The Stolen Heart (14 page)

 

 

“It’s still a bit rapid, but even. So let’s fix this cabin before
she wakes up and thinks she’s in hell.”

 

 

Cook cleared out the dirty laundry, the full chamberpots and then
swept and scrubbed the floor, while Jared sat with her on the bed to
keep his feet out of the way of the mop.

 

 

“I’ll get the wash done first. It’s a fine night, nice and dry,”
Cook said as he worked.

 

 

“Night? Which night?”

 

 

“It’s Sunday.”

 

 

Jared stared. “It can’t be.”

 

 

“It is. You’ve been here two days now.”

 

 

“Lord, I didn’t even notice. I had better go see Mate and Second,
explain-”

 

 

“I’ve told them Al’s ill. A couple of the men in the forecastle have
also taken sick, but aren’t as bad off as her. The rest of the men
are all busy trying out another three whales.”

 

 

“I feel this is all my fault. I shouldn’t have let Mate be so hard
on her. If she’d fallen, been injured-”

 

 

“She always loved the rigging. She was good at it. She was ill. You
saved her. She would have fallen if you hadn’t noticed something
wrong and gone up to rescue her, help her down. She trusted you, and
you came through for her. You’ve offered her a helping hand ever
since you met. If that isn’t friendship, I don’t know what is. And
it's the sort of caring that endures, even when romantic
relationships fail.”

 

 

Jared stared at him. “Are you suggesting what I think you are?”

 

 

Cook shrugged, not liking to mention that the captain was actually
sitting in the bed with her with an almost proprietary air, as if he
couldn’t bear for anyone else to touch her.

 

 

“You could do a lot worse than a woman like Al. I would take her in
an instant if she would have me, and you would permit me to have a
wife aboard. But somehow I think she’s out of my league.”

 

 

“You mean you haven't offered your, er, services yet?” Jared said
sarcastically.

 

 

“Of course not. What do you take me for? Or her? She's a
well-educated and genteelly brought up woman who’s fallen on hard
times. I couldn’t even read well until she helped me. She's way too
far above me. But you-”

 

 

“I can’t believe you are suggesting this. What, marry my cabin boy?
Or just take advantage of her proximity, is that it? Well, I am not
running a floating bordello, Cook, and I will thank you to remember
that.”

 

 

Cook shook his head. “I'm only suggesting you not be angry with her,
and give her a chance. Now that you know her gender, find out who
she really is. You may find she is the same as ever, the person who
was a good friend before you decided to reject her because she’s a
woman.”

 

 

Jared stared at him angrily. “I didn’t reject her! She rejected me!
She lied! She didn’t trust me enough to tell me the truth.”

 

 

“You wouldn’t have taken her aboard, sir, and you know it," Cook
argued. "She has every reason to not trust you, since you are
planning to set her down in the next port. Aren’t you?”

 

 

“Oh hell, when you put it like that, I feel like an absolute
bastard.”

 

 

Cook finished wiping down the cabin's flat surfaces with a cloth,
and sighed. “You’re confused. Your pride has been dented. But who
would you trust to bring her back home? And what would she do once
she got there?”

 

 

“Well, if I ran into Dare and his wife, they could take her back, or
at least on board with them to look after her. And I would give her
money…”

 

 

“Like a mistress? Almira wouldn’t take any money. So far as she is
concerned, she owes you too much already. She wants to pay back the
apprenticeship articles, even if it takes her two or three years to
do it. She doesn’t want charity, she wants a job. She’s proven to be
quite a good cabin boy and whaleman. Not because the Mate has
practically tortured her, but because she wants to be proud of
herself, and she want to live up to your faith in her.”

 

 

Jared scowled darkly. “She told you all this, did she? She certainly
knows how to spin a yarn to get you on her side.”

 

 

Cook shook his head. “Nay, Captain. She never said anything about
any of this directly. I’ve just guessed, from what she’s said and
the things she’s done. She never would have told me if she hadn’t
needed my help when she was first hurt. Once I knew, then it all
made sense, and I should have guessed sooner.”

 

 

“How do you think you should have guessed?” Jared asked curiously.

 

 

He shrugged one shoulder. “Lots of little things. Her walk, the way
she throws, her lack of, um, boisterous behavior like the other men,
that sort of thing. I told her for her own safety not to tell
anyone, and promised to help her tough herself up. I advised her to
act a bit more like the men with the grog and tobacco. We would not
want her to be pestered with any unwanted attentions, now would we.”

 

 

“What about
wanted
ones?”

 

 

Cook shook his head. “If she’s in the safety of your cabin most of
the time, you need have no fear, right?”

 

 

He managed to restrain a knowing grin, gathered the linens, and left
Jared with a lot to think about.

 

 

He moved back to the bed, and stroked down Almira’s cheek with one
finger, past her throat to her shoulder. Safe in his cabin.
If
only he knew.

 

 

She stirred and sighed, and for a moment she opened her bright blue
eyes and looked at him. With her lips parted and her small pink
tongue darting out to moisten them, her shoulder bare, and her
breasts straining against the sheet, Jared was sure he had never
seen anyone more beautiful in his life.

 

 

She felt his hand on her shoulder, and took it.

 

 

“I’m ill, aren’t I?”

 

 

He nodded.

 

 

“Thank you for looking after me. I'm so tired. And I'm sorry. I’m
supposed to be looking after you.”

 

 

“It’s all right.” He brought his other hand up to stroke her brow.
“Rest now, sweetheart. We’ll talk later.”

 

 

Her eyes closed again, but she kept hold of his hand. He settled
down in the bed beside her, and waited until she had fallen asleep.

 

 

Then he leaned forward and kissed her. She did not wake, but a small
smile appeared on her lips, and she sighed.

 

 

Jared jumped from the bed before he did anything further to take
advantage of her. After changing into some fresh clothes himself, he
headed up to the galley to seek Cook's help, and get to the bottom
of what was wrong with Al.

 

 

Almira
, he corrected himself.
Almira
. A woman. He
shook his head in wonder again, and headed up to the galley.

 

 

 

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

 

 

When Jared got to the galley, he looked around to make sure they
were alone, and said quietly, “I came for some dinner, and to go on
watch. I’d be grateful if you could keep an eye on Al for a while?”

 

 

Cook nodded, wiping his hands on his apron before reaching behind
himself to untie it. “Fine, Captain, any time. How is she?”

 

 

"Resting much better now."

 

 

"Good to hear."

 

 

They talked for a time over what they had observed as Jared ate.

 

 

"I think it was just too much sun, but I need to be sure."

 

 

Cook nodded. "Don't worry, Captain, I've been keeping away from the
other men just like you asked."

 

 

"And how are the sick men in the forward area?"

 

 

"I think it's just a summer fever, but I could be wrong. I know the
coasts hereabouts are famous for illness for folks like us who don't
come from around here."

 

 

Jared shook his head. "Let's hope it's not that. Tropical fevers are
pretty grim, though I'm told there's finally some medicine that
helps."

 

 

Cook looked interested. "That's good to hear. We should see about
bringing some back, not just for our ship, but maybe selling it on
the side through an apothecary back home."

 

 

"That's a good idea. Talk to Steward about it, and see if we might
be able to buy some Peruvian bark, or if it's really expensive, I
could trade some whale oil for it."

 

 

"I will, Captain, and thank you."

 

 

Jared looked surprised. "What for?"

 

 

"For caring about your men. Confiding in me. For respecting us. For
not being like Mate."

 

 

Jared sighed. "Don't thank me on that score. I knew what he was, and
should have relieved him from duty at the first sign of trouble.
Discipline is one thing, cruelty another. Tom died because of him. I
thank the gods daily that Al didn't become his second victim."

 

 

He put his plate down, all appetite gone at that grim thought. "Go
on, head down to the cabin, will you, just to make sure she's all
right, and I'll see you later."

 

 

"Aye, Captain. And sir, try not to blame yourself. Mate nearly
killed her, true, but you saved her."

 

 

"Thanks, Cook," he said with a tight smile. "I'll try to remember
that the next time I look at her raw peeling skin and blisters."

 

 

Jared went into the forecastle to see the two other men who had come
down with fever. Unlike Al, their skin had a yellowish tinge, and he
hoped that the whole crew was not going to come down with the
disease.

 

 

But he had heard that malaria could be rife in wet, hot areas, and
wondered if that was what she had somehow contracted being they were
so close to South America.

 

 

A trip into port would secure them some Peruvian bark to reduce the
fever and keep the symptoms from returning, but he knew that if she
did indeed have malaria, she would always have to be careful that
the illness did not come back.

 

 

He hoped it was not true in her case, but there were all sorts of
other contagions which could be on board even if it was not malaria.
If she was really so sensitive to the sun, though, why had she not
become ill before.

 

 

As he played over in his mind the day she had nearly fallen from the
rigging, a thought came to him. He marched to the foremast, where
the second mate was standing watch.

 

 

“Second, I want you to tell me the truth.”

 

 

“Yes, sir. If I can, sir. About what?” Perkins asked.

 

 

“How long was Al in the rigging the other day before he nearly
fell?”

 

 

Second’s eyes shifted downwards. “I did try to protest, sir, but
Mate outranks me.”

 

 

“How long? Without food, water, or even a chance to sit? In that
broiling sun? How long?” Jared demanded.

 

 

“Nearly eight hours, sir.”

 

 

“I see.” Jared began to stride aft and head for the companionway.

 

 

“Sir, sir, don’t do anything hasty. Playing favorites is never a
good idea for any captain.”

 

 

“I wouldn’t treat a dog the way he treated that crewman!” he
shouted.

 

 

“You're perhaps looking at things differently than him as an officer
of the ship. You like the lad, he's your cabin boy, you two are
naturally, er, close. Like father and son, I do understand.”

 

 

But his tone indicated that he had his doubts, and others in the
crew were not going to take such a charitable and logical view of
their relationship. Not when Mate had been doing nothing but
stirring up trouble and gossiping for God only knew how long.
Certainly since the 'bum boy' accusation he had levelled at Al that
she had confided to him.

 

 

Jared was furious at the unnatural thing he was being accused of,
and had half a mind to hotly deny it and tell his friend Perkins
what fools they had all been.

 

 

Instead he took a deep steadying breath and counted to ten. Then he
managed to grit out, “Al is the child of an old friend of mine, no
more, no less. A decent person who like all the other greenhands,
thought to have a career at sea, and is being trained and taught by
me to help make that possible. So I will not even dignify your
insinuations with a response.”

 

 

Perkins shook his head. “It’s not me, sir, but-”

 

 

“Understood. So long as you understand that I will
not
tolerate any member of this crew being abused. Young or old, no
matter what their rank. Is that clear?”

 

 

“Yes, sir, it is.” He had the grace to look shamefaced.

 

 

"“And if you see it ever happen again at any time, you come directly
to me, regardless of who is doing it.”

 

 

“Yes, sir. I shall, sir.”

 

 

Jared sighed heavily, and looked out to sea. “I had not thought to
agree with my cousin Dare’s plans to have a training ship where
everyone is treated well and taught as in a college, but I'm
beginning to see now that the most dreadful abuses do take place at
sea.

 

 

"I should not have been so superior, thinking my ship was that much
better than the
Dolphin
. How ironic that in trying to save
his brother from a fate worse than death, Al nearly got killed.
Well, it won’t happen on my ship. Assign George to look after the
sick men in the fo’c’sle, and set a course for the nearest port."