Where Seagulls Soar

by Janet Woods

  ‘Yes.’

  He appeared a few seconds later with Chin Lee in tow, who was carrying a steaming jug and a plate with cheese, ham and some crusty bread. There was a bottle of wine, too.

  Chin Lee set his offerings on a bench and, when she thanked him, beamed a smile before leaving. Pouring herself a mug of the tea, Joanna warmed her hands on the outside of the mug while she sipped it.

  Edward shuffled awkwardly from one foot to the other. ‘I’m sorry I have to put you down here, but I can’t risk Durrington setting eyes on you. It’s only for a short time and you’ll have company when Seth Adams comes aboard. You’re not scared, are you?’

  ‘On this ship, how could I be? She’s an old friend.’

  Edward offered her a faint smile. ‘How are you feeling after your ordeal?’

  ‘Battered, bruised and damned angry, as though someone is banging on my head with a hammer. My mouth is so dry and thirsty I could swallow the Thames in one gulp.’

  ‘You must be desperate.’ Edward’s voice took on an authoritative note. ‘I must point out, though, that you brought most of your troubles down on your own head. And as master of this vessel I’m obliged to inform you that you will be locked in. If you mutiny I shall use any means necessary to restrain you. Is that understood, Mrs Morcant?’

  Her laugh had a hollow ring to it. ‘Mutiny? How very dramatic. You’re being horribly mean, you know, Edward. And don’t tell me I’m a fool to have gone after Bisley and Durrington. I learned that the hard way. Lock me in if you wish, but restraint won’t be necessary, and spare me the lecture. I bet this was Seth Adams’s idea. He probably told you to clap me in irons,’ she said darkly.

  He chuckled. ‘You sounded just like your father then. It will be good to see him again. I’m looking forward to it.’

  ‘Don’t remind me of him, Edward,’ she said with a catch in her voice. ‘I can’t afford to become emotional about anything else until this business is over and done with and my son is safely back in my keeping. I know I’ll never stop weeping if I start. I feel so alone without Toby, and he must be frightened out of his wits.’

  ‘You’re not alone, Mrs Morcant,’ the captain said gruffly. ‘Alex had a network of friends and family, and we’ll always be there for his son, believe me. You only have to ask.’

  She gave him a watery smile. ‘Why are you sea captains always so formal when you’re aboard your ships? If you don’t start calling me Joanna, I’ll throw you overboard.’

  Now he laughed. ‘Joanna it is, then. Seth Adams temporarily came back on board, and asked me to inform you of what’s going on regarding your son’s whereabouts.’

  ‘Does he know where Toby is?’ she asked eagerly.

  ‘Not exactly. But he’s learned that a cousin of yours is holding Toby prisoner in a cottage on Portland.’

  ‘A cousin?’ There came a sudden, clear memory of a voice against her ear when Toby had been abducted. ‘Bitch!’ Then the netmaker’s wife saying she’d seen . . . Fear leaped into her heart like a tiger, and dug its claws deep. ‘Brian Rushmore? I thought he was in prison.’

  ‘I imagine somebody would have bribed a guard to allow him to escape. Bisley or Durrington, I expect.’

  Her eyes widened. ‘Brian Rushmore is a man with no conscience.’ She couldn’t tell Edward that Brian had repeatedly forced himself on his own sister and had nearly starved Tilda to death. Indeed, he had tried to rape Joanna herself, and would have if Tobias Darsham hadn’t intervened. And look what trouble that had brought them all.

  But her precious son was another thing altogether. He was part of her heart as well as her body. Joanna would sacrifice everything she owned to save his life, which was exactly what her father had done for her when he’d decided to fake his own death.

  ‘We must go to Portland as soon as possible and rescue Toby from him.’ She gave a shiver as fear attacked her again. ‘Brian would kill him without a second thought. Perhaps he already has.’

  ‘Hardly likely. He’ll wait for Durrington and Bisley to turn up so he can exchange the boy for payment, then go abroad.’

  ‘Thank you for telling me, Edward. Will Seth be coming on board soon?’

  ‘He had a couple of things to do first, but aye, he’d better, else the ship will be dragging her arse along the bottom. He’ll have to sneak on board unobserved, though. Bisley is keeping an eye on the gangplank.’

  She gazed at him in dismay.

  ‘Don’t worry, we’ll provide a distraction when the time is right.’

  A thought occurred to her and she laughed softly. ‘I won’t worry too much. Seth Adams is the sneakiest man I’ve ever met.’

  Edward grinned at that. ‘He’s also a compassionate man who keeps a cool head under pressure. He’s certainly earned my respect this night.’ Reaching above him, Edward dimmed the light. ‘Keep this low, if you would, Joanna.’

  ‘Edward?’ she said when he turned to leave.

  ‘What is it?’

  ‘With all of my heart, thank you.’

  He gave a brief nod, then was gone. There was a click as the key turned in the lock. Edward had meant what he’d said.

  Joanna ate a small amount of the food and drank half the tea, then she curled up inside the cubicle with Seth’s coat over her, and rested her thumping head. In a little while she began to doze off.

  15

  Joanna was woken by a slight scuffling noise against the side of the ship. A pulse thumped inside her ears. She’d nearly drifted off to sleep again when there was a click. She listened for the sound again, but there was only the noisy rushing silence of herself straining to hear, and a creak or two, as if the ship’s timbers strained against the ropes tying her to the shore.

  As she listened she could make out the faint sounds of activity on deck. They were about to cast off. Fear took root in her. Where was Seth? What if Edward sailed without him on board?

  But the fear suddenly fled for she could sense another heartbeat beneath her own. He was near, there was a darker shadow moving in the shadows beyond the light. How silent he was.

  She scrambled to her feet. ‘Seth?’

  He stepped into the little patch of light, grinning at having his game discovered. ‘Were you expecting anyone else, then?’

  Knowing he was unharmed put pleasure in her beaming smile. ‘I was worried about you.’

  ‘Liar. You were snoring. How do you feel now?’

  ‘Better by a mile. How did you manage to get on board without Bisley seeing you?’

  ‘I was rowed to the other side of the ship and a Chinaman threw a rope ladder over the side.’

  ‘Oh, Seth.’ She shrugged, knowing she must say this to him, but finding it hard to admit it. ‘I’m sorry I was so much trouble. I should have listened to you.’

  He closed the space between them. ‘Never mind that, I’m just relieved you’re still in one piece. Has Edward told you what’s been going on?’

  She nodded.

  ‘Then you’ll know we can do nothing else until we reach Portland. We’ll have to be very careful we’re not seen. No sudden moves, Joanna. From now on you must listen to what I say.’

  There was tension between them now, a new awareness on Joanna’s part that Seth was more the man than he looked. She had a sudden run of memories, of Bisley with a silver soup tureen on his head. Seth holding her upright as they crossed the park and helping her when she heaved into the grass. Of him telling her so tenderly that he loved her. That particular memory pleased her the most, but she couldn’t linger on it. What if she’d imagined it all?

  ‘Did a woman help me escape?’

  ‘My sister-in-law, Constance. She’s married to Barnard Charsford, who is my half-brother and one of the architects of the plot against you.’

  ‘Why did he do it?’

  ‘Greed.’ Seth was dispassionate, matter of fact. ‘It affords me great pleasure to know that Barnard and Durrington will soon be ruined.’

  She gazed at him in some alarm. ‘Don’t expose
them, not until my son is safely back in my keeping. Please, Seth, don’t do anything that might cause Toby harm. I’ll never forgive you if you do, and I don’t want to place myself in that position – not now.’

  He took a step closer, his eyes gleaming in the dim light. ‘Believe me, Joanna, I know how precious he is. I’m going to get Toby back for you.’

  If Toby was still alive. The thought hung unspoken between them.

  Unexpectedly, the ship moved and Joanna lost her footing. He caught her in mid-stumble, swinging her against him before she could fall.

  His reaction was immediate, unashamed and predatory. There was a sudden intake of breath as he edged her closer, savouring the contact between them. He had a good body, lean, taut and well-muscled. He stooped, his mouth brushing against hers, testing her vulnerability to his advance.

  Her reaction was obvious, even to herself, for she allowed his exploration, fully understanding what it would lead to. She wanted him. She needed the comfort of experiencing love in his arms and the oblivion that the physicality of it would bring.

  She placed her palms against his face, her thumbs gently caressing the sensitive sides of his mouth.

  He stopped kissing her to say, ‘Are you sure this is what you want, Joanna?’

  ‘Yes, it’s what I want. It seems so inevitable, somehow.’

  ‘It was inevitable the moment I first set eyes on you.’ He slid his hands down her back to gently cup under her buttocks, pressing her into him so she could feel his hard outline against her softness, and know the strength of him. It was a subtle salesmanship of his manliness, but it was one tempered by sensitivity when he said, his voice ragged in his throat, ‘I want you naked, but it’s so cold.’

  ‘There’s a warm blanket.’

  She’d hardly finished speaking when his fingers were seeking the fastenings on her bodice.

  She stilled his hands. ‘It will be quicker if we undress ourselves,’ and she began to divest herself of her clothing. When the task was done they stood there, naked to each other’s feasting eyes for a second or two.

  He reached out and brushed her hair away from her neck, gently touched the rope burns.

  ‘Ignore the bruises.’ Watching him frown, and the unspoken question gather in his eyes, she told him, ‘Bisley is capable of inflicting cruelty, but he lacks any manly urges or qualities.’

  Taking Seth’s hands in hers she drew him down on to the mattress and pulled the blanket over them.

  He gathered her gently against him and they lay there, thigh to thigh, belly to belly and breast to chest, while their bodies lost the shyness of first contact. His hands smoothed down over her buttocks, cupped them and pulled her closer. He grew harder against her belly before he turned her over on to her back. Propping himself up on one elbow he gazed down at her, his smile so faint as to hardly be there. Joanna, who couldn’t breathe properly with the anticipation of knowing him, felt his heat reach out to envelop her.

  She ran her forefinger along the length of his lips, then took his silky hair in her fingers and gently pulled his face down to hers so she could kiss him. He took the initiative from her, making unmistakably suggestive and exciting little inroads into her mouth with his tongue, teasing her so she responded with her own.

  From there, he slid downwards to apply a moist tongue to the rigid nubs of her breasts.

  This was a man who was going to make a meal of her, who would make it his business to discover what pleased her, and who would coax her into enjoying what pleased him.

  As the caress of his fingers against her skin brought her body to life she dared to taste and touch him in the same way. He seemed adept at finding something to exploit, so her sensual pleasures were layered one on top of the other and anticipating release.

  There was a sense of purpose about Seth. Gradually, he made every inch of her willing flesh part of his own, leading her into delights she’d never experienced, so she was helpless and craving for more. Her mind and body were merged into one being, quivering with anticipation.

  So when he straddled her hips, even if she’d wanted to, she was helpless to prevent his relentless slide into her body. He paused there, his eyes full of silvery light as he stroked the strands of hair from her face, and she was sure the expression of need she wore was very apparent.

  ‘Seth,’ she murmured, tasting his name on her tongue as she moved against him.

  Whatever he was looking for in her face, he found. As he began to stroke inside her, she arched against each mounting thrust and her muscles tightened around each slow withdrawal. His breathing gradually quickened.

  Joanna closed her eyes as the exquisite loving became too much to bear. Their bodies slid one into the other dewed by the moisture of desire. He sensed that moment when the pleasure peaked in her, to join her in a frenzied climax of loving that ended when they tumbled over the edge and he collapsed against her with a final shudder.

  She laughed from sheer relief that the tension between them had relaxed, and snuggled against him, her head against his racing heart.

  There was the sound of water hissing along the hull. ‘Listen,’ she said. ‘We’re moving. Do you think we untied the knots holding us to the shore?’

  ‘You’ve untied my knots,’ he whispered, gently nipping the lobe of her ear.

  ‘It was my pleasure.’

  There was laughter in his voice. ‘I do hope so, but it wasn’t entirely yours, I assure you.’

  Seth was different to Alex, who had often been a selfish and impatient lover, as if his mind was somewhere else, and the pleasure his alone to savour. There was nothing rushed about Seth. He was aware of her every need, and some she wasn’t aware she had. He exploited them, making her deliciously aware of them too,

  As contented as a cat, Joanna stretched against him. Enjoying the freedom of their mutual nakedness. Despite the cold creeping under the blanket with them her body was glowing.

  ‘I suppose we must dress.’

  ‘Of course we must,’ he said lazily. ‘But not just yet, hmm?’

  ‘No, not just yet.’ Already eager for more of him, she tilted her face up to his and kissed him.

  ‘The stupid old hag has run out on me,’ Brian muttered. He’d just eaten the last of the rabbit, which he’d boiled in a pot with the vegetables. The meat was tough, the stew watery. He spat the bones on to the floor and gazed at the brat.

  He’d been grizzling all night and was now asleep in a smelly patch of dampness. Brian thought he might be sickening for something. His face was flushed, his eyes were dull, his nose ran thickly, and he wouldn’t eat or drink. He just turned his head away.

  ‘Well, that’s Durrington’s problem, not mine,’ he said to himself. ‘And if he doesn’t come and get him soon, I’m going to chuck the sulky little bastard over the cliff. That’ll teach you for thinking you were too good for me, Joanna. We’ll see if you like that.’

  He shut the door on the boy and went through to the other room.

  The thought of his mother being at large worried him. If somebody fed her some gin and she opened her mouth he’d be done for.

  He went out into the raw morning and piddled against the wall, sighing with relief. Something moved inside the mist.

  ‘Is that you, Ma? Where the hell have you been?’

  When a skinny dog came to cringe around his ankles, Brian kicked out viciously at it. ‘Get away from me, you cur.’ It ran off, tail between its legs, squealing loudly.

  He wondered if the ship had docked yet. No good trying to see anything until the mist had lifted. He had a mind to go to Bill Point, see if there was anything to steal from the local fishing boats. And sometimes there was contraband to be found, stashed out of sight in the caves undercutting the cliffs.

  He must take that ring to the Barnes brothers, too. They were the only people he knew he could trust, since both of them were as crooked as cripples. He should go now, before they went to open their market stall in Weymouth.

  But the ring wasn’t wh
ere he’d left it. He swore loudly. No wonder his mother hadn’t come back. ‘Solid gold that was, and the old sot has probably poured it down her gullet and pissed it out through the other end. You wait till you come home, Ma. I’m going to give you a beating you’ll never forget.’

  In the other room, the boy gave a cry as he woke up with a start.

  Slamming the door back on its hinges, Brian gazed at him and shouted, ‘Shuddup!’

  Toby cringed away from him and began to sob quietly.

  The next morning, Mrs Abernathy was at Weymouth market. She liked to get there early, to browse amongst the second-hand stalls in case she came across a bargain.

  People sold all sorts of valuable items when they were hard up. The month before she’d bought a pretty gold locket for next to nothing, from a woman with several ragged children to feed. Mrs Abernathy had managed to haggle her down in price, though.

  When she came across the gold ring she paused. It was unusual, with a pair of clasped hands, and heavy. She had the feeling she’d seen it somewhere before.

  ‘How much?’ she said to the stallholder.

  He shrugged and named his price.

  ‘That’s ridiculous.’

  ‘It’s solid gold.’ Barnes shrugged. ‘Take it or leave it.’

  As Mrs Abernathy walked off in high dudgeon, a man stepped forward. ‘I hear you wanted to see me?’

  ‘I have some information regarding Brian Rushmore.’

  The man’s eyes sharpened, and then Barnes showed him the ring and whispered what he knew in his ear. The man nodded and handed over some coins for the information.

  Leaving it until the end of trading, Mrs Abernathy caught Barnes just as he was packing up his stall. Smirking a little, the offer she made was lower than the first one.

  Barnes the younger stared at her. The woman was a Kimberlin from the island, one of the quarry owners’ wives. She was a mean-natured woman, he’d heard, and could afford to pay more than that. He shook his head.

  ‘How do I know it’s not stolen?’

  ‘’Twas sold to us by Mother Rushmore . . . her who lives up at Southwell and is mother to the Reverend Lind’s wife. We told you the price earlier. D’you want it or not, missus? We can’t stand here all day.’