The hatch above creaked open , jolting Daniel out of his thinking. For a moment , a shaft of dusty sunlight blinded him. Blinking his eyes to adjust them to the sudden source of light , he saw one of the buccaneers outlined by the glare , waving a flintlock pistol at him in a distinctly unfriendly manner .
Daniel decided to come quietly when the seaman jerked his head for him to follow. The grunts the sailor gave was enough in the way of explanation . Captain Thorne wanted to see him.
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He thought he had gotten over his anger , but when he saw the woman , oh so casually perched on a high backed chair , one leg was resting on the top of a mahogany table, and of all things , triming her nails with an evil looking little dagger, he found out differently . Her braid had been released from it's tight coronet and hung straight and thick down her back, Gold emeralds gleamed from her neck - cuff , peeking through her partly opened shirt . A clear view of her cleavage was just visible..
The pirate queen looked cool and unruffled , in contrast to Daniel's current condition with his disheveled hair . Animosity hit Daniel like a punch at the sight of her . Reconciling the loss of his ship and his pride would not be nearly as easy as he assumed,. particularly when the thief sat before so unrepentantly , so calmly .
Daniel did not feel calm ; he felt furious , and he also felt a great desire to kiss the smug look from the wench's face which only made him more furious . At himself this time.
To cover the conflicting emotions sure to plain on his face , Daniel looked around with studied casualness at the furnishing of the room . The cabin surrounding her was large and sparsely decorated.
Maps covered the wall behind the Captain's chair , and to the left , at a right angle , thick leaded- glass windows let in lights but little in the way of the view , Another chair like the one she sat on ( one of a set originally meant for some planters home, no doubt ) was positioned across the table from the slim buccaneer.
An armoire was placed next to the extravagance in the otherwise spartan cabin . The bed , huge , canopied , a velvet and feather-stuffed monstrosity , it caught the eye and only reluctantly let it go again afterward . Even so, Daniel couldn't resist looking at it once more. What use could a slender thing like captain Thorne have such a bed for ? . . . The answer was obvious . So,she liked her bedsport , did she ? Well, perhaps Daniel could accommodate her. He knew he would to . Reassured , he looked back at the woman , who was industriously rubbing her nails against the leather vest she wore in an effort to smooth then . He was growing annoyed with her long silence .
The giant pirate had left them alone and closed the door behind him, much to Daniel's surprise . Obviously , they did not consider him a threat to their leaders safety . He didn't know what to think of that. Either Captain Thorne's men had a very high opinion of her ability to defend herself , or they thought that Daniel , unarmed , was not foolish enough to try anything with a boatload of cutthroats but a shout away . On that last count , they were correct . He had no heroics in mind , at least not untill he had a better chance of success with them.
The idea of taking Thorne hostage had occured to him and he had dismissed it instantly as a less than realistic plan. Daniel knew he wouldn't get more than a step outside the door before her men cut him down.
Thorne still had not spoken , she still haven't looked up from the fingernails she was meticulously shortening . The knife she used was menancing , throwing reflections every way as she turned it. She looked like sort of exotic barbarian . An Amazon , Daniel thought , recalling the myths he had read of the ancient warrior women.
Finally , curtly , just as he felt he would explode , she spoke . Barely looking up from her task , she said politely , " Have a seat , Captain Bradley."
The witch was telling him she knew his name now . Daniel remembered the papers . Well there was nothing personal about them , merely a letter of introduction to a Duke which was distantly related to Simon, and with whom Daniel had planned to stay with during the sale of his goods, His registration as Captain of the Empire was among the document , along with a few other papers and certificates. In order words , nothing if very much use to her , aside from his name . Warily Daniel sat in the chair across from her.