last
journey. Nicole had been drawn to Allen instantly. He reminded her of Giles, with
his quiet, thoughtful manner, and one of those odd shipboard bonds had sprung
up between them.
Because
they spent most of their free time in port together, it hadn't taken Allen very
long to discover that Nicole was not the slender boy she appeared.
It
had been on an occasion much like today, when he had stumbled across her lying
naked on the warm sands of a secluded little cove. At first he couldn't believe
his eyes. Nicole had instantly pleaded with him not to betray her. He hadn't
liked it, and liked it even less when she confessed, reluctantly, the whole
story. Vainly he had argued with her to let him arrange for her return to
England, to the bosom of her family, and stonily Nicole had stared back at him.
She resisted every plea he put forth, but she had noticed it was queer that he
never put forth the one argument against which she had no defense —that the
Captain would have to be told! She had often wondered why but chose not to
dwell on it.
Sometimes,
though, she suspected Allen was more than he appeared. He was inordinately
interested in all that went on in the Captain's quarters, especially his
official papers and lists of ships and cargoes taken. Nicole had thought Allen
was merely unduly involved in the profit that would be made until recently when
she had caught him searching through Saber's private papers. She had read
murder in his eyes in that instant before he recognized her, and then an odd
expression had flitted across his face—Regret? Embarrassment? Resignation?
It
was an awkward confrontation and Allen had quickly bound her to secrecy by the
simple promise that if she did not betray him, he would continue to hold his
tongue about her!
Surprisingly
it had brought them closer together, for Nicole had come a long way from the
almost worshipful manner in which she had first viewed Captain Saber. But she
didn't want to think about anything today. She wanted to enjoy these moments of
freedom and impatiently she wriggled under the scratchy feel of her rough
cotton shirt.
Normally
Nicole would have shed her clothes the moment she reached the beach. But Allen
was rather peculiar about things like that, so she was wearing an abbreviated
version of her usual clothes, the shirt tied under her high bosom and the
cotton pants cut off near the tops of her slender thighs. She had another pair
of long black pants to wear back to the ship, for no one seeing the delicately
curved long legs would have any doubt about her sex.
Rising
gracefully to her feet, she regarded the prone Allen. He was wearing much the
same costume, except his strong muscled back was bare to the heat of the sun
and there was a long seaman's knife strapped about his hard waist. No shirt for
Allen, she thought resentfully. Then her mood shifted quickly, as always, and
she asked, "Shall we dive from the rock?"
Though
Allen liked it, this particular cove was not really one of Nicole's favorites
for it possessed a brooding air that made her uneasy. Perhaps it was because of
the black volcanic rock that rose so steeply on either side, reaching out like
sinister arms, and because the lagoon was deeper than most, the water was a
dark, rather menacing blue instead of the clear azure of the coves Nicole
preferred. But it did possess a high outcropping of rock at the end of one of
the arms that made an excellent point from which to dive into the cool blue
depths.
His
blue eyes lazy, Allen murmured sleepily, "You go ahead, Nick. I'll be
there eventually."
And
so Nicole slowly climbed the rocks alone. Reaching the top, for a long minute
she stared out at the open sea, then down into the crystal blueness of the
lagoon. Here the waters were almost fifty feet deep, and the fact that there
were no hidden rocks made it ideal for diving. She glanced over her shoulder,
and seeing that Allen was at last beginning to climb to the top, she gave him a
cheerful wave and then, a
journey. Nicole had been drawn to Allen instantly. He reminded her of Giles, with
his quiet, thoughtful manner, and one of those odd shipboard bonds had sprung
up between them.
Because
they spent most of their free time in port together, it hadn't taken Allen very
long to discover that Nicole was not the slender boy she appeared.
It
had been on an occasion much like today, when he had stumbled across her lying
naked on the warm sands of a secluded little cove. At first he couldn't believe
his eyes. Nicole had instantly pleaded with him not to betray her. He hadn't
liked it, and liked it even less when she confessed, reluctantly, the whole
story. Vainly he had argued with her to let him arrange for her return to
England, to the bosom of her family, and stonily Nicole had stared back at him.
She resisted every plea he put forth, but she had noticed it was queer that he
never put forth the one argument against which she had no defense —that the
Captain would have to be told! She had often wondered why but chose not to
dwell on it.
Sometimes,
though, she suspected Allen was more than he appeared. He was inordinately
interested in all that went on in the Captain's quarters, especially his
official papers and lists of ships and cargoes taken. Nicole had thought Allen
was merely unduly involved in the profit that would be made until recently when
she had caught him searching through Saber's private papers. She had read
murder in his eyes in that instant before he recognized her, and then an odd
expression had flitted across his face—Regret? Embarrassment? Resignation?
It
was an awkward confrontation and Allen had quickly bound her to secrecy by the
simple promise that if she did not betray him, he would continue to hold his
tongue about her!
Surprisingly
it had brought them closer together, for Nicole had come a long way from the
almost worshipful manner in which she had first viewed Captain Saber. But she
didn't want to think about anything today. She wanted to enjoy these moments of
freedom and impatiently she wriggled under the scratchy feel of her rough
cotton shirt.
Normally
Nicole would have shed her clothes the moment she reached the beach. But Allen
was rather peculiar about things like that, so she was wearing an abbreviated
version of her usual clothes, the shirt tied under her high bosom and the
cotton pants cut off near the tops of her slender thighs. She had another pair
of long black pants to wear back to the ship, for no one seeing the delicately
curved long legs would have any doubt about her sex.
Rising
gracefully to her feet, she regarded the prone Allen. He was wearing much the
same costume, except his strong muscled back was bare to the heat of the sun
and there was a long seaman's knife strapped about his hard waist. No shirt for
Allen, she thought resentfully. Then her mood shifted quickly, as always, and
she asked, "Shall we dive from the rock?"
Though
Allen liked it, this particular cove was not really one of Nicole's favorites
for it possessed a brooding air that made her uneasy. Perhaps it was because of
the black volcanic rock that rose so steeply on either side, reaching out like
sinister arms, and because the lagoon was deeper than most, the water was a
dark, rather menacing blue instead of the clear azure of the coves Nicole
preferred. But it did possess a high outcropping of rock at the end of one of
the arms that made an excellent point from which to dive into the cool blue
depths.
His
blue eyes lazy, Allen murmured sleepily, "You go ahead, Nick. I'll be
there eventually."
And
so Nicole slowly climbed the rocks alone. Reaching the top, for a long minute
she stared out at the open sea, then down into the crystal blueness of the
lagoon. Here the waters were almost fifty feet deep, and the fact that there
were no hidden rocks made it ideal for diving. She glanced over her shoulder,
and seeing that Allen was at last beginning to climb to the top, she gave him a
cheerful wave and then, a
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