Here's chapter 3, pretty short, but I'm working on chapter 4.

Your advice is very much appreciated, Kerichi! But the problem between the two parts was that I forget to add the dotted line that separates them. I've gone back and edited it, so it should make more sense now.

Actually, Angel doesn't fall for Thomas at all – it'll just take her a while to realize that Robin's there for more than being her loyal first mate ;)

And before I release you to read this next chapter, I'd like to give you a little nudge towards something new I posted today…well, it's not really new, seeing as how I wrote it last year, but yeah, just thought that if you've got time, you might wanna read it…it's called 'The Lily Maid's Lament'…

Angel Silver paused at the door of the Spyglass Inn & Pub with her hand on the doorknob, checking absently for her black cat, but the feline was nowhere in sight. Angel wasn't worried. Her cat often disappeared for varying lengths of time, returning unexpectedly, leaping onto his mistress's shoulder like a living shadow.

Passing a hand through her hair, Angel breathed the fresh sea air deeply and then twisted the doorknob and entered the pub.

A blast of hot air, heavily scented with alcohol, and loud music and rowdy laughter greeted Angel as she stepped into the large room. Pirates big and small, smartly dressed and scruffily, crowded around the tables that were scattered around the room. Waitresses in flowing skirts and tight corsets threaded through the maze of people, carrying trays of food and drink with one hand and warding off leering pirates with the other. A large, buxom woman in a multicoloured gypsy dress was perched on a stool behind the counter, collecting coins and counting them before depositing them into a small bag fashioned out of coarse brown fabric while a young girl poured out ale and rum and beer into jugs and glasses and handed them out to the waitresses who stood waiting for their trays to be filled, chatting and laughing with the men who leaned in their chairs sipping from large mugs.

Casting a sweeping glance across the room, Angel found no trouble in finding her crew. They were the loudest, most boisterous, and most troublesome group in the room. At the moment, they occupied several large tables in the middle of the room, and, as always, were up to no good.

Robin Morgan and one of his mates, Will Knight, had lured a waitress to their table, and now they held her captive, looking delighted as she struggled to escape from their iron grips, merely tightening their arms around her waist and grinning at her. With a roar of laughter, the rest of Angel's crew swooped down on her unguarded tray, laden with several bottles of expensive wines, and carried it off to quaff it down. Dropping a kiss on her cheek and winking impudently, Robin and Will released her and turned to join their mates in their drinking fest, only to see Angel elbowing her way through the crowd.

Catching sight of her, Robin waved her over and pushed a chair towards her. Swiping a glass of wine from one of her men, she dropped into her chair and propped her boots up on the table.

Nodding a greeting to her crew, she sipped the wine delicately and then put the glass down carefully.

"Good wine," she commented, dabbing at her lips with a crisp white napkin. "Very light, but sweet and fruity."

Robin sniffed at the open mouth of the bottle. "Aye," he said, his nose twitching, "T'is good stuff, sure enough". He tipped his head back to let a thin stream of the stuff trickle into his open mouth.

Angel shrugged and snapped her fingers for the nearest waitress, who came forward reluctantly and kept a wary eye on the men.

"Rum," Angel ordered, "And mind it's not that bilgewater yeh usually serve. I want somethin' decent enough ter drink wi'out spitting it back up." She dismissed the waitress with a wave of her hand, and the woman fled to obey her orders, relieved to escape the men's suggestive leers and comments.

Billy, Angel's burly helmsman, belched loudly before speaking. "Luke 'ere tells us we're ter set sail soon, Cap'n. Is th' bloody hound speakin' th' truth or lyin' agin?"

Angel leaned back in her chair. "He speaks truth, mate. I've been talkin' wi' folks, pickin' up on some news, an' I've been hearin' tha' Spain an' England are tryin' ter make an alliance through marriage. Costly gifts 'ave been exchanged, bu' they say tha' an entire shipload o' gold an' jewels an' precious silks an' spices are bein' sent ter England ter th' princess. Wot say we pay'em a surprise visit?" She grinned wickedly. "All those in favour o' headin' ter Spain an' gold, cry aye. All those in favour o' wastin' our time floatin' around 'ere in th' Caribbean, cry nay and git their fat arses out o' here."

The decision was unanimous. Their eyes shining with greed and lust, the entire crew cried out, "Aye!"

Sipping from her rum, Angel smiled, her blue eyes gleaming. "Spain and gold it is, me hearties. Spain and gold."