Rapture of the Deep: Being an Account of the Further Adventures of Jacky Faber, Soldier, Sailor, Mermaid, Spy (27 page)

Hear, hear!
is the cheer, and dinner is served by Daniel and Joannie—great platters of Florida lobster and deep-fried grouper, a large fish speared by me that very morning, and perfectly fresh I assure Captain Hudson, who had an unfortunate experience with bad fish last year.

When all is eaten and drunk, Captain Hudson prepares to take his party back to the
Dolphin,
and I put my hand on his arm and say, "Could I ask that Mr. Fletcher be allowed to stay here with me this night?"

He looks from Jaimy to me and says, "You both remember your solemn vows in this respect?"

We both nod. "Very well, but just for tonight."

Later, in my cabin, Higgins serves us a late-night apéritif, and Jaimy and I talk far into the night, with much being said, and then we undress and go to bed. I think of our hammock back on the
Dolphin
as I lay my head on Jaimy's chest and slip off into blissful sleep.

Tomorrow I will dive into the depths in that horrid bell, but tonight I am supremely happy.

I wake before Jaimy does, take a deep breath, then bury my face in his hair spread out on the pillow.
Ahhhh ... how fine is this...
He lies on his back so that his face is in profile, and for a while, I revel in just looking at him. His lips are slightly parted in sleep and I rise up and gently kiss them. He stirs a bit, but stays asleep. With my fingertip I trace from his forehead down over his nose and then to those lips and then to his chin and along his throat and then down onto his chest. He is just the most beautiful boy.

I run my hand across his chest, but he still does not awaken, so I stick my tongue in his ear.
That
pops those lovely eyes wide open.

His senses return to him as he turns his head and smiles upon me.

"I cannot believe that I am really here," he says.

"Me either." I snuggle in a little closer.

"The last time we woke up in the morning together was back in our hammock on the
Dolphin.
Do you remember?"

"Of course, I do. It was right after we ran the ship aground on that island. I have thought about that time every day since with great yearning ... longing that we should be that way again. And here we are, love."

"Yes, indeed, we are, and I am glad."

Jaimy puts his arm around me and I lay my head on his shoulder and bury my nose in the tousled black hair behind his ear.

After a few more delicious moments, I rise up on an elbow and run my fingers through that thick dark hair. Well, almost all dark—there is now a streak that runs through it, and I know it comes from the head wound he suffered last year during a battle with a French squadron in the Mediterranean. The hair above the scar has grown in pure white.

"Your slash of silver hair looks quite dashing, Jaimy. It matches my eyebrow."

"Well, since I have no choice, I shall wear it. Now lie you back down."

I lay my head back down again and press myself against him. "Pet me, Jaimy."

And he does, and I purr...
Ummmmm
...

Ding,ding ... Ding, ding ... Ding ...
The quarterdeck bell is tolling Six Bells in the Morning Watch, telling us that it is six thirty and breakfast is about to be served.

"We must get up soon, Jaimy."

"I want to lie here next to you forever."

"Me, too, but duty calls. If I know the Royal Navy, the
Dolphin
will be alongside within the hour, ready to start the day's work. So you must get up and go off, dear, for I have to get dressed and make myself presentable, which is something, believe me, that you do not want to witness."

He plants a kiss at the base of my throat, then rolls out of bed and begins pulling on his clothes. I cannot help but watch and admire the breadth of his shoulders, the narrowness of his hips, the length of his legs. Oh, yes.

"Please come back at Seven Bells, Jaimy. I've arranged for us to have a private breakfast."

After he is dressed once again in his trousers and shirt, he reaches for his uniform jacket, but I say, "Don't bother with that, Jaimy, not just yet. It's too warm. We don't stand on ceremony here." He nods, throws the coat over the back of a chair, then comes back to stand next to me. He strips off the sheet that covers me, leans down to place a kiss on my tattoo, and says, "The Dread Brotherhood of the
Dolphin
forever!" He then tousles my hair and strides out the door.

Hear, hear.

I get up, go to my washstand, do the necessaries, wash parts, dry myself, and dress. I just throw on one of my simple dresses, 'cause I figure I'll be in my swimsuit before noon.

As I am pulling the frock over my head, there is a knock on the door, and after I say, "Come in," Joannie enters, bearing a tray with silverware, two cups, and a steaming pot of coffee. She also wears a huge smirk on her face.

"What's with the look?" I ask, thinking perhaps that Jemimah has been regaling the kids with another Rabbit Tale. But, no, that is not it.

She glances over at the rumpled bed and giggles.

Hmmmm...

"Never mind that, you," I say, sternly, "just set the table. Keep your mind on your job and out of other people's business, you hear?"

Just then Jaimy comes back to my cabin, looking grand in his tight pants, boots, and open white shirt.

Joannie looks at him and turns bright red, snorting with the effort to keep from laughing out loud with delight. She manages to get the small table set and then leaves.

I shall have to talk to that girl ... Grrrrr...

Jaimy seats himself, and I get up to pour him a cup. I am not used to doing this sort of thing, but I know it is expected, so I do it.

"Who is the girl?" asks Jaimy, plopping a few lumps of sugar into his coffee.

"Her name is Joan Nichols, and she is my ... responsibility. And if she thinks she is too big to be spanked, she is sadly mistaken."

Jaimy laughs. "You always did want things your own way, didn't you? I certainly recall your bullying the rest of us into submission on the
Dolphin."

"Well, all of you were certainly in need of correction, that's for sure," I answer primly. "And I think you all were the better for it, so there."

There is a discreet knock, so I know it is not Joannie. The door opens and Higgins enters, bearing yet another tray.

"Good morning, Miss ... Lieutenant Fletcher ... I hope you slept well."

"Yes, we did, Higgins, and thank you," say I, seating myself at the table. Higgins does not have to do this, as he is the Chief Executive Officer of Faber Shipping Worldwide, but still I appreciate it.

He removes the covers of the dishes, revealing eggs with bright yellow yolks, bacon, sausage, fried potatoes, and buttered toast, and we fall to as Higgins takes his leave.

"This is really quite good, Jacky."

"Yes, Jemimah is a fine cook."

"Is she your slave?"

"No, she is not. Like everyone else of my crew, she is an employee of Faber Shipping and shares in all of our profits. When we have any."

"It was good seeing Davy and Tink again. Hard to believe so many of us are once again on the same ship. We lack only Benjy and Willie."

I imagine that all was easy between the lads when Jaimy appeared on deck this morning. I suspect there was a lot of male braying and punching and back thumping—anything to conceal the real affection between them. 'Course, as soon as the
Dolphin
gets here, his uniform jacket goes back on, and then it'll be Mr. Fletcher again and not their old mate Jaimy. That is exactly why I had asked him to leave it off, at least for now.

"We shall forever lack Benjy, at least till we go to our reward, but Willie we may someday see."

"And here you are with your own ship," he says, looking around at my neat little cabin. "Just like you always wanted."

"And there you are, a fine young Lieutenant in the Royal Navy. Something you always wanted."

"I have, however, not gotten everything I wanted, though." He looks at me with real heat in his gaze.

"Me either, Jaimy. Not yet, I haven't." I put down my fork and put my hand on his. "But we must be patient and hope for the future."

He nods. "I worry about that diving bell, though. It has to be dangerous."

I worry about it, too,
I want to say, but I don't. There's no sense upsetting the boy any more than he is. "Tilly says we'll take it easy at first. I'll go down only five or ten fathoms," is what I do say. "You'll be standing by. You'll see. It'll be all right."

Again he nods, but he appears unconvinced. I try another tack.

"You should come down with me. Oh, just for a shallow dive. Tink is very good at making the goggles, and he could fit you with a pair. You'll find it is very beautiful down there, with fishes like little jewels, forests of waving ferns, sunlight streaming down. What do you say? It'd be fun."

His fork stops on the way to his mouth. It is plain that he would not find it fun at all. I have found that sailors would much rather be on top of the water than under it. And while I know that Jaimy would die for me—he has already proven that—he is more than a little afraid to dive down deep.

"Um ... yes ... ahem. Well, we shall see."

Poor Jaimy. I'll let you off the hook.
"Well, perhaps we won't have the time."

His fork stays suspended in midair. "And speaking of swimming ... that ... costume ... you were wearing yesterday..."

"My swimming suit, you mean?"

"Yes," he says, reddening. "You have to wear that?"

"Yes, dear, I must." I put my hand on his, give him the big eyes, and recount for him the moray eel incident.

"Um."

"Don't worry, dear, my crew is well used to my eccentric ways."

"Yes, but the crew of the
Dolphin
is not."

No, but they will be soon, count on it.

"Please, Jaimy, I really don't mind."

"I believe I shall be confiscating telescopes," he says, cracking a slight smile.

I smile back at him, pat his hand, and go back to my breakfast.

"I think you ought to suggest to the Captain that a lifeboat be stationed several miles to the east, between here and Havana, in case the
San Cristobal
does come out. Then we would not be surprised and could get in fighting trim before she came upon us. We'd get the weather gauge and sail up wind of him and all."

"Um. Yes. Good idea."

I spear another fat sausage, and as I chew it, I ruminate. "Maybe the fact that you are out here will keep him in port, which would be good."

"How's that?"

"He might be afraid to come out. And believe me, he will know very shortly that the
Dolphin
is on station here." Many small fishing boats have gone past us on the way to Cuba, and they will tell of a British ship lying not far offshore.

"Hmmm ... I'm afraid Captain Hudson may send in a personal challenge."

"That would not be a wise thing to do. The
San Cristobal
is not the only Spanish warship in Havana Harbor. Captain Morello could bring out a fleet."

Finally, we finish up, pat our lips with our napkins—fine white ones with Faber Shipping's blue anchor logo stitched in the corner—and lean back to enjoy a second cup of coffee, and each other's dear company.

But such is not to be.

There is a knock on the door, and Jim Tanner's voice calls out, "The
Dolphin
is coming alongside, Missy."

I rise and take Jaimy's jacket and hold it open for him. "Come, love, you must dress, and then so must I."

He dons the coat, which I button up for him and smooth over his chest with my fingertips, and then I hold my face up to his.

"Now give your salty sea sailor lass a kiss, Jaimy, then off with you. It is time for each of us to turn out and tend to our duties."

After I have put on my swimming suit and strapped my shiv to my calf, I pick up my goggles and head out onto the deck. I have a towel thrown over my shoulder, but I do not wrap it around me. They are just going to have to get used to it.

The raft is tied to the starboard side of the
Nancy B.,
and the
Dolphin
looms over our port side. The great metal diving bell squats on the bigger ship's main hatch top and preparations are being made to hoist it up and swing it over to our deck.

I go to the raft, where I see that Joannie is already suited up and on it.

"Jacky! Look!" she cries, holding something up. "Tink has made these swim-finny things for us! Come on, let's try them out!"

Tossing my towel and goggles down to her, I step up on the
Nancy B.
's starboard rail and get ready to dive off.

Once again I reach back with my forefingers to pull the back of my traitorous suit down over my cheeks—I've got to get that fixed—and lift my arms over my head.

"Eyes on your job, you dogs!"
shouts someone on the
Dolphin,
someone who might well be Jaimy,
"or your backs will pay, by God!"

I dive, and hit the water cleanly, swim a few strokes underwater, and then surface next to the raft and clamber on. I am now out of sight of those on the
Dolphin,
except for anyone who might be in the top rigging, above the Royal spars. The Top, however, does seem to be unusually well staffed today.

Am I showing off? Of course I am. It's in my nature, and besides, this is my ship, so I'll act as I please.

"Here, Jacky, look how cunning these are made," says Joannie. "Here's how they fit on."

The fins are each made of a wood shingle to which is attached a leather saddlelike thing that your foot fits in, with a strap across the instep to hold everything snug. Out by the toes, the thin end of the shingle has three very whippy pieces of leather affixed. I wave one of the shoelike things around in the air. It sure looks like a fish's fin.

Yes! Let's try 'em!

I lift my knees to my chest and strap on the fins. Joan-nie already has hers on.

We adjust our goggles, and I say
"Let's go!"
and we both roll over the side of the raft and into the water.