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The thick gravy congealed atop the meat.
    She turned her head away from the plate for she could not eat a thing. She kept rolling over, in her mind, the events that had taken place between herself and the quartermaster.
    She could still smell his disgusting breath and taste the vile tang of stale brandy along the insides of her mouth, not to mention feeling his fingers crawling inside of her most private area.
    Maura began to shudder at her own thoughts of disgust for Kilern, and for a brief moment, hatred for her father for putting her in this predicament. The future that awaits her in Boston is the same fate her father had tried so desperately to protect her from. “ What a waste ,” she thought.
    The deafening silence between the two was about to drive Daniel mad. Usually he welcomed the quiet solitude of his cabin, but knowing someone was across the room made him feel an obligation to converse.
    "Ya really should eat, boy. Ya won't be able ta keep up with ya duties if ya let yourself get too much skinnier than ya are." He spoke, never looking in her direction.
    Maura remained silent.
    He lifted the tankard to his lips and looked up at her ov er the rim. Still believing he was looking at a male he had to shake his head profusely to stop feeling as though he needed to console his cabin boy . For complete loss of words he tried to think of something to say that would not sound berating or trite. Then he remembered the chess board she had set up. He remarked. "Do ya play much chess when at home?" Hoping this would break the dead silence in the room.
    Maura looked up with a half smile. "Yes, I'm very fond o’ the game, sir." She responded in her deepest male voice. "I used ta play every evenin’ with my father, after dinner."
    "Are ya any good, then?" Daniel remarked sarcastically.
    "I think so. I've been playin’ since the age of eight summers." She straightened her back and answered in a proud voice.
    "What did ya father do for a livin?'" speaking of her father in the past tense, as if he were no longer living.
    Maura swallowed hard against his words but guessed she'd have to get used to speaking of him in those terms, for one day he would be gone from this earth. "He was a longshoreman. Like yourself, sir.” She answered with an aire of pride.
    "And he never took ya with him on board any ships?" He remarked with a hint of astonishme nt in his voice. "Seems odd he did naught. Why, my father started takin' me aboard when I was much younger than you, boy. Most fathers want their sons ta be strappin' lads, rough around the edges. You're much too frail ta be the son of a longshoreman.” He continued to interrogate her in a cool insulting manner. "You must have spent ya time in the classroom of a school house, whereas I've spent mine in the classroom of the sea. He continued on with an odd easy flow to his conversation. “Sure I went ta grade school. I read and write and such but, only what I needed ta make my way in the business world o’ tradin’ goods." He chugged more ale and sat staring at Maura.
    Maura stood anxiously wringing her hands as she caught herself intently hanging onto every word that graced his thoroughly masculine mouth. There was another long silence as Maura busied herself pouring the hot kettles into the tub to ready the water for Daniel's bath.
    "After my bath would ya like to show me just how good ya really are?” He flashed his gorgeous smile in her direction.
    Stunned, Maura stopped her flurry of activity and timidly shifted her eyes in his direction.
    “At chess, at chess." Daniel became uncharacteristically embarrassed at his mistaken play on words.
    “I would welcome the diversion, sir." smiling ever so nervously, as she turned her back to him.
    Daniel had not a clue, of course, what she needed diversion from.
    Maura knew she was safe from the likes of Kilern, at least while in the confines of Daniel's cabin. So she decided she would not allow herself to think upon him for the rest of the