Sail With Me (A Discovery Series Book) (13 page)

“I’m sure he loves you too, Charlie. How could he not?” Daniel ran his
thumb along my knuckles. How could a simple move like that awaken all my nerve
endings at once?

He released my hand and hooked some of my hair behind my ear with his
finger. His touch made my pulse jump. “Tell me about your brothers.”

“My brothers are wonderful, when they’re around. Riley sent me this.” I
reached into my shirt and pulled out the shell necklace I always wore around my
neck.

Daniel fingered it at my throat. “I noticed that on your first day.”

“It came with a letter that gave me the idea to pretend to be a boy to
get on this ship. Riley wrote about Florida, how I would love it. I decided to
be a boy and see what would happen.”

“And here you are with me, being a girl instead,” Daniel said. “And a
beautiful girl at that.” He nuzzled my neck with his nose and rested his head on
my shoulder.

“It’s easy to be a beautiful girl when I’m the
only
girl here.”

Daniel raised his head. “Charlie, there could be a boat full of girls,
but you’d still be all I’d see.”

He leaned in and kissed me again. All the emotions that had been conjured
up thinking about my father quieted. Daniel brought about a peace in me.

He filled the empty spaces.

When I first saw it I wasn’t sure what I was seeing. Dark gray lumps rose
out of the water in the distance. From my perch in the crow’s nest, I squinted
in the dawning sun. After reaching into the pocket of Eric’s breeches, I pulled
out the captain’s spyglass, which he had given to me two days ago.

Now I held it to my eye and focused in on the pewter shadows lining the
horizon. My heart drummed in my ears as the wide, swaying leaves of strange
looking trees filled my vision. A sandy shore kissed the ocean below the trees.
When I raised my head, a rocky coast came into view beyond the shoreline.

I blinked several times, thinking that perhaps it was all a mirage, but
when my eyes focused again, the land was there. Really there.

“Captain!” I swung my legs over the side of the crow’s nest and scurried
down the main mast. “Captain Finley!”

I raced to the helm and before I had a chance to catch my breath, the
captain said, “You’ve seen it, boy, haven’t you?”

“Aye, Captain. Land. Off the starboard bow.”

Several crewmen hurried to the starboard side of the
Rose,
and the
cheer that roared from their throats filled me with such joy.

The captain strode to the railing with a calmness I would have thought
impossible on such an occasion.

“Good job, Charlie.” He pulled me over to his side. “What do you think of
your first sight of a new shore?”

“It’s amazing, sir.”  

“Aye, that it is,” Captain Finley agreed. “The New World.”

A light nudge against my shoulder had me turning to my left. “Daniel,” I
said with probably too much emotion, but no one noticed with a thing like land
filling up their heads.

“I can’t wait,” he whispered into my ear before stepping away from me and
leaning on the railing to study the coast himself.

I spent a long moment looking at Daniel and thinking about what might
unfold when we set foot in the New World. A new world indeed!

“All right, gentlemen,” Captain Finley shouted. “Listen up.”

Every crewman gathered around and gave the captain his—and
her
—full
attention.

“We sail all day today,” he began. “Then, tonight, we anchor and we
celebrate what is to come.”

Another loud cheer arose from the crew at the prospect of both a party
tonight and making landfall soon.

A broad smile creased Captain Finley’s face as he surveyed his crew. His
pride in this voyage was evident, as was his eagerness to set foot in the
Americas. The same eagerness coursed through my own veins.

Daniel turned from the rail and walked by me. “Help me in the galley
later?”

“Sure.”

“Good. There’s much to prepare if we’re going to celebrate properly.” He
shot me a warm smile. The kind that made my insides turn to liquid and drip to
my feet.

“Charlie!”

I jumped at the sound of the captain’s voice and whirled around. “Aye, sir.”

“Run back to the lookout and make sure our present course is free of
obstacles.”

“Yes, Captain.” I jogged to the main mast and climbed to the crow’s nest.
If I had to wait to be with Daniel in the galley, I could think of no better
place to spend the hours than at my post watching the Americas—my dreams—inch
closer and closer to me.

Daniel and I toted trays of food up to the waiting crew. The top deck of
the
Rose
was buzzing with the merry sounds of men enjoying themselves.
Most of the crew sat around a central fire burning in a tin barrel, the golden
glow flickering off their bearded faces while they played dice games or
chatted. Timmy and Jonah sat by their father’s feet, laughing and eating. I was
reminded of my first night with this crew when Captain Finley told the tale of Janie
Sheridan and Aidan O’Roarke. So much had happened since then.  

The shrill sound of a wooden pipe caught my attention as Daniel and I
neared the fire. Old George Fairwell tooted out a Celtic-sounding tune. Timmy
and Jonah jumped up to dance. The two brothers moved in perfect rhythm to the
melody ringing clear from George’s pipe. Their shoes knocking on the wooden
deck boards added a percussion beat that enriched the song. The other crewmen
clapped their hands in time with the music, and the boys danced until George
ran out of air, bringing his ditty to a close. A hearty round of applause had
Timmy and Jonah taking a bow before resuming their seats at their father’s
feet.

Daniel edged me toward the group and as soon as Captain Finley saw us he
stood. “Charlie, Daniel, come sit by me.”

We each took a crate on either side of the captain. Ghost scrambled out
from among the crew’s booted feet and jumped onto my lap. Stroking his silky
fur, I turned my attention to Captain Finley.

“You boys have done a right good job on this journey. Proud to have you
both with us.” He raised his mug in salute.

“Thank you, Uncle,” Daniel said.

Captain Finley put his hand on Daniel’s shoulder. “Your parents would be
right proud of you, just as I am.”

Daniel turned his gaze to the fire.

“And you, Charlie,” the captain began. “I was right to take you on. You
work hard, you follow orders, you can sight a reef from miles away, and you
don’t get sick, just as you said on day one.” He cuffed me on the back of the
neck. “Besides, you’ve made Daniel easier to live with.”

Daniel grunted, but his lips turned up into a smirk.

“I’m glad you gave me a job, sir. It’s been an honor being part of this
crew,” I said.

“You think you’ll be wanting to go on more adventures? Is sea salt in
your veins?”

“Definitely, Captain.”

“Well, Charlie, you’ll always be welcome on the
Rose
,” he said.

“Thank you, sir.” My throat was so tight as I looked at Daniel. His uncle
wouldn’t want me on any more ventures once he knew I was female.

“We still have a great deal of work ahead of us, you know.” He pointed
into the darkness. “We know there’s land out there. Probably reach it tomorrow.
What we don’t know is what or who is already there.”

“You mean like wild animals or… natives?” Riley’s letter had mentioned
trading with natives. Had they found some in Florida? Were they friendly?
Savage?

“Wild animals and natives are two possibilities. But that’s part of the
journey now, isn’t it? The unknown. The mystery. The danger,” Captain Finley
said.

“That’s why we don’t bring any women with us,” one of the crewmen
hollered out, eliciting a hearty laugh from all the men gathered.

I did not laugh. Neither did Daniel. Instead, I couldn’t breathe.

“Mystery and danger are too much for their dainty hearts to take,”
another crewman added, fluttering his eyelids and putting his hand to his
chest.

My teeth ground together as I fought to stay quiet.

“Maybe so, but I’d sure like to lay eyes on a woman right now,” the deck
hand sitting right next to me said. Agreement emanated from the group at that
comment.

Daniel shifted in his seat, his jaw tensed. The hand resting on his knee
was balled into a tight fist.

“What kind of men can’t go a couple of months without the company of a
woman?” I said, getting up from my seat.

“Do mommies count?” Timmy said. “’Cause I want to be one of the men, but
I miss Mummy.”

All the men laughed and when I looked at Daniel, he was smiling again
too. Walter reached down and pulled Timmy onto his lap.

“You know what?” he said. “I miss Mummy too.”

“Mothers can be missed,” Captain Finely said, “but we can’t be having
beautiful women on board distracting my crew.”

“What about some ugly ones, Cap’n?” another deckhand joked. More laughter
swept among the crew.

“Seriously, men. A ship is a working vessel. No place for a woman.”
Captain Finley rested his hand on my shoulder and I dropped the mug I held.

“How would you know it isn’t a place for a woman if you’ve never allowed
a woman to work for you?” Daniel said.

As I retrieved my mug, I glared at Daniel, my eyes begging him to drop
the topic. To just let it go.

Captain Finley shook his head. “Females are bad luck on a ship, and
everywhere else as well. Common knowledge. I’ve taught you that much, Daniel.”

Several crewmen mumbled in agreement with the captain. Daniel opened his
mouth to say more, but his eyes connected with mine for a moment, and I silently
pleaded with him to stop. He turned around and faced the fire again.

“I think you should take a chance, Uncle.” Daniel bent over to stoke the
fire then sat back down.

I breathed a sigh of relief when Captain Finley raised his hands in the
air but didn’t continue this line of conversation. I was surer than ever that
telling the captain about me was not going to be easy. It’d be messy in fact. I
didn’t want Daniel to get hurt in the process either. He meant too much to me.

He meant everything to me.   

****

The men ate, joked, and sang long into the evening. I ate little myself,
my stomach a pile of nerves after listening to Captain Finley speak about women
aboard his ship. What was I doing? I couldn’t come between Daniel and his only
family member. His love for—and debt to—his uncle was deep. I was but a foolish
girl turning Daniel’s head for a little while. I was not his family. I was
nothing.

I allowed this line of thinking to expand and exaggerate within the
confines of my mind then made a decision. I had to let Daniel go. It was the
only way to guarantee his relationship with his uncle remained intact. I
couldn’t ask him to go against the years of teaching and care Captain Finley
had given him. I’d be selfish to even consider it.

I stood and with a glance at Daniel talking to Walter, I headed for the
ladder to our bunks. I had to get away from the celebration before my tears
ruined it. My heart had been broken when my mother died, when my father refused
to let me sail, when my brothers left to explore the world, but the ache in my
chest right now hurt worse than all that.

“Where are you going?”

I wiped the corners of my eyes and turned around. Daniel stood a few
paces away with Ghost perched on his left shoulder. My eyes stung as I fought
to keep from crying. How could I give Daniel up? How could I?

He crossed the distance between us and whispered, “Don’t let my uncle’s
speech worry you, Charlie. His wife, my Aunt Isabelle, ran off on him when my
cousin, Ronald, was three years of age.” The compassion Daniel had for his
uncle deepened the blue of his eyes, and I was entranced by the color. 

“He raised Ronald on his own then?” I asked. 

“Yes. He stopped sailing for about ten years and worked building boats in
Portsmouth so he could stay in one place. Be a good father to Ronald… and to
me.”

Again, another tidbit about Captain Finley that made me respect him even
if his beliefs about women on ships resembled my father’s.

I dropped my head into my hands and let out a long, strained breath.

“Don’t get me wrong,” Daniel began. “My uncle isn’t a saint.”

“Sure seems like one.” 

He offered me a comforting smile. “Let me worry about my uncle, all
right?”

“I don’t want to cause any trouble. I think we shouldn’t—”

“Don’t.” He shook his head, and Ghost rubbed his cheek against Daniel’s.
Watching the cat made me want to do the same.

Daniel leaned in closer. “Don’t say something you don’t mean. My life is
better with you in it, Charlie, so don’t get any silly notions in that head of
yours.”

It was a silly notion. Of course I wanted to be with him. If he was
willing to risk his uncle getting angry, then cripes, so was I. 

****

From the crow’s nest, I examined the coast with the captain’s spyglass,
and the colors that came back to me were a welcome sight. We had been on the
Atlantic for nearly four months with limited colors to view. Blue waters and
skies. White and gray clouds. Black nights. Only the sunrise and sunset offered
a change from those four hues.

The colors that met my eyes now were amazing. Vibrant and varied greens
dotted with deep shades of red. Across the bluest sky, birds streaked by with
every color of the rainbow soaked into their feathers.

“Oh,” I gasped as I squinted through the spyglass. I had not seen such
beauty since weeding in Lady Elizabeth’s gardens on summer days. Suddenly my
desire to get to land came swelling back, filling me.

I pulled the spyglass from my eye and scanned the waters below the
Rose
.
A sandy color peeked up at me through the crystal clear water now that the
bottom was not buried so deeply. Captain Finley’s ship was shallow on the draft
so we could get closer to shore than most vessels, but I had to keep a sharp
eye and not let us run aground.

I had to be sure if we needed to make a hasty retreat, we could.