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“Is he?” Payne asked. “Because ten years ago, he was my weak little brother.”

“He’s grown since then. He’s matured.”

“I hope it is enough.”

“It is,” Maude said. “Speaking of maturing, how are ye and Astria getting on?”

Payne averted his gaze, unable to keep the smile off his lips. “Well.”

“ How well?”

“Well enough that I dunna think she is going tae try tae escape any longer,” he said. Then he paused a moment in thought before continuing. “Maudie, she’s my wife now, so that makes her family. It also makes her untouchable.”

“Of course it does.”

“That means by anyone. Even ye.”

“What are ye driving at, Payne?”

Payne drew in a long, thoughtful breath before facing her. “I’m going tae tell ye something that she told me,” he said. “But I’m telling ye as a matter of yer safety. Do ye understand that?”

Maude nodded. “I do,” she said. “What must ye tell me?”

“I’m not supposed tae tell ye all of it, but I’m going tae because I think it’s important for ye tae know.”

“Go ahead, then. Tell me.”

He lifted a hand and made a swirling motion, like the choppy motion of the sea. “When ye captured Astria’s ships,” he said, “what were the circumstances?”

Maude thought a moment. “We were in the Balearic Sea,” she said. “We’d already had a successful visit tae Denia, a port village, when we spied the princess’ ships. We overtook them, moved the cargo into our holds, threw her crew overboard, and took her with us when we left. Why do ye ask?”

“Because those were not merchant ships,” Payne said. “They were pirate vessels.”

“I know.”

Payne looked at her in shock. “Ye know ?”

She nodded. “I also happen tae know that yer wife was once The Sea God.”

Payne’s jaw dropped. “Ye knew that, too?”

Maude was amused at his surprise. “Lad, I must know everything about my enemies,” she said.

“I’d be a poor captain, indeed, if I dinna.

I also know that her husband’s son has practically taken everything from her.

I dunna know how she managed tae get two ships from him, but she did.

I commend her for it. But now those ships are mine. ”

“Do ye also know that he wants those ships returned?” Payne said, rather irritated at his mother’s seeming smugness. “Astria seems tae think her stepson is following ye and intends tae take them back by force.”

Maude nodded. “And that’s part of the reason I took them tae Combwich,” she said.

“I figured he was following when I went tae Scotland, but there are so many islands, it would be difficult for him tae find me, but not impossible. So, I came south, tae the Bristol Channel. He can look all he likes, but he’ll not find them inland. He’ll forget about them soon enough.”

She winked at him, letting him know that she felt quite superior in this situation.

Frankly, Payne was still lingering in the surprise that she already knew about Astria’s secret identity, but in hindsight, perhaps he shouldn’t have been surprised at all.

Maude was right—as an outlaw on the seas, it would be deadly if she didn’t know everything she could about those who also held her profession.

She didn’t seem concerned about Arnaldo San Miguel coming for his ships.

Truthfully, Payne was impressed by her calm approach, but he was also enraged by it.

“Maudie,” he said, “if he finds ye, he will destroy ye. He has more ships and more men than ye do.”

“He’ll have tae find me first.”

She still didn’t seem too concerned, and Payne gave up. If he couldn’t impress upon her how serious this was, then there was nothing more to do. He simply threw up his hands in surrender.

“Have it yer way,” he said. “But if ye were smart about this… ye’d turn those vessels over tae Declan and tell him tae go and be his own man. Ye know he’d take those ships and wreak havoc in full view. Then the San Miguel son would find him and destroy him. Not ye.”

Maude cocked a red eyebrow. “Use him as a decoy?”

“Ye’d rid yerself of him once and for all.”

She chuckled, putting a hand on Payne’s broad shoulder. “True,” she said. “But he’s still yer brother. And he’s still my son. Declan may be a thorn in my side, and he poses a real threat tae my command, but he’s still my son. He’s my flesh and blood. I canna consign him tae his fate so easily.”

Payne knew that. Maude was the man’s mother, and that put her in a difficult position. With a heavy sigh, he shook his head.

“Then whatever ye do, be vigilant with him,” he said. “I dunna trust him, Maudie.”

“I know,” she said, patting him on the arm. “But we willna speak on him any longer. I dunna want tae waste my breath. I want tae know about yer plans now that ye’ve taken a wife. Are ye still going tae remain here, at Blackchurch?”

He nodded. “Nothing has changed,” he said. “I will stay here until the class I’m currently training is complete. Then I’ll go north and see tae the Lismore lands.”

“And take The Sea God with ye?”

He smiled, a humorless gesture. “She’s my wife,” he said. “If ye want grandchildren anytime soon, I’ll have tae take her with me.”

Maude’s mood turned serious. “She’s a terror, I know,” she said.

“I’m sorry I had tae saddle ye with her, but yer children will be of royal blood.

That’s a great thing for the House of Matheson.

That will make yer children in much demand for marriages.

It’ll outweigh the fact that their grandmother is Bloody Maude. ”

He looked at her curiously. “Is that why ye brought her tae me?” he said. “So my children would be viewed as excellent mates in spite of their grandmother’s vocation?”

She shrugged. “A little, mayhap,” she said. “I only wanted the best for ye, Payne. I hope ye know that. And having a mother like me… That’s not an advantage.”

He put his big arm around her shoulders and gave her a squeeze. “I dunna care what people think, Maudie,” he said softly. “And ye’ve always wanted the best for me. Even when ye disowned me, I still knew ye loved me.”

She eyed him. “Nay, I dinna,” she said. “Ye were disowned, ye big dolt. There was no love for ye there.”

He chuckled and kissed her on the forehead. “Admit it,” he said. “I’m yer favorite son.”

“Ye’re my most annoying son,” she said, watching him laugh.

But that laughter, that face, softened her.

Reaching up, she gently touched his cheek.

“But ye’re my firstborn, my pride and my joy.

I’m very proud of ye, Payne. Ye’ll make an excellent earl.

If ye want tae know the truth, I did all of this so ye could build a reputable and prestigious earldom beyond what yer father ever did. ”

His smile faded as he gazed into her pale blue eyes. “Thank ye,” he said softly. “I mean that.”

Maude smiled faintly. “I’m just sorry I couldna give ye a queen for a mother,” she said. “That would have given ye a much better standing than a pirate for a mother.”

He chuckled. “When I told Lord Exmoor about ye, he was surprised tae say the least,” he said.

“I’d never mentioned yer identity before, so it came as a shock.

Of course, he thinks that living with such a woman was rough as a lad, but I told him that what I mostly remember of ye is when I was very young and we would walk everywhere together. Do ye remember that?”

Maude smiled faintly at the memory. “I do,” she said. “Ye were so attached tae me that I thought I’d never cut ye loose from my apron strings.”

“True,” he said with a snort. “I never wanted tae leave yer side. I remember walking intae the harbor near Achanduin and there was a man who kept fish in a barrel, fish that he’d caught in the inlet.

Do ye remember that man? He’d let me grab a fish and take it with me.

The smell of the sea and the smell of fish always remind me of that man, and of those days.

They were good days, Maudie. I miss them. ”

She nodded, remembering those days too. “Ye’ll have them with her own children, someday,” she said. “Take them tae the harbor and let them grab for fish. Those will be yer best memories.”

He nodded, but his expression was pensive. “Maudie,” he said hesitantly, “will ye promise me something?”

“If I can.”

He sighed, pulling his thoughts together.

“When the day comes for ye tae turn Medusa’s Disciples over tae Francis, I want ye tae come and live with me and Astria,” he said.

“I dunna want ye tae grow old alone. I want ye tae grow old under my roof, and when the days come that ye’re too old tae do for yerself, I want tae be the help ye seek.

Let it be me holding yer hand and walking ye along the shore of the inlet, watching the fishing boats in the distance and speaking of the days when ye were the fearsome pirate queen.

Will ye do that for me? Will ye let me be the one who holds yer hand when ye breathe yer last? ”

Maude was choked up at his words. Sweet, poignant words from her son with the biggest heart of all. She wasn’t surprised by them. But it took her a moment to reclaim her composure.

“Ye’re asking a good deal of yer wife,” she said. “Given how the two of us met, she might not want me there.”

“She will, I promise,” he said. “I’ll tell ye a secret—I intend tae fall in love with my wife.

I intend tae have a happy life with her with a love that will outlast the stars.

And she’ll want ye there in yer old age because she’ll have ye tae thank for her happiness.

Ye brought her tae me and she’ll be grateful. That’s how I know.”

Maude blinked away her tears. “I’ll think on it,” she said, never one to give in to such sentimentality outwardly. “Meanwhile, since the wedding is over, I’ve no real reason tae stay any longer. I should get Declan back out tae sea before we have real trouble on our hands.”

She was changing the subject and Payne let her. He’d said what he needed to say. “That will please Lord Exmoor,” he said. “The man is not comfortable with ye here as it is, but I—”

He was cut off by a shout. Both he and Maude looked off to the north to see Francis running in their direction. It wasn’t a panicked run, but a run nonetheless.

That was never a good thing.

“What is it?” Payne called to him.

Francis didn’t answer until he came within speaking distance. He didn’t want to shout again. “Declan took several men with him and left,” he said, breathing heavily. “They took the horses with them and headed east.”

Maude’s brow rippled with confusion. “Where did he go?”

Francis shook his head. “I dunna know,” he said. “But he was yelling at the men, telling them that it was weak tae serve a woman, even Bloody Maude. I think he means tae return tae Combwich and take control of our ships.”

Payne looked at his mother in concern, but Maude shook her head calmly. “He canna,” she said. “I left men on the ships loyal tae me. They willna let him have them. Moreover, did ye notice what was in the last wagon we brought along?”

Francis shook his head. “There are trunks in that wagon,” he said. “What about them?”

“What else did ye see in them?”

“I dunna know. What else is there?”

“The pin for the tiller,” Maude said. “I took it. It secures the tiller tae the rudder. Without it, the ships canna be steered. Did ye truly think I’d leave those ships ready tae take tae sea?”

Francis looked relieved as Payne grinned.

His mother was a brilliant woman even if she was a source of constant surprise.

He left his mother and youngest brother in conversation about Declan and his intentions, heading back to Blackchurch to inform St. Denis of the latest developments.

Truth be told, he wasn’t as unconcerned about his brother running amok in the Devon countryside as his mother was.

Declan, with dozens of men at his side, could be a dangerous thing.

Especially if he didn’t know where his brother was going.

Blackchurch was back on high alert within the hour.