By Fire and by Sword Read Online Free PDF Page A

Alejandro.
    It seemed so sudden. One moment she was standing beside him, and the next moment, she was gone, over the side and into the waiting boat.
    He moved closer to look down to where she sat, herflaming curls peeking from her green cape, and her lovely face turned toward him.
    The impact hit him like a fist in the gut, and he could not shake the feeling that he’d made a mistake in letting her go…a big mistake.
    He cupped his hands and called out, as the boat pulled away from the ship, “How do you plan to protect yourself?”
    She flashed him a stunning smile, as bright as a sunny day. “Why, Captain, by the sword, of course.”
    Stunned, he watched as the rowboat disappeared slowly, beginning with the bow, and ending with the woman in the green cape, an image that remained in his mind for some time, after everything else was gone.

Three
    West of these out to seas
    colder than the Hebrides I must go
    Where the fleet of stars is anchored and
    the young star-captains glow.
    —James Elroy Flecker (1884-1915),
    English poet, playwright and novelist.
    “The Dying Patriot.”
    T he Danish bark, Aethelred II , did not have the sleek craftsmanship of Dancing Water , but she was clean and well cared for.
    A gentleman to the core, Alejandro boarded the ship with Kenna and stayed to introduce her to Captain Fischer, before bidding her farewell.
    “I leave you in very capable hands and wish you Godspeed, and a pleasant voyage to France.”
    “Thank you for your help, and please convey to your captain my gratitude for helping me procure thispassage, which has helped me avoid a…well, simply tell him I send my thanks and gratitude.”
    “I shall tell him forthwith, lovely lady.”
    She was sorry the dangerous situation she was in prevented her from revealing her name, or much of anything else about herself. He had been kind to her, and to withhold herself from such kindness was not her true nature. She gave this warmhearted man a smile that she hoped would convey her pleasure in making his acquaintance. “Goodbye, Alejandro Feliciano Enrique de Calderón, ‘most excellent friend of Captain Montgomery.’ I should have enjoyed very much, I think, becoming your friend.”
    He took her gloved hand and kissed it. “You are already my friend, señorita. And never say goodbye. Where is it written that our pathways will never converge again? The arrow of fate has already been shot. Who knows where it will land?” He turned and walked away.
    She looked over the side of the ship and watched him being lowered down to the rowboat. He stepped into it and turned toward her. “The world is not as big as you think,” he called out, and they rowed away.
    She watched for a while, before she asked Captain Fischer if she might remain on deck, then added, “I can be trusted to stay out of the way, Captain.”
    “I do not have a problem with that. If you have never sailed before, I know you would find it all quite exciting. I do think, however, that once we are under way, you would be more comfortable in your cabin.”
    Captain Fischer guided her to a safe place that wasboth out of the way of the crew, and protected from the wind. She would have to admit that Captain Montgomery, in spite of his well-oiled state, did, at least, do a good job describing Captain Fischer, for he did appear to be an upright man, with kind blue eyes.
    She knew the moment she saw him that he was unmistakably a man who spent his life on or around the sea. He was dressed in dark blue, with a rather jaunty brown cap that withstood the wind. His face was strong, and covered with a red beard, neatly trimmed. He had been a seaman so long, he seemed to have assimilated its primary substances—sand, water and salt.
    The Aethelred was still lying at anchor. As the crew made preparations to weigh anchor, Kenna caught sight of Dancing Water , no longer riding at anchor, but now under way, her tall masts nothing more than graceful black lines, stark against the white of