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She sighed. “I’m certainly afraid of dogs with giant jaws that growl and bark and look at me like I’m food. I much prefer cats.”

Amusement sparkled in his eyes. “Cats,” he scoffed slightly. “They’re useless animals.”

Calliope gasped. “Excuse me? Useless? They’re great companions.” She put up one finger. “They’re great hunters and catch vermin.” Another finger. “They’re cute.” Another finger. “And when they sleep with you, they warm up the bed.”

His eyes grew darker. “You don’t need a cat to warm your bed when you have a husband.”

She was unable to look away from him, completely kept captive in his gaze.

And at a loss for words, she suppressed her fear of the beasts and walked down the stairs and towards them, her heart drumming strongly against her ribs. They looked at her, and Argos bowed his head to sniff at her hand. Although the giant dog had gone with her and the girls earlier that day, she’d managed to always keep a few feet away from him. Calliope stood a step away from them now, her knees a little wobbly, her hand shivering.

“Good boys,” said Nathaniel. “This is your new mistress. My wife.”

He glanced at her then, their gazes locking, and something in her chest tightened at the words.

“Here.” He picked up a plate of old, hard pieces of bread. “Give them a treat.”

Calliope picked up a dry piece of bread with trembling fingers. Argos’s jaws looked especially dangerous next to her hand.

“Don’t be afraid, love,” he said. “They’re good boys. They just need to know you’re in their pack, someone they need to protect.”

Love… Oh, how good the word sounded on his lips.

He was a rake, she reminded herself. He didn’t really mean those words. She shouldn’t assume otherwise.

She nodded. He was right, of course. And she trusted him. She stretched her hand out towards Argos. He licked his jaws, whined slightly, and his giant tail began wagging from side to side as he looked into the palm of her hand. The other two watched her with great interest, too, shifting closer.

“Here, Argos,” she said. “For you. Thank you for saving us today.”

Argos whined and licked the bread off her palm, his tongue wet and warm. The shiver of fear that went through her was replaced with a thrill of joy as the dog crunched happily on the bread. Calliope giggled as she looked into Nathaniel’s satisfied face.

“Well done, Calliope,” he said. “See, not so scary.”

She nodded. “Do you want some, too?” she asked the other two, who looked at her now with adoration. She placed a piece of bread in each palm and stretched them out for the beasts. “Here you go.”

They gave thin little whines of excitement, and both grabbed their treats from her palms, their warm breath brushing against her skin.

She straightened and watched the dogs crunch on the bread, something warm and delightful spreading through her. They didn’t look at her with animosity anymore, nor did they growl or bark. On the contrary, they looked at the plate in her hands with great anticipation.

“Can I give them more?” she asked Nathaniel.

He crossed his arms over his chest, his long, muscular legs standing wide apart, a calm, satisfied half smile on his lips.

“You can,” he said. “I’d say Argos especially earned it. Had these two been with you, they would, too.”

As Calliope fed them more treats, enjoying herself, smiling as she watched them crunch on the bread, she thought she may ask Nathaniel if she could borrow one of them once she opened her agency. She wondered why she hadn’t thought of that before. She could see about training them to follow smells and therefore help her in her jobs that required searching, not to mention guarding her or her future employees.

“Good boys,” she said as they ate the last pieces, and patted them on their heads, just like Nathaniel did. “Thank you for chasing away that man today, Nathaniel,” she said without looking at him, but she felt his hot gaze on her. “And for the ledger.”

“You’re welcome,” he said softly. “Did you find anything?”

“No mention of Spencer, as you said.” She finally looked at him, meeting his eyes. That turquoise gaze sent a delicious shiver right through her core. “But the lists of the sailors and their wages from those five ships are all on different paper.”

He frowned, his relaxed pose gaining tension. “Different paper?”

She nodded. “The paper the rest of the ledger is written on is slightly yellow. A little older. The paper on which those lists are written is whiter. Clearly newer and produced by a different manufacturer. There were also traces of glue.”

Nathaniel’s jaws opened and closed slightly as he stared into space with his brows drawn together. “Are you certain?”