Scarlet Butterfly Read Free

crept across the quarterdeck and down the steps, his heart catching painfully in his throat at every creak. With any luck, whoever was waiting below wouldn’t be able to distinguish his presence from the normal groans of the old ship.
    Then a shrill screech cut through the air, almost causing Sean to drop his hammer. Bully. The contrary parrot who shared the ship with Sean suddenly came to life. “Ahoy there, matey. Furl t’gallant!”
    The thought crossed Sean’s mind that if there was an outside presence on board, Bully, who’d been left in the galley, should have been protesting like crazy. But he hadn’t until now. Was the bird responding to Sean’s presence, or had the intruder made a move?
    Just as quickly as he’d come to life, the bird hushed. Even spookier, Sean thought. Bully had a mind of his own. He was a foul-mouthed renegade who insisted on doing his thing, much like Sean. There was no love between the two, merely the tolerance of two adversaries who recognized in each other a kindred spirit.
    Sean moved down the steps, bypassing the galley, reasoning that Bully wouldn’t have hushed if the intruder were there. The door to the captain’s quarters was closed. Sean was certain he’d left it open. He’d found his thief. But how to proceed? By opening the door he would expose himself to whoever waited beyond. Yet there was no other way.
    Holding his breath, Sean pressed his ear against the door. Nothing. The thickness of the wood protected the intruder, and, he decided, himself as well. Surprise was his best offense. He’d simply rush the man and take his chances. Taking a deep breath, he raised the hammer and opened the door.
    To silence.
    To a cabin that smelled, not of tobacco as he’d expected, but of … wildflowers? Sean allowed his eyes to grow accustomed to the shadows and waited, ready to meet the intruder.
    There was a creak in the floor, as if someone had shifted his weight. Sean immediately turned toward the sound. But, other than a curious shadow, there was nothing. The cabin was empty. He took a step deeper inside the room. There was no place for a person to hide, except perhaps beneath the bed.
    The floor creaked again.
    Then the sheet moved, and he heard a sound of shallow breathing that seemed to come from the bed. Sean closed his eyes and opened them. Yes, there was a shape beneath the covers. What kind of burglar took time to take a nap? he wondered.
    “Shades of
Goldilocks and the Three Bears
!” he whispered, and moved closer. With the hammer still raised, he clasped the sheet and slowly lowered it.
    It was a woman. No, a pale, fairylike creature,some mythical spirit who had wandered onto his ship and was sleeping in his bed.
    Her skin resembled fine porcelain, faintly tinted, but clearly too fragile to be touched. Short, light-colored hair like wisps of silk lay across his pillow. Her eyes were closed in sleep, eyes with long, delicate, golden lashes that made the fantasy complete.
    One slender arm was extended toward him, her hand placed in such a way that she almost seemed to be pleading. She was wearing something silk, a slip perhaps, cream-colored and so sheer that he could see the outline of her small breasts faintly rising and falling with each breath.
    Sean felt a rush of disorientation, déjà vu almost. He blinked, then lowered his arms as he realized how he would look if the woman opened her eyes.
    Not Goldilocks, he decided, but Sleeping Beauty, waiting to be awakened with a kiss. But what the hell was she doing in his bed? And since when did mythical fairy princesses drive red rental cars?
    Maybe he was hallucinating. Maybe he’d suffered heat stroke on his way back to the river. Maybe this was all a bad dream and he’d wake up and find that nobody had written about his restoring the schooner. All this was just another mystery.
    Sean blamed the unexplained sounds and smells on age, on natural shrinkage and expansion, even on the ship’s name. If the captain had