Free The Elusive Flame by Kathleen E. Woodiwiss Page B

back ta work now, miss. If’n ye need anythin’, just ring the bell what’s outside the door an’ I’ll come runnin’.”
    Soon after the portal had closed behind the boy, Cerynise examined the garments and gingerly tried them on. As slender as she was, she was not without womanly curves, which posed a problem in putting on the narrow duck trousers that were similar in shade to the sails. They had to be worked up over her pantalettes, for there was no way she would consider wearing the rough cloth next to her skin. She’d surely be chafed raw. After buttoning them, she adjusted the small mirror on the shaving stand and considered the results, turning this way and that to view every angle. The front was vulgar enough to brighten her cheeks, but when she caught sight of her backside, she gasped in astonishment, for the pants showed nearly every detail, cleaving to her buttocks like a second skin and snuggling into the cleft between. Even without Beau’s request. Cerynise knew it would have taken a team of stout drays to drag her up on deck. Wearing such indecentgarb around seamen would be an open invitation for them to do more than just gape.
    The tail of the shirt was long enough to cover her hips, allowing her to wear the ducks with some measure of modesty, but the fabric was soft after many washings. Seeing how it clung to her breasts, Cerynise quickly dispensed with the notion of wearing a corset, which would have pressed her bosom close to overflowing the top of her camisole with no doubt imprudent results. Even the most casual glance into the neck of the garment would convince the viewer of her lack of modesty.
    Despite her qualms about wearing Billy’s clothes, Cerynise decided there was no harm in making use of them while Beau was away and she had the cabin to herself. The long robe hindered her movements and was so wide across the shoulders that it was forever falling open to her waist. Still, if Billy or someone else came in, she’d have to seek the enveloping folds of the larger garment to hide what the lad’s clothing readily displayed.
    Billy Todd returned a couple of hours later to inquire whether she was hungry or not. Cerynise declined his pleas to eat, telling him that she preferred to rest instead. She still felt drained from the events of the past week, and she could think of no better succor for her physical and mental well-being than sleep and relaxation.
    Folding down the coverlet on Beau’s bunk, she laid the robe on the mattress near the wall where it would be easily accessible if there came a need while she napped. She snuggled beneath the comforter and closed her eyes, thankful for the hospitality her host had extended to her.
    The realization of Beau’s absence began to settle down upon Cerynise as she stuffed his pillow beneath her head and became aware once more of the elusive scent of the man. It came as something of a shock to her that she was just as susceptible to his absence as she was to his presence. The woman she had become was hardly much different from the youngling she had once been. Long ago she had pined her heart away after Beau had gone to sea, butnow, with only a short interval since his departure, she found herself eagerly anticipating his return. Considering their lengthy separation over the last five years and the voyages that had kept him away prior to her taking residence in England, Cerynise could find no cause for the hollow feeling that now plagued her in his absence. It seemed farfetched to think that one man could move her to such extremes, yet when she compared the joy she had experienced over their reunion to the strange, inexplicable yearning that presently thwarted her mood, what else could she lay it to?
    With the exception of another brief visit from Billy Todd in the middle of the afternoon, when he had brought her tea and crumpets, the hours passed slowly in the solitude of the cabin. Soon after the tea tray was taken away, Cerynise strolled to the