Caution to the Wind (31 page)

Of course, when he got there, he found the farmhouse abandoned, the fields left fallow, the livestock gone. Not sure what to do, he took lodgings in Baltimore, the closest town of any size, and set about trying to uncover news of his children.

“Is Neil...” His voice trailed off.

Amanda squeezed the hand she still held, “Neil is well. He serves on Captain Stoakes’ ship.”

“Oh, that is wonderful news,” Mr. Blakely said, turning to Will.

Will nodded, noting that Amanda did not mention she also served on his ship. He chose not to share that bit of knowledge either. Until he could verify the man’s story, the less he knew, the better.

Blakely’s tale rang true, and he certainly seemed to believe it. Moreover, Will trusted his instincts, and he didn’t sense anything sinister about Amanda’s father.

The tension in Will’s shoulders eased. He would leave Amanda in her father’s company, while her took care of other matters.

“I wonder if the two of you might excuse me.” Will rose from his chair. “I have some things I need to attend to, and I’m sure you have much to talk about after being separated for so long. Shall I meet you back here in say, two hours?” He glanced at the gold watch he produced from the pocket of his waistcoat.

Amanda nodded before turning back to her father. He smiled the indulgent smile of a parent to a beloved child. She returned much the same smile. Will rolled his eyes and tucked his watch back in his pocket. He would not be missed.

Stepping onto the cobbled street, he considered where he might start his search for information on Mr. Joseph Blakely. If his claims were true, Amanda’s father would have been making inquiries. In a town like Baltimore, gossip traveled fast and nearly everyone would have heard the story by now.

He would check with one of his business contacts first. They might know of an army office with a record of Blakely and his stay in the convalescent home. Once he assured himself that Blakely had no hidden purpose, he had personal business to attend to. He had a necklace to purchase, and he planned to stop by the dressmaker’s himself and order an entire wardrobe for Amanda, whether she wanted it or not.

Will considered the possibility that Blakely’s sudden appearance changed matters. With her father alive, Amanda might prefer to live ashore, and her father would surely want a say in her choice of a husband. Although he claimed to owe a debt of gratitude to privateers, that did not mean he considered his daughter suitable payment. Still, he didn’t think it wise to give her over to the older man until he had verified his story. Despite his amiable manner and obvious affection for his daughter, something about Joseph Blakely didn’t sit right.

He waited for a carriage to rumble past, then crossed the cobbled street in the direction of the bank.

It didn’t take long for Blakely’s story to be confirmed. At the bank, Will even discovered acquaintances of Blakely’s from before the war who testified to his character, and the banker confirmed he was not without funds.

According to Mr. Timms, one of the first things Blakely did when he arrived in Baltimore was stop by the bank to review his accounts. He didn’t have a fortune, but frugality over the years had allowed him to set aside enough to keep his children fed and clothed until they were both adults.

The banker tugged thoughtfully at his moustache, then confirmed that Blakely had seemed genuinely surprised to find the funds he left for his children untouched. Describing Amanda and Neil’s father as “somewhat absent-minded,” Timms speculated that Mr. Blakely had forgotten to tell his children about the money.

Will could believe it. His impression of Blakely had been that of a “dreamer.” No wonder his children were so able to take care of themselves. They had probably been doing so for years.

Timms also shared that, upon discovering the accounts untouched, Blakely had become distraught, convinced his children would not have left the farm without first withdrawing funds unless something dreadful had happened to them.

Mr. Timms was delighted when Will told him Amanda and Neil had been found. The banker asked where they had been staying, but Will skirted the question, saying they had been with friends outside of Baltimore. The story bore some semblance of truth since both Neil and Amanda had many friends aboard ship, and one might consider the Atlantic Ocean to be
outside Baltimore
. More to the point, Will’s tale would protect Amanda’s reputation should she decide to take up residence with her father in Baltimore.

Thanking the banker, he left and headed down the street to the dress shop where he had purchased Amanda’s green satin gown. From the same saleswoman, he ordered a half-dozen gowns in a variety of hues he thought would complement Amanda’s fair complexion. He asked her to be sure she chose only the finest materials, and paid extra to ensure the dresses would be delivered to his ship by noon the next day.

He tossed a few more coins on the counter and, emphasizing that the gowns were for his
sister
, reminded her that he wished for dresses that were of a more modest design than the last one she had chosen. The saleswoman scooped up the coins and deposited them into the pocket of her tailor’s apron. With a grin so deep it left gouges in the powder on her cheeks, she declared she would take great care in choosing only designs he was sure to approve. Will concluded he had probably just wasted the extra money.

His time almost at an end, he stopped at the jewelers where he chose an emerald necklace with one stone surrounded by small diamonds suspended from a gold chain. It wasn’t elaborate, nor particularly expensive as emerald necklaces went, but it would suit Amanda perfectly. The green stone sparkled and changed hue when he angled it just right, reminding him of the way Amanda’s eyes smoldered and darkened when she lay in his hammock.

Mr. Johannson, the jeweler, assured Will that a “man of his stature” should choose stones that allowed his wife to show off her station in life.

The old man’s watery eyes shone like the gems in his case, leading Will to suspect the jeweler presumed the woman in question to be merely a mistress. Undoubtedly, he found the use of the term “wife” much more effective when selling the more expensive pieces. He didn’t bother to correct the man’s assumptions.

Jowls aquiver, the jeweler brought out several heavy pieces mounted on a black velvet frame. Taking Will’s lack of interest to mean he hadn’t found something “exquisite enough” for a “man of Captain Stoakes’ excellent tastes” he presented piece after piece, each more ornate and expensive than the last.

In the end, Will stood firm on his first choice, ending the man’s obsequious sales pitch by forcing money into his chubby hands.

Holding his purchase up to the light streaming through the shop window, the green emerald sparkled, this time reminding him of the way Amanda’s green eyes danced when she was excited. He vowed, if she wanted, he would buy her a more expensive piece, but somehow he couldn’t imagine his slender, delicate Amanda weighed down with a necklace that jangled when she walked.

Tucking his purchase into his pocket, he waved a cheery good-bye to the discouraged jeweler and left the shop. Whistling a sailor’s ditty, he set off down the street toward the coffee shop.

Chapter Twenty-Four

“What’s eating you?”

Will glanced up from his books to find Buck standing in his doorway, a familiar grin pasted across his angular jaw.

“Nothing.” Will returned his attention to the leather-bound ledger open in front of him and stared at the sea of figures. Most had a considerable number of zeros.

Will’s shoulders slumped when the door closed with a soft click a moment later.

“I knew it wasn’t nothing,” Buck said.

Startled, Will looked up. “I guess I should have dismissed you formally, but I thought you smart enough to take a hint.”

“Oh, I got the hint all right,” Buck examined a trimmed and buffed nail, “but barring a formal order, I pretty much do as I please.”

He took a seat in the chair across from Will and crossed one leg over the other. Placing his hand on his knee, he grinned and swung a booted foot while he waited for his friend to surrender.

In the face of Buck’s infectious grin and tenacious nature, Will had no choice. “Yes, I see that you do.”

“So, how about we stop the pretense, and you tell me what’s troubling you.”

“What makes you think something is troubling me?” Will ran his finger down a column of numbers.

“I stood in your doorway for ten minutes watching you stare at that ledger. During that entire time, you didn’t turn a page nor make a mark. However, you must have sighed a dozen times.” Buck gave him a meaningful look. “Now I know the ledger nearly as well as you do, and there’s nothing to sigh about in there. Therefore, I must conclude it has something to do with the man on deck with Amanda.”

There was no point in evading the issue or his best friend. Will closed the ledger and shoved it away. “Her father.”

“Ah…” Buck nodded. “That would explain why she’s hanging on the man as though he might run away if she loosens her grip. I understand he has been absent for a time.”

“Yes, but now he’s back.” Will placed his chin in one palm and drummed the fingers of his other hand against the leather bound book.

“How is that a problem?” Buck pinched a piece of lint from his knee and flicked it away.

“It’s not a problem.” Will ran his fingers along the gold embossed letters on the ledger’s bindings. “She’ll be leaving with him.”

Buck looked up. “She’ll be leaving?”

For once, Will couldn’t tell if Buck’s shock was real or feigned, but it didn’t matter. “Of course, she’ll be leaving. He’s her father.”

“Hmmm,” Buck looked thoughtful, “I don’t know that one necessarily follows the other. Neil told me Amanda is almost two and twenty. She is old enough to live without a father.”

Will rose and strode to the line of windows set high in the wall. While the captain’s quarters in a larger ship might have more windows than walls, in a small schooner built for speed, large windows were a luxury.

Still, the line of narrow glass let in a little light and allowed Will to look out over the wide expanse of the sea. On most days, it kept him from getting the sensation of being trapped inside a floating wooden coffin. Today, however, all he could see were the crowded, dirty docks of the Port of Baltimore. He couldn’t have felt more trapped had he been locked in irons in the ship’s hold.

“I can’t keep her aboard ship.” Will watched a gull tear pieces of flesh from a fish at the edge of the quay. Its scales glinted in the sunlight as the bird tugged.

“Why not?” Buck asked.

Will turned away from the carnage. “Because she’s a distraction for the men.”

“Your men?” Buck gave a sharp laugh. “Will, when’s the last time you’ve had a voyage where nobody drank themselves into oblivion?”

Will shrugged. “They have been unusually sober recently, haven’t they?”

“Well-behaved, too, I’d say. There have been no charges of disorderly conduct, no dismissals for neglecting one’s duties, and if I’m not mistaken, their language has been unusually polite, at least for men of their mark.”

Will laughed. Despite the words his crew had inadvertently taught Amanda, he had to admit their language had been tame for a pack of crusty old tars. He had even overheard the occasional please and thank you, something not often heard at sea.

“Have you seen them at the guns lately?” Buck asked.

Of course he had. His crew made steady progress, decreasing the time it took to load and fire successive rounds at an imaginary enemy.

“Don’t tell me she’s responsible for that too,” Will said.

“She bakes lemon cake for the team with the best time, but that’s not really why they work so hard. In battle, they’re even faster than they are in practice because she reminds them of what they fight for.”

“Some of them fight for nothing more than the money.”

Buck scoffed. “You can tell yourself that. Hell, they may even tell you that, but don’t believe for a moment that a woman like Amanda couldn’t melt the heart of even the most miserly among them.”

“Perhaps every ship should have a woman aboard,” Will grumbled, and leaned against the wall, crossing his arms over his chest.

Buck looked up at him, his eyes serious for once. “I’m not saying that, of course. Perhaps I’m not even suggesting she become a permanent member of the crew.” He rose from his seat. “All I am suggesting is that there is no hurry to be rid of her.”

“A privateer is a dangerous place to be.” Will’s tone dared his friend to dispute it.

“I can’t argue that, but land may not be much safer. The war isn’t going well, Will, and the British see us as traitors, not a legitimate enemy. You’ve heard the prison stories. Some of our former comrades seem to have lost their sense of honor. To them, a patriot is no better than a traitor.”

“Yes, but she’s a woman. So long as she stays out of their way, no harm should come to her,” Will said, even though he knew it wasn’t always the case. “Besides, the British still value wealth. She has money. She would be treated differently even if we were to lose this war.”

Or the British might discover the source of her wealth and confiscate everything she owned. In the event they decided to prosecute the privateers as pirates, being a woman would not save her from the noose. Will shuddered.

Buck shrugged. “Be that as it may. There are other dangers. Smallpox is claiming even more lives than the war and shows no prejudice toward gender nor the size of one’s accounts.”

“Did you come in here to make me feel better, my friend? Because, if you did, you’re doing a very poor job of it.”

Buck rose to his feet “Well, then, perhaps I have overstayed my welcome.” He strode toward the door, but turned back, one hand resting on the latch. “Just promise me you will think about it. Everyone is entitled to break the rules every once in a while,” he paused, “even you.”

****

“Bull, where is Neil?” Will asked, taking a step on deck.

“I believe he’s below in the officer’s mess studying the log books you lent him,” Bull said.