Page 89 of A Flash of Golden Fire

“Well, I’m glad to hear it,” I said. “But that doesn’t surprise me.”

He grinned wider. “Why? Do you consider me honourable?”

I regarded him with a hint of the lustful looks I often gave him. “Most of the time.”

He laughed. “Aye, well, that’s better than I’d hoped for.” He walked beside me in silence for a moment, his steps measured. Then he spoke again. “I like to think I’ve created a unique sort of community on theArrow. A kind of a utopia for the likes of us, and others, who refuse to live by the rules of an unjust society.”

I nodded, thinking that he had done so, in my opinion.

We hadn’t gone much farther before Captain Martin gave a happy shout.

“The Turnkey, Hillier! The place is still here. Let’s hope the tavern offers the same entertainment we’ve found here in the past.”

“Aye, Captain. Let’s hope so.”

“The Turnkey? What’s that?” I asked, casting my gaze about the street that teemed with people of all sizes, shapes, and hues.

“Oh, Rooster. The Turnkey is an experience. That’s all I can say at the moment, but I’m excited to show you.”

Squid put a hand on my arm as the captain and Hillier hastened their steps.

“Fancy whores and molly boys,” he said.

“Oh,” I said, trying not to sound shocked. I was a man of the world, after all.

But what was Dinesh planning? Was he going to discard me for a bevy of handsome prostitutes that he could have for a few coins from that fat purse of his? Probably have me fed and filled with whiskey until I collapsed, then go dip his quill in some fresh ink. Well, perhaps notfresh. But new and different.

I frowned and looked up to see Captain Martin beckoning to me under a large sign that read TURNKEY in bold red letters, with an engraving of what looked like a fluffy fox tail coiled beneath the word.

Well, I would eat, but I’d resist his efforts to get me dizzy with drink. And when he tried to leave me for a room upstairs, I’d tell him that I didn’t approve of his plan at all.

But would he listen? Would he care at all about my feelings?

Perhaps, now that he’d promoted me, he didn’t see me the same way. He saw me as his equal instead of his ‘boy’ and bedwarmer. And Goddamn it if that didn’t make me sad, so how fucked in the head was I? Maybe getting pissed with the drink was a good idea, after all.

Dinesh could do whatever, and whomever, he wanted, and who was I to have any say about his actions? He wasn’t my husband and he never could be. I could never have a husband, and wasn’t that simply the most depressing thought? The excitement I’d felt, combined with my uneasiness, evaporated in a haze of jealousy and melancholy. Why had I even left theArrow?

Inside the Turnkey, we crowded the bar until spaces opened up at a rough-hewn table. There were so many people, the stink was incredible. Without the crisp sea air to disperse the grime, the tangy scent of a score of unbathed men was quite pungent. I tried not to wrinkle my nose.

“Captain Martin!”

The dulcet tones came from behind me, and I turned to come face-to-face with my worst nightmare.

“Domingo!Como estas?” Captain Martin said with a jubilant lilt.

I’d had no idea he spoke a different language to the King’s English, so I gaped at him in surprise.

“Eh, you know. Getting by. Barely.”

The young man in women’s frilly undergarments, chemise gaping over pert red nipples, and a tight black corset emphasizing a trim waist, glanced at me with curiosity. His dark brown hair tumbled in silky, shiny curls to his shoulders, and his clean-shaven face was accentuated with touches of paint here and there to draw out his amber eyes and plump lips.

“Fuck,” I said out loud.

He smiled—a knowing, alluring grin. “That’ll be ten gold pieces.”

“Ten!” I exclaimed.

Domingo’s smile got wider, and he looked me over with an approving gaze.

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