Love's Fiery Jewel (21 page)

Struggling to clear her throat of the terrible dryness
that stole her voice, she said hoarsely, "I have returned,
Damien. Your obeah is too strong for me to fight. You
have won..."

But he was slipping away from her, his broad tanned
face moving away in an ever-closing spiral of blackness
that removed all light from her vision.. .And then he
was gone.

Damien ascended the steps to the deck slowly. He had
had enough of figures and calculations for the day, and
the way he felt right now, he had had enough of them for
the rest of his life. He had always enjoyed the bookkeeping
aspect of his voyages before, but he seemed to get no pleasure at all from any part of this voyage. He came eye
level with the deck, his eyes becoming fixed on the three
men who stood motionless, staring toward the gangplank.
Hell! All he needed now was to have his crew get lazy on
him. This was the last straw! Stepping onto the deck,
Damien turned his eyes in the direction their glances
followed, his heart leaping in his chest as they touched on
Amethyst, the indescribable joy surging through him
turning abruptly to apprehension. Something was wrong.
She was swaying visibly, suddenly grasping for support at
a rope hanging lankly from the mast. Within moments he
was at her side, holding her in his arms, stunned at the
heat emanating from her small body. Her face was
flushed, her eyes glazed. She seemed to be having trouble
speaking.

"Amethyst, what's wrong?" He pulled her tight
against him as he strained to hear her barely audible
whisper.

"I have returned, Damien. Your obeah is too strong
for me to fight. You have won."

Gradually fighting her way back from the blackness
that had swelled over her, Amethyst struggled to open
her eyes. Her head was throbbing with a vicious ache, her
back so full of pain that she hardly dared move, but
William was so ill. She could not waste a moment's time.
Steadfastly battling the weight of her heavy eyelids, she
finally forced them open to gaze dully around her. The
surroundings were familiar. She was in her own room,
and Tillie was beside her bed, a worried expression
marring the beauty of her ageless features. She opened
her mouth to give the concerned mulatto a word of
comfort, but was startled to find her voice a hoarse croak
as she attempted to speak. She was still attempting to fmd
her voice when Tillie was moved firmly from her bedside
as a deep voice ordered, "Tillie, fmd out why the doctor is so long in coming. I sent one of my men for him almost an
hour ago. You are more familiar with these people.
Perhaps you will be able to locate him more quickly.
Hurry now!"

And then Tillie was out of her line of vision, taking
with her the wordless consolation of her presence. Alone
with the man whose broad frame crouched over her bed
as he gazed searchingly into her face, Amethyst
swallowed hard and again attempted to speak. Finally
managing a small whisper she began hesitantly.

"Captain... Damien... William is ill.. .he is
dying.. .you must allow him to get well... please..."

There was a moment's hesitation before Damien
responded in a strangely tight voice, "Don't excite
yourself, Amethyst. Just lie quietly. The doctor will be
here soon."

"But you don't understand," she continued, her voice
cracking again as she gripped his hand in a frantic
gesture. "There is no time to waste. You must rescind
your obeah now or it will be too late. William will die!"

"Amethyst," covering her clutching hand with his
own, Damien said quietly, "there is nothing I can do."

The sober tanned face above her blurred almost
unrecognizably as Amethyst fought to retain consciousness. Finally able to speak again, Amethyst begged softly,
"Please, Damien.. .you have nothing to gain by
allowing William to die. You have won. I give you my
word I will not run away again. It will be just as you
say...I will stay with you as long as you want me."
When still he did not respond, Amethyst continued
hoarsely, "Please, Damien, I beg you... please..."

Suddenly grabbing her shoulders, Damien gave her a
hard shake, his voice heavy with anger as he exploded
heatedly, "Are you so crazed with fear for William
Sheridan that you cannot hear the words I speak? I tell
you, Amethyst, I have no magic powers. I did not make William fall ill. I cannot cure him by simply waving my
hand!"

But she was not listening, her eyes slowly closing as
her voice trailed off weakly, "Please, Damien...
please..."

His face flushed with frustration and anger, Damien
stared helplessly at the small woman lying before him.
Reaching out, he touched her forehead, his stomach
tightening at the searing heat under his hand. Quickly
reaching to the basin beside the bed, he wrung out the
cloth carefully and applied the cool compress to her
forehead. The cloth warmed almost immediately, a
frightening indication of her escalating temperature and
frowning darkly, Damien removed it to repeat the same
procedure again and again to no avail. She grew no cooler
and began twisting and turning in bed, soft moans
escaping her lips as she drew her knees to her chest in
pain under the light coverlet.

A sudden sound from behind snapped Damien's head
around to see a small, slovenly man entering the room
beside Tillie. His unkempt gray hair was plastered wetly
to his head, his wrinkled face blotchy and unclean. He
reeked of liquor and observing the man's unsteady step
as he approached the bed, Damien rose immediately to
his feet and shot an angry glance to Barnes who had
followed the man to the doorway.

Anticipating his Captain's next remark, Jeremy Barnes
protested quickly in self-defense, "We had the devil's
own time finding him, Captain, and when we did, we had
to sober him up enough to walk." Lowering his voice, the
earnest sailor continued, "He may not be much, but he's
the only doctor available in Kingston right now. Dr.
Martens is out at the plantations where the fever has hit
the hardest."

Signaling his first mate into silence with a small wave
of his hand, Damien turned his attention back toward the bed, only to find himself being firmly ushered to the door
by a determined Tillie.

"Best you leave the room - now, Captain. Tillie keep
him eye on this man while him take care of Amethyst."

"I will not allow that old drunk to touch her with his
filthy hands," Damien protested stiffly, refusing to be
budged.

Her expression adamant, Tillie responded softly, "Him
all we got, Captain, and him we got to take now. Don't
worry, Tillie make him wash him hands."

Staring wordlessly into the woman's face for a few long
moments, Damien turned abruptly and left the room,
closing the door behind him. Dismissing Barnes to return
to the ship, Damien turned to stare at the closed door for
a few brief seconds before his pacing began.

Watching wordlessly as Amethyst twisted restlessly in
bed, Damien felt a strong sinking sensation in the pit of
his stomach. Her fever had been raging for three days and
her physical deterioration was obvious. Wretchedly thin,
her face was a pasty yellow color that did not speak well.
She had begun vomiting a deep black yesterday,
indicative of internal bleeding, and Damien's heart had
almost stopped at the sight. She was hallucinating more
and more frequently despite the brief moments of
lucidity during which she continued to plague him
relentlessly about William. Torn between a sickening
jealousy and a growing fear for her life, Damien was filled
with anxiety. Shaking his head helplessly, he was again
filled with anger. "She has no concern for her own
health. The only person she can think of is that pampered
lout on Sheridan Plantation who is probably receiving
the best of care!"

And Dr. Clarke seemed absolutely useless, hardly able
to maintain sobriety long enough to conduct a daily visit.

At a small familiar sound from the bed, Damien moved quickly to hold the bucket as Amethyst prepared to
retch again, his expression filled with anxiety.

Her frail body having completed its heaving spasms,
Amethyst fell back against the pillow in exhaustion.
Moving to sit on the side of the bed, Damien eyed her in
frustrated helplessness against the fever that was slowly
consuming her. Reaching to the basin beside the bed, he
took the cloth and commenced sponging her face gently,
running the refreshing coolness across her forehead,
cheeks and lips before continuing down the slender
column of her neck. It was night and Tillie had retired for
the first few hours of rest since Amethyst had returned.
He had not slept for three days. Remaining diligently by
Amethyst's bedside, he had left the Sally temporarily in
Jeremy Barnes's care. He dared not leave.. .he had
made that mistake once before and had lost her. Now that
she had returned, he could not risk the same thing
happening again.

Her fevered ramblings growing suddenly louder,
Amethyst's eyes abruptly snapped open, her hoarse voice
unexpectedly cutting the silence of the room.

"William.. .is he well? Tell me...you must,
Damien."

Catching the hand that sponged her face, Amethyst
directed her frenzied glance into his eyes to continue her
frantic appeal.

"Damien, please, William is so ill..."

The croaking whisper faded from Damien's ears as his
eyes perused Amethyst's fervent expression. He had
been denying any responsibility for Sheridan's illness for
three days to no avail. Amethyst's fevered mind still
refused to accept his adamant protests of innocence. She
was beyond reasoning. Having convinced herself he was
responsible for Sheridan's illness, she was also convinced
he was the only person who could save his life. Heartily
tired of hearing William's name on Amethyst's pale lips, Damien could bear her frenzied pleas no longer. Gently
prying her clutching hand from his, he held it gently in
his palm as he tilted her chin so she looked directly into
his eyes.

"Listen to me now, Amethyst, and remember what I
am saying. You may set your mind at rest. Because you
have returned to me, I will free William Sheridan from
my obeah. He will get well."

Blinking briefly as the import of his statement
penetrated her confused state, Amethyst stared expressionlessly into his eyes for a few brief moments before
relief moved slowly across her features. His jealousy
flaring unreasonably, Damien was unable to keep the
harshness from his voice as he continued, "But you must
also understand this, Amethyst. You must make every
effort to get well now. I will not be cheated in our bargain.
Is that understood?"

Appearing completely lucid, Amethyst swallowed
tightly, nodding as a weak whisper escaped her lips, "Yes,
I understand, Damien. It will be as you say."

So strong had been Amethyst's faith in his powers of
obeah that Damien had almost become convinced she
would immediately begin to improve once he had set her
mind at rest, but the following days during which
Amethyst grew steadily weaker soon destroyed his
optimism.

The sixth day of her illness found a frail, emaciated
Amethyst who lay in restless unconsciousness most of
the time, awakening only to retch violently at frequent
intervals. Almost beyond despair, Damien again assumed
the night watch, allowing Tillie a few hours reprieve from
her nursing chores.

Taking the delicate hand lying motionless on the
coverlet into his, Damien held it gently for a few wordless
minutes. So fragile was it between his work toughened palms that he almost feared he would crush it should he
clasp it any harder. His eyes moving to Amethyst's face,
he slowly perused her still features.

Even in her wasted, critical state of health, she was
beautiful. The black hair streaming across her pillow,
tended unfailingly by Tillie during her illness, still
retained a portion of its former beauty. Her small, perfect
features, refined to the point of fragility by her illness,
gave her an added air of vulnerability which drew him
more strongly still. Her eyes always large and expressive,
seemed to dominate her face in her few waking moments,
her full sweep of black lashes in repose appearing longer,
more luxurious. The clear skin drawn tightly over her
splendid facial structure emphasized the magnificent
planes of her face and the delicate line of her jaw; her lips
wan and lifeless, appeared too perfect to be real. Always
of small stature, her illness had stolen the softness from
her frame, leaving a fragile shell of her former self, dainty
and doll-like as she lay sleeping.

The violent stomach spasms had stopped early in the
evening, allowing her to lapse into a deep sleep. Slowly
lifting the small white hand to his lips, Damien kissed it
lightly, realizing as his lips touched her pale skin that it
was cooler to the touch. No sooner had that thought
crossed his tired mind then Amethyst began to stir, her
eyelids fluttering lightly before opening wide to look
clearly into his.

Her eyelids were heavy. The light from the small lamp
at bedside hurt her eyes with its dull glow as she struggled
to raise them. The room was momentarily blurred and
attempting to focus her gaze, Amethyst was startled to
find the small effort almost beyond her strength. Her
body ached desperately, with the main concentration of
pain in her stomach and throat. She must have been
ill... yes... Abruptly bringing the room into focus, Amethyst was startled to see Damien sitting at her
bedside, his hand holding hers as he gazed at it
speculatively. With sudden clarity their conversation of
a few days before returned to her mind. Damien had
finally agreed to release William... William would soon
recover... and in return she had promised herself.
Closing her eyes for the briefest second as the full
magnitude of her commitment washed over her, Amethyst took a deep breath. She dared not renege for she
was certain that to do so would mean William's life.