I blinked at him and shook my head. “I have only ever shot a rifle.”
“Are you a fair shot?”
I shrugged. “I’ve always considered myself to be skilled.”
“It isn’tmuchdifferent, but it does take some getting used to. I can teach you to load it, but I wished to give them to you before we board the ship. It’s just precautionary. I don’t anticipate you’ll need to use them.”
I watched him pick one up and handle it almost casually, as if he’d done so every day. It was not unusual for men to carry a weapon, certainly. But for some reason, seeing Mr. Ashby use a gun so easily changed the way I saw him, even if only slightly.
“Thank you,” I said sincerely.
He met my eyes, and for a moment I thought he didn’t know how to respond. But he simply smiled and nodded as he handed the gun to me. I held it, weighed it to take in the measure of it. It was lighter than I thought guns could be. “Does it shoot well?”
“Yes, I tried them both before purchasing. I think you’ll find them easy to handle. I’ll let you decide where you will put them. Once you load it, be sure it won’t fire on its own, wherever you keep it.”
“I know that much,” I said, scoffing.
Patrice walked into the room with the nail scissors and asked what we were doing. I showed her our pistols, and she hesitated before picking up the other one.
“She’s never shot a gun before,” I told Mr. Ashby.
“No matter, I will teach you on the ship when we have time. As I told Miss Findlay, you should not need them. But…you never know.”
“Aye,” Patrice answered. “Can never be too careful.” She carefully held the gun up. “Thank ye, Mr. Ashby. Yer verra thoughtful.”
“You are very welcome, Miss Patrice. I’ll let you two ladies finish getting ready for the day and meet you downstairs.” He left us. Patrice and I looked over the pistols for a moment before meeting each other’s eyes.
“I wonder why he did not simply buy us muff pistols?” I said.
“They dinnae kill the person yer shootin’,” Patrice said simply. She held up the pistol. “This will.”
I looked at the small, elegant flourish on the handle. These were not as ornate as other pistols I’d seen, but they were significantly more powerful and useful than muff pistols. It was beyond thoughtful on Mr. Ashby’s part. His gift gave us power over ourselves, over our fate. The pistol in my hand made me feel that he believed in my capabilities, that he supported my choice in making this journey.
I tried to remember a time when someone had shown this much trust in me, but I could not recall feeling this empowered even once. I lifted my gaze to the closed door, thinking how fortunate we were to have met with Mr. Ashby.
Half an hour later, we continued to prepare for our departure by finding a man to take our horses back to Edleroy Castle. Melody loved her horse, and I couldn’t bear to part with mine forever. Mr. Ashby, however, sold his off. He apparently even made a profit off of the sale. I laughed at his proud expression as he waved to the man he’d sold it to.
“You are a man of business, after all, Mr. Ashby.” I smiled at him.
“Aye, yer startin’ to ken, Miss Findlay,” he responded, mimicking Patrice’s words—and accent—from the day before.
Chapter 6
Onthemorningofour departure, Patrice and I walked with Mr. Ashby along the docks toward the ship we would live on for our long voyage. We stood at the gangplank, looking up at the large vessel. A brigantine was not the largest ship in the port, yet it was still large enough to be imposing. TheKatarinaboasted two masts draped in triangular and square-shaped white sails.
A man stood at the entrance writing on a ledger. He greeted us with something like civility, only gruffer. He wore an eyepatch and a dark blue tricorn hat trimmed in red. He stuck out his hand to Mr. Ashby.
“Ashby, heard you were comin’ aboard. Good to see ya.”
“Thank you, Matthew. It’s been a long time. You’re still his first mate, then?”
“Aye, that I am. Been with Selton too long to abandon him now. You’ve brought yer woman aboard, I hear.” He looked me over. As with most of the men we’d encountered, his gaze made me uncomfortable. I tried to swallow that feeling down and focus on being polite, even if he did not.
“How do you do?” I offered.
“She’s pretty, ain’t she?” The man laughed and smacked Mr. Ashby on the back.
I thought Mr. Ashby would smile at that in order to maintain a relationship with a man he’d only just reconnected with. Instead, heput a hand on the man’s shoulder and spoke in a low, serious tone. “I will thank you and the entire crew to keep your distance from Miss Findlay and her companion. They may be pretty, but they are far from incapable.”
