The Reverend's Daughter (Book 2 after The Duke's Daughter)

Chapter Nine Part Three

Since Pete and Bart had the dinghy, Violet swam back to the Wench and lowered the second gig. Davey ferried his 'brothers' and Betsy to the shore, while Vi floated between two empty water barrels. He and Sam rolled the barrels up through the area they had cleared, to be filled and sealed later. They both wanted to watch the shooting lesson, curious as to how the boys would do.

Betsy found a piece of beach where she could set up targets at the jungle's edge. It was a good spot to demonstrate to the young men the proper way to shoot the firearm. "We shall need some targets for you to try to hit. My Lady used coconuts for my lessons, and since there are so many, we may as well, also. Gather as many as you can carry and pile them up over there." Betsy pointed to a stump, much like the one she and Arianna had used when she had first tried shooting the pistol.

Lady Arianna had been shocked and amazed, when Betsy, who had never fired a gun before in her life, had turned out to be a natural. Lady Arianna had told Betsy to aim at the eye of the coconut, telling her she would probably hit her target, if she even came close to where she aimed. Betsy had not only hit the nuts dead on, but had hit each one through the eye every single time. Arianna had then started tossing the coconuts into the air, with Betsy once again, hitting them straight through the eyes, just as if she had been shooting pistols all her life.

Sam went to join the boys in the gathering of their targets, so Violet approached Betsy. Vi came up behind her and scooped her up into his arms. He began to spin her around, dancing across the sands, as she laughed at his antics.

"Stop Violet, you are making me dizzy." She laughingly pleaded. He immediately stopped and spun her the other direction, undizzying her. She was amazed, but it had worked. "How did you know to do that, to keep my brain from spinning?" She gazed up into his violet eyes, her own eyes questioning his methods.

"T'was something I learned as a child, when it was done to me." He remembered Marcus spinning him around as a small boy, trying to fill the role of a good man in a fatherless boy's life. Violet could remember wishing that Marcus had been his father, being that he had never known the man who actually was. Marcus had done the best he could, he had been the one to teach Violet to fish with a line, he had taught Violet to shoot a firearm for the first time, and he had been the one to give Violet advice about wooing the local girls when Violet had come of an age that he was interested in the fairer sex. Vi knew it was an awful lot for a man to commit to for a deceased friend. Marcus must have loved his friend very much, to be willing to spend the time he did, taking time out of his own busy life to keep the commitment he had made to the man.

Betsy watched Violet's face, knowing he had left her and traveled many miles away, she waited patiently, until he came back to her and the present moment.

"A good memory, Violet?" She asked of him.

"Aye, a good memory, love." He smiled down into her eyes, as she laid her palm upon his cheek, her other arm wrapped around his neck. He bent and kissed her, loving the way she felt feather light in his arms.

Betsy slid her hand down his neck and onto his chest. His beautifully defined muscles were so solid and warm under her hand as she roamed over his tanned pecks. His nipple hardened as she grazed over it. She was enthralled with his body, she felt she could investigate it for hours without ever growing bored with the feel of him. She was a little frustrated with their lack of privacy with the boys running around behind them. She knew a keen disappointment as she kept her curiosity in check.

Violet was pleased with her explorations. Mayhap, when it came time for him to explore her body, she would realize that he was just as curious as she was. He was hard pressed not to bear her off to the depth's of the jungle and show her the joys wedded bliss could bring to them both. He settled for kissing her breathless.