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that samplers were always a good present for brothers, who generally deserved nothing better.
    She crawled carefully from the berth, wondering at the sharp pain in her feet . She hung on to the berth and lifted one foot to sta re in frank amazement at her sole. It was sunburned, too. She lowered her foot and perched back on the berth, deeply aware what one more day adrift on that grating would have done to her. It appears I should be more grateful, she thought as she pulled her arm s into the shirt and buttoned it.
    The door to th e compartment beyond was open, and she went in, walking gingerly on the black-and-white-painted canvas that covered the deck beneath. The cabin, which stretched across the vessel ’ s stem, was better decorated than the sleeping compartment, with several comfortable chairs, a table spread with charts, and a rather elegant lamp overhead. It could have been a room in a typical manor, with the exception of the two cannons, secured into their trucks with ring bolts that adorned opposite bulkheads They faced closed gun ports.
    How odd, she thought as she sat down carefully in one of the chairs, favoring her bruised hip. She looked closer at the walls dividing the two rooms. They were fastened to the bulkheads with another series of bolts that could easily be thrown to remove them when the warship went into action.
    “ Not exactly your country home, eh?"
    She looked around, careful not to move too fast, to see the ship ’ s surgeon standing in the doorway, a nightshirt draped over his arm .
    “ No, sir, ” she replied, embarrassed to be discovered out of her be rth and w he re she did not belong. With an effort, she pulled her knees closer together and crossed her ankles, which made her suck in her breath.
    “ My dear Miss Whittier, please do not hold with formalities, ” he said, coming closer. “ You ’ ll only do your ankles a disservice, in their present condition. ”
    She uncrossed them and took the nightshirt he held out to her. It was soft from much wear.
    “ I know I should not be here. ”
    He merely shrugged. “ It is no concern of mine. I do not think you are out to steal Captain Spark ’ s silverware. For one, I am glad to see you moving about. Nothing distresses me more than a moribund patient. ”
    She smiled in spite of her discomfort. He came closer, pulled her braid over her breast, and peered down her back before she could protest.
    “ Hmmm, ” he said, sounding like her doctor at home. “ Hmmm , I was most worried about your back and shoulders, but you appear to be progressing on schedule. Now, stand up and let me see the backs of your knees. Oh, dear. I suggest you apply my salve liberally there and spend this day on your stomach, Miss Whittier. ”
    She made a face. That bad? ”
    He nodded, but his voice was full of good cheer. “ Nothing ’ s worse than skin that never gets sunburned. As it is, you ’ ll probably come through this intact, but with a nice suntan. ” He smiled at the look of concern on her face. “ And cheer up! Think of this as an adventure. Here you thought you were only going to see Charleston ! ”
    “ Thee doesn ’ t need to remind me, ” she said and returned to the sleeping compartment . The surgeon remained where he was in the great cabin.
    “ Miss Whittier , put on that nightshirt and lie on your stomach. I will apply salve to the back of your knees. ”
    She did as he said and climbed back into the berth, thankful to be wearing something that allowed more coverage. Thee is a dunce, Hannah, she thought as she settled herself as modestly as possible. This man, and Captain Spark, too, have already seen all thee possesses. At this point, it is fruitless to blush.
    She suffered in silence while the ship ’ s surgeon daubed ointment on her legs, and then her shoulders. She opened her eyes when he finished.
    “ I should thank thee for untangling my hair and braiding it, sir, but I have forgotten thy name. ”
    He set down the jar of salve