Romancing the Pirate Read Online Free Page B

retrospect, she should have eased him into the subject, rather than simply asking him to run the shop while she went to search for someone she herself hadn’t known about until the night before last.
    “No,” he stated, picking up the steel. “No, you can’t. You are far too young and naive for this kind of undertaking.”
    “I’m not a child, Charles. I can take care of myself.”
    His eyes bulged in his head. “Here maybe, where you know people and it’s familiar, but out there?” He gestured to the window, his arm waving madly. “I’ll worry myself sick about you.” He wiped the sweat from his brow. “Your father must be rolling in his grave as we speak.”
    Alicia sighed. “He’s the one who told me, remember?”
    “I’m sure he hadn’t figured on you going it alone. How are you getting to Tortuga anyhow?”
    “I bartered passage,” she said. He raised an eyebrow and she added, “I’ll need money to do this and I don’t have very much to spare. You can’t afford to come with me and I can’t afford a chaperone.”
    “I’m sure your aunt would pay for one.”
    Alicia laughed. “If she knew about this, she’d lock me up in her house, never to be free again.”
    “Not a bad idea,” Charles mumbled, running his hand over the blade.
    “I’ll be fine. Pounding on steel day in and day out has given me strength. Besides, I haven’t worked years in this shop without learning how to use each and every weapon.”
    He sighed heavily. “And you’ll be taking along at least five of each?”
    She smiled affectionately. “I promise to get word to you as soon as I can.”
    Charles leaned heavily against the workbench. “Tortuga of all places is not where a young woman ought to be, especially by herself.”
    “It won’t be for long. Only until I find Mr. Merritt.”
    He rubbed his stubbled jaw. “It strikes me as odd that your father would send you to someone I’ve never heard of.”
    Alicia shrugged, examined the rows of knives, and took two that were small enough to hide. She slipped them into the waist of her trousers. She chose a small pistol that would be easily concealed and ignored Charles’s tortured moan as she did.
    “Well, it must be someone he trusts, or he wouldn’t have.” She picked a sword, held it out, swished it back and forth, and added it to her arsenal.
    “Here,” Charles said, taking a larger pistol from a shelf. “You better take this as well.”

Four
    The rum wasn’t working, and it wasn’t from a lack of effort on Blake Merritt’s part. He hollered for another and knew he was in dire straits when the wench who brought it to him didn’t stir a reaction from him no matter how much bosom escaped her bodice. Normally he would have taken her up on her wink and seductive laugh. He’d have followed her upstairs and buried his problems with meaningless sex. But nothing was normal and hadn’t been for almost a week. Not since he’d gotten word.
    He swallowed half the contents of his mug in one long gulp.
    “Blake, lad,” thundered a voice over the curses and carousing that had the walls of Doubloons trembling. “Where ya been? ’Aven’t seen ya in months.”
    Blake raised his head, his gaze scaling the giant’s body until he reached the man’s face. “Well, then, Captain, I take it you haven’t been around much, because I’ve been here for days.”
    Captain took a seat, saving Blake’s neck. His large hand covered a good portion of the table when he leaned forward.
    “No, can’t say I ’ave. I’ve been a little … preoccupied.” He grinned.
    Knowing just what he meant didn’t help Blake feel any better. He himself hadn’t been able to summon up a desire to do more than drink lately.
    “So,” Captain said, smacking the table and making it quiver, “what’s bringin’ ya by, then? It’s not like ya to stay fer long.”
    Blake shrugged, not in the mood to discuss his problems.
    Captain’s booming voice made Blake wince. “ ’Tis a wench. ’Tis