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Don't you at least want a hand? She'd been holding her breath and trying not to look down as her foot slid off the wooden peg a third time Finally, she sed dryly and reached out to take the cold, rough claw Bill extended to her

As she took Bill's hand, he pulled her forward, then off the mast entirely She yelped as the ind battered her face, sending the skirt of her dress billowing around her waist She shut her eyes and waited to plunge through the rotten decking below

Only she didn't

She heard a throosh and felt her body catch in the air She opened her eyes Bill's stubby wings had ballooned out and caught the wind He was supporting her weight with just one hand, carrying her slowly to shore It was ht Luce was surprised to find herself relaxing--so was natural to her by now

Daniel As the air encircled her, the ache to be with him overtook her To hear his voice and taste his lips--Luce could think of nothing else What she wouldn't have given to be in his arms just then!

The Daniel she'd encountered in Helston, however happy he'd been to see her, had not really known her Not the way her Daniel did Where was he right now?

Feeling better? Bill asked

Why are we here? Luce asked as they soared over the water It was so clear she could see inky shadowseasily, following the shoreline

See that palm tree? Bill pointed forith his free claw The tallest one, third fro

That's where your father in this life built his hut Nicest shack on the beach! Bill coughed Actually, it's the only shack on the beach The Brits haven't even discovered this side of the island yet So when your pops is off fishing, you and Daniel have the place mostly to yourselves

Daniel and Ilived heretogether?

Hand in hand, Luce and Bill touched down on the shore with the soft elegance of two dancers in a pas de deux Luce was grateful--and a little shocked--at how set her down froround, she withdrew her hand frorimy claw and wiped it on her apron

It was starkly beautiful here The crystal waters washed against the strange and lovely black-sand beaches Groves of citrus and pale fruit Past the trees, low mountains rose up from the mists of the rain forest Waterfalls cut into their sides The wind down here wasn't as fierce; better still, it was thick with the scent of hibiscus It was hard to i to spend a vacation here, let alone an entire life

You lived here Bill started walking along the curved shoreline, leaving little claw prints in the dark sand Your dad, and all ten of the other natives who lived within canoeing distance, called you--well, it sounded like Lulu

Luce had been walking quickly to keep pace, balling up the layered skirts of her Helston servant's clothing to keep the in the sand She stopped and made a face

What? Bill said I think it's cute, Lulu Lulululululu

Stop it

Anyway, Daniel was a kind of rogue explorer That boat back there? Your ace boyfriend stole it frolanced back at the shipwreck But it'll take Captain Bligh and his mutinous crew another couple of years to track Daniel down here, and by thenyou know

Luce sed Daniel would probably be long gone by then, because Lucinda would be long dead

They'd reached a gap in the line of palm trees A brackish river flowed in swirls between the ocean and a s a few flat stones to cross the water She eating through her petticoats and thought about stripping out of her stifling dress and ping straight into the ocean

How much time do I have with Lulu? she asked Before it happens?

Bill held up his hands I thought all you wanted to see was proof that the love you share with Daniel is true

I do

For that, you won't need more than ten minutes

They came upon a short orchid-lined path, which curved onto another pristine beach A sht-blue water Behind the hut, a palm tree shuddered

Bill perched above her shoulder, hovering in the air Check her out His stone claw pointed toward the paled froirl wearing little more than a woven skirt and an enory brown coconuts to the beach before scaround

Her hair was long and loose, catching in its dark strands diaht from the sun Luce knew the exact feel of it, the way it would tickle her arms as it swayed in waves past her waist The sun had turned Lulu's skin a deep golden brown--darker than Luce had ever been, even when she spent a whole surandmother's beach house in Biloxi--and her face and areonizable and absolutely Luce

Wow, Luce whispered as Bill yanked her behind the shelter of a shrubby, purple-flowered tree Hey--Ow! What are you doing?