Miss Whittier Makes a List (27 page)

The
Dissuade
was sinking now. Hannah looked back in al
arm as the frigate turn
ed bow down into the water and began a slow death spiral.
“
Jump!
”
she whispered fiercely, her hands clenched into fists. She watched, her heart in her throat, as the remaining men who could not fit into the small boats leaped off the rising stem.

“
Can you se
e
the captain?
”
she asked Adam anxiously.
“
Or Mr. Futtrell?
”

Adam squinted into the sun.
“
No, Hannah. But he will come about
.
Surely thee doesn
’
t think that is the first time something like that has happened to him?
”

Hannah shuddered and hung on to the tiller.
“
I think all I want to do now is get home to
Nantucket
!
”

Adam just grinned at her as they sailed into the harbor at
Terceira
. As they warped toward the dock, Andrew Lease
’
s boat right behind them, two launches pulled out from shore.

“
Tally-ho, indeed,
”
Adam said under his breath. He handed the sheet to a wounded man who could sit up and scrambled back to take the tiller. Hannah handed it off gratefully and grasped the wounded man again. She looked back at the
Dissuade
in time to see it sink in a maelstrom of whirling bubbles. Heads bobbed
in the water as another launch,
this one with a swivel gun mounted on the bow, moved toward them.

The launches sailing toward them bow abreast w
ar
ped and then backed their sails beside each boatld of wounded. Hannah looked at the soldiers hopefully.
“
What uniforms are those?
”
she whispered to Adam, who was eyeing the deck gun swiveling about to face them. But then the man wi
t
h the most gold braid spoke
to
t
hem in French, and she knew it didn
’
t ma
tt
er. Captain Spark had lost his gamble.

He leaned toward the boat, taking in t
he
bloody bandages of the wounded,
and goggling at her as she sat in the stem next to Adam
, head high. He removed his hat,
bowed—no easy feat in a bucking launch—and placed his hat over his heart.
“
M
essieurs
, mademoiselle, I must with regret place you under rest. Please follow me to the dock.
”

His E
nglish was quaint at best, but h
is meaning was
unmistakable, as he pointed to the deck gun, t
hen toward
t
he stone fortress that crowded the hill. Hannah smiled her sunniest greeting and nodded.

Adam looked on, amused.
“
Why doesn
’
t t
hee blow him a kiss, too?
”
he asked.

“
I would if I thought it would help,
”
she whispered back. Hannah turned around for one last look at t
he launch loading on the survivors from the
Dissuade,
then d
evoted her att
ention to the lieutenant in the French boat, who was still grinning at her.

Crowded by the French launches
,
Adam ran his gig up onto
t
he beach. Hannah hurried from the boat and helped one of the wounded men into the shallow water that lapped on the beach. He
sank
onto the sand and lay there, covering his eyes with his hand for protection from the sun. In a few minutes when all the wounded were lying on the beach, she looked up at the soldiers who
surrounded
them, more curious than belligerent
.
“
See here,
”
she began, her hands on her hips,
“
these men
need
to be taken to hospital. Can one of you authorize that?
”

The soldiers and fishermen who were gathering looked at
each other and shrugged. She turned to the officer with t
he gold braid who had hailed them fro
m the harbor,
but he only shrugged his shoulders, too. Obviously, his challenge at the bay
’
s entrance had exhausted both his English and his authority to respond.

Hannah repeated her entreaty as Andrew Lease approached, dragging his own wounded onto the beach. Adam
turn
ed
to
help.
“
Sir, can you not get these men out of the sun at least?
”
she asked the Frenchman one more time.

The French lieutenant shook his head.
“
The colonel is coming,
”
he said.
“
We can wait with patience.
”

“
Save your breath,
”
murmured
the surgeon.
“
The fun begins when Daniel hits the beach.
”
He took her by the
ar
m.
“
Whatever they do to him
,
you are not to object. He told me to tell you that, and he did not make a bet this time.
”

Hannah sighed and sat down on the sand, creating shade with her body f
or the wounded man who had no arm
s to protect his ey
es. The sun was hot on her face,
and she wished the cap
tai
n
’
s straw hat hadn
’
t gone down with the
Dissuade.

The launch with the
Dissuade
survivors was soon docked. As she watched, the captain, hands tied behind his
back,
was hauled off the boat, followed by the sailors who had
jumped from the stem of the sinking ship. She looked for Mr. Futtre
ll
,
but he was nowhere to be seen.

“
Stay here,
Hannah;
”
Adam cautioned as she got to her feet, her eyes on the captain.
“
Oh, and look who
’
s coming.
”

She gulped and looked away from Captain Spark, who w
as on his knees now in the sand,
a pistol pointed direc
tl
y at his hea
d. It could only be the colonel,
who was covered with gold braid and wearing a vas
tl
y ill-fitting wig stylish in the last century. Sweat streamed down his face, and he appeared to be in a foul humor, stalking on short legs toward the crowd of soldiers and fishe
rme
n.

“
Did we interrupt his luncheon?
”
Adam whispered.
“
Well, here goes.
”

Adam hurried forward, shouldering aside the French soldiers who tried
to
drag Captain Spark to the colonel first. He stopped in front of the colonel.
“
Sir,
”
he began, shouting to be heard over the tumult of voices behind him.
“
My friend Hannah and I are American citizens and we demand the protection of
France
from this monster who wears a British uniform.
”

Hannah gasped and started forward, but Lease grabbed her hand.
“
Leave him alone,
”
he hissed.
“
He knows what he
’
s doing! Do you want to get out of this place with a whole skin, or not?
”

She stood where she was, watching Adam speaking so earnestly to the colonel, who listened intently, then motioned her forward. She hurried past the captain, hesitating only when the soldier guarding Spark kicked him in the stomach and he flopped onto his side, gasping for breath.

Adam grabbed her and held her close to him.
“
Sir, we demand your protection!
”

The colonel looked at her from her d
isheveled hair to her bare toes,
interest replacing irritation.
“
It is truwhat he says? He was impressed by this scoundrel and your ship was blown from the water?
”

Adam had apparently left off the finer point that it was a French ship which sank the
Molly Claridge.
She thought to correct the error, but as she was trying to figure out how to express this diplomatica
ll
y, Captain Spark raised up on his knees again.
“
Yes, and I sank your damned frigate
Bergeron
,
”
he shouted. I’
d do it again in a minute!
”
He disappeared then in a crowd of soldiers.

Hannah cried out and tr
ied to pull away from Adam, but he refused to let her go. The
colonel, undone by her tears, patt
ed her on the back.

“
There, there,
ma c
h
è
re,
I am certain we can do for you what you wish,
”
he consoled as his troops beat Captain Spark and the other sailors rescued from the
Dissuade.
“
We shall return you promptly to the
United States
, if that is your desire.
”