Page 44 of The Worst of Them

So she let Jack see.

Whatever he thought of her reaction, he kept it to himself. No sarcastic remark. No taunt or challenge. He only glanced over her shoulder toward the gathered pirates and said, “They’re waiting.”

Feeling as though she were floating, she trailed him to the other side of the deck. The pirates had their weapons with them, and as Jack began explaining stances and the basics of blocking and striking, they adjusted their feet and fixed their grips. Not one of them looked at the first mate with anything but respect and fear.

Then Jack turned to Cecily, and her stomach tightened under his gaze.

His sword rang from its scabbard. “A demonstration,” he said to the others without pulling his eyes from hers. “Of blocking an attack.”

They hadn’t discussed how they would teach. She’d been so caught up in the beauty of her weapon and the way it made her feel that she hadn’t even considered asking him.

She approached him warily, her sword limp in her hand, mirroring his stance. He gave no indication of what he expected her to do as they circled one another.

He made the first move, swinging slowly enough for her to easily block. Her sword was up in a heartbeat, stopping his blade. She held it there, steady against the force of his swing.

He met her gaze. Lifted one bow.

It was an offer.

She lunged, moving faster than he had with the first attack. Jack dodged, edged past, and raised his weapon to hack at her. She spun toward him and caught his sword with hers a half second before it could touch her.

Their eyes locked. She smiled. He returned it.

She gave over to a kind of dance she’d missed during the last year, a deadly waltz that didn’t draw blood but made her feel beautiful and strong and safe. She fell into the steps as though hardly any time had passed at all.

Their swords rang together, faster, louder, neither of them holding back, and Cecily began to laugh. She didn’t know when she started, only that it burst from her and kept coming by way of relentless snickering, the way it had when she’d fenced with her father.

Eventually, her body couldn’t keep up with a man who had not been forced into stillness for a year like she had, and she was forced to yield, laughing and breathing so hard that her throat burned and her lungs ached.

But damn if she wasn’t happy.

He grinned at her, a slash of a wicked smile she decided not to hate today. While she caught her breath, he ran the crew through drills to develop their own sense of this dance Cecily adored so much. Her happiness didn’t subside, not even when Jack dismissed the others and held out his hand for the sword.

“You’ll have it back tomorrow,” he said. The setting sun crowned his fair hair with gold as it lowered toward the sea.

She slipped the blade into its scabbard. And only because of the truce, she said, “Thank you,” and meant it.

Taking the sword, he nodded once. “Best get your supper before the others eat it.”

She could hardly be annoyed at the command. She was famished and would undoubtedly be sore in the morning. So she wolfed down her meal next to Hester and Greyson with Jack sitting silently on the far end.

That night, with a full belly and a mind at ease, she fell asleep and dreamed of home.

11

THE LONG TRUCE

Her truce with Jack lasted until they reached Tortuga.

They settled into an easy routine, one she came to be grateful for after so little had been easy. Each morning, they woke early and tended to the ashes. Cecily pulled them from the drums and Jack tipped them into the ocean, and in the afternoon, they’d meet again to train a portion of the crew.

Of course, Jack still gave her tasks according to Copson’s order, but he didn’t seem intent to work her hard, particularly as they began spending more time sparring together—just the two of them.

She said she craved the practice and would spar with anyone. He said he was bored because Greyson was off with his wife and he may as well.

Neither of them admitted that they enjoyed themselves.

As the Fortuna Royale sailed along a trade route, they eventually came upon another merchant ship. Cecily was allowed to keep her sword as they raided it, and afterward, she marveled at the chests of gold and silver the pirates lugged back to Copson’s ship. A few handfuls of it would be enough to buy her the future she dreamed of.