Miss Whittier Makes a List (28 page)

“
It certainly is mine,
”
Adam said fervently.

Hannah looked back at the captain, but he had sunk out of sight, obscured by the French troops surrounding him. She wiped her eyes on her sleeve and clutched at the colonel, who was perspiring even more freely.
“
Oh, sir, we should go to
London
, I think! We have such a claim to lay before the Lords of the Admiralty.
”

The colonel leaned forward, smelling of sweat and salt pork, and took her chin in his fat fingers.
“
Ma ch
è
re,
did that beast lay a hand on you?
”

You
’
re the only beast, she wanted to say, as he pulled her closer. She could hear the soldiers screaming behind her. They will kill him if I carry this charade further, she thought. She shook her head, and threw herself into the colonel
’
s arms.
“
No, no, but this has been a dreadful experience! I am so grateful to be safe in your protection!
”

Her
heart
breaking as the soldiers continued to beat Captain Spark, she forced herself to look up into the colonel
’
s sweating face and give him a teary smile. He clutched her to his ample chest, then drew her back and kissed her soundly on both cheeks.
“
Ma petite ch
è
re
,
consider yourself and your brother under the protection of Napoleon himself!
”

She sighed with gratitude and kept herself by force of will within the damp circle of his
arms
.
‘
Thank you, sir. Now, sir, if you please, even if they come from a hated race, these wounded men do need to be tended.
”

“
As you wish, my dear. Anything else?
”
The colonel dabbed at his face with a grimy handkerchief.

“
I think your soldiers should lay off the captain now,
”
she said, trying to keep the desperation from her voice.
“
I mean, wouldn
’
t Napoleon be chagrined with you if he missed the privilege of guillotining such a beast?
”

The colonel looked up from his contemplation of her face and motioned to his soldiers.
“
Ah, yes, of course.
”
He barked his orders in rapid-fire French and the soldiers stopped. He said something else, and they dragged the captain, unconscious now and bleeding from his mouth and nose, onto a ca
rt
where he was thrown with his sailors and trundled toward the fortress.

The colonel released her finally from his sweaty embrace, and offered her his
ar
m
.
“
Come,
ma
ch
è
re,
and you, sir,
”
he added, bowing to Adam.
“
Let us offer you the comforts of the French nation. This is a godforsaken Portuguese hole, but we do our best. They make an excellent blood pudding here, and the
Madeira
is superior.
”nt>

She nodded, her face pale as she strolled arm in arm with the colonel to the fortress, following the bloody trail left by Captain Sir Daniel Spark and the men of the
Dissuade.
The sun seemed so hot,
and she began to perspire as the ground rose and fell as though she were still on the
Dissuade.
Her knees buckled and she fainted for the first time in her life.

Wh
en she woke, there was a cool breeze playing over her body. Hannah looked into the eyes of a black child swinging a fan on a pole as tall as she was. When the child saw that her eyes were open, she dro
p
p
e
d the fan with a clatter and ran from the room.

Hannah raised herself up on one elbow and looked around. The high-ceilinged room was large and airy, with delicate lace curtains attempting to soften the medieval stone of the fortress at
Terceira
. She sat up and stretched, looking down at the simple chemise she wore.
“
It appears thee has come up in the world, Hannah
Whittier
,
”
she said out loud as she went to the window.

It opened onto a balcony, and
Terceira
spread below her. The protected h
ar
bor w
as busy with ships of all sizes,
and the air hung heavy with sea birds competing for chum from the fishing boats. The water was the deepest blue imaginable and there were palm trees lining the shore. She sniffed the air. Honeysuckle. It had to be.

“
Mademoiselle, you are better?
’

She turned around to see a woman in the doorway.
“
Why, yes, much better,
”
she said.
“
Thank you for your kindness.
”

The lady came forward, extending her hand.
“
I am Madame Aillet, wife of Colonel Aillet, who rescued you from those beastly English.
”

“
Then I am doubly grateful to make your acquaintance,
”
Hannah murmured as her brain screamed at her to ask about the beastly English.
“
I
do trust, however, that the wounded among the English have been cared for.
”

“
Mais oui="+0">
/span>
!”
Madame Aillet exclaimed.
“
We
are not the barbarians here.
”
She returned to the hall, and then motioned in a servant, who ca
rried a bath,
and was followed by a line of slaves with buckets.
“
You will like to bathe now? I have laid out a dress for you. It belonged to my daughter when she was much younger, so forgive us if it is out of mode.
”

“
My other clothes?
”

Madame Aillet made a face.
“
We will bu
rn
them, if you say so.
”

“
Oh, no!
”
Hannah declared, and then added hastily, as she noted the woman
’
s startled expression.
“
I mean, shouldn
’
t one keep a souvenir?
”

“
I suppose, if you choose ...
.
”
said Madame, and then left the room, shaking her head, and muttering.
“
Americans are strange.
”

When the bath was full, Hannah shooed the servants away, assuring them that she was perfectly capable of washing herself. She scrubbed herself with Madame
’
s lavender soap, relishing the chance to bathe in something besides seawater. Her skin was a source of some dismay, brown as it was, and with freckles popping out on her bare shoulders.

It felt good to get into a dress again, to stand in front of a full-length mirror for the first time in her life, and admire the way the simple muslin of palest blue fit so we
ll
across her breasts and hung in graceful folds to the fl
oor
. The face that smiled back at her truly did have eyes with a twinkle in them, as Abigail Winslow had assured her so many months ago.
“
I suppose I am a rascal,
”
she said to her image.
“
I know I should not get such pleasure from what the mirror tells me. Mama would call it vanity of the grossest so
rt
.
”

She turned away then to open the door upon Madame Aillet
’
s personal maid, who spoke no English, but who entered with a handful of brushes and combs and a seriously determined expression on her African face. Hannah submitted with pleasure to having her hair
arranged
in curls high on her head.

Madame Aillet returned to survey her maid
’
s handiwork and pronounce it fit. She clapped her hands in delight.
“
My dear mademoiselle, you must find a husband to give you diamonds for your hair! Surely there are such men in
America
!
”

Hannah thought of her earnest Quaker gentlemen acquaintances and chuckled. I wonder if Hosea
’
s sailmaker suitor for me would deck me in diamonds, she thought, and immediately discarded the idea a
s moonshine. Daniel Spark would,
however, she thought, and tumbled out that impish i
dea,
too.

She turned to Madame Aillet.
“
Could I possibly be allowed to see the surgeon and the wounded?
”

“
I cannot imagine that you would wish to,
”
Madame protested, her
hands fluttering in agitation.

“
Oh, but I helped tend them,
”
Hannah said,
“
and I am concerned.
”
Her chin went up.
“
It is an American thing to do.
”

Madame thought a moment and then shrugged.
“
I cannot imagine what h
ar
m this would be. Come with me.
”

The wounded lay on pallets in a
narrow
, high-ceilinged room deep within the fortress. Andrew looked up as she entered.

“
You are a welcome sight, Miss Whittier,
”
he said and nodded to Madame Aillet, who refused to enter.
“
I will send her out soon,
Madame,
but I do appreciate your al
low
ing her here.
”