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"Fathering a - "
"LordAinsleywasquiteconcernedwith continuing the family line"Whister was quite pink now"To prove theer last requirement, you have to behad oneby yourertwenty-fifth birthday"
"Bymy twenty-fifth - But that isonly - Why, it’s not much more than nine etically
"What if she isasked as Valoreesimply stared
"Well, thentheestate would revert to the next inlineI am not sure whothat wouldbe, butI can look it up - "
"Thatwill not be necessary, " Valoree told hi abruptly toher feet "Thank you for your time Good day"
Blinking as she started for the door, Master Whister got abruptly to his feetHe hurried around his desk as Aunt Meg followed Valoree out
"I am sorry I did not realize that youwerenotaware of the stipulation, " heapologizedsilently, Valoreesailed through the entry andoutthe door, leaving Meg todeal with the man
Henryleaped from his perchandhurried to open the door of thehack asshe approachedValoree ignored his frown, knowing thathe orriedby her stiffdemeanorandcold expression
Hecould wait for anexplanationAsshe seated herselfinthe carriage, sheturned to see Meg hurriedly exitthe house Valoree raisedher eyebrow inquestion, hopingthat sohadbeen said that altered the situation
The woe, pulling the door closedbehind her
Valoreerapped onthecoach, and, shrugging, Henry climbed back up onto his perch at theback of the coach so that Skully could get the horsesinewas heavy At last Meg spoke, and Valoree was surprised by the concern in the woman’s voice
"Whatwill you do now? "
Valoree wassilent for alanced over, regretful Bull had promised this woman a place on the estateifshe helpedthe held up her end of the bargain
Sighing, Valoree spoke "Youe onan estate, but it wasall Valoree had to offer "You could help Petey cook, " she added, just to let the woman know that her positionwould be a respectable one
"Where do you planon sailing to? "
Valoree frowned and considered briefly before answering, "Back to the Caribbean most like"
The woman shook her head "Will younot even try? "
Valoree blinked in surprise "Try what? "
"To find a husband? "
She did not even bother to answer, street Itseea husband, not withthe prerequisites her fatherhadleft her: find a to h, but she also had to be with child or have birthed one by her next birthday No, it was all quite simply impossible Ifthe "noblyborn" parthad not beenincluded, well, then, that would havebeen one thing But where the devil was Valoree to find a noble ould be willing to both eof her own estate? And ould she find oneshe illing tolay doith to beget a child? Valoreewasn’t the ti raisedon a shipfull of pirates had seen to that But she wasn’t anywhere near experienced whenit cameto sex either She had never evenbeen kissed yetThat was so raised on a ship full of pirates had seen to Or ender on a ship full of pirates had seen to
Still andall, she had heard quite a bit of bragging fromthe men abouttheir exploits She had evenstumbled across one or two of the men withprostitutesthey had sneaked aboard-shipoverthe years Between those twothings, Valoree had agood grasp on whatit was all about As far asshe could tell, it all appeared rather aard and silly to her All thatIt didn’t appearvery exciting to her But if the men were to be believed, itfelta whole lot better thanitlooked That beingthe case, Valoree wasn’t against trying it out She just hadn’t yet that she would be luckyenough to find a h, for shesuspectedsex was one of those things that could be a chore if therewasn’tsoht up, it took her a about distractedly, she peered at the open door of the hack where Henry stood patiently waiting
Sighing, sheshiftedalong theseat, thenleapt clearof thedoor, landing in apuddle with asatisfying slap of herboots
Ignoring Henry’s startled and even slightly disapproving look, she turned and strode up the dock, uncaring ofhowit looked for awo about like a , with so at the end of the dock, she waited as Skully and One-Eye hurriedtocatch up to herShescowled They looked ridiculous in thelivery Pale pinksior One-Eye’s patchTheir hair was toolong, their faces scruffy andsunburntTheydid not fit insuch finery They looked better and were arb Mayhapit was better that they wouldnot be forced into the roles ofgentlemen farmers
"I want you torally the men, Henry Weleave as soonasthe last of them return"
"Leave? "her friendasked in shock "For where? "
"The CaribbeanI shallnot inheritIt looksas ifwe havea few left before us"
Chapter Three
Valoree had changed outofher gown and backinto herusual dress ofbreeches andtop, yetthis tier bothered to bindher breasts It was thefirst ti soShe had beenbinding her breasts since she’d developed theer brothers and cabin boysdid not have breasts, and that was howthe crew hadthought of her for thirteen years - until now
Henry had announced to theirlthe afternoon they had sailed intoLondon It had seeonedifferently, then they’dplanned, Valoreewished he hadkept that informationto himself The men hadbeenshocked, of course, and one ortwo had nottaken it well that theircaptain had turned out to be a girlStill, they were probably over it bynow
Right, she thought sarcastically, then leanedback in her chair with a sigh and propped her feet upon thetable Grabbingthe bottle of ru She orking very hardate sottedwhena knock caed her mind and slouched even further in her seatSurely theyhad come only to tell her that they had voted someone else captain, anyway They would hardly keepher nowthat everyone knew she oed-for hoo when theyhad all signed onwithher brother
"Enter!" she snapped, thenwatched calmlyas Henryducked inside He was followed by One-Eye, Skully, Bull, Petey, Meg, and asmanyof therest of the crew as could fitinsidethe room
Shecould hear the restclustered outsidethedoor
"What? " Valoree asked wearily, then waited for the announceri stuckwith the job of speaker, but stepped forward, clearing his throat
"Well, now, ye see, Cap’n, Meghere told usall about what that there Whisterfellersaid"