inside, and seeing it lying there on the console inthe hall made Henrys heart beat a little faster. Martin, equallyexcited, went down to the kitchen for some of the gingerbread he knewCook had baked and brought it upstairs to share.Are you ready?Martin lounged across the end of the bed, magazine in hand.Yes, yes, hurryup and read it! Henry licked crumbs off his fingers and settledback against the pillows.Theyd left thestory last month with the Dauntless four days sail from thenearest port marked on the map by the Order of the Red Eye. Hoping tocatch up to Dr. DeSade, Theo had made an educated guess that this iswhere the Ruthless would have headed, but it was only thataguess.George stayed abedhealing, with Theo in attendance as much as possible, leaving therunning of his ship to other crew members. Dooley stayed nearby, aswell, much to Henrys chagrin.Doesnt he knowwhere hes not wanted?Martin snickered.Hush!Dooley had lots ofquestions, the answers to which would likely be useful to a newreader. He asked about Theo and Georges history together, learningof Georges dramatic rescue at Theos hands when both were youngmen of 22.Huh, Henrysaid. I dont think theyve ever said before how old theywere. That sounds about right.George describedbeing carried across Theos shoulders, barely conscious, blooddripping from his ruined back, and feeling the safest hed everfelt.He saved my life,Sir, George said to Dooley. And having saved it, Sir, I feltconfident hed keep it safe. And see, hes saved it again.George pointed to his bandage and Dooley was suitably impressed.I thought he wasquite the finest man Id ever met, Theo told Dooley. Itdidnt matter that he was a slave; what mattered was the quality ofhis character.Ill bet Georgehas a really nice ass, Henry remarked. Ill bet that hadsomething to do with it, too.Martin snickered atthis. Henry, really!Theo redressedGeorges wound, and Dooley stuck around for that, too, commentingon Georges many scars in an admiring fashion.You should seethe Captains scars, Sir, George told Dooley. He was shotclean through the shoulder, and with only me to stitch him up, itwasnt a pretty result, Sir.So then Theo tookoff his shirt to show Dooley the bullet wound and puckered scarresulting.Hed better nottouch him, Henry said. Hed better not even try.Dooley kept hishands to himself, only admiring the scar and complimenting George ondoing an admirable job of piecing the flesh back together. He wasalso shown the scar on Theos side where hed been stabbed thefirst time they met Dr. Nero DeSade and Turk, and a short history ofthat encounter was given, reestablishing that DeSade was a dastardly,murderous fiend with no respect for human life, free or slave.At last, long afterHenry had tired of Dooley, Theo tired of him, as well, telling himto, Make yourself useful up on deck, and shutting the door inhis face.What do you thinkTheo did after he kicked Dooley out? Martin asked playfully.George wastired, Henry pointed out. But Im sure he could toleratehaving his cock sucked.When they finallysailed into port four days after theyd started, George was feelingmuch stronger and Theo was on deck commanding his men, cutlasshanging at his hip.Theyre notgoing to find