Saturday, 5th September 1733

Elizabeth sat quiet to her anchors when on the first Saturday in September, Aldrick and Elizabeth lay abed gazing out through the stern windows at the glassy sea. The winds had continued their easing, and the rain had stopped mid-afternoon Friday, the clouds parting sufficiently to allow a spectacular red and orange sunset.

As she contemplated Saturday's clear dawn, Elizabeth said, "It is the same here as it is at home, Red sky at night, the shepherds delight."

"Yes, and also, Red sky in the morning, wise sailors take warning."

"We cannot see the sunrise from here; our windows face west." She kissed him, then rolled and rose from the bed. "I will poke my head up through the hatch on my way from the closet."

Concerned by the delay, Aldrick arose a few minutes later, and he found Elizabeth still standing on the upper steps of the ladder. "The sunrise must be spectacular to spend so long viewing it." He startled her with his voice and the kiss on her butt cheek as he climbed, and when his head rose above the coaming, he chuckled. "Now, I see your delay."

Below, on the main deck was a steady stream of men, four dozen and more, climbing onto the gunwale, diving into the sea and ascending the accommodation ladder to repeat the process. Elizabeth sighed. "Such a beautiful thing, a man's body."

"To a woman, yes. But equally, a woman's body to a man. Were it not so, were we not each attracted to the other sex, we would find no urge to reproduce. We have been designed such that the attraction is deeply ingrained. It is not conscious; rather, it is our nature."

"True." They watched in silence for a long while, then she said, "The water must be very cold." 

"No, you will find it surprisingly warm in these tropical shallows. Not much different from bathwater at the end of a long soak." 

"Then why are their tails shrivelled?" She held up her thumb. "Few are much longer than this, nor much thicker."

Aldrick examined the men more closely. "Those are the normal size." Then he nodded toward the ladder. "There, the one now coming on deck. His is much larger than is common."

Elizabeth looked at the man, then down Aldrick's front and back to the man. "But well short of yours." She compared again. "And much slimmer."

He shrugged. "I have not seen another this large, though I have not viewed many, a few hundred over the years on these voyages."

"Oh!" She remained silent as she watched the men, then she said, "This would be the reason I have not seen bulges very far along the thighs of their breeches." She reached down and pressed her hand along his length. "My postulation had been that men bind these to keep them from flopping around down their leg."

Aldrick chuckled. "You study men's breeches fronts, do you?"

"As you study the curves of women's bosoms."

"True. But women put them on display to attract."

She giggled as she squeezed his tail. "And flopping this around down your leg is not a display? When I first saw you in the library, I thought you had released your bindings to entice me."

He laughed. "No, I have always allowed it to fall there naturally. But we could find a way to tie it across my hip or up my belly."

Elizabeth tilted her head side to side as she thought. "No, I think other men noting its bulge would consider you as the more powerful."

"And other women? You suggested you had been enticed by it."

"I must ask Judith for her thoughts. I am certain she has observed it." She giggled. "It is impossible to miss when you are in shirtsleeves with neither waistcoat nor frock to hide the front of your breeches. And even with coats, its bulge peeks out between their fronts as you move."

He chuckled. "You are not only curious but also observant. And you said other men would view me as more powerful. Why would you think this?"

"In the animal kingdom, the male's display is as much to scare away or to dissuade competing males as it is to attract a mate."

"Yes, but in these modern days, men are restricted to displaying the trappings of wealth and refinement, and the body is no longer important."

"But stripped of those trappings, your tall stature, broad shoulders, bulging muscles, and this..." She paused to give his dangle a twirl. "These are the visible measures of a man. You should go down there and join the crew in their frolicking and allow them to know more about you."

Aldrick tilted his head. "Would that be proper? Our rule has been that the officers swim and elsewise relax in a place separate from the crew."

"I think it would do no harm. Remember what Plato said, The measure of a man is what he does with power. Your joining them would show you are not all seriousness and formality." 

"Do I appear overly serious and formal?"

"It is necessary for your position and authority. But we are now in a far more relaxed setting, and you can be more at ease with them." 

After a pause to ponder, he said, "Yes, you are right." He opened the two low doors and stepped up onto the quarterdeck. Then he strode across to the rail, bounded onto it and shouted, "Good morning," as he dived into the sea. A loud cheer arose as those in the water and on deck recognised him.

A minute later, he ascended the ladder and joined one of the lines at the gunwales, engaging those around him in conversation. "After we breakfast, we will launch the longboats and head ashore."

"Is it wise to leave the ship abandoned, Sir?"

"No, we will leave half a watch aboard and rotate it."

"What if they sail off with the treasure and abandon us?"

"Half a watch cannot shorten-in and weigh an anchor, let alone two anchors, without being seen and heard by those ashore with the boats."

"And if they undo the clevises at the bitts and drop the cables?"

"Half a watch could not remove storm lashings from the yards, unfurl the sails and get the ship underway without being noticed. Besides, there is no wind." Aldrick climbed onto the gunwale and dived. The group with which he had been talking followed in quick succession.

When they surfaced, they resumed the intercourse. "You think of everything, don't you, Sir?"

"I try to. Each of us has a duty to do our best, no matter the position we have. My responsibility is to ensure the safety of the ship and of all who are aboard, and to do this, it is necessary to consider all possibilities."

After a few more circuits and broadly rambling conversations with an ever-changing group, Aldrick pointed toward the doors to the great cabin. "I must go organise our day ashore."

"Captain, Sir?"

Aldrick stopped and turned. "Yes?"

The young hand blushed. "Pardon, Sir. But the talk below is that you stuffs a cod-piece in your breeches and you is a sham for it." He bent down to closely examine Aldrick's front, then shook his head, blushing deeper as he stood. "That sure ain't no sham fid hung there, and you ain't no fraudster, but an honest man what's false accused."

"Thank you, Ferguson. This is a story you may spread if you wish." Aldrick smiled, then he turned and continued on his way.

As he entered the great cabin through the weather deck flats, Elizabeth rushed down the ladder and wrapped her arms around him, pressing her mound onto his thigh. "I want you. Inside. Now!" She grabbed his tail and led him into the night cabin, the leash stiffening as they went.

A while later, her immediate frenzy appeased and her movements more gentle, she said, "I have not before sensed such intense desire, and I could not keep my hands from trying to ease it."

"From seeing the men." He nodded. "I am certain I would do the same were I to watch women frolic in that manner."

"No, not the men, the man. You. Watching you. You are such a graceful creature, the way you move, the rippling of your muscles, the quiet confidence you exude, the apparent reverence from the men. Any who happened upon that scene, even knowing not who was whom, would immediately recognise you as the leader."

"I was surprised to learn that the talk below is that I am considered as a fraudster, as a sham."

Elizabeth stopped her hips. "What? How so?"

"They had thought I use a cod-piece to enhance my image."

"A piece of cod. What is this about?"

"A long-past fashion from the days of the last King Henry. Breeches had a piece rather like a pouch in their front to hold the tail and ballocks. As the fashion spread, the pouches were increasingly stuffed with padding to enhance their size. Surely, with your curiosity in these matters, you will have noted the big bulges on the men in paintings of that era." 

"Yes, certainly. This is from where my idea of binding comes. But why call it a cod?" She giggled. "It sounds fishy."

"Codd was the old word for the scrotum, the ballocks purse. The crew had thought I stuffed my breeches to appear bigger." 

"Aha! Aha! Aha!" A broad smile spread across Elizabeth's face as she repeated. "Now, this better explains what I had observed. All the furtive examination and pointing, and the frequent glances down at you. They were confirming it genuine after thinking it not."

"I did not see any of that."

"You would not have. It was done entirely out of your sight. I could see it clearly from above, and I now understand the cause of their activity. As each told others, this sent them in their curiosity to a place where they could witness for themselves. I was amused by all the jostling for position, and I now know its reason."

He nodded at the realisation. "I saw none of it until I was leaving when young Ferguson approached to closely examine, and he told me about the talk of my stuffing a false fid."

"Ferguson? The one from up the mast who told us about Peters?"

"Yes, he seems a very honest lad. A bit naive, but honest." Aldrick gave a long slow thrust, then he continued, "Your idea that I join in their frolicking served a greater purpose than you had intended. Being thought a fraud is not the image I wish to have."

"Nor an image any captain should have." She churned her hips with increasing vigour. "We need to finish here. Pump me full of seed again; we have a child to create, and you have a day ashore to organise."