Somersworth’s eyes widened as he looked over at Mirabelle. “What?”
He brought the broom handle up in Somersworth’s face. “You heard me. Apologize.”
“For what?” But Somersworth’s hands came up. “She threatened to hit me with a broom.”
Mirabelle snatched the broom from Ken’s hand and suddenly she was waving it in Somersworth’s face. “I still might.” And then she spun, approaching the innkeeper’s wife. “My apologies, madame. We’ve come from a wedding and I can’t tell you why, but the men are all out of sorts. Apparently, matrimony makes them cagey.”
The woman only nodded. “I completely understand. It’s the same with all men, makes them restless. Until it doesn’t.”
Mirabelle nodded as though those words made perfect sense. “Until it doesn’t?”
Somersworth gave him a light shove. “Since when don’t you have my back?”
“I have your back…” Ken answered, crossing his arms. “I have your back against him, or him, or him.” He pointed at three of the Smith brothers. “But Mirabelle—” And then he jabbed Somersworth’s chest.
Somersworth sneered. “You’re becoming one of them, aren’t you?”
“One of who?”
Somersworth’s hands came up. “Them.”
Ken’s face scrunched. He didn’t understand. “The Smiths?”
But Somersworth waved his comment away. “One of the men who doesn’t get cagey. You’re becoming one of them.”
He tried to understand what his friend meant. That didn’t even make sense.
But he gave up as Mirabelle returned to his side. “The innkeeper will allow us to stay, but we’re all being served dinner in our rooms. They don’t want us,” she said and her gaze slashed to her brothers, “any of us, in the common room. Period.”
Gris and Tris looked on the verge of mutiny and Fulton let out a vehement, “The hell with that.”
But Rush nodded, as though he understood. “I’ll keep ’em in their rooms.”
Ace came to his other side. He gave Ken the sort of knowing smile that only added to Ken’s confusion.
What was Somersworth talking about?
And what did Ace seem to know that Ken didn’t?
CHAPTERSEVEN
Mirabelle heldup her finger as she looked at her sister. And while Anna’s face was partially hidden by the shadows of the setting sun, her younger sister’s disapproval was evident.
“This is a terrible idea,” Anna hissed in a barely contained whisper.
Her sister was likely right. After dinner in her room, Mirabelle had attempted to relax and rest before another day of travel tomorrow, but her mind wouldn’t settle.
Was Ken all right? He’d taken a direct punch in the face. And everyone knew that Gris was one of the best fighters in the family. He was half pirate, after all, with the amount of smuggling he did.
And so she’d decided to go knock on Ken’s door and make certain.
“You’re just going to cause them all to fight again,” Anna reasoned as she rose from the bed. “If any one of them catches you…”
“They won’t,” she bit back. “Promise me you won’t tell them.”
“Of course I won’t,” Anna said, her face softening. “But I still wish you wouldn’t.”
Mirabelle shook her head. It wasn’t that her sister didn’t have valid objections. It was more that…