Pirates of the Storm (Stranded In Time Book 1) Read Online Free PDF

Jeff
asked.
    “Oh no, don’t misunderstand, Mr.
Greene. While I will not say I have not been tempted, ‘tis bad for
business to consort with a woman onboard your ship. As they say,
hell hath no fury as a woman scorned and the last thing I need is
for her to become jealous of some other wench and slit my throat in
my sleep. I do take some small liberties as you have seen, but it
goes no further than that.”
    “You’re a wise man,
Captain.”
    “Thank you, Mr. Greene, and I would
advise you to avoid becoming too familiar with Mr. Robinson
yourself.”
    “Agreed,” Jeff said with a
nod.
    The two men turned to the plates in
front of them. It was a simple meal of fish stew and hunks of a
cracker-like bread, but the Captain was right about Robinson being
a good cook. Jeff and the Captain ate hungrily with few words
between them until they had finished the meal. “More rum, Mr.
Greene?” the Captain said, holding up the bottle.
    “No thank you, Captain. My head is
spinning already!”
    The Captain laughed, “You’ll need to
build up your tolerance if you are going to stay aboard this ship,
sir!”
    “I’ll have to work on that,” Jeff
replied with a smile.
    “If you won’t have any more rum, then
perhaps you would enjoy a pipe with me?”
    “No thanks, Captain, I don’t smoke,”
Jeff said.
    “Don’t smoke, eh?” the Captain said,
raising an eyebrow. “Why on earth not?”
    “There are health hazards from
smoking…” Jeff began, but was interrupted by the
Captain.
    “Mr. Greene, if you are going to try
to blend in during your stay in my time, I strongly recommend that
you learn the joys of a good pipe. You would do well to at least
give the appearance of enjoying a pipe, as it is very much our
custom and in certain company it might very well be a health hazard
to refuse a smoke.”
    “Well, OK, I guess I can at least
practice faking it then,” Jeff nodded.
    “Very good,” Coxen smiled as he walked
over to his desk and pulled out a wooden box. He pulled two pipes
from the box and a small pouch of tobacco from his coat. The
Captain filled the pipe bowls and walked back over to the table,
handing one pipe to Jeff before lighting a splint of wood in the
lantern that hung on the wall above the table.
    The Captain demonstrated lighting his
own pipe before handing the burning splint to Jeff. Attempting to
mimic Coxen’s pipe-lighting method, Jeff inhaled through the pipe
as he touched the flame inside the bowl of the pipe. As he sucked
in the smoke, his throat burned and he began coughing violently.
The Captain quickly reached over and took the pipe and splint from
Jeff’s hands as Jeff struggled to breathe. Coxen sat back in his
chair and blew out the splint as he laughed to himself. After a few
moments, Jeff caught his breath. “Now… I see… why you enjoy
smoking… so much!” Jeff said, choking through the words.
    “Your pipe, Mr. Greene,” the Captain
said, holding it over the table.
    “Thanks, I think,” Jeff said, grasping
the pipe and raising the mouthpiece slowly to his mouth.
    “Just hold the smoke in your mouth,”
the Captain suggested.
    Jeff slowly sucked in, being careful
not to bring the smoke in too far. He coughed slightly as he blew
the smoke out. “Do I really need to do this?” he asked.
    Coxen nodded, “There are some who
would take it as the highest insult if you refused to smoke with
them. It’s best that you can at least do it in those situations
that require it.” Jeff continued to carefully suck in and blow out
the smoke. After a time, he was able to do it without coughing and
without even thinking too carefully about the mechanics of it.
Coxen had taken notice, “So now that you may survive the
experience, how do you like the pipe?”
    “The pipe is great – truly a beautiful
piece,” he said admiring the detailing on what appeared to be
carved ivory. “I still think smoking is disgusting, but the pipe is
cool!”
    “Cool?” the Captain asked, “Has