Dawn cast shadows across the side of the tent where D. Vine and Evie were sleeping. D. Vine stirred, and opened her eyes. The vaulting of the tent rose above her head, shadowing the corners of the tent. Shadows of gnarled tree limbs etched across the vaulting. D. Vine yawned, and leaned over the side of her cot. She sat up and glanced over at Evie's cot.
It was empty. D. Vine bolted up and glanced around the room. Evie was sitting at her stationary desk, writing in her journal. "Good morning, D. Vine," Evie said softly, not turning to face her.
She sat on the padded mahogany chair, her brown hair spilling over her satin covered shoulders. Her white silk nightgown trailed the carpet at her feet, and her robe spilled over her chair and onto the ground. In her hand the pen drifted across the paper, finding words easily. D. Vine watched her for a long moment before pushing back her light coverlet and swinging her feet to the carpet.
Her auburn hair was wrapped in rag curls, her body draped in blue silk. It accentuated her full bosom and deep eyes. She pulled her robe off the chair beside her bed, and pulled it over her shoulders, tying it at the waist. "What are we doing today, Evie?" D. Vine asked.
The older woman glanced up as she finished her journal entry with a flourish. "There's a tribe to the south that I think we should go and visit," Evie replied, turning from her desk.
From outside there was a clearing of the throat, and Evie turned toward the sound. She tied her robe tighter around her and strolled to the door flap. She pulled it aside and revealed a young man waiting off to the side. He looked to his feet as he said, "Miss Quinn, the rover is here."
Evie nodded, "Thank you, Mr. Robinson. We will be out shortly. Please send Admiral Collingsworth over." The boy disappeared. Evie turned back to D. Vine, and smiled. "I have a few things I need to clear with the Admiral. Why don't you have a bit of breakfast?"
D. Vine nodded, and moved across the tent to the table. It was laden with Danish and rolls, as well as fresh butter and fruit. She and Evie had arrived just before nightfall the day before, after leaving the club just after dawn. They had landed on the airstrip outside the military encampment, and disembarked to greet the Admiral and a few of his men. The Admiral had escorted the two women to a tent set up just for them, right next door to his.
Evie had explained that normally she had her own tent, but since D. Vine was a young lady, she would stay with Evie in the tent. It had seemed to D. Vine that Evie knew her way around the encampment, and also seemed to know several of the soldiers. Two of them came by the night before to make sure they had enough water and food for the evening, and the young man who brought their breakfast by had muttered a quick excuse as he ducked in, but lingered when Evie stood up to tip him. They talked briefly about his family back home before she sent him on her way.
While D. Vine buttered a roll, Evie stood by the door flap, waiting as the Admiral came toward her. She wasn't terribly worried about standing in the open door in her robe, she never really had been. She was an adventurer, by reputation she wasn't supposed to care what people said. Admiral Collingsworth finally reached her, smiling brightly. "Miss Quinn, it's a pleasure to see you this morning," he said.
"As it is to see you, Admiral. Miss Aquarius and I will be traveling to the village south of here. Would I be able to receive clearance to carry a weapon through the tundra, for our protection, of course?"
"For you, Miss Quinn, absolutely. But perhaps you would prefer a military escort? I'm sure I could spare five or so soldiers."
"If you're sure it isn't an inconvenience, that would be splendid, Admiral, thank you," Evie replied bowing her head politely. The Admiral tipped his hat and moved away from the tent.
Evie ducked back in and let the flap close quickly. D. Vine watched her for a moment as she bit gingerly into her roll. Evie pulled her robe off and dropped it on the back of her desk chair. Neither of them spoke as Evie vanished behind the changing screen.
When the older woman emerged she was dressed in black skintight pants and crocodile skin boots. She wore a black crocodile jacket and black Stetson. On her shoulder she had slung a black bag, and pulled the hat lower over her right eye. "Perhaps you should get ready, D. Vine," Evie said, finally breaking the silence.
"How do you do it?" D. Vine asked calmly, still chewing politely on the roll. Evie turned to look at her, long brown hair cascading over her left shoulder in long tumultuous curls. She seemed a bit confused by D. Vine's question. "How do you get men to fall all over themselves on your whim?" D. Vine asked.
The corners of Evie's mouth upturned and her eyes sparkled. "It's simple. One day I'll teach you," she replied innocently. D. Vine smiled in return.
African sunlight bore down on her as she stepped from the tent. Inside, the heat had been bearable, the shaded tent sheltering them from the hazards of the yellow sun. Outside, however, was a completely different kettle of fish. D. Vine's breath caught in her throat as she pushed aside the light door flap and took her first step into the African morning.
When Evie had asked her if she had any pantsuits, she had lied viciously. She owned no pantsuits. Perhaps she owned some denim pants from her days as a stagehand in her mother's musicals. But that was hardly proper for a young girl to be wearing amidst young lads of the army. Even Evie's pants and jacket might have been considered scandalous anywhere but Africa.
D. Vine had stepped from the tent wearing a long, mid-calf length skirt of fine muslin, and a white silk shirt with long sleeves and a cape. Her hair was pulled back and off her face, as was the style, accentuating her long neck and full cheeks.
Immediately after she had finished talking to the Admiral, Evie had vanished to take care of transportation to the village, leaving D. Vine to dress alone. Now, the older woman stood by the large safari truck that would carry them across the plain and into the village that Evie wished to visit. As she turned, Evie took in the sight of D. Vine, shielding her eyes from the harsh African glare and holding her skirts away from the dirt. She sighed.
"Kungaloosh, D, " Evie said softly, coming up to her. D. Vine responded in kind, tilting her head slightly to avoid the sun's red glare. "I thought you said that you had pants," Evie continued.
D. Vine glanced down and frowned. "I guess I didn't really. Will it be a problem?" Evie didn't reply, she simply motioned to the land rover. D. Vine watched as Evie vaulted herself up and into the truck. She knew she wouldn't be able to get up with her skirts, at least not without showing her ankles. She pondered for a long moment, taking in the distance from the ground to step, then turned away from the truck. Evie was watching from her perch aboard the rover.
A few of the young soldiers were standing only a yard away, speaking amongst themselves. "Excuse me," D. Vine said, softening her voice and trying to look demure. "Would one of you fine gentlemen mind helping me up?" One of the young men stepped forward. He offered his hand to D. Vine. She flashed a sweet smile and accepted it.
He went down on one knee, allowing her to place the toe of her boot on his bent leg. He held her hand lightly to lend her balance as she climbed in through the door. He rose to his feet as she adjusted her skirts to cover her dainty riding boots. "Thank you, sir, I appreciate this," D. Vine said softly, smiling at him. He picked up her hand once more and kissed her fingers lightly, then he moved off to rejoin his comrades.
Only moments after D. Vine was settled in her seat, a young officer started the engine of the rover. Evie and D. Vine were seated in the back of the rover, in plush seats covered with a canopy draping them in shadow. There was a young soldier driving with another in the passenger seat, as well as two in the center seats.
At first Evie didn't speak. It was only as they were leaving the encampment that she opened her mouth. "I wish you would have told me that you didn't have any suitable clothing. We could have gotten you some before we left."
D. Vine shrugged. "Pants aren't suiting for young ladies. It isn't proper." She folded her hands in her lap and straightened her skirts once more. "Besides, I'm sure I can handle myself in a skirt."
Evie shook her head, and said, "I do have adventurers clothing that would fit you. It was from when I was young. I was about your age when I went on my first adventure."
Surprise flitted over D. Vine's face, and her eyes widened. "Really? How did you get into the adventuring life?"
A look of serenity passed over Evie's face, and her eyes misted over. She turned and looked over the tundra. She reached up and pulled her hat lower over her eyes, blocking out the sun. "I was sixteen, and working in a bar in my hometown. He showed up late one night, asking for a mahogany bomber. The other girls in the bar were smitten at once, but I'd heard of his reputation."
D. Vine leaned in, listening intently, trying to see her face. But the wide brim of the Stetson shielded her features in a shroud of shadow. Still, Evie continued, "I was standing across the bar when I met his gaze. A few of the girls had tried falling all over themselves to get his attention, and they had succeeded. He flirted mercilessly with every one of them. Of course, every one but me. I barely made eye contact."
She turned back to face D. Vine, the brim of the hat tilting back so that she could look at the younger girl in the eye. "I suppose that's what made him come to me. I showed no interest in him at all. I was actually appalled by his reputation. But he sauntered over as if he owned the world, and me as well."
D. Vine frowned as Evie began to fiddle with the button on the sleeve of her jacket. "He was pompous, and self-assured. He thought every woman in the world loved him instantly, and such was not the case with me. It took quite a few regular visits to romance me, and he never knew how old I was until it was too late. He brought me my own adventuring suit, saying he wanted me to accompany him on an adventure."
She looked away once more, shielding her eyes from the sun, or D. Vine, which of the two D. Vine wasn't sure. "At first I declined, but a few more visits he had seduced me into the idea of adventure. Back then I was impressionable, especially by someone like Hathaway Browne. Now, my heart has been hardened by the jungles of the world. I've seen death and decay, I've faced hell and seen paradise. Now, Hathaway's charms don't really work as well as they did that day in the bar."
Brown hair blew in the breeze, whipping around D. Vine's cheeks. She was staring at Evie in disbelief. "You're the minor," she whispered. "You're the minor that Hathaway didn't know about."
"Not until it was too late," Evie replied, smiling lightly.
At that moment, they jostled over a large rock, knocking them about. Evie reached up and grabbed her hat to keep it from flying off. D. Vine jostled back and forth, emitting a surprised scream. She gripped the seat in an attempt to stay in the rover. When the vehicle evened back out her hair was askew, pins having slipped, trailing loose tendrils across her cheeks. She whimpered, reaching up to brush the hair from her face. "Egads," she whispered, trying to pin the hair back up.
"Yes, I've noticed that shaping my hair is a waste of time on adventures," Evie said softly. "Tomorrow we will go through what you've brought and see if we can't come up with something more suitable for our outings. Oh, and I'm sure I have a hat for you. It has a wider brim then I prefer, but it would suit our needs just fine." D. Vine nodded, unsure of why the skirts would be hampering, all they were doing was riding in a truck to a village.
They remained silent for most of the ride. D. Vine was staring off into the distance. She have never been in such a wide open space before. New York was crowded with people trying to be everywhere at once, and the sky was covered in smog from the factories and car horns blared angrily at pedestrians. Never before had she seen a sky so brilliantly blue, and such a large field filled with tall waving grasses. She was sure that if she lay down on the ground in the midst of that field, no one would ever find her.
Baobab trees dotted the horizon, their branches scratching the sky. Across the expanse, D. Vine could see a mountain range in the distance, deep blue against the sky itself. As they passed through the fields they maneuvered around herds of zebra and several giraffe. Evie remained quiet, mulling over he own thoughts.
Soon, D. Vine noticed the driver was glancing around more than usual, scanning the looming mountain range as it drew closer to the front of the truck. D. Vine strained her eyes to see what he saw, but before she could he began a slow arch to run parallel with the range. "We're almost there, Miss Quinn," the driver called back to her.
"Almost where?" D. Vine asked, looking around. "I though we were going to a village. There's nothing around here but a mountain."
As the truck pulled to a stop D. Vine noticed an extraordinarily steep staircase jutting up the mountain side, and vanishing into a ledge of sorts. "Are we climbing those steps?" D. Vine asked, incredulity causing her voice to crack.
"Yes," Evie said, vaulting from the truck. D. Vine stepped down gingerly, holding her skirts out of the mud as high as propriety would allow.
"You expect me to climb those stairs in this?" she asked, motioning to her dress and fashionable boots.
"No," Evie replied. "I expect you to climb those stairs in pants and riding boots. But that dress will have to do. Saddle up, we're leaving." Evie turned away and threw her pack over her shoulder, leaving D. Vine to stare in disbelief. "Come on, D. Vine. We haven't got all day," Evie called from the base of the mountain.
D. Vine whimpered and hoisted the heavy pack onto her own back before joining Evie at the base of the mountain.