“Good morning, Frankie,” I greeted. “Where is Mr. Torres?”
Frankie pointed a bony finger at the large storage building. “Last I seen ‘im was in thuh storage buildin’. He was countin’ thuh goods from thuh Maiden.”
“Is that the ship from Corteneza?” I asked, watching the ship’s men unload sacks of goods.
“Yeah.”
“What are they unloading?”
“Grain, corn, beans, meats, some perfume,” he reported, counting with his fingers. “Some spices, lantern oil, funit—”
“Do they have sugar, Frankie?” I interrupted, trying to get to my point.
“Umm…yeah, sugar was one I saw on thuh list,” he replied.
I sighed, grumbling, “I’d asked them not to bring sugar until they’d signed my new agreement.” I said my thanks to Frankie and asked him to meet me in the storage unit in a few minutes. Dismounting Onyx, I tied the reins to a nearby pole that had a flag flying from it with “Barlow Barters,” as well as the company symbol.
“Excuse me, sir.” I walked up to the nearest man, carrying two sacks. The man grinned at me, showing two missing front teeth. “Where is your Captain?”
“Thur Captin’ is on thee deck. Need me to fetch ‘em?” he asked.
“No, I can manage, thank you.” I turned toward the dock, when a hand grabbed my arm.
“You aren’t going on that ship alone,” George asserted, his eyes widening like I’d lost my mind.
“I’m not alone. I have both of you,” I retorted, snatching my arm out of his grasp.
George rolled his eyes. “But you still would have gone if we weren’t here.”
I pretended to think about it. “More than likely, yes.” I looked up at Garrett, who was studying me. “Coming?”
He grinned in response and followed me up the ramp to the ship. Dodging several unloading men, the smell of brine filled my nose, as birds squawked in the air above. Aboard the ship, I scanned the deck for a man with a large hat, barking orders and, more than likely, standing around doing nothing—the captain. A deep voice hollered orders, and I turned toward it, smirking.
“Excuse me, Captain,” I shouted over the noise. “May I have a word?”
The Captain was an old buck with long gray hair and matching beard. His face was aged with wrinkles, with blue eyes matching the seas he sailed upon. When he spotted me, he wrinkled his nose, more than likely displeased to see a woman on his ship. “How ‘ken I help ye?”
“Are you unloading sugar?”
He nodded. “Yes, and grain, fruits, vegetables.”
“That all sounds wonderful, Captain. However, there has been a discord in my agreement with Mr. Ferguson. Until we can come upon an agreement, I can’t take the sugar.” I folded my hands in front of me.
The Captain puckered his lips. “And who are ye?”
“Lady Barlow. This is my shipyard.”
“Are you married to Mr. Barlow?” he asked, looking me over.
“He is my father.”
“How old are ye, girl?”
“Old enough,” I deadpan. “I’ve sent word to Mr. Ferguson, I’m just waiting to hear back. Until then, we are at a standstill.”
The captain shrugged. “I just brought what is given ter us. Mister Ferguson had his men load up thee cargo, and we sailed hur.”
“I'm terribly sorry for the mix-up, Captain, but the sugar must go back.”
The captain snickered and pointed at his men. “They’ve already unloaded half of it.”
I gave the Captain a small smile. “Are you a gambling man, Captain?”
“I be.”
“Wonderful!” I clapped my hands together. “Do you have a deck of cards I could trouble you for?”
He furrowed bushy brows. “What would ye need a deck of cards fer?”
“I’ll play you for the sugar,” I offered. The Captain’s face softened a tad, peering at me for a moment. “If I lose, I take the sugar. If I win, you reload it onto your ship.”
He studied me before shouting to a man to bring him what I had asked for, and received it promptly. The Captain studied the deck for a moment before handing it to me.
“Ladies’ choice,” he said. “Ye choose thur game.”
“Oppugn,” I replied, shuffling through the deck to make sure most the cards were there. “Best of three.” The Captain nodded and held out a hand toward an upside-down wine barrel. We walked over to it together, Garrett and George following behind me. Shuffling the deck a final time, I dealt us each three facedown cards. “Your ship, you play first, Captain.”
The Captain rubbed his hands together and flipped the top card over—the King of Knights. A small smile crept to his lips. “Yer turn, Lady.”
Knowing that I had a limited chance to beat his hand, I flipped over my card—the Queen of Winter. I couldn’t help my own grin; luck was on my side today, and that’s exactly what this game was.
The Captain grunted and quickly flipped his next card—an eight. Growling, he folded his arms. I turned my next card over, a three, and the Captain chuckled.
“We’ll turn our last card over at thur same time,” he told me. I nodded, and he counted down from three. On one, I flipped my last card—an Ace of Emeralds. I looked up at him; no matter what his card (the Queen of Fools), I won the hand.
“Good game, Captain,” I said, looking up at his scowl.
“A good game is when ye win,” he argued.
“Then next time I suggest you pray to Femme Fatale for luck, sir.”
He let out a grumble. “Ye wouldn’t be the Lady Barlow who was engaged to thur Prince of Telliva now, would ye?”
My goodness, how far did our fake engagement go?
I opened my arms. “The very one.”
The captain crowed with laughter. “Yer a delightful creature, aren’t ye? Many have spoken of how handsome a child ye were but ye’ve grown up to be a bewitching woman. That prince must be a simpleton to let ye go, or did ye beat him at cards as well?”
I smiled. “Plenty of times.”
“Lady of luck then.” He looped his thumbs through his pants’ pockets. “Well, a deal is a deal; we’ll take thur sugar back.”
“I truly appreciate it, Captain,” I replied. “Thank you.”
“Ye welcome to come back later tonight. See if you can take some coins from my men, if you’d like, with yer luck.”
“She has a prior engagement,” George interfered. The captain, for the first time, noticed the men at both of my sides.
“And who are ye?” the Captain asked in a clipped tone.
“My pestering cousin,” I advised. “Thank you for the invitation, but I do have another engagement.”
“Suit yeself,” the Captain shrugged.
“I must see to my supervisor,” I said. “Again, I appreciate your hard work, Captain.”
“Anytime, my dear.” He tipped his broad, tattered hat at me. I curtsied and made my way off the ship, my two bodyguards close behind.
“Do you always make deals by cards?” George asked me, as we made our way down the narrow wooden plank leading off the ship.
“No, it just came to me. He wasn’t going to budge,” I replied, moving aside to let a group of men through.
“Genius,” George chortled. “You’ve always been a smartass.”
I looked over my shoulder and grinned. “Now, if I can just think of how to get you to leave, I’d really be winning.”
Garrett
Chapter 4
Ava hadn’t changed a bit. She was still the most spirited, self-assured woman I’d ever met. I’d stayed longer than expected after she had awakened from being attacked, having fun with a pretty, young girl who knew how to kick my ass in cards. And I was also buying time, to not have to return to the palace full of stuck-up folks.
After this whole ordeal with the assassins was taken care of, I’d be going back home. I came to keep George safe since my father couldn’t seem to succeed on his own. Three of the attacks on George were from his own men; traitors who were either bought out or placed there to take him out.
So, when my brother was attacked the fifth time, I’d come here to develop ideas and strategies of my own to keep him safe, as well as Avie.