The Stolen Heart (27 page)

 

 

“Despite the fact that you're
not
the marrying kind?” she
sniped.

 

 

"“Look, Almira, I am sorry. I’ve explained about that. Please, try
to trust me. There can be no love without trust. You taught me
that.”

 

 

“Good. Then trust me, and leave me here for the moment. If I do
decide to go, I won’t leave without saying goodbye. I swear.”

 

 

He nodded curtly. “Very well then, I shall wait to see you later.”

 

 

“You will.”

 

 

 

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

 

 

As Almira worked on board the
Peru,
she played over and over
again all the reasons for going home, and all the reasons for
staying with Jared.

 

 

She did some quick mental calculations. By the time the child was
born, they would be safely in New Zealand, and she knew there were
decent settlements there if she wanted to have her child on land.
British and French whalers also carried ship’s doctors; they would
gam with some of the other whalers in the ports there, just as they
had done when she had sailed with her father.

 

 

If her mother had been fearful she had never shown it. Why should
she be any more concerned? She was young, healthy and strong, and
the prospect of Jared never even seeing his own son or daughter
filled her with dread. Anything could happen on the voyage back. It
almost had coming out here this far, in only a couple of months. Let
alone to him as he pressed on, only eventually coming back to
Nantucket.

 

 

She didn’t know if what she and Jared shared would last; he had said
he wasn’t the marrying kind, and he had never expected to be saddled
with an ill female on board his ship. He might just feel sorry for
her, but whatever there was between them, it was real, and utterly
irresistible.

 

 

She sighed deeply. Too irresistible, but also a blessing she
couldn't turn her back on no matter how much her common sense told
her that she should. However much she worried for the safety of the
child, she couldn’t just walk away. Not after having known the joys
of sharing his bed, the wonder of his friendship day after day, the
thrill of being aboard ship on a great if dangerous and occasionally
gruesome adventure.

 

 

She helped finish loading the casks, and then went to seek out the
first mate. “I’m sorry. My captain wants me back. I’d love to go
home with you, but I also need to find my father and brother. Thank
you for offering me the berth, but I think I’ll go back to the
Trident
now.”

 

 

“Sorry to hear that. You’re supposed to be a good ‘un. But good luck
with Captain Starbuck. From what I hear, he’s the best. Just don’t
be so moody. Some of you young lads is worse than women!”

 

 

The mate smiled kindly, and waved her off as she gathered her things
and said her goodbyes. She eagerly awaiting the next boat going over
for more cargo, and rowed all the way back, even though they said
they were happy to just let her sit in the bow.

 

 

"The sooner I man an oar, the sooner I get back," she replied with a
smile.

 

 

Once she was back on board, Almira made her way aft, and headed down
the companionway. She tapped on the door, but Jared was not in his
personal cabin. She tried the main one, and found him sitting with
his head in his hands.

 

 

“Yes, what is it?” he asked, without looking up.

 

 

“Cabin boy Hussey reporting for duty, sir.”

 

 

He looked up, pure astonishment and relief flooding his features.

 

 

He jumped up and pulled her into his arms. “Almira, my God, Almira.
I thought you were gone for sure. Thank you, thank you for giving me
another chance.”

 

 

“So long as you promise not to leave me off at any convenient port
from now until we get back home, I’ll stay.”

 

 

“I promise. I swear it.” He kissed her hard.

 

 

She dropped her burdens as he lifted her and spun her around until
she giggled in delight.

 

 

He led her to the bed despite the fact that it was still broad
daylight and the ship was bustling. "I missed you."

 

 

"And I you."

 

 

"It won't be the easiest life, but I swear to you, Almira, I'll do
anything I can to make you happy."

 

 

She cupped his cheek. "You already do, darling. For such a brash and
confident sea captain, you certainly seem to be at a loss when it
comes to women."

 

 

"I don’t care about any other woman but you. I admit it, I'm an ass,
but I will try to do better. It's our life now, to do with as we
will."

 

 

"Not quite," she said quietly, looping her arms around his neck. She
steeled herself for his reaction and was about to tell him about the
baby.

 

 

But he misunderstood her words. "Aye, you've probably heard by now
that John Wyer spoke the
Dolphin
. So you're brother should
be joining us soon."

 

 

Her face lit up. "Adrian is well? When did they see him--"

 

 

Jared didn't want to worry her unduly, so he simply said, "They
didn't gam, merely called over. It was about four days north of
here, near Callao. With any luck, they'll have put into port to get
more grog for Captain Smith. We'll catch up with them soon, I
promise. And now that we're in the Pacific, we can look for your
father in earnest."

 

 

"Plus a few whales, now that we have boats, and you've sent all our
cargo back to your cousin Dare on the
Peru
," she reminded
him. "I love what you're doing to help me and my family, but we
still need to have a greasy voyage."

 

 

"We wouldn't even have made it this far without you, dear. Now come,
let me pamper you for a little while, and we can talk about the rest
later."

 

 

"I love your idea of pamper," she said breathlessly as his hand
roved over her most erogenous zone unerringly.

 

 

"In that case, you're going to love what I do next even more."

 

 

"Oh, yes, Jared,
yessss
."

 

 

Another three days brought them further north toward the great port
of Valparaiso, but also to another impressive pod of whales.

 

 

Now that they had their extra boats, Jared lowered three, and they
managed to secure six whales in total with a minimum amount of
difficulty, and no men overboard or boats damaged.

 

 

Jared was delighted that their luck was changing, and urged the men
to cut in to the whales and try out the oil rapidly in the summery
heat so they could fill the holds as quickly as possible. They would
attempt one or two pods more before they headed into port to look
for the
Dolphin
. Then it would be on to Valparaiso to refit
the ship fully with two new masts and rigging.

 

 

At the end of a week they had finished trying the oil, and gammed
with the
Lyric
, and got more news of the
Dolphin
,
though none of the
Calypso
. It was nothing really new,
except for the fact that their quarry was less than three days ahead
of them, and Smith was getting more and more erratic.

 

 

There were also reports of scurvy, and some men getting ready to
mutiny because of the appalling conditions.

 

 

Jared wanted to go after them quickly, but with his ship able to
carry so little sail due to the snapped masts, he doubted he would
be able to catch them. Still, he had to try. He had taken over eight
hundred barrels of oil and two hundred of spermaceti oil in this
last pod, plus some ambergris.

 

 

Of course, they would probably stop in Valparaiso themselves. It was
pretty much the last really civilized stopping off point before
setting off the whole width of the Pacific.

 

 

As much as he loved New Zealand, the thought that his next port of
call after Valparaiso would be Auckland or the Bay of Islands gave
him pause.

 

 

Perhaps that was the solution to the problem: beat the offshore and
on shore grounds off the coast of Chile, fill up, then go home.
Forget about New Zealand completely. Get his ship repaired, get a
few more whales, and go home full. The only thing keeping him off
the coast was the fact that the
Dolphin
was just out of
reach, and he still had no clue as to what might have happened to
the
Calypso
.

 

 

She said that Adrian had chosen the whaling life of his own free
will, and was old enough to know his own mind, but he knew Almira
was worried about him, and he was sure she would never rest until
she knew one way or the other what had happened to her beloved
father. Come to that, he needed to know himself what had happened to
Jed.

 

 

After sharing visits with the
Lyric
and getting more fresh
fruit from the homeward bound vessel, Jared headed west, and found a
pod of five right whales, which yielded an impressive haul of bone
and oil.

 

 

By now, though, the men were beginning to grumble about the lack of
land fall. Most captains would have put in at least a couple of
times on the journey from Nantucket. It was only Jared sailing hell
for leather to catch the
Dolphin
that had compelled him to
keep going.

 

 

In addition, though the ocean was known as the Pacific, a huge storm
any minute could easily swamp a ship that was not in peak condition.

 

 

“Very well, Perkins, if we don’t sight any more whales by the end of
the day tomorrow, we'll head in to Callao,” Jared said, though he
hoped for one more successful haul before they arrived in port.

 

 

"The very next morning, another pod of sperm whales off the
starboard bow had all three boats out, and they took and tried five
more whales. They also had some good fresh meat, and fried up some
doughnuts in the try pots for a treat.

 

 

Some of the men even had dried kernels of corn, which popped nicely
in the tiny bit of oil left in the bottom of the great cauldrons.

 

 

Once the whale oil was cooled, laid down, and all the barrels
stowed, Jared gave the order to make for port, never mind the
whales, and went down to the cabin to get cleaned up.

 

 

Al had never been so glad to see him in her life. The past few weeks
since she had nearly left had seen Jared working like a man
possessed. She had hardly seen him, and wondered if he were still
angry about her near-defection. The passionate kisses and hurried
couplings they had shared had hardly been enough to keep her
contained, for the baby had made her more and more desirous of him,
not less.

 

 

She smoldered every time she laid eyes on him, and she could barely
contain her need long enough to get him into the tub and cleaned
off.

 

 

He insisted on shaving his week’s growth of beard, and nearly hacked
off his own ear lobe as she began to plant kisses down his broad
chest and abdomen.

 

 

“My God, Almira, can you wait a moment, please, before I cut my
throat?” he laughed shakily.

 

 

He dropped the razor and mopped his face with a towel as she
practically swallowed him whole.

 

 

Hauling her up onto her feet, he carried her to the bunk and settled
between her thighs in an instant. It was over in less than ten
seconds, and he complained, panting, “You make me feel like a
schoolboy with his first woman.”

 

 

“I’m glad. I want to be your first, your only. I want you to forget
anyone else you ever knew.”

 

 

“That’s easy," he rasped, laying his head on her breast. "You’re
unforgettable, Almira. Everything else flies out of my head as soon
as you touch me.”

 

 

“It’s the same for me.”

 

 

“Then let me finish shaving and we can spent the rest of the night
thinking only about each other.”

 

 

He got up from the bed and re-lathered his face, and completed the
job he had started, until he was smooth-chinned once more.

 

 

Then he got back in the tub and rinsed himself off once more, this
time under the rainwater barrel. It was pretty cold, but he needed
to dampen his ardor a bit and re-gain control if he was not going to
let her get the better of him once more. He was determined to wear
her out this time, satisfy her every desire. Or at least die a happy
man trying.

 

 

At eight bells the following morning, Jared was fairly certain he
had succeeded in his goal with Almira. She had most definitely
fulfilled everyone of his most cherished fantasies, and even come up
with a few of her own.

 

 

He wondered at the change in her. She had never been coy, but now
she was more enthusiastic and responsive than ever before, and
seemed to never be able to get enough of him.

 

 

“My dear Almira, you're insatiable,” he panted as the bell struck
three and she was still working the most wonderful magic upon his
bare flesh.

 

 

“I’ve missed you. I can’t help it.”

 

 

“I’ve missed you too. The joys of nudity are vastly underrated.”

 

 

“Not by me,” she said, stroking his abdomen appreciatively.

 

 

“I had noticed,” he retorted dryly.

 

 

“Will Mr. Perkins and the men not notice you've vanished off the
deck once again?”