Speaking to a male member of the crew had been a mistake—that one especially. It made sense—Aedan was their age, good-looking. Knigh had seen Saba and the other young women in the crew looking at him.

And Vee hadn’t been shy about approaching Knigh at the Governor’s ball before she realised who he was. He shouldn’t be surprised that she’d had a liaison with someone like Aedan.

He’d learned something, though. And not just that she was a lot of fun. She’d saved Aedan’s life, threatening her own in the process. Even if she’d only been bluffing to make FitzRoy stand down, there was always a risk of a loaded pistol misfiring, but she’d still held one to her head.

Still, Aedan’s revelations had set his muscles solid. He shook his hands, trying to rid them of the tension.

“Been working too hard?” Perry appeared at his side, a bar of soap in one hand, a towel in the other.

“Perry,” he breathed, relief colouring the word. She’d given him sound advice about what to wear in Nassau, and she’d listened to his suggestions about hammock stowage and had even thanked him for it. She was wise and fair—she’d be able to help him build a picture of the real Lady Vice.

She cocked her head at him, green eyes soft. “You sound like a drowning man who’s spotted a lifeboat. What’s wrong?”

“Can I ask you—”

“Of course. Anything.” She gave him a gentle smile and scanned the deck. “Here’s quiet.” She led him to the bow and leant against the rail.

“I don’t know how much Vice has told you about when we met—”

Perry scoffed. “Vice tells me everything—well, everything she’s willing to talk about.” She sighed. “Which isn’t always as much as I’d like and is sometimes more than I want to hear, but there you go.” With a shrug and an apologetic smile, she waved her hand. “Sorry, go on.”

Did that mean she’d told Perry about the times they’d come too close for comfort? And about his family?

He crossed his arms and leant back against the rail opposite. “Well, she introduced herself as a young widow that night. The way she said it and one or two things I’ve heard since made me think that wasn’t a lie.”

“You picked up on that, then?” Perry’s eyebrows rose, and she nodded slowly. She wrapped the towel around the soap and tucked them under her folded arms. “Well, yes, she is a widow. They came to us three or four years ago, already married, but it was only a week or so after the ceremony. Very sweet, she was. Young love and all that.” She waved a hand, gaze drifting to the horizon.