Kayla,
Thanks for the comments. I just couldn't get it right to please myself, and now I see why very clearly. The truth is, I wrote that after reading a scene in Treason's Harbour where Jack saw a pair of tortoises mating and thought that it was too bad that Stephen wasn't there to see it!

Here's the passage I was looking for (also from Treason's Harbour):
"Stephen Maturin was in fact sitting on a bench in the abbey church of St. Simon's, listening to the monks singing vespers. He too was dinnerless, but in this case it was voluntary and prudential, a penance for lusting after Laura Fielding and (he hoped) a means of reducing his concupiscence"

I can't go by the book canon – I just adore the movie Stephen too much, and the scenes of his interaction with Blakeney just turn me to mush. Again, many thanks for the historical information!

Lady Legrace,
You are wicked!
Thanks for the advice. The first little scene in this part is for you, for I'd never have written it otherwise. (Yes, you are right, I'd be very happy in the life you described. :-) I intend to have it when I finish this degree!)

Piracy and Treason

Mr. Pullings escorted the lady through the narrow passages of the ship to her quarters. He himself had given up the best cabin off the gunroom, where the officers were quartered, before she had come aboard, so he knew very well how cozy she was in that little den.

"Ma'am, I'd like to say I'm terribly sorry," he said. "I should be afraid in your place, to be sure. But one thing you may rest easy on, and that is that you are safe here. Nowhere could you be safer than here aboard ship."

She sighed. "I wish I could share your certainty."

"Please, ma'am." He took hold of her arm to stop her and she turned to look up at him. In the shadowy lamplight, grief and worry were etched onto her face. "Every man aboard is honest, and we have known most of them for years."

"I don't doubt that, but five thousand pounds would tempt even an honest man," she said with bitterness creeping into her voice.

"No," he disagreed. "To steal is one thing, but to murder a helpless woman? Not as I live and breathe would any of the men aboard sell your life – not for fifty thousand."

These words and the compelling way they were spoken – both with confidence and compassion – made her pause. Her face was uncertain, and she frowned at him, debating.

"You are safe," he told her firmly, "surrounded by men whose duty it is to protect you, asail on blue water on a trim eight-and-twenty. You may sleep securely knowing that there is no safer place for you."

A thoughtful little nod and she turned to slowly start walking again. 'You are right, of course. I am afraid my mind slips sideways sometimes and prevents me from thinking properly."

"It's little wonder with all you've endured."

They were at the door to her cabin, and she turned to him. "Your words have given me some peace, sir." She extended her hand to him. "Thank you."

Taking her hand, he bowed a little. "My pleasure, ma'am." They both smiled a little as they stood there in the lamplight. The ship was creaking gently as it rose and fell with the swells; otherwise, there was silence, and they were quite alone in the gunroom. She withdrew her hand slowly.

"Goodnight." She went into the little cabin and closed the door behind him. Pullings drew in a deep breath and sighed before turning away.

Grave and pale, Rose sat in front of an open window the next day during the forenoon watch. The day was warm and the sea was blue and brilliant behind her. She looked at the three men: the doctor, the captain, and the first lieutenant. "You may think that I have not spoken of what I know before now because I didn't fully trust you, and you would be right. It is not all, however. You have each proved to be kind, and I now know that I can trust you, but what I shall now say to you may imperil your lives. I do not do so lightly. I have no doubt, though, that you are courageous men and accustomed to risking your lives."

Jack smiled reassuringly. "There is no need to concern yourself. We are quite used to danger."

She nodded briefly. "In the past, those who discovered the island could not land there because of its geography. The steep cliffs protect the outer perimeter, and the inlet forms a lovely lagoon, but the reef is deadly. A ship may only pass over it at high tide and only with a pilot who knows how to conn a ship safely through. If not, it would rip the hull in several places.

"My father learned in his youth to pass the reef, and he later used the island because it was not in the routes of the trade winds and no merchant or naval vessels come near there by routine cruise. It is not on your charts because there are powerful men who don't want it to be. Of course there is corruption everywhere. Many British government officials did business with my father and other pirates and smugglers in exchange for looking the other way and allowing them to take certain prizes. Now, he kept an account book on that island with all the names, dates, amounts, and other information recorded there. There was little on earth that might have persuaded him to give up any of his cohorts to the magistrates, for he had a terrible scorn for legal or military authority. There was one thing he hated worse, and that was disloyalty."

"Honor among thieves?" Jack asked.

"If you could overlook their crimes, they were a democratic bunch," she admitted. "As for me, I could never abide violence. Well, as time passed, he discovered that one of his corrupt men was engaged in treasonous activity. He kept the documents safely, hoping someday to have the opportunity to damn the traitor. You can imagine that it was not to be – how does a man of his reputation pass such information on to honest authorities in good faith? He could not, of course. He had no great love of England, but he hated traitors."

"Treasonous activities?" Stephen repeated, enunciating each word carefully. "A government official, you say? And your father's papers contain damning documents?"

"It is so, doctor. When my father went to his death six months ago a free man, he charged me with the task of fetching the documents and having the traitor condemned. Although I had had no contact with him for many years, he knew much of what had occurred in my life. Admiral Bellows is honest and true, and my father knew he was my benefactor and would help me. The great trouble is that my father's account book will implicate the scores of men who have done business with him. Thus, we do not know who may be responsible for the attempt on my life. It is not inconceivable that it is more than one."

The four of them sat there in a long silence as the men digested what they had heard. Eventually, Jack spoke. "Why did Admiral Bellows send you? Surely, you could have merely described the locations where the chart and account book were to be found?"

"Two points. He sent me because he said it would be safer for the boys and me to be at sea than hidden somewhere. In addition, you will need me to cross the reef, for I am the only person left alive who knows how."

"Do you know the name of the traitor?" asked Stephen.

There was no response. She looked from one to the other, biting her lip, with her agony obvious on her face.

"Rose, we shall know shortly. Do not seek to protect us."

She nodded reluctantly. "It is Colonel Jeremy Pitt."

"Pitt!" said Pullings. "Your brother-in-law?"

"He is the husband of my sister-in-law but no relation of mine," she snapped.

"I beg your pardon, ma'am," he said, looking chagrined. "I was merely startled by the news and meant no disrespect."

"Gods!" She lifted a hand to her forehead. "I'm sorry. I knew that. I am just so dreadfully irritable today. I should not have been cross with you."

"It's quite understandable, ma'am. Think nothing of it."

"I was going to put in at Nassau, but that's out of the question now," Jack informed them. "We'll go on to Kingston, I suppose. It's a safe distance." He frowned at the lady, feeling both frustration and compassion. "How well do you know Colonel Pitt? Is it possible that he is the one behind the murder attempt?"

"I know him only a little, but it would not surprise me in the least, for the man is a villain and a blackguard." She spoke fiercely, and some color rose in her cheeks.

"Then, we'll put in at Kingston barring and further intelligence before then. Does that suit you, Rose?"

"It will be a pleasure," she said with a ghostly smile.