return home, for I am certain this will be my last voyage. Oh, but where are my manners? Good morning, my name is Natalie Johnson,” said a heavyset lady with a ponderous stomach and hair of the brightest orange Lynna had ever beheld. “And your name is…”
“Bridget,” she answered cheerily, already becoming accustomed to the fictitious name.
Natalie Johnson glanced around as if to assure that no one was eavesdropping an d whispered, “Tell me, Bridget. D id you hear that God awful piercing scream the other day?”
“ Oui , I am afraid that was me. Unfortunately , I was…assaulted by one of the passengers.” Lynna still trembled remembering the appalling incident and had no desire whatsoever to rehash it now.
“How truly dreadful for you!” Natalie shrieked . “But how on earth did he get inside your cabin? Surely your door was latc hed?”
“I accompanied him to his cabin,” Lynna offered unwittingly.
“You did?” Natalie gasped, seeming to take umbrage at her words.
“ Oui , he volunteered to loan me some of his books, but he suddenly turned violent and proceeded to attack me.”
“Well, I honestly never…” Natalie spluttered indignantly , turning her back on Lynna to converse with the sea gulls . “ The girl could not be that naive! No unmarried young lady of decent breeding wou ld even consider entering a gentleman's cabi n without a chaperone. Why it i s simply beyond the realm of decency! The little hussy probably got exactly what she was asking for. What i s to become of this younger generation? No morals! No morals at all!”
“Excuse me?”
“What…oh nothing. I was but clearing my throat.”
Lynna had never before heard anyone use practically the entire alphabet while clearing their throat, but h oping to put an end to this unsettling discourse she volunteered, “Fortunately , Joshua heard my screams and came to my rescue.”
“Joshua?” Natalie's eyebrows shot up.
“ Oui , Captain Jordan. He requested that I call him Joshua.”
“Oh, did he now?” Natalie smirked. “And how long have you been acquainted with our Captain?”
“Only a few days. He is escorting me to visit relatives in America.”
“How nice of him, I’m sure. As for myself, I am returning to America. Virginia , actually, after a rather upsetting first visit to France.”
“I am sorry you did not enjoy your stay in my country,” Lynna replied, feeling personally responsible for the woman's distress.
“Oh, it was not the country. It was my ill-bred niece.”
“I see,” Lynna said, although she honestly did not. Ill-bred ?
“Perhaps I shouldn’t repeat this,” Natalie continued with her scuttlebutt. “Although I am sure you would never repeat it to a living soul.”
“Not if you do not wish me to.”
“Definitely not. It would be positively scandalous.”
“Scandalous?”
“Yes, the whole sordid affair is rather onerous for me to even discuss. But you see, one of my unmarried nieces got herself in….well…in the family way back in the states. Horribly ashamed, as they should be, her parents asked me to accompany her on a voyage to France to live with her grandparents until the child is delivered and can be place d in an orphans’ asylum. Unfortunately, my niece did not wish to leave her lover, one of the lower dregs of society , I can assure
“Bridget,” she answered cheerily, already becoming accustomed to the fictitious name.
Natalie Johnson glanced around as if to assure that no one was eavesdropping an d whispered, “Tell me, Bridget. D id you hear that God awful piercing scream the other day?”
“ Oui , I am afraid that was me. Unfortunately , I was…assaulted by one of the passengers.” Lynna still trembled remembering the appalling incident and had no desire whatsoever to rehash it now.
“How truly dreadful for you!” Natalie shrieked . “But how on earth did he get inside your cabin? Surely your door was latc hed?”
“I accompanied him to his cabin,” Lynna offered unwittingly.
“You did?” Natalie gasped, seeming to take umbrage at her words.
“ Oui , he volunteered to loan me some of his books, but he suddenly turned violent and proceeded to attack me.”
“Well, I honestly never…” Natalie spluttered indignantly , turning her back on Lynna to converse with the sea gulls . “ The girl could not be that naive! No unmarried young lady of decent breeding wou ld even consider entering a gentleman's cabi n without a chaperone. Why it i s simply beyond the realm of decency! The little hussy probably got exactly what she was asking for. What i s to become of this younger generation? No morals! No morals at all!”
“Excuse me?”
“What…oh nothing. I was but clearing my throat.”
Lynna had never before heard anyone use practically the entire alphabet while clearing their throat, but h oping to put an end to this unsettling discourse she volunteered, “Fortunately , Joshua heard my screams and came to my rescue.”
“Joshua?” Natalie's eyebrows shot up.
“ Oui , Captain Jordan. He requested that I call him Joshua.”
“Oh, did he now?” Natalie smirked. “And how long have you been acquainted with our Captain?”
“Only a few days. He is escorting me to visit relatives in America.”
“How nice of him, I’m sure. As for myself, I am returning to America. Virginia , actually, after a rather upsetting first visit to France.”
“I am sorry you did not enjoy your stay in my country,” Lynna replied, feeling personally responsible for the woman's distress.
“Oh, it was not the country. It was my ill-bred niece.”
“I see,” Lynna said, although she honestly did not. Ill-bred ?
“Perhaps I shouldn’t repeat this,” Natalie continued with her scuttlebutt. “Although I am sure you would never repeat it to a living soul.”
“Not if you do not wish me to.”
“Definitely not. It would be positively scandalous.”
“Scandalous?”
“Yes, the whole sordid affair is rather onerous for me to even discuss. But you see, one of my unmarried nieces got herself in….well…in the family way back in the states. Horribly ashamed, as they should be, her parents asked me to accompany her on a voyage to France to live with her grandparents until the child is delivered and can be place d in an orphans’ asylum. Unfortunately, my niece did not wish to leave her lover, one of the lower dregs of society , I can assure
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