"[i]Goedendag,[/i]" Alexander said in his native tongue and gently took Lucy's hand. The words that came out of her mouth sounded French to his ears, and if there was one race he did not want to be confused for, it was French. He pulled down his scarf with his other hand and planted a quick kiss on the back of Lucy's hand. It had nothing to do with chivalry or good manners; the move had allowed him to sneak in a quick sniff of Lucy's scent. From the damp feel of her hand and slight scent of mud and pigs still clinging to her, Alexander knew that she had only just cleaned herself off and thus was still working. He did not need to guess; he had spent the better part of the past two weeks carrying out surveillance on the tavern. It had nothing to do with a job; he just wanted to make sure he knew everything about the place that would be his base of operations for the foreseeable future.

Alexander released her hand and stepped back slightly. The rumours he had heard were quite accurate, Lucy was indeed a very attractive lady. Now if she was as money-minded as what the other men in the tavern say, she would be perfect for Alexander's purposes. The way he saw it, the richer the pirate, the more experience they had. He did not want some amateur going after the French trade fleet lest he alert them to the possibility of an attack. He was quite certain that the French had enough resources in the region to reinforce the fleet with at least a couple of frigates or even men-of-war.

"Shall we retreat to somewhere more private?" Alexander asked. He had conversed with his contact in Dutch previously and thus had no fears of being overheard. However, with Lucy, he would be forced to use English, a language even the dumbest of pirates could understand. "So that we may discuss payment?"