Page 37 of The Swan Syndicate #1

“Two days doesn’t give us much time.” Jamie stared at the chart spread across the navigation table.

“What are you thinking?” Beckworth leaned over the table as he reviewed the ports between where they were and where they needed to be in two days. There wasn’t much to work with, and he had no contacts on this side of the coast.

“MacDuff will want to see the cargo, and he’ll push Stella to show hers first.”

“I don’t suppose you’re carrying anything that can pass muster?”

Jamie smiled. “Not currently.”

“I know someone who might have what we need.” Fitz rested his hip against the table and nudged Lando. “Do you think Parsons might have something?”

Lando gave a non-committal shrug. “He’s probably our best option, but we’d have to go south before we head back north. It’s a gamble, but he’s usually got something in that old barn.”

“We’d only need one crate,” Michelson offered. “Some flintlocks, maybe a few cannonballs.”

“A sample of wares.” Beckworth nodded. “If we have to show ours first, we don’t want to show them a warehouse, just a single crate of what we have to offer.”

“Heading south might confuse the men who’ve been watching the Daphne ,” Fitz said.

It didn’t surprise Beckworth that MacDuff would have been spying as they’d been. “Do you think they’ve seen Stella aboard?”

“Aye. MacDuff probably has several men watching the ships.”

“If we head south, he might think we’re headed for hidden cargo.” Jamie nodded his head. “If we leave now, we can make it by mid-day tomorrow. If Parsons doesn’t have what we need, he might know where we can get something to satisfy MacDuff.”

Fitz scratched his beard. “And if we catch the wind right, we should make Tenby in time for Lady Swan’s meeting.”

“I’m not familiar with Tenby.” Beckworth hated to mention his problem to the men. “Stella needs another dress or two. Something that reflects a higher station.”

Jamie frowned as he considered their options. “I can’t say I’m familiar with the dressmakers in these ports. She might want to take some time while we’re under sail to make adjustments to what she has on hand.” He glanced at the other men, who all stared at the floor, stymied by the question.

Beckworth barked out a laugh. “I should have known better than to ask you blokes anything about women’s apparel. Mark my words, there will come a day when you wish you knew more.”

When the meeting ended, everyone but Beckworth went up to prepare the ship for sail. He stopped in the pantry to grab a bottle of wine and two mugs before heading for the cabin.

Stella was asleep, wearing only her undergarments. All of her dresses hung from various spots in the cabin. It didn’t take more than a few seconds for him to agree she needed another dress or two.

He sat to remove his boots and had the first one off when she lifted her head.

“Is the meeting over already?” She rolled over and lifted up to her elbow, watching him remove the other boot.

“Yes. Fitz knows a man south of here that might have something that will provide a decent sample for MacDuff.”

“South? How far? Will we still make the meet in two days?”

“If we catch a good wind and we don’t spend too much time in port, yes.

” He stood and removed his jacket, then opened the wine.

“MacDuff’s been watching the Daphne . He’ll see us head south and assume we’re retrieving our contraband.

If we’re late, he’ll wait a day. When one does business with ships, you have to make accommodations for weather and patrols. ”

She sat up when he handed her a mug. “Thank you.”

“Move over.”

She scooted over a few inches, leaned against the headboard, and rubbed her stomach. “I don’t know what’s bothering me most—the motion of the ship or my nerves.”

“Was the meeting difficult?”

She hesitated, gave him a side glance, then took a long sip of wine.

“Just say it.”

She ran a hand over the bed cover, worrying at a spot. “He’s actually quite charming.”

His temper instantly flared but he somehow managed to hold it in. “Really.”

“I knew you’d be mad.”

“I’m not mad.”

She laughed. “Of course you are. Or perhaps a bit jealous?”

He drank his wine and looked at the dresses hanging around the room, anything but at her. “I thought you said it was nerves upsetting your stomach.”

“Don’t get me wrong. He’s dangerous. I can sense it. Not necessarily by his words but by his actions—his nods to his bodyguard, the way he watches a room.”

“I would do the same thing.”

She nodded as she put her thoughts together. “He has a reputation. One based on facts and his past behaviors.” She poked him. “If you remember, I had a problem trusting you in the beginning.”

Her lack of trust and her implied statement that AJ didn’t trust him had bothered him quite a bit at the time.

It had still hurt when she’d admitted that she’d lied.

But he couldn’t blame her. She’d been dragged from her time by ruffians and was on her own with no one she could rely on. He understood.

She took his hand. “MacDuff was enchanted by my bold nature, just like you. And all men are charming when they’re interested.

In this time period, he’s the type that would woo me just to find his advantage.

He knows I have no real rights. That sooner or later I’ll need a man if for nothing more than shelter or protection.

But for now, I’m a competitor. He’ll want this partnership because he assumes he’ll be able to not only control me but any contacts I’ve gained.

With male competitors, he’s the type that will take an honest enough percentage until he finds a way to screw them.

” She laughed. “With a woman, he thinks he can just bed me then take my contraband and contacts for his illicit trading. Or, if it’s true, the Irish army he’s building for Napoleon. ”

“I don’t like this.”

“I know.” She took his mug and set it next to hers on the bedside table. “Let’s not talk anymore. The men are busy. It’s time for you to calm my nerves.”

He pulled her to him and relished her giggles as he began stripping off the last of her clothes. Then he made her forget all about MacDuff.

“ H ow long do we have to wait for Parsons?” Beckworth asked.

The Daphne had made port in the sleepy seaside village in time for lunch.

On the captain’s orders, everyone stayed onboard except for the team sent to procure the contraband.

Jamie had moored just inside the bay so they could leave as soon as the meeting was over.

A weather system was coming, and he was concerned it would impact their arrival in Tenby.

Fitz, Lando, Lane, and Beckworth had rowed the jolly boat to a pier and went directly to the single pub.

The only ships at port were small fishing boats, which meant most of the pub’s customers were likely local villagers.

Fitz ate his stew quickly, then disappeared in search of his contact.

The rest of them relaxed and drank ale as they waited.

It was an hour before Fitz returned and waved at the busy server, who dropped a mug of ale in front of him.

“Well?” Lando asked after waiting for Fitz to swallow his first sip.

“He said give him an hour and we’ll meet him at an old barn on the far side of his property. It’s close and won’t take more than a half hour to get there. We might as well drink.”

And like the hour before Fitz had returned, no one spoke of MacDuff, Cheval, or the mission. Instead, talk turned to the hunting party.

“Do you think we’ll make it back in time for it?” Lando asked.

“It would be a shame to miss your own party.” Fitz lit his pipe, puffing out a pleasant scent with a touch of cherry essence.

“It depends on what happens with MacDuff. I don’t think the intent was to set up a full trade.” Beckworth hadn’t given the hunting weekend more than a passing thought. His focus had been on Stella and the mission. Each step more dangerous than the last.

“The only information we need from the next meeting is where MacDuff usually does his trading and if he’ll tell Stella something about his smuggling operation.

” Lando tapped his fingers on the table, his gaze constantly returning to the door.

“Hensley will have to decide what he wants to do with the information.”

“What will MacDuff do if we don’t make the final meeting place?” Lane asked.

Beckworth shrugged. “He’ll either think Stella found the partnership not as lucrative as she’d hoped or simply changed her mind for no specific reason.” He grinned. “As women are wont to do.”

They laughed but didn’t disagree. It wasn’t unusual for smugglers to consider an enticing offer too great a risk, or they might have discovered they were being followed by patrols.

If MacDuff ever met up with the Daphne again, it would be easy enough to say they’d been paid to run cargo for Lady Swan, but it hadn’t worked out.

Jamie had run the smuggling game since Finn owned the Daphne and would know how to handle the situation.

When the time came, they exited the pub to a stronger coastal wind. Beckworth glanced up to a smattering of clouds. It would be best if they got this done and set sail before the storm.

The walk to the property didn’t take long. Without Fitz, they would have stumbled around the woods for days. A narrow deer trail was the only direct entrance to the old barn from town. On the far side of the barn, a rut-filled path, just wide enough for a wagon, meandered into the woods.

“Where does that path lead?” Beckworth asked.

Fitz waved off to his right. “It winds around several twists and turns before coming out to another well-disguised path that meets up with the main road. He only uses it when the cargo has to be moved so it looks unused.”

The barn door was closed but a horse swished its tail by a nearby tree.

Fitz knocked on the barn door and waited.