Passing as Elias Read Free

me!”
    George Greenwood stood before Elizabeth, wide shouldered, tall, and handsome. Many of the women who had encountered Captain Greenwood said he was the handsomest man they had known.  Elizabeth did not care for his beauty.
    George Greenwood stood straight backed, with his hands behind him. He gave her a small bow, “I do apologize, Miss Searson,” he smiled, showing perfect rows of glinting white teeth. Elizabeth seemed to be the only lady within a hundred miles who did not have to steady herself on the furniture when looking at him.
    Elizabeth smiled politely, and brushed the front of her dress, which was quite damp. She showed George Greenwood into the apothecary, where he removed his tricorn hat. His chocolate hair flopped onto his forehead and covered his dark eyebrows.
    “How have you been, Captain?” Elizabeth said as she stepped behind the counter.
    “As well as any man on a diet of salt meat, hard biscuit and sauerkraut,” he said with a sigh.  “I arrived back on shore only yesterday.”
    “Well you did not wait very long before coming to visit the apothecary,”  Elizabeth smiled.
    “Ah, how could I stay away?” He gave a charming smile, “No one makes better supplements than you, Miss Searson.”
    “You are too kind, Captain. Did you find the vitamins helpful these past months?”
    Captain Greenwood was the only client who preferred to get his remedies from Elizabeth, rather than Professor De Bard.
    “Extremely,” George admitted, “Not a single case of scurvy reported. Though it doesn’t make the food taste any better.”
    “Do you not love being in the navy?” Elizabeth wondered aloud.
    George Greenwood leaned on the counter, and Elizabeth smelled the sea upon him. It was not unpleasant, she thought mildly.
    “I love what I do,” he admitted, “though I do miss the company of a woman.”  He looked at her with this remark.
    Elizabeth scoffed, “Surely, Captain, a man such as yourself would have no trouble courting a lady.”
    “My job does not permit me the time to find a lady, Miss Searson. Nor would I be able to give her the time she deserves.”
    The look in George Greenwood’s eyes was all too familiar. Elizabeth knew he had been at sea for months, and was clearly seeking the company of a woman. He had come to the wrong place looking for that.
    “I suspect you would have your pickings at the brewery up the way, Captain,” she said loftily. “Many lovely ladies up there, I imagine.”
    “Aye,” Captain Greenwood nodded fairly and straightened up, “Perhaps I shall go for a pint when the day is through. Might I interest you in joining me, Miss Searson? The Upper Baggot Inn serves most excellent refreshments.”
    Elizabeth frowned, “You know me Captain. All work, and no play. Besides, I find the Upper Baggot Inn a tad too rowdy for my likings. It is bad enough walking past it on my way home of an evening,” she said as she shuddered a little. The jeering and catcalls happened much too often when she passed that pub.
    “Perhaps another time then,” he raised a hand in defeat.
    “Mayhap,” Elizabeth shrugged, nonchalant.
    Clearing his throat in a rather annoyed fashion, George Greenwood pressed on with more urgent matters. Whipping a sheaf of parchment from his coat, he read aloud the vitamins, and supplements he required. Elizabeth gathered the items one by one from various shelves, and placed them on the counter. Captain Greenwood often made large orders every six months or so. Once he had paid his gold, and bade her farewell in a much colder fashion than he had greeted her, Professor de Bard emerged from the laboratory.
    “Utterly clueless,” he sighed at her, sitting himself down on a stool.
    “Excuse me?” Elizabeth frowned as she took stock of the latest sale on her running total. She looked up from her parchment and was annoyed to see Professor de Bard smiling at her knowingly.
    “My dear, have you not noticed that every time Mister George Greenwood returns