yours. Be ready at dawn, kid,â he told Tate. âAnd for a taste of real work.â
âIâll be ready.â Despite the fact he hadnât asked for help, she went to Buckâs other side, draped his arm over her shoulders. âCome on, Buck, time for bed.â
âYouâre a sweet kid.â With drunken affection, he gave her a clumsy squeeze. âAinât she, Matthew?â
âSheâs a regular sugar cube. Iâm going down the ladder first, Buck. If you fall in, I might let you drown.â
âThatâll be the day.â Buck chuckled, shifting his weight onto Tate as Matthew swung over the side. âThatboyâd fight off a school of sharks for me. Lassiters stick together.â
âI know.â Carefully, rocking a bit under his weight, Tate managed to maneuver Buck over the rail. âHold on, now.â The absurdity had her giggling as he swayed over the ladder and Matthew cursed from below. âHold on, Buck.â
âDonât you worry, girl. There isnât a boat been made I canât board.â
âGoddamn it, youâre going to capsize us. Buck, you idiot.â As the dinghy pitched dangerously, Matthew shoved Buck down. Water sloshed in, soaking both of them.
âIâll bail her out, Matthew.â With a good-natured chuckle, Buck began to scoop water out of the bottom with his hands.
âJust sit still.â Matthew took the oars out of the locks, glanced up to see the Beaumonts grinning over the side. âI should have made him swim for it.â
â âNight, Ray.â Buck waved cheerfully as Matthew rowed. âThereâll be gold doubloons tomorrow. Gold and silver and bright, shiny jewels. A new wreck, Matthew,â he mumbled as his chin dropped to his chest. âAlways knew weâd find it. Was the Beaumonts brought us the luck.â
âYeah.â After securing the oars and the line, Matthew eyed his uncle dubiously. âCan you make the ladder, Buck?â
âSure, I can make the ladder. Got the sea legs I was born with, donât I?â Those legs wobbled, as did the small raft as he weaved toward the side of the Sea Devil.
Through more luck than design, he gripped a rung and hauled himself up before he could turn the inflatable over. Soaked to the knees, Matthew joined him on deck. Buck was weaving and waving enthusiastically to the Beaumonts.
âAhoy the Adventure. Allâs well.â
âLetâs see if you say that in the morning,â Matthew muttered and half carried Buck to the closet-sized wheelhouse.
âThose are good people, Matthew. First I was thinking weâd just use their equipment, string them along, then take us the lionâs share. Be easy for you and me to go down at night, lay off some of the best salvage. Donât think theyâd know the difference.â
âProbably not,â Matthew agreed, as he stripped the wet pants off his uncle. âI gave it some thought myself. Amateurs usually deserve to be fleeced.â
âAnd weâve fleeced a few,â Buck said merrily. âJust canât do it to old Ray, though. Got a friend there. Havenât had a friend like that since your dad died. Thereâs his pretty wife, pretty daughter. Nope.â He shook his head with some regret. âCanât pirate from people you like.â
Matthew acknowledged this with a grunt and eyed the hammock strung between the cabinâs forward and aft walls. He hoped to God he wouldnât have to heft Buck into it. âYouâve got to get into your bunk.â
âYep. Going to play straight with Ray.â Like a bear climbing into his cave, Buck heaved himself up. The hammock swayed dangerously before he settled. âShould tell them about Angeliqueâs Curse. Thinking about it, but never told nobody but you.â
âDonât worry about it.â
âMaybe if I donât tell them, they