All six men turned toward her at once, drawn like bugs to a flame. James and Julian looked at her expectantly. One of the sailors whistled under his breath. The others simply stared, mouths hanging open as they drank in her sultry beauty. I moved my weight back to the saddle and waited.
Justine twined a coppery curl around a gloved finger. “My brother there is very ill. Would you mind helping me down so I may assist him into the tavern?”
The sailors tripped over each other in the race to get to her first. Even then, they jostled and shoved for position. The horse pranced nervously from the commotion, and Justine leaned forward to pat its neck. “My companion also needs assistance,” she said, tilting her head in my direction.
Two sailors came over and grinned at me. One showed dark gaps from missing teeth. The other had an angry boil on the end of his nose. They both smelled of whiskey and dirty wool. I returned the smile without hesitation, preferring to be used for bait rather than run the risk of having James pressed and Julian pummeled. Setting the reins aside, I reached down and found myself on the ground, nestled between the two sailors.
Justine did the same. “Aren’t you strong,” she said, placing a bold hand on each of their biceps.
One tensed ever so slightly, I assumed in an effort to flex for greater effect.
“O fie, milady!” a sailor replied. “Ye ain’t a smidgen more than a tickle dove.”
“And more lovely by far,” the other added.
“What sweet words.” Justine laughed, peering at me. “I do believe these men ate sugar for breakfast. Don’t you agree?”
And kippers, to judge by their breath.
The sailors grinned a mile as their cheeks turned a faint pink beneath thin layers of dirt.
“Sugar indeed,” I said, following her lead the best I could.
Justine looked to the horses, the amusement gone in the crinkle of her brow. “I dare say, the saddlebags ought to come off. And a lad fetched to bring the horses to stable.”
“Don’t ye worry yerself, milady. We’ll take care of everything quick as a trice...”
All but forgotten, James and Julian watched us in disapproving silence. While the sailors were engaged, I caught James’s eye and jerked my head for him to leave. His mouth thinned to an angry line, but he sheathed the dagger and accompanied Julian into the tavern.
Our bags were soon hustled inside, and a lad dragged out by his ear for the horses. The sailors escorted us the few steps to the front door. My eyes popped wide when a man snaked an arm around my waist. Another did the same to Justine, and for a moment I feared they would try to follow us farther. Ready to throw an elbow, or anything else to break free, I froze at the sound of my aunt’s voice.
“Thank you, gentlemen,” she said, in the same honeyed tones from the woods near Branbury. “You have our eternal gratitude. Now please be on your way and do not think of returning to this place until next time you are in port.”
The sailors nodded, murmured an assent before turning to leave. I nodded as well, and would have followed if Justine hadn’t pulled me into the room.
“Not you, Selah,” she said.
My mind cleared the very second her voice reverted to normal. I looked at her in awe. “Can you teach me how to do that?”
She met my eyes and smiled. “Sorry. Not part of your gift.”
I sighed my disappointment.
Laughing, Justine patted my arm. “If you’re as strong as Cate says, you’ve plenty of neat tricks up your own sleeve.” She sounded oddly sympathetic, almost like a friend.
James approached with the subtleness of a charging bull. Leaning close, he spoke in an agitated whisper. “There was no need to expose yourself to those men like that. I had everything under control.”
Justine’s expression turned dry as dirt. “Oh, you know me, Mr. Roth, never one to turn down an opportunity to make a public spectacle of myself.”
“That’s not what I meant. Those men were dangerous, and you shouldn’t have gotten involved. They would have seen reason soon enough.”
I laughed under my breath. “And would that be before or after you reached West Africa as the newest member of their crew?”
He crossed his arms and snorted. “I’m more than capable of defending myself.”
This earned him a dubious look. “You and who else, Mr. Roth? Because the last I saw it was one against four. Unless you were counting Lord Stroud, though I’m fairly sure he would have been more hindrance than help in his current condition.”
“Of course I wasn’t counting him.”
“Then perhaps you should just thank Miss Rose for her efforts on your behalf.” I couldn’t believe I had just defended my aunt. The world had obviously gone mad since we arrived in Bristol.
Justine’s gaze moved into the room. “Where is Lord Stroud?”
James jabbed a thumb over his shoulder. “I left him at a table near the hearth while I spoke to the proprietor about rooms for the night.”
The meager fire outlined the shape of a man slumped forward with his head on the table.
“Did you get anything?” Justine asked. Worry lines creased her usually perfect face.