Chapter 7

When Eden professed an interest in seeing Devlin’s ship, she received her first indication of how superstitious sailors actually were. Of course, she’d heard such accounts, but she’d never imagined they’d be more cautious than the average person. Upon considering this, she thought it probably had a great deal to do with the fact that they spent so much of their lives aboard a relatively small vessel in the middle of very large, deep, and unpredictable seas. Anything that would bring them better luck and ward off ill fortune was welcomed, and anything contrary to this was avoided like the plague.

Still, she wondered why certain things were designated as evil omens, and how others were selected as denoting good. “Why do you consider a woman aboard ship bad luck?” she questioned, irritated at how maligned her gender was, and how often. Men were constantly denigrating women, excluding them from all manner of activities they deemed exclusively male.

“They just are,” Devlin countered. “Always have been, and always will be.”

“Then pray do tell me why it is that women regularly sail across the ocean from Europe to the Americas on passenger vessels, with little mishap.”

“Pure chance, in most circumstances. Those captains and their crews must cringe in fearful anticipation during the entire crossing. Or pray themselves blue in the face.”

Eden gave a wry nod. “Of course. That would explain why a pirate ship would be exempt, since they are not particularly prone to prayer, are they? Though a few among you seem inordinately familiar with the Bible.”

“Cease mocking me, wench. Sarcasm does not become you. Nor will it encourage me to change my mind. I’ve not the time, nor the inclination at present, to dredge up the necessary charms and incantations ’twould take to counter the risk of your boarding; and until I do, you’ll not step so much as a single dainty toe aboard the Gai Mer. ”

“Then your initial threat to abduct me was naught but bluster?” she guessed, arching a brow at him.

“Aye,” he admitted with a broad grin. “But we’ve struck our bargain, and I’ll not let you back out of it now.”

“Oh, pooh!”

“Pull in that bottom lip of yours before someone treads upon it,” he advised. “Though you are very fetching when you pout. Is it another kiss you are inviting, my sweet?”

She wrinkled her nose at him. “Just go unload your stolen wealth,” she told him, giving him a light tap on his shoulder.

Immediately, heat streaked up his arm, and he felt himself begin to shimmer, then promptly fade again. “Take care with touching me in public, Eden,” he warned. “There are others close enough now to notice, and we can’t have me flickering about like a candle flame in a playful breeze. Either I must remain visible or unseen, but not come and gone again within the same breath. Beyond that, I imagine it appears somewhat strange to have you standing here talking to yourself.”

“You’re right, of course. I forgot.”

“Just don’t forget too often, my lady, or we’ll both find ourselves on rocky shoals. Now, you be a good girl and wait ashore for me, and when I return I’ll bring you a gift.”

“I despise it when someone patronizes me,” she informed him with a sniff. “Why don’t you just give me a pat on the head while you are about it, much like you would a trained puppy?”

Devlin laughed. “I dare not, pretty pet, lest I pop into view again.”

By mid-afternoon the Gai Mer had been unloaded and the cargo stored to Devlin’s satisfaction. Several of his crewmen were now in Eden’s employ, replacing those workers Devlin had advised her to dismiss. Not only would they work during the day, but three men would stand watch throughout the night, guarding against theft or any other malicious intent. Eden assessed her new employees with a shudder, and silently hoped that their rough appearance, and the number of weapons each sported, would not keep her customers away as well—and that Devlin could keep his men under control, as he’d promised.

She could only wonder what sort of treasures Devlin and his fellow pirates had gained, that they would feel the need to watch over them so closely. Surely they weren’t taking such measures merely for her benefit. Still, she hesitated to ask, not certain she really wanted to know what goods they stored, or the value of their merchandise, let alone the details of how they had obtained their pilfered wealth. In this situation it was, perhaps, better not to know. Some of those trunks and barrels might contain skulls and bones, or some such gruesome remains.

With the immediate business concluded, Devlin was in high spirits. He made a final trip aboard ship to collect a few personal items from his cabin, things he wanted transferred to his room at Eden’s house. His razor and shaving mug. Extra weapons and clothes. A store of his favorite cigars and his best brandy. And his bird Zeus.

Unfortunately, it did little good to gather the fresh clothing, for the only clothes that allowed him to remain invisible were those in which he had vanished. When Devlin had first attempted to wear different attire, Nate had laughed himself weak-kneed at the strange sight of a suit of clothes walking about by itself, especially when Devlin had donned his corsair’s hat with the huge, waving plume. All Nate could see was a pair of breeches, a shirt, and that ridiculous hat— all riding in midair, with no discernible body or head supporting them!

“Egad, Dev!” Nate had cackled. “Ye look like some washerwoman’s laundry, hung out to dry!”

Since then, Devlin had been forced to make do by washing out his shirt and trousers periodically. For the time it took his clothes to dry, he simply walked about naked, and because no one else could see him, they were none the wiser.

Now, however, there was Eden to take into account. He couldn’t imagine the look on her face, should she catch him bending over a washtub, his bare arse sticking up behind! So far, she’d been remarkably tolerant of this nonsense of invisible pirates, more than most people would have been. But a nude man lounging in her parlor, while his unseen apparel dried on her wash line, was a horse of a different color, indeed! He sincerely doubted she’d find much humor in the situation, especially since he found so little in it himself. It was becoming a blasted pain, this business of having only one set of clothes!

Before departing the ship, Devlin wanted to leave a few instructions with Nate, since his quartermaster would now be moving the frigate further out into the harbor. His quiet approach went unnoted until he said, “Nate, don’t forget to—”

“Aiyee!” Nate turned toward the voice, a scowl pulling his dark brows together. “Damn it, Dev! Would ye kindly stop scarin’ the spit out o’ me like that? Drat it all anyway! I’m thinkin’ we need to hang a bell about yer neck, so we have some inklin’ o’ where in tarnation ye be!”

Devlin laughed and thumped his friend on the back, nearly sending Nate sprawling. “No bells, Nate. You’ll just have to get accustomed to having ghosties bellowing at you when you least expect it. Now, I wanted to remind you to replenish our stores while the frigate is still tied up to the dock. Not that I think we’ll have any problems which might make it necessary to sneak off in the dark of night, mind you. But I’ll rest easier knowing we’re prepared. For the time being, however, it looks as if we’ll be in port for a while. And I’m thinking ’tis a good thing our men have something other than bawds and beer to keep them occupied.”

“Aye.” Nate nodded. “They’re not used to bein’ ashore for too long at a stretch. T’wouldn’t do to have ’em entirely at loose ends. Their work at the warehouse might help to keep ’em from gettin’ overly bored, and keep ’em out o’ too much trouble with the law.”

“If nothing else, ’twill give them a taste of honest labor for a change,” Devlin added with a sly grin. “Who knows, Nate? They might decide they like earning their wages by reputable means.”

Nate shook his head. “And you, my friend?” he questioned. “Would you give up the merry life you’ve led to settle down to hearth and home? With the Spinster Winters, mayhap?”

“ ’Tis a pleasant change of pace for now,” Devlin admitted, “but I’ve been too long unfettered to stay anchored permanently, I fear. No doubt, I’ll soon become restless myself, missing the sea and the raids and the challenges of pirating.”

Nate grinned. “Not to mention the rewards. Jewels and gold and your pick of comely wenches in a dozen different ports.”

“That, too, I suspect,” Devlin said with a laugh. “Lady that she is, Eden’s standing her distance.”

“No ripe peach ready to drop into your waiting palm, eh?” Nate ribbed. “ ’Tis a pity, that. ’Specially seein’ as she’s the only female who can behold yer handsome face these days. Seems to me ye’ve met yer match at last, Dev. Ye’ll have to do some tall talkin’ to get yerself invited into that woman’s bed.”

“I’m working on it. I’ll win her over yet, and sooner than she thinks.”

“Aye. That’s the sort o’ luck ye have,” Nate agreed wryly.

“Where was my infamous good fortune a few weeks back?” Devlin asked sourly. “Of all the ships, all the storms the world over, all the men the Fates might have chosen—why was I the one standing in that particular spot, at that precise moment, with that specific bolt of lightning sent down upon my head?”

“No use cryin’ over spilt milk,” Nate advised. “What’s done is done. We’ve just got to hope there’s a way out o’ this for ye. Since Miss Winters can see ye, there might be others who can.”

“At least when she touches me I can become normal for a time. And if that is possible, mayhap ’twill also be possible to find a way to regain my body permanently someday. In the meanwhile, here I am, stuck betwixt and between. Neither ghost nor flesh.”

“At least ye’re a friendly phantom,” Nate offered. “All is not lost. Tell ye what. Why don’t ye join me an’ some o’ the lads down at the Cock ’n Bull later? We’ll drown our sorrows in a mug or two.”

That sounded like a grand idea to Devlin. Much better than sitting in Eden’s parlor all evening, hearing her and her mother trade feminine gossip, and going quietly insane listening to their knitting needles clack together like chattering teeth. More than that, the thought of actually eating his fill of a hot meal made his mouth water. And a cigar afterward. And a brimming tankard of ale.

“You order me a big slab of braised beef with all the trimmings, and I’ll be there,” he told his friend.

“Play yer cards right, an’ I’ll even see what I can do about orderin’ ye up a buxom wanton or two, fit to put that dry-bones spinster to shame.”

“We’ll see,” Devlin answered with a wide grin. “Though I seem to be gaining an appetite for longer, leaner morsels of a sudden.”

It was a mystery, one neither Devlin nor Eden could comprehend.

After his talk with Nate, Devlin went back to the warehouse office to collect Eden and the account books. By tucking his small bundle of personal belongings beneath his shirt, he discovered he could render them invisible as well, a trick well worth remembering. Zeus he needn’t worry about, since the falcon was already vaporous.

Just how much so he was not aware until he entered Eden’s office and asked proudly, “Well, minx, how do you like my pet?”

Eden looked up from her books and blinked owlishly at him. “What pet?”

“Those accounts are befuddling your brain, woman. I am speaking of the big bird on my shoulder, as if you did not know. My falcon. He’ll be coming home with us this afternoon.”

Eden frowned up at him. “Captain, what sort of buffoonery are you up to now? There is no hawk on your shoulder.”

Though he could feel Zeus’s weight there, and the sharp talons that did not quite pierce his flesh, Devlin cast his head about to look. Sure enough, Zeus was there, plucking at his plumage.

“Come now, Eden. Do not jest, sweetling. If you can see me, surely you can see Zeus as well.”

“Devlin, I’m telling you I cannot,” she returned with an exasperated sigh. “Why would I claim otherwise?”

Devlin sank onto the corner of her desk, astonished at this latest development. “How can this be?” he mused aloud. “How can you see me and not him? Why?”

Cautiously, Eden reached out her hand, only to have Devlin catch hold of her wrist and hold it shy of her goal. “Nay, Eden. Zeus is particular about who touches him, and I would hate to see you come away minus one of your lovely fingers.”

She gazed at him askance, not at all sure whether or not to believe him. “Well then, prove to me that he is there.”

After considering her request, Devlin gave a sharp tug at the tether which bound the bird to his wrist. Zeus emitted a disgruntled squawk.

Eden jumped half out of her chair. “My stars!” Then her eyes narrowed suspiciously. “Was that really your bird, or did you make that horrid noise?”

“Still don’t believe me, eh? All right, my doubting Thomasina. I shall hold his beak closed so that he doesn’t nip at you. Then you may safely reach up and touch him.”

Devlin’s strong fingers clamped over the hawk’s beak, while to Eden it looked as if they were hovering around nothing. At Devlin’s nod, she once more reached out. This time, her hand connected with smooth feathers.

“Great Gertrude’s garters!” she exclaimed. Her eyes were as round as serving platters as she continued to stroke the falcon’s back and wings, discerning its size and shape. “It really is true! You actually are bearing a bird!”

Despite Devlin’s lingering confusion that Eden could see him but not Zeus, her awe and her odd exclamation urged a chuckle from him. “Great Gertrude’s garters?” he mocked laughingly. “Damn me, if I’m not going to have to teach you to swear more fluently, Eden! If you are going to curse, you really should learn to do it properly, my dear. With style.”

“Save your energies, Devlin. I am not going to learn how to curse merely because it might amuse you. Nor am I about to abide having that fowl in my house.”

“Where I go, Zeus goes also,” Devlin stated firmly.

“Then you can both reside aboard your ship—or anywhere else you care to live.”

“I thought we’d settled the matter of where I would lay my head.”

“Your head, pirate. Not your bird’s. I don’t understand how you can even entertain the idea. It’s preposterous!”

“Why? He’s well trained. I intend to set up a perch for him in my room and keep him tethered when I must. ’Tis not as if he’ll be free to fly all over the house, toppling lamps and whatnot. And I will see to his care and feeding myself. He won’t be any bother.”

“That is precisely what you claimed of yourself,” she reminded him sharply. “Does the bird snore also, or does he merely emit piercing shrieks whenever the mood strikes him? Say, in the middle of the night when he hears a mouse squeak? How, pray tell, would I explain that to my mother, in addition to all the other odd and sundry noises around the house of late? And what is Dora likely to think of Zeus’s perch? Am I supposed to tell her it is some sort of newfangled contraption upon which to hang one’s coat, perhaps? Or a misshapen hat rack?”

“Zeus does not snore, and I will do my utmost to keep him quiet,” Devlin promised with a grin. “As to Dora, you may tell her that you will see to the guest bedroom when it requires cleaning, and we can easily avoid that problem.”

“Oh, good!” Eden quipped. “Now, along with my other duties and worries, I also get to clean up after you. How marvelous!”

“You are being a fishwife, Eden. A harridan. A vixen.”

“I am very annoyed with you, Devlin Kane, and not shy of showing it,” she corrected smartly. “If that makes me a shrew, so be it. Find some other woman to annoy with your problems, if you so dislike my tone and my tongue.”

He glared down at her, his stance wide and his arms akimbo. “There is none other, as well you know. However, before you act so hastily, and snip off your own nose to spite your face, recall who has the money you so desperately need. Finster will soon return to demand payment on the note—and your reluctant hand in unholy wedlock. ’Twould be unwise of you to kill the goose that lays the golden egg in your nest, duchess. Or, in this case, the gander, if you will.”

“So! Ganders lay eggs now!” she replied archly, resentment plain on her face and in her voice. “Will miracles never cease?” She pointed a slim finger at his shoulder. “No wonder you and that hawk get along so well. You are birds of a feather! Both sleek-plumed predators!”

He nodded, his smile becoming harder, one more fitting her description of him. “Let’s not forget to add that we can both be very dangerous, given proper provocation, Miss Winters. Keep needling me, keep pushing and prodding, and you shall discover firsthand just how dangerous and unpredictable I can be.”

“You are a devil, Captain Kane.”

“Remember it well, Eden. And I’ll collect your forfeit at a more appropriate time, when I am not so encumbered with Zeus’s great weight Meanwhile, you can torture yourself with wondering where and when I’ll require it.”

Her look grew more wary. “Forfeit?” she echoed.

“Aye.” In his sun-darkened face, his teeth gleamed white. The gold hoop in his ear seemed to wink wickedly at her, and she could have sworn his hot black gaze was aglow with reflections of fire and brimstone. “You called me Captain Kane again.”

Devlin patted his stomach and smiled in contentment. Ah, but he was feeling good! His meal had been hot and filling, the company of his men just what he’d needed. They’d taken a table at the rear of the tavern, stationing their captain in the corner; with ten men gathered around him, he’d been well-shielded from prying eyes as he ate and drank his fill. Not even the serving girl had noticed anything awry, as Devlin’s food vanished as if by magic, his tankard and cigars lifting to invisible lips. The hour was late, and he should have been thinking of returning to Eden’s house, to his room and his bed, but he was feeling very mellow, and loath to leave his fellows just yet.

The serving girl was back, leaning across the table to replenish their mugs, and, out of long habit, Devlin’s hand reached beneath her skirt, his fingers clamping about one plump bare cheek. With a shriek of surprised laughter, the lass spun about, her own hand ready to slap playfully at the man who had grabbed her buttock. When she beheld not the grinning Devlin, but an empty chair, she stopped short, wagging her head in confusion. Then, believing the man on the opposite side of her had done the deed, she promptly clobbered him heartily aside the head.

Poor Nate was not at all prepared for the whack that almost sent his face into his greasy plate. With a roar, he rounded on the woman. “What’d ye do that fer?” he bellowed.

“That was fer grabbing me bum, ye old sea buzzard! It ain’t there fer yer pleasure, ye know, leastwise not fer free!”

“Ye’re daft! I’m not far enough into me cups to pay out good coin fer the likes o’ you!”

Fortunately, there were enough men laughing at the exchange to cover Devlin’s own delighted hoot.

“I’ll pay ye back fer that, Dev,” Nate promised when the woman had gone.

Not long afterward, Devlin was contemplating the possibilities of getting a certain raven-haired doxy into one of the upstairs rooms, when he chanced to overhear a small part of the heated conversation at the next table. Glancing over, he saw a half dozen men grumbling loudly and growing more rowdy by the minute. All appeared to have been drinking heavily, and he was sure each and every one were men Eden had dismissed from the warehouse earlier that day.

With a nudge at his friend’s elbow, Devlin caught Nate’s attention. Pointing his knife toward the group, he said, “I think I’ll wander over and listen in on their talk a bit closer. Unless I miss my guess, those lads are brewing a bit of trouble amongst themselves.”

Nate, too, recognized several of the men in question. “Wouldn’t surprise me none, and ’tis always better to be alerted.”

Devlin’s suspicions proved true. In short order, he determined that the men were intent on avenging their lost positions. In fact, they were plotting revenge. Not against Tilton, or Devlin’s crewmen who had replaced them; they had no intention of damaging the property at the warehouse, though that might come later. For this evening, their dark schemes revolved around their former employer. From what he could gather, they meant to storm her home en masse, laying ruin to anything they could get their grubby hands on, including the priggish Miss Winters and her lame mother.

Devlin was incensed. With fire in his eyes, he returned to his own table. “Mates, we’ve a bit of work ahead of us,” he informed his crew. “The sort we’re meant for.”

Quickly he laid out his plan. The maid and her dubious charms now forgotten, he and his men left the tavern well ahead of the would-be mischief-makers.

An hour passed, and more. On the street where Eden’s house stood, all was quiet, the residents fast asleep in their beds. The loudest noise was that of crickets chirping softly, courting one another in the grass.

Then, from the distance, a trio of lanterns glowed, swaying in the dark. Drunken voices rent the stillness of the night, rising as they drew nearer. Light gleamed dully over a variety of crude weapons. Axes. Shovels. Prying bars. Hardly a musket or broadsword among the lot.

On they came, their angry grumblings building like the collective hum of a swarm of riled bees. As one, they marched forward, knocking the front gate from its hinges as they crashed through it onto the Winters’s front yard.

It was then that Devlin and his men burst from the concealment of the thick bushes and quickly surrounded the unsuspecting marauders. Shouts rang out. Steel clanged against steel.

In the center of the ensuing fray, Devlin dodged the arc of a swinging axe, a diabolical grin splitting his face as he met a challenge not actually meant for him. His opponent never saw the sword that flashed upward, slicing into his arm and rendering him nearly helpless to defend himself further. Almost immediately, a second befuddled man fell victim to this unseen force, knocked senseless with his own pry bar.

Within seconds, the battle was finished. As lights began to glow in neighboring windows, the six attackers lay stunned on the ground outside Eden’s home, defeated before they’d begun.

“Well, Cap’n, what do ye say we do with this motley bunch?” one of the pirates asked.

“I say we string ’em up by their privates,” another suggested.

Devlin gave a gruff laugh. “Nay, lads. We’ve laid waste to their plans, busted a few heads, and treated them to a well-deserved lesson. ’Tis merriment enough for the moment, unless they decide not to take heed of our warning. In which case, we can resume teaching them their manners another time. For now, round them up and we’ll cart them down to the wharf. No sense leaving rubbish to clutter the lawn.”

A few whispered instructions in Nate’s ear brought an answering chuckle. “Aye, Dev. Me an’ the boys’ll see ’tis done good an’ proper.”

Neighbors were gaping curiously from their window ledges and peering from behind their curtains as Eden threw open her front door. She’d hastily donned her wrapper, which drooped from one shoulder, and her face was a mask of amazement. She watched in dumbfounded dismay as Devlin’s crew gathered their fallen prey together and herded them down the street. Two of the victims, either too inebriated or too stunned to walk on their own, were summarily bundled across the backs of two burly brigands.

They were gone before she regained wits enough to speak, leaving only Devlin standing proudly before her, his hands on his hips and a triumphant grin on his face. Eden promptly slammed the door in his face.