by Louise, Kara
“I assure you I have no more amusing stories!”
“Yes! You remember! You were going to tell us about that foolish man whose offer of marriage you simply had to refuse.”
“Now?” Elizabeth asked.
“Yes! We are all waiting expectantly.”
Mrs. Keller grabbed Elizabeth’s arm and began pulling her towards the ladies. She turned back to excuse herself from the captain but saw that he was no longer standing there.
*~*~*
Darcy walked quickly away from the cave… away from Elizabeth… pounding his chin with his fist. He could only thank the good Lord for not allowing him to say whatever it was he was about to say to her. He had no idea what that was going to be, but his feelings at that moment were so strong that he had felt compelled to say something.
Was he going to profess his love? Reveal his true identity? He had no idea. He could not formulate one thought now, save for the fact that the laughter he heard from the ladies inside the cave was directed at him, even though they were unaware of that fact. One thing he did know was that the contented glow he had experienced earlier now felt like a lead weight deep inside, and he could barely breathe.
Darcy’s stomach churned as he considered what Elizabeth might be saying about him. He desperately wanted to flee as far away from her as he could get… or else to go in and apologize for being the fool he was when he so recklessly declared his love and his misgivings in his offer of marriage.
He slapped his hand against a rock and cast his gaze to the ground. If only this had happened before he had allowed his senses to come fully alive in her presence. He had fooled himself into thinking she could care for him. He fisted his hand and slammed it against the rock, this time more forcefully. A small trail of blood trickled out between his fingers. A small trail of blood trickled down his hand. As he wiped the blood away, he resolved that he would no longer allow his senses to be saturated while in her presence.
“Captain!” Bellows’ voice called out.
“Here!” Darcy answered.
“The ladies are gettin’ tired an’ would like to know what should be done ’bout sleepin’ arrangements.”
“Tired?” Darcy asked, unable to disguise the disgust in his voice. “It sounded like they were… was havin’ a good laugh in there over somethin’.
Bellows narrowed his brows at him. “So it would seem. I were not privy to it, other than that it concerned a rather foolish gentleman an’ a rejected proposal.”
Darcy fisted his hands again. At least he knew she had not recognized him. She would not dare talk about him like that to the other ladies if she knew his true identity.
Darcy ran his hand across his forehead and through his long hair. “I know not what we ken do ’bout the sleepin’ arrangements, but I suppose we ought to station two men to guard the cave throughout the night. We ken take shifts, like we do on the ship.”
“Aye. But the ladies wondered if there was some way to give them a little privacy.”
“I wish we could jest git them back to their ship! That would take care of everything!”
“Cap’n? Are you all right?”
Darcy took in a deep breath. “It has jest been a rather stressful day an’ I’m ready fer it to be over with.”
“I would’ve thought you ’ad been rather enjoyin’ the day.”
Darcy turned sharply towards him. “Why do ye say that?”
“Why, tis perty obvious you think fondly of Miss Bennet an’ ’ave been quite enjoyin’ her company.”
“Well, yer mistaken! Ken’t imagine why you’d think that!” Darcy turned and began walking back to the cave. “Come! I supposed we must see what we ken do.”
When the two men returned to the cave, the ladies had gathered their belongings and blankets in the far back corner of the cave. The trunk had been conveniently moved in front of them to afford a little privacy.
Mr. Joyner had positioned himself on the opposite side of the trunk, away from the ladies, but between them and the men. As the women made the final preparations for their sleeping arrangements, Darcy walked over.
“It appears ye ladies have yer sleeping arrangements set. Is there anythin’ else I ken do?”
He would not allow himself to look at Elizabeth. She walked over and stood in front of him, however, making it difficult.
“Yes, Miss Bennet? Is there somethin’ ye need?” He folded his arms across his chest and looked beyond her. Her scent, however, was not that easy to ignore.
“Captain, the ladies were wondering whether you think their husbands… and my father and cousin… might try to come over again tomorrow.”
Darcy shrugged and looked down at his feet as he kicked around some of the dirt. “If the seas are still rough in the mornin’, they likely won’t risk it.”
“They are wondering… if we have to row out to your ship… how we might board it. Do you have winches that can raise the dinghy up to your ship?”
Darcy furrowed his brows and ran his hand down his bristly beard. He had not even considered how the ladies would get onto the ship if they needed to.
“We don’t. We only ’ave a rope ladder that is thrown over the side. Do ye think the women would be able to climb it?”
“Oh, dear!” Elizabeth whispered as she turned to look back at the ladies. “Mrs. Joyner believes she is going to die at every turn. I doubt she would have the presence of mind to even take the first step out of the dinghy. I doubt Mrs. Dillard could manage it either, but perhaps Mrs. Keller could.”
“And you?” he asked as he unwittingly turned his eyes to her.
Elizabeth smiled and her eyes sparkled as she looked back at him. “I believe so. I climbed up and down a rope ladder a great many times when I was younger.”
“Did you? An’ what was this rope ladder used for?” Darcy regretted the moment he asked. His resolve to distance himself from Elizabeth seemed to have completely evaporated.
“A magical fort our father built in a tree for my sisters and me. Although I fear it has been several years since I last attempted to climb it.”
Darcy lifted a single brow. “A magical fort? An’ what was magical about it?”
“Oh, you know how children are. To my elder sister, Jane, it was a castle. To my sister, Mary, it was a cathedral, and to my two younger sisters, it was a ballroom.”
“And what was it to you?”
“Whenever I had the opportunity, I would escape up there by myself to get away from all the clamour and commotion that has always been a part of life at Longbourn.”
“So it became an escape for you?”
She leaned in to him with a smile. “Well, to own the truth, I called it my library.”
“Library? Why a library?” he laughed.
“I often noticed how my father would sequester himself away in his library with all his books and read. I soon realized he did it to get away from the noisy din of a household of ladies. So I learnt from him and would take a book with me and spend hours up there reading.”
Darcy could well imagine having to resort to something of the sort if he was confined with all the Bennets on a continual basis. Excepting Elizabeth, that is.
He suddenly thought of Georgiana and chuckled. Without thinking he said, “When my sister was younger, she loved to entertain herself in the play castle that my father had built for her.”
Elizabeth looked at him with a surprised look. “You have a sister, do you? And she has a play castle?”
Darcy shook his head. He had to be more careful – both in what he said to Elizabeth and how he said it!
“It was… ’twas not a castle, really, that was jest what she called it. And it wasn’t in a tree.” He drew in a sharp breath. “Miss Bennet, I need to discuss wi’ Bellows the issue of gettin’ you ladies out to the ship. We’ll come up wi’ somethin’. If you’ll excuse me.” He gave a short bow and began to walk away.
“Thank you, Captain.”
Darcy stopped. “Oh, an’ Miss Bennet,” he said
as he looked back at her, “ye may reassure the ladies that fer their safety we’ll ’ave two men guardin’ the cave throughout the night in case the pirates return. I doubt they shall, but just as a precaution.”
“I shall inform them. Thank you.”
Darcy walked briskly away. His emotions were as turbulent as the seas had been the night before. Trying to navigate through them was positively futile, and if he was not careful, he would end up being battered upon the rocks much like the merchant ship had been!
*~*~*
Elizabeth returned to the ladies. It was dark in the back corner of the cave, and they felt some sense of privacy as they settled quietly into their makeshift beds behind the trunk. There was little conversation save for what the captain had told her about the guards. She did not want to worry them tonight by mentioning the problematic boarding of his ship and what that likely would entail for the ladies.
Elizabeth bundled up a cloak she had brought along, using it as her pillow. She took the blanket and lay down on half of it, bringing the other half over her.
It was not long before the other ladies fell asleep. It had been a long, rather harrowing day. She was grateful for Captain Smith and how he had done everything in his power not only to keep them safe, but to make them feel safe, as well.
She lifted herself up onto her elbow, resting her head on her hand. She could see the captain speaking in fervent whispers with Bellows and Timmons. Both the captain and Bellows were tall, with broad shoulders and confident stances, and they dwarfed Timmons, who was not much taller than Elizabeth. The captain’s back was to her, and his arm rested casually on a small rocky ledge.
She was struck by a thought that for some reason he looked familiar. The way he stood, his posture. Even sometimes his voice.
Elizabeth shook her head. She would have had no occasion to meet him. He spoke as a commoner and most likely grew up near the sea. And yet… There were times when he actually sounded like a refined gentleman. Occasionally he would enunciate a word precisely, without any accent or dropping letters, almost as if he had once learnt to speak properly. And just now when he gave the short bow, it was if he did it without thinking, as if it had been ingrained in him.
She pinched her brows. But there was something else that troubled her. Something had changed in him. He had seemed more abrupt just now, almost as if he was agitated that the lot of protecting this group of stranded passengers was more than he would have wished for. She had noticed a slight scowl that had not been there previously.
She let out a sigh and lay back down. She was too tired to think any more on it tonight. She pulled the blanket up and tucked it around her shoulders, closing her eyes and anticipating a good night’s sleep. She hoped to be reunited with her father and cousin on the morrow.
Her cousin – David! She pursed her lips as she considered that she had barely thought of him since the captain had arrived!
Chapter 13
In the middle of the night, the sudden flash of lightning lit the cave, followed at once by a resounding boom of thunder and the sound of pouring rain. Everyone stirred, awakened by the storm announcing its arrival.
Elizabeth sat up, hugging the blanket tightly about her. The mild temperatures that had given everyone relative comfort earlier that day had long been chased away by the brisk wind that drove cold air directly into the cave.
As raindrops hit the red hot wood from the fire, it sputtered noisily, as if angry for being unexpectedly disturbed. The captain rose and threw two pieces of wood onto the fire, stirring it with a third piece before tossing that one in. He stood between the fire and the opening to the cave, allowing the new pieces of wood to begin burning without hindrance from the rain.
“Looks perty nasty out there!” Timmons said. “Anyone know what time it be?”
The captain pulled out a pocket watch, holding it near the flame to read it. “It is close to three o’clock.”
He walked over to the two men who had been standing guard at the cave’s entrance. “Ye ken get some sleep, now. I’ll keep watch til’ morn.”
“Thank ye, Cap’n.” They quickly came in and stretched out on the ground.
Elizabeth watched as the captain donned his oilskin coat and walked close to the entrance. He stood staring out with his hands braced against his hips and his legs in an alert stance. His curly dark brown hair peeked out from under his tri-corn hat, which shielded his face from the rain.
Elizabeth narrowed her brows and tilted her head as she studied him. She thought back to last night, wondering what had prompted the change in him. She knew he was likely concerned about getting the women off the small island and getting them onto a ship, whether his or the merchant ship. And now he was likely even more concerned that they may be stuck on this island even longer due to the storm.
Elizabeth lay back and closed her eyes. The pounding rain, flashes of lightning, and ominous cracks of thunder prompted disquiet within those in the cave, but for some unaccountable reason, she felt safe and secure with Captain Smith on watch.
*~*~*
Elizabeth opened her eyes and was greeted with muted rays of sunlight peering into the cave, now serenely silent. The others about her all appeared to be sleeping soundly.
She lifted her head and saw that the captain still stood where he had been last night. He was leaning against the inside wall of the cave, near the outside edge. He had removed his oilskin coat; his loose white shirt stirred in the breeze. The red sash had fallen about his neck.
As Elizabeth contemplated the dark curls caressing Captain Smith’s neck, a sudden recollection of a dream teased her thoughts. There was a ship and a storm. Captain Smith stood gallantly at the helm with much longer hair blowing in the wind. His white shirt billowed out like the sails of the ship, and his hand rested on the hilt of his sword. Instead of the sash covering his eye, a true eye patch served its purpose.
Parts of the dream were hazy, but she recalled how rough arms suddenly went about her. Although she could not see who had so forcefully grabbed her, she knew it was Lockerly. He pulled a sword and approached the captain, who had drawn his.
They stood for some time staring at each other, neither one moving. The captain finally said, “I am not afraid of you!”
There was a fight, and she could not remember much more. She could not even remember who won the fight. She bit her bottom lip as she tried to recall more. Then she slowly smiled as the end of the dream came to her.
She remembered standing next to the captain at the helm. Lockerly had been tied up and taken down and locked in the hold. Captain Smith turned to her and wrapped his gentle arms about her, pulling her close. She readily welcomed his affection and looked up at him. Ever so slowly he lowered his head and met her lips with his.
Elizabeth’s mouth went dry as she felt every fibre in her body come alive at the remembrance of the dream. Her face warmed, and she placed her cool hands over her cheeks. At that moment, the captain turned and looked at her.
Her heart raced, almost as if he had truly just kissed her. She took a few deep breaths to calm herself, got to her feet, and walked over to the captain, carefully stepping over those who slept.
The captain watched her approach. “Good morning, Miss Bennet. Did ye sleep well?”
“Yes, I did, thank you.” She glanced briefly up into his face, smiling as she did.
He looked down at her and then said, “Ye must’ve ’ad some pleasant dreams.”
Elizabeth gasped and felt her cheeks warm. How could he know?
“I cannot imagine what you mean, Captain.”
He placed one hand under her chin and gently lifted her face. With the other, he touched the inner corner of her eyes with his thumb and finger.
“Ye ’ave a remnant of yer dreams in yer eyes.”
Elizabeth swallowed hard and could barely think. She again thought of the difference between his soft, smooth hands, and Lockerly’s coarse, rough hands. As the events of her dream became even more vivid, she wondere
d what it would be like if he were to actually lean in and kiss her.
“I… I have never heard that before,” she said, trying to disguise her inexplicable feelings with a soft laugh.
“Me mother used to say that to me. She said that when we ’ad a good dream, it left a remnant in our eyes so that we wouldn’t forget it.”
“Oh,” Elizabeth said shakily. She felt as though she might crumple in a heap to the ground. Their eyes locked in a gaze; his were dark, shadowed by the brim of his hat. She began to fear that she may have called out his name aloud in her dream and he had heard. She forced a smile and said playfully, “Perhaps… perhaps you should not have removed it, then, as I have absolutely no recollection of any dream.”
“’Tis a shame, then.” Captain Smith suddenly straightened and looked back out of the cave. “You rise early, Miss Bennet.”
Elizabeth laughed, hoping to dismiss her confused feelings. “I have the unfortunate habit of rising with the sun. There is simply nothing to be done about it!” She looked up at him with a smile.
“And there’s no reason to do anythin’ ’bout it. ’Tis a good thing, rising early in the morn. I do it meself.”
“Ah, but I would think a captain needs to be awake at all hours of the night.”
The captain nodded. “’Tis true, but when I’m not sailing an’ I have the privilege of sleepin’ through the night, there is nothin’ I like better than to waken early an’ take a walk.” He pointed outside the cave. “Unfortunately, ’tis quite muddy out there this morn an’ a leisurely walk is out o’ the question.”
“For some, perhaps, but I have been known to walk in the mud on more than one occasion.”
He chuckled. “Yes, I…” he stopped abruptly and took a breath.
“Yes, Captain?”
He crossed his arms across his chest. The same scowl she had noticed last night returned to his face.
When he said nothing more, she continued, “It is good to see the storm has passed. Does this mean we shall make an attempt to reach one of the ships today?”