Windswept (12 page)

Grateful that Theo was involved in a legal discussion with her father, Nora exited the house before he could ask to join her and walked briskly to the harbor. She passed Gentleman Bill Barley’s Inn and Eatery, by far the nicest restaurant in town. It was full both inside and on the veranda with couples dressed in their finery. The remainder of Duval Street was dotted mostly with taverns. Nora smiled when she remembered a story she’d heard from Dillard Hyde her first day on the island.

“Oh, yes, Miss Seabrook,” he’d said when they’d passed a row of taverns, “Key West has more drinking spots than any other city its size in the country.” He’d laughed then and related an interesting tale. “Why, when the citizens were trying to get a minister to stay in town two decades ago, the bar keepers banded together and ran the good reverend out of town, claiming he was bad for business!”

Apparently the two factions had come to terms, since Key West now had three churches, four if you counted the one for the Negro community. Of course, there was still no shortage of taverns. And each of them was enjoying the profits of the sudden burgeoning population.

Nora headed directly for Jimmy Teague’s knowing that Jacob Proctor was friendly with the proprietor. And, too, laughter and music was loudest at that establishment. She’d chosen wisely. Anyone searching for boisterous entertainment and a jolly crowd need look no further than Jimmy Teague’s Tavern this night. The inside was crammed to capacity, with revelers spilling out onto the veranda. And, sure enough, Jacob Proctor was among them.

Nora had planned to stay on the outside, in the shadows, watching from a safe distance. She did not intend to be drawn into the throng which represented a wide range of cultural diversity. There were sailors and divers and local businessmen. Men in dress suits mingled with fellows clad in coarse Lindsey woolsey. And, most noticeably, there were very few women, and these few looked as natural in their environment as if they spent every night at Jimmy Teague’s -- especially the golden-haired, buxom beauty on Jacob Proctor’s knee.

The woman laughed and bent to whisper some secret in Jacob’s ear. It must have pleased him because his mouth sought her neck and he planted a kiss under her ear. She stroked his hair, threw back her head and laughed again. He picked up his mug, raised it to his companions and gulped down the dark contents.

Unable to draw her gaze from Jacob and his companion, Nora questioned her decision to come to the harbor. What had she expected when she left her home to follow the sounds of the night and her silly fantasies about a man who didn’t know she existed. She turned to go back to Southard Street when a hand reached out and grabbed her elbow.

“Hello, pretty lass,” came a gravely voice with a strong Irish brogue. “Lovely evenin’ ain’t it?”

She looked up into a ruddy face partially hidden by a full beard and moustache. His facial hair was as red as the thick strands jutting out from the band of an old flat-crowned cap. He was a big man, the tallest Nora had seen on the island, but she wasn’t afraid. His smile was ready, and his eyes appeared kind.

“Hello,” she said. “Yes, it is a nice evening.”

“But e’en so, I must ask, why are ye standin’ on the outside lookin’ in, when the whole world’s on a toot at Jimmy Teague’s? Come on, lass, let me buy ye a pint.”

“You want to buy me a drink?” She foolishly pointed to herself as if she needed to verify the invitation.

“Now who else would I be askin’ since it’s only you and me on the street.”

She looked inside the bar at a crowd of nearly a hundred people as well as she could determine. Certainly there was safety in such large numbers. She glanced to the veranda where Jacob Proctor had just slipped his arm around the ample waist of the woman on his lap. She responded by sidling even closer to his chest. Nora had seen enough. Why shouldn’t she go inside Teague’s Tavern? Why shouldn’t Nora Seabrook have as much fun as everyone else was having? There wasn’t a reason she could think of. “I accept your offer, Mr…”

“Mullins, miss. Paddy O’Clerk Mullins, at your service.” He took her arm and whisked her into the tavern before she even had a chance to tell him her name. And almost as quickly she had a full mug in her hand. She took a long swallow and nearly choked on the bitter taste of strong ale going down her throat. The second dose went down more smoothly. Nora didn’t really care for ale, but she figured for this night only, she could manage it.

Jacob wasn’t at all certain he liked being the center of attention. He could accept easily enough his friends’ good natured teasing about the profits to come his way on Friday. But he resented being asked by out-of-town buyers for tips on which barrels held the best bargains. “You’ll have to decide that for yourself,” he said time and again. “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.”

“You tell ‘em, dearie,” Lottie said in his ear after a particularly tiresome merchant had been a recipient of Jacob’s retort. She nuzzled her lips against his neck and nipped playfully. “I’m feelin’ awful tired, love,” she said, and then settled her hand boldly between his legs. “How about you, Jacob? You feelin’ the urge to go upstairs?”

He wanted to decline her offer as gallantly as possible, but he hadn’t been able to think of a reason. In fact he didn’t know why the voluptuous Lottie didn’t entice him as she usually did. He looked to Willy Turpin, hoping he would come up with an excuse, but his mate wasn’t paying any attention. His eyes were riveted on a scene in the tavern.

“Look there, Captain,” Will said. “Are my eyes playin’ tricks on me, or is that lady in the pink dress Miss Seabrook?”

Jacob scoffed, certain there was no way the well-bred Nora would be in Jimmy Teague’s. But the proof was in the viewing, because there she was, surrounded by more than a dozen men, some of whom he recognized as locals, and most of whom he didn’t like. “What the hell…” he muttered, half standing up and dislodging Lottie from his lap.

Familiar strains of an old sailor’s ditty broke out in the barroom.

Loudly the bell in the old lighthouse rings,

Bidding farewell to the danger it brings…

Sailor take care

Sailor beware
…

One female voice rose above
the gruff baritones of her drunken companions. Nora raised her mug in the air and sang in a clear contralto, “
Danger is near thee, beware, beware
…”

Squinting into the low-lit room, Jacob demanded, “Is that Bull Mullins standing next to her?”

Willy put a restraining hand on Jacob’s arm as if he knew what was to follow. “I think it is, Captain.”

“Has she lost her mind? Does she have any idea what that man is like when he’s had a few pints too many?”

“I’d venture to say she doesn’t know at all, Jacob.”

At that moment the song ended in a crescendo of laughter, and Bull Mullins put his arm around Nora. She wriggled out of his grasp, but he wasn’t dissuaded. The beefy arm snaked its way again, this time with more forcefulness. Nora put her hand on his broad chest and tried to push him away, but Bull wasn’t going anywhere. In fact his face came down toward hers an instant before Jacob Proctor’s chair hit the floor with a thud. Leaving a startled Lottie staring after him, Jacob crossed the veranda in three strides and went inside the barroom.

The crowd in the tavern split in half to accommodate Jacob who strode through the room with fists balled. He heard Nora’s clear command for Bull to let her go at the same time he pulled the big man away from her. She squealed in surprise as Bull Mullins was thrust into the brass railing of Jimmy’s counter.

“Keep your hands off her, Bull,” Jacob ground out.

“And just what gives you the right to order me around, Proctor?”

Jacob may have had a bit too much to drink, but he wasn’t drunk enough to be stupid. He knew Bull Mullins could pummel him within an inch of his life if he antagonized the big man. He pulled himself up to his full six feet two inches, which still left him lacking in size compared to Mullins, and fixed a stony glare on the man’s swarthy face. Then he called on pure dumb luck and Bull’s general ignorance. “She’s my cousin," Jacob said, "and that gives me all the right I need.” He glanced over his shoulder at Nora, and she blinked her astonishment. “I told you to stay home tonight cousin,” he snapped at her.

Bull’s blurry eyes registered a hint of comprehension. “She’s your c..cousin?”

“She is.” Jacob risked another look at Nora, and was rewarded with a smug grin. “You’re not coming out of the house again during this visit,” he threatened before turning his attention back to Bull. “Sorry, mate, but this one’s off limits.”

Bull didn’t look happy about the unexpected turn of events which put the brakes on his evening, but he made no aggressive move. Thankfully the town was so full of strangers, no one had recognized the judge’s daughter, including her amorous suitor. Still, Jacob wasted no time. He grabbed Nora’s arm and pushed her ahead of him out a side door of the tavern.

 Once outside he backed her against a wall and held his index finger up like a weapon, daring her to move one inch. She didn’t. He paced in a little circle, stopping at each revolution to stare at her until he could get his emotions under control. He managed to quell the anger that had been boiling inside him, but it was replaced by another emotion that was almost as dangerous to his sense of well being. She looked so damned lovely in the moonlight, her face flushed and her eyes bold as blue ice.

Finally he found the words he was seeking, and once they started, a geyser of emotion spewed from his lips. “Do you have any idea what you were getting yourself into in there? This isn’t Virginia, Miss Seabrook. This is Key West, and you’d damn well better remember it! What the hell did you think you were doing, parading around Jimmy’s like that?”

“Like what?” she asked innocently.

“Like that. In that dress.” With one finger he flipped the edge of a ruffle that rimmed her bodice. He spun his hands around his head. “With that black silk hair all loose and hanging down like that. If I hadn’t come in the tavern when I did, you would have found youself in big trouble, I hope you know it!”

“Jacob…” she said softly.

“What?”

“Would you like to kiss me?”

Chapter Eight

Had those words really come out of her mouth? Nora was standing inches away from the man her father claimed might very well be the most dangerous one in Key West, the same man who’d scorned her a few nights before in his cupola, and seconds ago, she’d practically given him an open invitation to do it again.

Despite these rather shocking facts, Nora almost gave in to a ripple of giggles. The truth was, she didn’t have the slightest inclination to take back what she’d said. Was life worth living if a person didn’t take a few risks? No! And this risk was worth taking, if only to see what this man would do.

And what he did was glare at her in awkward silence. Obviously there were words inside him trying to find their way to his mouth…words that demanded to be said. But so far his jaw had moved, though he hadn’t made a sound. And Nora gloried in the notion that she had rendered him speechless.

He looked away from her, and a transformation occurred, for when his eyes captured hers again, he was the old Captain Proctor once more…cocky, confident and in charge.

A scowl drew his lips downward and narrowed his eyes. “Did you hear a word I said?” he demanded.

“Yes, I heard every one of them.”

“Well, you’re obviously not taking me seriously.”

“That’s because I think you’re much
too
serious.”

“What does that mean?”

Nora relaxed her stance. She stepped away from the wall so just her shoulder touched the wooden siding. It was a casual pose, as if she were standing under a shade tree conversing with a suitor at a picnic. She hadn’t liked the ale, but perhaps it had given her the courage to pretend a blase attitude now.

“Captain,” she said calmly, “the day of the wreck, you indicated that you have no interest in me whatsoever. As I recall, you kissed me and then demanded that I be on my way as if I had somehow offended you.”

“You didn’t offend me, Nora. And anyway, it didn’t mean you should parade about in the dark of night seeking the company of the first big ape who comes your way.”

“I didn’t seek Mr. Mullins’ company. He sought mine.”

“It amounts to the same thing. You encouraged him at the very least.”

“I did not. No more than I encouraged you in the cupola. And you did exactly what Mr. Mullins only tried to do.”

A sudden light flashed in Jacob’s eyes. It was the proverbial glimmer of truth, and Nora realized he’d had to accept her point as valid.

“Perhaps you’re right,” he said, “but Mullins would have done it if I hadn’t stopped him.”

“Or if I hadn’t,” she said matter-of-factly.

“And yet you say you weren’t encouraging him?”

“That’s right. I wasn’t.”

A wry grin of victory slanted across his face. “Well, then, Nora, what do you call what you just did with me? That question you just asked me?”

“When I asked if you wanted to kiss me?”