“I am fine,” I call. “I am not injured.”

“Your nose, crécerelle,” he says as he pivots to one side.

I lift my hand and touch blood. One of Jenkins’s slaps set my nose bleeding.

“It is nothing,” I say. “This coward chose to slap me after he made sure I could not retaliate. Once you are done there, we will show him the error of that. Do hurry, please. This rope chafes terribly.”

Nicolas’s laugh bubbles up, and his eyes glint as he tosses me a grin. “Have I mentioned that I love you, crécerelle?”

“No, and this does not quite seem the time for it.”

“All right, then I will only say that I adore you.”

“I am glad you are so amused, Nick,” Jenkins says. “You will be less amused when Rodgers runs that sword through your heart. He is a trained swordsman.”

“Is he?” Nicolas swings away. “Then I fear he was not trained very well.”

Rodgers snarls and lunges, but in his anger, he leaves himself open and Nicolas takes full advantage. While Nicolas gets in a strike, Rodgers is quick to recover and lands one of his own. Nicolas can mock, but the young man is a much better sword fighter than I am. He is a decent match for Nicolas, and my heart hammers as I watch the two.

Jenkins tries pulling me back into the room. I resist, and he shoves harder. I fake a backward stagger, pretend to lose my balance and fall hard on my rump. Jenkins bears down on me, glaring, but I plant myself there and watch him glower as he tries to figure out how to get me into that small room again.

“Drag her by the hair,” a voice says behind me.

I startle at that voice, and I twist to see Lord Thomas. He gestures at me. “She has long enough hair. Drag her by it.”

Jenkins snorts and shakes his head.

“Why not?”

Jenkins’s gaze cuts to the captain’s quarters. Emily has gone quiet. She cannot see us, but she can hear. That’s why Jenkins wants me back in that room. So she will not overhear anything I might say. He will not listen to his father-in-law—

Listen to his father-in-law . . .

Jenkins can hear Lord Thomas. See him. Jenkins has the Sight.

What proof did I have that Norrington was behind Emily’s capture? Lord Thomas said he was. Jenkins claimed to have overheard that. Because they were trying to convince us that Norrington had taken his niece captive, and we had to save her from the monster.

Emily seems to think her uncle is behind it as well, but she has said nothing to suggest she spoke to him directly. Rodgers must have captured her, and he likely is one of her uncle’s crew, with the look of a young navy man. Either she presumed it was her uncle’s doing or, more likely, he claimed as much.

I glance at Nicolas. He’s still fighting Rodgers, still more than holding his own, and the younger man is beginning to tire, missing one opening and then taking another blow. I turn my attention to Lord Thomas.