With her sister’s countless admonishments running through her thoughts, Hope rose and fetched the pail from beside the fire. She would fetch water. A useful task. And it would allow her a few moments to herself to enjoy the island.
* * *
Alejandro returned at midday with the sail bundled tightly and tied to his back, his arms laden with scraps of wood. The three men had not returned from their fishing expedition yet, as he expected. In fact, the only people present were the doctor and the somewhat hysterical Señorita Carlbury. They accosted him as soon as he stepped out from beneath the trees.
“There you are,” the doctor said, his shoulders falling. The man’s insistence in maintaining proper dress had his brow covered in sweat. “Miss Everly—”
“She isn’t with you,” the girl wailed, cutting off the doctor’s question. “Wherever could she have gone? She’s been missing for far too long.”
As Alejandro himself had only been gone for a little over an hour, he doubted that was the case at all. “Was she in the clearing after I left?” he asked, carefully lowering his burdens exactly where he stood. Did anyone know Miss Everly had followed him for a time, before he sent her back?
The doctor cast an impatient glance at the young woman, then nodded. “We spoke for a time, and then Miss Everly said she would bring water to my wife. That is what she told Miss Carlbury.”
“I think I upset her.” The abrupt confession from the girl startled the doctor, if his sudden stiffness indicated this was new information. “I told her—well. It does not matter. But I know she did not like what I said. Oh, where could she be?”
“Thorne and Gibson went down the path where you said the well was located,” the doctor added. “They returned perhaps a quarter of an hour ago and said they found no sign of Miss Everly or the pail. I did not think it possible for her to get lost. Gibson said the path was quite clearly marked.”
Alejandro untied the rope at his midsection, releasing the bundled sail to the ground. He doubted her ability to get lost if she had stuck to her errand. The woman likely decided on another course of action. She did not strike him as the troublesome sort. In fact, Alejandro had confidence in her abilities, though there was no logical reason for such a thing.
“I will go in search of her. The island is not very large. She cannot have gone too far. If she finds the shore, she can find her way back here again.”
“Thank you, Señor Córdoba.” The doctor wiped at his brow with the back of his coat sleeve. “I have faith you will find her quickly.”
With a brief bow, Alejandro took his leave. He went in the direction of the path he took every day to fetch water. While the other searchers may have gone down to the well, perhaps even to the shore in their search, he had a feeling Miss Everly’s attention had wandered at a specific location.
The woman’s thirst for adventure likely meant she would keep her eyes open for anything out of the ordinary or outside of her experience.
Along the downhill path to the sea, there was a smaller trail he took far less often. In fact, he had not walked that way in a few weeks. He took the small branch, his eyes on the ground searching carefully for signs of disturbance.
Ah. There, in the soft dirt, the clear, half-circle imprint of a heel pressing into the ground. The print was far smaller than anyone else on the island might make, perhaps with the exception of the doctor’s wife. The fact that someone so small could cause such a large amount of trouble in a short time almost amused him.
Alejandro had been something of a troublemaker as a child, and perhaps his mischief would’ve followed him into adulthood were it not for the years of war and the people of Río de la Plata chafing beneath Spain’s rule.
A massive stone forced Alejandro to walk along it, where the hill grew steeper. But once on the other side of the big black rock, the trees thinned. He drew closer to the bright blue of the sky and the crashing sound of waves.
Standing with an arm wrapped tightly around one tree, and her hand gripping the handle of the bucket, Miss Everly gazed out over the cliff and toward the churning sky and ocean. She’d found a sheer drop-off that fell into the water below, facing southward. Storm clouds rumbled far in the distance, the gray and blue framing her prettily. The wind tugged at her dress and made her long hair wave like ribbons on a kite.
He drew nearer, as entranced by the sight of her as she was by the faraway storm.
“Señorita?”
She did not appear startled when she turned to look over her shoulder at him, her blue eyes full of an emotion he could not name. “Will the storm come this direction?” The question was nearly too quietly asked for him to hear.
Coming slowly closer, Alejandro directed his eyes away from her and to the clouds. After a moment’s study, he shook his head. “We are not in its path. The wind will take it east, and it will stay away from here.”
Her eyes remained on him. He could feel her gaze without having to look at her.
“Good. I do not think anyone wishes to face another storm so soon.” She shuddered and hugged the tree at her side tighter. “I saw the path here at the same time I thought I heard thunder.”
The explanation did not surprise him. “You must have excellent ears.” He watched her from the corner of his eye. Despite her wandering off, there was fear in her expression. In her eyes.
“We live near the sea,” she said, the heaviness lifting long enough for her to smile. “My family, my friends, we grew up watching the weather change and storms roll in. I think that gave me an ear for things like this, just as music lessons gave me an ear for song.”
He ought to respond. Ought to speak to her about the worry she caused her companions, the dangers of wandering off in a strange place, but instead he let the silence settle between them. Missing the company of people had not meant he wanted a whole boat full of them to be dropped directly onto his island. Especially people desperate and frightened, and more ready to make trouble than to try and exercise practicality.
They were not the sort of people he had been accustomed to, even before he washed ashore on the island.
Hope did not seem to fit with the rest of them at all.
“Did I imagine what happened between us when you found me, Alejandro?” she asked, the question unexpected.
He looked down at the water crashing into the rocks. “What do you think happened, Miss Everly?” He knew what he had felt. Knew why he must put such things away. They would not be rescued. Even if they were, what then? He could not court her. He had nothing. Knew nothing of his family, of his homeland.
She took in a shaky breath. “I do not know how to explain it. Not precisely. But while we spoke, I felt as though we were tied together. That there is a purpose, a wonderful purpose, in us meeting.” She turned wide, pleading eyes to him.
Alejandro considered the woman at his side. He sensed a strength to her, something that she kept hidden from the others, that kept her from falling to pieces. And then there was the attraction she spoke of, pulling them together, making his heart race when he stood this near to her. He could not answer her question. She had faith in a future she would never have again.
“What will you do when rescue does not come?” he asked, turning away to watch the white tips of waves appear and vanish only to reappear again, as far as the eye could see.
A bird sang above them and the thunder in the distance boomed a warning across the water. Miss Everly shifted, relaxing her hold on the tree. “I cannot think like that, Señor Córdoba. Not yet.”
Expecting anything else would do a disservice to her. To all of them. Yet allowing her to continue under the delusion that anyone out in the world cared enough to search until they found her, that they might be saved from the hardship of living like primitives upon a rocky island, did not strike him as kind.
“There is no place for hope on this island,” he said, turning to fully face her. She had to understand. Had to at least begin to grasp the seriousness of the situation. “You are better
off to bury hope and give your energies only to what you can control. Your survival.”
She met his level stare with a fascinated glint in her eye. Tilting her head to one side, she studied him. She did not take in his beard, did not gawk or blush at his open shirt as the other young lady had. No, Miss Everly sought to look into his thoughts.
“I think you are quite wrong, Señor Córdoba. Hope is very much alive here.” She withdrew a step and gestured to the path. “Should we return? I am afraid I have not even filled the pail yet.” She would let the matter between them drop. He could be grateful for that.
The woman had to be on the verge of hysterics to smile at him like that when he had tried to present the grimness of their situation to her, though her attitude was preferable over her friend’s whining and wailing. Alejandro stepped around her and led the way back to the path for fetching water.
He still wondered what the secret hiding behind her eyes could be.
11
If the lecture on proper conduct had been friendly, the rebukes Hope suffered after the return from the well were severe. Irene fell upon Hope the moment she stepped into the clearing, and with such a dramatic lunge that Hope nearly toppled. It was a good thing Alejandro had carried the full pail of water back up the hill. All her hard work would have amounted in nothing more than a puddle after Irene finished with her exuberant greeting.
“Where have you been? Oh, I have been so worried. You’ve been gone ages and ages. What if you were lost? Or hurt?”
“Lost?” Hope asked, slowly putting her arms around her friend to return the embrace. “I cannot think it possible to be lost. It is a very small island, after all.” Her attempt at humor was met with a glare.
“It is not at all something to jest about, Grace Everly.” Irene stepped back, holding Hope’s shoulders tightly in her hands. “You cannot pretend all is well. Wandering off like that is dangerous.”
“We were worried,” the doctor added. He had appeared a moment earlier, coming out of the shelter. “Everyone is out searching for you even now.”
Everyone? Why had they sent out search parties with such speed? Hope winced, looking from the doctor to Irene. “I only meant to be helpful and fetch water. I was a little distracted, but I was in no danger.”
“It is not like you to wander off. I am surprised at your thoughtless behavior.” Irene shuddered and wrapped her arms about herself, though the sun shone down harshly upon them both.
Her actions had been precisely like Hope, but not at all like Grace. Biting her lip, Hope tilted her face downward and thought quickly. “You are right, Irene. I apologize for causing such trouble. I meant to help. I will not leave like that again, nor stay away so long.”
“I expected better from you, Miss Everly.” The doctor’s grave voice delivered the chastisement almost as well as her father might have, had he been present. “Especially after our conversation earlier.”
Hope did not think it possible to hang her head any lower. She had apologized. What more might she do? No one would have worried over one of the men disappearing for such a short length of time. Perhaps the Carlburys would not have worried over her had they known she was the more adventurous Everly sister. But as she had decided her course, she had to maintain it.
“Forgive me, Doctor.” She caught a glimpse of Alejandro standing from the fire, where he had set the pail to boil again. He looked in her direction, his deep brown gaze catching hers. “I am overcome, I think.” Overcome with disappointment in Alejandro. In herself. She had imagined what happened between them. Imagined that he had felt as she did. At least she had not mentioned that she thought, perhaps, she was falling in love with him.
Everyone was right about her. She raced into everything without thought, following her feelings. Hope blinked and directed her stare at the ground again. “I only wish to be useful, but it has been such a shock. I think the quiet helped me to settle my mind.” It was almost the truth.
“You poor darling. You always were one to be contemplative.” Irene patted her on the arm. “I am certain you are as distraught as I am, but you are putting on a brave face.”
Agreeing would be the easiest thing to do, especially with the doctor still glaring at her in disapproval. “Yes. I am.” She added a shudder for effect and leaned into Irene. “I think I had better rest for a time. I am most sorry to have caused anyone worry.”
Irene wrapped an arm about her waist. “I am certain you are. Oh, but I was beside myself, and Albert went charging into the forest to look for you.”
Hope thought she heard Alejandro snort from his place near the fire. She did not look, though she knew she could hardly blame a burning log for the derisive noise. When he turned without word to march into the trees again, the doctor called after him.
“Mr. Córdoba, where are you bound?”
He turned to answer but kept walking backward. “To search out your search party, doctor. Miss Everly may not have been lost, but it would not surprise me if some of the gentlemen were.” He disappeared into the shadows beneath the trees.
“Insufferable man,” Irene muttered. “Come, Grace. Let us attend Mrs. Morgan.”
Attend her how? Hope had no skills with nursing. The doctor had done all he could. Did Irene mean to play at sitting in a parlor and visiting? Hope allowed herself to be guided into the hovel, though the rising sun had made the inside monstrously hot. Poor Mrs. Morgan, trapped in the heat. She shouldn’t be left alone to suffer.
Irene soon filled the air with talk of rescue and how soon she expected it would come. Mrs. Morgan said little, and Hope did no more than respond when Irene required it of her.
The deep voices of men outside the small structure indicated many of them had returned, but no one came through the hovel door. It seemed everyone come back from searching for her. When next Hope stepped out, she anticipated she would she be greeted by angry glares and accusing comments. She truly hadn’t meant to cause trouble, but it seemed she excelled at doing so.
The doctor came in at last, after what seemed like hours of sitting in the hot shelter, to tell them there was food prepared. He held a large leaf the way one might hold a plate, with a large piece of white meat upon it. “You young ladies step outside and get something to eat. I will sit with my wife for a time.”
Hope needed no encouragement. At the same moment she burst out of the hovel, a cool breeze came up and wrapped about her bare ankles, then cooled her perspiring forehead. Her hair would be a mess again. Snarled and sticking to her. It did not bear thinking about, though, when she could smell something absolutely delightful.
Nothing had entered her stomach since the seal meat that morning. Nothing but water. The cooked and charring fish at the fire took up all of her attention. Two of the sailors were turning sticks with fish in the flames, quite low. Another was pushing what looked like a bundle of leaves into the ashes.
Albert rested in the shade, away from the fire, seated next to the professor. Mr. Thorne and Señor Córdoba were sliding fish from sticks using leaves to grip the cooked meat.
Would Hope be expected to cook her own food? She eyed the long sticks and studied the simple method of cooking. It reminded her of using toasting forks with cheese and bread during winter holidays. It didn’t look all that difficult. Yes. She certainly could manage to cook a fish.
Mr. Thorne saw the ladies lingering near the door of the hovel before anyone else. He bowed in their direction. “Miss Everly, Miss Carlbury. We have your dinner.”
Oh. Well. Perhaps another day she would try her hand at roasting fish over a fire.
Mr. Thorne gestured for the ladies to sit on rocks near the hovel, then he gave Miss Carlbury the fish he had wrapped in leaves. “It will be a tricky process to eat it,” he said to them both. Mr. Córdoba appeared and handed Hope his own leafy offering.
“You have had fish for dinner before, Miss Everly.”
She pursed her lips as she accepted the food. “Of course. Usually it is served with wine, but this wil
l do.”
Irene sniffed. “Wine and sauces, delicious roasted carrots.”
Hope had meant to tease, not to complain, but Irene obviously did not understand her comment that way. “It is a picnic, Irene.” Hope kept her voice lighter this time. She unfolded her leaves and looked down at the fish, sliced open down its middle, but still with eyes in its head and a few scales along its spine. It had a bright yellow stripe along its silver body and had likely been a very pretty thing in the water where it belonged.
Alejandro still stood near, arms crossed over his dirty, worn shirt, watching her with both eyebrows raised. What was he waiting for? Her opinion on the food?
She looked down again at the fish and picked it up with one hand. Even though she had sat on a beach before, with her friends, their picnics had still been far more civilized than this. There was no cutlery, no servants, not even a cloth to wipe her hands clean when she finished.
Yet, she knew what she had to do. She reached inside the already made slit, where the fish had mercifully been cleaned before being cooked, and used her fingers to pull out the white, fleshy meat. She popped it into her mouth and closed her eyes, the food more delicious than she imagined any fish could ever be. As fish had never been a great favorite before, she very well knew the delightful taste was more the result of her hunger than flavor.
She ought to give thought to decorum. Once she started eating, however, she stopped caring at appearing poised. Hope devoured her fish as swiftly as possible.
Irene, at her side, daintily picked at each little bite, her nose wrinkled all the while.
Alejandro chuckled and went back to the fire, where Mr. Thorne already cooked another fish.
Saving Miss Everly Page 9