A Leap of Faith (The Hands of Time: Book 2) (15 page)

Agnes pretended to be asleep when her mistress crept back into the cabin and lay down on her berth.  Agnes didn’t need to see her face to know that she was smiling.  So, it happened then.  Mr. Sheridan must have found her all right.  On her back, he found her.  Agnes put her hands on her growing belly.  Would he marry Mistress Jamison? 

She sighed with worry. 
Agnes had gotten to know her mistress relatively well over the past weeks, and was beginning to think that she wouldn’t be too hard on her when she found out about the baby.  This changed everything.  If she married Mr. Sheridan, he would become Agnes’s master, and he might not take kindly to her disgrace.  If only she would miscarry.  Agnes had been so terrified during the pirate attack, she thought she might lose the baby right there and then, but nothing happened.  The blasted child hung on.  She thought it was curious that the Collins women, who were righteous and godly, were abducted; while Agnes, who had sinned and deserved punishment, had remained unmolested.   The Lord certainly worked in mysterious ways.   

Agnes listened to Louisa’s even breathing.  Had this been the first time she had lai
n with the captain?  She might be with child as well.  Agnes pondered the implications of that idea as she finally fell asleep. 

Valerie forced herself to get out of bed.  She had been so lethargic lately.  Her body was getting back to normal after the birth, but her mind still reeled.  She went to the cemetery every day, gazing at the freshly carved cross with her son’s name on it.  If only things could have been different.  Her breasts ached with milk despite being tightly bound; a sad reminder of the child she would be nursing had he been alive.  Valerie put her hands on her empty belly.  He should still have been in there; instead, he lay in this miserable little cemetery. 

Valerie glanced over at Cora’s grave.  Someone had left a bunch of wildflowers on the mound of earth.  It must have been Amelia.  The poor girl had been floating around the house like a ghost since her sister’s death.  They had been so close.  Valerie turned to leave the graveyard and made her way back to the house.  She would go talk to Amelia.  Maybe she could find something out about Cora’s activities in the days before her death.  Valerie knew that Alec was still agonizing over Charlie’s accusations
, and hoped she might shed some light on the matter. 

Amelia was cleaning Louisa’s bedroom when Valerie finally
tracked her down.  She was pale and drawn, dark circles under her eyes.  Amelia didn’t even bother to greet Valerie, just went about her business. 

“How are you, Amelia?”  Valerie pretended to be looking for something, not to put the girl on her guard.

“I am well, ma’am.”  Amelia continued to dust, her eyes averted.

“You must miss your sister very much.”

“I do, ma’am.  I miss her every moment of every day.”  Amelia turned to Valerie, her eyes swimming with tears.  “I want to know who done it, ma’am.”

“So, help me find out.  Did Cora have a young man?  I’ve never seen her with anyone, but maybe there was someone among the workers.”

“She snuck out several nights a week to go meet someone, but I don’t know who it was.  She never said.”

“Did she seem happy or frightened?  Do you think someone was forcing her?”  Amelia thought about that for a moment
, dusting forgotten.

“She
was as she should be, ma’am.  Not scared or anything.  I suppose she was enjoying whatever they were doing.”  Amelia hastily averted her eyes and went back to her task.  She’d said everything she was going to say on the subject.  

“Thank you, Amelia.  Let me know if you need anything.”

Valerie left the room and went down to the garden.  She needed to think, and she found the peace of the garden to be soothing.  So, she now knew that Cora probably had a lover.  Amelia said that she snuck out at night, so it couldn’t be Alec, not that she ever really thought it was.  Alec usually went to bed with Valerie and stayed in bed all night.  Valerie was a light sleeper, especially during pregnancy; and she would have known if he was sneaking out. 

Cora
might have been meeting one of the field workers.  There was a loft over the stables that could be used for assignations.  No one slept there and it was a nice, private space that was warm and dry.  Valerie took a mental inventory of the male workers.  Most of them were older men who showed very obvious signs of wear.  She couldn’t imagine that a young, pretty girl like Cora would be attracted to any of them.  There were two younger men who could be called handsome.  She would have to go and speak with them. 

Valerie didn’t think Alec would approve of her questioning the workers, but she needed to find out.  Besides, it took her mind off her darling baby, if only for a short time.  Valerie headed
to the barracks that housed their workforce.  They had been built especially for that purpose, and were some distance from the house.  There were two buildings, housing twenty men.  At this time of day, the workers would be having their midday meal.  By the time Valerie got there, they would be nearly finished eating, ready to return to the fields. 

The men were just coming outside when Valerie approached the building. 
She was glad to see that they all looked fit and well fed.  They might be indentured, but they were treated with kindness and respect.  Valerie knew all of them by name, and had spoken to them all over time, finding out their stories and their goals for the future.  The workers greeted Valerie warmly as they shuffled by, stepping aside to let her pass. 

Valerie spotted
the two young men she wanted and called out to them.  “Martin.  Richard.  May I have a word?”  The men looked startled.  The lady of the house didn’t normally single them out. 

“Certainly,
ma’am.  How can we help ye?”  Martin was close to twenty, tall and lean.  He had cornflower-blue eyes, and flaxen hair that any girl would find appealing.  Richard was his exact opposite; short and stocky, with curling dark hair and pitch black eyes.  He was not as handsome, but there was intensity in him that some girls might find appealing.

“Richard, would you mind waiting outside while I
speak to Martin alone?  I would like a word with you after.”  Valerie led Martin back into the house and into the dining room.  She sat down on a bench, but Martin remained standing, his hat in his work roughened hands.

“Please, sit down, Martin.  I just want to ask you a few simple questions.  How well did you know Cora?”  Martin looked
genuinely surprised. 

“She came in with Mrs. Dolly from time to time to help serve the meals and clean up and such.  She was always friendly, but she never spoke to me direct
like, if that’s what ye’re asking.”

“Had you ever seen her with anyone?  Was she friendly with any of the men?”  Valerie was watching Martin carefully, but she couldn’t see any tension or annoyance.

“I cannot say as I’ve seen her with anyone, ma’am.  I think I saw her walking out of the spring house with Mr. Charles once, but I cannot be sure.  I was too far away.”

“Thank you, Martin.  Can you send in Richard
now?”  Valerie felt like a detective, asking all these questions.  It was actually kind of fun.

“Richard.  I will only keep you
for a moment.  I was wondering how well you knew Cora.”  Richard cocked his head to the side and stared at Valerie, his eyes narrowed in thought. 

“I saw her when she came with the cook.” 

“Did you ever speak to her?”

“I did.  We spoke a few times.  She told me about her home in Lincoln
, and I told her about Cornwall.  She liked little trinkets, so I carved her a wooden box to keep them in.”  Richard looked sad at the thought of Cora, leaving Valerie to wonder if he had been in love with her.

“Were you courting her?”  Richard looked at Valerie with a smirk.

“I ‘ave five years left on my contract, Mrs. Whitfield.  I ‘ave no house, no money and at this moment, no future.  How could I court anyone?  What would I ‘ave to offer a girl who lives in a big house and sleeps in a warm bed?  I liked her, yes, but we weren’t courting.  I never touched her, if that’s what ye’re getting at.  May I go now?”

Valerie nodded and watched him leave.  She had no idea if Richard was telling the truth.  He seemed to feel
angry about his lot in life, but would that drive him to murder?  And why kill Cora?  Valerie wondered if Cora might have rejected him, driving him into a rage.  She walked back out into the summer sunshine.  She was suddenly tired, and very sad.  She would go find Louisa and read her a story before her nap.  That always made her feel better.

Louisa stood on deck, inhaling deeply.  She had been smelling it for a few days now –- the smell of the tropics.  The turquoise water sparkled in the blazing sun, cries of seagulls audible overhead as they dove for fish into the tranquil blue of the sea.  Louisa turned up her face, allowing the golden rays to warm her before retreating back under her parasol.  She hadn’t had one of her own, so Agnes pilfered a parasol from the belongings of Miss Collins, which were still in her cabin.  Louisa didn’t like to take the girl’s things, but for a young woman to have a tanned face simply did not do in the seventeenth century.  Anne and Judith Collins were always in her thoughts.  She prayed for them daily, hoping against hope that they were all right somehow. 

Louisa was beginning to understand why people throughout history had been so devout.  God was probably the only thing that stood between them and the abyss
.  They had to believe that their God was loving and just, and if only they prayed hard enough, would hear them and answer their pleas. 

Louisa squinted at the spec in the distance.  Kit said they would be able to see land by midafternoon
, and it was nearly eleven.  They would be putting into port at Kingston for supplies and repairs.  She looked up at the bridge.  Kit was at the wheel, his face shaded from the sun by his cavalier hat.  He had let the word slip that he was now betrothed to Mistress Jamison, so the crew and Reverend Blackley were forced to turn a blind eye to some unseemly behavior, such as Louisa coming up on the bridge without an invitation and standing next to their captain. 

The reverend usually tried to hide his scowl when he saw her with Kit, but he had no say in the matter.  She was the captain’s fiancée, after all. 
They still have to be extremely discreet.  For a woman to be seen coming out of a man’s cabin, even if he was her betrothed, in the morning, would mean immediate ruin.  Louisa usually left in the dead of night, making sure the coast was clear before dashing to her own cabin, her face covered with the hood of her cloak.  Since there were only two women on board, it could only be her or Agnes, but she still didn’t want anyone to see her face. 

Louisa had to admit that once she actually accepted Kit
, she felt a certain peace steal over her.  She hadn’t realized how scared she’d been until Kit said that he would take care of her and help her find Valerie.  She tried not to think of what she would do if she couldn’t find her sister, which would be catastrophic.  She would be alone in a struggling colony with only the Reverend Blackley as an acquaintance.  Unless someone was able to tell her the whereabouts of the Whitfields, her search would be at an end.  Knowing that Kit would be there with her allowed her to breathe again, and she blew him an affectionate kiss, seeing him smile.  She would share a midday meal with him in his cabin and talk with him then.

**
*

“You can’t be serious.  Please tell me you are joking.”  Louisa jumped out of her seat, her pottage forgotten.  It was disgusting anyway, but now she
’d completely lost her appetite.

“Why are you so upset?”  Kit looked at her in puzzlement.  “You must understand my position.”

“Position?  You’re going to go to the slave market and buy human beings.”  She was horrified that he saw nothing wrong with that.  Kit simply shrugged his shoulders.

“Louisa, someone is going to buy those people anyway, one way or another.  At least if I buy them
, they won’t be ill-treated.  Sweetheart, we are barely keeping afloat.  We have no master gunner, no surgeon, no rigger and the carpenter is falling off his feet.  We have a cracked mast, seeping hull, and yards of sails that need to be replaced.  We also need a cooper to check the state of the cargo, and tighten any lose barrels before there is permanent damage, as well as a couple of able-bodied men to make up the ranks of the sailors.  We might actually make it to Virginia if we don’t encounter another storm, but I don’t want to take any chances.  Besides, I won’t be able to find too many skilled or willing sailors in the New World.”

“And you expect to find all this skilled labor at the slave market?”  Louisa sat back down and faced him, ready for an argument.

“The pirates take all kinds of men captive when they seize a ship.  Most of them are shipped off to North Africa, but you never know.  Some turn up on the islands.  I might be able to find a few skilled slaves.  I promise you, I will give them their freedom once they’ve worked off their purchase price.”

“You are despicable!”
she spat out, furious.

“Am I really?  I realize that you’ve led a sheltered life, but this is the way things are, my sweet.  Human life is cheap, especially in less civilized parts of the world.  Now, I take it you won’t be joining me at the market?”  He gave her an infuriating smile
, hoping that he’d won the argument. 

“I don’t think so.  I will stay right here fuming, while you
’re bidding on human cargo.”

“All right then.  By the
by, are you going to eat that?  It’s awful, but I’m famished.  We desperately need supplies.  We just might have some mutton for supper tonight.  Something to look forward to.”  He reached over and took her bowl of the revolting pottage.  Louisa didn’t even know what that was, until the steward informed her that it had something like a combination of oats with something unidentifiable mixed in, and boiled beyond all recognition.

“Enjoy your expedition.  I
’m going back up.  It has suddenly become too stuffy in here.”  Louisa swept out of the cabin, not bothering to look back. 
Impossible man
, she thought, as she went up on deck. 

All thoughts of the slave market fled her mind as soon as she saw land.  She felt as if she hadn’t seen land in years
, when in fact, it was only about a month.  Louisa could see the shaggy heads of palm trees nodding in the tropical breeze, pristine beaches of white sand in the distance.  The water had begun to change color a few days ago, going from the blue-gray of the Atlantic Ocean, to the turquoise of the Caribbean.  They were so close to land, she could see people moving about in the distance, the size of ants. 

“That’s not Jamaica,” Reverend Blackley stated at her elbow.  “That’s actually Hispaniola.  We have to pass it in order to reach Kingston.  I have been studying the map.  I hope you
’re not planning to go ashore, Mistress Jamison.  No woman is safe in these heathen lands.”  The reverend’s lips were pressed so tight; they virtually disappeared from his face.

“
No, I plan to stay aboard.  I have my own reasons for not going ashore.  It does look lovely though, doesn’t it?”

Reverend Blackley gave her an odd look.  “Not the word I would use, but I suppose the water is a pretty color.  What are those strange trees?”

“Palm trees.  They grow coconuts.”  Louisa answered, her eyes never leaving the shore.

“I am sure I don’t know what a coconut is, but you seem very well informed.  I presume Captain Sheridan has been familiarizing you with the local flora and fauna when you visit him in his cabin,” he said, sarcasm practically dripping from his tongue. 

“Yes, Reverend.  We spend all our time discussing geography and astronomy.  As a matter of fact, Captain Sheridan was able to help me see stars I hadn’t had the pleasure of seeing before.  He is quite knowledgeable.”  Louisa tried to stifle a smile as she saw Reverend Blackley absorb what she said.  She could see his baser side grasp her meaning and then push it away, assuming that a well-bred young lady would never intentionally say such things.

“Good day to you,
Mistress Jamison.  I think I’m correct in assuming that you won’t be joining me at prayer.”

“Not today, Reverend.”