She had to get out of the house for a while. Going to see Pirates last night with Ollie, Lola, and Cally had been lovely, but given that she was also expected to make an appearance at the Fashion Week opening tonight, Caroline was in serious need of headspace, somewhere away from anyone remotely related to her. Which was why she had clambered into her Mini and driven out of the city to one of the sheltered coves that lined the coast, walking along the shoreline until the chaos in her head calmed down.

Sitting on the rocks, throwing pebbles as far as she could into the choppy waters, she could feel herself getting back to basics. No panicking, no bad memories, no stresses to get in the way of just being Caroline for a few hours.

"What'd the water do to you?"

Richmond loved the waters of this cove. Rhy'din was his favorite port of call when he'd been a sailor with the Royal Navy. Now that he owned his own boat, he called it home and The Whispering Wind had made enough money that he didn't need anything more than what she provided. When not aboard his boat, Richmond could usually be found along the shoreline, watching the water and relaxing. And that's how he came to spy the young lady who was throwing pebbles into the water.

Caroline jumped, her foot slipped, and she landed in an undignified heap on the rocky sand with a yelp and a lap full of pebbles. "Bloody hell, you startled me," she accused the currently unseen owner of the male voice that had shattered a rather satisfying daydream involving Junior's face and a fistful of Jay's less than edible cooking. Looking around wildy, she pulled herself to her feet, gripping her keys between her fingers. If he turned out to be unfriendly, he would not be pretty for very much longer, that was certain.

"Sorry, didn't mean to frighten you." Richmond put his hands out to the side, palms towards her to show he wasn't armed. "Are you alright?" His hands went ito his pockets then and walked towards her, slowly. "Hey, I know you!"

She stared at him for a long moment, trying to place the face, and finally found it. A single meeting, in which she'd ended up with a business card and an evening of flirting to tease Lola with. "You're the boat guy, right?" she asked curiously, slipping her own hands into her coat pockets as the wind whipped her hair out of her face. "You do chartered trips?"

"Ah, the boat guy. As compared to the car guy or the airplane guy," he chuckled and crouched down to pick up a handful of stones. "Yes, chartered boat trips, tours, private parties; there's not a lot that a bit of money won't hire my boat for. I draw the line at murder and carrying bodies with the intent to dump them. Trying to keep things on the level."

Caroline chuckled a little, slightly sheepish at her lack of remembered detail. "Sorry, I've forgotten your name," she apologised, bending to scoop up her own handful of stones as she flicked her wind-swept hair out of her face once again. "I'm Caroline, by the way. I think you had a thing for my cousin, Lola."

"It's alright, I don't mind people forgetting my name. I mean, it's a silly game, if you ask me. I prefer to go by 'Hey You!' sometimes. Then I can deny that the person talked to me." He nodded with a soft chuckle. "I think I remember that day. How is Lola doing?"

"Pretty good from what I hear," she shrugged, drawing her arm back to skim a fairly flat rock across the water. "She's got her clothes in this fashion week thing, which is a big step for her. And going out - we saw Pirates last night. I'm sorry, what is your name?"

"Richmond," he bowed slightly. "And your name?" He had a swarthy smile on his face and stood with his feet shoulder width apart. And he swayed, as if trying to compensate for something moving under his booted feet.

"Fair enough." He nodded, putting his hands into his pockets once again. If she didn't want to tell, he wasn't going to push it. "So what brings you to the rockiest part of the shoreline for miles around" Most people prefer the softer sands of the beaches to the south of here."

"I like it here." It was a simple answer, and completely truthful. Caroline smiled a little, relaxing from her former tension. "My dad used to bring me and my brother to this cove when we were kids and he had us for the afternoon. I guess it was easier than trying to keep us under control in the house. It's always ....not quite stormy, but not calm either." She snorted faintly. "Bit like me."

"It's almost peaceful to watch something more tempestuous than yourself?" He smiled, a sincerely warm smile. "I think I get your meaning. The sea can either calm the soul or condemn it. It seems to calm yours."

Her smile deepened in a secretive way, her eyes levelled on the foamy sea in front of her, almost oblivious to the smile levelled at herself from the new friend she was making. "She always listens," she said quietly. "Unlike other people I could care to name."

"That she does," he turned his gaze back out to the white capped, choppy waves. "And though she doesn't speak back, sometimes she gives you the answers you need." He took a deep breath of the fresh, salty air and blew it out slowly. "What is she saying to you?"

Caroline studied the water for a long, long moment. "That I need to let go."

There was a loaded silence, and she moved, shucking off her coat and dropping it onto the stones at their feet. Her boots went next, fingers moving to the button on her jeans. Richmond wasn't registering as male in her mind, she wasn't even considering that she was putting herself in a more vulnerable position; she was just reacting to what she wanted at that moment.

He turned his head and watched her with a curious frown as she began to disrobe. "What are you doing" You can't go into the water. It's too dangerous. There's a lot of sharp stones and you'll be crushed to bits."

"So?" she asked, still stripping off. "I haven't taken any risks in years. It's about time I did." Her jeans and sweater joined her coat on the beach, and she began to wade into the water, letting out a gasping shriek at the frozen spray on her skin. So it may have been too reckless, and not at all the sort of thing she would normally do, but Caroline needed to take control again. And the only way to do that was to let everything go.

"Committing suicide isn't the way to go." He moved quickly after her. Richmond reached for her, in an attempt to pull her back from the water. "There are other ways!"

She struggled in his grip, legs flailing as he was forced to lift her up or be dragged into the water himself. "Why are you stopping me" It's not like you know me, or care what happens to me, or give a sh*t that every time I'm alone I fall apart all over again!" She was crying suddenly, tears dripping down her cheeks as she sagged down onto her knees in the cold foam.

He kept hold of her, even as she struggled. And when she suddenly gave up and started to cry, he sank down onto the rocky shore and held her close. He had no answer to her questions and began to ask them of himself. All he knew is that he didn't want to see her suffering. "Shhh," he whispered, his hand gently stroking her hair down her back. "It's alright, It'll be alright."

Caroline clung onto him, gripping tightly despite the cold wind against her half-naked body, her face pressed into his upper arm as she gasped for breath. Caught up in her pain, she didn't even realise who she was speaking to, or where she was. "I couldn't stop him," she sobbed hard, breathless, out of control of her own physical reaction to her anguish. "I couldn't make him stop, I ....liked it ....he made me like it ..."

He held onto her as long as she needed him to do so. And though he didn't quite understand just what she was going on about, he listened anyway. The waves crashed below as he carried her to a higher, much safer part of the beach. Her coat and clothing were retrieved, as well, and he wrapped her into the warmth of her coat. The only sounds uttered were soft "shhh" and "it'll be alright."

"Where would you recommend?" Caroline asked, settling her hands back into her pockets again as she began to amble slowly back down to the water's edge. "It doesn't look like I'm going to get much time to get out of the city in the near future, either, so it might be nice to have somewhere in mind for a distant day off."

"Well there's nothing like the seclusion of a boat at sea," he offered up as a solution. "And, as I recall, I did offer up the use of my vessel to you and your cousins. We could charter a day and I'd disappear into my cabin while you and your cousins, or just you, take advantage of a warm day on the water."

"Well, that can't be much fun for you," she commented mildly. "And if it was just me, then I'd want your company just to keep myself from going nuts and leaping off in an unsuitable place, wouldn't I" I have proved, after all, that I have no ability to distinguish danger from safety."

"Only at your request, Caroline. What the people who charter my ship do on the ship is their business, so long as it's not illegal. If you would like my company, that I can do. I just thought that if you were skinny dipping that you'd prefer a little privacy." As if she'd not stripped in front of him and run headlong into the icey water already.

"Well, if I was with my cousins, there would be no skinny-dipping at all, I can assure you," she laughed softly, shaking her head. "And they wouldn't stand for you holed up in the cabin either. We're not all class-Nazis. Besides, I thought you fancied Lola. Wouldn't you rather have her all on her lonesome on your boat?"

"Time cools ardor," he replied casually. He chuckled then and picked up a stone to toss it out into the water. "Being alone with a person when you know absolutely nothing about them is cause for an awkward situation." Richmond flicked a glance towards Caroline before returning his gaze to the horizon.

She blushed furiously. "Yes, well, you know rather more about me than anyone might want to," she pointed out, swallowing awkwardly. "Anytime you feel the need to strip off in the city centre and burst into tears, do find me first. The Guard might arrest you otherwise."

"I will keep that in mind." He chuckled again and turned to look down at her. "How would you like dinner aboard The Whispering Wind?" It was a knee jerk reaction to embarassing her like that. "I've got a full galley and the list of people wanting to be at sea is non-existant right now."

"I'd like that," she nodded with another easy smile. "I wish I could tonight, but I've got to make an appearance at this Fashion Week starter opening night thing at the Red Dragon. Two of my cousins are involved, and my grandfather wants the family represented properly, so I have to go along." She paused, considering her next move before taking the plunge. "Would you like come along?"

"Oh," he accepted her declination of his offer at face value. It was silly of him to think that she wouldn't have plans after she attempted suicide. His hands plunged into his pockets and he glanced back to the horizon before looking back down at her. "To a fashion show?" He looked as surprised as he felt by her invitation. "I'd be glad to. Though I don't know the first thing about haute couture. I am merely a captain of a sea going vessel," he joked, laughing softly.

She chuckled softly. "It's not really a fashion show, I don't think; more people getting together and talking about stuff - I don't know," she laughed, shaking her head. "I can get you a suit at short notice if you'd like one. Connections, and all ....and wow, that sounds pretentious, sorry." She looked away, laughing at herself. "I don't know anything about fashion either," she admitted. "Wearing a dress is so alien to me, I'm going to be paranoid about it all night anyway."