Duet Interrupted (1) by Chari Wessel
The violin worried at the Haydn menuetto like an old dog with a bone until finally Stephen took pity on the music, ceased his bowing and set aside his 'cello. "I'm sorry, brother," he said, stretching out his leg and kneading his meagre calf. "I fear I have a cramp." It was a fiction, and a thin one; but it served. It required a man of far less acuity than Stephen Maturin to see that Jack Aubrey's mind was not on his music.
The Doctor Steps Out (2) by Keith Peterson
The faintest metallic snick was produced when the dagger accidentally touched the plastered brick wall. M. Dutourd gave a look of icy annoyance, and the man he hired in the squalid portside brothel, standing next to him at the top of the dark stair, held his breath, brought the hand holding the blade to his leg. He studied the man in the room beyond the door they were to kill.
My Cool Southern Sea (3) by Gary W. Sims
Jacob is my sister's boy. Fair like her and cheerful. He came to learn the sea with me. My cool southern sea. With tales of Camperdown and heroes bold, we sailed to join Van Daendels. Jacob talked of warm Spice Islands, lolling in the sun; but he loved our cruise as well, our predatory voyage, driving the English from my cool southern sea.
Other entries
The Admiral's Challenge by John Kaluta
After the Battles by Sarah Cousins
The Capture of the Cacafuego by Adam Quinan
Early Voices by Gary W. Sims
Friendship is a Lifelong Sentence by Adam Quinan
Low Beasts and Tall Timbres by Gary W. Sims
Pearl of the Orient by Rose Gan
The Right of the Matter by Bruce Trinque
The Swallowed Anker, Wapping by Martin Watts
The Tiger Hunt by Karen H. von Bargen
The Post Captain's HMS Surprise and His Reverse of the Medal Wine Dark Surgeon's Mate by Andrew Williams
Warm Northern Night by Gary W. Sims