True Justice

"Thank you!" Chuckling, Jinna added "Oh, is she that reckless? Well, maybe she will calm down once she is with my family. Does she have family of her own? Perhaps she is just lonely." Gathering up the children, Jinna headed down the dock, towards the small cabin that she called home.

True Justice

Terence shook his head. "I am the closest thing the little imp has to family." He nodded to Jinna. "Have a good day."

However, he looked back up as Jinna left. "Wait, your name?"

True Justice

Jinna turned back to Terence with a smile. "My name is Rejinna Daphne Longham, but everyone calls me Jinna." With a wave, she resumed walking towards her home, her steps firm yet light. She could not believe it; after all of these years, there was still hope for her finding her little baby girl, her first-born child, Gracie. Mark kept pace beside her and Angeline and Paul managed somehow, running on their short little legs, and enjoying ever minute of it. Baby Sarah bounced and Jinna found herself giggling.

"Ma, are you okay?" Mark asked, eying her strangely as they walked along. "You seem...different today."

Jinna just grinned down at him and nodded; she could not find words to express her joy. Mark shrugged and continued along beside her. He wished that he had had a chance to talk to the man, Ter- Mr Rowland- about the traitor. Oh, wait, he didn't want to talk about her because he knew her. That was right...

Still, the questions wouldn't stop flooding his mind even if he had to keep them from exiting between his lips.

True Justice

Riley nodded. "Right. Now that that's settled, I'm going to go. Is that okay? No one needs me to help me find them their long-lost great-aunt or anything, right?"

Shay laughed. "No, Riley, you can go now."

"Good." Riley locked the shop's front door and walked down the street.

She had a hint of a smile on her face as she watched Riley leave, but it faded slightly when she turned to Terence. "Now what?"

True Justice

Terence returned Jinna's wave and turned to face Shay. "Now we head to the shipyard and I tell you a little about what I have in mind."

~~~

About 10 minutes later, Terence slid the huge doors to the front of the shipyard open with a grating sound. "Welcome to the shipyard, your future workplace."

He allowed her to enter first. It was a huge building, with an inlet in the middle where a partially built ship rest. Men moved around boards or logs of wood as they worked on the ship.

"You won't be working down here. You'll be working upstairs." Terence pointed to a flight of wooden stairs that led to a large loft at the top. He walked toward the stairs and started to step up them. "I'll pay you for the amount of work you get done, not the amount of time it takes you. That way, you won't slack off."

Turning, he looked at her with a slight smile. "How are you with a broom?"

True Justice

Jinna arrived at home and began to tidy up the cabin. She had to clean some every day, but today she had decided that she would clean the entire house; Elle's impending visit caused her to quicken her pace. Never before had the house sparkled so in such a short amount of time. Jinna wanted the girl to feel comfortable here. She put out a new pillow she had just finished sewing that morning and put the newly-risen bread dough in a couple of pans to back on the hearth. The children she sent outside to play, under charge of Mark, while she whipped up some gingerbread for her guest. She was about half-way through her task when John came into the kitchen, smelling of fresh lumber.

"I see you got a job hauling wood again." Jinna said, smiling, brown gingery dough half-way up her arms.

"Yes, I did." he replied with a broad grin as Jinna danced over to the sink to wash up for him. His Jinna was always cheerful but today she seemed especially happy. "Has something happened while I was away?" he asked, as she dried her clean hands on a towel. She grinned and came over to hug him.

"Oh, John, you'll never guess; it has to do with our baby, our Gracie!!"

"No..." John was flabbergasted. "It can't be..."

"Yes, it can!! I met a man who knows a girl who knew his brother, who saw our baby alive!!"

John picked her up and twirled her around before setting her down again and kissing her on the forehead. "Oh, honey, that's absolutely wonderful!" he told his wife.

"The girl, Elle, will be visiting soon. That's why I'm making this gingerbread."

"I thought it was for me." he teased, grabbing a finger-full of dough from the large wooden bowl. Jinna play-smacked his hand and they both laughed, giddy with delight at the news about Gracie. Finally, John asked

"So, you knew this morning?"

"No, I only just found out. The news I had to tell you this morning is different."

"What is it?" John asked, smiling in anticipation. Jinna rested her head on her on his chest as he hugged her. "John, we are going to have another baby!"

John was awestruck; so many blessings in the same day, and both of them to do with their children.

True Justice

Shay folded her arms as she started to climb the stairs. "You seem to forget that I've worked at Riley's shop. Sweeping up after closing is what I did most of the time." She took a deep breath. "So, I'm perfectly fine with a broom, although I'm used to other tasks as well. And if you think that all I can do is sweep, well... you're sadly mistaken. I'm the farthest thing from a housewife, and I refuse to be treated as such." She reached the top of the stairs and whirled to face him, her eyes piercing in the dim light. "Just so you know."

True Justice

"Good, good, I'm glad to hear it." Terence said, as she passed him. He followed her and when they both reached the top, Terence grinned. "I can assure you, you'll never be a housewife to me. I prefer well-bred, quiet women, a far cry from the likes of you, I can assure you of that."

He held his hand out to the room and said, "After you, Miss O'Teale."

When she walked away, he said, "Take a nice long look at the floor and tell me what you see."

True Justice

"Good! I prefer men who don't insult me every time they open their mouth. So at last, we agree on something." Shay reached the top step, barely winded from the climb.

She took a glance at the floor, then lifted her chin and turned to Terence. "I see a floor, of course. And wood shavings. Lots of them." She whooshed out a breath, blowing her bangs out of her eyes. "Lots of wood shavings." She frowned. "This room is a mess! Obviously you don't know how to clean anything, otherwise you wouldn't have hired me."

True Justice

"Lots of wood shavings. Exactly." Terence chuckled. "Oh, I know how to clean, I just don't have time to clean between working and teasing others. I'm a busy man, Miss O'Teale."

He went to the far wall and grabbed the broom. "The floor is evidence to how much I work." Terence held the broom out to her. "It's a hard job, but you can handle it. I'll pay you well, don't worry about that."

Pointing to a different wall, he continued, "There are burlap sacks there that you can fill. When you fill one, just let me know and I'll take care of it."

"Any questions?"

True Justice

Shay laughed dryly. "Yes, I can see how you might be so busy, since you seem to have taken on sarcasm as a full time job. But that's none of my concern."

Shay shifted from one foot to the other. "I have to be frank with you. The only reason I'm here is for the pay. I have to work to eat, and I'd rather stay here than travel elsewhere. I appreciate the job offer, but forgive me if I'm less than cordial. It's a weakness of mine." She shrugged her shoulders lightly.

"As a matter of fact, I do have a question." Shay took the broom from Terence as she spoke. "You must work very hard to create a mess like this. What kind of work produces such a vast amount of wood shavings?"

True Justice

"Sarcasm seemed to be what I was best at. Being a shipwright is only what I do in my spare time." Terence said, moving toward a partially-carved ship wheel. He laid his hand on the wood and said, "This is what creates the mess. Most of the ornate carving gets done up here, where it won't get dented or chipped."

"What most of the men downstairs don't know is that this is what makes the real money. The body of the ship pays well enough, but it's in the beauty of the ship where the real treasure lies. Just so happens, I do most of the carving, which will give me the ability to pay you well."

True Justice

"I don't care if I have a right or not," Steel flashed as something slid from a wrist sheath into Jean's right hand. "You're not touching her."

Then there were two knives in Jean's two hands, glinting threateningly. He held them with the practiced ease of a natural knifeman, and he looked prepared to use them.

------

"I'm not inclined to put the knife down until I know who you are." Adrian's voice trembled. "What greater evidence could there be that Aeryn is a traitor than an Anglean hiding in her garden?"

True Justice

"Well, that makes sense. Sarcasm doesn't pay well, I've learned."

Shay walked over to the ship wheel and gently traced the carving with her finger. "I see." She gasped slightly. "It's beautiful." Then she snapped out of her reverie, straightened, and turned back to him. "If this is where I'll get my pay, I'm all for it." She smiled slightly. "Hopefully you won't be here when I'm working, but carve away."

She gripped the broom with both hands. "And so, I... shall sweep."

True Justice

"Oh, I'll be here, as I am every day, all day." Terence went toward the stairs. "But right now, I have to deal with Miss Elle." He chuckled. "If you think I'm rude, wait till you meet this troublemaker."

"Elle! Your presence is requested!" Terence shouted out the door, his hands cupped around his mouth. He turned and walked back to the wheel, stepping over the spot where she was sweeping. "You missed a spot there. And there. And over there, too."

~~~

Elle slid off the crate, releasing the white kitten she held in her hands. Terence Rowland was not a man who you wanted to keep waiting, so she stepped into action quickly. She was a lithe girl of 16 with reddish-brown hair and green eyes.

"Coming, Mr. Rowland..." Elle said, her voice low. She knew he wouldn't here her, but she said it anyway. It didn't take long for her to bound up the stairs and when she made it to the top, she snapped, "Why must you bother me?"

However, she froze in her strides as she saw Shay. She frowned, her eyes narrowing and she said, "Who is she?"

"This is Shay, Elle. Stop gawking and sit down." Terence said, not bothering to look up. "Shay will be here for awhile, so you better learn to be polite to her, or else."

Elle stared at Shay, her eyes still narrowed, but she sat down and said, "Why is she here?"

Terence inhaled. "She works for me now."

"I don't like it." Elle said, looking at Terence.

"I know you don't, but you'll have to deal with it. Say hello." Terence commanded, his voice firm, but not heightened in volume.

Elle lifted her chin and said, "Hello, Shay."