A nice girl.

He asked himself no questions.

Flora de Barral was not so much younger in years than himself; but for some reason, perhaps by contrast with the accepted idea of a captain's wife, he could not regard her otherwise but as an extremely youthful creature.
At the same time, apart from her exalted position, she exercised over him the supremacy a woman's earlier maturity gives her over a young man of her own age.

As a matter of fact we can see that, without ever having more than a half an hour's consecutive conversation together, and the distances duly preserved, these two were becoming friends--under the eye of the old man, I suppose.
How he first got in touch with his captain's wife Powell relates in this way.

It was long before his memorable conversation with the mate and shortly after getting clear of the channel.