Revenge of the Siren Song (Rogues of Sea and Sky Book 1) by Michelle Stinson Ross Read Free Book Online Page B

befitting a female. If it were not for the distinctive womanly curves that she made no attempt to hide, she could have been easily mistaken for a young lad who had yet to see 13 years.
    Grace stood impassively, waiting for Lizzie to acknowledge her presence.
    “Well, well, Captain Grace O'Malley,” Lizzie nearly spat. “We meet at last. I can't tell you how pleased I am that you accepted my invitation to join us aboard the Whore .” She bared her teeth in something akin to a smile.
    “Invitation indeed,” Grace grumbled as she reached for the tender lump on the back of her skull.
    Lizzie's agitation ratcheted several notches. “I wouldn't have had to resort to such forceful means, if you had not put your nose into my affairs.” Her face reddened and she seemed to be shaking with fury as she continued. “You've been so very busy with your clever little plots and schemes. But you pay a bit too well to be informed, and far too many of your little friends are all too eager to wag their tongues for anyone willing to pay the right price.”
    Grace opened her mouth to comment, but Lizzie ranted on.
    “My new galley wench seemed a bit too friendly with folks no matter where we put in. Imagine my shock to find out she'd been planted aboard my ship as a spy!” She seemed to realize she had begun shouting and took a calming breath and rubbed her chest before she continued. “Aye, it was a fine little trap you'd set, but I've managed to put you right in the middle of it just as it's about to spring.”
    Again Grace attempted to comment, but Lizzie's wrath overflowed.
    “Why couldn't you leave bloody well alone, Grace?” the little impish woman seethed as she came toe to toe with her.
    Grace said nothing, but utter shock overtook her face as she noticed two damp spots spreading across the front of Lizzie's linen shirt. Lizzie stood there glaring Grace down for several moments before she realized what had happened.
    She looked down at her chest and all the fury seemed to drain away at once. “Saints and sinners,” she muttered to herself as she grabbed a grimy rag from a pile of linens on her bed. She crossed to the cabin door and put her head out. “Tell Dr. Bone it's time,” she said to someone on the other side. She then dropped herself onto the bed in a heap. “Sit,” she commanded Grace and waved at the chair near a table littered with charts and maps.
    Grace sat heavily on the chair, but had no words for the moment. She sat there staring in astonishment across the cabin at Lizzie. All the sudden the spit-fire captain lost her flame and seemed frail and vulnerable.
    It was the ship's surgeon, Dr. Bone, who ended the awkward silence. He entered the cabin with a wriggling, cooing bundle for Lizzie. Gently placing the bundle in her lap, he uncovered one end to reveal a sweet tiny head covered in bright golden curls. The cherubic face had the same wide blue eyes as Lizzie.
    Grace sat completely mute as she watched Lizzie cradle the baby in her crossed legs and pull up her shirt-tail to nurse the child. All of a sudden, Lizzie’s odd manner of dress made astoundingly practical sense to Grace. Even the most simple and home-spun garments would have hindered this basic of mothering acts. Without a doubt, all of the laces, boning, and layers of even the most common of women’s clothes would have frustrated a mother’s simple desire to feed her child.
    Dr. Bone cleared his throat loudly, and redirected Grace’s attention. He had been standing respectfully with his back to his Captain, but she had failed to dismiss him.
    “If I may, Captain O’Malley, I’d like to take a closer look at that duck’s egg they left on your head. They were in such a hurry to secure you below that I had but a moment to determine that your skull wasn’t completely split open.”
    “Oh, stop your belly-aching, Bone. Obviously she’s not seriously harmed,” Lizzie chided without looking up at him.
    Bone refrained from responding and did