~~~
“Impresario. Just the man I needed to see.”
The Impresario closed the double doors leading to the ground-floor seating of the Opera House to approach Setzer with a smile. “Mr. Gabbiani! What can I do for you?”
Setzer came up to the man and encircled his broad shoulders with an arm as he led him toward the front entrance of the Opera House. “I wondered if you’d be so good as to make sure King Edgar of Figaro and his soon-to-be bride were given complimentary reservations of a private box for a performance within the next few days. He’s told me that he has plans to contact you to do so, and I don’t want him to be charged. If that puts too much of a strain on your budget, let me know and I’ll cover the cost.”
The Impresario smiled as he gave a slight bow. “Of course, Mr. Gabbiani. The king coming here? What an honor.”
“He’ll also be bringing a friend, who will be bringing his fiancée. I’m to be their guest, so I want no mention of my participation in the arrangements of the box. Understood?”
The Impresario nodded with a serious expression. “Of course not, Mr. Gabbiani. Secrecy is of the utmost importance.”
“And have a bouquet of Veldt blossoms presented to Miss Terra Branford and Miss Celes Chere respectively at the end of the performance.”
The Impresario’s expression brightened with his returning smile. “Wonderful idea, Mr. Gabbiani. Simply wonderful.
“Again, no mention of my involvement.”
The Impresario shook his head, the smile vanishing yet again. “No, Mr. Gabbiani.”
Setzer smiled broadly and clapped the man on the back. “Thank you, Impresario. Now.” He looked over his left shoulder toward the stairs leading to Maria’s dressing room. “Is Maria available for a brief walk? Or no?”
“I’m afraid not, Mr. Gabbiani. The performance this evening has only just recently finished. Miss Maria always rests after the performance before being taken to her private residence in Jidoor.”
Setzer’s smile waned as he looked back to the Impresario. “Ah well, such is to be expected. Tell her that I wished her well and will try to stop by tomorrow afternoon for lunch.”
“Of course, Mr. Gabbiani.”
Setzer hesitated, tapping his lips with a finger before looking down at the Impresario. “How was the performance this evening? Did it go well?”
“Extremely so, Mr. Gabbiani. Miss Maria was in exceptionally rare form. Several of the regular attendees commented on the stark difference between tonight’s performance and their previous attendance.”
Setzer’s expression showed relief. “Offer her my congratulations when you see her next, but don’t tell her of my plans to attend a performance in the next few days. I wish to surprise her with a visit after the curtain lowers.”
“Of course, Mr. Gabbiani. My lips are sealed.”
“Good man.”
He clapped the Impresario on the back yet again before striding from the Opera House with a smile and a slight spring to his step. Allowing the apparent romantic ‘nonsense’ of his relationship with Maria so much power was ridiculous, but the adventure of it proved an irresistible temptation. After all, he hadn’t resisted a passionate side-venture with Marée. Setzer knew he had fully intended to take the intoxicating sea captain to his bed, though he knew nothing about her save she held an intense fascination for air ships and a love for power. Why shouldn’t he follow the same desire for Maria? Didn’t he know much more about her than anyone else?
Setzer gave a brusque nod and strode aboard his airship.
“Sir?”
Setzer halted with his hand on the door of the main room to face the guard that had stepped forward. “Yes? What is it?”
“Captain Marée is in your private office.”
Setzer’s heart dropped to the soles of his feet, disappearing through the floor to submerge into the earthen ground below. “Thank you,” he said in a quiet voice as he opened the door to the main room.
Setzer took in a slow breath, then another, and a third as he crossed the main room toward the door of his office. What he expected from her was a mystery. What he thought or felt of her presence on his ship yet another. Neither one he wanted to solve, though now it seemed he had little or no choice.
Edgar had been right; Lady Luck was a tease.
Setzer gave a deep sigh as he reached out for the handle, twist and push, and then he stepped into his office. Marée had lounged back in the seat behind his desk with her long legs propped up on the desk blotter. She lifted her head at his entrance, and her aquamarine eyes zeroed in on his silver ones as she paused her play with his dagger letter-opener.
Her expression was guarded. “Captain.”
Setzer’s pace to the desk was steady and deliberate. His mind remained distant, surprisingly insulated. “Marée. To what do I owe the honor of this visit?”
Marée’s eyes gauged his stance and expression. “First, I wanted to say ‘I’m sorry’ for hitting you in the face. Twice. I’ve got a bit of a temper when I don’t get what I want, when I want it.”
Setzer’s eyebrow twitched. An apology had been the last thing expected. “While I appreciate it, I understand your reaction. I deserved it.”
Marée pointed the dagger at him. “Yes. You did.” Then she lowered it as she continued to watch his face. “Second, I wanted . . . ” Her gaze darkened as she moved it back to the dagger. “I wanted you to give it another go. I’d hate myself ‘til the second coming of Kefka if I didn’t try. We felt damn right together, Setzer. You know it, too. We clicked.” She pinpointed his eyes with hers. “People like us don’t click with just anyone.”
Setzer lowered himself into the chair across from his desk. His eyes couldn’t release hers. Oh gods . . . “No, I suppose we don’t.”
Marée submerged the tip of the dagger into the desk blotter and leaned slightly forward. “You said you were tired. Maybe that’s the problem. Relm said you and a bunch of others had just got Terra out of a fix and it was touch-and-go with her for a while. Maybe that was it. Maybe you think I’m the one who gave the guy his stuff. I don’t know. Maybe I’m just after you because you’re the first man to say ‘not yet’ and then ‘no’. I don’t know that either. All I know is I want you, Setzer. Like a storm on the ocean, you make my blood roar.”
Setzer finally lowered his eyes from hers, those compelling and entrancing reasons to lock the door and surrender . . . “And what then, Marée? After the roar has quieted and the fire has waned; when I’ve become yet another face on your wall of conquests and adventures, what then?”
Marée kicked back again. “Who gives a curdled care? We’ll have had the adventure. Besides, who says it’ll fade? Didn’t I tell you I would have dropped any other man who pushed my buttons like you did? I haven’t, have I? Here I am. My tight little ass in your chair asking you to show me what you’re made of.”
Setzer raised his eyes to hers, but his soul balked. “There’s more to this gambler captain than the pleasure I give to a woman in bed, Marée.”
One side of her lips tilted. “Let’s find out just how much more. I’m up to the adventure. What about you?”
Setzer actually frowned with a flash of annoyance. “And after I satisfy that need? What next? A quick fix here; a snatch of passion there; a planned day with whispered encouragements at the height of passionate moaning? Shallow snatches of conversation as we strip off our clothes and fulfill the other’s lust for meaningless intimacy? What is that but sallow and empty adventure— adventure? Bah! More an addiction than an adventure, in my mind.”
Marée’s face hardened as her eyes sparked. “You better watch what you say and how you say it, captain.”
Setzer pulled at the reins of his temper. “I don’t mean it as an insult, Marée. We must each live our life as we feel we need to live it, but as for me? Distractions and futureless ecstasies are pointless. I thought perhaps you could be a haven of sorts for me when I’d had enough of the wandering, but I see now that you aren’t fin
ished with your own wanderlust. There are more adventures waiting for you.” He stood. “I’m sorry, Marée, but my ship and I need a home port. A haven to rest our weary souls. It’s unfair of me to expect that from you.”
Marée gauged him for a long and intense moment before standing and making her way close beside him. Her eyes sparkled with a chorus of desires and promises, just as her lips did. “One last chance, captain. I heard what you said, but I think it’s dragon piss. You’ve an adventurer’s heart. Your soul longs for freedom. Why would you willingly anchor--“
”No anchor,” Setzer corrected. “Only a place to call home. A dock to return to at each journey’s end. A welcoming port.”
Marée took hold of the lapels of his coat and pulled him close; so close each breath tickled the skin of his face with memories. “I can be pretty damned welcoming, captain. And I think my ship could be a hell of a good home.”
Setzer covered her hands with his and pulled them free from his coat, resisting the itch of temptation. “It isn’t enough, Marée. I thought it would be at one time, but . . . ” He shook his head and stepped back. “I’m a gambler, Marée. It’s all or nothing. I’ve placed my bet. I want it all.”
Marée’s eyes sparked with temper. “You want what? Three screaming brats grabbing your legs when you try to escape to the air? A woman that doesn’t trust you out of her sight and questions every little thing you do? Time schedules and rules? Demands and--“
”Yes.” And the answer shocked Setzer to the core.
Marée blinked and leaned slightly backward in surprise. “What?”
“I want the woman who cares enough to question. I want the children that symbolize a family begun with love, trust, and intimacy. I want the responsibility that would come with the family I chose to have. Can’t you see the constant adventure of that, Marée? The newness each day? The challenge to surprise those that know you so well?”
Marée closely scrutinized his face as her eyes narrowed. Finally, the expression on her face relaxed and she passed him to the exit. Setzer turned and watched her. “You’ve spoken yourself into certain doom, captain. Good luck.”
“And to you, Marée. I will never regret our time together.”
She scoffed and slammed the door closed behind her. Setzer, however, lowered himself carefully into his chair and clutched at his desk as the pictures of his ‘doom’ began to solidify. The adventure he’d chosen would be more terrifying and more challenging than any other in his life.