“Tea?” he offered.He stepped around her and headed down the hall towards the kitchen, a little wary of turning his back on her. He had a vision of... her stabbing him with a knife, but he pushed the thought out of his mind. She really didn’t look all that threatening.Lizzie followed him, pausing briefly to study at the paintings he’d hung on the wall. He felt a little embarrassed. They’d been painted by his ex-girlfriend from Uni. In an innocently romantic gesture, he’d bought every single one of. "It's a long way down toReading. You've got your ticket safe, haven't you?" The Poole train, remember," said dad."I know," I muttered, trying hard to disguise my irritation at his havinginsisted I travel cross-country rather than via London. Would he have donethat if I'd been male?The station bell rang, heralding the imminent arrival of the service toKings Cross. Mum frowned, as if it signalled the approach of a thief cometo steal from her nearly three years of active parenthood."Well, this is. I took anything that she considered serious - a bag had been left out containing personal affects, along with a dildo that hadn't been returned properly to the cabinet in the quarters and three cutlasses. Arriving back on the main deck I was told to take the bag to the Captain's quarters and return with a punishment implement of my choice. I returned with the thin leather whip with the ornate burgundy handle.'Favourite of yours', she muttered when she saw me bring it out.'Who owns this?', asked. As I reached the front door, she stopped and asked if I was in a hurry. I really didn’t have to be back to the dorm for several hours, and told her so. “Please you sit,” she asked. We walked out onto the open front porch, and sat on the top step. Sitting down beside me, she scooted up very close. Her voice was low, and I could tell she had some problem she wished to talk about. I liked Theresa, but I really didn’t want to get too involved in her personal life. I thought she.