He was magnificent to behold, a distinguished officer in his prime who had just won a war and sailed across an ocean to capture Madwulf MacNally and the daughter of Edric Sharp. He would be the envy of his peers upon his return.

How long had he been at sea? Was he in a hurry to sail home? I was wildly curious to know what he was thinking as he answered my shameless appraisement with a calmer, more detached reserve.

“Do you have a lady in England you’re anxious to reunite with?” I crossed my arms, standing a foot away.

“No.”

No surprise there. When it came to women, he put more effort into spanking a clitoris than wooing a heart.

As I understood the situation, I would have a month to scrape information from his brain. Right now I had only so much energy left before my face planted itself onto the floor. The remainder of my questions would have to wait. Except one.

“How did you find me?”

“I was hunting another pirate, and he led me to you.”

Priest? It wasn’t possible. No one outside our circle of trust knew our connection.

My head pounded with panic and fatigue, but I kept my voice neutral. “Who?”

“Charles Vane.”

“Ah.” Grief collided with relief. I showed neither on my face. “Convenient for you.”

“Abundantly. With Vane dead, you were my next target. But, by the time I learned of your arrival in Jamaica, you already weighed anchor and set sail. Rather suddenly, wasn’t it?”

“You’re not the only one hunting me.”

“But I’m the only one who apprehended you.”

Arrogant fool. If he only knew that Priest Farrell had nabbed me first. Oh, how I wanted to tell him he could’ve captured Edric Sharp’s daughter and the Feral Priest if he hadn’t fallen for my ruse.

But my marriage was my most guarded secret and greatest hope for escape.

“If you didn’t recognize me,” I said, “how did you find me?”

“No one could accurately describe your image. You did well keeping that unknown. Until now. But I didn’t need to know what you looked like. I studied your behavior, your track worn in the sea, and lore that follows you. Your affiliation with Charles Vane. The galleon you commanded, which boasts no flags, figureheads, or markings. And your penchant for freeing slaves.”

I closed my eyes, released a slow breath, and glared at him. “You found the sunken slave ship.”

“I received word of it when dead seamen and burned timber washed ashore west St. Christopher. The attack had your stamp of ownership all over it. ‘Twas easy to track you from there.”

My hands clenched, but I couldn’t regret that raid. We’d saved two young African men that day. Besides, with Ashley on my trail since Jamaica, he would’ve caught me eventually. Just like Priest had.