Anne's guards had told their captain the story with a mixture of awe and frustration in their voices. They'd never seen any woman behave that way, not even Eleanor. As a businesswoman, she was inclined to at least keep a civil and guarded sort of attitude with strangers in particular, but Anne had walked into the tavern like she was, for all intents and purposes, the queen. Vane took it all in, scratching at the stubble on his chin before stepping into his cabin.

Door closed and latched, he leaned against it, carefully regarding the raven-haired beauty sitting in his chair and toying with her knife.

"I'm not sure whether to throw you overboard or pour you a drink," he finally said, crossing the room to lean against his desk. "You might have just cost me a lot of money. And it's only the 'might' part that's keeping me from terminating your current employment."