Chapter Fifteen
HEART TO HEART
The day following Captain Garret’s visit, Kyrah decided a walk to the pier would do her good. The walk seemed long, but the fresh air felt good. As soon as she arrived at the pier, she realized that she’d chosen a bad day. It was apparent that a vessel had just arrived and there was a great deal of commotion, with people everywhere and cargo being unloaded. But she’d made up her mind to see the Phoenix, needing to give some reality to her prospect of returning home. Carefully she pushed her way through the crowd of sailors and merchants until she could see the docked ships clearly. The Phoenix was easy to pick out. She caught her breath at the sight of the great bird painted on the hull with the sun at its back. For some reason, it made her think of Ritcherd. She had never been able to determine exactly what type of bird Ritcherd might be, but scrutinizing the Phoenix, she understood why. It was no real bird that Ritcherd resembled. It was the mythological phoenix. In truth, if not for his baby growing inside her, she might believe at times that he was little more than a myth. The time they had spent together following his years at war seemed so dreamlike and elusive.
Kyrah pushed back the hood of her cloak and shaded her eyes from the sun in order to take in the whole of the ship. Her heart leapt to think that it would carry her home. She wondered what might be waiting there. What kind of struggles had her mother gone through since she’d left? She wondered if Ritcherd was still there. Had he tried to find her, or had he remained at Buckley Manor and found a life without her?
She was distracted from her thoughts when one of the sailors stacking crates near the Phoenix, shouted up toward the deck, “Cap’n, Cap’n!”
Kyrah moved her eyes to the deck and was not surprised to see Captain Garret appear at the rail.
“What do ye want?” Garret shouted with a grin, and Kyrah noticed he spoke with a sailor’s drawl, very unlike the mellow voice she’d heard him use previously. She wondered if he was somehow traveling incognito.
“Look yonder,” the sailor pointed skyward. “It’s th’ albatross. It must o’ followed th’ Lady into port.”
Kyrah looked up to see the albatross with its huge wings, soaring and dipping. The sight took her breath away. She’d read about the albatross, but had never seen one. And she wouldn’t have expected to find such a bird here.
“It really must be lost,” Garret shouted, his eyes focused on the bird. He couldn’t deny his fascination When they had arrived more than three months ago, the albatross had followed them right into Hedgeton, and disappeared soon after they’d docked. It had apparently found another ship to follow for its sustenance, and it too had brought the albatross to Hedgeton.
“Aye, Cap’n,” Charlie called back. “Is Cap’n Buckley around? I thought ’e’d like t’ see it—’im ’avin’ such a fancy for th’ bird.”
Kyrah’s heart leapt at the name Buckley connected with the title captain. But surely it was coincidental. She couldn’t help wondering why there would be two captains on board the same vessel, and she turned her attention to Captain Garret. He fascinated her for reasons she couldn’t quite grasp, and she had to admit to being intrigued with the thought of sailing with him. Her feelings certainly weren’t romantic by any means; nevertheless, she hoped to get to know him better.
“Eh, Buckley!” Garret called over his shoulder. “There’s good fortune for ye now! Your friend ’as found us again.”
“Really?” Kyrah heard a voice call back and her heart quickened. Could it be possible that even from a distance, that one word had struck such a strong chord of familiarity?
Ritcherd’s eyes went to the albatross and he felt, as always, a surge of awe in beholding it. But at the moment he didn’t know whether it was giving him hope with its presence or just some kind of abstract compassion for his grief. Where it had once given him the courage to believe he would find Kyrah, now he had begun to believe that even if he did find her, it was too late. He had searched and speculated to his limits. There was nothing left inside of him.
Clasping his hands behind his back, he ambled toward the rail and leaned against it next to Garret, while they watched the bird’s display.
Kyrah’s legs almost wilted beneath her when this Captain Buckley stood next to Garret. Everything inside of her melted into a sensation that made her feel hot and cold all at once. She didn’t understand the connection, but she had no doubt it was Ritcherd. His hair was changed, his clothes were different. But it was him! She would know that face anywhere. In the moment it took for the reality to settle in, her heart began to pound. Oh, how she loved him! And he’d come for her! He had! Was it he who owned the Phoenix? It suited him well. As she took in his presence, the sailor shouted again, “Cap’n Buckley! Our luck’s bound t’ get even better now, eh?”
“Aye,” the captain replied, his eyes remaining on the albatross. “At least that’s what all o’ ye superstitious sailors are bound t’ think.”
Kyrah’s heart leapt freshly as he spoke, and the baby inside of her moved as if to respond to her emotion. She thought of the two voices she’d heard Captain Garret use, and wondered over the reasons as she scrutinized Ritcherd Buchanan, alias Captain Buckley. When the reality of his presence struck her, Kyrah forced herself back to the present. He had come for her! And what had she done? She’d gone and married another man. She’d given up on him. She’d betrayed him. She recalled Captain Garret telling her they’d been in port more than three months. Oh, if only she’d held out just a little longer! How could she ever justify what she’d done? She needed time to come to terms with her feelings, to know how to handle this, what to say. She knew she had to leave before he saw her. If he was to be aboard the ship she was sailing home on, then it was only a matter of days before they would be together. While a part of her ached to just run into his arms, she couldn’t face him so unexpectedly.
As soon as Ritcherd spoke, she turned quickly away and pulled the hood of her cloak over her head. But she felt his eyes moving toward her just before she was able to move into the crowd.
Ritcherd sucked in his breath and tried to convince himself he wasn’t going crazy. It was bewitching how he’d moved his gaze from the great bird soaring overhead, only to see Kyrah’s face among the crowd of people on the pier. Through his months of searching he’d begun to wonder if he would know her when he saw her. But it only took a second to be certain it was her.
“Kyrah,” he whispered, and Garret turned abruptly toward him. But before he had a chance to ask, Ritcherd was running onto the pier, calling out her name.
“Kyrah!” She heard him shout, his deep voice ringing strong above the bustling on the pier. “Kyrah!” he repeated, his desperation evident. She wondered what he had gone through to get here. But she couldn’t face him now—not yet. She hurried as quickly as she could manage in her condition. She heard him call her name again. He was getting closer. Her heart raced faster. The child turned inside of her. She pushed her way through the crowd and moved quickly to a side street, hiding herself in a doorway.
Ritcherd became frantic. He felt as if he’d lost his mind. It seemed as though he’d been searching forever, and with one glimpse she was gone again. He pushed his way almost brutally through the crowd, looking desperately for her. But it was as if she’d disappeared into nothing. She was gone.
He wandered the area for more than an hour before he finally returned to the ship, realizing his efforts were futile. He paused on the pier where he had seen her standing. The crowds were gone now, and he tried to imagine her here. But how could she have been here and not seen him? How could she not have heard him calling her? What had gone wrong?
His gaze moved to the albatross that was still flying nearby, and he wondered if the bird really did have the power to bring luck. Had it shown him that Kyrah was here and given him a grain of hope?
He was startled to hear Garret’s voice behind him. “What happened?” he asked.
Ritcherd turned to face him. “She�
��s here. I saw her.”
“Are you sure?” Garret asked.
“Absolutely.” They walked onto the Phoenix together and sat down in the cabin while Ritcherd told him exactly what had happened. Garret listened patiently while he speculated over why she might have fled. And he rehearsed his determination to find her.
“You’re awfully quiet,” Ritcherd said when he realized how long he’d been talking while Garret had just listened with an occasional indication that he understood.
“What can I say? I agree with you. You need to find her, but if she doesn’t want to be found, it could be difficult.”
“But why?” Ritcherd asked and began pacing.
“I don’t know,” Garret said. He watched Ritcherd pace back and forth for several minutes while his mind worked over a number of elements in this situation. Something didn’t add up—or perhaps it added up a little too well. Wanting a little more evidence before he started poking around, he said, “May I ask you a stupid question?”
“That’s all I’ve been doing: asking stupid questions; questions with no answers. Go ahead.”
“I was just wondering . . . did you ever give Kyrah any really nice gifts? You weren’t together very long, but . . .”
Ritcherd couldn’t see the point, but he simply said, “Yes.”
“May I ask what?” Ritcherd looked suspicious and he added, “Just curious.”
“I gave her a diamond necklace and earrings. I told you a long time ago that I spoke to a man who had bought the earrings from her.”
“I guess I’d forgotten,” Garret said, resisting the urge to take Ritcherd to meet Mrs. Griffin. He figured it would be better if he had a little talk with her first. And he was going to do it right now.
“Where you going?” Ritcherd asked as Garret headed for the door.
“To see a woman,” Garret said and left, but Ritcherd wondered why he seemed angry.
Ritcherd stood to follow him out.
“Where are you going?” Garret asked.
“I’m going to look for Kyrah,” he said, and disappeared into the dark streets before Garret even got past the pier.
The Captain of Her Heart Page 48