It came before long， and the footsteps receded， eclaomg<br >down the long corridor. Quickly she retrieved the clothes<br >she d hidden under the bed and slipped from the smooth<br >satin garments Aunt Nesseilda had purchased for her into<br >the breeches and shirt that stil.kheld the smell of the sea<br >about them. Next she tucked her long black hair beneath<br >the sailor s hat and eyed herself in the glass.<br > Yes， the large shirt did hide her ftrm young breasts. Her<br > amber eyes brightened， and her delicate lips turned up in a<br > smiie. She might well pass for a boy， she thought， and felt<br > a sense of freedom so real and exquisite that she already<br > could have been home at Tantallon on Scotland s rocky<br > coast. All she need do is escape Aunt Nesseilda and cousin<br > Edwin and head for the London docks. <br ><br ><br >