A shiver ran over her shoulders at his touch. She knew a moment of delightful confusion. 'Then you have deliberately paired them, to give us more time together?'
'Why else?' He picked up another lock of her hair and weighed the thickly carved coil. She glanced over her shoulder at him. His pale blue eyes were closed to slits. He was, she thought, an extraordinarily handsome man, in a cruel way. 'You don't mind, do you? Etta is quite ignorant, poor thing. Whoring is such a narrow occupation. Wintrow is more patient a teacher than I could be. He will give her the tools she needs to better herself, so that when she leaves the ship, she need not go back to whoring.'
'Etta will leave?' Vivacia asked breathlessly.
'Of course. I only brought her aboard the Marietta for her own protection. We really have very little in common. She was kind, and useful while I was recovering from my injury. Nevertheless, it is hard to overlook that she was the source of the injury.' He favored her with a narrow smile. 'Wintrow shall educate her, and when she goes ashore, she will be able to do more than lie on her back.' A thoughtful frown creased his brow. 'I think it is my duty to leave people better than I found them, don't you?'
'When will Etta be leaving?' Vivacia tried to keep eagerness from her voice.
'Well. Our next port is Divvytown. That was her home.' He smiled to himself. 'But one never knows how things will develop. I shall not force her to leave, of course.'
'Of course,' Vivacia murmured in reply. He was twining the heavy lock of her black hair in his hand, and the tickling tip of it brushed her bare shoulder.
A package was tucked under his arm, something wrapped in coarse burlap. 'Your hair is so lovely,' he said quietly. 'I thought of you the moment I saw this.' He opened one end of it, then drew out a handful of something red. He shook it loose, and length upon length of wide red fabric unfurled, incredibly light and fine. He offered it to her. 'I thought you might put it in your hair.'
She was flustered. 'I have never had such a gift,' she marveled. 'Are you sure you wish to give it to me? The sea and the wind may spoil it…' Yet as she spoke she twined it through her hands. She lifted it, to place a band of it across her brow. He caught the ends and tied it for her.
'Then I should simply have to bring you more.' He cocked his head, and smiled in admiration. 'Such a beauty you are!' he said quietly. 'My pirate queen.'
WINTROW UNBUCKLED THE CARVED WOODEN COVER OF THE BOOK CAREfully. He opened it gingerly, then sighed in awe. 'Oh, this is incredible. Look at the detail here.' He carried the open volume over to the window where the light fell on the artfully decorated page. 'This is exquisite.'
Etta came slowly to stand at his shoulder and look down on the displayed page. 'What is it?' she asked.
'It's an herbal… a book about herbs, with drawings and descriptions and explanations of how they are to be used. I've never seen one so elaborate.' Carefully he turned the page, to expose yet more beauty. 'Even in our monastery library, we had nothing so fine as this. This is an incredibly valuable book.' He touched his finger lightly to the page and outlined the drawing of a leaf. 'See? This is peppermint. Look at the crinkles and tiny hairs on each leaf. Such an eye this artist had.'
They were in the small stateroom he had once shared with his father. All signs of that time had been scrubbed away long ago. Now there was only his neatly made bunk, the small fold-down desk and a case full of manuscripts and scrolls and books. Wintrow had begun Etta's lessons in the captain's quarters, but Kennit had soon decided that they made too much clutter with their books, papers and pens. He had banished their studies to Wintrow's room. Wintrow did not mind. Never before had he had complete and unhampered access to so much written work. Certainly, he had never before even glimpsed a book to rival the quality of the one he now held.
'What does it say?' Etta asked reluctantly.
'You can read it,' he encouraged her. 'Try.'
'The letters are all crawly,' she complained, but she accepted the book he tenderly transferred into her hands. She knit her brows over it.
'Don't let that discourage you. His hand was very decorative, and some of the characters are formed elaborately. Look only at the basic forms of the letters, and ignore the flourishes. Try it.'
Her finger moved slowly across the page, piecing the words together. Her mouth moved as she puzzled them out. Wintrow clamped his jaws together to keep from helping her. After a time, she drew a deep breath and began. 'Of all the goodly herbs known, this is the queen. A tea brewed from fresh leaves is best for a closed head…'
She stopped abruptly, and closed the book carefully. When Wintrow glanced up at her face in confusion, he saw her eyes were closed as well. As he watched, tears leaked out from under her lashes.
'You can read,' he confirmed for her. He stood very still, afraid to say more. It had been a very arduous journey to this place. Etta had been a difficult student. She was bright enough. But his efforts to teach her had uncovered a deep anger within her. For a time, he had been sure the anger was directed at him. She was surly, disdaining his help and then accusing him of withholding it to make her look stupid. She had a temper that did not stop at flinging a precious book across the room, or shredding expensive paper to bits. More than once, she had shoved him away as he bent over her work to correct her. Once he had raised his voice to her when he had had to explain for the fifth time that she was reversing a letter. She had struck him. Not a slap, but a closed-fist blow to his face that had sent him reeling. Then she had stalked out of the room. She had never apologized for that.
Only after days of working with her did he realize that her anger was not for him. It was for her own abysmal ignorance. She felt shamed that she did not know. It humiliated her when she had to ask him for help. If he insisted she try it on her own, she interpreted that as taunting her for her stupidity. Given her propensity for taking it out on him, she was not only a difficult student but also an intimidating one. Praising her too much was as dangerous as letting her struggle. He had tried once to escape. He had approached Kennit to beg off from this task. He had expected Kennit to order him back to it. Instead, the pirate had only cocked his head and asked him gently if he truly believed it was Sa's will that he not help Etta. While Wintrow had stood silent, struck dumb by the question, Kennit's face had suddenly changed.
'It's because she was a whore, isn't it?' he had demanded starkly. 'You don't think she's good enough to benefit from such learning. You're repulsed by her, aren't you?' He asked the question with a face so kindly and understanding and yet so grieved that Wintrow felt as if the deck were rocking under him.. Did he look down on Etta? Did he secretly harbor a belief in his own superiority, a belief he would have found reprehensible in anyone else?
'No-no!' he had faltered and then exclaimed, 'I do not look down on Etta. She is an amazing woman. I just fear…'
'I think I know what you fear,' Kennit had smiled indulgently. 'You are uncomfortable because you find her attractive. You must not be distressed by that, Wintrow. Any healthy young man would find a sensuous woman like Etta hard to resist. She does not intend to be so tempting. Poor thing. She has been schooled to it since she was a child. Seducing a man is as natural to her as swimming is to a fish. I caution you: be very careful how you reject her. You could hurt her far more than you intended.'
'It's not that! I would never…' he stuttered and then lost his ability to choose words. It would not have been so humiliating if he had been completely innocent. She did fascinate him. He had never spent time with a mature woman, much less alone with one. She invaded all his senses. The perfumes she wore lingered in his room after she had departed. He was aware of not only her husky voice but also the susurrus of the rich fabrics she wore. She would turn her head, and the light would dance suddenly on the sheen of her hair. He was aware of her, and sometimes she troubled his sleep. He was prepared to accept that as normal. He was less prepared for Kennit's indulgent smile.
'It's all right, lad. I could scarcely blame you if you did. I would, however, think less of you if you let that come between you and doing what we both know is right. She cannot better herself without letters, Wintrow. You and I both know that. So do your best with her and do not be discouraged. I shall not allow either of you to give up when we are so close to success.'
The days of teaching her that followed had provided a unique torture. The captain's words had made him more aware of the woman, not less. The 'accidental' brush of her hand against his as they shared a book sometimes seemed contrived. Why did she wear such perfumes, if not to beguile him? Did she intend her direct stares as seduction? At some time, his awareness of her had become unmistakable attraction. From dreading his
