A while after I had cleaned, bound and dressed, eight bells sounded, and I took the pannier and headed forward, meeting Steward as I neared the cookery hatch. He smiled and said to me, "You look so fresh and alive, Boy. Appears the excursion ashore with Captain has envigored you."

"Oh, it has, Steward. We had fine exercise together. So much new, so much exciting."

"Mind you not ever do it alone, though."

"Aye, Steward, now that I know." I hefted the pannier and pointed to the hatch. "And I am curious to see what Cookery Mate has found ashore for our dining pleasure. He said this morning he would surprise us with fresh delicacies."

Below, in the cookery, I was greeted by Mate, and with a smile, he pointed to the huge cauldron. "You smell that, Boy? That there be my favourite stew in these islands. Cockles, mussels, clams and lobsters with taters and leeks all thickened with buttered flour."

The heady aroma increased as he scooped six ladlefuls into a warmed terrine. "And fresh bread from the bakery ashore," he added as he sliced two thick slabs off a dark-crusted loaf.

"Ooh! Such a wonderful smell, and the bread — it smells still warm."

"Aye, 'tis. 'Twas brung aboard not ten minutes past." While he loaded the pannier, he said, "Now, mind you not go ashore alone, you hear?"

I pointed up the hatch. "Aye, Mate, I have learnt my lesson. But now it is not even possible; Captain has ordered the gangway sentries to allow none ashore alone."

"And rightly so. Too much a danger." He pushed the pannier across the table. "Make haste with this, Boy; 'tis ever so better hot."

I thanked Mate, then headed up and aft.

A while later, as we sat dining, at my asking, Charles explained how he would conduct the auction. "We have forty-seven lots, and we will pause to settle the account after each. The first time, near a year past now, we had sold all the lots before payment, and several were embarrassed with insufficient to satisfy their bids."

"Their eyes larger than their purse."

"Indeed, with some. But three others reported being victims of purse cutters or pickpockets."

"Stolen?"

"Aye, the felons relish crowds, and even more so where large purses are known to be carried."

"Such as today with the anticipation, the crowding and jostling in the street."

Charles nodded as he savoured another spoonful of stew, then he replied, "To deter, we will select the stoutest among the crew, and they will carry belaying pins as their truncheons of office."

"Belaying pins?"

"The pins to which the working lines from the sails are secured." He laid down his spoon and held his hands about a foot and a half apart. "They are this size and of solid brass. I will announce their presence to those assembled."

I thought on this while I enjoyed another bite of bread, then I asked, "Why is the sale conducted in the confines of the narrow street?"

"The Customs House and the Town Hall are located there, and at their front is where I had been instructed to conduct the previous ones."

"Would it not be better to hold the sale alongside Zeelandia? There is unlimited space for the crowd, and any ne'er-do-wells could be easily spotted. None would dare attempt, particularly with the truncheon-bearers more obviously present — and all the eyes from aboard."

Charles bobbed his head while I spoke, a smile growing, so I continued, "Besides, all the merchandise is here, so the bidders need not rely on memory. And seeing it might spur them to bid higher."

He placed a hand on mine and gently squeezed. "Oh, what a wise woman you are, Camille. What wondrous unfettered thinking you have."

"Might there be a rule that sales must be held there? Possibly to collect customs fees?"

"The fees are collected when the goods leave the wharf. If there is any other reason, I shall convince them to change. Warn them of the anticipated large gathering and of the increased danger of purse-cutting."

While we ate, we continued discussing the sale and refining plans on its conduct. When we had finished dining, Charles drafted two placards announcing the change of venue, and we again headed ashore.

At the milliner's door, he said, "I shall confirm the change with the Customs agent and post the announcements. Wait inside for my return."

"Aye, Sir. Wait for you inside." I smiled up at him, then nodded down toward his breeches. "And I await Cyclops again inside."

Mary greeted me when I entered, and she introduced me to her mother, Mistress Duncan, with whom Charles and I had previously spoken. I told her about the change of venue for the auction, explaining the reason as, "Captain Betheson said that during a previous sale, some had their purses cut, and he wishes to avoid the crowding which enables this."

"That is very wise of him." She ran her gaze over me, nodding and smiling. "You hide well your form."

"Thank you. And I hope with more comfort in the new vest. Has Mistress Moore finished it?"

"She has, but she has gone home to serve dinner to her family, and she has asked me to fit it upon you if she had not returned." Mistress Duncan raised an arm toward the curtain. "Come, and we shall do that."

Once we were behind the curtain, I removed my shirt, withdrew the bamboos and unwrapped the binding, sighing at the renewed freedom.

"Oh, my dear! You have harmed yourself."

"That was my reason for wanting a better method. One I will have no fear of falling away by chance."

She nodded as she held out the vest, and I turned and placed my arms beneath the straps. As I wrapped the ends around and brought them together, I looked down to see the stitching of the lacing eyelets, but I saw instead hooks of bent wire. "Oh, how clever."

"We had hoped you would prefer this closure."

"I love it. This will make it so quick both on and off."

I prised the lace from its hook, placed its end loop on a hook at the bottom, and as I started lacing, Mistress Duncan said, "Tut-tut. Compressing from there is to emphasise your charms, and you are already well more than ample. You must begin at the top to diminish."

I changed its placement, and while I laced, I pondered her words. Emphasise? Charms? Ample? Is this what Shakespeare meant? So, uncertain, I asked, "Do some contrive to enhance their bosom?"

"Oh, my! Mistress Moore had said you were innocent. Yes, indeed, it is one of the most common ways women employ to attract the attention of men. Pushing up from the bottom gives a fullness to the tops, and this is fundamental in bodice design for those who wish to be noticed. Did you not ever?"

I shook my head. "No, not ever." I paused to reflect. "No, as my changes came, Mother cloistered me in the house and forbade me company. All my dresses were collared about my neck, as were hers."

"Like household staff?"

I paused again to think, nodding. "Yes, and over them, we draped loose smocks."

"Much as nuns, then."

"I suppose, but for their cowled heads." I completed the lacing, adjusted it and tied the end, then I turned this way and that in front of the mirror, pleased with what I saw.

"Your smile shows you approve."

"Oh, I do." I drew a deep breath as I bent and twisted. "This allows easy movement and breathing, and I have no fear of its falling away."

While I donned and buttoned my shirt, I pointed and asked, "Where might I purchase a mirror such as that? We have none aboard."

"Carlisle Mercantile is the best place, though we do have smaller hand-held ones here."

"Ooh! I would like one of them, that I might examine my nethers to find the beauty Charles sees there. I have not ever dared to look."

"Charles?"

"Captain Betheson."

"Oh, my! You are intimate with him?"

I nodded, feeling my face warm. "We are as if wed."

She pursed her lips, nodding, then she pointed to my front. "Why, then, do you hide the beauty of your breasts and dress as a young lad?"

"I hide from the crew, that they know me as a boy. Many hold that it is a curse to have a woman aboard."

"And what are the captain's intentions?" She tilted her head. "Does he use you as a plaything? As a toy?"

I shook my head. "No, he is as smitten with me as am I with him."

"How know you this? You are young and with no experience. He is far older and surely well aware of the ways of carnal desire and its trumpery."

Her words caused a pang in my gut, and I paused to ponder. Then raising a hand to my chest, I said, "I know it in here." Then thinking further, I added, "And he is as inexperienced as am I."

Mistress Duncan laughed. "As would any conniving man tell an innocent maiden."

"Not told, but shown. His actions and manner the first time were more awkward than even mine. Besides, he has spent all his life at sea since he was a child."

"So he tells you."

"And as do the crew tell me."

Mistress Duncan nodded. "You appear confident of his intentions, but pause to question. Would you want to be with child and abandoned in some desolate port with no means of support?"