“I was wondering if I could get some clothes?”
“I am sorry; we do not have any gowns.”
“A gown?”
“It is what women wear. They do not wear trousers as you have been wearing.”
“Oh–”
“As soon as we make port in Walden, I will buy you all the human women clothing and gowns you could ever desire,” he said, looking into my eyes, clearing his throat, then standing, his hands on his thighs as he did so. When he stood fully, I noticed that he had not changed his clothing since our swim; he still wore the blood-soaked trousers. He had placed a loose fitting tunic on, so I could not see his chest, but he needed rest, too. I did not want to take his bed. The one in the other room was not nearly as comfortable.
“I look horrid, I am sure,” he chuckled, looking down at himself, then back at me. “I am going to get ready in the other room. I hurried the last time I changed and forgot about my pants. I will have food sent to you, I had one of the crew members catch some fish. I had the cook leave one raw for you.”
“Really? Fish?” I asked in surprise.
“Yes, you asked for fish, did you not?” he asked as he started walking to his closet; then he paused and turned back around.
“Thank you,” he said.
“Oh, and we have arrived. We are anchored.”
“We have?”
“Pixie Isle is just out that window,” he said, motioning to the window behind his desk; then he walked from the room, closing the door behind him.
Chapter Thirty-One
Dominick
“You are not going anywhere till I say so, do you understand?” I told Peter as I watched him stroll over near the rail of the ship, staring at the island before us.
“I have to go. I have to find her.”
“Because you love her?” I turned to see William, the old captain, laugh. He saw my glare and quickly put his hands up. “I have no desire to take over the ship; it was too heavy a burden, anyway.”
“You better not,” I threatened.
He nodded.
I was satisfied.
“You sound just like my mother,” Peter groaned, turning to William. Something pierced my heart, hearing a reference to “Mother.”
She has a relationship with Peter–not with me.
“Well, she may be onto something. We can all see it, except for you,” William said with a chuckle.
“Gwendolyn is my best friend, Will. I have to save her,” Peter said, rather determined, looking upon Pixie Isle as if it were all the hope he had left. It was written all over his face, how deeply he felt for that Gwendolyn person.
“You really think she is here?” I asked, stepping up beside Peter.
“I’ve looked everywhere else. This makes the most sense. We were looking into pixies, together, before she went missing.”
“Or, perhaps, she ran away to another kingdom to get away from her betrothal,” William said with a loud thwack against Peter's back.
“Betrothal?” he looked at William in surprise.
“She was betrothed to Sir Anthony, just before she disappeared. You really did not know? I thought you were not talking about it because you were ignoring it or something.”