The Expectation, one of the crown jewels of His Majesty's Royal Navy, sliced through the misty Atlantic waters with her sails full of wind. Waves beat against her sides with a life of their own, seeming to want nothing more than to tear the vessel apart and send her to the depths below. Or so it appeared to one Emaline Darcy, who stood at the prow of the ship tightly gripping the handrail.
Emaline watched the rolling waves with fascination, glad that she had finally overcome her seasickness and was now able to observe the ship's progress without instantly becoming nauseous. It was, however, one of the few things she found reason to rejoice over, for there was a whole week left before they reached the island of St. Croix, and she was more bored than she could ever remember being in her entire life. True, the captain had informed her that they would reach a port by nightfall, but as the crew was simply going to pick up supplies, she was not to be allowed to go ashore. Emaline had wanted to protest against this, but the captain had made his decision, and no woman of good breeding and manners would dare to a man's judgment. And Emaline herself was the female incarnation of breeding, manners, and all other aspects of a gentlewoman's behavior.
Her father would not have her any other way, of course. Charles Darcy was one of the richest men in England, and universally respected as a man of the highest honor. Consequently, his children would be expected to enhance their father as much as possible, and Emaline had risen to the occasion astonishingly well. But she was by no means her father's favorite. No, that would be her elder sister Claire, who not only possessed manners of the highest quality, but who was also beautiful to point of impossible. Indeed, many who laid eyes on Claire thought her to be an ethereal goddess, too breathtakingly beautiful to be a mere mortal woman. It was not as though Emaline did not possess a certain beauty of her own, but she was simply no match to the incomprehensible Clair, or indeed, many of the other ladies at court.
She was short, and stocky from her hips down, with muscular--though bulky--thighs and calves. Her waist was trim, her shoulders and arms were slender, but her breasts were the size of small apples, which she found to be grossly unfair, as she had the large hips and buttocks that were normally accompanied by a voluptuous chest. Her skin was clear and fashionably pale, her eyes were a deep blue, and her features were attractive enough, if only for their normalcy. Emaline's hair, however, was an entirely different story. It was the color of molten bronze, with streaks of gold running through it, and it was simply of mass of thick, wavy curls that fell to her waist. In England, her hair had been somewhat manageable, but the humidity of the Atlantic had caused it be so unruly that it could barely be braided, let alone styled. But whatever she lacked in physical appearance, Emaline made up for in intelligence, or at least so she believed.
Intellectual pursuit was, in fact, the purpose of her journey to the Caribbean. It had taken a great deal of convincing, both from herself and her tutor, Mrs. King, to finagle her father into agreeing to pay for the excursion. Emaline had a great passion for animal and plant wildlife, and there were many new species being discovered in the New World that were not known of back in England. She was to stay with the governor of St. Croix for six months, during which she was to visit His Majesty's New World Library, and observe Britain's top biologists as they classified and studied the numerous species. A smile crept across Emaline's face and her eyes became slightly unfocussed as she planned al of the wonderful things she would do upon reaching St. Croix. She was so immersed in her daydreams that she jumped when she heard a voice speak her name.
Quickly, she turned around and nearly slammed into a Mr. Peter Wyndham. Her smile quickly grew, even as she softly spoke an apology. Right before her stood her ideal match, and her heart fluttered softly. Peter Wyndham was handsome, with fair hair and light eyes, and a smile that could charm anyone. He was extremely intelligent, and as the son of a duke, extremely rich. Emaline had first seen him at court and had liked him very much, but he was one of Claire's many admirers' and so she had quickly given up on him. That is, until she learned that he would be traveling to the Caribbean on the same ship that she was on. Over the course of the journey, they had gotten to know each other extremely well, and Emaline thought herself to be dangerously close to falling in love with the man.
"I'm sorry to have disturbed you," Peter said politely, and turned to leave.
"It does not follow that the disruption is unwelcome. Please, join me if that is your wish. I do not mind the company," she answered and smiled at him again.
"I should hope not," he said, returning her smile. He moved forward to stand next to her and was silent for a moment, as Emaline basked in the glow of his nearness.
"Tell me, Ms. Darcy, what do you know of Port Royal?" he asked.
"Not much, sir. Simply that the captain said we are to dock there for the night."
" Yes, we are. And thank goodness it is for only one night, for the place is swarming with pirates this time of year. The filthy creatures, I hate the sight of them."
"As do I, sir." This was not entirely true, for Emaline had never seen a pirate, but she held them in the greatest contempt all the same. As far as she was concerned, they were the lowest, vilest form of life on the planet, and deserved nothing less than to justly hang for their crimes. Suddenly, a thought occurred to her.
"I was not aware that there were pirates in Port Royal," she continued. " I see now why Capt. Foster was so adamant in his refusal to allow me to go ashore. I have no place among pirates, though I should dearly love to stretch my legs a bit on solid ground."
Peter was quiet a moment, and then said: " I suppose I could persuade the captain to give you leave to come ashore, if he and I were to accompany you at all times. I daresay you should be quite safe with the both of us there to protect you. What do you say, Ms. Darcy?"
"I say that you are a very kind and thoughtful man, Mr. Wyndham, and I accept your proposition," said Emaline with joy.
"Very well, I will speak to the captain directly. Shall I escort you back down to your cabin?"
"No, I believe I shall stay here a bit longer, thank you. Good day, Mr. Wyndham."
"Good day, Ms. Darcy."
As soon as he was out of earshot, Emaline let out a soft sigh and fairly collapsed against the handrail. He was such an agreeable man, so kind, and so handsome, too… She felt her cheeks flush, and giggled softly. Oh, she had an entire evening with Peter to look forward to, plus the prospect of being on land for the first time in months. Emaline felt like singing at the top of her lungs, she was so ecstatic. This night was going to be perfect, but she still put in a small prayer that she wouldn't meet any pirates.
