Miss Whittier Makes a List (34 page)

There were doctors here and there, kneeling beside the patients. She thought of Andrew
Lea
se, swallowed a huge lump in her throat, and went from surgeon to surgeon until she found an English physician. His eyes red from lack of sleep, the surgeon pointed to a side door and turned back to his patient.

There were more pallets in the lady chapel off the main sanctuary. She gasped with relief when she saw a redcoated Marine sitting on the floor by a pallet closest to the altar. He looked up at her approach and grinned, and she recognized him from the
Diss
uade
.

“
Well,
as I barely live and faintly breathe, it
’
s Lady Amber,
”
came a voice from the pallet.
“
Corporal, go find someone else to watch for a while,
will
you?
”

With another grin and a tip of the hat, the Marine left the chapel as she ran forward and flung herself across the ma
n
who lay on the pallet.

“
Ow! Gently, my dear,
”
Captain Spark said.
“
My ribs are still sore and look out for my
ar
m. But before you get discouraged, let me add that my lips are fine, however.
”

She sat up,
put her hands gently on each side of his face and kissed him. His good
ar
m went around her and he pulled her back down to the pallet, kissing her with a fervor that belied his convalescing condition. One kiss was not enough;
two s
c
arc
ely
se
rved
to
slake her own thirst for him. Thee is an idiot, Hannah Whittier, she told herself as she ran her tongue inside his eager mouth and wished the world somewhere else.

Spark finally stopped for breath. She sat up then as he sighed and grasped her hand.
“
My dear Hannah, I hope the next words out of your mouth are
‘
I love you,
’
or I will think you an unconscionable tease.
”

“
I love you,
”
she said.
“
And I
’
ve never kissed anyone like that.
”

“
I am profoundly grateful,
”
he said.
“
I would have to call him out.
”

“
Come to think of it, Captain Sir Daniel, I
’
ve never kissed anyone but you,
”
she said.

“
Better and better,
”
he said, pulling her closer again.
“
Let
’
s keep this Yankee abandon our little secret, all right?
”

She nodded and rested her head carefully on his chest.
“
The American consulate wouldn
’
t let me come to see you, but I did anyway. Mr. Futtrell showed me the way.
”

“
That boy continues to rise in my estimation,
”
he murmured, his hand in her hair.
“
I see a brilliant future for him in the Royal Navy. And a future for you in my Dorsetshire manor.
”

The moment the words were out of his mouth, she wished he had not said them. It was as though they were a cold dousing of seawater from the wash pump, a brutal reminder of her situation. As she lay in his
ar
ms in the chapel in
Lisbon
, she thought of her home, and a wave of agony washed over her.
“
Oh, Daniel, I don
’
t know,
”
she whispered.

“
Trust me. I do know,
”
he replied. When she said nothing, he sat up.
“
You have the dispatch?
”

“
Not with me,
”
she replied
,
sitting up more decorously and moving away slightly, wondering at the power of words to make her feel so dispirited suddenly.
“
This expedition was decidedly spur of the moment. I can get it to you tomorrow, now that I know where you are.
”

“
Good. I probably will be here a few more days, at the very least.
”

She sat closer again and t
old him of the consul
’
s determination to ship her and Adam to
Holland
tomorrow.
“
I do not s
e
e how we can avoid it.
”

“
Avoid it any way you can,
”
Spark replied firmly.
“
Didn
’
t I once promise you almond cake and fresh water in my home?
”

So thee did, she thought as she left the hospital in the careful company of the Marine. We have t
alked about a great many things,
and I have kissed thee too much for my own peace of m
in
d. I do not know what I was thinking, but does anyone think enough, under those swe
et circumstances? She doubted it.

“
I th
in
k we
’
ll have to walk, ma
’
am,
”
the Marine said,
intruding on her thoughts.
“
Seems like every spare conveyance is already taking someone to or from the
ea
rthworks.
”

“
A bit disorderly,
”
the Marine commented, looking about him with some distaste. He kept his hand at her elbow and hurried her along through a crowd of drunken Light Bobs.
“
Give me the open sea an
y day, where the decks are well scrubbed
and the canvas tight.
”

Hannah nodded. She looked up at her protector.
“
Thank you for your help. I can put that dispatch in your hands as soon as we get to the consulate.
”

“
And I will take it right back to the captain,
”
he replied. He hesitated a moment, whether to confide something, and then continued.
“
He called for you last night. I think he had a touch of fever.
”

And I wasn
’
t there, she thought. Nor will I be there if he should call again.
“
I will trust you to see that he gets the care he needs,
”
she told the Marine, her eyes on the long driveway up to the consulate.
“
I do not think he and I wi
ll meet again. I am b
ound for
Holland
.
”

The Marine frowned down at her.
“
I call that a bl ... blinking shame, ma
’
am, if you’ll
pardon me. He really is a good man. I wouldn
’
t have served with him through three cruises, if I didn
’
t know that.
”

They climbed the
hill
in silence as the sun set over the
harbor, turning the water into a silver sheet. So many ships rode at anchor, so many troops streamed ashore to continue the fight against Napoleon. She thought of her own peaceful home on
Nantucket
, where each day was pretty much like the one before it. Her life could take its own quiet course there, with no more of the rude shocks she had experienced during this summer
’
s advent
ur
e.

The consul
’
s house was brightly lit and the door wide open, discounting any hopes Hannah may have harbored about sneaking back inside. As she walked wearily up the front steps, her Marine in tow
, the consul storm
ed out the open door.

“
Where have you
been
?
”
he thundered after a look at the Marine behind her.

“
You would not let me go to the hospital, but I went anyway,
”
she said, raising her chin up to look him squarely in the eyes.

Before she could protest, the consul grabbed her and pulled her inside, sl
amm
ing the door after him. The Marine knocked on the door and then pounded upon it, but the consul ignored his efforts.
“
Go away!
”
he roared at last, not relinquishing his hold on Hannah.

He
let her go when the knocking st
opped and shook his finger in her face.
“
You will go right to your room and remain there, Miss Whittier! Don
’
t you know there is a war on out there?
”