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ye are a tiny bit of t’ing. I’d say ye’d
    barely reach the cap’an’s shoulder, ye would, iffin ye stood
    side by side. Well, come on, let’s see ’ow ye look in t’eses.”
    The woman held out a pair of pants similar to narrow-legged
    capris in one hand. A white billowy shirt was draped over her
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    other hand.
    “Thank you,” Seren said, accepting the woman’s offering.
    She pulled the shirt over her head and tugged it down. The
    seam across the shoulders fit, but the length came to the top
    of her thighs. A little too short for her tastes, but she had no
    other choice.
    Under the cover of the sheet, she slipped her feet into the
    pants. Using one hand, she slid them up. They were a little
    snug, but she could deal with that, she decided, buttoning
    the double-sided front flaps. She raised the hem of the shirt
    to study how she looked. Yes, they’d do.
    “Do ye want a bindin’ for yer chest? I don’t t’ink ye need
    one. Don’t ’ave much up t’ere to bind.”
    Seren glared at the woman. Maybe she was small busted,
    but the captain hadn’t minded last night. “No, I don’t need
    any binding.”
    Alice handed her a pair of thick wool socks along with a
    black cap. “Well, now, ’ere’s ye a ’at. The cap’an’s down below
    waitin’ for ya. ’E’s ordered ye a right ’effy morning repast, ’e
    ’as. Now, come along. Don’t wanna keep ’im waitin’.”
    “Wait, I don’t have any shoes. I can’t go down in socks.”
    Seren dug in her heels. Fear interlaced with uncertainty
    rushed through her. She wasn’t ready to see him. Not again.
    Not so soon.
    “Come on wit’ ye. We’ll stop in my room. It’s just above
    us. I t’ink t’ere might be a pair of clogs t’ere. It’s all I gots.”
    The woman grabbed her wrist and pulled her toward the
    door.
    Realizing how useless it was to argue, Seren allowed Alice
    to guide her down the paneled hall. At the landing, the
    serving woman veered to the right, thumping up a short
    flight of stairs. “Come on, up ’ere with ye.”
    The slight detour took just a few minutes. Seren
    reveled in the small delay. At the top of the stairs leading
    below, she inhaled a deep breath, hoping to calm her nerves.
    Once steady, she proceeded down the stairs. The time to face
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    the captain had arrived.
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Chapter Three
    “So ye’re still determined to return her body to her
    family?” Calis Mer asked.
    Paladin glanced at the barrel-chested man sitting across
    from him. Short dark hair stuck out from his head, and keen
    gray eyes studied the contents inside his mug. A large, beefy
    hand curved around the gray tankard. Eyes, similar in color
    to the mug, rose to meet his look.
    “It is my duty as her husband. My last duty,” Paladin
    replied. He sliced a thin sliver of beef steak and ate. His first
    mate would never understand. Paladin took his marriage-
    bond duty seriously. His honor required it of him even
    though the woman he’d married had broken those same
    vows time and again. Calis understood the skies from all the
    voyages they went a journeying on. The man comprehended
    life and death, but honoring a woman who was also a wife
    seemed impossible for him to comprehend.
    Calis grunted before he took a long pull from his tankard,
    straining the foam through his front teeth. The man had little
    manners, but Paladin hadn’t hired him for his social
    refinements.
    His first mate arched a bushy black brow at him, his tone
    teasing. “Heard ye had a bit of fluff during the night.
    Where’d ye find her? I don’t recall any new faces in the place
    last evening.”
    Paladin half smiled. He refused to meet the other man’s
    look. His ship was set to sail in less than an hour. If time had
    permitted, he would have brought the strange woman the
    clothes instead of asking the serving wench to do it. He
    should have known she would have rattled her tongue to
    others. “She isn’t anyone you know,” he