Looking at him with her head slightly tilted , he could tell she was assessing his somewhat disheveled state, his hand-combed hair and wrinkled clothing. Daniel felt his face heat , but reminded himself that the disarray of his wardrobe was entirely her fault, so he had to take a second look.
Daniel had personally seen her guzzle enough rum down a small army, yet she suffer no ill effects whatsoever.
Instead, she was smiling as she said , " Have a seat, Captain Bradley. I was about to break my fast . you are welcome to join me, if you will."
She said nothing of the unlocked door, and he was not about to question it . So he sat , nodding his thanks curtly, though he knew that, for the sake of his continued sanity , he should probably stay away from her.
Lynnette lifted the silver covers from the servers on the table before her, inhaling appreciatively the steaming fragrance of scrambled eggs and ham , pork chops and rolls and fresh butter. Daniel turned slightly green.
She started in with a will , eating heartily. He watched her , envy and nausea warring with admiration. After a moment she looked up at him , surveying his still- empty plate " you are not eating? ." it was a good question. " is the food not to your liking?, my cook is very good , truly . if there is something else you would prefer--"
" No!", he interrupted quickly, rudely, " I am quite sure the food is fine , but I --- I have no appetite this morning, that's all. "
He was acutely embarrassed and striving hard not to show it , he did not want to give this witch more reason to think he's a vegetarian.
Her eyes were twinkling , she knew , damn her, she was purposely torturing him! " are you sure? Maybe some kippers , or liver, or buttermilk? " she was trying really hard not to break into gales of laughter at the appalled look on his face, the tightening of jaw muscles as he strained himself from being ill right there and then .
She could not help herself, though for having never experienced the fabled " morning after look " herself, Lynnette had little sympathy for those who were afflicted. Besides, although she had authorized the bottle to be placed on his tray last night, she had not expected him to drink so much as he obviously had. it was her fault if this man over-imbibed.
" No, thank you ! " He was sure of it , now . The heartless witch knew of his predicament, and was using it against him. He hated her, he really did. how could she drink like that and not have a hangover? it wasn't fair, damn it ! By chance, their eyes met at that moment, and the mutual realization was in both sets.
Suddenly , the whole situation struck Daniel as immensely funny , the corners of Lynnette's lip curled up at the same time , and soon , both were shaking helplessly with mirth, holding their aching sides and gasping for air as they roared with laughter.
When Daniel managed to get his breath back , he studied her covertly from under lowered lashes. Captain Thorne was still chuckling softly , her slim arm about her waist as though to hold more laughter at bay.
He decided she had a beautiful laugh. unlike the ladies he knew back home , she did not giggle falsely, but laughed with real amusement . The throaty sounds were very arousing. . . but he would not think that now.