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.He wrapped her cloak about her and stood by the door as she rubbed the lasttraces ofsleep from her face with a damp cloth.Then they descended to eat a quick meal and a shorttime laterwere walking the few blocks to the ship.The crew was already astir, making the ship ready for the day's loading, and the men pausedto watchthe captain and his lady board, and their eyes followed them until they disappeared throughthe doorunder the quarterdeck.ABC Amber Text Converter Trial version, http://www.processtext.com/abctxt.htmlOnce in the captain's cabin, Heather discarded her cloak and curled up in his bunk andwent back tosleep, not even waking when Brandon drew a quilt over her.After finishing a small lunchwhich hebrought her at noon she climbed up to the deck and stood by the rail to watch the activity ofthe sailorsand the port.Vendors swarmed about the docks selling fresh fruit and vegetables to sailorscraving abreak in their monotonous diet of salt pork, beans and sea biscuits.Rich merchants, dressednattily intheir finery, rubbed shoulders with beggars and thieves who tried to reduce the size of theirpurses.Sailors strolled along with harlots, caressing them openly, and liveries with their straight-backed driverswere waiting for hire.Vivid colors mixed with the dull to dress the seaport in its every daysplendor.Ships were being loaded and unloaded and the sound of sailors' swearing mingled with ped-dlers' criesand the voices of merchants' bargaining.Two seamen from the Fleetwood kept the dock areaclearwhere the wagons drew up to unload their supplies.She had never seen a place so bustlingwith activity,and she watched a little breathlessly, leaning over the ship's railing to get a better view of thethings thatwent on below her.She could hear Brandon's deep, authoritative voice every now and then,fromdifferent parts of the ship, giving orders to his men as they laid cargo aboard.At intervals shewould seehim talking with Mr.Boniface or the bo'sun or the mate.On other occasions he would bedown on thedock speaking with merchants.It was late afternoon when she saw George drive up in a horse-drawn cart loaded down withher trunk,Brandon's duffle bag and, to her surprise, the brass tub from the inn.Confused, she watchedhim unloadthe items from the cart and bring them aboard.When he set the tub down, he turned to smileup at her,and then she knew that Brandon had bought the tub for her.Her eyes went past George toher husbandwho stood beyond him with Mr.Boniface.He had glanced around to watch the servant bringthe tubaboard and now his eyes lifted to hers.Their gaze met across the space between them, andHeather feltsuddenly very happy and alive.No gift of greater beauty or fortune could have pleased her sowell as thisold brass tub.The corners of her mouth lifted and the smile was soft and warm and beautiful,and gazingup at her, Brandon was held for a moment in its spell, then James Boniface cleared his throatandrepeated his question.It was evening before Madame Fontaineau and two of her assistants brought Heather'sclothes.Afterthey had found everything satisfactory, Brandon brought an iron strongbox from his sea chestand begancounting out the necessary sum.The couturière sidled around to look over the top of the boxat thecontents and gasped audibly at the great amount of money which it contained.Brandonraised aneyebrow at the woman, sending her back to her place across the desk, then continued withhis counting.Madame Fontaineau glanced at Heather, who was kneeling beside her trunk packing thegowns andother items away, then turned again to Brandon, smiling with a calculating gleam in her eye.The sight ofmoney always made her a little reckless. Will the madame be returning with you next year, monsieur? No, Brandon answered.Madame Fontaineau's smile broadened and she smoothed her hair. When you return youwill of coursecome to my shop to buy her new clothes, will you not, monsieur? I will be looking forward tosewingagain for her [ Pobierz caÅ‚ość w formacie PDF ]