Taking advantage of by the Captain

Reason to trust the lady. Raven smiled to herself as she bent to check the surgical instruments available. Captain Van Doorn was referring to an incident that had happened there weeks ago out of Rotterdam. Raven.and her father had taken the first ship bound for Barbados, even though it was going by way of new Amsterdam in the northern American colonies. Her father, weakened from overwork and suffering from fever, had at last relented to her pleas and resigned his battlefield duties to seek a milder climate in which to recuperate. Uncle Samuel had long praised Barbados so she had written and asked permission to make an extended visit. But her father would never see Barbados now for he had succumbed to the fever just before they docked in New Amsterdam.

It was while her father was ailing that a young sailor had fallen from the rigging onto the deck, breaking his left leg. Raven had insisted that her father not be disturbed. She had set the leg and sutured the lacerated flesh herself and the leg had healed well and cleanly.

But Van Doorn's arm was a different matter. It was badly mangled. assured that the instruments were in order and surprisingly clean, Raven bent over her patient for a better view of the task before her, wondering how a pirate had come into possession of these fine medical tools. They were probably stolen, she thought, and shot a withering glance at her captor.

But her scorn went unnoticed. Captain Fortune's interest lay lower on her anatomy and with a start she realized just where. She had repaired her bodice as well as she could, but the tips, along with the already low cut of the gown, revealed much that she would be hidden from that probing gaze. Standing so tall and peering over her shoulder, he was in the perfect position to enjoy a most delightful view. A situation, she noted, that he had been quick to take advantage of. Angrily, she turned her shoulder but found it impossible to work in that position. It was a choice between modesty and the welfare of a patient whoso treatment could no longer be delayed. She knew at once which was more important. With a proud toss of her head, she bent over the patient arm. The low chuckle from the man beside her seemed to wash over her in waves of heat.

Probing gently, she was thankful to find the main arteries intact, only the radius was broken. But the bone was sticking up at a sickening angle and there was a possibility that there were small fragments in the mangled mass. It would have to be cleaned before she could assess the extent of the damage.

" I need some water, she ordered crisply, trying to focus her attention on her task. But she had never had such a distraction before when treating a patient as the one who now stood by her side.

He put a pan of water in to her hands and her fingers brushed his during the process, sending another wave of heat over her. She longed to cool her hands, her face, her neck, with that water but instead, dipped in one slim finger and then put it to her lips.

This is fresh water. I need sea water to cleanse the wounds, she said. pushing the pan back into the tall pirate's hand, carefully avoiding touching him.

You want to pour salt water into an open wound.?

She nodded. I know it seems cruel, but wounds heal more cleanly and faster when they are washed with sea water. No one knows why.

He hesitated only a moment before nodding to one of his crew member who hauled a bucket of water to Raven's side.

She glanced once at Van Doorn and he nodded that he was ready. Taking a dripping dipper full of briny water, she poured it gently over the wound. Captain Van Doorn shuddered once, release a painful moan, then fainted. Raven sighed with relief. With the Dutch Captain been unconscious, her task would be easier and he would not suffer. But speed was still of essence.

She began to work with a concentration that eradicated everything else. The tall man beside her who handed her a suture or scissors or who helped to sponge away the blood ceased to be her captor at the moment. He became her assistant. He did nothing to dispel that image for he deferred to her and responded to her terse commands as any trained assistant would, always ready with the instrument she needed next.

Carefully cleaning the wound, she picked out slivers of bone and cut away the badly shredded flesh, leaving a cleaner wounds to be stitched. She aligned the bone as well as she could and then sutured the flesh. Then she bandaged the arm and tied a splint in place.

Straightening, Raven wiped away the perspiration on her brow with the back of her hand, leaving a bloody smear in its place.

" As fine a job as any surgeon could have done, my lady," Said Captain Fortune.

For a moment her eyes met the pirate Captain's eye, no longer glacial shards but blue summer pools smiling at her in admiration. Warming from his praise and his look, she blushed and pulled her eyes away, looking to see what other work needed doing.

A youthful Dutch crewman lay on the next cot, his leg well bandaged. peering beneath the wrappings, she could see the stitches. They were not the work of a trained doctor but it was done well enough.

It was me that was screaming,miss, he said, hanging his head so that a long shock of pale blond hair nearly hid his reddened cheeks. " The captain, he was gentle but it hurts when he took out the bullets and sew the wound.

Smiling, She patted his hand and started to move to the next patient. But captain Fortune was standing beside her and in her haste, she ran into him.