Somewhere Beyond the Lighthouse

"Now then," Peggy said. "All at once, hand on hip, breasts thrust out, smile and wave!" Gwendolyn joined in against her better judgment, giving into her morbid curiosity as to what would happen next.

She observed as Peggy, Josephine and Annie all went into a sort of hula-like dance, Annie and Peggy's heavy breasts swinging to and fro in their own rhythm as the rest of their bodies swayed gracefully. Seeing as she was already present and naked as the rest of them, Gwendolyn joined in, to the others' clear delight. "You're a natural!" Annie reassured her.

"Now what?" Gwendolyn asked, smiling through her confusion and doing her best not to think of what the men aboard the ship must have been thinking of her in that moment.

"Now we wait for male nature to take its course!" Peggy declared. "And believe me, it will."

Soon enough, it was clear that Peggy was right. As Gwendolyn did her best to keep up with the others and tacitly enjoyed the spectacle of Annie giving in to gravity and supporting her breasts with both hands, she was aware of the ship veering off the straight course it had been following towards Sauraquid. "You can't see without the telescope, and please don't go back there this time because you're doing such a lovely job of distracting them," Josephine explained to her, "But by now they'll all be ogling us and neglecting their stations. The captain is no doubt screaming at them all to get back to their posts, but what can he do against everyone else on the ship?"

"Besides, he probably can't take his eyes off us either," Annie added.

The ship was, by then, veering heavily to the port side -- toward Martin's Isle -- and then back on course again, and then back towards them. Gwendolyn was not at all surprised to realize the crew were fighting over whether to sail in to Martin's Isle or not.

"Don't be afraid," Peggy advised Gwendolyn. "Even if they do all make up their minds to sail here, they'll never make it.

"I know," Gwendolyn said. Every child of Sauraquid knew how treacherous the waters around it were with reefs and rocks and wrecks. Any diversion from the established course would put a boat in hazardous waters indeed. "Good lord, they'll run aground for sure, won't they?"

"That is the whole idea," Josephine reminded her.

Of course, that was just what happened. Gwendolyn heard an echo of the crack of wood on stone and, a fraction of a second later, saw the ship lurch heavily to one side. She wasn't sure if she actually heard the faint sounds of the sailors shouting in terror as the waves washed over the deck, or only imagined it. Little doubt, though, that it was indeed happening whether Gwendolyn could hear it or not.

As soon as it was clear that the ship was going to sink, Peggy took her leave and retreated into the woods. "Do we lock ourselves inside now?" Gwendolyn asked.

"No," Annie said. "She's going to create a diversion for the lifeboats." Gwendolyn looked up to see the mirrors in the trees rotating to the left. "The sailors are going to be furious at us all right, but they won't be able to hurt us if they can't find us. She's sending them off-course, sort of like a house of mirrors on the water. By the time they realize they're headed the wrong way, they'll be too tired and disoriented to find their way back here."

"Usually they end up clinging to Commaquid Rock," Josephine continued. "Chances are they'll only have to wait there for a few hours before another boat will be by to pick them up."

"And then what?"

"And then they'll be too embarrassed to admit they let their ship sink just to get a look at us naked, and there'll be some ridiculous story about a tidal wave or something. I guarantee you'll hear all about it tonight at the pub."

To her astonishment, Gwendolyn saw that it was true: the lifeboats were rushing off well to their west, towards where she knew Commaquid Rock was although it wouldn't be visible to the sailors for some time yet. Any need for their erotic dance having gone the way of the ship itself, now Gwendolyn stood rooted to the sand. "We've won, then, have we?"

"I'll say as we have," Peggy said, gathering up her dress and shaking the sand out of it. "They won't be poisoning Sauraquid with that filth now."

"And it looks as though they all escaped to safety," Annie said.

"What if they didn't?" Gwendolyn asked.

Peggy sighed and put an arm around Gwendolyn. This happened with every new arrival, she reminded herself, including her when she was new many moons ago. "Every man who goes to sea knows the risks, you know. Especially if he is familiar with our reputation."

Gwendolyn was still not convinced. But she had already fallen in love with Martin's Isle and the chance to save the good ships that came through and the camaraderie with Annie, Peggy and especially Josephine, not to mention the absolute freedom to prance around the beach in the nude. And so, after enjoying her own company in and around the waves for the rest of the morning, she announced at lunchtime that she intended to stay. This was met with joyous abandon and hugs and encouragement, but -- rather to her surprise -- no secret rituals of any sort. As Peggy explained to her, the only secret ritual was swimming to the island, and she had already accomplished that.

From that hour on, Gwendolyn kept her doubts to herself about her new lot in life. They never quite receded entirely, even as everything else changed. But everything else did indeed change, and that was enough for Gwendolyn to keep her questioning of it all to herself. That very afternoon and evening, when she swam back to Sauraquid for her shift at the pub, her hometown looked rather different than it had the day before when she hadn't known her own greatest secret. As the hazy summer day outside settled down to an oppressively warm evening, the stink of the fish outside and the rowdy men inside had her already pining for their quiet beach home from the moment she drew her first pint, and she cared not a whit for the fact that she would no more be skulking home through the streets of Sauraquid after work.

Naturally, the news about the slag ship was the talk of the pub -- "I recon it's them angels out by the lighthouse again!" "Angels?! They could've killed every man on that boat!" "And every man on that boat could've had a hand in turning this place dark and filthy as a mine if they hadn't done what they did!" -- and so Gwendolyn learned very quickly how to keep it all under her hat.

"Is it that hard to keep your mouth shut every time there's a wreck?" she asked Annie as they undressed together by the cellar door after their shift.

"I'm afraid it is," Annie said. "I content myself with the irony of it all: here they are, half of them calling me a murderess and the other half a heroine without even knowing it, and meanwhile they all still want to get under my skirt! I always believed men never really knew if they were coming or going, and now I know!"

That night offered no squalls and no objectionable cargo, and so Gwendolyn learned all about the many quiet nights she was in for on Martin's isle. Reading, painting, writing, chatting with the others over wine or tea, or simply enjoying the ebb and flow of the tides under the stars...her new life was to be quiet and subdued much of the time, but never boring. The miserable years on the mainland had taught her what a gift such mellow pursuits were, and hours at the pub often whetted her appetite for the peace and quiet of the isle as well.

For quite some time afterward, she enjoyed that life with no major incidents -- or at least none beyond averting a shipwreck here and causing one there, and often taking a strange man to her bed in the process. After a time, of course, any job is simply a job, and Gwendolyn's was no exception. The lack of seasons, for it was always summer on Martin's Isle, led to the weeks slipping effortlessly into months and then into a year and then two. The turning of the seasons back on Sauraquid reminded her what time of year it was back in the bad old world, and the frigid tides of winter no longer frightened her once she discovered it only needed to be endured for a few strokes away from the pub's kitchen door before she grew accustomed to it, a circumstance no one could explain any better than one might explain Martin's Isle itself. That emerged as one of many clues that Gwendolyn had always been exceptional, for now she recalled being known even as a little girl for her remarkable tolerance of cold water. If only she had known then what it had all meant! Such misery could have been averted...but she was grateful to have escaped it all eventually.

It was, however, a blazing summer's day at both ends of the journey when Gwendolyn faced the first and greatest trial of her new life.

That summer had been rife with squalls, including one the night before that had come so close to Martin's Isle that Gwendolyn had actually seen the driving rain as she had put herself on display on the beach for the ship full of medical supplies that was passing through. She had, by that time, overcome her shyness about that part of her job, and so she had felt no shame as she had stood there and smiled and waved at the ship. All she had felt was fear that the captain might spurn her beautiful show in favour of staying on course, and end up dashed on the rocks somewhere between there and Sauraquid.

He had not, though, and as the sun appeared over the far side of the isle the next morning, he lay safe and sound in Gwendolyn's bed. As she stood, still happily nude, at the window and admired the new glow of the western sky for the umpteenth time, he sat up and called gently to her. "Turn around, lass."

"Whatever for?" she teased. But she did indulge him and, as she had learned to do, exulted in his drinking in of her body on display before him.

"Could be some time before I get a chance to view anything so lovely again, that's what for. To think the tale of Martin's Isle is true! I'd never have imagined it."

"Is that why you were willing to risk sailing to Sauraquid in this horrid weather?"

By now Gwendolyn had heard the explanation many a time, and of course she heard it again that morning. "But of course," he said. "Every sailor knows with such noble cargo as we have aboard today, the ladies of Martin's Isle won't let us be shipwrecked. Indeed," he confessed, "The selfish bastard in me almost hoped for a squall."

"Only almost?" Gwendolyn feigned offense, a ruse she had discovered usually went over well with the men she bedded. "You mean this hungry pussy wasn't enticing enough to risk all your men's life for?!" she quipped, fingering her bush enticingly.

He laughed. "I now know it was. Come give us a final cuddle, will you?"

"I might well insist on that!" Gwendolyn replied, and she leapt back on top of him, hugging his sea-hardened body tightly for a final lovely moment. He'd been better than most of the others -- caressing her breasts rather than grabbing them, only fingering her when he'd gotten her aroused and ready -- and good behaviour deserved to be rewarded, after all.

"Will I see you again, lass?"

"You ought to hope not! You know there is no guarantee we can save every ship that comes through in bad weather."

"I meant in Sauraquid," he said. "I know you work the pub there, you and your comrades. I'd recognize those smiles and breasts anywhere."

"Hush!" Gwendolyn admonished. "Lots of sailors know, but that must never be discussed ashore!"

"I know, I know," he reassured her. "But if someday you are on Sauraquid and up for a pleasant afternoon away from work?"

"I cannot promise," said Gwendolyn, who had of course received many such invitations by then. "But do feel free to look me up at the pub, provided you can mind your tongue around the other men there as to how we met."

"I understand, of course," the captain said. "You probably already know, it's a bit of an open secret there. Everyone knows you and the others are real, but no one wants to confess that he owes his life to a girl or that he nearly sacrificed himself and his crew just to gaze at one."

"Of course we know," Gwendolyn acknowledged. "We hear the talk of it all the time at the pub, after all." She stood up and offered him a final embrace. "Now, I'm afraid I must insist that you get dressed. The skies are clear for passage to Sauraquid, and with the luck we've been having this summer, that probably won't last."

"Right you are," he admitted, standing up and accepting the hug. "I do hope you and the others will see us off," he added as he pulled his trousers on.

"We will," Gwendolyn said. Like most of the men who had made that request, he hid his disappointment as he watched Gwendolyn go to her closet and pull out a dress to wear for the departure. Some rules could never be bent: how on earth would he ever persuade his men to cast off if she and the other ladies were naked on the shore?

Gwendolyn had gained a bit of a reputation among the others for letting her charges in a bit too much sometimes, and although she did her best to hide it in this case, Annie and Josephine recognized the look on her face as she bid the ship adieu. "Not again!" Annie teased. "One day you're going to give your heart away and get in real trouble, you know!"

"Not this time, though," Gwendolyn protested.

"Could've fooled me," Josephine said. "But I'm jealous all the same. My guy could scarcely get it up last night. Something about too much rum before the storm hit."

"That's what they all say," Gwendolyn said; she had heard that line her share of times as well.

"Seriously, though, Gwendolyn, you've got to watch yourself," Annie warned. "We've all learned that the hard way, and I've been hoping you wouldn't need to."

Gwendolyn put up with the ensuing hectoring from Annie and Peggy alike, which lasted through lunch, for she knew there was no escaping it. She could never, though, have known how prophetic it would prove to be just a couple of hours later.

She was sunning herself just above the waterline when Annie, who had lookout duty that afternoon, appeared frantic at her side. "There's another storm coming up!" she said. "Probably even bigger than the one yesterday!"

"Surely no sailor is foolish enough to leave the harbour after last night, though?" Gwendolyn knew it was wishful thinking, but she hated so to be torn away from her seaside reverie with the memory of last night's pleasures still so fresh in her mind.

"I've already spotted one ship sailing in," Annie said. "A whaler."

"A whaler!" Gwendolyn played her one last card. "We don't want those to have safe passage anyway!"

"Such was my own thought," Annie said. "But I've asked Peggy to take a look at it, through the telescope, and she didn't recognize the captain. For all we know, he could be a genius of a sailor who's been through far worse and could get that evil boat through. I mean, he probably is if he's made it this far! We've got our work cut out for us here, Gwendolyn. We need you."

Gwendolyn once again reminded herself that paradise carried a price like everything else, and she got to her feet. "You're right, of course. Let's go."

No whalers had even attempted passage into Sauraquid since long before Gwendolyn's time, so she had never seen one in person. Upon her arrival at the lookout, she couldn't tamp down her morbid curiosity, and took a look through the telescope, which was already focused on the ship. She saw two fairly young men, who appeared to be arguing intensely. Neither looked old enough to be a captain, but one of them seemed familiar to her. All at once, her heart nearly exploded as she realized just why that was.

"Oh dear..." she drew back from the telescope in horror.

"Yes, they truly are evil," Josephine said. "Those poor whales, how they suffer, and what did they ever do to us?"

"No, not that!" Gwendolyn said. "I mean, I agree with you, but..."

"But what, dear?" Peggy asked.

Recalling that morning's conversation, Gwendolyn panicked internally and opted to keep her awful discovery to herself. "Nothing, sorry. I just hate whalers so very much."

"I say we let this batch drown," Annie said.

"Annie, they're human beings, whether they act like it or not!" Gwendolyn barely managed to control her temper.

"Let them set an example to other human beings, then!" Annie retorted.

"That's enough, girls!" Peggy snapped. "We've got a job to do, and the rest is up to them! You know that. If their captain has any sense, he'll know how to make sure they all live to get out of Sauraquid and stay out!"

"Their captain doesn't look old enough to shave, if you ask me," Josephine says. "Whichever of those two it is."

"That is their problem, not ours," Annie declared. "Places, ladies."

The captain of the whaler, a man named Shapp who was on only his third voyage in the captain's chair, was in fact old enough to shave, though he hadn't done so in some days. At that very moment, he was engaged in a heated argument with the other, slightly younger man Gwendolyn had spotted. "We've been dealing with this sort of thing all summer, and we can be in Sauraquid within the hour!" he insisted. "Where are we going to turn back to anyway?"

"Anywhere but here!" argued the other man. "I'm telling you, there's no way on earth we'll get through that storm in one piece! Haven't you ever heard of what happens to whalers when they try to sail to Sauraquid?"

"Martin's Isle," Shapp spat out the words like they tasted bad. "I suppose you believe in Santa Claus, too! It's a myth! A fable! There's a first time for everything, and I hadn't planned on it, but now I'll be the first whaler to make it through. This'll make my fortune, and yours if you can learn to keep your mouth shut for an hour!"

"You fool..."

"Any more of that and I'll have you taken below!" Shapp roared. "Then if we do sink, the other men will escape and you won't. Is that what you want?"

Seeing no other option, the younger man nodded slightly and turned to survey the gathering storm outside the wheelhouse. The waves were higher than he had seen all summer, and a light but growing rain was already pelting the boat on every side as the wind seemed to come from all directions at once. If he had any hope to survive the storm...no, even that was a silly wish. He'd been gone too long and had grown too much in his absence, and he couldn't be sure the ladies had even known of him before. He, after all, hadn't had a clue who they were. If only he could at least spot Commaquid Rock, there'd be a fighting chance to get there and hang on...but he could barely see their own bow in the heavy mist.

"Visibility near zero!" called a well-intentioned mate.

"No kidding," Shapp replied. "Stay the course, Sauraquid is dead ahead, whether you can see it or not." But even as he said it, he sensed a sharp turn to port. "What the devil?" He looked over his shoulder at the helmsman. "I said stay the course!"

"But look, sir!" said the helmsman. "Port, ten o'clock!"

Shapp turned to see a ray of sunlight breaking through the clouds and a serene harbour just beyond. "What on earth..." He turned to his mate, who knew exactly what the vision was -- and wasn't -- but he didn't look back. He was gazing at it himself, lost in prayer and pondering his next move and his chances of success.

It was at that moment that Shapp was aware of a chorus of whoops of joy and lust out on the sodden deck, even as the squall was clearly very nearly upon them. He rushed to the window and looked down to see them pointing and cheering. "What can they be so giddy about out there in the storm at a time like this?!" he demanded of his mate.

"I have no idea," the younger man lied.

"I'll have their heads for this if they don't get back to their stations!" Shapp grunted. He nearly tore the wheelhouse door off its hinges as he rushed outside to harangue the crew.