his gaze back from the horizon and weighed the depth of pride tightening her features against his own dislike of making apologies to anyone, deserving or not.

“Forgive me if I have misjudged the character of your ship,” he said. “It was, perhaps, a judgment made in haste.”

The tiger eyes were waiting expectantly, but he only nodded at the astrolabe and added, “You have taken your noon reading? I would be more than pleased to assist.”

“Spit has already done so, but … thank you anyway.”

“He seems like an efficient fellow, despite his rather brusque habit of speaking precisely what is on his mind.”

“You find honesty disconcerting?”

“Not in the least. Just unusual in that there appear to be a large percentage of forthright-speaking members among your crew.”

“My father is rarely so arrogant as to assume he has absolute knowledge of all things,” she said, choosing her words with the same care he had shown. “Most times, he encourages his crew to say what is on their minds, thus avoiding sullenness and dissent.”

“An admirable policy. Does it hold true in battle?”

She looked him straight in the eye. “I said most times, Captain. In battle there is no discussion, no room for arrogance or dissent. The men follow Spence’s orders without question or hesitation or they know they have earned themselves a dozen or so lashes of the cat.”

The muscles in Dante’s jaw clenched noticeably.

He knew the taunt was deliberate and his eyes gleamed at her boldness.

“In my case,” he said quietly, “it was not my arrogance that won me my stripes, but my misfortune in serving on a ship whose captain was too cowardly to give any orders at all, and surrendered, without firing a single shot, to a Spanish raider. Those of us who survived the trials of the auto-da-fé —a warm little gathering hosted by members of the Holy Inquisition—were then sentenced to serve out the rest of our lives chained to the oars of a galleass.”

“You were a galley slave?” she asked, startled.

“For nearly seven months. Lashings were part of the daily routine, whether we were sullen or not.”

“I’m … sorry. I did not mean to pry.”

“Yes you did. You just didn’t do it very well. In future, if you want to ask me something, just ask.”

He turned and was about to leave the deck when Beau blurted, “Very well: How did you escape?”

He stopped and took a moment to reset the rigid line of his jaw.

When he glanced back, it looked, at first, as if he were going to take off her head instead of answering, but then he saw the cool defiance in her eyes and had cause to remind himself again that she was not a woman easily subjugated by authority.

A challenge given was a challenge accepted, however minor.

“As it happened, the captain-general of the galleass was cruel and incompetent and not very well liked by his officers. One of the younger ones, on board for his first voyage, dared to challenge the harshness of some of the punishments we received and, for his trouble, spent a week chained to the oar beside me.”

“You befriended him?”

“Hell, no. He was weak and foolish; when he wasn’t weeping like a child, he was praying incessantly for our salvation.

I hated the bastard as much at the end of the week as I had at the beginning and probably more so because I knew, for all his bawling and keening, he would get to see sunlight again, whereas all I could expect was death and rats—with death being preferable.

I must have conveyed my wishes in some way, for they began to use me to demonstrate the proper method of applying the lash to cause the most pain.

The same foolish young officer crept below one night, hoping to convert me to the One True Faith while there was still time to save my soul.

The man beside me was able to hook an arm around his throat and choke him, and we used his crucifix to break the lock on our chains.

A dozen or so of us managed to fight our way up on deck and jump over the side.

Luckily, we were passing close enough to an island to swim for it, but because I was in pretty bad shape, Lucifer had to haul me on his back most of the way. ”

“Lucifer?”

“Aye.” A black eyebrow arched sardonically. “He is really a very likable fellow, once you get to know him.”

“Lucifer? Likable? He spends most of his days terrorizing everyone on board.”

“He is leery of strangers, leery of their motives. He had a family, a wife and three sons, all of whom died beside him, slaving in the mines of Mexico.”

Beau chewed her lip. “And Mister Pitt? He seems another odd sort to be sailing the high seas—especially since he does not appear to enjoy the sea all that much. ”

Dante offered a wry grin. “You should see him in heavy weather.”

“I have. You slept like a babe through it; he turned as green as grass and hung over the rail for two days.”

“Ahh, yes, but put a gun in his hands, the bigger the better, and he has no equal on this earth. He designed those demis, cast the bronze himself, and trained my crews to give me three shots per minute, rough seas or smooth.” He grinned suddenly.

“But if you think Pitt and Lucifer are odd, it is a pity you never met our helmsman, Ivory Brighton. He lost his eye to a misfired musket and replaced it with a ball carved from an elephant tusk. He also had two thumbs on his left hand and a nose so long and hooked, he could scratch the tip with his bottom teeth.”

Beau almost smiled. “Admirable qualities. I’m sure I will regret not making his acquaintance until the day I die.”

“I know he would regret not making yours, for I’m sure he would have thought it impossible for a woman to hold a ship this size on a steady course, let alone throw her into a heated pursuit.”

“Much like his captain?”

“Much like his captain,” Dante admitted, his silver eyes gleaming.

Beau felt her skin warming again and drew a shallow breath. “My mother used to tell me the only things truly impossible are the things you are too afraid to try.”

“Was she the one who encouraged you to come to sea?”

“She did nothing to discourage me, although she did insist I go to school and learn how to deport myself like a lady.”

While Dante struggled to hold his laughter in check, Beau planted her hands on her hips and glared at him.

“You find the notion amusing? ”

“Not amusing; perhaps just … difficult to envision at this precise moment.”

“It did not seem to put too much strain on your imagination when you laid me flat on your desk, or when you kissed me the other morning.”

The gray eyes narrowed; then, with a disconcerting abruptness, he threw back his head and laughed. It was a deep, lusty sound and made several of the crew on the deck below turn and stare.

“Ah, mam’selle, you are indeed refreshing.

” He shook his head and raked a hand through the glossy black mane of his hair.

“Your suspicions are etched on your face as precisely as the currents on your magnificently painted maps. May I set your mind at ease somewhat by saying my interests in any of our conversations, past and yet to come, are completely without any motive other than that of trying to get to know your crew and ship a little better. I have absolutely no interest in prying your legs apart if, alors , you were willing or not. While I will confess you inspire a certain amount of curiosity—which I have already admitted— I doubt very much your preference for boots and doublet over silk underpinnings and satin skirts would be enough to drive me to extremes of wild, irrepressible lust. As it happens, I still prefer my women soft, seductive, and eager to do more with their mouths than scowl all the time.”

Beau’s flush grew hot enough to become painful. “I am relieved to hear it, Captain. Does this mean I will not be excessively plagued with your company in the days and weeks to come?”

“It means I will save you the trouble of having to scurry from one end of the ship to the other every time you see me on deck. Moreover, I apologize wholeheartedly now for distracting you from your work.” He offered an exaggerated bow.

“I came to ask only if you might be interested in joining the rest of your crew below. Pitt was about to give them a lesson in firing the thirty pounders and your father suggested it might be of some interest to you as well. But since you are so busy with your paints…” He shrugged and started back toward the ladderway.

Beau clamped her jaw tight against the urge to hurl the vilest epithet she could think of at his broad back.

He knew damned well she was as interested as any other crewman on board, just as he knew she would have put aside her paints in a snap.

But she did not stop him and he did not look back as he descended to the main deck and strode into the midst of the gathered men.

The lure of the demi-cannon was a sore temptation to have to pit against her own pride, but she would stand before a smoking muzzle and let the shot blast straight through her heart before she would give the arrogant Captain Simon Dante, Comte de Tourville, the satisfaction of seeing her run after him like a beggar.

He was arrogant. And far too sure of himself for her liking.

Just the way he cocked his head and smiled with such self-serving belligerence proved he did not think anyone on board this ship to be his equal, or even worthy of his consideration.

Most infuriating of all was the patronizing, amused manner with which he regarded her position on board the Egret.

It made her fervently wish for a glimpse of sails on the horizon.

And, whether it was because she wished for it so hard, or because the booming thunder of the huge guns had rolled to the edge of the horizon and attracted other searching eyes, it was less than an hour later that the watchman sounded an alert from his perch high in the tops.

“Sails, Captain! Sails off the larboard bow!”