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they were about to flay him. “I’ve no need to bed unwilling women.”
    “Dios!” Esteban exclaimed, grinning in the half dark. “There is a woman on this earth able to resist the legendary charms of the House of LeVeq? Surely, you jest?”
    Dominic replied levelly. “Apparently, or so she professes.”
    “I say give her a few more days and she’ll be eating out of your hand,” Gaspar said, prying open the next strongbox.
    “I’m not so sure.”
    “Really?” Gaspar could not hide his surprise.
    “She’s a slave. Never even slept in a bed,” he told them, still trying to wrap his mind around that fact.
    “The life of a captive is not all cakes and tea,” James reminded him.
    “I’m aware of that, but you’ve seen her. Who would deny such beauty something as commonplace as a bed?”
    “Slavery is an ugly business, as we all know,” said Esteban.
    “True, and I suppose I shouldn’t be so outdone, but she speaks three languages besides English.”
    “And curses in them very well, I noticed.” Gaspar chuckled.
    Dominic smiled. “She presents a dilemma.”
    Esteban shrugged. “Offer her freedom, and maybe she will find you more to her taste.”
    “I did. She turned it down.”
    “She’s a content slave then?”
    “No, quite the contrary, but she wishes to return to her mistress.”
    “And her reasoning?” James asked.
    “She said better the devil she knows than one she does not.”
    “So, let her go if she is so unwilling,” Esteban tossed back.
    “No.”
    In the silence that followed, they all studied what they could see of his shadow-shrouded face.
    “And your reasoning?” Gaspar wanted to know.
    “In truth, I have none, other than wanting to know her story.”
    “Preferably while she’s in your bed.”
    That drew laughs and a shrug from Dominic. “That I cannot deny; however, I will not force my attentions on her. Who knows what degradations she’s already had to endure.”
    Gaspar offered sagely, “Slavery for one.”
    “Exactly. So I will bide my time, and if she continues to refuse me, c’est la vie.”
    “I don’t believe that for a moment,” James replied, “but I do know you to be an honorable man, Dominic.”
    “For a pirate,” Esteban added.
    More laughter.
    Dominic took no offense at their good-natured teasing because they were a brotherhood. Having sailed together for the past three years, they knew each other fore and aft, and would sacrifice their lives for the common good, if need be. “Did we incur any damage during the fight?”
    “Nothing significant,” Gaspar responded. “The long cannons we took from that Dutch ship last month are worth their weight in gold. They kept us well out of range of the British guns today. Be nice if we could get more.”
    Dominic agreed. “Maybe someone knows of another ship similarly equipped that’s willing to share. When we reach port, we’ll keep our eyes and ears open. Any significant injuries to any of the crew during the fight, James?”
    “Other than Watkins running into the mast, no.”
    Grins showed in reaction to that news.
    Dominic said, “He doesn’t usually participate in the fighting.”
    “And he wasn’t today. He was trying to escape to the frigate. Found him lying on the deck out cold.”
    Esteban asked, grinning, “You are going to release him when we reach home, aren’t you, Dominic?”
    “Only if we can find a replacement, and I pray we will. His constant whining rankles the crew.”
    “Well, he is here against his will, mon frere, ” Gaspar pointed out.
    “And he’ll be paid generously for the inconvenience,” Dominic replied. Because ships were made of wood, one of the most valuable members of any crew was its carpenter, but with so many vessels on the water, there were not enough of the skilled men to go around. As a result when one was found, whether it be on an opposing ship or in an alehouse, he was asked to join. If he refused, then the tradition set forth by the British Navy was