"Do you even know where you're going?" says Olu.

"Oh yes,'' says Stede. "I've become rather good at navigating by the stars."

Olu lowers his voice. "What's the plan?"

"Simple, my friend. We attract the attention of a passing ship and are rescued."

"Or shot."

"Now that's the kind of negativity which a true pirate rejects! Come on, what do you see through that spyglass of yours?"

"Nothing."

"May I?" Stede takes the scope and scans the horizon. "The shipping routes criss-cross this whole area. We should start to see vessels… now. Ah yes. There's one."

"What!"

The crew exchange incredulous glances. Never in their shared history has Stede been lucky, or right.

"She's small but she'll do." Stede slams the telescope shut and returns it to Olu. "Now to signal to them. Raise the flag!"

The crew stares blankly.

"Er, there's no flag, captain," says Olu.

"This is literally just a dinghy with a broken mast," says Pete.

"Aye." Somehow Buttons already has a gull on his head.

"Oh. Right. Well then." Stede unfastens his shirt and pulls it off. Standing in the prow of the dinghy, he waves the shirt over his head. "I say. Ahoy there!"

The other boat is, it turns out, a fishing vessel not much larger than their dinghy. Its hull is pale, the wood bleached by long exposure to the sun, and its fan-shaped sails are blood red.

The fishing boat contains two fishermen and a passenger in baggy pants and striped crewman's shirt with a flamboyant necktie. All three wave a welcome to Stede, and a rope ladder unrolls over the side.

"Good grief," says Stede as the dinghy draws near.

"I'm going to faint," says Pete, and does.

From the other vessel comes a sarcastic voice. "Typical. I wait all my life for a bare-chested man to greet me enthusiastically, and then it turns out to be you."

Stede gasps. "Lucius!"

"Yes," says Lucius. "I'm alive. No thanks to your boyfriend."

As the sun sets on the third day of Stede's new life, the fishing junk is heading for land with everyone on board. The fishermen have offered food and water and room for everyone. They don't say much but seem friendly enough.

They know the code of the sea, to help any other vessel in distress, which Stede appreciates. He sometimes feels not enough people have read that chapter of the big book of sailing.

These men clearly have. Maybe they wrote the book. Stede has never been on such a neat and tidy vessel. And the red sails are absolutely exquisite.

"Who are these two?" Stede asks Lucius as they all sit around a cloth spread on the main deck, with dishes of smoked mackerel and rice.

Lucius is tall and somewhat good-looking - younger than the rest of the crew, and more educated. He's also more sarcastic and more inclined to writing and drawing than gunfights. It's not entirely clear how he became a pirate captain's scribe. Stede must ask him, one day.

Now, Lucius gives a spiralling handwave at one, then the other of their two rescuers. "That's Nails, and Mooney."

"A pleasure to meet you," says Stede, offering his hand. The men smile and bow from a sitting position, murmuring a greeting in return.

"Oh! You're from China," says Stede.

"Yes," says Nails. He is small and slim, sixtyish, with grey hair in a pigtail.

"Not much English," says Mooney. He is taller, rounder, but also grey-haired. "Even after a long time." He smiles at Nails.

"Well, I'm very grateful for your help," says Stede. "We need to reach land and I was starting to wonder if my dinghy was up to the job." The dinghy is currently tied to the stern, and letting in water.

"You need to buy a bigger boat," says Nails.

"That's my plan. But we'll need money."

"You've got money," says Pete. "Don't you?"

Stede pushes away his plate and leans back. The evening air is cool and fresh. It's a perfect night at sea. He sighs contentedly. "Not any more I'm afraid. Gave it all away."

Everyone's shoulders slump, except Stede's. "Money's not important," he says. "I'm on a different mission. I need to find Ed, that is, Blackbeard," he explains to Nail and Mooney, "and set a few things straight."

Lucius makes a strange noise, but perhaps it is just that Pete is squeezing him tightly.

"How about you?" says Stede to Mooney and Nails. "What are you seeking, out here on the ocean?"

The men make some gestures which could be anything.

"They're amazing sailors," says Lucius. He gives them his best smile, which on Lucius can be charming, or deadly. "You could learn a lot from them. Frankly we all could, I'd be dead without them."

"Teach," says Nails.

"Teach," says Mooney.

"Fantastic," says Stede. "I'll be happy to learn all I can from you." He shakes their hands. "Well. This is great. I feel we've made some excellent progress today towards finding Blackbeard."

Lucius snorts.

"What's that Lucius? Speak up, share it with the group."

"Well," says Lucius, tossing back his hair. "On the Blackbeard front, I have some news."

"Look, Lucius, I'm sorry, but it doesn't change anything." Stede prevents Pete from drinking the orange liqueur and takes the flask off him, swapping it for a cup of the Chinese sailors' spirits.

"So, what, you're just going to carry on being infatuated with a murderer. Got it." Lucius pouts. Pete pats his hand and Lucius squeezes it gratefully.

Stede says, "Well. He is a pirate."

"But he wasn't an actual murderer."

Stede looks away. I killed my dad , Ed had told him. Not the kraken. I did it.

Lucius huffs. "Ok, granted, we were prepared to overlook his bloodthirsty past because, well, hotness." Stede frowns. "But now he's tried to actually kill one of us. Me. On purpose."

Stede winces. He thinks of Ed, confessing that he'd never killed anyone except his monstrous father. Revealing that the Blackbeard persona was something he wore, not something he was. Showing Stede that in spite of his terrifying manner, Ed had a kind heart that longed for affection.

"Or are we just going to let that slide?" Lucius folds his arms.

"No. No, you're right. People change. I need to be prepared for that."

"He is not the same man as he was," says Lucius. He shakes out his hair. "I spent days consoling him in his blanket fort, and then he turns, like a feral beast, and tosses me over the side."

For a second Stede has a vision of how Lucius consoled Ed. Lucius is young and willing and extremely self-serving. Stede puts it aside. "I still can't really believe it."

"It's true."

"A blanket fort!"

Lucius rolls his eyes. "Ugh. Loving the sympathy."

Stede adds hurriedly, "I mean, what he did to you, that's terrible. But - are you sure it wasn't an accident?"

"Pretty sure."

"Well," says Stede, getting to his feet, "I am going to find Ed, and rebuild our friendship, and we can all go back to the way things were. I'll explain what happened with me, and I'm sure he'll be able to do the same, vis a vis this whole throwing Lucius overboard business. Whatever the reason, he won't be doing it again."

"Huh," says Lucius. "Are you prepared to take that risk? Because personally I'm not."

"Maybe you can test him," suggests Olu. "Find out if he's a full-on ruthless killer now, or if Lucius was just a blip. -No offence Lucius."

"Plenty taken."

"Test him. How?" Stede begins pacing.

Buttons says, "Put him in a situation where he could kill, and see what he does."

Stede wrinkles his nose. "Not sure I fancy that. Who would he kill? Any volunteers to be the bait? Didn't think so."

"Send him into a trance and question him," says Roach. "My grandma knew a way with a pocket watch and a candle."

"I've heard of that," says Stede. "You swing the watch on its chain and it mesmerises the other person."

Roach scrunches his face. "That's not what you do. You take the candle and -"

Everyone recoils from Roach's descriptive gestures. Stede says, "I like the creativity, but let's shelve that idea. Any other suggestions?"

"Well," says Lucius reluctantly. "I have some experience in this area as it happens. I once had some involvement with a lawyer."

"Right."

"Legally speaking, we're not testing him to see if he will kill. Any one of us could kill, right?" Non-committal grunts from the crew. Buttons strokes his seagull. "We're testing to see if he feels guilty about having killed," says Lucius triumphantly.

Stede brightens. "I see where you're going with this. Remorse. That's what we're looking for."

"Precisely. No remorse, he's probably not one to bring home to Mother."

Stede has a brief and disturbing image of presenting Ed, in head-to-toe leather, eyes flaming, thighs clanking with gun and knife, to his elderly and highly conventional mother. Ed bends over her hand and kisses her gloves whilst shooting her a look that would melt cauldrons. Oh god. She would adore him.

Well. Apart from the pirate aspect.

And the not being Stede's wife Mary aspect.

Mother wouldn't understand. She has refused to understand for forty years, she is unlikely to start now.

Luckily Stede is officially dead and so he need never navigate this particular route.

He returns his attention to the discussion.

"If you're going to make it work," says Lucius, "You need get to know him again. Give him opportunities to talk about what happened. Find out if he's racked with guilt. -He won't be."

"Good, good. We'll have to keep you out of the way, of course."

"Naturally. I will merely be the conductor, orchestrating a beautiful reunion between star-crossed lovers. Or, an absolute carriage wreck. Whatever." Lucius flicks back his hair.

"Great," says Stede. "We have a plan."

"Well, not exactly," says Olu. "Where are we going to find Blackbeard? How are we going to befriend him, if that's even possible? He knows all of us. How can we get to know him without him knowing us?"

"Aha," says Lucius. He rummages around and retrieves a large notebook from under a cushion. "That's the absolute genius part."

"You must meet as strangers," says Lucius, writing rapid notes. "We can't just show up and be all Hi, it's us. There's too much history there."

"History." Stede nods gravely. "...And what is that exactly?"

"He threw overboard your most valuable crew member."

"Mnn yes."

Olu gives Lucius a hard stare.

Lucius says grudgingly, "And marooned the rest, yeah, yeah whatever."

"Right."

Lucius goes on, "And you betrayed his trust when he was at his most vulnerable, breaking his heart and sending him into a full-on reversion to his previous vicious state."

"Right." Stede inspects his fingernails. "Was it really that bad?" he asks in a low voice. "Surely he must know I'd never-"

"But you did."

Stede sighs. "Ok then. Strangers. How does that help us?"

"It means you meet again, but all is new." Lucius sketches in the air. "Picture the scene. A masked ball, music, moonlight. You are resplendent in silk and lace. He's there also." Lucius sniffs.

"I'm liking this."

"You meet on the dance floor. The band strikes up a minuet."

Stede presses his hand to his heart. "The most intimate of dances. Over a minute and a half of handholding!" The crew exchange glances, roll their eyes.

Lucius continues. "You draw close but your mask hides your true identity. He's fascinated by your ease and sophistication. You like his ... I dunno. Beard."

"He shaved off his beard."

"Let me work! The attraction between you is mutual. You take his hand, lean close and whisper Be mine seacaptain -"

Stede winces "Seacaptain ? -"

"And he murmurs, Always, my pirate prince."

"This is soooo swoonworthy," says Pete. "I'm getting flushes!"

Lucius says, "You gaze into each other's eyes, knowing that this time, it's forever. He confesses his regret at the heartless killing of a young and beautiful soul, ie, me. Then you reveal yourself. Tis I! He's stunned, you are triumphant. And then -" Lucius makes a disgusted face - "old-man kissing, et cetera. Ugh."

Stede swallows. It's a powerful vision. "Mmn. Well, I applaud your sense of the dramatic."

"I thank you." Lucius bows. "You may all applaud now." Nobody does.

Stede says, "But I'm not sure it will be as simple as that. For starters, even in a mask, I'm pretty sure Ed will know me."

"You'll have to disguise your voice," says Olu.

"You're good at voices," says Pete. "That's a strength."

"All right," says Stede. "Say I disguise my voice. Why would Blackbeard even attend a masked ball? Who am I supposed to be? I'm a wanted man, I can't just turn up at an invitation-only event. And where would I get all the silk and lace. Sorry, Lucius, but it just doesn't add up."

Lucius pouts.

Stede says, "We need some other way to lure Ed in."

"We also need a ship," points out Olu. "And to actually find Blackbeard."

"And he's probably not in the recoupling zone right now anyway," admits Lucius. "What does he like?"

Stede thinks of Ed, holding Stede's hand and suggesting they run away to China together. Of Ed, touching Stede's collection of lace and silk as if bewitched by the softness against his skin. Of Ed, kissing Stede gently. "Ah …" His mind has temporarily gone blank.

"What do all pirates like?" demands Lucius.

"Ships?"

"Gold!"

"Ok. We'll get some gold. What else?"

"You'll need some ..." Lucius flicks at Stede's shirt. "Zhuzhing up. A bit of a makeover."

"Ah, well, on that front, I have a few ideas of my own. I'm a dead man now. I'll need a whole new look."

"Nothing lame," warns Lucius. " You need to be brilliant. Forgivable, fuckable, fabulous. The three fs."

"Got it. Glamour and glitz." Stede hesitates. "Was he really ... heartbroken."

Lucius leans in. "He was crying into a jar of marmalade. I'll let you draw your own conclusions."

Stede blinks a few times, swallows. He knows that Ed's ferocity is ninety per cent pretence. Underneath, he hates himself. And Stede has made that immeasurably worse.

There's much to fix, and they have not even found Ed yet. He draws a long breath. "Well. One thing's for sure." Stede puts his hands on his hips and surveys the crew. "We're going to have to get a lot better at piracy."