Disclaimer: I don't own any of them, but I would have so much fun if I did! This story is just for fun and entertainment, so I hope you all enjoy it!
Author's note: I'm sooo sorry that it took so long to get part II ready! I just had a bunch of stuff happen. That pesky real life! Anyway, I apologize in advance for any errors in the Polynesian words and any boat terms-I used them to make the story more interesting. Please please please read and review, and I promise I will have part III up very soon!
Part II
Katie skipped nimbly down the steps as she finished fastening her hair in a neat tail. She was dressed in jodhpurs and a green blouse, perfectly suited for a day at sea. She woke up even before Lavinia had come in, excited and a little nervous about seeking out the pirates that were attacking her ships. She smiled at a lovely blonde woman who was straightening up the counter behind the bar.
"Hello," she said, extending her hand. "I haven't met you yet. My name's Katie Leighton. I'm staying upstairs for a couple of weeks."
The woman smiled and took Katie's hand. "Hello," she replied. "My name is Clare Devon. I run the town newspaper, and occasionally help Lavinia out in the bar." Her voice was cultured, and Katie could tell from the accent that she was British. "Have you just arrived in Matavai then?"
Katie nodded. "Yesterday. I have some business here to take care of. Do you know David Grief? He's an old friend of mine."
Clare nodded. "He's a friend of mine, too. He and Lavinia were very kind to me when I arrived here."
"David's going to help me out today. Clare, do you know if Lavinia would have anything available for breakfast?"
"I believe so. There might be some fruit in the kitchen. Let me check." Clare walked around to the kitchen and came up with a papaya and a banana. She brought those out, along with a piece of pastry, and handed them to Katie. Katie smiled and thanked her, and Clare found herself smiling back. The young woman's cheerfulness and friendliness were very disarming.
Katie sat at one of the tables and ate the fruit, then picked up the pastry and walked to the doorway. She nibbled on the sweet bread as the cool early morning breezes caressed her face. She took a deep breath of the island air, tangy with salt from the nearby ocean. She then noticed that a man was standing on the sand a bit to the left of her, his arms holding a basket as he watched the water. She wasn't exactly sure, but it appeared to be the man David had pointed out yesterday as Mauriri. She quickly popped the last bit of pastry in her mouth and walked down to meet him.
She came up behind him, and softly said, "Hello." He quickly turned, startled by her arrival. Katie guessed that he had been too lost in his thoughts to hear her.
"Are you Mauriri Lepau?"
He nodded cautiously, apparently wondering how this unknown person knew his name. She smiled at him, the brilliant blue eyes warm and friendly. "My name is Katie Leighton. I've heard so much about you, Mauriri, that I almost feel like I know you already."
Mauriri frowned. "Katie Leighton? Wait, are you the Katie that's D-" He abruptly stopped before saying the name. Katie dropped her eyes for a moment, then looked up at him with a sad little smile.
"Yes, the Katie that's David's friend. I'm so sorry that you're still angry with him, Mauriri. He misses you, you know."
Mauriri snorted. "Does he now."
"I'm sorry, I know it's not my place, but I have to say this. He does miss you, very much. Every letter I've received from him over the years mentions the two of you and your adventures. And last night, in the bar, he spent as much time looking over to where you were sitting as he did listening to me."
"So you were the cause of all the commotion last night."
She let out a breath of laughter. "Yes, that was me. David could hardly believe I was in Matavai. I could hardly believe it myself. Mauriri, if I may ask, there's more to this than just David taking the money and not telling you, isn't there?"
Mauriri paused for a moment, searching her eyes. He wasn't sure why, but her open manner made him less reluctant to talk to her. Besides, it would be good to talk to someone who was a little more removed from the events. He set the basket down and turned to face her fully.
"You're right, it's more than taking the money and not saying anything. David's dipped into the funds before. It's why he took it. And how much. He nearly drained the account, without thinking of what it would mean to my family, and me, and all for a woman that betrayed him. Even after we found out what she'd done, he still didn't come to me. He took my trust and trampled on it. And friendship doesn't exist without trust. I don't know if I can ever trust David with my welfare or that of my family's again."
Katie's eyes were somber. She had known that David's few words had not conveyed the whole truth of the matter.
"And do you know how I found out? Not from David, oh, no," Mauriri continued. "I had to find out when I was trying to pay for some of the ship's expenses. I had to stand there in complete ignorance and humiliation while being told that the account didn't even have enough funds to stock the food for one trip!"
"So is it about all about trust, or a little about embarrassment too?" Katie asked. She held up a hand to forestall Mauriri's outburst. "No, I don't think it's just about the second, Mauriri, think about this. If David had come to you that very morning and told you what he had done, before you'd gone to make payments, would you have been quite as angry?"
Mauriri was silent as he contemplated her words. True, he had been mortally embarrassed to be told of the lack of funds instead of knowing, but he had not thought that that had influenced his thinking…However, Katie was not quite done.
"And perhaps Isabelle is involved as well?"
He stared at her as she gave that opinion. Isabelle? He was grateful that she had stepped in to keep the ship; it would have been hard to see it go to someone else, but how would she have influenced any of his feelings toward David?
Katie saw the confusion, and sought to explain herself. "I think that you like Isabelle as a person, and you value her decision to save the Rattler, but maybe there's a little hurt that she stepped into what was your place? I know I would have felt funny about someone coming in to my company and taking over some of my jobs, even without the history you and David have. Do you think that could be part of it too?"
Mauriri stared at her. David was right in his description of his American "sister." She was perceptive, perhaps even uncomfortably so. He had never really considered what she had said as being a part of his anger towards David, but now that she had mentioned it…it was not that farfetched. He opened his mouth, but found that he had nothing to say.
She gave him a brief smile. "I'm sorry if that sounded like I was putting myself forward too much. My father used to say that I leapt in without looking. It's just, well, from David's letters I know how much he treasures your friendship, and it saddens me to see how it is between the two of you. And I also wanted to say it because we're leaving for Raiatea in an hour or so, skirting the northern coves along the way. We're trying to see if we can find a trace of the pirates that have been attacking my ships. David brushed it off, but I'm not stupid. I know it's dangerous. It's just that there were things unsaid before my parents died, and I don't want that to be with you if...anything…happens. I'm sure we'll be fine, but…"
She broke off with a slight grimace. "There I go again, being maudlin. I don't mean to. It was very nice to finally meet you, Mauriri. I hope that we have a chance to become better friends."
Mauriri took her outstretched hand and pressed it between his own, and nodded slightly at her. She rewarded him with a brilliant smile, and then darted off back towards the bar. He shook his head in amazement. She was quite a character! But one that he thought he would enjoy getting to know. He picked up the basket he had set down and started on his way back home. He paused, and looked back at the Rattler gently swaying in the waves of the bay. He hoped that Katie's words hadn't been prophetic. As much anger as he felt towards David, he would still never wish anything bad to happen to him, but he couldn't help the sudden hollowness in the pit of his stomach.
"Be safe, all of you," he whispered. "And David, when you get back, maybe…maybe we'll have things to talk about."
* * * * * * * *
Katie waited as the Rattler skimmed over the top of another wave, then continued to make her way over to where David was handling the wheel. The day had turned out a little windier than expected, and though the air was still warm, the seas were a little choppier than usual. She joined David and smiled at him, pushing at the strands of hair that had come loose and were blowing across her face.
"Any orders, Captain Grief?" she asked. He smiled back at her. She had proved surprisingly competent on the way out. She'd shrugged off his comments, telling him that her father had told her that a person who ran a shipping company and didn't know how to sail was a damned fool. He had laughed at that, as had Isabelle, who'd been close enough to hear Katie.
"We're fine right now, but do you think you could help Isabelle check out the rigging ropes? I want to make sure the halyards won't get stuck if we need to move the sails in a hurry. And it looks like Isabelle is having some trouble with the buntline." Katie followed David's line of sight and watched as his slender partner determinedly struggled with the heavy rope, which had become slightly tangled.
"Aye-aye, Captain!" she said, throwing David a teasing salute just before nimbly moving along the deck and reaching Isabelle. The older woman threw a relieved look at David as Katie took one end of the rope and helped straighten it out. The two then began to check on the rest of the rigging. David smiled and shook his head. He had forgotten that Jacob Leighton had taken Katie out on the ships as often as possible, and had made sure his daughter learned.
His gaze shifted, and he watched as Isabelle rode out another rough wave, her hands holding the ropes tightly and her feet braced against the deck. She was learning quickly; she'd had most of the sailing terms memorized in a week, and was doing a fine job actually working the ship. He liked having her company on their runs, as her fine mind and quick wit kept him satisfyingly occupied. He also found that he didn't mind the flush the salt air gave her delicate face or the sparkle that sailing put in her beautiful eyes. He watched her now as the wind blew her soft hair around her head, and stared in fascination at the line of her throat as she threw her head back and laughed at something Katie said. He quickly broke off his gaze as he saw Katie watching him watch Isabelle, and silently cursed the faint heat that had risen in his cheeks. Katie, for her part, merely smiled at the discomfort she could see from even a deck's length away. So, there was something between David and Isabelle, even if they tried to deny it.
They approached the coves that dotted the north end of the island, and Katie noticed the sudden tension that seemed to grip both David and Isabelle. She looked at them, confused for a moment.
"David, Isabelle, what's wrong? You've both got the oddest expressions on your faces."
David spoke tersely. "This was where Jenny was shot, Katie. Neither of us feel all that comfortable here."
Katie's eyes widened. Neither. David had said neither. "Isabelle, were you there when Jenny was shot?" She caught the glance between the two, and her quick mind seized on an answer. "Isabelle, David didn't shoot Jenny, did he." It wasn't a question.
David started to protest, but Isabelle cut him off. "Can we trust you to keep this to yourself, Katie?" The young woman nodded. Isabelle continued. "We were trying to catch up with Jenny. She was holding a gun on David, and she didn't look all that stable. I thought…I thought she was going to shoot him. She moved…and I shot."
There was an uncomfortable silence for a moment. Then David spoke up. "It wasn't your fault, Isabelle, I've already told you that. I have to admit that for a moment even I wasn't sure if she was going to shoot me or not. And I wasn't about to let Morlais try and wreak havoc on your reputation. That's why I said I shot her," he said, directing the last remark towards Katie. She nodded.
David turned the tiller towards the coves. He shrugged at Katie's inquiring glance. "We may not be comfortable here, little one, but there's a history of piracy here. It's as good a place as any to try and get some information."
The short journey to shore was nearly silent. Katie sensed that Isabelle was still uncomfortable, if not with actually telling what had happened, then with what David's reaction still might be.
Isabelle was worried about David, but not as much for what he felt towards her actions but if being here would reopen the wounds Jenny's shooting had caused, wounds that were only just healing. As the boat neared shore and she hopped nimbly out to pull it in, she glanced at David. His face was expressionless, but the look in his eyes was sad. He looked at her, and gave her a tiny smile. It eased the pressure on Isabelle a little.
The three noticed that a small group of natives were approaching the boat. Katie took a deep breath and squared her shoulders. "Well, I guess it's time to see just how much I learned of the language. What do you want me to ask them, David?"
"Ask them if they've noticed any extra activity outside of the regular ships that they see, and where those ships were going or coming from." Katie nodded at his instructions, and walked over to the small knot of people. David heard her start to converse in the musical language. She appeared to be communicating quite well. He noticed that she paused to hear their reply, then started again. He was able to catch a few words that he had learned from Mauriri: popaa, foreigner, vahine and tane, woman and man, tahua, healer, and maraamu, the strong wind from the southeast. He frowned slightly. This did not seem to be the same tone she had used for her first exchange, which had presumably been about the extra activity, and she looked over at him and Isabelle, which she again had not done during the first exchange. One of the people she was talking to suddenly brightened, and darted off.
Katie gestured for David and Isabelle to approach her, and as they did, she said one last word to the people and turned to them. "They're going to check with the other villagers if they've seen anything, and one other matter I asked them about." She refused to tell David what that matter was, keeping quiet until the man who had run off returned with yet another man in tow.
The man spoke to Katie, placing something wrapped in cloth in her hand. David again heard the word tahua, and wondered what a healer had to do with anything. He heard Katie thank the villagers, and they started to leave. She turned to David and came closer. She had a troubled expression on her face.
"David, they tell me that they've seen nothing unusual for a while. They do say they've seen a lot of ships with Morlais' men on them. Was he stepping up patrols in this area after Jenny?" At David's nod, she continued. "They told me that Raiatea was as good a place as any to look; they've heard that there was an increase in ships around there recently. And…I did ask them one other thing, David. Please don't be mad." Her face was pleading, and David, confused, simply told her he wouldn't be. She took a deep breath.
"I asked them if they'd seen a body wash up here in the last couple of months. A woman's body." David tensed at her words, realizing what she had asked the villagers. "David, they said there had been a body. They couldn't tell features, she'd…she'd been in the sea too long. They gave her a decent burial near the village, but their healer kept this in case someone came looking." She unwrapped the cloth bundle, and David saw a familiar gold locket. Jenny's locket. She must have had it pinned to the inside of her blouse, because David had not seen it that day, not that he had been looking that hard. Katie tipped the locket into David's hand. He accepted it numbly.
"David, I'm so sorry. I just thought you would want to know, for certain. I didn't mean to-"
"It's OK, Katie. You're right, I did want to know for certain. It's just…" He broke off, clenching his fist tightly around the jewelry. "Please excuse me." He turned and started to walk down the beach. Katie watched him go, her eyes pained. She was aware that Isabelle had come closer and was standing beside her.
"Katie, don't feel bad. David really did need to know. I think some part of him was perhaps hoping she had survived, but I'm glad that he's able to finish this now. He'll be all right, he just needs a little time."
"No, Isabelle, he needs to talk to someone. This is big, and bad. I'm guessing he'd talk to Mauriri about it, but now…"
"He can talk to you," Isabelle commented. "You're one of his oldest friends."
But Katie shook her head, and turned to Isabelle. "No, he can talk to you." Seeing that Isabelle was shaking her head, Katie went on. "Yes, Isabelle, you. I wasn't here for this. I don't really understand everything that Jenny put him through, everything that she put both of you through. He can't talk to me about it. He needs to talk to you." She gave Isabelle a gentle push in David's direction. "He needs you."
Isabelle wanted to protest, but she knew that Katie was right. She walked off after David, all the while arguing with herself that she should turn back. She wanted to be there for David, very much, but she was afraid that he wouldn't want her there. Or worse, that he would. She didn't know if she was ready to have David need her. However, each step was bringing her closer to the man sitting staring out at the water, and she couldn't stop herself.
She settled down next to him, and they sat silently staring out at the water for a few moments. Finally, David sighed. "I supposed Katie sent you after me."
"Yes, but if you want me to go, David, that's fine."
He shook his head. "No, it's OK. It's good to have you here." The unexpected reply startled Isabelle, and she couldn't think of anything to say. They sat there for a few more minutes, and then David spoke.
"I guess I never really allowed myself to believe that she was really dead. A part of me wished she was still alive."
Isabelle felt that odd ache again. David had wanted Jenny to have lived; he couldn't let go of his love for her. Hating herself for asking the question, she went ahead anyway. "So that you could try again with her?"
David threw her a puzzled glance. "No, Isabelle. Jenny lied to me, she stole from me, she was a murderer. She wanted to be in that prison just so she could escape with the bank's money. And on that ship, she raised a gun to my face. I would never have been able to trust her again, not with anything. No, it's not that." He gave a small, bitter laugh. "I'm not even sure anymore that I really was in love with her. Fascinated, yes, with a will to protect her and believe the best of her, definitely. I think I wanted to be in love with her, to prove my instincts right, so much that I convinced myself. But she tossed it all away, Isabelle, as easily as I do this." He picked up a small handful of sand and threw it in a glittering arc towards the sea. They watched the sand disappear into the water, and David said, "And it was about as solid as that sand."
Isabelle placed a hand on his arm. "I'm sorry, David. I'm sorry that she hurt you so."
"I think…I wanted her to be alive so I could ask her why. Why she had thrown away everything we might have had, why she threatened to shoot me, why she decided to gain my affection in the first place. How did it feel to know she hurt me so badly." He shook his head. "I guess we'll never know." He then did another unexpected thing. He covered Isabelle's hand with his own, and squeezed it warmly. "Thank you for listening to me, and for sticking by me even when I was being an idiot."
Isabelle laughed softly. "Oh, David, I knew you'd get your senses back eventually."
He smiled at her, a real smile this time, and then shocked Isabelle further by leaning over and dropping a gentle kiss on her forehead. She stared at him, her green-gray eyes wide, and he ran a callused finger down her cheek as his eyes looked into hers. He abruptly stood up and dusted the sand off his pants.
"Come on, let's get back to helping a good friend of mine catch some pirates. I have no doubt that your great right hook will come in useful if we do find them." He extended a hand to help her up, and Isabelle took it, ignoring the tiny tremor that ran through her as he pulled her up to face him. She smiled, and the two of them headed back to where Katie was waiting. Just before they reached her, David looked one last time at Jenny's locket, then drew his arm back and flung it into the sea.
"Goodbye, Jenny," he whispered, then joined the two women and they headed back to the Rattler. Once on the ship, David looked at his young friend. "Time to find some pirates and make sure they don't bother you again." She nodded, giving him a smile before heading off to help Isabelle as they continued on their way to Raiatea.