Free Till Dawn Tames the Night by Meagan McKinney Page A

corner.
    She watched as he went back and forth from the passage bringing in her water. She was already quite fond of Benny. He was a blond lad, hardly bigger than she was, but where his movements should have been quick and full of uncontained youthful energy, they were not. One of his legs was missing, and normally the boy used a crutch, but today he went about on his peg, an elaborate piece of whalebone carved with scrimshaw. Yet the most striking thing about him wasn't his sadly absent leg, nor his handsome English face, but the tiny monkey in gold-and-scarlet livery that tenaciously clung to his shoulder, no matter how rough the ride.
    "And how is Koonga this evening?" she asked, holding a finger for the little creature to grab.
    "She's got Cook in a fine temper," he replied. "She broke into the pantry and stole the last drop of cream just as Cook was preparing coffee for Mrs. Lindstrom."
    "Oh, dear."
    The monkey wrapped her prehensile tail around her wrist then started to chatter as if rapaciously defending her character.
    Benny turned his head to his little passenger and scowled. "She's going to be monkey soup, if she don't watch herself."
    "Oh, not that!" Aurora laughed when Koonga gave him the most astonished expression.
    "Will there be anything else, miss?" he asked when her bath was ready.
    "No, no, of course not. I've already inconvenienced you enough." With a nervous glance she watched him hobble to the cabin door. She was still uncomfortable being waited on, and though Benny was hardly more than sixteen, she was sure she'd never think it proper to have a male in her cabin.
    "The captain says he'll knock on your door precisely at seven, miss," the boy said after he'd handed her a stack of fresh linen towels.
    "Thank you so much," she said and watched him make his way down the passage. Discreetly her gaze slid again to his peg leg. She'd been rather curious as to how the boy had lost a leg. She'd certainly had the manners to refrain from asking, but she still found it odd that so many of the crew members were maimed. The captain had his fingers missing, and even the cook sported a black silk patch over his eye. She had no complaints, of course. All the crew were clean, well-dressed, and scrupulously polite. But take away their veneer of civility and it had dawned on her that they were a rather motley bunch.
    When Benny was gone, she quickly bathed. She pulled on her stockings and chemise, then lifted the blue gown over her head. The gown tied beneath her breasts and sported an inner bodice of plain drab linen that was precariously low. Her modesty was kept intact by the attached apron front, which she carefully pinned over her bosom so that the embroidery pattern would meet at the shoulders. Next she pulled on her slippers, or "straights," as she knew the fashionable world called them. Since each heelless shoe was made exactly alike, she'd had to break them in herself, and it wasn't until she walked to her dresser that she realized she had them on the wrong feet.
    After draping her large gray woolen shawl across her shoulders, she pinned the mass of her hair into a large bun, then brazenly loosened a few curls at her temple. She was almost going to pin them back when another knock banged at her door. Her stomach tightened and she felt her nerves jump. It was seven.
    "Good evening, Captain," she said calmly when she answered the door. Captain Corbeil was looking most handsome in a dark blue coat with gold braiding that matched his cap. Unlike his sailors who wore only gun-mouthed trousers, the captain sported white breeches and boots. He held out his arm in a most chivalrous manner and she took it, glad to have something to hang on to even for the few steps to the owner's cabin.
    When they made their entrance, Mrs. Lindstrom was seated majestically on the dolphin-legged couch and sipping a sherry. In the far corner of the cabin Benny was scuttling about, setting up a gateleg table for their meal. For a moment Aurora