“You are staring, Captain. That’s quite rude, don’t you know? If you must stare, could you try to be less obvious about doing so?” Sandra remarked off-handedly with a smile. Even without moving her hands to her cheeks, Sandra felt a giddy blush creep onto her cheeks when he snickered. If Maxwell laughed properly, he would wince.72Please respect copyright.PENANAPK9ivcnHYC
“Are you well enough to eat something? There should be some stew left in the galley. Shall I fetch a bowl for you?”72Please respect copyright.PENANA19LCg5uFdM
Maxwell nodded, rubbing his chin as he was struck with an idea.72Please respect copyright.PENANABEyVJ6j5Ri
“That would be wonderful if you did, Miss Swift.”72Please respect copyright.PENANAsWzgXtuu7B
Sandra assembled the parchment documents into two orderly piles, lowering them into a heavy wooden chest. After wiping the ink from her hands down the sides of her trousers, she packed the tools into the box she found them in, secured the battered cardboard box with a piece of twine and placed the box on top of the documents. For a small frigate, the Captain’s quarters were equally luxurious and lacking claustrophobia.
She bowed to the Captain before leaving his chambers for the galley. He peeked his head out to make sure she was heading towards the galley. Once she vanished from his sight, Maxwell tore through the clutter on his desk. It may have looked like a disaster to outsiders, but he knew where he left every navigational instrument and slip of parchment. His expression softened as he realized that his clutter laid undisturbed. He really should ask her to organise his belongings in case of an emergency evacuation.
Maxwell wasn’t the only skeptical one. Sandra was quick to ladle a hearty portion of stew from the cooking pot into a bowl and creep back so quietly that he would not notice her until she coughed. She watched the blonde collapse backwards into the chair and sigh. He no longer looked like a man on the brink of death, but beads of sweat glistened across his forehead in the lantern light and the light beaming through the window. She coughed to alert him. He lowered his gaze from the ceiling. The corner of his mouth twisted upwards in a smirk. Some will to live had returned to those hypnotic blue eyes.72Please respect copyright.PENANAbT1xbuvVOy
“Bring it over.” The blonde waved his hand, beckoning the sixteen year old towards him.72Please respect copyright.PENANAkHIFqyOlfI
“Are you bleeding?”72Please respect copyright.PENANA0KFS20JUnh
“No more than usual.” His laugh morphed into a wince. “Thanks to your handiwork.”72Please respect copyright.PENANAeyAATpJpt6
Sandra pushed aside some clutter and set the bowl down in front of him alongside a spoon. Pushing aside his theory that she had poked through his logs and meticulously covered her tracks. Women in the colonies were not known for writing and reading.72Please respect copyright.PENANAJ6XEtxerSA
“Eat. I’ll check your wound.” She ordered in a clipped and frustrated tone.72Please respect copyright.PENANA3FpoSsH6iT
“You should rest, Miss Swift. If you are worried about the misfits in my crew touching you while you’re defenceless, you can sleep here.” Maxwell gestured to his bed before snatching up the spoon and shovelling the stew into his mouth like a piglet at a trough. Sure it contained whatever provisions had not spoiled during the time they spent stranded on the spit of sand and whatever unfortunate animals that Sandra and his crew hunted, but the stew was so delicious that he felt tears swimming laps in his eyes. Sandra pouted, planting her hands on her hips.72Please respect copyright.PENANAsNTEgO05vK
“After your bandages have been changed, Mister Bayne.”72Please respect copyright.PENANAz4z8UI9WVB
His chewing slowed down as if he had forgotten that she was kneeling beside his chair, rummaging for the first-aid kit that she and Hodari had cobbled together as their Captain needed treatments that were less intrusive than a bottle of ale or rum and a bone saw. Skinning rabbits was one thing. She could not imagine herself amputating human limbs.
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Once he ate his fill, the Captain lifted his arms, signalling that Sandra could tend to him. She was quick about it. Not taking her chance to admire his body unlike a tavern wench. The blonde inhaled sharply through said gritted teeth. It was starting to hurt less than other injuries he had gotten in the past. His gaze occasionally met hers, making her cheeks blush and her doe-eyes glance away. He was glad that he did not scare her away. It had been a long time since someone looked at him the way that Sandra did.72Please respect copyright.PENANA7RUOUqKfVZ
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“Finished at last. Is there anything else that you need?” Sandra asked, rising to her feet.72Please respect copyright.PENANAT5JTh7fsLt
“Could you tidy up this mess that you made before you retire for the evening?”72Please respect copyright.PENANAuQGRmVCMKf
“Do you think I will let my guard down around a man like you?”72Please respect copyright.PENANAOsRvwfhzg0
“Oh, but I am injured...” He whined mockingly. “...What harm can I do?”72Please respect copyright.PENANAueKq0Zdq46
Sandra exhaled through her nose and rolled her doe-eyes like a gambler’s dice.72Please respect copyright.PENANAnEC76QCrhN
“Forgive me, Mister Bayne!” She gasped mockingly. “I’m simply a dim-witted woman.”72Please respect copyright.PENANAtUOA44C2D0
They both shared a chuckle until she coughed behind her hand to clear her throat.72Please respect copyright.PENANAJzs5oOA65l
“Ahem. I’m not versed in nautical affairs.”72Please respect copyright.PENANAzxtmLjy58m
“Catalogue my belongings according to whatever makes sense to you. I’ll watch.”72Please respect copyright.PENANAr99oGtqkYG
She glanced at him one last time. He nodded. She walked over and pushed everything off the desk and onto the rug on the floor. Sandra then fell to her knees and sorted the load into four piles - maps, instruments, logs and anything that she could not identify.
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By the time a small candle melted into its saucer, she could no longer keep her eyes open. She stretched until her joints popped so softly that it could be mistaken for the sounds of the hull settling and dampened a handkerchief with water, dabbing it on her gills beneath her neckerchief. Sandra surprised herself with how many things she recalled from all the times that she cleaned her Master’s study. When her brown eyes met Maxwell’s blue, she smirked smugly, wiping perspiration from her brow with the back of her arm. She was learning how to decipher his smiles. He had a smile for every mood. He was the stuff of legends, but it made her wary of whatever his smiles masked.