Ferghal rose to greet Mary. “So glad you’ve come to rescue old Heron here, Mary. He is near enough impossible when he has to wait, especially for you.” He grinned. “And it’s a grand sight you make too — enough to make me sorry you’ve been spoken for.” He turned as Harry re-entered the room. “If we were not friends, I’d be after cutting you out of Mary’s favours — but there it is.” He sighed theatrically. “I shall have to enter a monastery and retire from all hope of winning someone so beautiful.”
Mary burst into laughter. “Oh, Ferghal, you, in a monastery? From what I’ve heard, half the Fleet and most of the women around here would go into mourning if you became a man of the cloth, and the Church itself would probably not survive it.”
Ferghal’s laugh nearly shook the walls, and Harry visibly relaxed for the first time that day.
The evening was filled with laughter and music as Danny, Ferghal and Mary joined in an impromptu concert. The whole house resonated to the wild tunes of the Irish dances, and some of the more subtle variations of calmer and even melancholy tunes flowed from the range of instruments. Niamh, Theo and Harry listened spellbound, sometimes adding to the chorus as well known and well-loved songs were sung, Ferghal’s tenor complementing Mary’s clear soprano, and Theo and Harry joining with a strong bass as Danny added the alto when his voice allowed.
It was the beginning of a crowded fortnight for Harry and Mary as he tried to share all the joy he felt in his homeland with her and the special places he had known and learned to love.
To Harry’s dismay, she did not share his love of sailing.
“I am sorry, Harry. I know you love the sea and sailing, but I get seasick just watching you, and I really can’t enjoy the water as you do.”
“If you’re sure.” Harry hid his disappointment. “Then we can do something else. Would you care to visit the Giant’s Causeway again? Or perhaps a walk on Slemish.”
In the end, they settled for a walk on the mountain that had once seen Saint Patrick herding sheep as a slave. It was cold and threatening rain when they made their way down to the waiting transport.
“Thank you, Harry,” Mary said as he helped her into it. “It’s been a truly wonderful two weeks.” She kissed him lightly on the cheek and snuggled under his arm for warmth as he settled into the seat beside her. “I’ve enjoyed every minute of it and having you to myself.”
“And tomorrow you must return to your career,” he said. He was still having trouble with the concept that a lady could have a career, never mind want one outside of a home and family.
Mary squeezed his hand and rested against his shoulder. “Yes, I must earn a living, and just as you enjoy your travelling through space and using your talents, I enjoy travelling the concert circuit to perform my music and use my talents.”
Harry listened, his feelings in something of a whirl. He didn’t want her to go, and really wanted these weeks to continue. She made him feel complete somehow. Her presence in his life was something special he couldn’t quite define.
“Do you really have to leave tomorrow?” he asked, holding her hand.
She’d been asking herself this question, but she knew the answer. “I’m afraid so, Harry. I’ve concerts to prepare for, and I’ve been skimping on my practice time.”
He sighed. “I know, but . . . well . . . I suppose I’m just being selfish really. I dreamed about you a lot while on Lycania, and two weeks just seems such a short time . . . not enough time.”
She squeezed his hand and smiled into his eyes. “I dreamed of you too, often. It was terrible not knowing if you were alive or dead, and then when I knew you were alive, I didn’t know whether you were safe, and then—”
He kissed her lips, gently. “And I was in a great fret that you might have found someone else.”
She laughed and returned the kiss, pressing against him as much as the seat in the little personal vehicle allowed. “Really, Mr. Heron?” Her hand squeezed his. “Silly man, I was so afraid you’d never come back when your ship just vanished — we all were.” Her finger touched the end of his nose. “Promise me you won’t do that again.”
“I shall endeavour to keep that promise.” Harry smiled, remembering the hardship of the months before the Canids took them in. “I have grown too soft for playing the part of a latter day Crusoe, I think.” He hesitated. “Now, to complete this perfect day together, I’ve reserved the best table in the quietest corner of The Titanic Dock, so we may have our final evening with just our own company.”
“That sounds divine, and I’m famished. All that trekking up and down the mountain really gives one a healthy appetite!” She smiled then kissed him again. “Do stop worrying, and don’t rush things, Harry. I love you and only you. There is no other man for me, not in this world or any other world out there. Dinner will be lovely — a special way to remember this holiday.”
The dinner passed all too swiftly for Harry, who barely noticed what he was eating. Though the restaurant was crowded, it could have been empty of everyone but Mary as far as he was concerned.
“I can’t believe how swiftly the last two weeks have passed,” he said as he drained his coffee. “It seems only yesterday you arrived, and tomorrow I must see you back to Dublin and prepare to return to duty.”
She reached across the table and took his hands. “My sweet Harry . . . we’ve had a great two weeks, and I’ve really enjoyed being with you. It won’t be so long before we can be together again. Come on now. Let’s go home. I want to give you something.”
When they returned home, the house was quiet, and everyone was asleep. They walked upstairs and stopped on the landing for one last kiss, and Mary hesitated to let go. Harry felt a fluster of nervousness, his old-fashioned gentlemanly manners telling him this was inappropriate, but Mary took his hands and invited him into her room. He had no choice but to follow, willingly.
“Harry,” she said when he shut the door behind him. She smiled up into his eyes, winding her arms around his neck and pressing her body against him. “I want to show you my thanks in a very special way.” She kissed him slowly, longingly, and for a few moments, he struggled for control, but then he surrendered to the surge of desire, lost in the ecstasy of being entwined with her body. It was an unforgettable night for them both, and it sealed their love and commitment to each other.
Seated at the fireside the next evening, Harry stared into the coals and nursed his drink. Outside the darkened hillside settled under the frost as the unusually clear skies allowed the stars to light the great Lough below. He had earlier escorted Mary to Dublin to begin her next concert tour and he missed her already.
She had taught him so much in one short night. More than ever he was determined she would be his wife, his constant companion, his friend and lover.
Ferghal had left almost as soon as he returned from Dublin to a new posting, and Danny had returned to Fleet College two days prior for his next course. Harry felt very alone.
Niamh watched him from the doorway to the study, her maternal instincts tugging at her heart, and her pride almost overwhelming her as she noted how young and vulnerable he looked. He glanced up and caught her eye, and his smile seemed to light up his face.
“Lost in your thoughts there, Harry?” She came into the room and placed a hand on his shoulder. “I hope they’re all good ones, happy memories.”
Harry placed his hand over hers and squeezed gently. “The best, Aunt Niamh, the best. I already miss Mary so much it hurts, and I confess I am saddened at being parted from Ferghal. It will be the first time we have been apart since the day he was told to mind me when we were but boys — and that was before I was first breeched. I hope he will be well looked after in his new ship.”
“I think he’ll be fine.” Niamh settled into a comfortable wing chair. “And he said much the same about you and your new posting. He is concerned that you are going to the exploration ship the Beagle.”
Harry smiled. “And he is to serve
on the repair ship Rotterdam. I think he is facing the greater danger. Have you seen the fabrication units on those?” He laughed. “And they are giving him charge of one!”
Niamh studied him fondly. “He is concerned that you are going into uncharted space and may encounter some of the ships the Consortium seems to have mislaid. The news, you may have been too busy to notice, is there is a growing threat of what is thought to be piracy. He says the Beagle is all but defenceless.”
“He is right, but I do not think the Beagle will be a target. She is too well known and in constant communication with Fleet HQ.”
“As long as you remember to take care of yourself and come home eventually,” Niamh leaned across and brushed his cheek with her fingers. “You mean a lot to all of us, you know.” She straightened. “Care to take a walk up the hill with me? With such a clear night, the stars will be magnificent, and the air so fresh.”
“Cold too,” laughed Harry, rising to fetch his coat and hers. “Very well, Aunt, I am at your service.”
Tomorrow would be time enough to prepare for his new appointment. Tonight he could take a walk in the frosty starlight on the hill above his home, something he had not done in a very long time.
About the Author
Patrick G. Cox
Patrick Gray Cox has had a long fascination with the sea and ships, as well as the world of science fiction and space travel. Born in Cape Town and educated at Selborne College in East London, South Africa, Patrick is a published technical author and lecturer, and a retired firefighter after thirty-six years of soot, heat, blood, sweat, and laughter. He is a Licensed Minister in the Church of England and has three adult children and three grandchildren of whom he is enormously proud.
He has a number of published articles in trade journals, and writes in a freelance capacity for the Fire and Rescue Journal among others. His portfolio includes a number of commissioned articles on fire service matters, a book on Marine Fire Studies and the editing of a handbook for the NEBOSH Certificate in Fire Risk Management. His technical books include the IFE Guide to Fire Investigation published in 2011 and The Fire Service Leader’s Pocket Book published in 2017. He has appeared on television programmes as a fire-fighting expert, including Ring of Fire for the Discovery Channel about fighting bush fires in Australia, and as a commentator on Inside Spontaneous Human Combustion in 2005 for Sky1.
His popular historical romance, A Baltic Affair, is set in the latter stages of the Napoleonic Wars in the Baltic area against the background of Napoleon's attempt to strangle British trade with its Northern European allies, the repercussions of which still echo down the years.
Limehouse Boys takes readers to the grimy, gritty streets of the East End of London in the 1830s and follows the struggles of three orphans caught up in a web of crime, corruption in high places and poverty. With the help of friends among the watermen of the river, they find a niche in which they can change the fate intended for them by those with money and power.
Magnus Patricius: The Remarkable Life of St Patrick the Man, is a fictionalised biography of St Patrick, one of his heroes. Writing this tribute work to the saint took much time and involved reading a very wide range of material related to the period in which St Patrick lived, and as many academic studies of the man and his work that he could access. While only two documents survive that are authenticated as being the words of Patrick himself, these are supplemented by a veritable library of other works believed by many to be based on or inspired by Patrick's writings.
Harry Heron: Midshipman's Journey, is the flagship book in the Harry Heron Adventure Series. Entirely a work of 19th century British naval fiction, this coming-of-age story follows the career of Midshipman Harry Nelson-Heron and his friends Ferghal O’Connor and Danny Gunn aboard the 74-gun HMS Spartan on a voyage to Australia and the East.
Harry Heron: Into the Unknown, the second book in the series, captures the exciting action as Harry, Ferghal and Danny are accidentally propelled through a time warp four hundred years into the future from 1804 to 2204. Through wits, skill and intelligence, they quickly assimilate into the North European Confederation Fleet and adapt to the world of spaceships and colonies on distant planets.
Harry Heron: No Quarter captures Harry and Ferghal’s adventures and challenges in Fleet College and their early days as newly commissioned Midshipmen.
Patrick looks forward to writing and publishing the final two books in the series, Harry Heron: Awakening Threat, and Harry Heron: Hope Transcends, in the near future.
Janet Angelo
Editor and Publisher, INDIEGO PUBLISHING
If you enjoyed reading Harry Heron: Savage Fugitive, the publisher and I would greatly appreciate a positive 4- or 5-star review on Amazon. Thank you so much for being a loyal reader. We couldn’t make this journey to the stars without you.
Patrick G. Cox
www.harryheron.com
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