Love's Fiery Jewel (51 page)

"You're taking me home to have my child, Damien?"

Wincing inwardly at her use of the word `home,'
Damien responded softly, "You know I must captain this
next voyage of the Sally, Amethyst, and I couldn't leave
you here when you've been feeling so poorly. You're
more accustomed to the climate of Kingston, and will
probably fare far better there until the child is born.
We'll return to Philadelphia once danger of the storm
season is past." A small smile flitting across his lips,
Damien mumbled gruffly, "I don't intend risking the life of my son in a hurricane at sea."

Her eyes wide, almost disbelieving, Amethyst repeated
softly, "I'll see Tillie again, Damien?"

"I'm sure she'll be waiting in your house on John's
Lane Amethyst. The rent was paid a year in advance, and
she's certain to have remained there. She..."

Not waiting for him to conclude his statement,
Amethyst suddenly moved forward, reaching up to throw
her arms around his neck in a tight embrace as she
whispered huskily against his throat, "Thank you,
Damieo. Thank you. I've missed Tillie so... and longed
to have her with me when the baby comes."

Feeling the wetness of tears against the open neck of
his shirt, Damien moved Amethyst to wipe them
carefully from her face. "Then it's settled. We sail next
week. Now I suggest you go through those boxes carefully and determine if you will have everything necessary
after the child is born. If I remember, your wardrobe
was not particularly extensive, and I don't want the
mother of my child inadequately attired for the duration
of our stay."

Swallowing tightly, Amethyst merely bobbed her head
in acquiescence, her eyes brimming with happy tears.

The smile dropping from his face as he entered the
hallway, Damien could no longer ignore the voice
nagging insistently at the back of his brain. "Is she truly
so thrilled at the thought of seeing Tillie again, or is it the
expectation of seeing William Sheridan as well that has
put the light back in her eyes?" Whatever the case, he
had no choice. He was committed to sailing on the Sally
at the end of the month, and he could not bring himself to
leave Amethyst in Philadelphia. At any rate, it mattered
very little how great was Amethyst's anticipation of
seeing Sheridan again. His own hold on her grew stronger
every day, and once the child was born, she would be bound to him forever. No, he had nothing to fear...
nothing...

"Topmen lay aloft and loose topsails!" Damien's
commands barked through the speaking trumpet echoed
over the ship, sending the topmen scampering up the
shrouds and out onto the footropes hanging below
the topsail yards. The weather was perfect to begin the
voyage. A brilliant sun blazed from a clear blue sky,
the intensity of its heat cut by the stiff offshore
breeze. Deciding to go out to sea under jibs and topsails,
Damien was anxious to set sails, for with the wind at
their back, the Sally would make good time that day.

Eyes squinting against the bright morning sun,
Damien carefully scrutinized his men as they deftly
moved across the yards, using one hand to claw at the
lines holding the sails furled, while hanging on with the
other.

"Man the topsail sheets and halyards!" Damien's next
command sent the men on deck racing to the sheets
hanging from the corners of the sails to grasp the heavy
rope, while others grasped the halyards running from the
center of the yards through blocks to the deck below.
Eyes raised, they awaited the next command.

"Throw off the buntlines, ease the clewlines!"

Watching carefully as the men aloft slackened the
lines which kept the sails furled, Damien barked, "Sheet
home!" signaling the men manning the sheets to haul
down on them so that the corners of the sail would
touch the end of the yard below.

"Run away with the topsail halyards!" In practiced
precision the men manning halyards began walking aft,
lifting the topsail yards a short distance and making the
sails taut.

Thrilling to the bedlam of shouted orders and mumbled curses as the crew responded to their captain's
commands, the sound of canvas cracking in the wind and
the stamp of dozens of feet as they followed through the
breathtaking spectacle, Amethyst watched the sails fill
firm and free, her heart singing in her breast, "I'm going
home.. .I'm going home!"

Feeling cool and free for the first time in many
months, Amethyst stood at the rail, her eyes fixed on the
distant horizon. The ocean moved swiftly beneath the
ship and a warm breeze lifted the sparkling black curls
hanging loose down her back to stream out behind her as
the sun and wind caressed her fair skin gently. They had
been at sea for two weeks, during which Amethyst's
energy and appetite had returned and the child kicked
happily inside her. Slowly running her hand over the
surface of the now mountainous bulge, Amethyst said a
silent prayer that her child would be a girl, realizing her
only hope lay in the possibility that she would have a
daughter, for she knew with a deep certainty that she
must make a move to free herself after the child was born.
She could not allow herself to submit to her strange
possession any longer and sacrifice the welfare of her
child. No...she would not allow her child to grow up
under the influence of a man who practiced obeah...
used it recklessly to his advantage each time he was
firmly opposed. She could only hope that Damien would
be disappointed in a girl.. .would feel a daughter would
be better off with her mother when they were no longer
together.

Whatever Damien's plans now, she also could not
believe his infatuation with her would continue. A new
face among the many women who followed him with their
eyes was sure to capture his attention sooner or later,
when she was no longer new to him. She must not allow
herself to believe that he would remain constant, no matter the creeping reality of her own growing desire that
it could be so. No.. .she must keep in mind that he had
never truly said he loved her, even now, when his desire
for a son to bear his name caused him to nag relentlessly
at her that they be married. Perhaps he was as possessed
as she...as confused as she.. .but of one thing she
was certain. She must get away after the child was
born.. .she must...

Trembling with excitement, Amethyst watched the
matchless beauty of the island of Jamaica come into view.
A scene from another time flitted across her mind as
Kingston spread out before her eyes, the forests lush and
beautiful behind the teeming waterfront scene. The echo
of her mother's sweet voice sounded softly in her ears.

"We've arrived, Amethyst! No more frigid winters to
shiver through here. It is always bright and warm in
Jamaica, and our troupe will be welcome. We'll begin a
new and better life here, darling. I'll be well all the time,
and I'll be able to take good care of you. You'll see,
darling.. .you'll see."

With blind confidence she had stepped down onto the
dock that first time, walking slightly behind the group as
her mother dragged her along to keep up. She remembered glancing back to see the tall captain at the rail, her
hatred flaring for the ruthless man who had treated her
with contempt for her "stupidity." How supremely
grateful she had been to leave him behind, and turning,
she had left no doubt as to the manner of her final
farewell. Her mother and she no longer needed Captain
Straith and would never need his services again.

Swallowing the lump in her throat that the memory
evoked, Amethyst recounted sadly that Jamaica had not
brought the Greers the bright future they had imagined
when they first touched on the beautiful island. Patient
and optimistic to the end, her mama had not lost faith in
the good days to come for her only daughter. Her trembling hand moving subconsciously to the rise of her stomach, Amethyst thanked a merciful God that Marian
Greer could not see her daughter now.

Before noon Amethyst was stepping down onto the
docks of Kingston for the second time, her heart
hammering in her chest as she advanced toward the open
carriage Damien had waiting. Frowning at her obvious
anxiety, Damien helped her carefully inside, following
behind to sit beside her. Within moments they were
moving down familiar streets, finally turning onto John's
Lane where Amethyst's eyes became fixed on the house
midway down the street, not to budge from the
unimpressive structure until the carriage pulled up
before it. Oblivious to Damien's worried expression as
she had been to his light conversation in the carriage,
Amethyst accepted his hand to step down laboriously
onto the cobbled walk. Approaching the front door with a
trepidation she could not conceal, Amethyst walked
slowly up the two short steps, pausing a moment in front
of the door before jerking it open abruptly and stepping
inside.

Complete silence met her ears as black doe-shaped eyes
blinked in disbelief the moment before a familiar
woman's voice, rich in depth and husky with happiness
said softly, "Amethyst ...Tillie's child... Amethyst
be home..."

Her eyes moving absentmindedly around the house in
which she had lived for eight difficult but loving years,
Amethyst allowed old memories to roll over her, the
warmth of the heady experience stirring her deeply.
Damien had returned to his ship to attend to the business
of settling the Sally comfortably in port, relinquishing
her into Tillie's care. Despite the fact that the
preliminary peace treaty between Great Britain and her
former American colonies had been signed, he had not wanted to risk using his American registry in the British
port and had used instead the false papers that had served
him so well when he had last docked in Kingston.
Turning his glance to Tillie, he had been sure to
emphasize that he would return in time for supper, and
that he and Amethyst would use the same room they had
shared before leaving Kingston. Leaving the house
without any further word, Damien had left Amethyst the
task of clarifying his plans for residence until after the
baby's birth, although he had left no doubt in Tillie's
mind as to the status of their relationship or his
intentions to claim his child.

Staring thoughtfully at his strong, broad back as
Damien disappeared through the doorway, Tillie had said
quietly, "Him be strange man, Amethyst. You be fever in
him blood, and him gowan hold onto you until that fever
be gone. But that man not gowan give up him
child.. .no.. .never. You think on that, Amethyst
Greer, because him obeah be strong, too strong to fight
by yourself!"

"Please, Tillie..." Beginning to feel the tension again
building inside her, Amethyst had raised her hand to her
temple in a weary gesture. "I've been over and over this
in my mind without finding a solution. I don't want to
discuss it now... please..."

Conscious of Amethyst's anxiety, Tillie had nodded
her head in assent.

Appreciative of Tillie's consideration, Amethyst shot
her a small, grateful smile. She was too exhausted to
worry now. It was well into the afternoon and the time
since her arrival had been spent in deep conversation
with Tillie, during which she had related the details of the
previous eight months while they were separated. Tillie's
own halting narrative of the manner of her estrangement
from Raymond had brought Amethyst to tears, and a
creeping suspicion that a dark cloud hung over them all. Her mother, dead at a young age, her own life shattered
beyond repair, and now Tillie's meager chance at
happiness destroyed at the whim of a black concubine.
Even Damien, in his position of command, was tethered
to a situation with which he was not truly satisfied. Oh, it
would be so easy to submit to the temptation to marry
Damien... become his wife so she would no longer bear
the stigma of carrying an illegitimate child, but she did
not trust Damien's obsession for her. It was unnatural, as
was his omnipotent hold on her senses. Tillie's words
echoed loudly in her ears, reinforcing her own fears.
Once the child bore his name it would be too easy for
Damien to take it from her by legal means, and Amethyst
would not risk losing her child.

There was no solution, at least not one she could find
with her head aching wearily and her slender ankles
beginning to swell. Pulling herself forward in the soft,
upholstered chair, Amethyst drew herself slowly to her
feet. "I think I'll lie down for a little while, Tillie. I'm far
more exhausted than I realized."

Unable to suppress a smile, Tillie watched as Amethyst
raised her hand to the curve of her back, her head
stretching upward gracefully like a small, purring kitten.
Attired in a cool green gown Madame duMaurier had
designed especially for the period during which she
would be "enceinte, "Amethyst was lovelier than ever. A
floating ruffle of the magnificently light, almost
transparent material followed the deep, rounded curve of
the neckline, and trimmed the short tight sleeves ending
just above the elbow. The raised waist of the garment
cupped her generous breasts, the skirt falling softly over
her protruding stomach to end in another ruffle at the
hemline that touched her ankles. Small flowers delicately
embroidered in variegated shades of purple were
scattered sparingly within the folds of the skirt, matching
to perfection the amethyst clusters decorating each dainty earlobe and lying appealingly between the swells
of her breasts on a fine gold chain. Obvious to Tillie's
assessing glance was the fact that Captain Straith had
more than adequately provided for Amethyst's needs,
and judging from the chest of clothing accumulated for
the unborn child, intended to do well by his offspring.
Amethyst would do well to...