Heart of Steel - Meljean Brook [107]
“But you won’t.”
“I can’t.” She sighed. “And I can’t order you to do the same, because you are not part of my crew—but I ask the same of you.”
“You will have it.” His fingers squeezed hers. His gaze didn’t waver. “And I am not crew, but I would like to stand behind you. Not above, not below. To back you up, should ever you need it.”
Her heart filled, and she nodded. “Thank you, Mr. Fox.”
“Always, Captain—” He paused. “Are we still married?”
She laughed. There was no need to be; they no longer relied on al-Amazigh for their passage to Rabat. But, in truth, Yasmeen had come to enjoy it. What did it matter that these bonds were not official? She liked to bear them.
“I think we must be,” she said. “I don’t know an institution in the world that would grant a divorce to us.”
“True.” With a grin, he bowed over her hand, pressed a kiss to her palm before letting her go. “Then we are well and truly stuck, Captain Fox.”
Unsurprisingly, she encountered a mix of emotions and shouted questions when she went above and called for all hands on deck. Though some were dismayed when Yasmeen succinctly laid out that she’d killed Guillouet while he attempted to rape her, she didn’t see blame. That, more than anything, gave her hope for this crew.
For almost an hour, she fielded questions about wages. I will split between you whatever the captain held in his strongbox, minus Ceres’ costs. The purser will verify my numbers. About their destination: We will continue our expedition to Rabat, and deliver Mr. Hassan home. About taking women into the crew: I will be here, but I do not intend to stay aboard long enough to hire new crew. How long would she stay? We will return to Port Fallow, where Mr. Fox and I will depart and leave the airship in your hands.
The last surprised them. The speculation about who would become captain then overtook the decks. Yasmeen held up her hand. When they quieted, she gave them the only advice she could: “Choose a captain who knows that he serves the ship and the crew, first. You will be taking orders from this person; choose someone that you trust will have your interests at heart, as well as his own, every time he makes a decision—even if those decisions are not what you want to hear.”
She looked to the Vashons. Her gut told her that one of them—or both—would be Ceres’ captain. That could be either a brilliant arrangement, or a disaster. “And if it is between the two of you, do not treat her like a whore, fighting over who will have a first go.”
They both grinned.
Probably a disaster. “Now, there are bodies on this ship that will be cared for and given proper send-offs, and a wardroom to clean. Aviators on watch duty, attend to your posts; all others report to the first mate for your details. In an hour, I want to see all mates and masters in the wardroom with their ledgers. Heave around, then.”
They broke up and headed to their posts, a few muttering . . . but fewer than she expected. Not a bad crew at all.
She didn’t know what the hell Guillouet had gotten so wrong with them.
She was incredible. Archimedes watched Yasmeen take over the ship, and by mid-afternoon, all was running smoothly. Even Engels the bitter navigator deferred to her command as they plotted the course to Rabat. She hadn’t yet fired the engines, however. They still hovered over the Brindisi harbor as most of the crew went to the mess, and Yasmeen asked the Vashons to bring Bigor up on deck.
Hands bound behind his back, his nose broken from Archimedes’ fist, clothes askew, the marine no longer appeared buttoned up and straightened out, but still held his shoulders back, head high.
The Vashons pushed him to his knees near the cargo lift, and he kneeled, his expression flat—not resisting, not trying to escape, which made Archimedes wonder whether his sanity had broken or his pride was indestructible.
“Clear the decks, please,” Yasmeen said.
The crew still on watch didn’t hesitate. Archimedes wasn’t crew—and he wouldn’t leave her alone with the marine, anyway. He stood behind her, ready to back her up if needed.
When