The Stolen Heart (23 page)

 

 

“Yes, now, Jared, I need you now.”

 

 

“You have me, all of me,” he panted.

 

 

“Not yet, but now-” She moved her right hand forward between them
and stroked the delicately rounded skin at the apex of his thighs.
With a roar of delight he poured all of his love and longing inside
her, until her cheeks were wet with joyous tears. Every nerve-ending
in her body throbbed, and when he moved his mouth to kiss her, she
was completely lost. She clung to him as if drowning, and it seemed
almost an eternity before they quieted at last, and his heavy weight
descended upon her fully like a warm comforting quilt.

 

 

“My Lord, Almira, what did you do to me?”

 

 

She laughed throatily. “The same as you did to me, my love.”

 

 

He kissed her warmly. “It just keeps getting better.”

 

 

“For me too.”

 

 

He shook his head. “And to think some men complain that they are
bored with their wives, need variety. I can’t imagine ever getting
tired of you. I need you more every time we come together like
this.”

 

 

“I’m glad,” she said with a sigh. However, it was not a topic she
wanted to consider, let alone discuss. “But now, love, you've been
down here with me long enough. We need to check the helm. The storm
seems to be dying down.”

 

 

“You need to stay here. O, God, and I forgot all about your back.”
He rose to his feet and immediately began to turn her over to have a
look at her bruises in the dim light.

 

 

“Funny thing, that. So did I.” She grinned.

 

 

“Are you sure you are all right?”

 

 

“You tell me, darling. You can see my back and legs.”

 

 

“A bit purple,” he decided after a time, “but nothing really
dreadful looking, and no splinters.”

 

 

“Aye, nothing worse than something hard poking into me,” she said
with a laugh.

 

 

“You little minx!”

 

 

“Well, what do you expect when you're running your hands along my
legs and thighs and bottom like that.”

 

 

“I don’t know what I expect, but I know what I'd like,” he said, his
voice almost a purr as he rubbed both hands up from her knees to her
waist.

 

 

“We can’t, Jared. The ship, the crew…. Ohhh….”

 

 

It was nearly dark by the time Al dragged herself out of the
reaching of his questing hands. “This can’t be normal. You're
insatiable, and we need to get on deck.”

 

 

She began to gather all the layers of discarded clothing, sorting
them into his and hers as he reclined on the bed. He put one arm
behind his head and sighed.

 

 

“I suppose you are right, we have to get up on deck at some point.
It isn’t fair on the rest of the men to let them do all the work
while we have so much fun.”

 

 

“I’m going to go man the pumps. If I help you take a trick at the
wheel, I’m only going to end up in this bed again, I know it.”

 

 

“Would you mind so much?” he asked with a grin.

 

 

“Not if the weather were good, but I can feel this is just a small
lull before another storm coming on, and I’m sure it’s about to
snow.”

 

 

She blew out, and could see her own breath even in the cabin.

 

 

She washed herself in the icy water and the towelled herself off and
put on her drawers and long underwear as quickly as she could. He
watched her rounded breasts with a warm regard she could not help
but notice.

 

 

“Please, Jared, stop looking at me like a starving man staring at a
buffet table, will you? It makes it hard to concentrate on anything
serious.”

 

 

“I’m sorry. I want you so much.”

 

 

“You have had me! Over and over. Just as I’ve had you.”

 

 

“I'm sorry, Almira," he said with a dazed shake of his head. "It
just never seems to be enough.”

 

 

She smiled at him gently. “I am sure that will be an excellent thing
once we get out of these straits. But for now, we need to do our
share.”

 

 

He sat up and sighed. “You’re right. I’m sorry. I was the one who
lectured you on duty, and look at me.”

 

 

He went over to the tub, scrubbed himself quickly, and then began to
yank on layer after layer she presented to him.

 

 

Then she fished a few more pairs of socks out of each of their sea
chests. They sat side by side and got their boots back on.

 

 

A huge shuddering which ran the length of the ship sent them tearing
out of the cabin door, yanking on their heavy sweaters and pea coats
as they ran up the companionway as fast as they could in the heaving
swell.

 

 

“Perkins! What is it?”

 

 

“We are just about around. More currents.”

 

 

Jared grabbed the wheel as Perkins held on for dear life. Al ran for
the pumps and began to work them as the sea poured over the
gunwhales and flooded the deck. A loud crack behind them signalled
the end of the top of the mizzen mast as the top gallant flew off
into the ocean, and the mizzen sail flapped wildly for a second
before following after.

 

 

“I’m sorry, Captain. I should have taken in sail.”

 

 

“Never mind that now! Too dangerous to send anyone aloft anyway.
Just hang on!”

 

 

Both of the upper yardarms hung precariously over the wheelhouse,
but neither Perkins nor Jared could dare let go of the wheel.

 

 

“Go, Jared, get out of there! It’s going to fall!” Al shrieked.

 

 

“Stay there, Al, it'll be all right.”

 

 

Another enormous gust sent the first yard soaring out to sea, while
the lower one simply tilted, until at last its end came to rest on
the top of the side cabin.

 

 

“Cook! Steward!” Al shouted as their quarters were jolted by the
impact.

 

 

Both men were safely in the galley, though, and came out to see what
all the commotion was.

 

 

“Jesus!” Cook exclaimed, seeing his home about to be ripped apart by
the huge spar.

 

 

“Never mind! Leave it. Anything that’s in there, we can replace!”
Jared ordered.

 

 

“But, Captain,” Steward began to protest.

 

 

“I said leave it. We can’t replace you men, and that’s final. Just
hang on!”

 

 

The snow began to swirl around them, making Jared’s job of
navigation even more difficult. The compass began to freeze over,
and in the cloudcovered dusk there was no way to take another
navigational sighting. It was as though someone were dumping buckets
of cold cotton down on them, for the deck was soon covered in
drifts, and began to ice over.

 

 

“But at least the swell is subsiding a bit,” Jared noted as the
spray in his face diminished.

 

 

Al stayed close, keeping the compass as clear as she could by
wrapping her mittened hands around it. A short time later, though it
seemed hours in the freezing conditions, the black clouds lifted,
leaving only fluffy light ones, a crescent of moon, and a fresh
steady push of wind which was most favorable to the ship.

 

 

Jared had never been so relieved in his life. “All hands, find any
sails we have spare, and get them cleated on. We're heading west,
all possible speed!”

 

 

The wheel was now much lighter, and Jared got Wright to take his
place while he headed aft to see what they could do about the
yardarm.

 

 

“We will need to get a team up there to try to right it. For now,
let’s get in some brackets and lash it there so it doesn’t flap
about and crash right through, or swing and sweep everything
overboard.”

 

 

Chip and Cooper went to work trying to secure the fallen yard, while
Al went to find some rope to lash it down with. She was trembling
with cold, and how close Jared had once again come to being killed.
She was beginning to think they were having a most unlucky voyage,
for while the whales had been fine, the ship had been torn to
ribbons.

 

 

But at least they were still afloat, she thought with relief. They
had not been run onto the rocks, swamped and sunk, and they had not
lost any more men.

 

 

She had no doubt things would have been very different if Mate had
been one of the officers in charge.

 

 

It had been hell, but if the winds kept up like this, they would
soon be fully around the Horn, and able to start heading north.

 

 

She felt a surge of elation. The Pacific. And so soon, too. They had
seen no other ships on their journey, so while it was fully possible
that her father might have slipped passed them heading back home,
she had the sense that she was on the right course. That they were
now one step closer to finding her father and brother. It was only a
matter of time before they were together again, she was sure.

 

 

Though what they would say about her relationship with Jared once
they were, remained to be seen.

 

 

 

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

 

 

The weather was still cold and inclement for another half-day, but
the
Trident
had cleared the Horn and the Strait, and
simply had to continue westward until they could safely turn north.

 

 

To make up for the time they had spent in the cabin enjoying
themselves, Al was determined to do her duty on deck, so she manned
the pumps and also helped Cook and Steward move their things out of
their damaged quarters and down into steerage.

 

 

“I thought you wanted to move out of the Captain’s cabin?” Steward
said as they worked.

 

 

“Er, no, it’s all right. I thought he was picking on me, but
everything got cleared up and I’m not mad any more.”

 

 

“That’s good, lad. The Captain is a good ‘un. We can all get a bit
testy like, being on board this old tub month after month, with no
other society and no change of scenery. Next time you get cabin
fever, just climb up and down in the rigging or go for a walk around
the deck a few times, and you’ll soon settle down again.”

 

 

“Thanks, I appreciate that.”

 

 

“I appreciate your help with my stuff. Look at my shirts-they’re
frozen!”

 

 

“Can’t wait to get some hot water and food, and do some laundry,”
Cook grumbled.

 

 

“Believe me, Cook, neither can I,” Al said with a grin.

 

 

He ruffled her hair playfully, and picked up another load of clothes
and personal effects.

 

 

Al turned and saw Jared staring at them both, and though he looked
tight around the lips, he said nothing, and eventually gave her a
small smile.

 

 

“Don’t linger here too long. Chip and Coop are done above, but I
still don’t trust that yardarm.”

 

 

“Nearly done,” she reassured him.

 

 

As soon as she made one more trip to steerage, she sought him out,
standing by the main mast, which he was checking for soundness.

 

 

“How is it?”

 

 

“Good and solid, so far as I can tell. But with the fore and mizzen
masts compromised, this is going to be a slow voyage. We can try to
put into a port big enough to get the two masts refitted, but it
will take some time, and cost a pretty penny.”

 

 

“Well, there is the oil we took. It’s worth something, surely.”

 

 

“It is, aye, but if we stay in port too long, we’ll probably miss
the best of the whaling season in New Zealand, and we’ll never catch
the
Dolphin
.”

 

 

She shook her head. “That should be the least of your worries at
this stage, my dear. I appreciate everything you’ve tried to do, but
Adrian was a grown man when he shipped out. He made his choices, and
he will have to live with the consequences. I can see that now."

 

 

"Still, he's your brother, and Smith is—"

 

 

She patted the main mast herself, touching the wood for luck,
reassuring herself that it was solid, and would get them where they
needed to go. "I know he's my brother, and of course I love him
dearly. But it's just like you and Father. You know the risks being
a whaler captain, yet you still choose to do it.

 

 

"I can’t say I am happy with the danger, but it’s what you do. A
lesser captain would have ended up on the rocks. Or with more men
injured or killed. I can’t help thinking this has been an extremely
unlucky voyage, and we need to get into port before anything else
happens to us.”

 

 

He nodded. “All right, we'll head for the nearest port than can
refit us. But if we see a couple of whales along the way, we have to
get them. We'll need the money at this point to pay for the spares.”

 

 

“But we’ve lost the spare whaleboat and ship’s boat too.”

 

 

“Aye, still more expense. We'll have to make do with the three we
have left, and see if we can secure some more when we refit. I'm
glad Dare is such a good friend, or else he would probably skin me
alive for this.”

 

 

“It’s no one’s fault. Don’t go blaming yourself.”

 

 

He smiled at her reassuringly. “It is all right. I don’t. It was
just one of those things. Now come, dear, we need to get the log
book updated, and I for one would like some hot food. Tell Cook to
come on up and get the stove lit, and for Steward to break out
double rations.”