Miss Whittier Makes a List (16 page)

“
Oh, no, no, it is not that, Miss Whittier.
”
The little man cleared his throat.
“
Captain Sir Daniel Spark wishes your company at dinner tonight in the great cabin.
”

She remembered her last refusal of the captain and had the good grace to blush. She hesitated, and Trist continued.

“
I was to tell you, if you looked indecisive, that he can
arrange
live coals, if you prefer, but all the same, he
’
d like you to eat with him.
”

Hannah laughed.
“
Very well, then! I will take mutton with the captan. When, sir?
”

“
Four
bells,
ma
’
am.”

“
Very well. Will anyone else be there?
”

“
Oh, yes
ma
’
am, the surgeon.
”

She remained on deck all afternoon, picking oakum and watching the water. Captain Spark came on dec
k in midafternoon after his nap,
nodded to her, and proceeded to his
quarterdeck
, where he remained, hands clasped behind his
back. During the long afternoon,
he stared out at sea, roared at the helmsman to pay attention, and then coached the midshipmen in the mysteries of navigation. She tried to listen, but the intricacies of the math involved eluded her, and she was grateful she did not have to suffer such a lesson herself.

As the sun began to slant across the deck and to set the water to dancing with new colors, Hannah went below. Dressing for dinner involved nothing more t
han changing to the other shirt,
which, while still black-and-white checked, was not as faded as the one she had been wearing. She washed her face with her two-inch ration of fresh water and dabbed more vanilla extract behind her ears, then brushed her hair until it crackled about her face like a nimbus.

“
Such a bother,
”
she said into the tiny mirror, as she tamed it down and braided one heavy
pigtail. Mama had told her once,
when she had been in tears about her hair
,
that someday she would come to appreciate it. Well, that day had not dawned yet, she decided as she left her cabin, nodded to the Marine, and went to Captain Spark
’
s door.

She knocked.

“
Come.
”

She entered the room to see the captain and ship
’
s surgeon seated by the table, drinking
Madeira
. They rose when she came closer, and the captain ushered her into a chair at the table. He sat down across from her, and Lease took the other place. Trist set the food before them, and it was the same as she had eaten for several weeks now, only served on rather fine Wedgwood. She smiled.

“
Are you weary of ship
’
s fare yet, Miss Whittier?
”
the captain asked, noticing her expression.
“
I hear from my junior officers that you do not care for surprises in your ship
’
s biscuits.
”

“
They told you truly,
”
she said as he picked up his fork.
“
Sir
, can we not say grace?
”

The captain put down his fork, and Lease eyed her with a cross between amusement and respect.
“
Do you really think that an appeal to the Almighty will make it more palatable?
”
the surgeon asked.

“
What? Have you no faith?
”
she teased.

“
None whatsoever,
”
the surgeon replied, his face quite serious.
“
And no hope,
and precious little charity.
”

There was an awkward pause, and then Hannah plunged in.
“
All the more reason to ask the Lord to bless it. Bow your heads, gentlemen.
”

She asked a blessing on the food specifically, and the HMS
Dissuade
generally, said amen, and picked up her fork.

They ate in silence at first, then the captain looked up at Hannah, amusement on his face.
“
Forgive us, Miss Whittier, but we have been so long at sea that the art of dinner table conversation quite eludes us.
What should we be speaking of? Affairs of state? The economy of the nation? Ladies
’
fashions?
Price of corn whiskey?
What interests Americans?
”

Hannah smiled and tapped her biscuit on the table.
“
As to that, in
Nantucket
Mama tells us of her day, and Papa usually complains about the high price of everything.
”

Le
ase laughed.
“
I like that,
”
he said, and then went back to eating.

“
What did you talk about at table, Captain?
”should/span>
she asked when the surgeon seemed no more forthcoming.

The captain rested his elbow on the table.
“
I almost don
’
t remember. I was ten when I went to sea, after all. I suppose my mother asked about my lessons, when she was there.
”

“
And your father?
”
she prompted.

“
He was seldom there, either,
”
was the captain
’
s short reply. He addressed his attention to the salt beef again.

How sad, she thought, remembering the lively conversations around the
Whittier
table.
“
We argued politics, made fun of our neighbors, and Papa generally wished James Madison to the devil. Papa is a Federalist.
”

The captain laughed and pushed away his plate.
“
Do you care about politics, my dear Lady Amber?
”

“
I think it is the duty of all Americans,
”
she replied, taking another bite of the biscuit and wondering at his endearment.

“
Even those females who don
’
t vote?
”
he asked, twinkling his pale eyes in her direction.

She entered into his banter with no qualms.
“
Especially so, sir. Mama insists that someday I
will
be quite influential in helping some man cast
his
ballot!
”

The captain nodded.
“
I
don
’
t doubt that for a minute, Miss Whittier. How is it that you have escaped parson
’
s mouse
t
rap thus far?
”

“
Sir, hav
e a heart! I am just seventeen!”

The captain winced.
“
I had thought you older,
”
he said, and poured another, deeper glass of
Madeira
.
“
What, then, was a tender Quaker lass of seventeen doing traveling unescorted to
Charleston
? Excuse me if I am nosy, but we don
’
t get much good gossip on ship,
and I don
’
t care to discuss President Madison myself, although my political leanings are Whiggish.
”

She sm
iled and held out her glass. He paused a moment, then poured the
Madeira
.
“
You
’
re too young for very much of this,
”
he warned.

She
drank. “Tha
t
’
s good.
”

“
It should be. We picked that up from a Spanish coasting sloop out of
Jamaica
,
didn
’
t we Lease?”

Th
e surgeon nodded.
“
Really, Daniel, this lady will think we are little be
tt
er than pirates.
”

“
You don
’
t want to know what I
think
of you, sir!
”
she said, regretting her words the moment she said them, but forced into honesty by her nature.

“
No, I suppose we do no
t
,
”
the captain murmured.
“
But for the sake of improving our dinner table manners, do
tell
us why you were bound for
Charleston
.
”

She told them of Hosea and his bride and the
expected
baby.
“
Which I am sure is born by now. I would like to have
been
there to help out.
”

Spark shuddered.
“
Children are a nuisance, Miss Whittier. I am grateful that to my knowledge, ave none. Always mewling and puking, I wonder that anyone tolerates them.
”

Hannah thought of her list and smiled to herself as she crossed him off it yet again.
“
Perhaps if you had your own, they would not seem so troublesome.
”
She sighed.
“
And I suppose that was my other reason for
Charleston
. Papa and Hosea mean to find me a husband; someone steady with sufficient income.
”