“How doest thou think I look?” she asked coquettishly. “You’re absolutely beautiful,” Warren said. “Without question you’re the most gorgeous woman in Charles Town.” “I was worried me clothes would be ruined by the crawling in that hole last night,” Mary said. “But the fabric the French woman sold me appears to be of excellent quality.” Warren smiled. “It is you who make the clothes beautiful, Mary,” he said. “It is not the clothes that make you beautiful. I think you’ve dressed as a man too long to know how stunning you really are.” Mary looked at Warren for several seconds without saying a word. The boy – or was he a young man? – possessed a wisdom far beyond his age. He was polite and brave and considerate and . . . refined in a way none of the other pirates could hope to be. She felt a strong tenderness for the lad, and briefly wondered if . . . Warren interrupted Mary’s reverie.
