Sail Away Page 11

  “I believe she does. I don’t quite understand why, but she says she does, and I believe her.”

  David shrugged. “You’re not a bad catch, as things go. A respectable fortune, a title, a face that’s not too grotesque—though considering how much alike we look, I’m hardly objective—unless her father’s a fool, he’s bound to consent so long as you don’t pun at him. Your mother’s going to have something to say about it, naturally.”

  “Then it’s just as well Mama isn’t marrying her!” Kit retorted. He hadn’t realized how he must have seemed to be clinging to his mother’s apron strings until his cousins began pointing them out, but enough was enough. “I love my mother, David, but I do reserve the right to choose my own wife.”

  “That’s the spirit! If she kicks up a fuss, you can always remind her that she was the one who sent you to Paris in the first place.”

  “I’m sure she’s thought of that herself, any number of times. I do hope the doctor got word back to her that I’m alive and well.”

  “She has the letter you sent from Portugal. She wrote to me to let me know that her previous report of your demise was inaccurate. It looks like second sight on her part—the letter arrived two days ago on a ship out of Plymouth. God knows what she thought I could do about the situation, though you’re right. She said she felt terribly guilty about having sent you into such danger. I believe she’ll be so happy to see you, she’d forgive you a harem.”

  Kit grinned, thinking how close he’d come to that. “My mother had no idea what would happen. Neither did I.” That made him think of something else, though. “David—your friend Lieutenant Marshall seems to be feeling badly as well, and I can’t puzzle out what he meant.”

  “How’s that?”

  “He claimed he was responsible for your taking ill, and I can’t for the life of me understand—”

  “Oh, for the love of God!” David leaned back against the pillows. “He’s just being an idiot. It was a silly accident, anyone might’ve done it. You’ve seen how a sail is rigged over the deck in a rainstorm, to keep water out of the open hatch?” At Kit’s nod, he went on. “Well, Will saw that there was water pooling in the center of the sail, so he took a spar and poked up from beneath to spill the water out. I happened to be in just the right spot on deck that most of it landed on me. I fell ill the next day.”

  “But the doctor said you’d had fever on the ship for some time?”

  “We did. And I had been sickening all the day before, but Will didn’t know that. What he did had nothing to do with my being ill—I can’t believe he’s still flogging himself over that. I’d never have known if he hadn’t confessed and begged my pardon.”

  “He sounds very conscientious,” Kit said.

  “If he weren’t such a fine officer, he’d make a superb penitent monk. Did he tell you he spent all his off-duty time looking after me while I had the fever? No, of course not. He is the dearest friend I have ever had, but at times he can be exasperating.”

  “I think he was startled by seeing me at the Captain’s table. I look like I’ve been dragged through a keyhole backward, so it must have been a bit of a shock.”

  “It’s a pity he did get a look at you.” The speculation in David’s eye boded ill for Mr. Marshall. “Can you just imagine the look on his face if he were to come in here and find both hammocks up, with a different version in each?”

  Kit was about to remark that Mr. Marshall might also find his friend exasperating at times, but at that point, the subject of their conversation appeared with a cup of broth for the invalid.

  “Mr. Marshall!” Kit said, vacating his seat on the sea chest. “My cousin was just telling me how devoted you have been to his recovery, and here you are to prove his point.”

  “I was coming off duty in any case,” Marshall said. He turned a reproving look on David, as though praising him in absentia was a mean trick. “It was no trouble. With him on the sick list, we’re stretched thin on the watches.”

  “Of course,” Kit said with a smile. “Sir, I cannot tell you how pleased I am to know my kinsman has such a friend. David, I’d best return to my own quarters before I fall asleep. This is a fine cabin, but there’s not room enough for three. Might I bring Miss Colbert around to meet you later?”

  “Certainly! I must behold this paragon of womanhood. Tell me, Will, is it true that she is wafted about the deck by a flock of cherubs?”

  Marshall assessed Kit’s expression and frowned at his convalescing shipmate. “You are feeling better, aren’t you? Yes, she’s a lovely girl. I have not seen any cherubs as yet, but I would not rule out the possibility. I wish all the French were as agreeable as Miss Colbert and her father.”

  “Impossible,” Kit said. “Until later, then.” He took his leave and returned to his cabin with a lighter heart. It meant more than he’d expected to have David’s support. Perhaps it was their closeness in age or that quirk of resemblance, but he had always found David a bit more sympathetic and helpful than his other male cousins. It was a shame that he would likely be at sea and unable to attend the wedding.

  Kit settled into his hammock, his decision made. After supper, he would go hat in hand to Dr. Colbert and beg for his daughter’s hand—and the rest of her—in marriage.

  But man proposes—or plans to propose—and God disposes. The storm that had appeared in the afternoon’s distance made good on its threat while Kit slept. He was wakened by the hammock’s wild swinging, and even before a sailor came by to offer the Captain’s suggestion that His Lordship stay where he was till the storm had passed, Kit had decided not to risk dining. The gyrations of the room and the hammock suggested that the poor Calypso had been seized by some monster of the deep bent on shaking her to pieces. By the time the turmoil stopped, it was nearly midnight, and Kit simply rearranged his blankets and dropped off to sleep.

  Stability returned to the ship the following morning, and Kit managed to shave himself without losing any blood. He was just tying his cravat when the cabin door resounded to a tremendous knocking. “Come in!”

  Dr. Pierce entered, his face set in stern lines. “My lord,” he said formally, “I must speak with you.”

  Which he seemed to be doing. “Certainly,” Kit said. “Speak away.”

  “Mademoiselle Colbert told me she felt seasick this morning. I have just examined her.”

  Well, wasn’t that what a doctor was supposed to do? And what did it have to do with him? “Yes?”

  The doctor scowled ferociously. “My lord, she is carrying a child. I believe it must be yours.”

  Splendid! A baby, just as she’d wanted. “I expect it is,” Kit acknowledged happily. He wondered why Zoe had not told him herself.

  “How could you, sir!” The doctor was a small man, but bristling with indignation, he seemed much larger. “To abuse their hospitality—”

  Kit raised his hands. “Doctor! Peace, I pray you. Sir, did Mademoiselle Colbert explain that she has done me the honor of agreeing to become my wife?”

  “Oh.” He frowned. “I had not asked.”

  “Did you—ah—inform her of her condition?”

  “I wished to determine your intentions first, sir. If they were not honorable—”

  “What were you going to do, call me out and undo all your good work? Doctor, I had planned to ask her father’s blessing as soon as we returned to England. I beg you, give the young lady your news and see if she is not as pleased as I. And—” He caught himself; he almost suggested the doctor ask Zoe to tell him how they’d met, but that would have to remain a private jest between them, the sort of thing a man and his wife might smile about, down through the years. What a marvelous prospect! “I promise you, I will present my suit to her father before the day is out.”

  “I believe he is in the Captain’s cabin.”

  Kit could recognize a hint when it hit him between the eyes. “Excellent. I’ll go at once.”

  Considerably mollified, the doctor congratulated him on his good taste i
n women, reprimanded him for his lack of restraint, and departed. Kit thanked his stars the boat was steady, took a few moments to collect himself, and went to fulfill his duty before things got any more complicated.

  As Kit had half expected, Zoe had already spoken to her father about the matter, so if his pronunciation was a bit awry, his intention came through clearly enough. Dr. Colbert seemed relieved that Kit had finally gotten around to making it official, and warmly accepted him as a prospective son-in-law. He had just extracted a flask of brandy from his luggage when Zoe appeared with Dr. Pierce in tow. David, looking a bit unsteady but never one to miss a celebration, followed close behind. He was followed, in turn, by Mr. Marshall. A good thing Zoe’s father had been in the Captain’s cabin—there was no other room on the ship sufficient to contain the crowd.

  Zoe embraced her father, kissed the others all round, then explained to Kit that his next task would be to ask Captain Smith to marry them aboard the Calypso before the ship reached England.

  “What a brilliant inspiration, my love!” he said as the other gentlemen were offering one another appropriate felicitations. His mother would be more than a bit annoyed at missing the bustle of a Society wedding, but arriving with a fait accompli had much to be said for it. Not only would a legal marriage stop the gossips wondering how premature their child really was, it would absolutely spike his mother’s guns. “I shall beard the lion in his den—no, wait, this is his den, is it not?”

  She blushed and leaned close to whisper, “It was not my idea.”

  “Who—?”

  Having congratulated Dr. Colbert, David stepped up to shake Kit’s hand. “Your lady dropped by yesterday evening while you were in the arms of Morpheus,” he said. “She had a few questions about the family, and it occurred to me… if you were to arrive with a fiancée, there might be some awkwardness.” He shrugged. “But if you returned home with a wife….”

  And a baby on the way, Kit thought. This would be twice that Zoe had saved his skin. “I have always said you were the most intelligent man in the family.”

  “You may be right,” David agreed. “But this is sheer selfish indulgence. Do you realize that since I entered His Majesty’s service, I have missed every wedding and christening in the family? When I saw that you’ve found the most beautiful bride we’ve yet seen, I determined not to miss this event.”

  Kit laughed. “Come now…. I know you were present when Aunt Ermintrude landed that clergyman. What was his name—Satterfield?”

  “Osbert Satterleigh. Yes, and both of them teetotalers and opposed to any frivolous display of music or dancing. I’ve been to wakes that were more festive than that reception. Kit and I had to sneak out,” he confided to Zoe. “It didn’t matter—our elders were mostly asleep by then.”

  Will Marshall appeared at Kit’s elbow. “You must be cautious about believing Mr. Archer’s stories, mademoiselle,” he said. “He has a tendency to embroider.”

  “I love embroidery,” she said with a smile. “And to find such a charming gentleman who will be my cousin, that is splendid.”

  “The good fortune is mine, mademoiselle,” David said, but Kit noticed his tone was less energetic than before. “I fear I must return to my rest now, if I’m to be in any shape to attend the event.”

  Marshall unobtrusively moved close enough to lend David an arm.

  “You’ll be my best man, of course,” Kit said as they left, and David responded, “Absolutely!” Both doctors glanced at the affianced couple and followed the young officers out, leaving the pair alone.

  But the reminder of his advantages gave Kit a twinge of conscience. “Zoe, I’m afraid we don’t have a maid of honor for you—or even a wedding dress. Are you sure you would not like to wait? When my mother learns of the baby—”

  “I have my maman’s wedding veil,” she answered. “I have my papa, and I have you. And….” She bit her lip, but her eyes sparkled. “I had a dress made in Lisbon, Christophe. It is like the one I had to leave in Paris, the one I wore the night we met.”

  “Our first wedding night.” He squeezed her tightly, until he remembered her condition and loosened his embrace. “I don’t deserve you, my love. Once we are home, I will ask my mother to arrange some celebration—perhaps we can renew our vows, or throw some sort of belated engagement ball. My mother will know what to do.”

  “Your mother will be very surprised,” Zoe reminded him.

  “Yes… I think I will write to her today, after I speak to Captain Smith. ‘Dear Mama, I shall arrive home in a few days and bring with me your new daughter.’”

  “I hope she does not hate me.”

  “‘Dearest Mama,’” he corrected, meeting Zoe’s eyes. “‘I shall arrive home in a few days and bring with me your new daughter. She is a brave and beautiful girl, and but for her I would have died in the gutter, so I hope you will love her for my sake until you learn to love her for herself.’”

  He got no further, as Zoe’s lips found his. He would certainly ask Captain Smith about performing the service, but it could wait for a little while.

  CAPTAIN SMITH proved to be a very genial lion. He was delighted to take on the task of joining two young persons in holy matrimony. “The only Captain’s duty that I have not yet had the opportunity to perform—I’d not expected to have the chance this cruise. And I can tell you from experience, my lord—if she’s the girl for you, carpe diem. I did it myself some twenty years ago and have never had cause to regret it. Would you care to read the service?”

  “Certainly, thank you.”

  As Kit perused the Book of Common Prayer, Captain Smith excused himself from attempting to perform the devotions that followed the pronouncement of marriage. “I shall read the blessing afterward,” he said, “but I remember my own wedding. Once I heard the parson say ‘I now pronounce you man and wife,’ I wouldn’t have given a fig if he had vanished in a puff of smoke, but he prattled on for what seemed like hours. As for giving you Peter and Paul’s advice on marriage—well, all I can say is, I don’t recall any mention of their wives, so I took their preaching with a grain of salt.”

  The language of the service seemed straightforward enough; Kit had attended enough weddings that there were no surprises in the text. “Thank you, Captain. When would it be convenient to hold the ceremony?”

  “If the enemy stays as scarce as he has been, I think the day after tomorrow should do. Sunday. We can have a wedding in place of the usual Bible reading. Will that be agreeable?”

  “Admirably so. Thank you, Sir!”

  THE GODS of war and weather cooperated for once. Sunday dawned bright and clear, with enough of a breeze to please the mariners without distressing the landlubbers. Kit had just finished shaving—he’d told his cousin that he needed no assistance or supervision with that task—when someone rapped lightly on the door.

  “Come in! Ah, good morning, sir!” It wasn’t David, as he expected, but Dr. Colbert. “How do you do this fine day?”

  “Well, thank you.”

  Kit raised an eyebrow. The doctor’s accent was much slighter than it had been previously. “Tell me, sir—when you were about to marry Zoe’s mother, were you nervous?”

  “I was terrified.” He smiled. “Yes, I do speak English more fluently than I led you to believe. I have given this much thought, and decided that you should know that your father-in-law is a spy.”

  Kit opened his mouth. “Ah—” He cleared his throat. “I see. Thank you for waiting until I put the razor away. For which side, if I may ask?”

  “Oh, the British, never fear. It was not my true profession—you might call it a hobby that I took up after Madame Guillotine began devouring my patients. But my usefulness grew less as the Committee became more watchful, and it was only a matter of time before I was suspected. You had the good fortune to be injured the same day my colleague arrived to take me and my daughter out of Paris, but I was always a little uncertain about you.”

  “I hope your fears have been laid to res
t?”

  “Yes. What I feared most was that you planned only to enjoy my daughter’s company and then abandon her. I see now that you have honor, so I give you this.” He took Kit’s hand and placed a ring in his palm. It was a dainty thing, beautifully crafted—two strands twisted together, one gold, one silver, that formed an unbroken circle. “This was my wife’s ring,” Dr. Colbert said. “I have held it for my daughter, until now.”

  Kit swallowed a lump in his throat. The only ring he’d brought with him on the journey, a small signet, had been stolen in Paris. He had intended to ask Zoe if she had one he might use, but he had forgotten. “Merci, monsieur,” he said. “I have a ring that was my grandmother’s, that I meant to give to her when we reached England. I will still give it to her, but this will always be her wedding ring. It is far more precious.”

  Colbert’s smile said he had found the right words. “If you are to be my son, a bit of advice?”

  “My own father died many years ago. I would be grateful for any counsel you may offer.”

  “Zoe is very much like her mother… my Nicolette. You may guide her, but you will never command her. A moderating hand, affection rather than force—”

  “I had already considered that, sir, and I do understand.”

  “Very good. I will see you in a little while, then?”

  “Yes, sir. Thank you.”

  He took a deep breath after his father-in-law-to-be left, and finished dressing as quickly as he could. By the time he reached the deck, the rest of the party had assembled, save Zoe and her father. David and Marshall escorted him up the short flight of stairs to the quarterdeck. Somewhere amidst the assembled crewmen, a flute began to play, a simple but sweet air that seemed perfectly right.

  Escorted by her father, Zoe emerged from the Captain’s cabin to climb the stair, carefully holding her skirts out of the way. She was radiant. Kit finally understood why that word was always used to describe a bride. She was bright as the sun, a white lace mantilla over her shining hair, and the dress—how had she managed that? The dress, pale pink with simple trim, was so like the one she had worn to the party that he would not have known it was new. The anxiety that had followed him all morning suddenly vanished in the sunshine, replaced by a warm certainty as she took her place beside him.