After a long and delightful time sorting through bales and piles, I pointed to the two stacks of clothing and said to Martha, "We must pause here, lest we over-burden our escort. Cypher a fair total, that I need not haggle. One to cause me to return to continue the search."

"An artful negotiator, you are." She chuckled. "I shall make it fair to the both of us, Lady Camille."

When I had paid, and the clothing had been arranged into four large bundles, Martha again thanked me at the door of the shop. I took her offered hand and said, "We shall return to continue searching; I have not before had such fun, nor do I think has Olivia."

Once we were in the street, Simpson led the way toward the passage to the wharves, and as we approached, there came a clinking sound, dull at first, but sharpening as it grew louder. Then men emerged from the lane, some with pistols pointing skyward, others with brass truncheons held upright as if candles, and I recognised them from their guarding at the auction in Barbados.

Behind them followed a line of naked men, shackled at wrist and ankle and attached one to another with chains. The pirates. Being marched to trial.

We stopped to watch them hobble past, their bare feet showing obvious pain on the rough cobbles. At the end, a huge man carried one I knew was their captain, now little more than a torso with a head and a leg. Likely relieved he will hang, rather than live on incapable. Handless. Immobile. What would one do?

Following them were their freed prisoners. So many of them. And all to testify before the Justices. A swift trial, I would think.

Charles was at the rear, appearing to be in deep conversation with Father, and he did not see us. But little wonder, dressed as we now were and lost among the crowd which had gathered to watch and to jeer and taunt the pirates. No matter. I would only distract from his serious mission.

A while later as we walked along the wharves past the ships, there were neither hoots nor whistles from the sailors aboard, and this confirmed my thoughts. We had dressed in a provocative manner, the way our breasts had been lifted and shown. But at least our nubbins were covered, unlike they would be with the clothing in the lecherous man's shop.

Little wonder Simpson and the other three had stared at us. The reason for the commotion from the ships, the ogling in the streets. Why Martha had mistaken us.

I again glanced down at my new costume. Proper. Subdued. Refined elegance. And Olivia, as well. Then I thought back to how my cousins had been admonished for enhancing and for showing too much flesh. That was when I had learnt the word harlot.

We arrived aboard, and when the bundles had been placed in the great cabin, I said to Simpson, "Allow us to refresh, then we shall again head ashore." I led him out onto the deck and pointed to the church tower. "Knock again at quarter past three of the clock."

"Aye, m'Lady." He paused awhile, then he said, "You look much more a lady dressed like that."

"Thank you. We had no choice before." I chuckled. "But now we have many, and we shall search for more."

As I reentered the great cabin, Olivia stood from undoing a bundle and said, "Sorry, m'Lady. Our teats pushed way up like that was what my sisters had me do for 'em afore they went inta town." She reddened. "Up 'til now, I ain't never had 'em big enough ta do it on myself, and I din't know how men would act at seen so much."

"No matter. We both now know."

She looked down at her dress, smiling. Then her face clouded. "How will I ever pay you for all of this?"

"You need not. As I have previously said, having you properly attired adds to my image. And since it is my choosing that you appear refined, it is also my expense."

"Then I must work real hard, so as I don't disappoint you, m'Lady."

"You are doing fine, Olivia." I lifted a plait of hair from my shoulder. "Do you know how to braid? Martha had said to wear hair long and flowing in public is considered immodest and provocative. Bound hair is a sign of dignity and propriety."

"I heard her say that, m'Lady. But I don't know what all them fancy words mean."

"It means we must fashion our hair such as Martha and her daughters had theirs. Up and close to our heads. Loose and flowing is seen as an invitation for men to have their way with us."

"Oh! I always did up my sisters' hair with braids and combs for working the crops, but they wanted it down when they went ta town. Much longer than this." She flipped her hair with a hand. "Ours useta be right the way down ta our bums."

"As was mine." I sighed and lifted a plait again. "What might you do with this?"

"A lot more if we had combs ta hold it. But I can make some braids and weave and twine 'em up. Maybe coil 'em at the back."

"Wonderful." I pointed across to the chairs by the window. "Come, let me sit to make it easier for you."

While Olivia worked, my mind turned to our needs. Find a haberdasher. Purchase combs and ribbons, such as Martha wears to keep hers in place. And silk flowers and plumes to decorate. Then pondering what I might have to serve for the nonce, the split cane came to mind, and I said, "We have bamboos you could use."

"Bamboos, m'Lady?"

"Split cane. Like combs with only two teeth. I shall fetch some."

When she had finished my hair, I examined it in the mirrors, studying to learn how I might arrange hers.

Then a long while later, when I was satisfied with what I had rendered with Olivia's, I took her into the night cabin to look at it in the mirror. She turned this way and that, a broad smile on her face as she bobbed her head. "I do look right proper now, don't I?"

"Indeed, we both do."

While we awaited Simpson's knock on the door, we sat by the windows and talked. When she mentioned her sisters again, I asked her to tell me about them.

"Nell and Tess was twins, near two years older'n me." Olivia sighed and closed her eyes. "We was real close and was always playing tagether." For several minutes, she rambled through memories of the things they had done, pausing from time to wipe a tear or to giggle at some crazy antic.

"Membering this and telling it ta you makes my mind easier. Thinking how close we was and all the fun we had – that now makes me feel good, not sad."

"Excellent! An indication that your grieving is near over, and you can think of them and talk about them without too much pain."

She nodded. "But besides missing them, I miss the touching. We all three sleeped in the same bed, and we often woke in a great tangle." She sighed. "Jest got that way in the night, like the kittens useta do."

I recalled how alone I had felt, my sisters and I sleeping in separate rooms. And thinking of how Charles and I usually awake cuddled to one another, I said, "Yes, it seems to be a natural desire. Fulfilling the need to touch and to be touched. That must have been comforting for you."

"Oh, it was, and I miss that a lot. The closeness and the touching." She looked at me and grinned. "A lot more touching when their teats grew big and the changes came ta their puddins."

"Puddins? What is this?"

Olivia placed a hand in her lap. "Down here. Mama said it the proper way, but when I was little, I couldn'a say but puddin, and my sisters took ta calling theirs that, too."

I chuckled. "A better name than pudendum."

Then I pondered its Latin meaning, the place of shame. But why be ashamed? Is this from where Mother took her attitude? The reason she called it the ugly place?

"You look again in a pother, m'Lady."

"Hmmm! Oh, do I? I was thinking about other names for our nethers. Pudendum seemed awkly to me, and one of my tutors said another term is cunt, from the Latin cuneus, meaning wedge." I shrugged. "But cunt was too harsh to my ears, so I called mine cuneus, then cunny, and now Miss Cunny."

"Oh, I like that. Cunny's friendly sounding, like puddin. But Miss Cunny's even better. I should call mine Miss Puddin."

"A fine idea. But keep it to yourself until you find a trustworthy man with whom to share it."

She snickered. "Share my puddin or its name?"

"Both." I winked at her. "But with a man who wants you forever, not just for fun."

"Like Mama was always telling Nell and Tess afore they went ta town." Olivia paused and smiled. "I now see why they was dressed like that. And why they wanted their hair left down."

"Indeed! But we now know the proper way."