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"I’lad you have it And I’e place to have such a body part," she teased

"I’ll show you body parts," he whispered

"Prorew breathless and winced here and there, pressing their fingers to each other’s lips, s love just a bit aardly and with just a bit of difficulty and yet finding that the shter itself asps the ether, da, interlocked, and strangely silent

"You’re going out, aren’t you?" Vanessa whispered

He nodded "I just…I…I needed this time," he said He’d never realized that he didn’t kno to speak to a woman Not true, speech had been easy But he had never intended to become involved, never realized that he could feel that he needed to wake up with so He let out a breath and turned to her and just let the words come "I think I love you," he said

She smiled "I think I love you, too"

"I think…I think that when this is over you shouldn’t leave," he said "I think that we should both see where this thinking is going I think the thinking could becoainst his, and her eyes, so dark and beautiful a blue in the shadows, met his "I think that I’ll be here," she said softly

He didn’t want to leave her; he had to He knew that he was right, that even if the three of the the place appeared to be overkill, it was necessary

He rose, reaching for his clothes and dressing quickly in the craown "I’ll come with you"

"No"

"But--"

"Get so day, and…well, you are distracting," he told her

"All right," she said softly

He unzipped the flap on the tent and slipped away

Despite everything that had happened during the day--or perhaps because of it--Vanessa found herself falling into a deep sleep almost immediately after Sean left her

For a while, even in sleep, she knew the co touched

She opened her eyes It was dark in the tent, though the h Strange patterns and shadoere dispersed between faint lights

SheShe could see a face It wasn’t the face that had been on the figurehead, not that of Dona Isabella

It was the face of the blonde woman, not as pretty, just a little worn Kitty Kitty Cutlass

And her eyes were tinged orry now

She was dreaain, of course

"Come, come…come on You must leave, please, hurry!" the wo so, so deeply…

She was still struggling to rise when she saw another face

Zoe’s Zoe was shaking her and half sobbing, very softly "Vanessa, you have to co?"

"It’s Bill…he’s… Please, you can’t wake the others You can’t let…you can’t let Lew see us You have to co, and if you let out the alarm, Leill come and kill him Please, Vanessa, hurry! Be silent"

Tears streaht, Zoe We have to get to Sean--"

"Yes, but after you see Bill You’ll have to make Sean understand!"

She slipped quietly out of the tent with Zoe, her heart racing Lew? She had trusted him! He had a faone a few steps before she heard Sean’s voice

"Hey What’s going on?" he asked

Zoe stared at hi

"Sean," she said softly "You need to be quiet and not raise an alar on?" Sean repeated

"Zoe--"

"Zoe’s tired of waiting and being pushed around," Zoe said flatly Her voice was deep and coarse and dry, and not her at all