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.

Hearing the boys approach behind him, he ended the kiss, his eyes saying things Betsy thought she may be beginning to understand. With his hands holding onto her waist, he looked down at her wrinkled nose, which was expressing her frustration. He chuckled softly, deep in his chest, glad to know she felt the same desires he did. He smoothed his fingers over her cheek, kissed her nose, and smiled at her. "Show them how it's done, Kitten."

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Davey was disappointed. He had not had any luck with the pistol, before he had even hit a thing, he had to give it over so the other boys could try. He found he had a propensity to aim left, then when he tried to correct his aim, he tended to shoot far to the right. He had done well at loading it though.

Davey walked down to the water's edge, kicking at the sand as he went, venting his frustration.

Violet knew that Davey had wanted to impress Betsy, and it had not come to fruition. He could feel the lads disappointment, so followed him to where he had stopped at the water's edge.

He placed his hand on Davey's shoulder, "I have an idea how we can mayhap improve your aim, son." Vi's memory conjured up Marcus, and his lessons once again. "When I was boy, too young for manly weapons yet, a nice man made me a slingshot. I could show you how 'tis done, and you could practice with that, even while we are out at sea." Violet thought of the leather strips Betsy had trimmed off the breeches the day before. He had seen them in a pile on his desk, they should work perfectly for what he had in mind.

Davey had a hard time holding onto his resentment when Violet singled him out and called him that. He looked to him with hopeful eyes, "You would teach me, Capt'n?" He squinted against the sun, as he looked up at the man who had become like a father to him.

"Absolutely I will, first you will need to gather stones, about yea big around." Violet curled his fingers, indicating the right size stones Davey would need. "Right about such, as this one here." Violet bent and picked up a stone the size of a walnut. "Round is best, yet shape will not matter so much once you perfect your aim. You will need a good supply, as there are no stones on the sea."

Violet smiled, as Davey forgot his disappointment and began to earnestly hunt the correct sized stones. Of course, it had been Marcus who had made him his first slingshot. Vi had practiced many months, until he could strip a leaf from a twig at ten meters. One year later, upon Marcus' next visit, Marcus had been suitably impressed with Violet's accuracy. So much so, that he had taught him to throw a dirk next, and Violet had practiced that skill until he had mastered it also. It had been a skill that had proven useful quite a few times throughout the years.

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Elias had shown to have better luck. He had been able to aim and hit the targets more often than not.

Violet rejoined Betsy and the other boys. He noted Elias' skill and gave praise to the young man. "Good job, son. You seem to have a real knack for the task."

Elias was a quiet boy, a deep thinker. He did not speak much, but his facial expressions easily revealed what he was he was thinking at any given moment. He was ten and one, older than Davey, just not as confident and rambunctious. He had black hair, and eyes so dark that they appeared black also. His beautiful, olive skin did not burn in the sun as the other boy's did, his skin naturally darkened as he spent time in it's rays. Elias smiled at the praise Violet gave him, giving the pistol back to Betsy so the others could have their turn. Elias then went to join Davey. He started gathering stones also, once Davey told him what he was about.

Jesse was next, he was eight years old, and very bright for his age. He was the most mischeivious of the boys. He could usually be found with Pete, stirring up some sort of shinnanigans. Jesse did not want to shoot but a couple of times, as he did not care for the noise the pistol made upon firing. Betsy ruffled his honey colored hair, smiling into his widened, green eyes, while assuring him he had done very well for a first timer.

Betsy found herself done with her students, as the other two boys, Phillip and Zack, both at seven years, were too young to be much interested and would rather be about their play in the surf.

She gathered her bag of shot and held her things in one hand, as she slid her other around Violet's bicep, loving the rock, hard feel of his arm under her palm. " I should probably go and check on Paulie and the children, I would hate for them to learn any new words from him, much less have to tell them they should never be repeated.' The thought of Paulie's words coming out of the sweet babes mouths, giving her the giggles, as she prayed t'would not be so.

"I will row you back out, lovey, I need to gather some things for Davey, and return." He lifted her, setting her in the boat, holding it steady for her as she took her seat. He then pushed it off the sand and jumped in, taking his seat, and manning the oars. He began singing his rowing tune, as Betsy winced, then found herself grinning all the way out to the Wench.

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Violet can't be perfect, lol :D