he watched Ronan eat and then glanced at Radnor. He was chewing slowly while watching her. It wasn't a lecherous stare. He seemed curious and perhaps concerned. She wanted to find comfort in discovering two crewmen who seemed to care about her, at least in some fashion, but she wasn't naive. She knew they would turn on her at the order of their captain.

 She cleared her throat and tried to forget that stark reality for a while. If she was going to get through this, she had to find ways to stay strong. Allowing her mind to conjure the worst wouldn't help. 

 "What did you mean earlier when you said you became a seal's wife?" she asked Ronan.

 Radnor choked on the gulp of tea he had tried to swallow, causing Ronan to loudly laugh.

 As soon as Radnor caught his breath, he shook his head and held up his hand.

 "Such tales aren't for a lady," he snapped at Ronan, and coughed a few more times to clear his windpipe.

 Evie chewed her lip and felt the heat of a blush rising across her face.

 "Oooh, it wasna so bad!" argued Ronan. "Yer gonna make Miss Evie think I'd tell 'er a lewd tale."

 He shook his head and looked over at Evie.

 "It was like this, lass," he began. "We 'ad pulled into a port 'n moored beside a pier covered wit' seals. They was lookin' fer scraps, free 'andouts, ye see. We didna pay 'em much mind. It's a common site in a lot o' places. They don' 'arm no one as long as no one 'arms them.

 So we went ou' 'avin' a time at the tavern with ... well ... No need t' get into those details. After a time, a few of us stumbled back t' the ship three sheets t' the wind!"

 "Drunk," interrupted Radnor. "They were drunk."

 He couldn't stop a sideways grin as he recalled the incident.

 "She knows tha'," Ronan replied with a huff. "She's a smar' lass. She'll 'ave this sea talk down afore the end o' the week, mark me words!

 So there we was weevin' 'n wobblin' on the way t' the gangplank when this big burly whale of a seal starts followin' me. He wasna followin' the others, ye understand. Only me!

 When we reached the plank, they all wen' up wit ou' me. I couldna find me footin' 'n it gave that bull time t' catch up. As soon as he did, 'e bumped the back o' me leg 'n sent me down fla' on me face righ' there on the pier.

 I tried t' stand but he plopped 'is weight on top o' me 'n started 'avin' a go! If I was a woman 'n wasn't wearin' me knickers, I'd've 'ad 'is pup!

 I shouted 'n hollered fer the others t' help me, but they all stood a' the rails laughin' a' me predicament. All I could do, Miss Evie, was lay there 'n let tha' bull relieve 'is urges until the end.

 He did wha' 'e had t' do, plopped righ' off 'o me, 'n rolled to 'is side. Quite satisfied, 'e was. The others finally came 'n hoisted me up 'n onto the ship.

 'n tha's how I got me name!"

 Evie stared with bulging eyes as he slapped the table to mark the end of his story. Her jaw hung open and Radnor had to muffle a chuckle behind his hand.

 "If the captain knew you told her that tale, he would have you castrated as entertainment for the crew," Radnor warned with a grin.

 Ronan only laughed. "Cap'n knows I mean no 'arm. She'll be 'earin' much worse 'round this place."

 Evie finally closed her mouth and touched her cheeks with the back of her hand. They were hot.

 "I didna offend ye, now, did I, Miss Evie?" worried Ronan. "Me deepest apologies if I did."

 "No, no," she replied with a shake of her head. "I've heard a few crass stories from my cousin when he had guests. I suppose I was surprised by such an experience."

 The men breathed easier when she smiled.

 "May I ask another question?" she continued.

 "You may ask anything you wish," Radnor replied. "I can't say we can always give you an answer or one that is pleasant, but we'll assist you in any way we can since the captain has entrusted you into our care."

 She smiled softly and asked, "What happened to Captain Garson's face?"

 Radnor and Ronan looked at each other and Radnor answered.

 "It was from a fight with the last captain," he replied. "It was about eight years back. Ronan hadn't joined us yet, but most of the crew we have now was there.

 Captain Dane was what we called him, but that was more because he was a Dane. I don't think anyone ever knew his real name. He was a cruel man to the core.

 Forgive me, Miss Evie. I realize Captain Garson is cruel in your way of thinking and all, but for pirates, most of how we behave is just part and parcel of this life. When a pirate calls a man cruel and means it, you best believe it was something fiercely detestable.

 Captain Dane keelhauled a lad just for eating the last potato. It was part of a game he played with some of his officers. They'd sit in their quarters thinking of who they wanted to torment.

 That particular day, they hid a barrel of potatoes so the galley wouldn't have enough to go around. Their idea was to torture the one who took the last potato. They placed bets on it. As soon as the poor lad took it, they were on him. None of us knew what was happening until he'd been chained and thrown overboard.

 Do you know what it means to be keelhauled, Miss?" he wondered as he hesitated to complete the story.

 "I don't," she admitted, worrying why he looked at her in concern. "You may continue."

 He sighed deeply and went on.

 "The short of it is that a man is dragged beneath the bottom of a ship, where the barnacles strip the meat from his bones," he reluctantly answered.

 "For a potato?" Evie gasped.

 "For a game," he corrected her. "They didn't care about the potato. It was just part of their game to find their next victim. They did things like that all the time.

 No one on the crew was safe. If an officer disagreed with it, he was next. No one knew when he'd die over the bored whims of a sadistic captain. I'd say we were even more afraid of him than any enemy on land or sea.

 After that, Garson finally had enough. He wouldn't stand for it anymore. In all the years I knew him, I'd never seen him so angry.

 That lad was just a boy. He wasn't even as old as you, Miss. Fifteen or sixteen, as I recall. Captain Dane had already tortured him many times in ways I won't repeat in your presence. Garson, me, and a few of the others tried to help him stay out of the captain's line of sight. Once in a while, he'd remember the lad and send for him to torture him again.

 Killing him, especially that way, was the last straw for most of us, but Garson was the only one brave enough to call out the captain. He challenged him and any officer that was part of it to a fight.

 There were three officers. They went after him first and all lost.

 He's a helluva fighter, my brother. Had to be with a father like ours. He saved me so many times from our father's fists. The day we left was the last fight they had. Garson killed him with one strike of his jaw. Must've snapped his neck, his fist landed so hard.

 All that's for another day. He can tell you that much if you want to know.

 Back to that captain, Garson won that, too, but Dane fought dirty. As soon as the battle began, the captain threw oil on Garson's face and shoved him against a lantern. As it still sparked and smoldered, Garson pummeled Dane into the deck boards.

 No one said a word. We couldn't. We had never seen anything like it. There were still flames lapping at his flesh as Captain Dane drew his final breath. I rushed to smother it while Garson was still in a fog. He didn't feel it until his rage simmered down.

 After that, the crew named Garson captain. There was no need for a vote. We all knew it was unanimous. I became quartermaster to serve as my brother's second in command and replace one of the officers he'd killed."

 Evie took a deep breath as she thought of the story she'd just heard. There was so much more violence among a crew than she had imagined.

 "I thought pirates only fought pirates from other ships," she remarked.

 "Crews can change like the weather," Ronan replied. "When a ship is taken, 'er members either become crew o' the winner 'r the're tossed overboard. It's common t' find men who were on enemy vessels o' other men servin' on the same crew. A lot of 'em canna let the resentments go, even though they're part of a new crew. Loyalties die hard ou' 'ere, lass."

 The more she learned, the more fascinated she became. It was all so disturbing to her, but the stories had a way of seducing her imagination.

 "What of his eye?" she asked, seeking more.

 "Oh, not much of a story 'bout tha', lass," Ronan answered. "He was born wit' tha' one."

 "He was," agreed Radnor, "but there's a great deal of a story that goes along with it."

 He gave a long sigh and decided to tell her as much as he could about Garson. He felt she needed to see his humanity when he'd probably only show her the beast to keep her at arm's length. He pulled out his pipe and set about lighting the tobacco in the ash-stained hollow.

 Evie watched the flames catch, then vanish and rise, vanish and rise. Smoke plumed and wisped around Radnor as he spoke. The smell was something familiar from her youth that she couldn't quite place, and it forced a small smile at the corners of her soft pink lips.

 "Local church had our parents believing he was possessed by a demon," he began, smoke spiraling upward with his breath. "Mother wanted to save him through the good book, but Father believed a devil could only be beaten out.

 Garson endured much torment because of their superstitions until one day, Father went after Mother with a knife. He was in one of his tirades.

 It happened every so often. If anyone had a demon in him, it was that old man. One minute, he'd be quietly watching birds fly by. The next, he would run around like the whole of the king's army was after him. We hid as best we could until he calmed down.

 One day, he flew into a rage about Garson's eye. He said God told him if he wanted to rid his son of the devil, he had to cut out that eye. Mother tried to stop him, so he went after her. He said she was Lucifer's harlot trying to save her demon son.

 Garson jumped in between them, and the blade sliced over his brow. Mother ran out for help, but I stayed behind.

 Father was a large man, almost twice the size of Garson at the time. That didn't matter. The rage that had built up inside of my brother took him over that day. As Father drew back his fist to hit him, Garson drew back his and struck first.

 Mother returned as we stood staring at his lifeless body. She made us pack our things and run away. She didn't want anyone blaming us or accusing Garson of being a murdering devil like she knew the church would say. We didn't want to leave her, but at least she would be safe. No one would have blamed her for what she endured as his wife and our mother."

 Evie wiped away tears and took a handkerchief from Ronan to blow her nose.

 "I'm so sorry for what happened to you both," she said as she tried to sniff away more tears.

 "Don't fret, Miss Evie," Radnor told her as he patted her hand resting on the table. "It's done and gone. Tomorrow is always another day for better memories."

 She stared at him a moment and smiled at his optimistic outlook. As terrible as her life had been with her uncle, and as bleak as her future appeared at the moment, she knew to be grateful her childhood wasn't as harsh as theirs.

 Ronan chuckled as he thought of a more cheerful story to share to lighten the mood. As he told it, Evie found herself laughing until the door suddenly swung open.

 Garson had returned.