Cold All the Way Through, But Warming

A Storm

Will glanced at his wife over his cards, watching as she considered them before sliding them together into a stack and setting them face down on the table. Her face was perfectly composed, a slight smile on her face as she tossed a couple of chips in. "I'll call."

"Yer bluffin'." Samuel didn't even look up from his cards.

"I am not."

"Yer face is too calm, ye can't lie with a calm face. Yer givin' yerself away."

Ana pursed her lips. "Well, how exactly am I supposed to lie?"

"Look at Will," Samuel gestured towards him, and Will couldn't help a bit of pride. It had taken a long time for him to learn to bluff well, most of which included Lights constantly pestering him or trying to get at his cards to see what he had. So Will kept an easy smile on his face, eyes darting to Ana's for a moment. Her's narrowed, and she snorted. Samuel rapped on the table, "Show yer cards, I told ye that ye'd be out if ye couldn't bluff."

Ana flipped over a two and an eight, matching two of the cards on the table. "Honestly, I don't see why it matters. Ladies aren't even supposed to play cards you know, aside from bridge and whist."

"My daughter-in-law will." Samuel grumbled, shuffling the cards again. "Will, do ye have any comment on yer wife's card playing?"

He looked over at her, seeing that little furrow between her brows as she watched the cards fly back and forth in his hands. He chuckled, reaching over and brushing his fingers over her hand. "I think she's come along just fine for two days of study, although if you keep her at the card table for the entire voyage the other passengers may begin to talk. We wouldn't want them to think Ana's going to gamble away the money they paid her to get onboard."

"She hardly bets at all, son." Samuel flicked the small pile of chips in front of him, "Ye've got to get her to be a bit more confident."

"I am plenty confident!" Ana smacked her hands on the table, standing. "Just because I can't lie about cards does not mean I'm not confident!"

Will reached over, tugging on her hand. "I know love, although perhaps cards should be done for today?"

"I suppose," Samuel sighed, sliding the cards back into their pack. "I would nae mind a trip to the bridge." Will shared a look with Ana at that, and the two of them chuckled. If there was one place that Samuel could be found onboard, it was the bridge. Captain Rogers had been quite happy to have a second hand to help him, and he had encouraged his officers to pester Samuel with any questions they had about his experience.

Will held Ana close as they stepped out onto the boat deck, a fresh wind was blowing and he was glad for his greatcoat. He pursed his lips, looking at the sky. "Looks like we may a have a storm blowing in."

Samuel paused, following his gaze to a line of clouds. "Aye, they are lookin' rather dark."

"We'll need to check the barometer." Will muttered, earning a glance from Ana. When they reached the bridge he drew her over to the chartroom, briefly explaining how they could tell if a storm was coming in by the level of the mercury. He even showed her the log where they kept measurements, "You can see, it fell each hour since the morning. We should expect a blow."

"A storm, really Will?" Ana's voice quavered slightly, "Will it be a bad one?"

"I'm not sure," He replied, twisting his fingers around her hand when she slipped it into his palm. "I'm sure we'll come through fine though, we're not on a small ship."

"The Star isn't small either." She muttered, but shook her head. "Is there anyway to prepare for it?"

"Aye," Captain Rogers called from the bridge. "You can start by telling all the passengers to get their portholes closed. This is gonna be a bad one, I can feel it in my bones."