Vane moved to close the door but he did not lock it. No need to do that with him here. "So, let me see that back of yours. Can't be that bad but we should still treat that wound." Abigail began to remove her dress. Was she really going to remove her dress in the company of one Captain Vane? No that wouldn't do. She was far removed from her former life but getting naked in the presence of a man? But what could she do? She spied the blanket that was covering the bed. "Give me a moment! Turn around! Don't look!" Vane's only response was to chuckle.
She stripped off her shift as quickly as possible. Kicking the dirty garment to the side, she grabbed the blanket off the bed and wound it around her shoulders, holding it close in the front. "Alright, I'm ready." Vane turned around, once again breathless for just a moment. This was worse than seeing her in that shift. The blanket was wrapped around her, exposing a naked shoulder and she was half turned toward him looking at him with tired eyes.
Aware that he was staring, Vane lowered his eyes and quickly set to work. "Sit at the edge of the bed, and let me take a look." Abigail sat down with her back to him. Vane pulled the blanket that was covering her back lower. She had a long, deep cut that went from below her ribs on the left all the way to the top of her right shoulder. "Christ! Abigail! That is going to need stitches!" She twisted to look at him, "Is it really that bad?" Vane stood up quickly and was already half way to the door. "Yes. You need the doctor!" He made to open the door when she quietly said: "I want you to do it." That woman was going to be the death of him. "It ain't gonna look pretty." And he set off to the doctor again to grab needle and yarn.
He returned within a few minutes and found Abigail still sitting on the bed. She only seemed to startle awake when he closed the door. She quickly spun around, holding the blanket around her with one hand, the other brandishing the dagger. Vane raised his hands. "It's just me." "Thank you," she said. "I normally would not mind the doctor. We had a few nice chats on the way here, but I would rather wear clothes when I meet him again." Vane looked at her incredulously, "Nice chats?" "Yes," she replied and patted the bed next to her. Motioning for him to sit and tend to her back. "Otherwise I would not have felt compelled to write what I wrote in my journal. The crew was always decent to me on my way here."
"This is going to sting," were the only words he said to her when he got started on tending to the wound. He first cleaned it using the water he brought. His tanned hands in stark contrast to her white skin. She is going to get so many sunburns, was a stray thought that entered his head while he was working away.
Abigail was lost in thought. She thought of her mother and what she would think of her. Abigail, now would you look at that. You've torn another dress. One of the last things her mother had said to her before she had fallen ill. What would her father think? His prized daughter naked, alone in a cabin with the feared pirate Charles Vane touching her. She chuckled. "What is so funny," Vane asked. "I was just picturing my father's face if he were to see this." "I see," was Vane's only answer.
At this point, he had cleaned the wound as best as possible. It was time for the rum. "Abigail? The wound needs alcohol before I can stitch it up. You should drink some of it, too" he suggested, thrusting the bottle towards her hands. She moved to grab the bottle but realized she was still holding the dagger. She leaned forward and placed the dagger on the floor next to the bed. Moving made her back feel as if it were on fire. She gladly reached for the rum. It was not her favourite drink by far but it would help with the pain. She steeled herself. She had only had it a couple of times on the voyage to Charles Town when it was uncommonly cold at night. She gulped down three mouthfuls before lowering the bottle and thrusting it back towards Vane. She shuddered from the taste of the rum but a welcomed warmth started spreading from her centre immediately. "I'm ready."
Vane quickly poured the rum over her back. She winced several times but managed to not cry out. There was a little bit of rum left in the bottle and Vane drank it quickly. Steeling himself for the task ahead. He had done his fair bit of stitching up people but it was always a strange feeling. He promptly got to work. Abigail had to bite down on the blanket to keep herself from crying out in pain.
When Vane was about halfway done the cannons started again. Their roar deafening, Vane finished up as quickly as possible. Once he was done stitching up the wound, he grabbed the long bandage he had brought. He tapped Abigail on the shoulder and when she had turned around he motioned at her that he wanted to warp the wound up. She understood quickly and grabbed the bandage from him to wind it around her front. He crossed the bandage on her back and passed it back to her. Another crossing in the front and he tied it on her back.
He got up while she pulled the blanket back up to her shoulders. She was looking at him so he pointed at her clothes and yelled "Get dressed!". He promptly turned around, briefly asking himself when he had become so chivalrous. Making sure that he kept his back turned, Abigail grabbed the shirt and trousers. The shirt was a bit tight around her chest because of the bandage but not overly so. The trousers on the other hand were too wide. She saw that Vane had brought some rope to secure the trousers and so she did. Once she was done, she could not help but smile. She was wearing trousers and it felt so freeing.
She tapped Vane on the arm and he turned toward her. The cannons were still pounding on the town but in a brief silence due to the reloading of the cannons, Abigail said "I'm going to lie down. If I stay on my feet for one more second I fear you may have to pick me off the floor again." She moved to the bed and put the blanket back on it before crawling under the covers. Despite the thunderous cannons still going off around them, she was out within seconds.
Vane was unsure what to do. He should go, help the crew on deck, but he was exhausted himself. He had not slept since the night before they had boarded the man-o-war. "Fuck it," he thought, "A few hours won't kill me." He took off his boots. He briefly thought about sleeping on the floor rather than the bed but the comfort of the bed won out in the end. He grabbed the dagger he was keeping in his boot and crawled on the bed. He carefully placed the hand grabbing the dagger under his pillow. This was after all not his ship and someone on Flint's crew might still want to harm him despite Flint's instructions. He closed his eyes. His only intention was to lightly rest a while before joining the other men, but his body too gladly accepted the comfort of the bed.
And so, Vane and Abigail slept during the rest of the burning of Charles Town. They didn't wake until Flint came barrelling into their cabin in the middle of the night.