“I expect perfection,” William said, playing along with the joke. “That’s what you must provide.”
“I deeply apologize, my lord. I will try to do better from now on.”
They both laughed.
“Isn’t this boat ride, in all reality, going to be a bit harsh on the Princess? There is no telling what the water will do and how we will be cast about. She is putting her life in jeopardy traveling across the ocean to America.”
“Perhaps she is,” John clasped his hands behind his back and moved to the edge of the deck. He turned his back to the railing and watched as his crew worked in their various positions, readying the ship to leave the dock. “But as I said, they also must travel. And they will do so however they can and with the most experienced captain and boat they can find.”
“That would be you, my friend. Does she have a specific reason for going to America?”
“I am not privy to the personal life of the Princess of Netherlands. I’ve never seen any of them until they climbed aboard my ship. You, on the other hand, I know. Would you like a glass of brandy or vodka while we wait to depart?”
“I would like that very much, John, thank you.”
“Follow me.” William followed him as he headed toward the opposite side of the ship. John took him down the stairs and into a small compartment with two bench seats against opposing walls, a small table, two chairs and assorted items spread all around. At least a dozen huge rolled up maps leaned against the wall in one corner.
John opened a large square container and pulled two bottles from it. He turned to retrieve two metal cups from the cupboard at his eye level, just under the ceiling. William could hear the small waves slapping against the side of the ship. Men were moving above his head at rapid paces.
“Do you think a storm is coming? Are we going to travel safely?”
“I will not take my boat or people into an unsafe situation if I can avoid it, Will. I have instructed the men to keep an eye on the storm. We will wait for it to blow over before we leave, which may cause somewhat of a delay, but I’m sure you and the other passengers will appreciate that delay. Our safety would depend on it. However, I do not expect it to be long. My bones tell me it’s going to be quick and we will be on our way under sunny skies before you know it.” He handed William one of the cups. He had poured vodka into one and brandy into the other. William was fairly sure he got the one with vodka.
“There are often – thank you – quick storms that blow through Fairfield. We do have quite a lot of rain though. It makes everything look gray.”
“Yes, it very much does.”
“Those maps…where do they depict exactly? Did you chart them yourself?”
John reached over and grabbed one of the smaller parchments. He turned and opened it on the small table. It took up the entire surface and the corners hung down over the edge.
William ran his eyes over the picture. “I have no idea where this is,” he murmured, taking a swallow of the vodka quickly, as he was not used to drinking that particular liquor.
“It’s not necessary for you to know. I used it some time back to travel uncharted areas and made this chart myself. I have not used it since. It’s the oldest one I have.”
“I don’t know how you do it. I’m glad you know where we are going, because I would be drifting on the ocean for the rest of my life unless God sent my boat to land somewhere. Anywhere I went, I would be there out of accidental discovery. I had heard that some seamen were unhappy when having to transport women. Some believe it is bad luck. Are there no superstitious members of your crew?”
“There are a few.” John scanned the surface drawings on the map and abruptly picked it up, rolling it into its previous condition. He replaced it against the rest of the maps. “But they have vowed to keep their superstition to themselves. I told them to be extra cautious to make up for their fear, to be hyper-vigilant about everything going on so there would be no problems or unforeseen accidents.”
“If an accident is foreseen, is it still an accident?”
John laughed at the question. “I misspoke.”
“You don’t think the princess poses any danger?”
“I have transported many women in my time; women of all ages, I might add. And I don’t think their presence on the water makes it any more dangerous than it would normally be.”
“I don’t know where the suspicion came from.”
“Nor do I. But we need not worry. This ship is just as safe now as it was a half hour before the lady arrived.”
4
.
.
.
“Very well.” Her smile touched his heart. “William. Did you participate in a war?”
.
.
.
CHAPTER FOUR
FRIENDS AND ACQUAINTANCES
The ship was only delayed by a few hours. In the long run, it wouldn’t make much of a difference to their arrival time. William chatted with the captain for half an hour before being escorted to his quarters, which were on the other side of the boat, in the same area as the princess and her people. The hallway was narrow, with two doors on one side, two on the other and one at the end. He was given the room at the end of the hallway. The area outside the hallway looked like a sitting room of some sort, which surprised William. There was a pile of folded thick blankets in a corner. He wondered what they were for.
He was just about to step through the doorway into the room he’d been given when the princess opened her door and froze in place, staring at him. He nodded once. “Princess.”
“Please call me Belle,” she said in her soft voice. Just the sound of it made William want to keep talking to her, just to hear it.
“I will do that. Belle.” He smiled at her. “Do you find your quarters to your liking?”
“Yes, they will do. I cannot expect more on a ship, now can I?”
“Have you sailed often?”
“This is my third trip to various places. I do not count the trip to Britain from my home, however. Though I suppose I should, seeing as how that was a journey as well, wasn’t it?”
“Yes, your highness. It was. Do you find your sea legs, as they say?”
“I am not queasy when traveling on water. And you?”
He shook his head. “Not at all. It takes a moment to adjust, but then I am comfortable.”
“Perhaps we can speak again this evening at dinner. I do not want to keep you from settling in your quarters.”
You can keep me from anything you desire, William thought. He hoped his attraction to her wasn’t too obvious on his face. “I would very much like to speak to you at dinner, Belle. Thank you.”
She smiled again. He was again staggered by her beauty. She nodded once and moved past him to go out into the hallway. He watched her sit on one of the benches near a round porthole before turning back to go through his door.
He had trouble getting her off of his mind as he changed and cleaned himself. He sat to read a letter he’d received before his departure. Nigel Huntington had done as he’d said he would, writing William with the names of some members of society in New Bedford, suggesting he meet with them each for various reasons. All to boost his business and perhaps begin new trades from Fairfield to America and vice versa.
As he read the letter, Belle’s face hovered in the back of his mind. He found himself distracted by her beauty, the soft presence she gave off, the sound of her gentle voice. He shook his head and reread the paragraph he’d just finished. In the distance, he heard John’s voice calling out an order and heard the commotion of the crew as they made to depart. He looked up, focusing his ears on the sounds above deck. After a few more minutes, he decided he wanted to go out there and watch as they left the dock.
He pushed open the door and went up the steps into the sunshine. He was amazed by how quickly the rain had left. He looked up, having to shield his eyes from the bright rays of the sun. He spotted John and went toward him. “You were rig
ht about the weather.”
“I’ve been doing this a long time, my friend.” John laughed. “Come stand next to me. From this position, we have the best view of the entire ship and we can see the water and where we are going at the same time. This is an amazing piece of water transportation, Will. You won’t see a finer ship of its kind anywhere else.”
“You take great care of this vessel, John. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if that were true. It’s a fine ship.”
“Thank you. I do my best.”
“Do you own it or is it financed by the royals?”
“It is my own. I am not a young man anymore, but when I was and began working on the docks, I saved my coins. Ten years ago, I was able to purchase this ship and start making it my own. I’ve never missed those days when I had no ship to sail on.”
“Are you telling me you’ve been working on this ship since you were a child?”
“Not hardly!” John laughed. “I started out pullin’ up the fishin’ lines. I was probably about eight at the time. Always knew what I wanted to be.”
“Undoubtedly.” William nodded. “I didn’t always know what I wanted to be. In fact, I don’t know that I know now what I want to be.”
They both laughed.
John called out to two of his crewmen, giving them directions. William watched as the men around him moved, each doing their specific job with precision and ease. He was amazed by the fluidity of movement around him, impressed with John’s skill as a captain. He folded his arms over his chest and leaned back against the railing behind him to watch them and to gaze out over the rippling water. The sun was just above them and slightly to the west. He guessed it was about one in the afternoon. There was a nice breeze. He could feel it brushing against the skin on his face. He closed his eyes for a moment.
Against the darkness of his lids, he could see a face. For a moment, he thought it was Abigail. Hers was the face that had haunted him for the past several years. However, this time, to his surprise, it was not her. It was Belle. He couldn’t help smiling. It was going to be an interesting trip.
The ship began to move. He held on to the railing as the big vessel swayed slightly before pressing through the water, creating small waves on either side. The job the crew was doing was not something William wanted to do. He had never a day in his life wanted to perform any hard labor of any kind. It was one of the reasons he’d never attempted anything in his youth other than running after the ladies. It was the easiest and most natural thing for him to do.
The next few hours seemed incredibly long to William. He walked around on deck, only in the area the captain occupied, peering through the telescope at the horizon every now and then, trying to spot another vessel on the ocean but not seeing even one. He did see several porpoises jumping in the distance and watched them with fascination until he could no longer see them.
A little over an hour had passed when the beautiful Belle made an appearance on the top deck. She, her guard and her attendant all made their way to the helm, where he was. They took seats around him on wooden benches. Max had the same scowl on his face, but now William noticed that he wasn’t the only one on the receiving end of the glare. Max looked at everyone that way. Everyone except Naomi and the princess herself.
William wondered if it was men that made Max look that way or if he just kept the scowl morning, noon and night. He didn’t waste too much time thinking about it. Max was not the focus of his attention. It was the princess he wanted to speak to. “Did you get some rest, princess?” he asked.
She looked at him. “I did. Thank you. Do you like your cabin?”
“It is sufficient, as you said earlier.”
“Yes.”
She turned her face toward the sun and closed her eyes. He watched the breeze lift the soft strands of hair from her shoulders and make them wave like a golden flag. He clenched his jaw to keep from reaching out to touch them. She had changed into a different gown, but it was no less attractive than the last one. She had left a head covering behind. The long wavy locks lifted softly with the breeze.
William finally turned his eyes away, suddenly aware that he was staring at her. Max looked like he wanted to break every bone in his body. The big guard was glaring at him with daggers in his eyes.
William ignored him. The guard wasn’t going to do anything to him. He was sure of it. As a friend of the captain, he felt certain that the entire crew would be on his side. And he was no threat to the princess anyway. He may have resembled a cat on the prowl, but he would never force himself on anyone nor hurt a lovely woman in any way physically.
When Belle began to speak, it was in the soft tone that William was quickly getting used to. He was immediately intrigued by what she was saying and rested his eyes on her beautiful face while she spoke, unaffected by the stare of her guard.
“When I was young, there was a man who came to stay with our family for a time. He was a soldier, but he was not at war. Not physically anyway. I was very young, but I remember how tall he was. He was so tall, I thought his head was in the clouds.” Belle’s smile made William’s heart turn over. “But I was less than ten years of age at the time, so he may not have been as tall as I remember. I believe my father said at one time that he was well over six feet, which is quite tall. His name was Michael. My father called him Patrick. I never found out why, but I did know that his name was Michael Collington. He was a very handsome man and spoke in the most gentle voice. If there was a man who was a gentleman, it was him. In every sense of the word. It was from him that I learned how a man should treat a lady. My father is a wonderful man, a great King for our country and someone to be admired, to be sure. But it was Michael that made me realize how a man should behave under any circumstances.”
“You say he was at war, but not physically?” William asked when she paused. “What do you mean by that?”
Belle turned her eyes to him. Her long eyelashes fluttered along with William’s heart. “I remember that he would walk the hallways at night, unable to sleep. At seven or eight years of age, I was also restless at night sometimes and I would hear him walking. Several times I went out to walk with him and he would speak to me about his time at war, how he saw so much death, so much destruction. War is not something to be admired.”
“It is not the war that is admired, lady princess,” William said softly. “It is the soldiers who fight in it.”
She nodded, keeping her eyes directly on him. “I agree, Lord Montgomery.”
“It’s William, please, your highness.”
“Very well.” Her smile touched his heart. “William. Did you participate in a war?”
“I was in the King’s Army for several years as a lad, but I did not openly participate, no. No war was waging during my time serving my country.”
“You are very fortunate for that.”
“I agree.”
“I don’t know what brought Michael to my mind.” Belle moved her eyes back out over the ocean. She looked as though her mind was on the other side of the vast body of water. “It is such a distant memory, but a dear one to me.”
“Journeys such as this bring many thoughts and memories to mind, Lady Belle. I understand completely.”
When she looked at him again, he had to try to breathe normally. “I believe you do, Sir William. I believe you do.”
5
.
.
.
“Would you care to walk with me on the deck afterward?”
.
.
.
CHAPTER FIVE
DINNER WITH THE CAPTAIN
The other passengers were already seated around the long rectangular table when William stepped down into the dining area. He immediately noticed that the only available seat was next to Belle. He wondered if the captain had purposefully arranged that. He bowed to the other passengers, two men, who returned the greeting with nods and smiles.
Captain Cernovich was the only one who stood. He gestured to the open se
at. “Please have a seat, Will. As you can see, we are all here. We will begin our dinner now that you have arrived.”
“I apologize.” William was disconcerted. “I did not realize I was holding everyone up. Am I late?”
“Not at all.” The captain shook his head. “You are on time, sir. We are all early.”
William smiled. “That’s good to hear. I wouldn’t want to make anyone starve.”
A light laughter moved through the group. William took his seat, nodding again at Belle, who smiled at him.
“Hello, Sir William,” she said in her unmistakable soft voice.
“Hello, Princess. I hope the day has found you well.”
“Yes, it was lovely getting some fresh ocean air and sunshine early today. I had a good nap afterward and I am ready to eat. I dare to say I might be starving nearly to death.”
William laughed, delighted to see that the princess had a sense of humor. “My lady, you do not look malnourished. But we must get some food into your stomach before you keel over.”
She nodded, her eyes flashing with laughter. “Yes, it is true.”
“Would you care to walk with me on the deck afterward?”
“I would be glad to, sir.”
“Tell me, do you know anything about the stars?”
Two of the crew members brought out large covered platters and set them in the middle of the table. They removed the covers to reveal a large section of ham on one and a cooked turkey on the other. Large bowls between the platters contained vegetables of all kinds. The smells emanating from the meal made William’s stomach growl with anticipation. Everything looked cooked to perfection.
Regency Romance: The Marquess’ Curse (The Fairbanks Series - Love & Hearts) (CLEAN Historical Regency Romance) Page 3