It has been a lifetime since I updated. Cheers!

Winter, 1815

"Did you see the way they gaped at you, miss? As if Zeus himself had struck thunder between their ears."

Ellen smirked at Edwina's allegorical words as her stewardess assisted in the necessary wardrobe change. They were already underway, and while her traditional Chennai garb had helped her blend in with the locals at the market, it would only cause difficulties in maneuvering on the deck and in the cramped quarters of the Spirit. While her cousin helped their only guest get situated in the cabin adjacent, Edwina worked to cinch tight the black waistcoat Ellen wore over her simple white shirt. While potentially shocking to their noble guest once he spied her in the outfit, the billowing black pants she wore beneath the waistcoat could pass as a skirt when seen from afar.

"Their befuddlement was nothing new, Edwina." Ellen wiggled her toes in her stockings while she waited for Edwina to finish, enjoying the brief reprieve from the heavy boots she took to wearing when on the Spirit. "Though it was endearing how quickly Mister Elliot recovered and spouted off almost more knowledge about the Spirit than I know. And I am its architect."

Her stewardess chuckled, "Yes, he was quite charming about it. I do not believe I have ever seen a man more smitten with your designs."

Ellen's smile took on a melancholic edge. Edwina had never known Borlas, nor had she seen Ellen's late husband's delight whenever she came up with a new design. The light of a thousand suns in his smile as he listened to her explain the schematics. If she had, Edwina would have known Mister Elliot's enthusiasm was but a pale moon in comparison. Hearing the stewardess give a sigh of satisfaction, Ellen turned to see her nod. It was time to put her boots back on and head on the deck. Though it was still some time yet before supper, and Ellen would have to do her due diligence to the captain by regaling him with what she'd learned in the marketplace, Ellen enjoyed feeling the excited fervor that flowed through the crew at the start of every journey. Relished the sea breeze as the Spirit seemed to float over the waves as if on angel's wings.

"What do you think of that Lord Bridgerton?" Edwina's question had Ellen pausing in her boot wrangling, glancing up to see a light blush touching her stewardess's cheeks. "He is quite handsome, is he not?"

Smiling, Ellen finished with one boot and set about pulling the other on, "Yes, he is handsome. He also seems preoccupied with something. So I do not think much of him either way." Ellen put her hand on the door, boot-clad, hair still plaited, and now clothed in deck-proper attire. "I would not trouble yourself with thinking too much of him, Edwina. I doubt we will have much interaction with the man beyond meals and required pleasantries."

Though her stewardess looked disappointed with the possibility, Ellen left her quarters with an amused smile. Her smile morphed into an "o" of surprise when none other than the nobleman himself tumbled out of his quarters and slammed into Ellen's side. Apparently, he was far less used to navigating the confined spaces of a ship than she and had not been to sea in some time. Otherwise, he would have known to lift his leg to step out of his quarters into the corridor instead of the tripping exit that sent him careening into Ellen.

The moment of feeling the hardwood of the corridor at her back and the warm press of his body at her front was brief but startling enough to her senses, and his as well, that their eyes locked with mirrored expressions of horrified shock. It was also at that moment that it registered to both parties that his hands were not braced on the wall for support but were, instead, quite firmly braced against her breasts, and her hands, in turn, were gripping his shoulders as if her life depended upon it.

"Dinna let me disturb ye," the accented voice of boatswain Decatur calling down the stairs leading to the top deck elicited matching gasps of surprise as Ellen and the dark-haired noblemen worked to push away from each other in as polite a manner as was possible, all things considered, "but the cap'n is wantin' to show the young gentleman around deck whenever it pleases ye to release him."

Ellen was the first to speak, avoiding eye contact but noting how the nobleman smoothed his hands down his near-matching waistcoat as if trying to wipe away the feeling of her chest from them, "He will be up directly, Mister Decatur."

In the silence that immediately followed, the nobleman spoke, "My sincerest apologies, Miss Carney. I did not mean-"

"I certainly hope not," Ellen interrupted him with a laugh, "but not to worry, Mister Bridgerton. You are the first to tumble out of quarters, though you are much more sober than the last man I had ramming into me like that." Ellen watched as one of his eyebrows rose in curiosity, only realizing how her words must sound to someone unaccustomed to sea travel. "I only meant that on certain nights, when we are at port, the men may dip more deeply into the grog rations, and some of them get more clumsy than others when they have become inebriated."

He nodded, "Ah, well, while I appreciate your cavalier attitude on the matter, I really must insist on apologizing." He tugged at his shirt sleeves in such a jolting manner Ellen already felt pity for the cabin boy assigned him for their journey. Their acquaintance could be measured in minutes, and yet she already pegged him as a man unaccustomed to mirth. If he had known it, he'd lost its sense long enough ago to leave this husk of a man standing as if a board were his spine, and any bending would break him whole. "If you would excuse me." He clipped his heels together and gave a formal nod before shuffling past her to the stairs, his body fairly bouncing off the sides of the narrow stairwell as he ascended to the deck.

Ellen looked back down the corridor to see Edwina peeking out of her quarters, eyes wide from having witnessed the whole affair. Chuckling at the stewardess' expression, Ellen waved her away again before following in Bridgerton's footsteps, though more measuredly. This was going to be a most intriguing journey.