Windswept (20 page)

Once this task was complete, Willy came inside. “Looks like we got it all, Captain,” he said.

“It’s about bloody time,” Jacob snarled. “We could have sailed an hour ago if it weren’t for the pace of this crew.”

Willy put his hands on his hips and stared at his friend. “We’ve got days of sailin’ ahead of us, Jacob. I wouldn’t think one hour was all that important.”

“Well it is,” he said, tapping the side of his head with his finger. “I’m keeping a schedule in here, and it’s what’s important. The sooner we get out of here, the better.”

“What’s the matter with you, Jacob,” Willy asked. “You’re snappin’ our heads off like you were a shark and we were raw meat.”

A fresh stab of guilt twisted in Jacob’s gut, a sensation he was all too familiar with lately. He reached out and put his hand on Willy’s shoulder. “Ah, sorry, Will. I’m just a bit anxious. I always get this way when I’m sailing to Belle Isle, you know that.”

“Aye, I do, but usually it doesn’t hit you till we spy Angel Kiss Bay.”

“True, but this time the feeling’s come early for some reason.”

Willy scratched his chin and raised one dubious eyebrow. “Could that reason have anything to do with a certain raven-haired young lady?”

The hand that had just rested affectionately on Willy’s shoulder dropped to Jacob’s side and clenched in frustration. “Nothing at all. And you can stop your fool speculating. If anything it has more to do with her bothersome father and the spies he’s had following me for days.”

Willy took a chance and grinned up at his agitated captain. “I don’t think so, Jacob. It’s my opinion that if Judge Seabrook had sentenced you to the gallows, it wouldn’t stick in your craw as much as that pretty gal has.”

Jacob took one threatening step toward Willy and stopped. He’d never come close to physical anger with this man he trusted with his life, and he wouldn’t start now. But Will had a helluva nerve talking about things that were none of his business. “Don’t you still have work to do?” Jacob barked at him.

“Not a stitch.”

“Well, stay out of my way because thanks to the pace of this loading, I still do! I’m going up to secure my office, pack the strongbox and prepare to get underway. In the meantime, you mind your own business for once in your life!”

“Will do, Captain. Matter of fact I was thinkin’ of takin’ the crew over to Jimmy’s for a last pint and cup of fish chowder. It might be the only decent food they get in days.”

“Then go. But only a pint. A soused sailor in the crow’s nest is as useful as a dinghy in a hurricane.” Jacob pulled his watch from his vest pocket. “But hurry up about it. Bloody hell, it’s already nine thirty! I’ll be ready to sail by ten, with you or without you!”

At nine thirty Nora followed her students out of the milliner’s shop and ran into Fanny sporting her wide bonnet and a wicker basket over her elbow.

“Good morning cousin,” Fanny said cheerfully. “Beautiful day isn’t it?”

“Nice enough, I suppose.” Nora pointed to the basket. “What’s in there?”

“Fresh baked croissants, strawberry spread, and a quart of hot coffee.”

Nora grimaced. Now Fanny was trying to force food down her throat. “That was sweet of you, Fanny, though it was probably Mama’s idea. But I really couldn’t eat anything.”

“Oh, it’s not for you,
cherie
,” she said with a grin. “I figure you’ll eat when you’re good and ready, or half dead, whichever comes first. These treats are for Dillard Hyde.”

Dillard Hyde? Nora smiled in spite of her gloomy demeanor. The amazing Mr. Hyde was actually bringing out Fanny’s domestic qualities. “Fanny, how interesting. A picnic in the middle of the morning?”

“Not a picnic, Nora…a
rendezvous
. There’s a difference.”

“I see. Still, if you hope to appeal to him with pastry, you’d best go to the courthouse. That’s where you’ll find him at this hour.”

Fanny cocked her head toward Proctor’s Warehouse. “No, no,
cherie
. He’s right there with your determined father. He hasn’t moved from that spot for nearly an hour, though Thurston only arrived a few minutes ago.”

Nora probably wouldn’t have noticed the men if Fanny hadn’t pointed them out. She purposely averted her gaze from Jacob’s warehouse. But they were definitely there. Her father in his black business attire, and Dillard in a dark green suit that made him look like a praying mantis. They were staring at the
Dover Cloud
, though there was no activity at the clipper ship at this moment. Her father was talking with his hands as much as with his mouth. “What are they doing, Fanny?” Nora asked.

“I haven’t the faintest idea. Let’s go closer to see what they’re saying. If we stay behind them, they won’t know we’re listening.”

Nora planted her feet firmly on the sidewalk. “No, thank you, Fanny. I have no desire to step one foot closer to Jacob Proctor’s enterprise.”

Ignoring her, Fanny tugged on Nora’s sleeve until she was forced to follow. “So you profess, liar,” Fanny said. Soon they could hear everything Thurston and Dillard were saying.

“Have you watched the entire loading procedure, Dillard?” Thurston asked.

“Yes, sir, though the whole time that Turpin fellow kept giving me the evil eye. Truly, Your Honor, I didn’t see anything suspicious.”

“You didn’t, eh? It’s suspicious enough to my mind that Proctor’s sailing away within hours of the
Marguerite Gray
. What do you make of that?”

Dillard shrugged. “Nothing much, sir. Proctor sails often to the Bahamas - Nassau usually. He trades regularly with the islands. I think it’s just coincidence that the
Marguerite Gray
sailed this morning.”

Thurston’s voice shot up a notch. “I don’t believe in coincidences, Hyde. A load of fish, bah! I’m thinking now that it’s very likely the captain of the
Marguerite Gray
, the old reprobate, is in collusion with our own Captain Proctor.”

He leaned in close to Dillard, and Nora inched closer to hear what he said.

“Tell you what I think, Dillard. I think there was something of value on that old ship after all. Something worth a lot more than stinking fish. And I’ll bet it’s tucked into Proctor’s warehouse for safe keeping, or ready to float out of Key West Harbor in the hold of the
Dover Cloud
.”

Thurston used the forefinger of one hand to enumerate his theory on the fingers of the other. “First, Proctor is seen on the beach the same time a mule line is running. Second, he is one of the first to reach the wreck of the
Marguerite Gray
. Third, the
Gray
sails at first light this morning, and fourth, Proctor follows on her stern not three hours later with hardly a fare-thee-well to anyone in town. It smacks of insurance fraud, Hyde. It does indeed.”

Nora shook her head. Y
ou’re wrong, Father. Jacob did tell someone he was leaving, and I know for certain he didn’t run that mule line.
She was going to have to set the record straight with her father about the mule line. Even Jacob Proctor didn’t deserve all this suspicion when he was clearly innocent…of this charge at least.

“I don’t know, sir…”

Thurston clapped his hands together once, a sign of inspiration. “Dillard, I want a writ of search and seizure. I want to know what Proctor has in that hold.”

“Very well, Your Honor, but we’d better go to the courthouse now and get it. Proctor could sail any moment.”

The two men hurried off toward the courthouse. Watching them go, Nora muttered to Fanny, “They’re not likely to find anything you know.”

“I admire your faith in your hero,
cherie
,” Fanny mumbled between wet, slurping sounds. She wiped the remains of strawberry jam off the corner of her mouth with her finger, then stuck the gooey tip between her lips and shrugged innocently. “Don’t look at me that way,
cherie
. Obviously Mr. Hyde can’t share the croissants with me, and you don’t want any. I couldn’t pass up a delicious opportunity, now could I?”

“No, I guess not.”
Couldn’t pass up an opportunity
… Of course! “Fanny, you amaze me.”

“I do?”

“Yes. Do you know where the
Dover Cloud
’s crew is right now?”

“I saw Mr. Turpin and several others go to Jimmy Teague’s a few minutes ago.”

“And Jacob, was he with them?”

“I didn’t see him.”

“Did you see him go on the ship?”

“No.”

“Then now is my perfect opportunity. Father may not get back in time with his writ. I’m going into that hold myself. I don’t think Jacob had anything to do with the wreck of the
Marguerite Gray
. But if he did, and if the evidence is on that ship, I’ll find it. And if he is guilty, I’ll turn him over to Father myself!”

“
You
Nora? Where would you even begin to search a ship?”

“I just sailed on one less than a month ago. Remember when Captain Murdock gave us that tour of the
Southern Star’s
compartments?” She laughed at her own silly question. “Well, you weren’t paying attention, but I was. I know exactly how to get where I want to go and what to expect when I get there.”

“I can’t let you do this by yourself. I’m going with you.”

“No you’re not. With luck I just might be able to get on without being seen, but the two of us…it would never work. Besides, look at you. You’re wearing a bonnet large enough to sail a small ship, and carrying a wicker basket. I’d hardly call you inconspicuous.”

“Maybe not, but what if Captain Proctor
is
guilty? And what if he catches you on his ship? You could find yourself in a lot of trouble.”

Nora squeezed Fanny’s hand. “I won’t stay on board long enough for that to happen. One quick look and I’ll get off. Don’t worry. I’d much rather you’d go home and tell Mama I stayed to check some papers. The way she’s been acting lately, I don’t want her sending Theo after me again. I’ll see you for lunch.”

“Oh, Nora, I don’t know about this…”

Nora turned her cousin around and gave her a gentle shove toward Southard Street. “Fanny, go! There isn’t much time. I’ll be home soon.”

Fanny left, and Nora hurried across the open courtyard toward the
Dover Cloud
. There were a few people milling around the docks, but no one seemed to pay her any mind. Once at the ship’s gangway, she gave a cursory look on deck. Not seeing a soul, she crept quickly on board.

The
Dover Cloud
was eerily devoid of human noise. Only ship sounds accompanied Nora’s footsteps as she padded across the deck. The boat creaked with the tug of her mooring lines. Water lapped against her hull, and the wind played around furled sails causing metal riggings to clank and clatter. But the only words Nora heard spoken were incoherent ones drifting over to her from the harbor.

She quickly located the hatch leading to the ship’s hold, slid the brass hasp across and lifted the wooden door. Looking around the harbor one last time, she sighed with relief when she didn’t see anyone coming toward the
Dover Cloud
. Gathering her skirts in one hand, thankful she’d worn only crinolines this morning and not hoops, she lowered herself onto the ladder.

She landed with a quiet footfall on the wood plank floor and held onto the ladder until she found her balance on the gently rocking surface. The ship’s hold was smaller and darker than Nora anticipated. Almost no air circulated in the low-ceilinged room. Squinting into charcoal shadows of odd forms and sizes, she felt strangely lightheaded. Maybe she should have taken one of Fanny’s croissants after all.

Thankfully, after a moment, her eyes adjusted, and enough sunlight came through the window slits for her to see what was in the hold. She began reading labels on crates and barrels stacked along the walls.

It occurred to Nora that she didn’t know what she hoped to find. If she found nothing, then Jacob was an innocent man as far as the wreck of the
Marguerite Gray
was concerned. He would sail away to wherever he was going, and it would certainly be in her best interests to forget him. If she found what looked to be contraband or stolen merchandise, then Jacob would be remanded to custody on the island, probably put on trial, and it still would be in her best interests to forget him. Since both scenarios led to the same miserable conclusion, there didn’t seem to be any way for Nora to win. Her relationship with Jacob Proctor, however one might characterize it, was doomed. But then she’d known that since her last encounter with him.

At least now she might learn the truth about Jacob one way or the other. “Truth is always better than ignorance, Nora,” she said to herself. “Especially truth about a man who vexes you at every chance.”

Putting personal prejudice aside, Nora decided that whoever packed the hold of the
Dover Cloud
had done an excellent job. One entire wall was taken up with food supplies. Enough, Nora thought, to sustain a crew for a longer voyage than one to Nassau. There were at least a dozen barrels of water and above them crates of potatoes, onions and turnips. On top of those were twenty pound sacks of corn meal and flour, and oil cloths wrapped around mystery foodstuffs that smelled like cured meats. Nora’s mouth began to water. Yes, she thought she might be able to eat something today.