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A jolly boat had been rowed to the hull of the Black Wind .

Rose recognized the figure climbing down to board it and smiled smugly to herself.

Six days she had resisted the urge to make that crossing.

Six days she had resisted the temptation to join him on his ship or on the beach, fearing exactly where that temptation would lead.

Stubb was right. He was like a big sleek cat waiting to pounce and she had to be on her guard every minute.

Rose ordered the gangway to be opened. On further thought, she added, “When Captain Fonteyne comes on board, tell him I am in my cabin and will receive him there.”

Digby Fitch was standing nearby and nodded. “Will do, Captain.”

Rose returned, unhurriedly, to her cabin, where she drew the cork out of a fresh bottle of rum and set it on the dining table with two thick-bottomed glasses. She donned her vest and fastened all the buttons, then sat at the head of the table and propped her feet up on the corner.

Having another thought, she moved around behind her desk and sat down there, seemingly absorbed in studying a chart of Florida and the Gulf coast. When she heard boots in the corridor outside her door, she picked up a thin graphite stick and started scratching notations on a piece of paper.

“Come,” she said, responding to a knock.

She looked up as the door opened and Fonteyne’s big body filled the entryway.

He was dressed all in black, as usual, his hat on his head, his hair loose and wavy to his shoulders.

At first glance, she noticed nothing out of the ordinary, but when she could calm her breathing and think past the heartbeats thudding in her ears, she noticed a fresh pink cut tracking across his forehead in almost the same location as the wound he had earned when the ships rammed together.

“Captain,” she said by way of greeting.

“Captain,” he acknowledged.

“There is rum on the table if like. Or wine. Or I could send for some lemon water if you prefer.” She scratched a few more words on the paper. “If you’ll just allow me to finish this calculation.”

“By all means, don’t let me interrupt.”

She smiled and, after a moment set the graphite stick aside and wiped the smudges off her fingers. “Shall I assume you’ve come to discuss how to proceed now that we’ve found the British fleet?”

“I would agree some discussion is required,” he said, taking off his hat.

“We’ve already wasted six days sitting here doing nothing and I have a bad feeling that time is not in our favor.

I also know from past experience that Nicholls does not sail through the night.

He prefers to anchor his ships in a tight formation and wait for daylight.

I, on the other hand, have had excellent results raiding at night, especially when there is no moon.

” He poured a glass of rum for himself, then filled another and set it beside the open chart. “There will be no moon tonight.”

“Tonight?”

“The longer we delay, the greater the risk of being seen, and not just by the fleet. Never a humble man, Nicholls will cut northeast once through the Straits and keep within sight of land as he follows the coastline. He will want his presence to be known and celebrations prepared long before he makes landfall, regardless of where that might be. The same natives and spies who carry word of his impending arrival in Pensacola will also note a lone ship following in their shadow.”

He moved behind the desk and leaned over her shoulder, placing a finger on the X that was marking Cayo Hueso and dragging it along the curve of islands toward the mainland of Florida.

“Most of these chain islands are barely inhabited, and then only by local native tribes. As you say, they send out small fishing flotillas, hardly a threat worth having revenuers regularly patrol the area. Higher up, however,” he moved his finger to the mainland “you can almost guarantee there will be ships on patrol, and if the fleet is expected, those patrols will be thicker and more frequent than usual. We might only have this one chance to strike and get cleanly away.”

“You have given this a lot of thought.”

“I haven’t had much else to do over the past few days.”

She turned her head and looked up at him, realizing at once his face was too close, his scent was too heady, his eyes too direct. To distract herself, she focussed on the fresh line of scabbing on his brow. “Forget to duck beneath another beam?”

He touched it self-consciously. “Ah, this. Yes, well, I was drilling with the men, and I was momentarily distracted. It was the first time Archie’s blade made it past my guard so he was quite thrilled and has been retelling the tale ever since.”

He straightened, walking around to the front of the desk again. “If we do this thing, I would suggest, in order to minimize the risk of being seen, that we only take one ship.”

“The Black Wind , of course.”

He shook his head and took a seat. “I leave that entirely up to you.”

“Why?”

“Why what?”

“Why so obliging as to leave it up to me?”

He smiled and looked down into his glass as he slowly swirled the rum around.

“Because it was your crack-brained idea. And whichever ship we choose to take, I have a complete set of black sails to refit the yards and render us nearly invisible. Conversely, every deck of every ship in Nicholls fleet will be ablaze with lamps; good for us, not so good for his sentries who will be at a disadvantage staring out into the darkness. The closer we can sail, the less distance the longboats will have to travel and the shorter the swim back to safety.”

Rose took a sip of rum and studied Fonteyne’s easy slouch, the long legs stretched out before him, black leather boots crossed at the ankles. He seemed altogether too agreeable today and that only made her all the more wary.

“I saw Billy on deck,” he said, intruding on her thoughts. “She said you intend to be in one of the fireships we send against the fleet.”

Rose gave a little shrug. “I never ask my men to do something I would not do myself. More to the point, I am an excellent swimmer, whereas, despite my best efforts to encourage all of my crew to learn how to swim, most flail about like beached whales if the water is deeper than their waists. Duardo will be with me. He swims like a shark.”

“Once the fuses are lit, everyone will need to swim like sharks to get a safe distance away when the powder blows. A goodly number of redcoats will bail over the sides as well, choosing to drown rather than burn to death. Fireships are not called terror ships without good reason.”

“I am well aware of the risks.”

“As am I, which is why I’ll be in one of the other longboats. Archie volunteered to come along as well, but he’s too valuable to lose to mischance.”

“And you’re not?”

“I could ask you the same.”

She tapped her fingers lightly on the desk. “I have been working for and with the Americans for the past few years. Whatever I need to do now, I will do it.”

“Loyalty is an admirable quality.”

She glanced up, fingers continuing to tap tap tap . “Stubb still doesn’t trust you. He says his ballocks itch every time you are in the same room.”

Sebastien pursed his lips. “What about you? Do you still have doubts?”

“Only about my judgement at times,” she said quietly.

In a louder, more firm voice she added, “Very well, Captain, we shall take your advice and set out tonight under the dark of the moon. We will take one ship … the Black Wind … saving the need to transfer sails. But so there are no misunderstandings, Billy will have absolute command of the fireships.”

“I’ll have the sails refit with the black sheets. If we leave at dusk, we should be able to catch them up by midnight.”

Rose nodded and stood. “I will let Duardo know the plans.”

Fonteyne set his glass aside. “Before you do, we have one other item of unfinished business to tend to.”

She looked into his eyes—eyes that kept too many secrets and always had a curious effect on her breathing.

For a man who kept his thoughts and emotions guarded against all intrusions, there was nothing hidden in the amber depths now and it was as if he had already reached out and run his hands down her body, stripping her clothes away as he went

“This is hardly the time,” she managed to whisper.

“It is exactly the time,” he said. He stood and moved toward her.

“You never asked me what could have caused such a distraction as to have me let down my guard against Archie’s blade.

Shall I tell you? It was the sight of you climbing up the shrouds in a snow-white shirt and tight knee britches, your hair loose and streaming out in the breeze.

You were laughing, racing one of your crewmen to the top of the mast.”

When he came close enough, he touched her chin with his forefinger, his eyes clear and quietly searching hers.

“It was the sound of that laugh. A laugh filled with the pure joy of knowing you were living exactly the kind life you wanted to live. I’ve not heard one in a hundred people laugh like that. ”

The words wrapped like a gentle fist around her heart and she felt something stirring within her.

She’d spent half her adult life striving to prove she belonged in a man’s world.

It took her a moment to realize that over the past few weeks it had become more than just a longing to belong …

it was a longing to belong to this man’s world.

Minutes later, out in the corridor, Stubb raised his fist and was about to strike it on the door. He stopped mid-swing when he heard telltale cries and whispers followed by thuds as the berth moved in a lusty rhythm against the wall.

He clutched at both sides of his cap and pulled it down until it covered his ears and left only his nose and the scowl visible beneath. “Neptune spare me,” he muttered as he walked away. “I vow I be the only sane one on board.”