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Chapter One

Posted on Saturday, 16 December 2006

But that was Frederick! Sophia Wentworth stumbled in shock when she perceived a young boy waiting outside a house with closed blinds. The house was but a short distance from their home and she had it on good authority from the maid that it was a so-called house of pleasure. She considered asking Molly whether it really was Frederick, but the same extensive network of maids from which she had obtained her information would be responsible for spreading the news that Frederick Wentworth frequented such places. That must be avoided. They were a respectable family.

Sophia looked aside, but Molly was unaware of what she had seen. Molly was looking into the basket that contained the purchases they had made on the market and on no account should she be alerted. There might yet be a small chance that nobody else had recognised Frederick but his sister, even though they lived in the next street.

Another quick look across the street showed her that Frederick was still in place, staring at his feet and obviously waiting. Someone had taken him there, Sophia supposed, and since he served on a ship as a sort of servant to his captain, she could only hold his captain responsible. There was no doubt in her mind as to who had some business there in that house. She let out an indignant sniff.

What did she know about that captain? Nothing. She had not been involved or consulted in Frederick's going to sea. Her father, who had been in slightly better health then, had arranged this with Frederick alone. She did not know anything about his ship or his captain except what he had told her, but of course that had all been positive. He would hardly come home and boast of being a servant! According to Frederick he was only being made to do interesting things. Well, this was certainly interesting! There was another sniff.

He was only fifteen. That captain must be a very immoral man, not only for frequenting such houses, but also for taking a fifteen-year old boy to them. Before he was twenty he would be a frequent visitor himself, Sophia thought in anger. She clutched her own basket to her side and checked whether Molly still had not noticed anything, although surely Molly would have opened her mouth.

It pained her to think of Frederick's future degeneration. He was too young to think it anything but interesting, of course, and if his captain engaged in these practices he would think they were expected and accepted, never mind that his father and brother and other decent and moral gentlemen would never even consider such a thing.

It was wrong, wrong, wrong, Sophia thought with tears in her eyes. She had to protect her brother. Who else would? He would disagree, but he was still such a child.

"Edward," she addressed her other brother. He was young too, but on his morals she could depend. He was a serious and reflective boy, but his ambition to take orders ensured that he would agree with her in this matter. "I saw something very bad today."

"Oh?" He never liked badness and he looked alarmed. "Why are you telling me so?"

"It may concern us. I saw Frederick outside a house with a very bad reputation."

"Gaming?" Edward ventured after a moment.

"Worse. One with women." She might be all of two-and-twenty and reasonably well-informed, but even Sophia could not bring herself to speak of such places in a casual manner.

"What would he be doing there? Women?" He did not understand.

"Do you know what they do in such houses, Edward?" She feared the answer was negative.

"I have not the faintest idea."

Sophia gave him a look of frustration. She did not want to have to explain. "Even your favourite texts mention such activities -- as vices and sins that should be avoided. You must have come across them. You read plenty of such works."

"Perhaps, but I confess I do not always understand all these things that are not described very literally. I know it is all very bad and that by being good I shall avoid it, but I do not precisely understand the particulars." His colour rose as he defended himself.

"Oh, Edward!" Perhaps he was no help after all. "Fallen women and such?"

"I am not ashamed of not knowing off what they fell, although I know it is not literally so, but -- hardly something I could ask a tutor! I am not ashamed of not having cared or asked."

"No, no," she said hurriedly. "You should not be. And perhaps if one wants to remain good one has best remain innocent and ignorant, but I fear Frederick is very much on his way to being informed and corrupted."

"How? What would Frederick do with women? He is a child. What would women do with him?" The girls next door would not even dance with him.

"Not him, not yet. But I fear his captain is immoral and corrupted. Would he then care about Frederick? No. Such a bad example before him might affect him eventually."

Edward looked very disconcerted. "I think I did well by not liking the Navy if this is the consequence. But Sophia, how do you know all this? I do not want to imply you are corrupted, but you seem to know a lot. How do you know this is true? And what they do in such houses, for that matter."

"I am older than you. Besides, I do not spend my days inside reading, but I go to the market with Molly and we pass that house every time and one time she told me about it. She has a friend who has a friend who has a friend -- I do not know how many, but someone at the end of the chain has a position there as a maid. And Molly was able to give me a description of what goes on in that house." She gave an involuntary shudder. It had been most distressing to hear those particulars.

"I think that would be too much for me," Edward said with an anxious frown. He was not as strong as his sister and even she seemed shocked.

"Yes, it is very horrid," Sophia agreed with another shudder. "But should we not do whatever we can to save our brother?"

"But what can we do? I could not speak to Frederick, because if it is as you say, he will be more informed than I am and he would simply laugh at me. Because he is Frederick."

She thought about it. It was a pity she was a girl. "It is rather difficult for me to go to the Cassandra and reprimand the captain. Even I know that such a thing would not do. And Papa…"

"No, not Papa," Edward said immediately. Their father had enough on his mind as it was. Besides, Edward knew well enough that such a story ought to be checked first, something his father was not likely to do before he administered his punishment. Frederick did not deserve to be punished without reason and they were careful not to provoke their father's temper, because it might well affect his health.

Only one option remained in Sophia's eyes. "You must do it, Edward."

"Reprimand the captain?" he exclaimed. He could not. He was barely eighteen and that captain might be twice as old. And whether it was true or not, Frederick would be seriously displeased to hear of his siblings speaking to his captain about him.

"No, no. I think you could simply go there to express our concern about Frederick. He is but an innocent child and the captain is responsible for him. If he has a conscience he might listen to you. If he does not listen or if he becomes angry, well, we know he is the most vicious man on earth and we must persuade Frederick to seek something else."

"Persuade Frederick?" Edward's scepticism was all too audible. "He has been wanting this forever. He is hardly going to allow anybody to persuade him to become a clergyman instead."

Sophia knew that, but there was nothing else they could try. "Please, Edward?"

"I did as you asked, Sophia," Edward Wentworth reported to his sister. He had been to the ship and spoken to the captain. It had not been a successful mission, he thought, and he feared Sophia's reaction. "But I have every reason to think that captain rather uncultured."

"Oh, no!" she cried. "Frederick is doomed!" She had been wondering what they could do in that case, but she had not yet come up with anything.

"Sadly so," Edward said seriously. "He made some very uncultured noises and asked me whether the poor boy might not decide for himself. I pointed out his responsibility in protecting the souls of the innocent children on board from vicious influences and he merely stared at me."

She lost even more hope. "Did he at least appear to know what vicious influences are?"

"I assume so. He told me I took a great concern in my brother's affairs and I pointed out that Frederick was but fifteen. This made him laugh."

"Well," said Sophia doubtingly, wondering if the laugh had been because Edward looked fairly young himself and to hear him lecture might be amusing. "I should have gone myself." These matters could really not be trusted to another boy, as serious and learned as he might be. He never noticed anything. He would probably not even be able to tell her what sort of laugh that had been. Was it amusement, incredulity, mockery, contempt?

"But that would have been impossible."

"Yes," she mused. "I wish Papa were a surgeon, so he could get into places of ill repute and I could go with him and make inquiries."

Edward feared for his sister too sometimes. Frederick was not the only one who could get into trouble. "What sort of inquiries?"

"Well, if that captain is known there, of course."

"I fear that Papa's not being a surgeon means you will now go to them on your own," Edward said fearfully. "Please do not do so, Sophia."

"No, I do not want to be mistaken for a girl looking for a position. I shall have to ask around at the next ball. If I can afford a ticket, that is." She realised something else. Why did she have to be a girl who had to be chaperoned? "And if someone wishes to take me there. Why could I not be a boy? Why could you not be older and fond of balls and take me there?"

"No, do not force me. I should hate balls if I ever went."

"You do not mind dancing with the neighbours," Sophia said critically. They did not often have small dances, but Edward had never sat out. There was, admittedly, always a shortage of young men considered to be sufficiently grown up. No girl who took herself seriously would dance with Frederick.

"I do mind a little, but I cannot say no to the neighbours. I have known them forever and it would be impolite."

"You have known me forever as well," she pointed out. "But one may be impolite to sisters, I know."

Fortunately Frederick had not heard of his brother's visit. At any rate, he said nothing about it when Sophia and Edward next saw him. "I saw you nearby a while ago," she said to him after a few moments. "But you did not see me. What were you doing?"

Frederick looked perfectly careless. "I am sorry. Were you very offended? You should have called out to me in that case."

"Well, I should not like to make your captain angry by distracting you from your duties." Perhaps he would tell her some more about that captain now.

"If I am walking in the street my duties can hardly be of such a nature that it would be very bad if I were distracted. Besides, considering that my captain has hit me only once so far, I doubt he would become angry if you called out to me."

"He hit you?" Sophia cried. She would have hit the man back if he had been present. How dare he hit her little brother! He was undeniably evil.

Frederick still looked perfectly indifferent. "Is it not better than being flogged?"

"But he hit you! Why? What did you do? You cannot have done anything."

"Oh Sophia, why are women always so dramatic about it? A man can take such things."

"A man!" she spluttered. He was only fifteen. "Why?"

"I did something stupid. I think a punishment was perfectly justified. I never should have told you," he decided, although he hovered between wanting to be grown up and wanting to be comforted. "Now you will want to hug me and ask me where it hurts."

"Yes, of course. Where does it hurt?"

But after that, Frederick grew ashamed of himself and he ran off and there was no opportunity to ask him anything again.

Without the Cassandra in port it was a little difficult to investigate the character of her captain. Sophia took pen and paper and devised a strategy. It was imperative to discover first what that captain did in the, as Molly called it, brothel. Here she could rule out Edward for help. She could not send him there. The next time she saw Frederick outside that house she would have to go in herself, although she had no idea how that could be accomplished. She wanted as little to do with such a place as possible, but she had to for Frederick's sake.

Sophia began by passing the house, adjusting her pace whenever someone appeared to be ringing the doorbell. This tactic merely taught her there was a doorbell and a maid who answered it, much like in any respectable house. It was unlikely that this maid would let her in, since she was no customer. Only males could be customers, Molly had explained.

There was at least one other maid, one who occasionally scrubbed the front steps. It was a girl with a limp and a few teeth missing, one who was lucky to have any position at all, for she frequently paused her work to look at people. Sophia saw a way in. She could try to strike up a conversation some day and find out some more. It would be a start.

Sophia was an amiable girl who got on well with her neighbours, more precisely not with the children but with their parents, so that persuading Mrs Gooding to take her along to balls was not difficult at all if she paid for her own tickets. The Misses Gooding were so fond of balls that their mother could understand Sophia's request perfectly. The poor girl did not have a mother and she was already getting on in age. Her character and behaviour were above reproach and there was no harm in assisting her, for the Gooding girls were prettier, in their mother's opinion.

Nobody could have any objection to the scheme, not even the two Misses Gooding, whose infatuation with poor Edward was apparent to everyone but him. This infatuation caused them to be more interested in Sophia than they would otherwise have been. She was, after all, four years older than the eldest, but with no admirable record of suitors and successes. Nobody ever seemed to do for Sophia what the Misses Gooding would love to be done for them.

That she had once been the mortified recipient of a very bad poem was something she kept to herself. It had not been an occurrence she wished to see repeated, no matter how others might take this as an indication of her attractiveness.

Her wish to attend balls now might seem odd to people who had taken an interest in her life, but she felt she could safely say that only Edward might genuinely care.

Edward cared indeed. Sophia had been helping in the kitchens when he approached her with a small pile of cards he had found in the hall. "Who are these lieutenants who left their cards?"

"I must have danced with them," she answered carelessly. That they had left cards did not affect her at all. There had not been any she wished to see again in particular. "I had not yet noticed they had left cards. I am busy."

The number astonished him. "Do you like dancing so much?" Since they had hardly any male neighbours, Sophia always ended up dancing with Frederick or not at all.

"I am fairly indifferent to it, but I am well-mannered enough to say yes when I am asked." And most people went to balls to dance. Even for a girl who was merely eager for information dancing was the best way to achieve her goal.

"And you were asked?" Edward counted them again. It was shocking. He had never been to a ball and he had no idea how many people attended them. To him it seemed as if all men who had been there had danced with Sophia. He had never known she was so attractive to them.

"Yes, I was." That had surprised her a little. There had been prettier and younger girls, not to mention ones who danced and stood watching more gracefully.

He studied their ranks and names. "And did you only dance with sailors?"

"Edward, I cannot help who ask me, nor that there is a great number of sailors who wish to dance if they are ashore. This is a port, you know." And sailors might know about captains, which made them interesting. So far she had not encountered any who could help her much, but she had good hopes for the next ball. There would be plenty of them there as well.

Chapter Two

Posted on Wednesday, 20 December 2006

"I have some information for you regarding young Wentworth's troublesome sister, Captain, as you requested."

"Let us have it, Parker." Captain Croft leant back in his chair and crossed his arms. Never mind that he had had to wait a month for this information. He still remembered the interview with young Wentworth's brother vividly. It was still worth a good chuckle and a shake of the head, especially when he recalled how the evil genius behind the interview had been revealed. "I think this horrid specimen of womanhood is twenty years older and married to a shrivelled parson, at the very least."

"She is a few years older than her brothers, but not twenty. Several of your men have danced with her at the latest ball and claim to be in love with her."

"Several!" the captain repeated in astonishment. He had missed this sensation by visiting his family. He wondered how such a siren could send a messenger to lecture him on protecting the souls of innocent children from vicious influences.

Whom could he send to her to protect his men? Several were in love with her. Had they been drunk? He supposed there was no marriage to a shrivelled parson if she danced and made fellows fall in love with her, not that the parson would ever notice it.

"Aye, but the infatuations are generally short-lived, according to some men from other ships," Parker reported. "She is very pretty, but she talks too much about the wrong kinds of subjects."

"Which are? Does she tell the men they are bad boys?"

"I assume she speaks about subjects one would not expect a girl to speak about."

That told him very little. "Thank you. Are you infatuated with this siren as well, Parker?"

"No, Captain. I did not dance with her."

The captain would have to see for himself at the next ball, if he had not forgotten all about it by then. Not much could happen to her brother on the short voyage they were about to make, however, so he did not think Wentworth's sister would have any reason to convey her displeasure again. Precisely where she had got that notion that her brother was in danger he did not know. He had very considerately left Frederick in the street and Frederick had not even known where he was, except that it was -- he suddenly remembered -- quite near his father's house. That was the explanation. His sister had seen him there and immediately jumped to conclusions.

"Hmph." What did he care for the judgemental Miss Wentworth?

Sophia had been to a few balls with her neighbours, but she would not yet call herself successful. She had danced, she had acquired a new host of dashing naval suitors, even some who left pretty cards and flowers, but in the way of providing information they had been useless. They did not like to talk about other men, only about themselves and their ships' successes.

The only advantage to their talkativeness was that she was fast becoming very well-informed about the Navy and sailing. She had a keen mind and a good memory. The little the men said about their captains, however, was not reliable. Sophia quickly noticed that not one captain was unequivocally considered good or bad. A young lady who had to wait until she was asked could not dance only with men from Frederick's ship, so she had to make herself available for many dances, hearing about many different ships and captains.

"Do you know a Captain Croft?" Sophia asked one day when the limping maid was scrubbing the steps of that establishment. The Cassandra had just returned. Her crew might be in need of some entertainment. One of her dance partners had hinted that for some men a mere ball was too dull a sort of entertainment. She had taken that to mean that all men who were not at the ball belonged to that sort and therefore the captain as well. They would be frequenting establishments such as this one.

"Who is asking?"

"An interested party."

The maid looked at her appraisingly, evidently thinking it might be worth her while to talk to Sophia. "It will cost you some. You look like a lady who could spare a few shillings."

Sophia had no intention of paying for information, least of all for information that might be unreliable. "I am good at fooling people with my appearance. Do not think me richer than I am. You must be the friend of the friend of Molly's. Do you get many sailors coming in here?" She pretended not to be shocked by what they could be doing here, but to think it the most ordinary occurrence in the world.

"Possibly."

"Any from the Cassandra?"

"Is that a ship or a girl in the trade?"

So the maid knew it was a ship. That was a pity, for she would not get out of it now. "What about her captain?"

"He gave me a shilling for information," the maid said shrewdly.

Sophia gave her a sharp look. She was not parting with her money. "So you do know him. When does he come here?" She did not yet know what she would do with that information. Perhaps she could lie in wait and observe him, or intercept him if she was exceptionally daring. She would at least try to catch a glimpse. His face would tell all.

"He is with the mistress right now."

She suppressed her excitement. "Whose mistress?"

"Mrs Rawlings. She runs the establishment."

"And what is he doing with her?" Sophia felt faint. Perhaps she should not have asked. This girl might be even more specific than Molly.

"None of my business, miss -- or is it madam? If it is madam you will be able to imagine what he is doing with her!" The maid let out a meaningful cackle. "They do not come to have tea with her. And angry wives do not come to have tea either. None of my business. If you want to sort it out, you are going to have to do it yourself. If you walk around the house, it is the room with the green curtains."

Sophia did not bother to thank her. She found the narrow alley and progressed with care. There was indeed a window with green curtains. It was open, but the curtains were almost completely closed. From where she was standing she could see a fat woman in indecent attire reclining on a sofa, her middle-aged face painted in an attempt to improve her looks, but all it inspired in Sophia was horrified pity. This, then, was what men sought out for entertainment? It was unbelievable.

There was no man in sight, but he had to be there. The performance was intended for him. She tried to see more of the room, but without opening the curtains further that was impossible. The man refused to come so near Mrs Rawlings as to become visible.

Suddenly Mrs Rawlings shifted on her sofa and drawled, "Captain…"

Sophia suppressed a gasp. Captain! It was him! It must be. How many captains could be inside this building at this moment? Now she wished even more that he would take a few steps forward so he would come into view.

"Have you got everything?" asked a male voice.

Sophia could not tell which sort of facial expression would accompany that voice. She was not certain she would manage to hide her pity if she had to speak to such a frightful creature, but he had sounded calm enough. Perhaps he had been there for a while and he was now used to the sight. She would never be.

"Oh love, I do." Mrs Rawlings winked, dipping her considerable bosom a little lower. It was now in danger of spilling out of her clothes. "And more."

"I do not know why you keep trying," the man commented coldly. "I cannot be affected by your…display. Any butcher's shop has more appetising meat. I should like all the items on the list returned. You have had enough time to retrieve them."

"What leads you to think they are here? My girls are no thieves. Your men must be careless with their belongings."

"I have some men who will be careless with your belongings," he warned her.

Sophia bit on one of her fingers. He sounded quite determined and if she might tentatively think so, not at all immoral. Could one even sound immoral? Yes, she supposed. The fat woman did.

Mrs Rawlings knew how to change a man's mind. "I offer you two of my prettiest girls for free if you let the matter pass."

"I have no interest in your girls."

"How could your men respect you if you have no interest in girls?"

"I get their things back. Now give."

"If I could have something in return, I may," she said with a lewd smile. "A fine young gent. It would be my delight to enlighten you about the ways of the world. I suspect you may need a little enlightenment."

"Fine," the captain said in a cold tone. "I shall be sending some seamen around, none of them fine young gents. You may know the sort and the ways of their world."

"That box, you will find, contains all of the goods," Mrs Rawlings spoke, her manner suddenly brisk. Perhaps she knew the sort indeed and she was not keen on having them here.

"Business at last," the captain spoke in relief.

"Not my kind of business. If all men were like you, Captain, I should be out of business."

"That might not be a bad thing."

Sophia's feelings had changed during the course of the conversation. The captain was not here for himself, but to retrieve objects that had been stolen from his men, as far as she could tell. Since there was nobody else present, he could not have had any reasons to reject Mrs Rawlings' offer of herself or two pretty girls other than a true lack of interest. This new knowledge changed matters considerably.

Because nobody was there to stop him he could, if he had been so inclined, easily have accepted that offer. Therefore he must not be so inclined. Although his men frequented such places, the captain himself did not. It might be possible to trust Frederick to him. Sophia pondered that hesitantly. He had left Frederick outside the previous time. Frederick might have been offered girls as well instead!

"Will your men return?" inquired Mrs Rawlings.

"They are old enough to decide for themselves."

Sophia sagged through her knees and hid under the windowsill. Frederick was not old enough. Did this mean his captain would decide for him? Was he referring to him in particular? She had been wrong about the man. From the most despicable creature ever he had become rather intriguing.

A fine young gent, he was called. Given Mrs Rawlings' probable age, youth was an elastic concept. He was, however, young enough to be unmarried and, apparently, unenlightened. He had sounded like a gentleman, but she had not been able to see whether he looked fine. Mrs Rawlings' opinion could not be trusted there, since she was obviously trying to flatter him into joining her on that sofa to engage in actions best not thought about.

Sophia shuddered violently and wondered what she would have done if she had peeked in on a different sort of scene. After she had ascertained that the captain had departed, she waited another few minutes and then ran back through the alley. She had no wish to encounter the man in the street in front of this house. He might take her for one of those prettier girls.

"Found what you looked for?" asked the maid shrewdly.

"No," Sophia said slowly. "No, I did not. Not at all."

"Your captain just left."

"Did he?" she replied without having listened properly. She was still dwelling on her mistaken impression. She had not found what she had been looking for, but it had been better.

"I did not tell him there was a lady looking for him. I could have. You did not pay for my secrecy."

"You could have told him? Yes, you could." After a second Sophia realised there would not have been any danger. He would not have come looking for her. She doubted that very much. He would very likely assume she was one of Mrs Rawlings' girls and how could she make it appear otherwise, being here? "But you did not, so I am glad I did not pay."

Chapter Three

Posted on Sunday, 24 December 2006

For a while Sophia wondered whether she should still go to balls now she had this new information and she could be certain of Frederick's relative safety, but she already had a ticket and secretly she had become a little fond of going out to meet other people. Although not all the men were interesting themselves, some talked about interesting subjects. It was certainly a welcome change from her usual life and concerns, and she found the Navy more intriguing to hear about than housekeeping.

Mrs Gooding still felt good about the cheap charity of chaperoning Sophia and she knew exactly why her young neighbour had developed the interest in balls -- Mr Wentworth was ill and his daughter needed either a diversion or a husband, both of which were perfectly understandable motives for attending balls.

Sophia -- though unaware of Mrs Gooding's thoughts -- decided to continue going so as not to raise any questions. Edward might wonder if she suddenly decided she had had enough. She knew he did not trust her completely, since he had once or twice wished to accompany her to the market, but of course she would never think of combining that with an investigation. She investigated when Edward was buried in his books.

Her father hardly knew how often she went to balls. Sometimes Edward told him where Sophia was, but sometimes he did not even notice she was missing. When he did, the name of his neighbours was reassurance enough and he did not worry unnecessarily. He had never had any reason to fear his daughter might get into trouble.

"…four shots across the bow…utterly stupid…"

Captain Croft could but hear a few words, but they intrigued him. It was a young lady who had spoken them. One did not expect girls at balls to converse on such topics, but she was certainly not merely doing so to please the young men around her. No, there was an unmistakable fire in her eyes and a glow on her cheeks that proved she was very interested in what she was saying and that she was in charge of the topic. There was no fire in the lieutenants and midshipmen who were listening, not because of her words, at any rate. Their eyes looked too glazed and their responses were unworthy.

He moved closer to the little group and stood on the edge without appearing to belong to it. One by one the young admirers were beginning to shuffle their feet, casting desperate glances over their shoulders when they could not answer any questions or give any opinions that would satisfy the young lady. Curious and well-informed she was, but opinionated enough to reject answers with very little consideration for the self-esteem of the officers.

It amused the captain very much. He could find no fault with her opinions. She was not afraid of asking what she did not know, but neither was she afraid of showing what she did, even if another disagreed with her. Sadly, the young officers around her all looked a little confused. They mistook her interest in sailing for an interest in sailors, yet the captain detected no interest in them personally. This was one girl they could not impress with their uniforms, although some were slow to realise it.

It seemed she had tapped the minds of midshipmen and lieutenants already to such an extent that they were of no more interest to her. She seemed more interested in the higher decision making, such as that of captains, and he longed to talk to her.

He was in luck, for the last of the young men suddenly perceived him and looked relieved that he could get rid of the girl. "Captain! Might I introduce you to Miss Sophia Wentworth? Miss Wentworth, this is my captain, Captain Croft."

Similarly to his own reaction to her name, there was recognition in her eyes when she heard who he was. Contrary to his surprise, however, there was a hint of amusement, but her manner was polite. This, then, was the girl who had been so concerned about her young brother's morals that she had sent another young brother to quiz him. She must have adjusted her opinion of him, though, because she merely seemed eager to talk to him, not to berate him. She was certainly pretty, but now he had seen her in action he understood why infatuations were short-lived.

"Excuse me, Miss Wentworth, Captain, I see a friend," the young officer said and disappeared before anyone could stop him. Nobody wanted to.

"I should love to share my cabin with you," Captain Croft said. As he spoke, he realised his comment might well be misconstrued, although in fact it was no more and no less than what he would like to do. It was, however, a very dangerous thing to say to the judgemental Miss Wentworth and he braced himself.

She did not slap him. No, she beamed, her face all innocent delight. "Oh, would you?"

He was pleasantly surprised to find her so sensible. "I think we should have much to talk about."

"You would not…" she paused and bit her lip. "…consider me too…?" The reactions of the other officers had made her a little suspicious. She was too much of something, although she did not know precisely what that was.

"No, no, I think not. From what you have been saying I concluded we should be in perfect agreement. I have always thought the same thing about those four shots across the bow."

"Oh, have you?" Miss Wentworth cried, her eyes shining. "I am very interested in hearing your opinion in that case, Captain."

"Perhaps we should step outside to discuss it." He held out his arm. It was rather crowded in here and he would rather talk without running the risk of being interrupted.

"Oh yes!" She accepted without hesitation. "We must try whether we could really do that cabin thing, must we not?"

"You would be willing?"

"You have had the advantage of listening to me, not the reverse, but if you agree with me you must be a man of sense." There was evidently no doubt in Miss Wentworth's mind that she was a young lady of sense. She looked very confident of that.

"I have no one to talk to in my cabin. If you enjoy talking, enjoy talking about such topics, agree with me -- what more could a man want?" He could not see any disadvantages to taking Miss Sophia Wentworth along. It would be highly enjoyable.

"Er…accomplishments?" she said after some thinking about what men might want. It was difficult. Her brothers were not yet of an age to want anything and her father was past it. Nobody else would consider it appropriate to tell her.

"Which you do not have, do you?" he deduced. She had had to think about it, so she was definitely not the ornamental sort with the useless accomplishments.

"Captain, if you do not require any it cannot matter to you whether I do." She contorted her face trying to decide whether she did. She certainly had no talent for those accomplishments, but she had received a little instruction nevertheless. But the captain only seemed to want to talk and she could do that.

"That is right. I was thinking of getting a parrot for company and they have no accomplishments at all. You will always have more."

"Parrots are not company," she said decidedly. "Can you hold a conversation with them?"

"A very limited one, perhaps," he mused. "They certainly would not be able to talk to me about things I did or should do." Miss Wentworth would be vastly better than a parrot.

"I could, but would you allow me?" She raised her eyebrows. Some of the other fellows around here had seemed to think she should always agree with what a man said. If they had been captains they would have been even worse. Captains were in sole command and did not take orders from anybody. This one, however, seemed interested in discussing everything with a mere girl.

"Let us walk through the gardens to discover that," he said, ignoring the other couples who had gone out.

After several slow rounds Sophia decided she was well pleased with the captain. They talked so easily, agreed on many things and disagreed on enough to make their conversation interesting. He even allowed her to disagree with him about naval matters. Although he had smiled at it, she did not think it had been a condescending smile.

He was witty, he was clever and before they had gone outside into the darkness she had seen he was good-looking too. Mrs Rawlings, in spite of her deplorable taste in clothing and entertainment, had displayed a better judgement when she had called him a fine young gent.

Had she hoped to meet him, she wondered in some confusion. She had still been curious, but no longer desperately so. Perhaps the fact that her first curiosity had already been satisfied made that he could not at all disappoint.

One could say he was rather uncritical about whom he invited into his cabin, but it did not occur to Sophia that somebody might want to question her character. She did not feel she needed to convince him of her goodness and respectability at all.

"You are such good company," he said almost simultaneously with Sophia's conclusion. Such naval interest would be wasted on a shrivelled parson. "I really want to take you with me."

Sophia thought of her home, her ailing father and her brother who would soon be back to his studies. Could she leave them? Her father did have an excellent nurse, but everything else would fall to Edward and he was so young. She gave him a hesitant glance. "Leave my family. Could I -- for a cabin of my own."

He looked grave. "I am sorry. You would be required to share."

"My father is likely to die before Edward comes of age and then…" She gave him a sad grimace. She would very likely have to go and live with an uncle. Living with a captain was infinitely better and infinitely more appealing. With this captain, at least. She thought he was good company too. It would be agreeable to go with him and to talk to him whenever she liked.

"Marry someone before then," the captain advised. "But you know, I sail very soon."

"Oh, what does that mean?" she exclaimed. He spoke as if he was not recommending himself at all, yet he must be.

"That you must hurry a bit. If your father might die before he has provided for you, you have to provide for yourself. Is that not so? You do not look as if you have happy prospects."

"There is not much a girl can do, except be selfish," she mused. Be selfish and seize this chance. In spite of her excitement she could think clearly and see it was a really good option, given her situation. Yet marrying someone simply to escape her future had never occurred to her. "But I am not selfish."

"Sensible," he corrected. "A girl must be sensible. But your doubts are good. You will also have doubts about leaving me, if it ever comes to that."

"Oh!" Sophia cried. It was a comment of which she approved, in some sense. If he took her, he did not want to send her away again. She did not want to be sent away. "But you are very sure of yourself."

"No, but I am very sure we could be good friends."

"I do not doubt that. You must come to dinner tomorrow. I shall get my brother Frederick to give you an invitation. You know him, I believe."

"Ha, Frederick," he said with a chuckle. "He would be mortified to have his sister on board. I may have to arrange a promotion for him, since it would be cruel to have him be your servant as well as mine."

"You arrange all of this like a true romantic," she commented. He promoted Frederick away from his cabin and her into it, all with the same detached amusement.

"Well," he glanced around at the shadows of other couples. In his opinion there was nothing wrong with how he arranged everything. "Do you think they have any idea where they stand, even in the literal sense?"

"I was in fact trying not to notice what they were doing," she told him in a low voice. "They must have nothing to talk about if they choose that."

He smiled at such a sensible girl. "Who took you here? Might there be someone inside looking for you who is now thinking you might be doing that?"

"Oh, never! Disgusting. I came with my neighbours, but they know better than to look for me outside. I think we might have been out here for a while, so perhaps they are indeed wondering where I am. Had we not best go inside?"

Something else occurred to him. "Had you promised any dances to anybody?"

"Oh dear, yes!" Sophia gasped when she remembered. "But they were all your crew, so I suppose they would not dare to say anything to you. Would they? Do you not outrank them in every way?"

Captain Croft spluttered a few undistinguishable words. The siren with whom they all wished to dance had been snatched away by the captain. Their reactions would be interesting.

"And you?" she asked.

"No, I had not asked anybody."

Sophia had been taken home by her neighbours in a state of dreamy contentment. If the other girls guessed a little of where she had been and what she had done, they did not betray it, but they only spoke excitedly of their own experiences. She was glad for it.

She was now a secretly engaged woman.

The captain, after taking her back to her neighbour Mrs Gooding, who had not noticed at all that she had been absent, had politely said goodbye and left the ball. There had been no reason for him to stay. Sophia was pleased with so much loyalty and so little interest in other girls. He would be a lovely husband indeed.

After a while she realised he had not asked her anything about marriage directly, but that somehow they appeared to have settled the matter. The Misses Gooding would be appalled. They had best not hear of this, for they would want to hear the proposal analysed with dramatic sighs and there did not appear to have been anything they would remotely recognise as a proposal.

Sophia almost snorted. The girls would be confused, but she knew she was engaged. In truth it felt more as if she had been a naughty little girl than that she had made a life-changing decision, but she did not worry about that in the least.

Captain Croft, for his part, had to deal with interested glances and unvoiced questions. Only Lieutenant Parker dared to ask something, but it took him some time. "Captain," he eventually said in a tone of the utmost discretion. "I thought I saw you at the ball."

"That is possible, since we arrived there together." Before it became annoying, stupidity began by being amusing.

"But I lost sight of you there and then I saw you again, I meant."

"That is also possible."

"With…" There Parker stopped.

With somebody! Of course that was interesting. The captain understood it perfectly, although he did not yet reveal that he knew with whom he had been seen. It could only be one person, since he had not spoken to anybody else, as far as he recalled. Men did not count.

"You went missing with a young lady."

It was still amusing. Had someone been keeping an eye on him? "Missing? But you saw me, if you know it was with a young lady, and I cannot have been missing."

"I saw you reappear. With the young lady."

"I am sure you were relieved to find I had not gone missing. Who would have taken command of this ship instead, eh? You?"

"I --" Parker had obviously not felt any relief at all, but he did not think he could deny that openly and say what he had felt instead. "A young lady."

"Mrs Croft," said the captain gleefully.

Chapter Four

Posted on Thursday, 28 December 2006

"Who?" Parker exclaimed after a full minute of stunned silence during which he wondered whether he had heard that correctly. Mrs Croft, the captain had said, but that could not be. The captain was not married, nor had he ever displayed any interest in the married state.

"Mrs Croft," the captain repeated. It sounded nice and she would be quite unique -- there was no mother or aunt or sister-in-law who answered to it. It also sounded decidedly frightening, now that he actually thought about it, but that was a feeling he should hide.

Parker's mouth fell open even further at this confirmation. "Are you secretly married?"

"No, not yet."

Something else was confusing as well. "But if you are telling me about it in advance, how could you ever be secretly married?"

"Married, yes. Secretly, no."

"I thought the young lady with whom you went missing was Miss Wentworth, whom you called a siren a while ago." The captain was only one in a row of many who were to be wrecked. Perhaps he should not instantly speak of marriage. He was headed for disaster.

"Miss Wentworth is not a siren," Captain Croft said solemnly. She was not a moralising bluestocking either. "But…" She was the opposite of a siren, since only he had been susceptible to the siren's song. If he had stuffed his ears none of that would have happened.

When there was no elaboration on what Miss Wentworth was instead, Parker spoke. "She was supposed to dance with other men, but she left them stranded. They responded to her call and then…"

In that sense Parker had a point, the captain supposed. "Unforgivable. Will they now challenge me to a duel?"

"No, Captain, but they do wonder what you did with Miss Wentworth instead. And why."

"And where," the captain mused. He was not surprised that the men were wondering. There was much they would have done in his stead. In fact, they could probably not even imagine doing nothing. "And how. And for how long. And did I enjoy it. But I did, Parker, I did."

"That is unexpected, is it not?" Parker asked cautiously. He thought he knew his captain. "Or do you mean you enjoyed taking her to task for interfering in your business?"

He laughed, although he did generally not enjoy such things. "That would be less unexpected, would it? But you are not to wonder what I enjoyed. I enjoyed something with the future Mrs Croft and that should satisfy you."

Interfering in his business! He could laugh at that too. Most of his business would be hers in the future and he would even want her to interfere then. He might not be able to stop her either.

The loneliness had increasingly come to weigh upon him since he had been given his first ship. He did not need a large crowd; one person would suffice. A wife might suit his requirements perfectly, although he had never considered one before the aptly named Sophia. He had by necessity become a voracious reader, more to keep himself busy than out of genuine interest, but he had begun to be tired of the fact that books did not talk back. Miss Wentworth would.

"Are you engaged?" Parker inquired.

"Yes, you may be sure she knows she will be wed." He was not doing anything without her consent or knowledge.

"She may finally get her way then."

"I beg your pardon?" Captain Croft felt mildly disturbed. His intended was not a manipulative schemer.

"Angling after captains the way she was."

The captain could not blame her. "Perhaps she simply likes her husband a little older and wiser than the usual fare at balls." He did not even know who attended them as a rule, but the comment sounded clever and confident.

"I did not know…" Parker broke off.

"That I was wise? Or that I was old?"

Sophia now had to get Captain Croft invited to dinner. It proved to be more difficult than she had envisaged, because Frederick, the only one who was truly in a position to invite him, was not enthusiastic about such a plan. "No," he replied to her suggestion.

"You must." She did not know which other respectable way there was to meet him soon so he might speak to her father.

"Do you not understand that he is my captain? He probably has better things to do than to dine with boys from his ship. It would be presumptuous of me to invite him. Besides, I will not invite him for you to lecture him on his morals. You think he is a bad man. I know you do. You never hide your opinion and you have been scowling and looking suspicious every time he was mentioned. And Edward said something about his morals, which he must have got from you."

Sophia could not yet say she was engaged to the man and that she would never scowl again. She sighed. "So invite him and prove he is not a bad man." She would have him at the dinner table, but it would be nice if Freddie cooperated. There must be arguments that could sway him. "It is good for him to see how your family lives. He may promote you sooner if you are from a good family."

Frederick still looked appalled. "And he is going to continue thinking that if he has to dine with you?"

"I promise to be agreeable." And she was beginning by not slapping Frederick for his impertinence to his elder sister.

Frederick was doubtful now. "But it might harm my chances if you were some sort of…"

"Some sort of…?" she inquired and very nearly placed her hands on her hips.

He glanced at his taller sister and changed his mind. "Never mind."

She still had the upper hand, despite his impertinence. "Do tell me what you truly think of me, Freddie. It could be interesting."

"Well, I should not like for you to behave as though I am your child," he said with a heightened colour. "And my name is Frederick."

Sophia resisted the urge to cuddle him. It would not be appreciated. "Oh. Because you are a young gentleman of fifteen."

"Do not mock me. I want you to treat me normally in front of others."

"Otherwise your captain may think he has a small child on board?" she could not resist asking.

"Sophia!"

"Do not tell me he never teases you." She could not imagine it. The captain had displayed a sense of humour that could not fail to be provoked by Frederick's occasional pride and stubbornness. "Go there and invite the man, or I shall send Edward around to berate him for not appearing after I sent you there with an invitation."

The boy's eager delight about his promotion gave way to astonishment. "Marry? My sister?"

"I want company in my cabin." Captain Croft waited for the implication to be understood. He would bring his wife here, into his cabin, and considering that he had just said this wife would be Frederick's sister, that sister would come here.

There was a look of sheer horror on Frederick's face. "Will you bring my sister here?"

"Yes." The captain almost lost his composure. He had never known that announcing his impending nuptials could be so amusing.

"Why mine?" the boy wailed. There were hundreds of other men with sisters. It was unfair that his had to be chosen, by his captain, no less.

The boy had to be reminded of something. "Mr Wentworth, young gentlemen of your new rank do not look as if they very much want to burst into tears."

"I do not!"

The captain pushed a small pouch of money across his desk. "Go and get yourself the appropriate outfit."

"With your money?" Frederick looked proud. He would rather walk in rags.

The captain sighed. Miss Sophia Wentworth had better be much more manageable than Mr Frederick Wentworth, although he suspected that she was. She was a good deal more sensible. "What are brothers for?"

"I do not know if I could ever call you brother. Why my sister?"

"I like her. I asked her. She said yes." He frowned when he realised it had not gone quite like that, but the result was the same. She would be his wife.

"But am I only being promoted because you lust after my sister?" Frederick's confusion and disappointment were audible.

Boys should not question the decisions of their captain, but this captain was a sensible and reasonable man, he felt. As such he ignored the impertinent accusation and ascribed it wholly to the boy's shock. He must remain calm. "Your sister would be appalled to hear you use such terms."

"My sister would be appalled to have someone lusting after her," Frederick said impertinently. "And I know her better than you do."

The captain did not lust after Miss Wentworth at all -- although, even if he did, that was no concern of her little brother's. Still, it placed him in an impossible situation. Frederick would neither allow him to lust after Sophia, nor to marry Sophia without lusting after her. It was best to be authoritative rather than informative. "Please do not use words you do not understand, Mr Wentworth. And do not tell me you do, because I know you do not."

"I do," the boy maintained with a stubborn look.

"You do not."

"I do."

"Come nearer. I think in a case of such impertinence captains ought to administer some punishment," Captain Croft said invitingly. He flexed his fingers.

Frederick took a step back. "No, thank you, Captain." Then he stepped forward again with a calculating look in his eyes. "No, please hit me. My sister will never marry you if you hit me. I told her you had and she was very angry with you."

He was not surprised, although there was no longer any danger. "I think she will be angry with you if you allow yourself to be hit only to dissuade her and you will be hit from two sides, all for nothing. But perhaps you believe you need it to grow into a man."

Frederick wisely chose another course. "I thought you meant I deserved a promotion -- and then you tell me it is all because of my sister!"

That might indeed seem like a deception. Captain Croft considered it. "I can revoke my decision if you start weeping, because then you are certainly too young. Do you think you deserve a promotion?"

Frederick instantly made an effort to look old and serious. Of course he deserved it. "Yes, Captain. I am capable of more than I have been doing so far."

He was young and he had not yet grown, but he was nevertheless good. This advancement happened only a few months before it would otherwise have happened and as such his sister did not play much of a role. The captain's mouth twitched at that sudden seriousness. "Then forget about your sister, Frederick."

The boy's face fell again. "I cannot forget about my sister. Sophia wants you to come to dinner this evening."

His coming to dinner would be the end of Frederick's world, by the looks of it. The captain thought it mightily amusing. "I know. Tell her I am coming. I have some business with her."

"What kind of business?" Frederick asked, looking suspicious.

Captain Croft suppressed a sigh. If he was marrying the young lady, his business with her was rather predictable. "Nothing that will require your heroism. We shall remain in plain view and I shall not touch your precious sister either. I merely want to speak to her. And to your father. Are you not pleased? You know before your father knows."

"But my opinion does not count."

"Only your sister's opinion counts. And mine," he added as an afterthought.

"But if my father objects…" Frederick feared that would make no difference. They would go ahead with their scheme even if his father objected, since the captain seemed determined even before asking permission.

"Why should he? To me? Precisely why should anyone object to me?" He admitted to being a little curious as to what was wrong with him.

"I might not object if you were not on board and you had no plans to bring my sister here," the boy admitted grudgingly.

"Ah. So I am not the problem? If I had been ashore, you would not have objected to your sister's marriage at all?"

"No, Captain."

"Do you not think it selfish that you would rather condemn her to a life of dullness than have her display some interest in you? I promise to keep her under control."

"Sophia," Frederick said, his voice full of doubt and incredulity.

"Yes, Sophia." Surely if he could keep an entire ship under control, one girl would not pose too much of a problem? "But would you rather have her marry some frightful old man than me? Truly?"

"Could you leave the Navy?"

"Dear boy, how should I have money for a wife if I did that? Why do you not polish all my silverware and let me know if selling any of it would give me enough money to buy a wedding ring."

"But I was to buy clothes," Frederick protested.

"Had we settled that promotion then?" The captain feigned surprise. "Very well. But buy some silver polish somewhere while you are at it. I must show her a polished cabin."

Chapter Five

Posted on Sunday, 31 December 2006

Sophia walked through the house as if it was her last time. It was not, but she was already looking at everything with a different eye. If all went well she would soon go away and leave all of this to Edward. Her father's health was deteriorating. Although he had provided for the boys by getting them started in their studies and profession, he had done nothing for her. She realised that when she glanced into his room and he did not even notice her. All she was expected to do was run this household until he died and then there would be nothing.

She could hardly share accommodations with Edward when he returned to university. There was not enough money for that, not until she married. A tear trickled down her face. There was nothing she could do but leave them to get married. It was selfish and she did not like being selfish.

Edward found her crying. "Sophia? What is wrong?"

She clung to him and hoped he would forgive her for her desertion. She was not certain he had ever paid much attention to the running of the house, being away at university for most of the year, and he might find it difficult when she was gone. "I am going to leave you soon and then you will be on your own."

"What? Why? What are you talking about?"

"You must not tell Frederick yet, but I am engaged to his captain," Sophia sobbed. She was not sure an engaged woman was supposed to cry. Should she not be happy?

Edward was incredulous. "To the m-m-man you s-s-sent me to?"

"Yes, I am so sorry to leave you all alone." She was selfish and unfeeling for leaving him. He was too young.

"How could you?" He did not understand it.

"I have to provide for myself." Seeing Edward's reaction made that all the clearer. Her brother could do nothing for her, not yet. Perhaps in a few years he would be able to give her some support, but at the moment he was still too young. She was his support, not the reverse.

"But him!"

"He is a good man." She could not be wrong. She could not. She must trust her impressions. He was good.

Edward did not know how she could say such a thing. "He is corrupting Frederick. You told me so! You sent me there! You told me he was bad!"

"I was wrong." It happened sometimes.

"Sophia!"

"I have asked Frederick to invite him to dinner tonight so he may speak to Papa about me. He will sail soon and then I shall be gone from here."

"With Frederick's immoral captain?" Edward could still not believe it. "Did he force you into this?"

"No!" Sophia cried. Her brother could not even know what all of that entailed if she only had a vague idea herself. He might think that going into the gardens together sufficed. She knew it did not. Nothing had happened to her there. She had not been forced.

"He must have. Sophia! What did he do to you? Where did you meet him? Did you go and speak to him yourself and did he force you then?"

"I met him at last night's ball and I did not -- he did not -- you know Papa does not care about me. I have to care about myself," she said chokingly. "I have to get married."

"But surely not to such a man. There are much better men. You cannot simply marry a man you saw once! At a ball, no less!" Edward did not have a very high opinion of balls or of people who attended them.

"Papa has done nothing for me because I am not a boy," she sobbed. "He hardly knows I am here."

"He does not take much notice of me either and I am a boy." Edward looked frightened. He did not know what to do with a crying Sophia. She never cried.

"Where should I go if he died? Has anybody thought of that?" She had and she could only think of an uncle she did not care for. The uncle would not care for her either. It would be horrible. He would perhaps try to get rid of her as soon as he could by making her marry someone horrible.

Edward did not know where Sophia would go. He had never thought about it. He had never even wanted to think of his father dying. "But that does not mean you should accept the first man who crosses your path. Matrimony is not to be taken lightly."

She would not take it lightly. "He is not the first man who crossed my path. And I shall be a good wife." She would talk to him as much as he wished and he would be very pleased with her.

"To a bad husband?"

"He will be good. I do not fear that. I fear leaving you and Papa so suddenly might look like betrayal. That I am escaping before circumstances deteriorate, fleeing a sinking ship." It was true, in a sense, and she disliked that. She caught herself adjusting her speech to her future already. What did that mean?

"When are you leaving?"

"Soon, he said." He had not specified how soon that would be and she had forgotten to ask. She frowned a little at that oversight, because she thought she had been completely clearheaded and rational.

"How could he want to marry you? He had not met you before either." As far as Edward was concerned there were two thoughtless people involved in this scheme.

"Obviously I am incapable of making a good impression on someone," she said a little sharply, although he did have a good point. The captain had not asked much about her. He must have known she was good. "Please trust me, as he has trusted me. Do you never meet anyone you know will be a good friend?"

"Friend? Girls?" Edward said in abhorrence. Save for people's sisters or his own neighbours he did not meet any. Consequently he counted none among his friends.

"You could be friends with ordinary girls like me. Truly. And the captain, I think, is a very ordinary…er…boy." She giggled a little at having to call him a boy. He was nothing like Frederick and even older than Edward. "Man. Well, according to my standards he comes across as ordinary." Both ordinary and extraordinary enough to marry.

"Comes across! You do not even know for certain! Sophia! You cannot know a person's character after one meeting."

Suddenly she did not wish to hear more of his doubts and disbelief. She pulled a stubborn face. "Do not question my decision."

She reflected on her conversation with Edward a little later. Although rationally speaking he had a point -- she had only met the captain once -- irrationally speaking he had of course no point at all, for she had had a revealing glimpse of the captain's character that she might not even have had after a proper acquaintance. There was something to be said for spying on people. They would not be trying to impress one then. They would be genuine.

In short, Sophia felt very justified in wanting to marry him.

The captain came and although Sophia blushed at first, they were the ones who spoke the most. Frederick looked cross, Edward looked wary and Mr Wentworth looked confused. Frederick could not speak freely -- his father, his sister and his captain would pounce upon him if he said anything objectionable and most he could think of would indeed qualify as such -- whereas Edward was silently observing everything and his father would have been less surprised if the captain had spoken to Frederick and not to Sophia.

Rather than wait for a private moment, Captain Croft revealed his objectives during the dessert course when he very seriously and not at all haltingly requested permission to marry Miss Wentworth, as if he were asking somebody to pass him a dish.

"Sophia's hand has never been solicited before, but is such a thing not generally done in a private interview?" asked Mr Wentworth, who looked bewildered at how a conversation about naval matters could lead to such a desire on one side. While his Sophia was not an ugly girl, she was hardly so stunning as to collect suitors by the dozens -- and this suitor could apparently not even wait until dinner was completely over.

"Really? I have never solicited anyone's hand before. I am not acquainted with proper procedures." He did not see why it had to be kept from the two boys, who probably both knew about his intentions already. He certainly hoped they would not give any guests such a cold treatment and he had been ascribing it to their protectiveness towards their sister, who was of course going to be snatched away in an unexpected manner that deserved to be treated suspiciously by the other gentlemen in her life.

"Has there been any secret courtship?" Mr Wentworth inquired with a confused expression. Something was missing from all of this.

"We met yesterday evening," the captain replied. "I think not." But he glanced at his betrothed to see whether she disagreed about there not having been any courtship. She was merely staring fixedly at her father and that did not tell him anything about her opinion of their courtship. Almost a full day, though spent separately, might well count. He had thought about it, at any rate.

"And you are determined to have her, Captain?" It was an observation rather than a question.

There was a helpful nod. "Soon, too."

"And you are not in a particular condition?" Mr Wentworth asked his daughter.

"In love?" she asked. She wondered how that felt. She looked at the captain and wondered if she was in love. If she had to ask herself that, however, it was probably not the case. Not yet. Although she considered herself to be a rational creature, she could see her rational appreciation of the captain's charms turn into something much warmer.

"With child." He did not really see how that could be, for neither had left the table.

"No, Papa. How does that happen?" She made her eyes grow wider, although she did in fact have an inkling. To share that with her father was not wise.

"We have no interest in that," Captain Croft remarked with the utmost calmness.

"Sophia does," her youngest brother said under his breath. He was not sure anyone had heard him, which was fortunate. Sophia had an interest in something, whatever that was precisely other than Captain Croft.

Mr Wentworth decided there was not much he could do. They seemed determined and he did not have the energy to see how determined the captain was. Sophia's face spoke volumes and he knew as well as she did that she did not really require his permission. "Very well, you may marry Sophia if she agrees. A captain would be a good thing for her."

"I thought so too," Sophia said in satisfaction.

"Is there any custom regarding gifts?" Captain Croft asked Sophia when he had her alone for a moment after dinner. "Am I expected to give you something?"

Sophia did not think she wanted much. "Yes, your sincere promise that you will always be good to me."

"I am always good. I meant something in the material sense, because I know nothing about weddings." He asked himself for a moment what he had he got himself into, but he could only be brave and face the consequences. He was not a coward.

"If your bride knows nothing either, I say you are safe from expectations."

Despite this reassurance, he still hesitated. "Perhaps it is customary to give one's bride a necklace or something of that nature." He knew even less of necklaces than he did of weddings, so he hoped he did not have to contend with such difficulties.

She grasped the neckline of her gown and pulled it down a few inches. "Look, I never wear one."

"While you might not care about customs, someone else might and they would tell you I have been remiss." He would rather settle it beforehand.

She had no idea which other people might care enough to interfere or comment. She would certainly not care if anyone did. This was a private matter, strictly between her and her husband. "Should I care? Should you?"

He was amused and reassured by her expression. "Nothing but a promise then, which you will have. To tell you the truth I could not buy you much even if you insisted, so I am glad you never wear necklaces."

Sophia's entirely innocent gesture had nevertheless raised her father's suspicions and he walked towards them. "A private word, Captain."

Sophia did not see why a private word was necessary. "But if he and I are to be married, Papa, surely you could speak in front of --"

He did not think so. "Please see to the coffee, Sophia."

She looked displeased, but obeyed nevertheless. Edward and Frederick would certainly not see to the coffee either, so someone must. Her sense of duty forbade her to be rebellious.

"Is Papa objecting?" Frederick whispered hopefully. He hovered around her, appearing to be helpful but doing nothing.

"You are such a supportive brother!" she whispered back. "No, he is not objecting. How could he? Is the captain not a fine catch?" She glanced at him. Yes, he was a fine catch. She was above such concerns herself, but she knew how to appeal to people's superficial sensibilities.

"The captain. Do you call him James Frederick in private?" Frederick did not know what couples would do and he did not care, but he wanted to let his sister know he knew more about the captain than she did. "Or something sickening?"

Sophia did not have to rely on her little brother for information about Captain Croft's name, so she was not affected. "I am not even being given the opportunity to say anything to him in private," she replied in dissatisfaction. "Now if you or Edward were so kind as to pour the coffee I might listen to their conversation, but you are not."

"That is your task," he said, in spite of being made to do similar things on board. "Do you not think the captain will also think it your task?"

She had not thought about that yet and bent over the coffee table. Her brothers remained by her side, but they did not help. "Oh, you useless boys! Hand me cups or go away. For whom should I be pouring coffee? If he had such a wide acquaintance on board he would not be in need of a friend."

"Coffee for him, Sophia."

"If he has managed to drink coffee without the assistance of a wife until now, he could do so after marrying as well. Besides, he did not tell me he needed a servant. He wanted a parrot and I have never heard of those serving coffee, so why should I do it if he accidentally got me instead of the parrot?"

"Instead of the parrot?" wailed Frederick, who had been looking forward to it. "Did you talk him out of getting one? You are awful."

Chapter Six

Posted on Thursday, 4 January 2007

"Her forwardness is rather at odds with your assurances, Captain," said Mr Wentworth. "I admit I have not kept a close eye on her, but I always assumed that it was not necessary. I have never seen Sophia behave in this manner."

"I am not finding fault with her behaviour, Mr Wentworth," the captain spoke respectfully. He had no idea what was amiss with her manner. Was she too forward? What had she done? He thought she was being a dutiful hostess, seeing to the coffee, and a sensible wife-to-be, only wishing for a promise and no gifts.

"You did not see her lower her neckline five inches, Captain?" That her father had been shocked by the gesture was putting it mildly and it did not help that Sophia had looked so supremely innocent afterwards.

"There were at least five more inches to go before it would have become scary." But in truth the captain had not measured either distance. When he looked at his fingers to see how much five inches was, he nearly gulped. It would have been scary much sooner.

"Scary?"

Captain Croft tried to sound calm, although it was a reassurance that Sophia apparently never lowered her neckline too far. "I certainly would not marry her if she had a habit of doing that."

Mr Wentworth's confusion was not yet over. "No?" This man seemed to think it very scary indeed -- scary, not indecent but secretly exciting, which was what he expected most men to think.

"No."

"Why are you marrying her then?" He realised it was an odd question for a father to ask. Ought not to want one's daughter to marry a man with a taste for indecency, but one did want one's daughter to marry a comprehensible man.

The captain looked at Sophia pouring the coffee on the other side of the room. She was speaking to her brothers and from their covert glances he deduced that they were talking about him. It made him curious. He would like to be accepted eventually, although he could still find some amusement in their reserve. "Conversation."

"My daughter has plenty of conversation, or so I heard at the dinner table. And are you going to rent a house for her or will she stay here?"

He shook his head and calmly pointed out the obvious. "She will come with me. Her conversation is useless otherwise."

Mr Wentworth looked astonished. "What if you tire of it?"

He could not imagine tiring of Sophia. "A ship is large, sir."

"Your coffee, Captain," Sophia said at his elbow. "And your coffee, Papa."

"Sophia, please amuse your brothers for a while," her father requested. He waited until she was away, ignoring her expressive look of displeasure. "Do you mean to keep her in another part of the ship if you tire of her?" And give her to someone else, perhaps. He did not know what those sailors did.

"No, I mean it is so large and full of activity that it should provide ample conversation." The captain was not afraid they would wake up some day with nothing more to talk about. She was too curious and clever. Her mind would remain engaged.

"Is it a life for a girl?"

"It must be, until I come into some money."

"Captain, do you mean you cannot support a wife ashore?" He had always thought captains were a good match. Perhaps he had given his consent too hastily, but the captain's calm manner had led him to believe that the man knew what he was about and that consequently he would not propose to girls until he could support a wife. He did not know what to do if this turned out not to be the case. He could not send his daughter off into poverty.

"Not in the conditions in which I could support her on board." And she had said yes to the offer of his cabin, he must remember. She would not even expect to be housed ashore.

"You could always leave her with your family. She will have a little money upon her marriage. You have not asked about that." Mr Wentworth was still confused. He had always expected marriage negotiations to turn out differently, but there were not even any negotiations here. Everything seemed long settled without his interference.

Captain Croft let out a wry laugh. He would never leave his wife with his relatives, certainly not one he had chosen for the company and conversation she could provide. That would defeat the purpose of marrying her. "My family. No, I will not do that to her."

"My health is not good. Sophia will have nowhere else to go," Mr Wentworth said warningly. This young man must realise he would not be able to get rid of Sophia so easily if he ever came to want that. Surely he could not be thinking of keeping her at his side during a battle? He could see a silly girl thinking it romantically heroic, but a captain ought to be wiser.

"She told me."

"I am not entirely convinced of this alliance, unless you will look after all three of them until they are all of age, should something happen to me before then." Sophia's father thought it might. He had worried about it, but perhaps a good solution presented itself here. This man could take all three of them.

The captain breathed a sigh of relief. Sophia already seemed to be looking after her brothers and a little assistance from him might even be appreciated. As it was, he already had one brother in his care. "I have a feeling that such an arrangement would be very much to your daughter's liking."

"And you do not object?"

"Not in the least." He had a inkling that if he married Sophia, he would also marry her concern for her brothers, whatever her father asked of him. Sophia seemed unable not to care. It was a quality he appreciated and if this quality came accompanied by two younger brothers, he would have to take them as well.

He would not object, but Frederick might. There had still been suspicious glances from Frederick, but fortunately Edward seemed to have relaxed. He was older, of course, and better able to make a fair and unprejudiced judgement. His sister would come to no harm as the captain's wife.

Not having any more questions at present, Mr Wentworth carried his coffee away and left the coast clear for Sophia, who did not waste a second. "Was there a problem?" she inquired.

He studied her face. She was ready to react indignantly and solve that problem. He could not tell her it was her nearly displaying her bosom that had alerted her father. No. She had not had that intention. His eyes focused a little lower for a second. She was not fat enough.

He said something thoughtless instead. "Just making sure you will not be kept in a cage with my other pets."

"Which other pets?" she exclaimed.

"The chickens for my eggs and the cow for my milk."

She liked how he could say that with the utmost seriousness. She was not in the least offended. That did not even occur to her. "And the wife for your company?"

"Exactly."

"Are the chickens in your cabin?" She could not imagine it, although she could not even imagine they would keep chickens on a ship at all. A cow was even more incredible.

"No, of course not."

"But I may be?"

"Yes."

"So my father gave his consent?" Although it had been given before, she feared he might have retracted for some reason or other. He had sent her away while he had a private word with her intended, after all, and she could not see why. Nothing needed to be kept from her.

"Thinks I am strange, I am sure. Tell me, Miss Wentworth, what made you change your mind? I know it was you who sent your brother to lecture me." It made so much more sense now that he knew all of them a little better. There would have been an indignant flash in her eyes and she would have sent her brother out on this errand that she would much rather have taken care of herself.

He imagined Miss Wentworth requesting an interview on board. Somehow he did not think he would have received her. Or if he had, they might not have got along. There would have been some prejudices on either side. His would quickly have been conquered, but he was not sure about hers. She was not likely to believe him instantly -- although when she had eventually met him she had not doubted him for a second. He dismissed all thoughts of what Miss Wentworth might have done. They were useless, since the young lady went to unpredictable lengths for nevertheless predictable reasons.

"Oh, I can imagine that. You cornered him and he revealed squeakingly that his wicked sister made him do it." Edward might not have been very brave and Sophia looked as exasperated as an elder sister had every right to look.

"More or less," he said in amusement at her fairly accurate guess, but then he turned serious again. "But what was it? Did you, as I surmised, see me in the neighbourhood with your brother? If you did, I can see why you wished to lecture me, but I do not see why you changed your mind about my character."

"I made inquiries and I discovered what you were doing there."

Superficial inquiries would not have changed her mind at all. He knew how it would have appeared, yet she looked absolutely certain of his goodness. He wanted her to be absolutely certain, too. It was not a matter he took lightly and he did not want there to be any misunderstandings. "The truth or your supposition?"

"The truth and it could only be the absolute truth, for I heard you speak yourself."

"You heard me speak? Where?" He frowned. He had not spoken of it anywhere but there and on board to the men concerned. She had not been on board. A girl on board would have been noticed and brought to him. That left only one possible location. He could not believe she had been there -- or could he?

"Well, in that place. I was eavesdropping on you," Sophia revealed without any embarrassment. "I thought my brother's innocent soul warranted such a tactic."

He nearly gasped. What was he marrying? It might be too much. "Precisely where were you and when? I never saw you. I…have some trouble thinking you might have been inside."

"Oh, do not worry. I was under the window outside. I promised Edward I would not go in and I did not. I could only see the hideous woman, not you, but I heard you ask for stolen goods, I think, and reject girls. I thought it was excellent that you rejected such an offer." She gave him an earnest and appreciative gaze. "You meant it, because you had no idea I was investigating your character from outside."

The captain wondered how many girls would ever do such a thing and how many of those would candidly admit to having done it. Sophia was not afraid to act when she considered that necessary, whatever anyone else might think. He rather appreciated such a quality as well. She seemed full of good qualities. "But how would you know what the offer entailed precisely? I mean…er…what those girls were for." He coloured slightly.

"The maid had told me what happens there." She wrinkled her nose to convey her disgust at such practices. "Which is why it shocked me to see my brother, who is but a child and who should not be exposed to such knowledge and immorality."

"But you…" She was no longer a child, but he did not think she should be exposed either. Innocent souls came in many guises.

For a moment she looked very much like Frederick at his most stubborn and self-assured. "I have just turned twenty-three. I am better able to judge badness."

"I am sorry I inadvertently drew your attention to it by leaving your brother outside," he said quietly. "And although it very much depends on the behaviour of other men, you may come across worse things if you go with me, but…if you stay close to me and do not go running off to investigate the characters of other men, you should be quite safe. If you --" He stopped to suppress something that looked like amused resignation. "-- must investigate, let me do it."

"Other men." She shrugged bravely. "What are they to me? Are you good at investigating characters? Could I not come with you?"

He snorted. "Do you not trust me?"

Sophia lowered her voice. "But perhaps people would not offer you girls if a girl were with you."

"Ah." He pondered that. "But I can reject them on my own, as you heard, entirely out of a lack of interest and not a desire to impress anybody with my morals and virtues."

"But they do not really believe you if you do, do they?"

"I give in," said the captain with a gallant bow. "Should the occasion arise, I shall take you to show I have already got my hands full."

Mr Wentworth was exhausted and wished to retire, but he did not want to be so impolite as to send Captain Croft away already. He beckoned his eldest son instead. "Edward, I trust you will keep an eye on your sister. I am going to lie down."

Edward looked horrified at being trusted with such a difficult task. "Papa! But what is she not allowed to do? And why do you think she would listen to me?"

His father sighed. He beckoned the captain too. "Captain, I am retiring for the evening. I leave Edward in charge."

Captain Croft looked at Edward's fearful face and deduced the boy had no idea of what he was in charge. He smiled reassuringly. "I could leave if you prefer, Mr Wentworth."

"What I prefer does not seem to matter to anybody," Mr Wentworth said a little peevishly. "It is what Sophia prefers that matters."

That was indeed so and he did not prefer to leave yet either. "I still need to discuss with her when we are to wed. It must be within the next two weeks."

At this Mr Wentworth stared. "That is -- if you have no money to afford a wife ashore, can you afford a marriage licence?"

The captain had never heard of marriage licences. He stared back. "What are those? You imply they are something that costs money."

"The quicker you want to be married, the more it will cost you."

"More than a parrot, I wager." But then, he reflected, she talked more. He would be better off with Miss Wentworth if the male Wentworths would let him have their precious female. The father was surprisingly the easiest of the three.

"Parrot? I beg your pardon?"

Chapter Seven

Posted on Sunday, 7 January 2007

"Well, that is settled then," Captain Croft recapitulated. "I shall arrange it and you will pack. I shall send you a note through Frederick if we can trust him." He said that to provoke, although he did not think for a moment that Frederick would dare to sabotage the proceedings.

"Yes!" Frederick said indignantly. "As if making the note disappear would prevent Sophia from capturing you."

The captain beat Sophia to speaking. "You have got one thing wrong, Frederick. Capturing is a man's business and thus your sister is my hapless victim. But you are quite right that nothing could prevent it."

Edward, although he had begun to like the captain a little, was not yet entirely convinced. He was uncharacteristically bold when he broached a delicate subject in private. "Sophia sent me to speak to you because she had certain suppositions. Now she wishes to marry you. I do not really understand it."

"Certain suppositions. You put that nicely. Your sister investigated my character and found those suppositions were wrong."

"At all those balls?" Edward hoped she had not investigated elsewhere.

It was a new idea to the captain that she might also have been investigating his character at balls. It would certainly explain why she had danced and spoken with so many sailors. "Er…I was only at one ball. I only know she danced at the others, but so much the better if she did so only to find out more about me. Do you not agree?"

"I do not like balls. I have never been, but…"

"Do not go while you can avoid them," the captain advised. "The number of stupid people is astonishingly high. I overheard many a senseless conversation while I was there."

"Stupid girls?"

"Those too. I think I prefer people to look the same at any time of the day. If a fire breaks out and I should meet some ugly female outside, I should like to recognise her in her natural condition as well, especially if we are supposed to be acquainted."

"Natural condition?" Edward had no idea what that might be.

"Yes, a pretty, well-dressed lady by day and a frightful cow by night. Argh!" he cried theatrically. "You scare me, madam! But I am your wife! No! Yes! You are a farm animal!"

Edward looked shocked at such a lack of refinement. "Captain!"

"The more she is decorated by day, the more frightful she is by night. There cannot be any other reason to take such pains to hide one's true appearance," the captain lectured. He had had a fright once in the street and he shuddered at the memory.

The boy was still gasping for air.

"Oh, what are you saying to Edward?" Sophia cut in. She had been keeping an eye on them and her brother's expression had drawn her nearer. "Are you speaking about me?"

"No, I was being disrespectful and blunt about frightful women."

Sophia nodded calmly as if she understood that perfectly. "One must admit to one's fears before one conquers them."

"I have no wish to conquer a frightful woman. I shall cowardly settle for a good-looking one." He expected that Sophia looked pretty at any time of the day, although she now looked sheepish.

"Good-looking?" exclaimed Frederick, who had followed his sister.

"Is that not good enough for you?" asked the captain with a slight edge to his voice. Did he have to write a sonnet extolling her heavenly beauty before he would be allowed to marry the girl?

Sophia pulled him away to save the two gentlemen from ungentlemanlike behaviour. She lowered her voice. "He thought it too much praise for me."

He had assumed something else, but she would know her brother best. "Believe me, not him."

"Oh, be rational," she requested in embarrassment.

He took her to the mirror over the mantelpiece. "You be rational."

After his departure Sophia had some trouble feeling rational. He had not done much to cause that, however. Apart from taking her to the mirror so she could observe herself he had not made her overt compliments. She had stood there and looked, but she had not made any comments on her appearance.

In the morning she studied herself in her own mirror, assuming that a good night's rest would have cured her of any irrationality. Last night she had thought the captain might have a point, but as she had later told herself sternly, she had of course been highly flattered. It was interesting that she still looked the same now.

A little later she was called into her father's room. "Well, Sophia," he began. "It was not in your best interest to contradict him and certainly not politic for me to inquire further -- with a view to your brothers -- but did you truly meet him the evening before?"

She stood erect and motionless. "Yes, Papa."

"Do you display your chest to gentlemen as a rule, Sophia?" He was tempted to think she did not, but she had better not say yes.

Sophia looked bewildered. She did not even know of what he was speaking. "I beg your pardon?"

"You seized your neckline and pulled it down almost to your waist." Mr Wentworth repeated the movement in front of his chest. "Like this."

"I did not! I never --" But then she realised what she had done and she coloured. "I merely showed him he needed not buy me a necklace."

"Why was that necessary?" Perhaps it was the influence of his illness, but people truly were not making any sense anymore. His daughter spoke as if simple words had not sufficed, but as far as he knew the captain was not deaf. She could have settled for a verbal explanation.

"He knows nothing about weddings and thought perhaps a gift was in order. I told him I needed nothing but a promise that he would always be good to me." She was proud of that sensible request, since it proved she was not silly or mercenary.

"You and he know nothing about a great deal of things, I am beginning to think. I am still in doubt as to whether this makes your match a splendid or a disastrous one." Apparently the captain had understood what he still could not, which was why a glimpse of bare skin ought to convince him Sophia did not need a necklace.

"A great deal of things?" Sophia asked in alarm. She would disagree. And how could the match possibly be disastrous? She would disagree with that too.

"It is too late to remedy any oversights in your upbringing, so let us not speak of those, or you might come to ask yourself some sensible questions. Your captain seems a decent fellow, despite the oversights in his upbringing."

"Yes, he is." She did not know what those oversights were and, though curious, she was too proud to ask. Not knowing was possibly the result of such an oversight.

"Surprisingly he did not ask me about your money," Mr Wentworth mused. "How do you envisage your future life?"

"I think we shall be well amused by each other."

"Nothing to eat, but well amused." That was an uncharacteristically impractical notion of his daughter's. After running a household she would amazingly give no thought to sustenance, but only to amusement. And the captain, despite running a ship, did the same.

"He is a captain. They have food."

"I shall not argue with you, Sophia. Evidently you have thought this over very well and I must not question your judgement."

"Indeed, Papa," she nodded very seriously.

"What is his income?" He could look that up, to be sure, but he was curious if Sophia knew or cared.

"Sufficient. And there is the prize money that he may have, Papa."

"May he be more knowledgeable about coming by prize money than about coming by a wife -- although if he got you first, perhaps he is not and he needs you for the former. Did you at least receive the promise you asked for?"

She looked surprised. "Of course, Papa."

"And how high or low is a sufficient income precisely?"

Sophia drew magazine from a pile, leafed to a particular page quite quickly and pointed at a table with a certain finger. "There."

"Well!" Mr Wentworth was surprised. She had been a little practical after all, knowing exactly where to find that information.

Sophia was trying to pack, but she could only enlist her brothers' help. Captain Croft had too much to arrange to be of assistance, or perhaps he had not even known she might require some. She now had Edward and Frederick sitting cross-legged on her bed. "Frederick, what do ladies wear on board?"

He was trying to turn one of her stockings into a catapult. "What are you saying?"

"Leave my stockings!" she cried. "What do ladies wear?"

Frederick gave her an indifferent shrug. He did not know what they wore and he did not care. He did not want any women on board, least of all women who were related to him and who would treat him like a little boy. "We have never had any ladies on board. I do not know. When I get my own ship in a few years, there will not be a woman on board. Ever."

"In a few years? But what is the general sort of dress of the gentlemen?"

"Their uniforms." Frederick and even Edward rolled their eyes at this stupid question.

"I am glad I can make you feel superior for once, but do not expect the pleasure often. Shall I be expected to look fine?" Perhaps she would be better off with more practical wear. There would very likely not be parties and balls, and no calls to make.

"Why does the captain not help you? He is the one who insists on marrying you." Frederick had still not reconciled himself to having his sister on board, certainly not to her becoming the captain's wife. Such a position of double authority did not sit well with him. "I think he should be the one to help you pack. After all he has ever said about girls."

"What was that?"

"He thinks they are all stupid." To that Edward nodded his agreement.

"He does not think I am," Sophia said confidently. She had never received that impression.

"I think you are both stupid." Frederick managed to shoot a hairbrush through the room with one of Sophia's stockings and he cheered.

"Frederick! Do not be such a child." She picked up the hairbrush and threw it at his head.

"Marrying and all that. Why my captain? Could you not have found another if you are so fond of captains? By the way, if he were to advise you what to pack, I am sure he would tell you to leave everything here."

"Really? What should I wear in that case? One of his uniforms?"

"He thinks one gown would suffice and all the other stupid stuff ladies wear is also unnecessary."

"Undergarments? Have you and the captain been discussing undergarments?"

"Hats, Sophia. He thinks hats are the silliest invention ever and he is always wishing them to blow away. I am not sure what he thinks of undergarments. I think he has never seen any."

"I should hope not," she muttered, although she remembered Mrs Rawlings, who seemed to have been wearing nothing but them. "But it is not advisable to speak of them to you in any case."

"Oh, why not?"

"Because you are not marrying," she spoke sternly.

"What does marrying have to do with undergarments?" Frederick wondered. "I am not married and here I am sitting in the middle of yours. What is so shocking about them? They are pieces of cloth."

That was so and he was indeed sitting amidst her underclothes on the bed. He was even playing with them. "You should not have any knowledge about them."

Frederick handed Edward a stocking. "Best blindfold me."

Sophia had packed as much as thought she might need on board. The rest of her belongings could remain here. They were not yet going to stay away impossibly long. She thought of asking her captain where he stored everything he did not take with him, but she supposed that would be with his relatives. Frederick had also said that sailors did not keep useless things, although he could not clarify what he meant by useless. He certainly had many useless things in his sister's opinion.

Frederick delivered his captain's note dutifully. It did not contain much, only the simple particulars of when and where Sophia was to present herself and where she was to send her possessions. Perhaps, she thought, he had kept it simple because Frederick would peek at the note.

She was excited, since at the end of the specified day she would no longer live at home. The address did not mean much to her and she suppressed the urge to investigate. There would be no point in going -- she was going ahead with this marriage wherever she would live and she would not be living there for more than a few days.

Chapter Eight

Posted on Wednesday, 10 January 2007

The wedding ceremony was brief, so brief that it offended Edward's spiritual sensibilities. Neither party was taking their future and duties at all seriously, he felt. They had no idea, he thought in resignation, and the readings at the ceremony went completely over the captain's head. It was his intonation, or perhaps the slight movement of his head at certain passages, that gave Edward the impression that the captain did not take it as seriously as he ought.

Frederick, for his part, was still hovering between disgust and protectiveness. He frowned and watched closely when the captain took Sophia's hand, as if he very much wished there would be painful squeezing so he could protect his sister, but sadly there was nothing that required his interference. She gave and withdrew her hand willingly and Frederick did not know which stance to take on the matter.

Sophia seemed well pleased with the ceremony despite its sober character and she gave a childish little giggle when she was Mrs Croft. Her new husband thought that an excellent sign and he treated her brothers and father to a drink.

Edward was certain a wedding should not be celebrated in such a manner and Frederick was miffed at quite a lot. Mr Wentworth was tired and wished to go home, so after one drink the party broke up and all the Wentworths left.

Captain Croft felt a slight panic upon being left alone with a wife, but he collected himself quickly enough and studied her across the table. The idea of having a Mrs Croft who would be with him for the rest of his life was more daunting than the idea of having this girl with him. Although they were one and the same, a wife was still a mysterious concept, whereas Sophia was real. "Sophia…"

"Yes?" she asked. She looked at ease and not at all frightened by having a husband all of a sudden.

"I knew this moment would come, but still it caught me unawares," he said, studying her pensively. Either it had not yet caught Sophia, or she was not at all affected.

"Which moment?"

"The moment of seeing my wife's family leave, leaving me completely on my own when it comes to my wife, much like the first day in a new position, but there at least I had the benefit of preparation and observation. In this case I did not."

She laughed at that. He made her sound so difficult, when she thought there could be no easier person. She had in fact been waiting for her family to leave, to see if that made a difference in her feelings. She knew she was married, but it was surprisingly similar to not being married. "I do not feel like a wife. I feel like me and you are not on your own. I can help you along, if you will help me along in dealing with you."

"But I am easy."

"Certainly. You tell me exactly what bothers you and that is very pleasant." Not many people did that, she realised, and it was certainly a very good sign. "If I do the same, you will find I am equally easy. I do not have to be commanded."

"I never thought that of you," he assured her. She was capable enough on her own and she was not part of a chain of people who had to carry out their tasks well. There was nothing very important that depended on her behaviour, but he was pleased to find that she understood that the crew, at least, could not be so easy. "But my uncertainty springs from the fact that I have not been left alone with a girl since I was about…ten."

Sophia could laugh at that too. "That is not true. We went outside during the ball and we were more or less alone. But oh, you sound so very much like my brother that it is amusing. A girl!" She made a frightened little sound.

"Or would you prefer woman?"

"Woman! No, those are old. How old are you?" Suddenly she was seized by the fear that he was really old, although he did not look it. She should have looked more closely at the marriage papers, but she had not been able to take in all the details. Now she had to ask an impertinent question.

He did not seem to think the question very odd. "Six-and-twenty."

"Lovely! And that is too young to have a woman," she decided. "You must have a girl."

"Why is my age lovely?" he asked suspiciously.

"I hope you will not mind this very odd notion, but I prefer some sort of equality. You are to be my friend, not Frederick's or my father's." She had no wish for someone to look upon her as she looked upon Edward and Frederick, as boys who still had much to learn. There was some she had yet to learn herself, but for some reason she preferred someone of a similar age. She frowned, for it could well be that he had learnt much at sea that she had not, but at least he was not old enough to have been both at sea and ashore.

"I agree. I am your friend. Poor Frederick does not even want to be my friend and while he is under my command that is not advisable either, but --" He cleared his throat cautiously. "-- I did make him a friendly promise."

"Oh?"

"To keep you under control," he said, fully expecting a violent reaction.

She merely chuckled. "Oh?"

"Sophia…please do not make it sound as if you think any attempt to keep you under control would be futile." Perhaps it was, but she did not have to sound so amused.

"Not futile, unnecessary. I can keep myself under control, since I know exactly what would bother Frederick." And that was a sister who would behave like a mother, making him look like a little boy in front of others. However much he feared it, she would never be very bad.

"Well, that saves me some trouble then," he said in relief.

"You were not seriously going to try?" she cried.

"No. It is…" He stopped, not sure how to continue. He was not even sure what he was thinking precisely.

"What is it?" Sophia asked eagerly. She was interested in why he had made a promise he would apparently not keep. Frederick would not be so easily brushed off.

"I made the promise, but I later thought it through and I do not think I could stick to it, not seriously. You would no longer be what I married. Does that make any sense?"

It made perfect sense to her and she smiled. "Yes, it does. And I am very glad you will allow me to remain as I am."

"As you are," he nodded. Not worse. He did not think she was very bad the way she was. She was perfectly fine and she would very likely not grow worse.

"Perhaps you feel deceived when you discover I am in reality much more steady. I am not provoked into spying and dancing by the littlest thing. Really, I am not. I had hardly ever been to balls. Would you believe that?"

He would and he would not feel deceived in the least. "But if someone touches your brothers…"

"Why, yes. I have to look out for the boys until they are grown."

"And now you have one boy more to look out for until he is grown," he said with a twinkle in his eyes.

"If you like," Sophia said a little shyly. She waited until he had ordered more drinks and then she spoke again. "Why did my father say there were oversights in our upbringing? Yours and mine. He said we know nothing about a great deal of things."

"That applies to everybody. I should not be very concerned about it if I were you, because I know a great deal about some things, at least. Of course they have nothing to do with wives," he mused. "Did your father mean that I knew nothing of marriage licences?"

"He did not specify and I was too proud to ask. It might yet be true! I preferred to live in ignorance."

"You?" He raised his eyebrows. "That cannot be so."

Sophia examined herself. "No, you are correct. But perhaps my father based himself on some of my stupid responses. He seemed to think I should have given more thought to your ability to provide me with food than your ability to amuse me, but I suppose I took the former for granted. You have never made me question it, at any rate. It never occurred to me."

"And did you, when he asked, give him a stupid reply?"

"Yes," she sighed.

"It was a stupid question," he said sternly. "What else could you do?"

The captain's lodgings were small, but they were only to stay there for a week until they went on board. Sophia did not mind. He showed her around, apparently eager for her to feel at ease. There were only two main rooms, one for living and one for sleeping. That they must evidently share the one bed gave her pause, but she did not betray her feelings and he showed no embarrassment either, simply pointing out the bed in the same tone he used for other pieces of furniture. In fact, he seemed to be focusing entirely on closet space and whether there was any necessity to unpack her trunks, not on where they were to sleep.

They went out for a walk and had a meal together. Sophia liked it. They talked so easily and so pleasantly. Being married was going to be very enjoyable -- during the day, at least. She did not yet know about the night. Nobody had told her anything, although she had thought it was customary to do so.

When it was time for bed, however, her husband proved to be very gentlemanly. He carried his things into the sitting room and returned with a nightgown on, but not until she was completely ready as well.

He looked sufficiently different for Sophia to be seized by some nerves. She tried to think of something to talk about. "How am I to address you? I cannot possibly address you as James Frederick." She had not yet used anything so far, although he had addressed her as Sophia and not as Mrs Croft. They were to be informal friends then, but his name did not really lend itself to that.

"Well, that settles it," he replied amiably. "Not James Frederick."

"Nor Captain."

"No, indeed," he agreed, climbing into bed and then remembering he must share now. "Which side would you like, Sophia?"

"Which side have you been using so far?" She would adapt herself. It did not matter very much to her, but even if it did, she would have been too preoccupied to make a point of it.

"Both. But I shall not do so if there are two of us."

"I am glad to hear it." Sophia was indeed glad he could tease. It would be awkward if he was nervous as well. "I have no preference."

"Then I shall take this side I am on now, although I should not care if you took it tomorrow."

"But about your name…" she said as she got into bed on the other side. She would prefer to speak about names. It would keep her mind off this strange bed and sharing it with a relative stranger. They were married now, but she was not used to such closeness.

"I know of some ladies who call their husbands Captain, but I should prefer if you did not do so seriously. It does sometimes sound affectionate, but more often it does not. And it is not my name."

"James, then. I should be confused by two Fredericks and your complete name is far too long."

"I quite agree. Are you comfortable?"

She blushed. "I think so."

James blew out the candle. "Good night, Sophia."

Sophia blinked. There really was to be nothing else, or would she be surprised in a moment? "Good night," she said after a few seconds. Perhaps someone who claimed not to have been alone with a girl since he was ten would prefer this too. She hoped so.

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