station wouldn’t linger at Gallows Point after dusk.”
“I never claimed to be a lady.” I ran a hand over the bodice of my disguise.
Since I couldn’t enter busy ports dressed as a woman pirate, I had to exchange my trousers and weaponry for an appearance that was more readily overlooked.
I’d spent my teenage years clad in boy’s clothing with my hair chopped to my ears. Then my hips rounded, and my chest expanded, leaving me little choice but to don the stifling torture devices women favored.
It had been a long while since I’d pinned up my wild mane and wore the alias of a respectable lady. I’d forgotten how much I hated it.
“I look like a sunbaked pear stuffed in shrunk satin.” I tugged at the bosom of the gray gown, feeling trapped and miserable. “Wouldn’t you agree?”
He didn’t spare me a glance. “I’d rather not say.”
“Why not? You’re never one to hold your tongue.”
“You’re in a simmering mood.” His brown eyes darted over the perimeter. “Causing a scene isn’t my aim presently.”
“You fret like a lady’s maid.”
“Rot in hell.”
“Someday I shall. But—”
“Today isn’t your day,” he said, finishing my favorite motto.
Voices drifted from a nearby alley, followed by the tread of footsteps.
Reynolds faded into the shadows as a smartly dressed couple ambled by, making a wide berth around the decaying corpse.
When they vanished beyond the corner, Reynolds returned to my side. “Pay your respects to Captain Vane so we can gather the crew. The faster we weigh anchor, the better.”
He retreated again, blending into the darkness.
With his ever-vigilante gaze on my back, I blew out a breath and stepped toward the wooden platform.
Another wave of pedestrians passed, and I bowed my head, hiding my face until they strolled away, seemingly unmoved by the dead pirate hanging above them.
My heart ached.
Slipping a hand into the discreet slit in the gown, I accessed the hidden dimity pocket and stroked the polished surface of my father’s compass. A map, he’d called it. One I’d yet to unlock.
Charles and I had spent a couple of years trying to open the instrument. He eventually gave up on it, and we parted ways. But we always managed to find each other. Whether it was at sea or in a tavern, we would trade stories and reconnect over pewter tankards. He never missed an opportunity to tease me about my father’s unattainable treasure.
“I’m still searching for the key,” I whispered too low for Reynold’s ears. “I bet you’re laughing at me from your throne in hell, you droll, mean-spirited scrub.”
I waited for Charles’ witty retort, but it would never come.
Lifting my eyes, I flexed my hands against the onset of crippling emotion.
Dark, blood-soaked hair fell from his widow’s peak to his chest, his face bloated and clinging to what had once been a devilishly handsome bone structure. Tattered clothing hung from rotting skin, which served as a feeding ground for flies and maggots.
Tears gathered in my throat, and I swallowed them down, transforming my grief into the temperament that had kept me alive all these years.
“Damn you, Charles.” My cheeks burned, and my nails gouged my palms. “You look like the pustular aft of a diseased dog. Is this what you wanted? To hang on display like a damned pirate martyr?” I slammed a fist onto the platform, unleashing the rage in my voice. “I should have kept you in my bed. If it was death you wanted, I would’ve sent you there myself, stiff and hard, with a smile upon your face!”
“That’s enough.” Reynolds hooked an arm around my waist and dragged me into a dark alcove. “What, pray tell, was that all about?”
“We never exchange goodbyes.” I pushed him away and composed myself. “We exchange insults.”
He leaned around me, scrutinized the quiet road through Gallows Point, and turned back. “You and Charles Vane were lovers?”
“Not lovers. I gave him my maidenhood. He was a gentleman about it. Waited until I was sixteen before he stripped me from stem to stern and made me bleed.”
His eyes hardened, and a muscle ticked in his jaw.
“Don’t be offended on my account.” I patted his rigid arm. “I enjoyed it far too much, and we remained dear friends after.”
“Friends, you say?” He cleared his throat. “Even when you seized Jade from him?”
“She’s my ship, Reynolds. When my father died, I was only fourteen and needed Charles to command her. But even then, she was my ship. Until the day she sinks. No matter who captains her.”