Hide in Time Read Online Free PDF

you all the details,
you can join us for this evening and then we can consider full
membership after that. I need you to bring your signed application
form, your payment, and something like a Driving Licence to confirm
your identity and address. You will not be allowed on board without
them.”
    This was a mistake. She was sure of it.
A moment of compassion for this sorry-sounding soul had overruled her
instincts. Or was it her lack of time? Time! She had none for further
consideration. She must change into her long flouncy skirt, grab her
camera, and get to the boat.
    ~
    As she approached, she could see that
the owners of the paddle steamer had put a great deal of effort into
turning their ‘Maid of the River’ into ‘Redbeard’s
Revenge’. Laura thanked them then positioned herself at the
foot of the gangplank to welcome the guests. She wished Matt had
shown some enthusiasm and been persuaded to come; he ‘didn’t
like pirates’ he’d said. She guessed that Nick, Xandra’s
original date, would be first and yes, here he was, way ahead of the
others, striding down the towpath. What a sight! He was wearing a red
scarf wrapped around his head and tied at the back, an earring, a
white grandpa style shirt open at the neck, a black jerkin, and blue
and white vertically striped trousers. He was toting a pair of
pistols in his leather belt which, on seeing he’d caught
Laura’s eye, he began twirling around his fingers before taking
aim at some nearby waddling ducks.
    “What do you call a pirate who
steals from the rich and gives to the poor?”
    Laura wasn’t any good with jokes.
She was always relieved if she even got them, so the ensuing silence
had to be filled by Nick.
    “Robin Hook.”
    Laura looked puzzled.
    Nick tried again. Solemnly he adjusted
his eye patch. “I was going to wear two eye patches but I
didn’t want anyone to think I was ‘Oirish’.”
    “Oh no, I suppose I’m going
to be giggling all night,” laughed Laura, delighted to find she
understood.
    “Arrrrrrrr, here comes Mary. I’ll
have to stop the Irish jokes now or she’ll be telling me off.”
    “That’s why you tell them,
you naughty man.”
    As Mary hurried towards them, Laura
greeted her, “Hi Mary, welcome on board. You’ve met Nick
before, I know, but never looking so menacing, I hope.” Laura
watched as they exchanged a nod and Mary cautiously crossed the
gangplank after the striding Nick. Mary, dressed as a serving wench
was, Laura assured herself, certain to hit it off with Nick. She’d
brought a large parrot (‘not a real one’ she’d
hastily said as Laura peered at it closely) and she was now
attempting to fix it to Nick’s shoulder. Yes, they were a good
match. Years of happiness coming up.
    A rabble of pirates and wenches arrived
with a few princesses for ‘eye candy’ as Nick kept saying
to provoke Mary into whacking him. Laura had prepared herself for
Xandra wearing an identical outfit to her own but she wasn’t.
Xandra had opted for a striped T-shirt and black knee breeches with
shiny gold buttons. It flashed through Laura’s mind that
perhaps she always wore trousers so that if she needed to defend
herself, or rescue someone, she wasn’t hampered by a skirt.
Maybe she wasn’t so wedded to the nineteenth century as Laura
had begun to hope. Perhaps the wistful thoughts Xandra had fostered
were attractive only from the comforts of the twenty-first century.
Laura’s welcoming smile masked the thought, What if I’ve
got this all wrong? “Good to see you looking so well, Xandra,
and minus your protection officer, I see.”
    Xandra glanced over her shoulder, “Oh
he’s not far away, I’ve left him on that bench there. He
said I’d be fine on board as the boat doesn’t stop
anywhere and I’d be surrounded by lots of known people. If
there is a problem, we can phone him for help. Here’s his
number.”
    Laura made a note on her file. “If
you are worried at all, please let me know. Should be all