The World Duology (World Odyssey / Fiji: A Novel) (31 page)

The Irishman shrugged. “Buggered if I know,” he muttered. “Seems to me, the bloody English are determined to convert the heathen masses regardless of whether they wanna be converted or not.” Shaking his head, he wandered off.

Nathan returned his attention to the distant coastline. Aptly named the Coral Coast, breakers crashed over the coral reef that lay off Viti Levu's southern shores. White foam marked the reef’s location, and Nathan could hear the faint but constant boom of breakers against the coral. Beyond it, the bure huts, or thatched, tropical dwellings, of some unnamed village could be seen among the lush groves of palm trees that lined the coast.

4

T
hat night, in his cabin aboard the
Rendezvous
, Nathan combed his hair in front of a mirror then paused to glance out a porthole. Under a full moon, the Coral Coast’s distant shoreline looked romantically exotic.

Leaving his quarters, he walked along a passageway and entered the schooner’s dining cabin. Here, he found Captain McTavish and Foley entertaining guests at the captain’s table. The guests included Susannah and her father, an Italian artist who, by all accounts, made his living painting seascapes, and an English whale-spotter who had been contracted to undertake a whale count in Fiji’s western whaling grounds.

McTavish was in the act of pouring champagne when he saw Nathan. “Ah, Mr. Johnson, please join us.”

Nathan looked around. Acknowledging the others, he said, “Good evening, gentlemen.” He then looked directly at Susannah. “And ladies.”

Susannah nodded perfunctorily in his direction. Sitting down, Nathan noted neither Susannah nor her father was drinking the champagne that was on offer, preferring the fresh orange juice, which was also in plentiful supply. Catching Susannah’s eye, he asked, “You don't drink?” Nathan immediately cursed himself for being so crass. He’d been so anxious to engage the missionaries in conversation and get on their good side that he’d said the first thing that had come into his mind.

“Why, does that offend you, Mr. Johnson?” Susannah asked.

“No, not at all.” Nathan was about to apologize for asking so pointed a question when Susannah abruptly turned away and began conversing with her father.

“Champagne, Mr. Johnson?” McTavish asked, holding out the champagne bottle.

“Thank you, captain,” Nathan said.

As the Scotsman topped up Nathan’s glass, Susannah surreptitiously studied the American. In spite of herself, she had to admit he looked more dashing than ever. She fought against the familiar feelings that rose up inside her. The fact that such a worldly and by all accounts ungodly young man could affect her
so, annoyed her. She felt a flash of anger toward Nathan then immediately felt guilty for allowing him to affect her this way.

A Filipino cook entered the cabin holding a large pan piled high with grilled fish. He was followed by none other than Lightning Rod who was holding a tray of steaming vegetables. The simpleton appeared close to spilling the tray
’s contents and was humming to himself as usual.

“Please excuse the help tonight,” Captain McTavish apologized. “Cook’
s assistant is unwell and Rodney here was recruited to stand in for him at the last moment.”

Lightning Rod beamed with pride at the sound of his name being mentioned and began humming more loudly than ever, causing the captain to visibly cringe. To ease Captain McTavish
’s embarrassment, the Italian artist commented on the food’s presentation, saying it would have done justice to the finest restaurant in the civilized world.

“Here, here,” Drake Senior added supportively.

The dining cabin fell silent as the diners started on their first course. The only sound came from a jittery Lightning Rod, who continued humming while hovering close to Foley. In a world of his own, he seemed unsure what was expected of him and began talking to himself, attracting sideways glances from the passengers. Foley was so used to Lightning Rod, he ignored him.

As the food was devoured, Nathan observed Susannah, who continued to avoid his gaze. She looked even more ravishing than he remembered. Her soft, red hair framed her beautiful face and contrasted spectacularly with her smooth, pale skin.

And as for those eyes!

Her hazel eyes seemed to flash whenever she looked at him. He felt like he was drowning whenever he gazed into them.

Drake Senior was unhappy at the attention Nathan was paying Susannah. “You say you have some business in Momi Bay, Mr. Johnson?” the missionary
asked, breaking the silence.

Nathan tore his eyes away from Susannah. “Yes,” he answered. “I intend trading there with the natives.”

Foley
suddenly burped loudly, albeit unintentionally. Susannah glanced disapprovingly at the crude seaman. Totally unaware he’d interrupted the conversation, the Irishman enthusiastically resumed eating. He speared a large slab of beef with his hunting knife and shoveled it unceremoniously into his mouth. As he gnawed away at the beef, gravy dripped down his beard. To the disgust of the other diners, Foley didn’t bother to wipe the gravy away.

From the far end of the table, the Italian artist asked, “What take you to Momi Bay, signore?” He spoke in not-quite-perfect, heavily accented English. “I hear there are only savages there.”

The Drakes tensed at the use of the word savages.

“Savages!”
Lightning Rod interjected.

Ignoring the simpleton, Nathan said, “Well, according to my research, the Fijians at Momi Bay have been educated by the missionaries.” The young American glanced at the Drakes, hoping he was
impressing them. He had deliberately avoided referring to the Fijians as savages. “I expect it will be safe to trade there.”

“
Them Fijians, they all savages!” Lightning Rod said, leaning close to Nathan.

Frowning at Lightning Rod, Foley held his forefinger to his lips, indicating he should remain silent. Sulking, the simpleton began pacing up and down behind the diners.

Susannah asked, “What is it they have at Momi Bay that you wish to acquire, Mr. Johnson?”

“Beche-de-mer.”

Susannah and the other guests looked bemused. She enquired, “Beche-de-mer?” 

“Dried sea slugs.”

Susannah looked none the wiser. Nathan had come prepared. He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a dried sea slug sample. It resembled a blackened banana. He handed it to Susannah. Aghast, she took the sample from him and quickly dropped it onto the tabletop.

“What on earth?”

“Also known as sea cucumber,” Nathan explained, noting he now had Susannah’s full attention. “The Chinese can’t get enough of the  stuff. They say it’s an aphrodisiac.”

Drake Senior asked, “And is it?”

Nathan grinned. “Well, there’s no shortage of Chinese, so I guess it must work.”

Foley and McTavish burst out laughing while Susannah did her best to hide a smile. Her father was not amused. Nathan inwardly cursed. Remembering his past struggles with missionaries, he really didn’t want to offend the Drakes, but it was always tricky having to tip-toe over the moral high ground they occupied.

Recovering her composure, Susannah looked back at Nathan. “And just how do you hope to get this . . . sea slug?”

Nathan suddenly realized the Drakes weren’t aware he was a musket trader. He could sense another moral judgment coming up. “I hear there’s increasing unrest on that side of the island,” he said, choosing his words carefully. “The natives at Momi Bay require muskets to defend themselves against their enemies, so I intend to trade muskets to them.”

The Drakes looked at Nathan as if they’d suddenly noticed horns growing out of his head. After a pregnant pause, Susannah asked, “Is that a wise thing to do, Mr. Johnson?”

“I see no harm in it, Miss Drake. Anyway, the natives are unlikely to trouble you missionaries. It’s their own kind they have most problems with.”

Susannah’s eyes flashed with anger. “That’s hardly the point, Mr. Johnson. They could exterminate each other.”

McTavish ventured, “Some would say that may not be a bad thing, ma’am.”

Susannah shot an angry glance at the captain then turned back to Nathan. “Have you no conscience, Mr. Johnson?”

“Well, I . . .”

“Don’t be too hard on Mr. Johnson, Susannah,” Drake Senior said, gently admonishing his daughter. “It’s not for us to judge him.” He frowned at Nathan. “Only God can do that.”

There was another awkward silence. The other guests could see there was tension in the room and felt it prudent to refrain from contributing to the conversation at this point. To a man, they sensed it was safer to remain silent.

Foley attempted to come to Nathan’s rescue. Speaking with his mouth full of food, he pointedly ignored Drake Senior and waved his fork at Nathan. “Watch out for those Momi Bay savages,” he warned. “They’d just as soon eat ye as do business with ye!”

Lightning Rod leaned forward, repeating his catch-cry, “Fijians, them cannibals!” Foley finally lost patience with his simple crewmate and clipped him over the ear. Lightning Rod clasped his reddened ear. “Ouch!”

Foley turned back to Nathan. “Rod’s dead right,” he said. “The Fijians are all bloody cannibals.”

The Drakes took immediate exception to this, and Drake Senior eyeballed the Irishman. “Mr. Foley, cannibalism is no longer practiced at Momi Bay. If it were, the Wesley
Methodists would not have a mission station there and I would not risk taking my daughter there.”

Foley shrugged and focused on clearing the last of his food from his plate. Conversation again lapsed into an uncomfortable silence.

Nathan looked down at his glass and absentmindedly swirled the champagne it held.
This ain’t going at all well,
he told himself. Bubbles rose to the champagne’s surface. He momentarily became lost in them, remembering back to when he’d also had idealistic attitudes about the world. They weren’t dissimilar to the attitudes Susannah, and to some extent her father, had.

Attending a Catholic-run school in the Catskill Mountains in New York State, Nathan had been taught by the priests and nuns that all people were equal in the eyes of God. His experiences in the real world, however, had made him shed such naive beliefs. Ever since running away to sea at the tender age of twelve, he’d seen firsthand the wide gulf that separated the civilized world from the barbaric cultures of native peoples. He’d also stopped believing in God long ago.

“Nathan, are you with us?” McTavish’s commanding voice woke Nathan from his reverie.

The young man looked up to see everyone at the captain’s table was staring at him. “Sorry,” he mumbled.

The captain was in the middle of proposing a toast. McTavish raised his wine glass. “As I was saying, here’s to success at Momi Bay for everyone concerned.”

Foley and the whale-spotter responded in unison with, “Hear, hear.”

“Amen to that,” Nathan said.

The Drakes both fixed Nathan with a cold stare, unimpressed by his casual use of the biblical expression.

Nathan took the hint. After draining his glass, he prepared to retire to his cabin. “Well, if you’ll excuse me, I have a big day tomorrow.” He looked at Susannah, but she avoided his gaze even more determinedly than ever.

“Good night, Mr. Johnson,” McTavish said.

“Kill them bloody cannibals!” Lightning Rod shouted in a shrill voice. He flinched when Foley shaped up to smack him again. “Else them eat ya for dinner,” he mumbled.

Nathan and Foley chuckled, amused by Lightning Rod’s comments. The simpleton chuckled, too, even though he didn’t have a clue why. Soon, everyone except the Drakes was laughing aloud.

As the laughter subsided, Nathan left the dining cabin. He could feel the critical eyes of the missionaries on his back as he departed.

5

L
ying in the dark on the bottom bunk of her cabin, listening to the schooner’s timbers creak as the
Rendezvous
plowed steadily westward through the night, Susannah tensed when the cabin door suddenly opened.

He did come!

The young Englishwoman had sensed Nathan would come to her. The chemistry between them in the dining room earlier had been unmistakable. She’d locked and unlocked her cabin door a dozen times since then. Now that he’d arrived, she was pleased she’d finally decided to leave it unlocked. “Is that you?” she asked timidly.

“Of course,” Nathan chuckled as he locked the door behind him.

Nathan’s deep voice thrilled Susannah to the core. The very thought of the American being alone with her in her cabin thrilled her, too. And it scared her. She’d never made love before, and the prospect was as frightening as it was thrilling. Much as she wanted to feel Nathan’s hands on her, she instinctively pulled the top sheet up over her naked body as the young man approached the bunk. She held her breath and watched wide-eyed as the shadowy figure began undressing only an arm’s length away.

Finally, he finished undressing and stood looking down at her. In the dark, Susannah sensed rather than saw that he was naked. Nathan reached down and tried to pull the sheet away from her. Susannah held the top of the sheet tight under her chin for a moment before releasing her grip and allowing Nathan to pull it down around her ankles.

Before she knew it, he was lying next to her. He made no move for a moment or two, but, pressed up against her on the narrow bunk. Susannah knew for sure that he was naked. The knowledge of what was to come was almost too much for her. She felt overcome with desire before he’d even laid a hand on her.

Unable to control herself any longer, she threw herself on top of him and began kissing him passionately. Nathan wrapped his strong arms around her and expertly rolled her onto her back. Opening her legs, she wrapped them around him and arched her back as he entered her. Moaning, she felt strong hands shaking her.

“Susannah! Wake up! Wake up!” The voice was her father’s. “You’re having a nightmare.”

Susannah opened her eyes and had to close them immediately, so bright was the morning sunlight that flooded through the porthole of the cabin she shared with Drake Senior. She immediately realized the lovemaking was only a dream.

“You were groaning in your sleep,” Drake Senior advised her.

“Did I wake you?” Susannah asked. She immediately looked down and was relieved to find she was wearing her nightgown and the top sheet was covering her.

“No, child,” Drake Senior smiled. “I have been up since dawn.” He retired behind the curtain that effectively separated their cabin into two compartments, giving each a semblance of privacy at least. “You were tired so I let you sleep on.”

Lying on her bunk staring up at the underside of the bunk above her, Susannah felt guilty that she was capable of such vivid and erotic dreams. She immediately blamed Nathan for giving her such sinful thoughts and making her feel as she did.

Why did you have to come along?

# 

Later that morning, having enjoyed breakfast with her father and Captain McTavish, Susannah ventured above deck. Leaning over the port-side rail, she looked down at the sea’s foaming surface as the
Rendezvous
sliced through the water ahead of a brisk easterly.

The sight of the foam, the smell of the salt air and the feel of wind in her hair took her back to the long, arduous voyage she and her father had endured coming out from England.
They had traveled in the company of other missionaries who were also being posted to newly established missions in Australia, New Zealand and elsewhere throughout the New World.

That eventful journey, which had seen them suffer all manner of deprivations including starvation and nearly sinking—not to mention being pursued by pirates—had reinforced in Susannah’s mind why she had agreed to come to Fiji. While the other missionaries on board had all been godly people, they were far too smug and predictable for Susannah’s liking. She’d known their kind all her life and desperately wanted to interact with people from different cultures and backgrounds. If she didn’t do that soon, she was afraid she would die of boredom.

A sudden gust of wind brought her back to the present. As the wind strengthened, she noticed the sea was running higher. She studied the waves. They reminded her of paintings she’d seen of rolling desert sands and wondered if there was any truth to the theory that the world’s deserts were once oceans. She speculated on how long ago that would have been and decided it was probably back in the days of Ancient Greece or even earlier.

For no apparent reason, the image of a Greek god came to mind. Chiseled from white marble, the god was frozen in a naked pose; his face morphed into Nathan’s. Susannah imagined the American was making love to her—as he had in her recent dream.

The young Englishwoman tried to put Nathan out of her mind. Thinking about him unleashed a myriad of feelings. She felt excited, frightened, happy, confused, aroused, and sinful—all at once. Above all, she felt angry. Angry because it was his fault she was engaged in this internal war between her spiritual self and her sexual self. Despite herself, she wondered how his lips would feel against hers.

While she continued to fantasize, Susannah would have been mortified to know that the real Nathan was observing her at that very moment. The American was further along the deck, partially concealed behind blankets crewmen had hung up on a makeshift clothesline.
He was admiring Susannah’s curvaceous figure, which was accentuated by the figure-hugging summer dress and top she wore. The view was especially alluring from behind.

Nathan was annoyed for allowing himself to be distracted. He’d ventured above deck to psyche
himself up for the trading he was planning to do when they arrived in Momi Bay later in the day. He knew from experience he’d need to be in business mode when he stepped ashore. Susannah was distracting him from that. He turned his back on her and tried to put her out of his mind, but it was no use: she was pervading his mind and his thoughts.

The young man gave up trying to ignore Susannah and, after making sure her father was nowhere in sight, walked along the deck toward her. Knowing she was unaware of his presence, he decided to indulge himself a moment longer and just stood there, gawking at Susannah’s shapely backside. “Good morning, Miss Drake,” he finally ventured.

Susannah, who thought she was alone, spun around. She immediately felt guilty and wondered for a moment if Nathan somehow knew she’d been fantasizing about him.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to frighten you,” Nathan added.

Susannah quickly gathered her composure. “Good morning, Mr. Johnson.”

“Did you have a good night’s sleep, ma’am?”

The guilt Susannah had felt moments earlier suddenly returned tenfold as she remembered the erotic dream she’d had. She quickly nodded, to indicate she’d slept well before diverting her eyes from Nathan’s and looking toward the shore. It was then she noticed giant sand dunes along the shoreline. She gasped at the sight of them. They seemed to be reaching for the sky.

Noting the object of her interest, Nathan said, “Those are the famous sand dunes of Sigatoka.” He added, “I saw them on my arrival in Fiji.”

“How wonderful,” Susannah enthused, momentarily forgetting her antagonism toward Nathan.

Susannah wasn’t the only one fascinated by the mighty dunes. The Italian artist was frantically setting up his easel further along the deck, anxious to capture the scene on canvas before it disappeared from view.

As the passengers admired the dunes, a deserted Fijian village came into view. Its bure huts had recently been smashed and burned to the ground. Smoke rose from the still-smoldering ruins, and there was no sign of life.

A Welsh deckhand sidled up to the young couple. He nodded toward the village. “That’ll be the handiwork of Rambuka,” he proffered with some certainty.

Susannah studied the distant village then glanced at the Welshman. “Rambuka?”

“Aye.
His warriors are the scourge of this coastline. They call them the outcasts.” The deckhand pointed toward Viti Levu’s distant highlands. “They live up there somewhere.” Nathan and Susannah studied the highlands. Dark storm clouds hung ominously over them. “Cannibals, all of ‘em,” the deckhand added before wandering off.

Alone again, Nathan smiled at Susannah. In her usual haughty manner, she gave him a quick glance before looking back at the shoreline. Nathan asked himself why he was persisting with such a young woman who, he could see, was clearly on a different planet to himself. Try as he may, he couldn’t come up with a sensible answer.

“I do not envy the task you and your father have set yourselves here in Fiji,” Nathan said probingly. Susannah looked at him sharply. Pleased to see he had her attention, he continued. “I fear you may be facing an uphill battle.”

“Oh? And why is that?”

“Well,” Nathan paused, thinking on his feet as he went. “Fiji ain’t called the Cannibal Isles for nothing. From what I’ve seen, these Fijians are some of the most savage people on earth.”

“As my father told you last night, the Fijians at Momi Bay no longer practice
cannibalism,” Susannah retorted. “That is testimony to the effectiveness of the Wesley Methodist Mission and the power of Christianity.”

“You may be right, but there are many tribes on the island of Viti Levu and not all are civilized.”

“Well, if the mission has succeeded with one tribe, I see no reason why we cannot eventually convert all Fijians to Christianity.”

“I admire your courage, but there’s been many a good Christian killed by savages.” Susannah looked skeptical. Nathan continued, “I’ve seen a priest dismembered and eaten by Indians in South America, and in Africa I once met a female missionary, not much older than you, who ended up being burned alive by Zulus.”

“Your point is?”

“My point is some peoples cannot be civilized. I’ve dealt with natives all over the world and they are not like us. No matter how much you try to educate them and no matter how many missionaries try to convert them, the native races never seem to evolve.”

Susannah looked perceptively into Nathan’s eyes. Her intuition told her that he was a racist. She reminded herself she’d met many such bigots back in England. “All people are equal in God’s eyes, Mr. Johnson,” she said.

Nathan couldn’t believe how naive she was. He chose to keep that observation to himself, though. He’d already said enough.

Without another word, Susannah turned and walked away. Nathan was about to follow when Drake Senior suddenly appeared on deck. The two men nodded briefly to each other before the missionary joined Susannah at the far rail.

Father and daughter engaged in earnest conversation. At one point they both looked back at Nathan. The American pretended not to notice. He could imagine what they were saying about him.