Windswept (15 page)

Nora laughed with her until they both fell against the cavern walls for support. Finally Nora stated the conclusion which restored her previous opinion of her captain. “That’s what Jacob was doing here this morning,” she said. “He’s the one who damaged the lantern so it couldn’t be used in the future to attract ships. Thank goodness we came here before the tide went out, Fanny, or the kerosene would have been washed away. We might never have examined the fuel well.”

Fanny hugged her cousin. “I think you’re right,
cherie
. The hero who pulled you from the water of Key West harbor can remain your hero after all.”

The women left the cave and climbed back on top of the jetty to make their way to shore. It had been a worthwhile endeavor after all.

Jacob Proctor was grateful he possessed one of only fourteen horses on the island of Key West. Eight of them were privately owned animals like Jacob’s, and six were kept by the city to pull the occasional carriage, delivery or fire-fighting wagon. All the horses shared the same livery, located a few blocks off Duval Street, and that was where Jacob Proctor went for the second time in one day.

After saddling the sleek chestnut Arabian mare once more, Jacob stroked his hand down her gleaming burgundy mane. “So, Rasha, two runs in the same day. It’s quite a treat for you, girl.” He swung into the saddle and accepted the reins from the stable boy. “I think I need this ride more than you do,” he said to the anxious horse. “I’ve had my fill of crates and barrels and preparations for the auction. I think a good run by the sea will do us both good.”

Besides, he thought as he guided the animal out of the livery yard, it would be an added bonus to catch old Swain cursing his bad luck as he came over the jetty with a defective fuel well in his hand.

Rasha was perfectly suited to the climate of Key West, which is why Jacob chose her five years ago from among his father’s private stock of horses. Hot blooded Arabians were bred to endure heat and, in fact, thrived in it.

He had to pull back on the reins to keep her from breaking into a gallop despite the cloying humidity that was the only threat to the horse’s well being. “Where’s all that horse sense you’re supposed to have, Rasha,” he said, keeping the mare at a steady trot. “You should have learned to pace yourself in this climate by now.”

Once they escaped the confines of buildings and city streets and rode along a line of sweeping palms, both rider and animal exhilarated in the anticipation of open space and salt air. Ducking his head, Jacob broke through the palms, feeling the brush of fronds on his back. Then they were free. Only sand and crushed shells separated them from the water.

They were free, but they were not alone. Jacob pulled hard on the reins and brought the horse to a sudden stop. He squinted through slanting rays of a sun setting at his back to identify two figures clambering across the jetty. His first instinct was to assume they were island children, since their bodies were slim and their clothing scanty. Besides, only Bahamian youngsters with the skills of mountain goats and the hard-soled feet of native islanders would cross the rough surface of the jetty…or someone with the devious motives of Moony Swain.

Then he shook his head and blinked hard to convince himself that the hardy souls on the jetty could not possibly be who they appeared to be…no, it was inconceivable. Yet one had hair the color of red hibiscus blossoms and the other’s shone with the ebony of a crow’s wing. And now that he could see better, their clothing, what little there was of it, reflected the sun as only fine bleached cotton could.

Jacob sat forward on his horse, his elbow on the saddle horn, and watched the scene at the jetty with mounting interest and increasing certainty. It was painfully obvious that the women were not comfortable in their attempt to cross the punishing rock. At intervals they shook their hands and feet as if those appendages were in contact with hot coals…or the jagged edges of hard coral.

“Well, Miss Seabrook and Mademoiselle Cosette,” Jacob whispered to no one but the disinterested horse. “What would His Honor say if he saw you now? And what in God’s name are you doing climbing the jetty?”

Surely they hadn’t discovered Moony’s lantern during the course of their little adventure. Surely they hadn’t ventured into the cavern. No, of course not. Nora Seabrook can’t even swim and she would never risk her life by doing something so foolhardy. And yet if she did make it to the cave, the water wouldn’t be over her head even at high tide.

There was only one thing to do. He had to investigate this situation more thoroughly. If the women had discovered Moony’s lantern, then they probably would tell the judge, and all hell would break loose on the island. There would be writs and rules and more bothersome statutes. A damned bit of bad luck considering Jacob had taken care of this particular problem himself only that morning.

He spurred Rasha to the water where the women were now soaking their smarting feet and hands. One question occurred to him as he approached them. If the lantern hadn’t been an issue, would he have found a reason to confront the women anyway? Never was a question more difficult to answer. Was there ever a more tempting, if not forbidden sight, as the two sea nymphs who laughed in the waves in full view of his feasting eyes. But the fact remained that Nora Seabrook was beyond his grasp and intentions. She was, after all, a good woman and therefore had no place in his future. And yet, despite his efforts, he couldn’t

Fanny was always fun. Even with the soles of their feet and pads of their hands stinging from the coral rock, Nora splashed her cousin and received as good she gave in the war of the water. Waves rolled in more gently now in a calm afternoon breeze, and neither lady had the slightest inclination to return to the shore and put her clothes back on.

Nora was just about to comment that it was a welcome luxury to be able to bathe in the ocean in such total freedom without worrying about proper decorum and dress. She was just about to suggest to Fanny that they come back often when a rippling snort from the shore trapped the words in her throat.

She half stood and whirled around in the water, but lost her balance and fell to her backside in the surf. A wave crested against the back of her head and rolled over her shoulders, sending sea spray into her mouth which was wide open in shock. Not ten yards away, a huge chestnut horse pawed pieces of shells with its front hoof and shook its large head in the salty wind. And in its saddle sat Jacob Proctor.

Resisting her first instinct to squeal, stand, and run for her clothes, Nora instead crouched lower into the water. She knew, as she was certain Jacob did, that frilly cotton did an extremely inadequate job of hiding those body parts that should only be exposed in one’s bath. Crossing her arms over her chest, Nora finally squawked, “Captain, how long have you been here?”

He smiled a slow, lazy grin of bold delight which had an immediate effect of raising the water temperature everywhere the sea touched Nora’s skin.

“Long enough to see your escapade on the jetty,” he said, looking from Nora to Fanny who sat on her knees casually threading water through her fingers. “You are certainly an adventurous pair.”

“Adventurous is one way of putting it, Captain,” Fanny said with a bright chuckle. “Addle-brained might be another. A woman should know better than to climb those rocks without gloves and brogans.”

“True enough. So why did you do it?”

Fanny looked to her cousin. There was an unmistakable glimmer of devilment in her eyes that made Nora hold her breath in anticipation of her answer. “My dear cousin was on a quest, weren’t you,
cherie
?” she said.

“A quest? How silly, Fanny,” Nora said with forced gaiety. “It was nothing so important as that.”

Jacob pulled his knee onto the saddle and grasped the pummel with both hands. His gaze washed over Nora as completely as the waves that cascaded over her shoulders. “So what were you hoping to find, Nora?”

The last thing she wanted Jacob Proctor to know was that she was so interested in his affairs that she would give up an afternoon to pursue them. Not this man whose attentions to her changed from steam to ice in a moment’s passing. Theo’s story and her search for the lantern would remain her secret, so long as Fanny would keep her counsel. She glared at her cousin, imparting a definite warning. “Sea life, Captain,” she said. “Nothing more. I have a scholarly interest in my new environment that will only be satisfied by first-hand observation.”

Again that confident smile that did more to scorch Nora’s cheeks than the blazing sun. “I see. And what sea items did you find on…or around the jetty? You must have encountered any number of small crustaceans or water beetles…or other, large things.”

The realization that she might have been crawling among insects was far from pleasing, but Nora kept up her pretense and took it a step farther. “Oh, I did. It was quite interesting. How is it that you know so much about what can be found around the jetty, Captain? Do you spend a lot of time here?”

A slight knitting of his brows, which would only be noticeable to one who had memorized every feature of his face in fantasies and dreams, hinted of an alert wariness. Most certainly he was connected with the jetty’s secrets. But did he suspect that Nora was as well?

“Only when necessary,” he said. “Unlike you, I don’t come to the jetty for pleasure.”

“Oh, fiddlesticks,” Fanny interrupted. “This conversation is getting us nowhere. I can’t tell which one of you is
le chat
and which is
la souris
.”

Even with her limited knowledge of French, Nora understood Fanny’s reference and simmered with mortification. She just hoped Jacob couldn’t identify the words,
cat
and
mouse
.

It didn’t really matter because their dialogue came to an abrupt end when Fanny stood up in the water and walked toward shore. Her undergarments clung to her body despite her efforts to pull the fabric away from her skin. “Come along, Nora,” she said with as much nonchalance as if she were strolling fully clothed along a public thoroughfare. “We found what we came for, and we’ve been gone so long Sid will have half the employees of the Federal court out looking for us…as well as a certain pesky houseguest I needn’t mention by name.”

To his credit Jacob averted his gaze from Fanny’s immodest journey to shore and pretended interest in a patch of whispering sea oats near the water’s edge. Perhaps he did have manners after all. Since Theo probably would be searching for them and she could hardly ignore Fanny’s warning, Nora raised herself until water rippled at her chest. “My cousin is right, Captain,” she said. “If you would be so considerate as to ride away now, I could retrieve my clothing without embarrassment.”

He turned his full attention on her, and she felt his warm regard from the top of her head to where the water caressed her breasts. All at once the rippling current touching her camisole created a pleasurable and unexpected friction against her nipples. She refrained from retreating further into her watery cloak. She wasn’t ready to sacrifice the unfamiliar yet exciting sensation. And she certainly couldn’t get out of the water and risk tell-tale exposure to the captain’s gaze. So Nora sat right where she was.

Still Jacob refused to look away. In fact, his eyes glittered with challenging intensity. “You present me with a difficult decision, Nora. Consideration for your sensibilities versus gratification for my fantasies. An impossible choice for any red-blooded male. But since I wouldn’t want to be responsible for your skin wrinkling, and since I suspect you might have a fascinating story to tell at the judge’s dinner table tonight, I will leave you and your cousin alone.”

She breathed a deep sigh which she suspected was the reason a grin curled his full lips. “Thank you, Jacob.”

He turned his horse and started away from the shore, but Nora called after him. “Captain, you’re wrong. I don’t have a story to tell the judge tonight. This afternoon’s activities were meant only to satisfy my own curiosity.”

He stopped and brought his horse around toward her. “Is that so?”

“Yes, and I am quite satisfied with my findings.”

Laughing to himself, Jacob rode to the line of palms. When the trees had swallowed up his view of the ladies on shore, he slowed Rasha’s gait to a trot.
Chat
and
Souris
, indeed! He enjoyed every moment he spent with Nora Seabrook, and she was beginning to warm his blood as surely as the tropical climate of Key West warmed his skin.

“But this cat and mouse business is not the game for you, Jacob Proctor,” he admonished himself. “Get this bloody auction over with so Monday morning you can put half an ocean between you and this woman who can only suffer ill in your hands.”

Chapter Ten

On Friday morning, the seven students in The Island School for Reading had just learned the configuration and sound of the letter “h.” Examples were given listlessly.
Harbor, hoop, hook, house…

Listening to lackluster responses, Nora leaned against her desk and regarded her students with a frustrated stare. “What is wrong with everyone today?” she asked. “When we get to “I” it will be a miracle if I get one example from each of you.”

As usual Felix Obalu spoke for his timid classmates. “But Miss Nora, can’t you hear it? Why don’t you just once look out the window?”