“Young love?” Knigh shook his head. “I can’t imagine Vee being soft enough to cuddle up to any man and be sweet.”

Perry’s eyes shot to his. “Vee is it?” She gave him a pointed look. “And asking about her marital status. Someone’s showing a lot of personal interest in my friend.”

Keeping his face still, Knigh breathed slowly and fought against the discomfort tickling the back of his neck. Scratching it would give away how close to the mark she was.

When he didn’t reply, Perry sighed and shook her head. “Vee can be very affectionate, she just … Look, I can’t tell you much, but I love that girl, and maybe this will help you understand her. She’s a lot of bluster, you know?” She spread her hands along the rail and leant back. “She and her husband wanted to stay on board, but FitzRoy wasn’t convinced he’d be any use in the crew and Vice’s gift hadn’t manifested yet. As far as FitzRoy was concerned, they were paying passengers and nothing more unless and until the husband proved himself as one of the crew.”

Knigh’s brows twitched. So, it was her husband who was meant to become the pirate. “What happened?”

Eyebrows raised, Perry sighed. “The first battle came. His big chance. And … he died. Neck broke on the deck, right in front of her.” She fixed Knigh with her green eyes. “She was only eighteen—she wasn’t the woman you see now. She hadn’t even hurt a person before that day, never mind killed, but she stood over his body and defended it. And”—Perry ran her hands over her face—“and he was all she had—she’d left her family, wealth, everything behind for him. She was alone and—”

“So she is from money. The aristocracy or—”

“That’s enough.” Perry straightened and waved the soap and towel parcel. “I told you she talks to me, but she never speaks of this. I only know about it because I was there. I shouldn’t even have told you this much, but I wanted you to understand. Do you?”

He held her stare. Vee wasn’t everything she appeared. The stories didn’t even come close. Her comments about how short life was made sense now. Gods, maybe her whole flippant attitude and recklessness were just because she half-expected to die tomorrow. He’d seen her kill in battle, defending her own life. But when they’d taken the Veritas, fewer members of the crew had died than he’d expected, most of them leaders. He’d heard how she’d lead the boarding. Had she deliberately directed them to focus on the men in charge to get the others to stand down?