Taboo

Keywords: Ch., 11, An, Passion, Undeniable,

" He quickly left the room and she heard him running up the stairs.

Later that afternoon Virginia was just finishing reattaching a sleeve to a shirt for a crew member when she heard a most dreadful screeching sound from the deck. She rushed up to see what was the cause of the noise and found Simpson tuning a violin. He looked up to see her pained expression and sheepishly said, "I'm afraid she's quite out of tune miss, but don't worry she'll be singin' pretty in no time."

"Are you going to be playing for us Simpson?" she asked hopefully. She suddenly realized she hadn't heard music since leaving Liverpool.

"Yes miss, me and a few of the lads will be playing tonight. We usually have a music night and we heard that today is somewhat special."

She blushed and asked, "Is this for me?"

"In honor of your birthday, miss," he replied with a small bow.

"Will there be dancing?" Virginia asked, and then suddenly realizing that her presence was a rarity she corrected herself. "I mean, I'm sure you don't usually have dancing, but tonight, perhaps?"

"Oh, no miss, there's always dancing. We just won't dance with each other. It's not really the kind of dancing you're used to. We dance to jigs and such, although I'm sure we could play some waltzes, if you'd like."

Realizing how much she had missed music and dancing, she eagerly replied, "Oh, anything at all will be fine, Simpson. I've never danced a jig, do you think one of you could teach me?"

"Oh, that would be highly inappropriate miss. A lady, like you, dancing a jig?" Simpson exclaimed, wide eyed.

"Who's going to see me? Are you going to go back to Liverpool and spread the nasty rumor amongst the genteel society that I was seen on a ship dancing a jig? And even if they did find out, so what? I'm never going to see them again!" she said joyously, suddenly realizing that it was true and finding it strangely liberating. She could do as she pleased and didn't have to worry about what anyone thought.

Simpson took a long look around the deck. "Well, if we're going to have a proper party for you, then we'll have to make tonight special." He took her arm and began leading her back to the stairs down to her cabin. "It's going to be a surprise, miss. Off you go now, and don't come up until we fetch you." he said with a broad, excited smile.

"But, what are you going to do?" she asked as she reached the stairs to take her below deck.

"You'll see miss, you'll see. No peeking, now," he admonished.

"What time will it begin?" she asked just before disappearing from sight.

"At sunset," Simpson called out.

Sunset, she thought. She had just enough time to make a few modest alterations to one of her dresses to make herself look a little fancier tonight. With some lace borrowed from a few of her undergarments and if she wore the underskirt she had abandoned since being on ship she should be able to do quite a nice job of it. She was in the midst of attaching a ruffle to her sleeve when Drake entered the cabin.

"Well, well, it looks as though we're going to be having quite a party tonight," he said with a smile as he entered the room. "And what is it you have there? Having you been hiding a party dress this whole time, V?"

"No," she said with a smile. "I'm attempting to create one." Seeing that the sun was close to the horizon, she continued, "And I think I've managed to finish just in time."

Drake removed a large flat box from his clothes cupboard and said, "Then I shall leave you to dress."

Virginia removed her dress and took the full underskirt out from the bottom of her bag. She shook it out and slipped it on. She then pulled the modified dress over her head. Drake only had one small mirror which he used for shaving so she couldn't really see how she looked. She wondered if there wasn't something she could do with her hair, but without hairpins she was at a loss. With a sudden thought she dug back into her bag and pulled the silk ribbons out of every garment she could. She pulled her hair up with one and made a number of small braids intertwined with ribbon. She was able to tie some of them up and was left with a very pretty arrangement. Rather pleased with herself she sat down to wait for someone to let her know that everything was ready. She had been hearing a lot of noise and activity up on deck for the last couple of hours and was extremely curious as to what was going on.

After a few minutes there was a knock on the door and Simpson called out, "Miss Templeton, are you ready?"

She opened the door and was delighted to see Simpson in his formal dress. "You look very handsome tonight, Mr. Simpson."

"And you are truly a vision of loveliness Miss Templeton," he replied with a deep bow. His expression turned serious as he said, "I'm afraid some of the men are somewhat disappointed that this has turned into a more formal affair with slower music and proper dancing. I hope you don't mind a few glum faces."

"Oh no, Simpson. I don't want this to change too much just for me. You play your jigs. I'm just hoping for a few pieces that I recognize. I certainly do no want to monopolize the evening." With a sudden gleam in her eye, she continued, "Although, I think I may have just come up with an idea that might make the crew a bit happier." Taking Simpson's elbow, she said, "Shall we?"

Virginia swept on deck with a rustle of skirts and a swirl of lace. The surprised looks of admiration lifted her spirits even higher. She then noticed what the crew had done. There were lanterns everywhere. They had brought chairs from the mess hall for sitting and had even managed to arrange a small buffet with a punch bowl. They had taken the fabric from a badly torn sail and made bows to adorn the tables and chairs. Virginia turned around and around gazing with wonder at the decorations. "It's lovely. Just lovely," she exclaimed.

She then noticed the glum faces and remembered her idea. "I understand that some of you are not very happy with tonight's program," she began. "However, I'll make a deal with you. If you dance with me, I'll give you a kiss on the cheek." She looked around. "How does that sound?"

All at once the men jumped up and ran for the stairs leading to their quarters. Dismayed, Virginia turned to Simpson. "Are my kisses that distasteful?"

With a laugh he replied, "No miss. I would wager that they're all washing and shaving!"

She heard a polite cough behind her and turned to see Drake standing before her in his formal captain's uniform. He looked so handsome, she momentarily forgot herself and just stared at him. He approached her and with a bow and said, "May I have the first dance, Miss Templeton? With your generous offer to my crew I fear I may not get another chance tonight."

Looking at him warily but with a merry twinkle in her eye she replied, "I seem to remember another occasion where we danced and you behaved most improperly."

"I'm sure I don't know what you're talking about," he replied with mock innocence.

With a nod to Simpson to begin, he took her in his arms and began to twirl her about the deck of the ship. Dancing with him there did indeed bring back memories of the Summer Ball and the events of that night. She remembered dancing with her father and her eyes clouded with tears.

Seeing her tears he stopped dancing and asked tenderly, "Virginia, what is it?"

"I was just remembering the last time I danced with my father, at the Summer Ball."

Looking into her eyes, he asked, "Do you want to stop?"

"No, please, continue," she said, holding up her arms for him. Firmly she said, "I refuse to think about that night for the remainder of the evening."

Drake knew that she meant Charles and Meredith, but all he could think of was the way she had felt in his arms when they had danced that night and the kiss they had later shared on the terrace. He knew now what she had meant when she said that his statement about her deserving to be loved and adored by someone that she too loved and adored was a fairytale. Maybe it no longer was and she did have a chance at true happiness. He was beginning to wonder if he could be the one to give it to her.

"I'd forgotten what a wonderful dancer you are, Mr. Stratford," she said to him as they glided effortlessly across the deck.

"Why thank you, Miss Templeton," he replied with a smile.

She looked up at him and remembered that during their previous dance she had been so mesmerized, she hadn't even realized at first that he was holding her so closely and so tightly. She even remembered what he had said to her when she had demanded that he not hold her so close 'You're far too delightful to hold at a distance'. She couldn't help but giggle when she recalled her fury at that statement.

"What are you giggling at?" he asked with a smile

"The last time we danced together, how angry I was with you," she said, giggling again.

"Were you? Whatever for?" he asked with mock innocence, teasing her.

"You know very well why. Your behavior was disgraceful." She tried to give him a stern look but she was having too much fun and couldn't keep from smiling.

"Ah, yes. My disgraceful behavior," he said, as if trying to recall the moment. "I'm having trouble remembering, was it something like this?" Gently he pulled her tightly to him.

With his body pressed against hers and the way he was staring into her eyes, she began to feel those butterflies again. Butterflies that always took flight when she was pressed tightly against him were fluttering about. Once again lost in the warm and inviting depths of his eyes, they continued to twirl about the deck and she didn't even realize when the music stopped and that they were no longer dancing until a burst of applause broke the spell. She looked around and saw that the crew had returned and was the source of the clapping. Quickly stepping out of her embrace, he took her hand and bowed over it.
'Hold me till I fall asleep, Luke. You've washed all the shit away and now there's only the tiredness left.

Keywords: Ch., 11, An, Passion, Undeniable,