Skull and Dagger

“How long would you say the voyage will take?” Sites asked curiously, taking another bite of his sausages. Strangely, ever since the adrenaline rush that accompanied the pirate attack, his stomach had been quite settled.

“Another two days to get to Dead Man’s Island,” Frank responded. He sipped from the wineglass before him. “An’ then maybe a week or so down to Buenos Aires…”

Gerard raised an eyebrow at that. “Thought we were headed to I-er…” he trailed off when he realized that revealing the location of their home port to two passengers that would soon have the opportunity to contact the British navy wasn’t such a good idea.

Not that he thought Elizabeth would turn him in, but it never hurt to be extra careful.

Frank gave him a slight smile of approval. “We are,” he sighed, “but I'd hate to keep our guests inconvenienced for that long…”

“I don’t mind,” Elizabeth piped right up. She reached over under the table and gave Gerard's thigh a little squeeze. The two of them shared a conspiratorial little smile. “The longer the journey, the better…”

Quinn rolled his eyes when the pair leaned in for a quick kiss. He viciously began to butter his bread, taking out his irritation at the treatment of their ‘guests’ on his unsuspecting food.

Sites also looked away from the little display of affection, his face flaming slightly at the sheer audacity the couple had in displaying their illicit relationship for all the world to see.

Frank merely wore an amused smile as he watched his first mate and the woman he was so obviously smitten with.

“I-I take it Annabelle is faring well?” Sites asked, desperate for any distraction from the rather tempting display the pair beside him was making of the one thing he was sworn from doing.

Frank chuckled at that. “Tried to tie me up in her blanket this mornin’,” he announced. “Jumped me soon as I got in the door and wrapped it right around my head.”

Gerard turned his attention back to the conversation at that. “Which makes three times I’ve saved you from her little escape attempts,” he smiled wryly.

“Quite the lil firebrand,” Frank agreed with a small smile.

Quinn's eyes narrowed suspiciously. That little bitch had been the one who cut him during the attack. Now, everywhere he turned, someone on the crew was mocking him for having been beaten by a little girl. And there she still was, threatening the captain and the first mate did nothing to stop it…

“You’re going too easy on her,” he insisted gruffly. “Give her a quick thrashing, show her who’s boss…”

Frank raised his scarred eyebrow at this. Quinn's poor opinion of his treatment of Annabelle was all too clear; his second mate had a nasty penchant for vendettas. It was one of the things that troubled him most at night.

“I can handle myself,” he commented, piercing hazel eyes boring into the larger man. “Besides,” he added with his distinctive smirk, “she keeps me on my toes…”

“You weren’t on your toes when she tackled you down to the floor this morning,” Gerard teased.

Frank sighed at that. “She is being a bit stubborn ‘bout this whole arrangement… Haven’t been able to talk any sense into her, I take it?”

Sites removed his glasses and carefully cleaned the lenses with the cloth he kept in his breast pocket for just that purpose. “I’m afraid she’s rather persistent in being the unwilling captive,” he commented.

“I tried to explain that she could be enjoying many pleasing orgasms,” Elizabeth began.

Site's face turned a deep maroon color.

“Remember that discussion we had about the ‘O’ word and not saying it in front of the poor clergy who will never have any?” Gerard prompted her.

She instantly looked penitent. “I’m sorry,” she quickly apologized to Sites before turning her attention back to Frank. “For some reason, she’s refusing to be reasonable,” she huffed slightly. “I don’t know what she’s so scared of…”