Partway through supping, the whistle above the chart table sounded, and Charles rose, strode across the cabin and responded to it with a loud, "Captain."

A long and muffled call came down the voice pipe, too garbled to discern words from where I sat, and when it ended, Charles replied, "Thank you, Mister Matthews."

He rejoined Father and me, and as he sat, he said, "We are now clear of the shoals and the islands and steadied onto our course for the night."

I nodded at this, and after a few moments of thought, I asked, "We will arrive at Port Royal after the morrow's sunset. How do we handle this in the dark?"

"The easiest way is to reduce speed, and I have ordered furled all but the foretopsail, the mizzen and the jibs. With the breeze steady, this should slow us to seven or eight knots, allowing us to arrive in the forenoon of Wednesday."

"And if the breeze is not steady?"

"We adjust the sails. The aim is to maintain seven to eight knots to add half a day to the passage."

I paused a spoon of pease short of my mouth. "So, you have timed it that we make landfall after sunrise."

"Exactly! The harbour approaches are fouled with rocks and shoals, and having the sun abaft the beam, allows them to show. Arriving too late in the day, with the sun forward, its reflections and glares blind us to many aspects of the bottom. And, of course, in the dark, it is folly."

"Your manner with Camille is unusual, Charles. It is not common to share such details with a woman."

Charles looked up from his plate, presenting a strange expression to Father. "Is it not? And if not, why not?" He placed a hand on mine and caressed. "From the depth of knowledge Camille has absorbed, you must have shared a great amount with her."

"Ah, but that was through tales of adventure told to a young girl, not a blathering of complex details to burden a woman. Women have other things to occupy their minds."

"We do?" I shook my head. "Such as what, Father?"

"Other matters, Camille. Matters about which men have no interest. Behaviours we do not understand." He glanced at my chest and nodded downwards. "You should be well-aware of those by now, and it is best you keep them to yourself."

This shocked me, and I opened my mouth to speak, but found no words. I looked back and forth between the two men, trying to comprehend, then Charles broke the silence, "I think the more we share with each other, the stronger and more fulfilling the relationship."

"No." Father shook his head. "No, not in the least. Rather, the opposite; you will find it becomes increasingly strained."

"Possibly for some." Charles shrugged. "But I find the more details I offer her, the more she flourishes, the more eager she is to learn, and the more we delight in each other."

Father did not respond, his mouth filled with a large piece of ham. One far too large for polite company, I thought. What a strange attitude about women. Similar to what Ruth had told me some men hold. But Father? Why had I not ...

Charles' words interrupted my thoughts, "Shall we agree to disagree here, so we might tend to other matters? I have asked James to arrange a bed for you in the upper gunroom."

Father nodded, then when he had finished his bite, he said, "That is very kind of you. And what of the others?"

"The three officers will be with the midshipmen in the lower gunroom, and the remainder have been spread through the gundecks and the forecastle."

"And the captured picaroons?"

"Stripped, shackled, chained, and under armed guard."

Father grimaced. "Some among them were from my crew. Convinced to turn foul and join them."

"Aye, we have seen such turncoats in the past. But no matter their origin, they will all wear the King's noose."

"True." Father stuffed the last piece of ham into his mouth, nodding as he chewed. After he had swallowed, he asked, "Might I see them to know who survived? Some were kind to us, but most were far from that."

"Yes, certainly. But In the morning; it is dark below now."

"Oh, of course." After another draught of ale, Father said, "Camille had mentioned you have turned to trading. I should have continued with that, rather than accepting the King's letter."

"Yes, I saw trading as the lesser ..." Charles turned to me and asked, "Camille, what is that new word you had used for peril or danger?"

"Risque."

"Thank you. Yes, I saw trading as the lesser reesk, and the gain is more than any honest man might hope to achieve." He pointed out through the stern windows. "Back there, we sunk two ships and ended the lives of fifty or more men. That was the price of freeing eighty-three slaves. A severe cost, but a great reward."

Charles swept a hand past his now-empty supper plate. "But more than that is required to feed the crew and to reward them for working the ship. The bounty on the fifteen pirates we captured will help, but our gain from the auction in Barbados was more than twentyfold that. And I anticipate a far larger gain in Port Royal. And larger still in Virginia. And even greater in New York."

Father thumbed the last of his pease onto his spoon. "With such easy lucre, why do you abandon it now?"

"To create a family with Camille."

"But you can do that and still sail; you are not needed but occasionally to plant the seeds. Leave the rearing to the nurse-maid and the tutors. Though from time to time while the children grow, that they get to know you, it is important you take occasion to frolic and cuddle with them and to tell them stories."

"I wish to do this every day, as Mother had done with me."

"That is fine for a mother lacking staff – as Camille will certainly lack in the wilderness – but it is not the place for a father."

"Again, we disagree." Charles nodded toward Father's empty plate. "See, now. Your stomach was well able to take that huge supper, and this shows that some beliefs are not well-founded." Then moving the basket closer, he continued, "Would you care for fruit?"

While we each enjoyed an orange, Charles expounded at length to Father about the trading venture, and I listened in fascination. Then James arrived to clean from supper and to escort Father to the gunroom. When the door closed behind them, I said, "It shocks me to learn of the attitudes he holds. I had not before had even an inkling of these."

"They are strange, indeed." Charles wrapped me in his arms, and I melted into the embrace with a deep sigh, snuggling my cheek to his chest and caressing his back.

"I had thought he was home much more." I paused and shook my head. "But now reflecting, his visits were only a week or two, then many months at sea before another. I was always so excited when he returned. And on each visit, he left my mind filled with so many things to discuss with my tutors."

Charles nodded and pulled me closer. "Those discussions would have been to keep him fresh in your mind. To keep him there with you."

"Yes, I suppose." After a pause to make sense of this, I said, "The tutors became a surrogate for him." I blew a deep breath. "I had not before seen this, but I now recognise its truth. Know the reason for my intense interest in all things nautical."

After a long silence absorbing the realisation, I lifted my head and tilted it across the room. "The ale has caused me to need the privy."

A minute or so later, I returned with a smile on my face, and as I snuggled up to Charles, I pressed my nether mound to his thigh and moved it about. "Miss Cunny welcomes Sir Cyclops to resume his visits."

"It has ended?"

"The mouse was clean. My aches are gone."

"Then, hie thee to the night cabin, Camille."

"Aye, Sir. To the night cabin." I giggled as I took his hand and led him.

It was not long before we were undressed, abed and connected. Then after a short while, I grabbed his bum cheeks and pulled him tight to me to stop his movement. When he questioned, I said, "Ruth had told me how to delay your spending. I am to do most of the moving, and that should be only to ensure you do not fall flaccid. When you sense the building is too much, bid me stop."

I resumed my slow movements, revelling in the sensations while I related what Ruth had told me about this being the finest time for a couple to share meaningful intercourse. And with that said, my thoughts went immediately to Father. "From what he had said about needing only to plant seeds, I now know why Mother would have found no pleasure."

"And likely why her sanity declined. Her mind and body all but ignored. A few fast fucks to relieve himself and to leave her gravid as he again sailed off, adventuring."

"How horrid that would have been. As if enslaved."

"Treated as little more than a broodmare."

I felt Cyclops flagging, so I churned my hips with more vigour.

Charles gave a few quick thrusts as he said, "We must move to a topic less disheartening."

"Indeed, I sense him cowering from this one. Tell me more about our new home. That always excites you."