Pirates Again

"Stop fussing, you look fine."

A month had passed since Rhys and Katerina landed back in Stagfort, but it had been a whirlwind. He was able to buy a nicer apartment in town and move out of the red light district with the money the pirates received from selling Sykes' ship, and he moved Eloise out of her alcoholic home and into his spare room right away. Eloise was ecstatic to see him of course, especially with his exciting story and new lady friend. Now he was standing outside of the Dashwood house, which was bigger than any house he had ever seen. Katerina had gotten him a nice suit to wear and fixed his hair for him, but he still fidgeted and did his best to straighten himself out even more.

"Rhys, stop it," Katerina scolded again as she opened the front door and led him in. "Daddy? We're here."

Rhys was glad to see Cedric step out first. He actually got along quite well with Katerina's brother, and they found out they clicked as friends on the voyage back home. In fact, Cedric had been helpful in finding Rhys' apartment. Helpful enough to find one close to Katerina. All "coincidence", of course. He smiled and shook Rhys' hand, letting him inside.

Soon after an older man came out of the study. Rhys had never met Cornelius Dashwood, but he was sure Katerina's father had heard everything about Rhys. The man looked stern at first, eyeing Rhys up and down as he firmly shook his hand.

"So, you're the famous Rhys that our Kat won't stop talking about," he said. "With how highly she speaks of you, I would have thought you'd walk in on a cloud."

"No sir," Rhys said, pushing his nerves down. "Just shoes and a nice marble floor."

This made Cornelius chuckle and pat Rhys on the shoulder. When he did this, he saw the faint, vein-like blue scar on Rhys' neck. The scar was mostly hidden by his clothes, but it actually extended all the way down his arm.

"So, you really did take a snake bite for her?" he said.

"Of course."

Cornelius glanced at Katerina, who was beaming. He then looked to Cedric, who just gave an approving nod.

"Well then, join me in the study for tea."

Rhys let out a nervous exhale as he followed behind Cornelius, checking briefly over his shoulder at Katerina. She gave him an enthusiastic grin and gestured for him to keep going. Cornelius closed the door to the study, but Rhys was sure she had her ear pressed up to the door and was listening.

Rhys sat down across from Cornelius, trying to be as delicate as he could with the small teacups and silverware. Cornelius watched him with slight amusement.

"You can relax," he said. "We're all good friends here."

"Thank you," Rhys said. "Sorry. I'm just hoping I make a good impression."

"Considering you had a big hand in bringing both of my pirate-abducted children home, you've already made quite the impression," he chuckled. "Besides, Katerina says you're a very gentle person with her."

Rhys nearly choked on his tea.

"I don't ask for the details, of course," Cornelius said. "I am interested in you, and your career ambitions. Katerina tells me that you have a hard time finding work in Stagfort."

"Yes," he said reluctantly. "My family name has a bit of a bad reputation."

"Yes, she told me."

"Of course she did."

"Well," he said, setting down the teacup, "I'm in no position to judge you based on your mother. Especially not after what you have done for our family. That's why I'd like to make a proposition."

"Because Kat told you to?" he asked.

"No," he said with a smile. "Well, yes, but I also think your commitment and passion would do well in my business. Katerina mentioned you're good with deals and bargaining. She said you were able to save quite a bit of money on the supply runs for the... erm... pirates."

"I try my best," he said. "When you grow up poor, you learn to penny pinch a bit."

"For that reason, I think you'd be strong in accounting and finance," he said. "Our suppliers may be outdated, and you could negotiate some better deals for us. Maybe enough to raise the pay for our laborers."

"So they don't become pirates?"

"Exactly."

Rhys never thought himself in a desk job, but smiled and nodded. "Thank you, sir. I'm honored."

There was a squeal of excitement behind the door and Cornelius let out a deep sigh. It was too much to expect her to give them privacy. She was bad at pretending to be casually leaning against the wall when they emerged from the study. She could hardly contain herself until they left the house and she threw herself at Rhys.

"I'm so proud of you!" she gushed.

"You orchestrated this whole thing," he laughed.

"I know, but I'm still proud," she said. "You'll do so well. I think it's an evening deserving of a little champagne."

"But we-"

"Champagne!"

She bought him a nice bottle to take back to the apartment, where Eloise was eager to see them. Her blonde hair was tied up in pink ribbons and she had a pink dress to match. She had never owned anything so nice, and Rhys often found her twirling in front of every mirror she passed. She had even purchased herself a handful of porcelain dolls, never having had any when she was a girl.

"Kat!" she exclaimed as she threw her arms around Katerina. "Is that champagne?! Does that mean he got the job?!"

"His hard work has paid off," Katerina said with a grin.

"Kat, you're the one who set me up," Rhys said.

"Oh, hush," she said. "Daddy never would have hired you if you were a stupid idiot."

"He is a stupid idiot," Eloise said as she fetched three glasses. "Just not in the number department."

"Bold assumption that you're getting champagne, too," Rhys said.

"I helped," she insisted.

The girls yelped and laughed when the champagne bottle popped, and Rhys poured out three glasses. They clinked the glasses together in a toast.

"To new beginnings," Eloise said.

"New beginnings," Rhys repeated, looking at Katerina.

She blushed, then leaned over to give him a kiss. It was a new beginning, even if they had a funny way of getting there.