No amount of good will in all the world was going to keep Humphrey Granger from wringing every last bit of gossip he could out of first his son, and then his granddaughter, to discover the details of the gentleman Caroline had apparently been on the arm of at the Fashion Week Opening Night. However, he had virtually raised the young woman in question, and Caroline was just as stubborn as he was. All she would say was that he was a local businessman who could provide Humphrey with a yacht to go sailing on for a decent fee. All perfectly innocent. There was no mention of stripping, crying, or flirting in any way, shape, or form. She was, however, dispatched to inspect said yacht, which suited her just fine.
Laughing to herself, Caroline stood on the more up-market end of the dock, looking out over the moored ships of various size and class, inwardly playing a game with herself to see if she could identify the Whispering Wind before the captain noticed her and brought attention to it. She had a feeling it was the double-masted cutter that dominated the third pier across from her, but the angle was such that she had no chance of reading the name painted delicately on the prow. She was just going to have to wait.
For Richmond, the night was spent laying in a hammock with one hand upon his bare stomach and the other supporting his head as he gazed up into the night sky. That's where he had fallen asleep as he perused the thoughts and memories of the day before. But now that the sun was fully risen in it's quest to move from one horizon to the next, Richmond was busy tidying up his vessel. The Whispering Wind boasted of rich refinement and that didn't come at an easy cost. And though the wind was blowing and the temperature still carried the winter chill, Richmond was shirtless. The scrubbing of the decks was a hard chore that brought with it the sweat of manual labor. His skin glowed bronze under the cold afternoon sunlight as he continued to scrub his deck.
Peering across the glare of sunlight on glittering water, Caroline would have been surprised if she'd realised she was smiling. She'd spotted her quarry, and he was on the boat she'd decided upon. Pleased with herself, she moved to thud down onto the jetty, making her way along the rolling wooden piers toward where the Wind was moored.
Richmond pushed up off of the deck with his hands and leaned back until his rear hit his heels. Wiping his brow with the back of his arm, he reached into the cooler to pull himself out a soft drink of some sort. Too early to be drinking, and with so much work to be done .....Once the bottle was opened and the top pitched into the cooler, he took a deep pull of the cold, refreshing drink. His hands, including the one with the bottle, came to rest on his thighs as he glanced about.
The docks were usually empty this time of the day, save for the people that worked aboard or owned the various ships that dotted the harbor and docks. So it was no little surprise to see Caroline walking towards the Whispering Wind. Forgetting that he was half naked and glistening with sweat, he got up and greeted her at the gangplank. "Well good afternoon, Ms. Granger. And to what do I owe the honor of this visit?"
It was with a certain amount of difficulty that Caroline lifted her eyes from his glistening chest, not entirely sure that she was happy with the primal reaction she felt to seeing his bare skin. Once her eyes were safely on his face, however, she relaxed again, smiling in greeting. "Good afternoon yourself, captain. Permission to come aboard" I'm sent to bring greetings from the honourable Old Man of the GrangerGuild Conglomerate, and judge whether or not your raft is suitable for entertaining on." Even as it came out of her mouth, she found herself worrying over the comment. Had she made herself sound teasing enough, or had she just insulted his pride and joy?
"Permission granted to board the raft, Whispering Wind, Ms. Granger," he held out his hand to help her from the gangplank to the ship's deck. "I should warn you, the deck has just been scrubbed and is a bit slick. You might want to hold onto something. Wouldn't want you to fall off the raft." His grin was just as playful as his words; he didn't take offense to her teasing at all. "I do hope that the raft is within his specifications, and then some."
Laughing to herself, Caroline stood on the more up-market end of the dock, looking out over the moored ships of various size and class, inwardly playing a game with herself to see if she could identify the Whispering Wind before the captain noticed her and brought attention to it. She had a feeling it was the double-masted cutter that dominated the third pier across from her, but the angle was such that she had no chance of reading the name painted delicately on the prow. She was just going to have to wait.
For Richmond, the night was spent laying in a hammock with one hand upon his bare stomach and the other supporting his head as he gazed up into the night sky. That's where he had fallen asleep as he perused the thoughts and memories of the day before. But now that the sun was fully risen in it's quest to move from one horizon to the next, Richmond was busy tidying up his vessel. The Whispering Wind boasted of rich refinement and that didn't come at an easy cost. And though the wind was blowing and the temperature still carried the winter chill, Richmond was shirtless. The scrubbing of the decks was a hard chore that brought with it the sweat of manual labor. His skin glowed bronze under the cold afternoon sunlight as he continued to scrub his deck.
Peering across the glare of sunlight on glittering water, Caroline would have been surprised if she'd realised she was smiling. She'd spotted her quarry, and he was on the boat she'd decided upon. Pleased with herself, she moved to thud down onto the jetty, making her way along the rolling wooden piers toward where the Wind was moored.
Richmond pushed up off of the deck with his hands and leaned back until his rear hit his heels. Wiping his brow with the back of his arm, he reached into the cooler to pull himself out a soft drink of some sort. Too early to be drinking, and with so much work to be done .....Once the bottle was opened and the top pitched into the cooler, he took a deep pull of the cold, refreshing drink. His hands, including the one with the bottle, came to rest on his thighs as he glanced about.
The docks were usually empty this time of the day, save for the people that worked aboard or owned the various ships that dotted the harbor and docks. So it was no little surprise to see Caroline walking towards the Whispering Wind. Forgetting that he was half naked and glistening with sweat, he got up and greeted her at the gangplank. "Well good afternoon, Ms. Granger. And to what do I owe the honor of this visit?"
It was with a certain amount of difficulty that Caroline lifted her eyes from his glistening chest, not entirely sure that she was happy with the primal reaction she felt to seeing his bare skin. Once her eyes were safely on his face, however, she relaxed again, smiling in greeting. "Good afternoon yourself, captain. Permission to come aboard" I'm sent to bring greetings from the honourable Old Man of the GrangerGuild Conglomerate, and judge whether or not your raft is suitable for entertaining on." Even as it came out of her mouth, she found herself worrying over the comment. Had she made herself sound teasing enough, or had she just insulted his pride and joy?
"Permission granted to board the raft, Whispering Wind, Ms. Granger," he held out his hand to help her from the gangplank to the ship's deck. "I should warn you, the deck has just been scrubbed and is a bit slick. You might want to hold onto something. Wouldn't want you to fall off the raft." His grin was just as playful as his words; he didn't take offense to her teasing at all. "I do hope that the raft is within his specifications, and then some."