"Welcome to the Abrolhos Ritz, where we'll be staying in the old guano miners' quarters," Dominic announced, waving extravagantly at the collection of derelict sheds behind us.
My heart sank. They made our old farm cottage look like a palace. I wouldn't even stable the horses in one of these, which looked like a decent gust of wind would send them flying into the ocean, never to be seen again. If the ocean itself didn't sweep them away with a well-placed wave.
He set off to give us a guided tour, laughing at something Maria said as she strode at his side. I joined the flock of reluctant chickens following him, still clutching my sacks like a shawl.
Dominic stepped inside the largest shed and I heard a tremendous squawking start before a storm of birds burst out of the door, almost hiding Maria from sight. Everyone else took a step back from the frenzied flock, but Maria only laughed, fearless among them. Once again, I wished for her courage. As it was, I didn't know how I could sleep in that shed. Maybe if it looked better on the inside than it did out here.
I shuffled in after the others and stifled my cry of horror. The place had a stove, bunks and even a table with benches around it, but the birds had used every surface as a dunny, encrusting everything in white. And the smell...I'd thought the sacks stank, but it was nothing to the stench of fish that'd come out the back end of a bird. If I'd had anything left in my stomach, I'd have retched it up there and then.
"We're sleeping here?"
"Oh heavens!"
"I feel faint."
"Oh my goodness."
The words came in feminine whispers, but none of them were mine, though we seemed to be sharing the same thought.
"Doesn't this look homely," someone's husband said. "I'm sure you ladies will have it looking immaculate in no time!"
As if his words were a catalyst, we all leaped into action. After all, with five brothers at home on a farm, I'd cleaned worse.
The men left and so did Maria. I longed to follow her, but Giorgio's words stuck in my mind. You're more like her than the others.
No. He was wrong about that. Sure, I wanted to control my destiny and the world around me, but like all the other women, I wanted my destiny to include a bed tonight that wasn't covered in bird pooh, in a shed that didn't stink as if half the ocean had died in it. Fearless Maria might not care, but I did. So I set to work, sweeping and scrubbing and making the derelict shed home. Not for my ungrateful husband, like the other women did, but for myself.
Thirteen
"Miss High-and-Mighty..." I heard someone whisper and I glanced up. The other women lined up like soldiers, armed only with fierce glares for their foe.
Maria stood in the doorway, soaking wet, clutching a bag in one hand and her sodden bathing cap in the other. The cap clinked and clicked as if it held seashells. She glanced at the bunks and I pointed at the nearest one – the one below mine. She nodded her thanks and threw her bag onto it. Her faint smile radiated danger, but I knew it wasn't directed at me.
Ignoring the other women, Maria rummaged through her bag and began pulling things out. She checked an impressive selection of knives before she seemed satisfied. I'd never seen knives as big as these – one of the filleting knives was surely made only for sharks. Did that mean she expected to be catching and eating monsters? Maria's hand lingered on the shark knife, testing the sharpness as if she doubted it, before setting it down slowly.
Only then did she acknowledge the four ladies, whose glares had faded into a mix of confusion and fear.
"I've sent the men off to catch dinner."
Two women gasped at her audacity in ordering THEIR husbands around. I hid a smile. While we'd worked, their holidaying husbands had been relaxing and drinking beer around the campfire, too lazy to even light it yet.
"Do any of you have any experience cooking on an open fire?" Maria asked.
My heart dropped into my damp boots. As if the primitive sleeping accommodations weren't bad enough, we were supposed to cook like cavemen? I wasn't the only one filled with panic at the thought.
"In that case, that makes me your head cook tonight," she continued, to audible sighs of relief. She issued orders to the other women, sending them scurrying to the supply crates outside.
"How did you do that?" I blurted out before I could stop myself.
For a moment, I didn't think Maria had heard me. She lifted the lid on her hatbox, staring into the empty interior as I wondered if I should repeat my question.
"It's about knowing who you are and the power you have, then conveying it through every ounce of your being," Her voice was deep and slow, as if pronouncing ancient wisdom that she wasn't sure I could understand, but she broke into a smile and her tone became less serious as she added, "And you must meet their eyes, so they can see the sharks lurking in your soul."
I glanced up to meet Giorgio's wide eyes. He stood in the doorway, frozen in what looked like fear. As if he'd just encountered a monster shark called Maria.
I burst out laughing and ran for the door, gesturing for him to move out of the way before she saw him.
I raced out of the camp until I fell to my knees on the sand, laughing until tears of mirth streamed down my face. I wasn't even sure what was funnier: that Maria thought I had sharks in my soul or that Giorgio might.
"Are you all right, Lucy?" Giorgio asked quietly, the bushes rustling as he approached. A louder rustle and a burst of what could only be swearing, albeit in Italian, followed.
I clambered to my feet and almost started laughing all over again at Giorgio, knee-deep in a sandpit that had opened under his feet. "Muttonbird nest," I told him, offering my hand to help him out. "You have to watch out for those, my brother said. They tunnel a foot or two under the sand and he's come home with sprained ankles so many times..."
He waved my hand away and tried to pull himself out of the pit without my assistance. For the first time, I was taller than him. Staring at his dark, lustrous hair inspired a peculiar urge to run my hands through it, though only heaven knew why.
Forcing my hands to stay by my sides, I shrugged. "Suit yourself," I said, walking away.
Fourteen
I tossed and turned in the topmost bunk. I knew being so high kept me further from the reach of lizards and strange men, but I hadn't realised it also raised me closer to the roof, the roosting place of all the evicted seabirds. Clicking talons on the rusted tin drove me half-mad, making sleep impossible.
Snoring echoed through the shed from those who had no such problems.
Something moved on the bunk beside me, between my body and the wall. I reached for my torch and clicked it on, pointing the weak beam in the direction of the sound. Something scuttled under the blanket and fastened onto my foot.
I screamed and kicked the crab off my bunk. Then I felt something else move beside my pillow. Maria's face appeared over the edge of my bunk, accompanied by a far more powerful torch than my tiny penlight. We found the two remaining crabs and I kicked them off, too.
I'd cleaned my bunk thoroughly of creepy-crawlies – the crabs hadn't been here when I laid out my bedding. And they surely couldn't climb the wall on their own.
I heard muffled laughter and it all clicked into place.
I leaped from my bunk to the floor. "Giorgio Paino, I'm going to put these creatures in your bed and I hope they claw off something important!"
Sharks? Who needed sharks when I had crabs?
I grabbed one off Maria's bed and headed for Giorgio. If Maria could set crabs on him, so could I.
I felt so stupid. I'd almost believed that the troublesome boy I remembered had grown into a helpful man who might be worth my time. To blazes with the crab. I wanted to rip bits off him myself.
I dived onto his bunk, punching and kicking every bit of him I could reach. For all his talk of beating women, he put up a pitiful resistance – all he did was try to shield himself, but I was having none of that. As for his hair that had tempted me to look at him earlier with something like tenderness...
Someone grabbed me from behind and it took me several seconds to realise it was Dominic shouting my name in my ear as someone else shoved their way between Giorgio and I. I felt something soft in my fist and opened it. A bundle of dark hair tumbled to the floor. I hoped he had a bald patch now.
"Go back to bed, Lucy," Dominic said, pushing me toward my bunk.
I checked it thoroughly for life, even shaking out all my bedding until I was certain I'd be sleeping alone. I climbed into bed, drifting off to sleep to the sounds of everyone else searching their bunks for bed-mates. I smiled at the realisation that no one else trusted Giorgio, either.
Fifteen
When I woke, the sun already streamed through the holes in the tin and more than half of the bunks were empty. I slid down onto Maria's vacant bunk and thumped to the floor. Gripping my clothes, I slipped behind the curtained-off corner Mrs Williams had called the ladies' room. Two worn blankets hung over a sagging stretch of rope strung beside the stove hardly constituted a room, but I welcomed the privacy. The lumpy, snoring blankets left on some of the bunks assured me I wasn't alone.
I slipped on fresh underwear and heard the sounds of one of the men moving, so I hurried to finish buttoning my dress. I had only two to go when a shrill scream erupted from the other side of the blanket. My hands shook as I finished dressing, fighting to find the courage to see what fearsome beast had invaded the shed. It took four deep breaths before I found the fortitude to pull the blanket aside.
Giorgio waved his leg around like some sort of acrobat, screaming as he tried to dislodge the crab that had clamped its claw on his toes. It must have been hiding in his boot, as he was wearing one but not the other.
Fearsome? Heavens, no. Funny.
Giorgio's antics had woken Mr Williams, the last of us laggards, and he hurried to pull his boots on to protect his own chubby toes from attackers. As if he'd been reading my thoughts, Mr Williams said, "Serves you right, boy," before heading out of the shed.
I couldn't hold back my laughter any longer. I sank to the floor, helpless with mirth. Giorgio's prank had backfired so badly I almost felt sorry for him.
"You did that to get back at me for last night!"
I opened my eyes to find he'd managed to fight off his assailant and now he'd chosen to launch a verbal attack on me.
"Now look, I'm bleeding!"
I peered at his foot, but the big baby was undoubtedly exaggerating. I certainly couldn't see any blood. As for blaming me...this was his fault for bringing the beasts into the shed and putting them in my bed. Him, not me.
I took a deep breath and rose, dusting off my skirt. "I didn't put it in there. It must've crawled in by itself."
He reddened as if he wanted to unleash his fury on me, when I deserved none of it. Except perhaps for mocking him, my conscience seemed to say.
I cleared my throat and tried to appease my conscience as much as him. "I'm sorry I laughed at you, but you looked so funny, shaking your leg around with that thing waving like a flag, hanging onto your foot for dear life..." I remembered Maria's words from yesterday and cut my explanation short, trying to think of sharks and firmness and the courage I lacked. "Mr Williams is right, though. It serves you right for trying to frighten me. It might've attacked me in my sleep."
His face turned redder still as he took a step toward me and I wished I could take the words back. Heavens, I was alone with this man again and the last time it had happened, he'd forced me to kiss him. And I'd been helpless to resist... Slowly, I started to back away from him, hoping I could reach the door before he attacked me.
To my shock, he seemed to swallow some of his anger and his voice came out in a kind of forced calm. "I didn't try to frighten you. I caught them last night and I thought it would be a nice surprise for you to have fresh crabs. I stuck them in a bag and left them on your bunk for you." Irritation crossed his face. "It's not my fault you didn't see them before you went to sleep." Instead of continuing toward me, he surprised me by retreating to his bunk and his other boot, leaving a smear of red on the sand.
My heart swelled with pity. He was bleeding. He hadn't lied about it. And if he hadn't lied about his injury, then maybe he was telling the truth about wanting to surprise me in a good way. Perhaps even he deserved a second chance.
"Wait, stop," I said, then gritted my teeth and added, "Let me bandage that for you."
He looked up in surprise.
I rummaged through my bag and found the bandages and iodine I'd packed, fully expecting that I'd be doctoring Dominic's hurts.
He hissed as I swabbed his foot with iodine and I racked my brain for some conversation topic to distract him. Finally, I asked, "Can you really catch crabs?"
Giorgio shrugged, as if he wanted to throw off the iodine sting. "Maybe. With the right trap and bait, yeah." He hissed again.
I'd heard of people going crabbing in the Swan River, but I'd never tried it. It might even be fun. "Can you show me?"
"You're asking me to show you how to catch crabs? A man's fishing spots and tricks are sacred. You think I'd trust you with my deepest, darkest secrets?" His eyes laughed at me as his voice dropped into that slow, deep drawl that melted my insides.
I tied off the bandage and rose from my crouch. "I'm sure that's your business, Mr Paino. But you trusted me to mend your foot. I might have put some sort of spell on it to cripple you for life, but I didn't."
He seemed shocked, then slowly hauled himself to his feet. As it became apparent that my spell-casting abilities were non-existent, he laughed. "Streghetta. You remembered. I'll offer you a deal. If you restrict your spells to only the ones that ensnare my mind and my heart, I'll share any secret you wish. Including how to catch crabs."
I wet my lips. "It's a deal, then." I wanted to say more, but I felt unusually hot, so I hurried outside to let the breeze cool my flushed cheeks.
Sixteen
A crate beside the firepit had become our impromptu breakfast table and Mrs Hertz, a hearty German woman, held court there, slicing up a loaf of bread. I accepted a slice and glanced around for something suitable to slather on it.
"I brought a jar of Aunt Merry's mulberry jam," Maria said as she appeared at my side. Her eyes danced with laughter. "That should sweeten up a crabby morning." Her gaze darted to grumpy Giorgio ambling out of the shed. "You'll probably want to share it."
She knew about this morning's altercation and my softening toward him, I realised, feeling my cheeks grow hot. Well, Giorgio's scream would have woken the dead. Surely everyone within miles had heard him. Luckily or unluckily for him, the only people within miles were the members of our expedition.
Suddenly, I felt very alone.
Giorgio seized a slice of bread in each hand, scanning for spread just as I had.
"Do you want some jam?" I asked timorously, horrified to see that my hand shook a little as I held up the sticky knife.
Dark eyes delved deeply into mine before he nodded, extending his arms toward me.
Clumsily, I smeared a liberal layer of jam on each piece of bread, feeling his scrutiny even though I didn't dare look up until I was done. "There."
"Thank you. I take it you feel I need more sweetness in my life?" He grinned as my startled eyes met his. Deliberately, he brought his hand to his mouth and licked his jam-covered thumb clean. Several mesmerising strokes of his tongue later, he sank his teeth into the bread.
I swallowed in an effort to counter the inexplicable dryness in my mouth. "It couldn't hurt."
He chuckled at some joke I didn't understand and turned away from me to watch the waves.
"So, what's everyone doing today?" Captain Basile asked, stretching.
"I propose a walk out along the reefs to the Windsor shipwreck," Dominic said and several of the other men nodded. This apparently wasn't news to them.
"I've never seen a shipwreck before," I remarked. "Is there a tragic story to go with it? Any remains left to see?"
Maria stiffened beside me and she press
ed her lips together as if crushing unsaid words between them. Too late I realised how callous my words sounded to the widow of a man who'd died in a similar tragedy.
"Of the boat, I meant," I amended. "Remains of the boat."
Maria rose. "You'll want to make sure you wear stout shoes. The reefs can be brutal to those who aren't prepared for them." She walked away without a backward glance.
Both my brother and Captain Basile watched her go.
"Are you coming with us?" Dominic asked.
"No, the boys and I want to check out some old fishing spots to see what we catch. I might ask Maria if she'd like to come fishing on the Stella, too. Excuse me." Captain Basile set off after Maria.
Torn between wanting to apologise for my gaffe and not wanting to intrude on Captain Basile, I swallowed the last of my breakfast and stood up. I should never have come. These rugged islands weren't the place for someone like me.
Giorgio touched my arm. "It was an honest mistake. Let her lover calm her down and you can make your apologies later. You should see your first shipwreck, as you wish to."
Her lover? I watched Captain Basile catch up to her, then match her step along the sand. They didn't touch – no impropriety at all. I shook my head. "They couldn't be lovers. Not Maria. She's Merry D'Angelo's niece, a respectable widow. Captain Basile is her employer and an honourable man. Why would a respectable widow...no, why would any woman want to ruin her reputation by taking a lover, of all things?" I hurried away, shaking my head.
"There speaks a girl who's never known a lover." He nodded in the direction of the couple. "That's a woman who knows the world and what she wants from it. There's a gulf of experience separating a widow from an unmarried girl," Giorgio said softly, following me.
I rounded on him. "And you'd know? A boy who's been neither?"
He nodded once. "Have you never been in love, Lucy?"
"Of course not. Love turns women soft in the head and they do stupid things like get married and have children," I retorted, throwing the shed door open so violently that it clanged against the wall and bounced off again, almost hitting Giorgio as he followed me inside. Pity.
How To Catch Crabs Page 4