Chapter Forty-Five
Homeward Bound
Daniel eased the pain of the torn and abused muscles in his back and arms as he stood beside Mr Jarvis, watching the young man steer the Carolyn deftly into Boston's inner harbour. The fall morning was fine and crisp, a good day to be sailing among the crowds of large ships and smaller boats all vying for their own space to be unloaded by the scurrying nest of dock workers.
The din was loud and raucous. Abuse and insults were exchanged from ship to dock accompanied by shaken fists and shouted threats of physical harm if any captain was seen to be being favoured over another.
"It is good to be back." Daniel grinned as he looked down into the waist of his ship and listened to the chatter of his crew as they went about their duties.
Of course, the tale of their battle with the giant sperm whale grew with each telling and retelling. The men's gnarled hands grew further apart as they judged this or that moment of the fraught encounter. Re-enactments of their captain's deft hurling of the harpoon turned many glances of frowning respect in Daniel's direction.
Among the men, the story of their life-or-death battle had already grown and evolved into a fanciful telling. As had happened to all tales of all their previous encounters with the demon Turner. Many an honest seaman had been called a liar and a teller of tall tales that could not possibly be true.
But still, no seaman worth his salt would turn down the chance to tell their tales and try to make their fellows believe them. For the price of a mug of ale or a tot or two of rum. Those skilled in storytelling could make the moment last for months, even years.
And as with all such tales they would pass into folklore and be retold to the eager ears of the new generations of seamen who grew up with tall stories of great krakens and alluring mermaids drawing innocent men to their doom with their songs of love. It was all a part of the rich life of a seaman, which in truth was often harsh and short.
"Should I put a stop to their chatter, Sir?" Mr Jarvis asked as he turned to the wheel beneath his capable hands. "It's getting out of hand. It seems you fought at least five great whales, single-handed."
"No, leave them to their fun," Daniel replied, easing the pain in his left shoulder where hurling the great harpoon had hurt him the most. "It will soon go the way of all such tales and be forgotten that it happened at all in reality."
He glanced down at the deck beside him. There lay the harpoon, its weaponry gleaming and wicked-looking once more. His crew had taken great pride in cleaning and polishing the lethal weapon before wrapping it in burlap against the next time it might be needed. Daniel would carry it ashore with him and hang it in his wheelhouse. Such a precious thing could not be left to the wharf rats and thieves that abounded in any harbour.
"And Turner?" Mr Jarvis asked softly. "What of him? What tales will he tell to his master."
Daniel shrugged and winced. "He'll be out there somewhere licking his wounds and plotting his next revenge. It is the nature of the demon to not know when he has been defeated."
"Then, until next time," Mr Jarvis replied, smiling grimly as he steered the ship on a course for their berth against the harbour's huge wooden wall.
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"A very welcome sight," Countess Beauvoir remarked as the Rebecca sailed into Boston's outer harbour under the bright sun of the late fall morning.
"Yes…" Lucius shook his head as he watched the surrounding land embrace them and the smells of verdant countryside and the stink of massed human beings once again assaulted his senses.
Already, he missed the clear sea air and open ocean. But soon winter ice would close the harbour to all shipping and everything would bed down to endure the cold months ahead.
He exhaled roughly as he hunted for any sign of the Carolyn among the mass of shipping. "A very welcome sight indeed," he agreed absently. "No doubt you will be eager to go ashore and see to all that is yours. I cannot say it has been a pleasure, Madam." He tipped two fingers to the brim of his sea cap in an ironic salute.
He kept his gaze firmly pinned on the forest of masts and fluttering flags. "Blast you, Daniel Gregg. Are you here or have I finally beaten you at last?" Then he thought he caught a glimpse of a familiar pennant and cursed beneath his breath.
"I could say the same." Vanessa sniffed at his inattention to her more immediate needs. "I will certainly think twice before embarking on another voyage to the Old World. I will find and employ a suitable agent to handle my business from now on."
She considered his back view with her dark eyes. "And certainly, if I do ever venture that way again, I will employ a shipping company with less of a thirst for high seas adventure. I did not employ you to take me on a whale hunt. And you gleaned nothing from the prize. All that good oil gone to waste. You left a fortune to the mercy of a few birds and the sharks." She clicked her tongue with disgust.
"If that is your wish to find another company then I cannot stop you." Lucius raised his shoulders off-handedly. "And saving the Carolyn was more important than any oil. There are plenty of whales in the seas."
Again, he tipped two fingers to the brim of his sea cap as he turned away. Before he said the words that were hanging on the tip of his tongue. He would part with the blasted woman on fair terms and give her no further cause to complain.
They'd settled their debt, and she'd paid him the full, agreed amount. He had half-expected her to renege on their deal, citing the wilder aspects of the voyage.
He began to bellow his orders, taking out his frustrations on his hapless crew. All jumped willingly beneath the lash of his tongue, knowing the source of their captain's irascibility. Many a seaman's jaundiced eye was rolled in the countess's immaculately dressed direction.
Benson, the ship's cook, stood in the shadow of the bridge steps. He watched his captain stalk away and that woman followed him down into the ship's waist to order the deployment of her goods. She wished to be the first ashore without delay the moment they docked. She would not be gainsaid, and none tried to stop her from having her way.
The cook sighed dramatically, congratulating himself that he had served her the last meal she would ever eat aboard this ship. He pushed his hand into the pocket of his trousers, quietly jingling the bag of coins his captain had passed to him not an hour before.
"I'll take the wife and kids out to a slap-up meal, see if I don't," he murmured.
Then he frowned. "Or maybe I might just stop by the nearest tavern the moment we return to Schooner Bay. Have I got a tall tale or two to tell my fellows…" The thorny issue of what to do with the unexpected largess occupied his mind as he returned to his stews and to set the galley to rights once more.
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"The Rebecca, Captain…" Mr Jarvis pointed with his chin toward the masts and flag of the arriving ship.
"Yes, I see her." Daniel grinned as he joined his first mate at the rail. "Captain Beaumont will not be pleased that we have beaten him once more. His mood is already soured enough with having to endure the countess and all her moods."
"Another lucky escape, Sir?" Mr Jarvis eyed him speculatively, daring to presume on the familiarity of their long association.
He'd been there at the beginning when his captain had first begun courting the lovely Vanessa Peekskill with a view to marriage and setting up a home. Jarvis had been a green ship's boy then, still wet behind the ears and gullible in all the ways and wiles of women.
He'd been devastated when the match had been suddenly and irrecoverably called off. He'd worshipped the woman for her beauty and flashing dark eyes. Now, he was wiser and a great deal more worldly. Vanessa Peekskill, as was, did not hold a candle to Mrs Carolyn Gregg. And she never would. The young Mr Jarvis now worshipped his captain's fine lady.
Daniel shook his head. "Oh, I would say that the good captain has well learned his lesson where that woman is concerned." He lifted his shoulders dismissively. "As I did. Once bitten…"
He turned away to shout his orders to his crew as the ship was manoeuvred into position to tie up to the wharf and begin the dangerous business of unloading. The Rebecca followed and soon the sister ships lay together once more.
Of course, the first to disembark the Rebecca was the countess Beauvoir. Lucius made no move to prevent her from ordering the retrieval of her goods from the ship's hold. They were swung ashore and assembled on carts that the woman had quickly commandeered from the port's busy porters.
They all groaned under the insistent lash of her tongue. With one final glare back over her shoulder, the countess disappeared into the heaving mass of humanity, following her goods to their final destination and watching them for any sign of damage or pilfering.
Daniel walked to the rail of the Carolyn to watch her departure. "Good riddance, right?" he called across the water.
"At least she paid what she owed…" Lucius called back. "My Rebecca will be well pleased with my share."
"Keep it all…" Daniel waved a dismissive hand. "You certainly earned it. Besides, you will need it to pay for our rum." He grinned. "And after fighting off that whale, my crew is mightily thirsty."
"Blast your eyes, Gregg!" Lucius growled back, waving one clenched fist. "I will beat you next time! See if I don't!"
"A race home to Schooner Bay would be pleasurable," Daniel replied. "But I fear the season and the ladies in our lives will have something to say about that. I am for home, my own bed and a pair of loving arms."
"Yes…" Lucius swung his gaze landward in the direction of his house which stood on a bluff overlooking the harbour. "My lady awaits me patiently." He grimaced. "Here's to spring and a fresh chance to best you, my friend."
"To spring…" Daniel saluted him quickly. "I will look forward to that."
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Carolyn was crossing the foyer toward the kitchen for her breakfast when Claymore burst into Gull Cottage, waving his arms about dramatically. He fell back against the open front door, dragging in great lungfuls of air as he opened and closed his mouth without saying anything for some moments.
"What is it?" Carolyn asked in alarm.
"The Rebecca…" Claymore waved his arms again as he tried to catch his breath.
"What about the Rebecca?" Carolyn questioned, her hand rising to her lips. "Martha!"
The housekeeper came bustling into the foyer, wiping her hands on her apron. "What is it, Mrs Gregg?"
"Claymore has news…" Carolyn indicated their unexpected guest.
"Well, out with it, man!" Martha commanded, seeing Claymore's face turn ashen. "Don't make me go and fetch a jug of water to throw over you."
Candy and Jonathan appeared behind her, both staring at their unexpected guest.
"What is it?" Candy asked.
"What's happening?" Jonathan added. "Why's Uncle Claymore here?"
"Oh, no, no, no…" Claymore railed in alarm. "No water, please. I… bring news."
"Then state your business…" Carolyn walked up to him to shake his arm. "You're scaring the children."
"Oh, please, Carolyn…" Claymore panted his protest. "You're… bending the material. This is… a new coat."
"I'll bend more than the material if you do not tell me what you know, right now!" Carolyn shook his arm more vigorously.
"Very well…" Claymore freed himself with an effort and tottered to the captain's chair against the wall. "Both the Rebecca and the Carolyn have sailed into Boston Harbour only this very morning."
He heaved another breath. "The telegram came through and I almost crashed my carriage twice in my eagerness to bring you the good news." He collapsed back against the wall behind him, breathing heavily.
"And all is well with all on board?" Carolyn shook his arm again.
Claymore nodded jerkily. "The telegram said all is ship shape and Bristol fashion."
"Oh, thank heavens!" Carolyn turned to Martha to take her hands in hers. "That is just the best news."
"The very best!" Martha agreed happily. She turned to the children, shooing them back into the kitchen. "You two, go and eat. We need to prepare for the Captain's arrival. Your mother will be right in with any more news." She shut the door behind their disappointed faces.
"It seems the unfortunate delay was caused by a run-in with a giant sperm whale," Claymore added quietly. "It sought to sink them." His brow creased. "Talk of a demon possession of the poor creature abounds." He shook his head remembering his own lucky escape from Turner's clutches.
"Yes, well. We will not dwell on that for now. Candy and Jonathan do not need to have nightmares." Carolyn squared her shoulders. "How long before they dock in Schooner Bay?"
"It is said your good captain is very eager to return to your arms…" Claymore stood up. "You should expect to see him within days. Sooner if he manages to unload all the cargo and find a good following wind."
He came forward to give his hostess a cautious embrace, kissing her hair. "I am so pleased for you, my dear." He kissed her cheek before letting her go. "I must away back to the harbourmaster's office and return it to his use. I think the man will be relieved. I know I am."
He grinned with relief as he turned for the open front door. "I shall send young Jack to you immediately I gain any further news. Take heart, my dear. Your husband will soon be home with you again." He saluted both women as he left the house, closing the door behind him.
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"As soon as the ice melts next spring…" Daniel promised, clasping his good friend's forearm in a tight grasp. "I will send word as soon as it's safe to sail again."
Lucius sighed as he shook his head. "Yes, we'll be tied to an apron string and settled by the fireplace like a pet poodle until the spring thaw. I curse the winter months. What's a man to do for adventure?"
"I can think of many ways to occupy your time. You love your lady as much as I adore mine," Daniel replied, hitting him lightly in the shoulder with his balled fist. "You only gripe so your Rebecca will not take advantage of you and keep you home more than your wont."
"Aye, that's the truth of it and no mistake. I would do anything for that woman." Lucius grinned. "Until the spring then, my friend. And I shall look forward to any news of your babe. I wish both mother and child a safe delivery." His grin widened. "As long as the poor wee mite has your eyes and not your hairy chin!" He slapped his thigh with glee as Daniel let him go.
"You'd best tend to your own wife and leave mine to me," Daniel advised as he turned away toward the Carolyn's gangplank.
They'd unloaded the cargo in record time. Every crewman had bent his back in honest labour to be finished in time for the tide that would carry them homeward. Each man now had money to jiggle in his pocket and those not sailing on with the ship to Schooner Bay had soon deserted her for the stews and taverns that lined the harbour, where many a painted hussy waited to relieve them of their money.
Some of them were not so lucky or quick enough. Men who were already wed or promised to a woman were quickly collared by those who knew the score and diverted from the more carnal pursuits of the flesh.
Benson, the Rebecca's cook, had barely stepped two feet from the end of the gangplank before his wife and children appeared to claim him. He sighed as he accepted his fate good-naturedly enough and kissed his Betsy, even as he cast a single longing look at his fellows more fortunate than him to be heading for jollier happenings.
"That's ya fate, lad…" Old Alfred spat over the side as he and Elroy watched the reunions and the lucky escapes. "If ye be foolish enough to get yourself hitched to a female." The old man spat again. "Take my advice and stay single. You'll be better for it and live longer."
The two sailmakers watched Captain Gregg part from his good friend in the dockside and bound up the gangplank to order the weighing of the anchor and all to make ready to sail.
Old Alfred nodded to him. "Now there be a man with only one thing on his mind." He chuckled wryly. "And we'll suffer for it until our captain is home again, set in a chair before his hearth with his wife and babes to wait on him hand and foot and listen to his tall tales."
"The Captain's pretty lady was very kind to me," Elroy replied with a worried frown. "She stood up for me when no one else would."
"Aye. Such soft-hearted women have been gettin' men in trouble since God invented the world," the old man complained as he turned away from the rail. "Keep yaself single, lad. That's my advice."
"But I thought you said you were married once…" Elroy followed the old man's lead belowdecks. "You had an island lady out there in the Pacific, you said."
"Was I in my cups, then?" The old man squinted at him in the gloom of their cubby. "I must have been."
He shook his head. "That was another time and another world far away from here." He sighed heavily. "T'was a land of endless sunshine and she was so very beautiful..."
The old man swiped at his rheumy eyes. "Dad blast ya, lad, for reminding me of her. She was the only one for me. But she up and died on me with a fever, so I sailed away back to this land of rain and gales." He turned his shoulder and looked away. "Ain't we got sails to repair? The captain'll be on our case in no short measure."
"If I can ever find a woman like the Captain's pretty lady or yours, then I'll be sure to marry her," Elroy promised stoutly.
"Who's to say she'll have ya?" Old Alfred grouched, as he pushed a sail that needed mending into his apprentice's open hands. "Now get on with what ya know how to do, lad. Forget women. All women. They be nothing but a wilful distraction for an honest man's mind and his hard-earned money…"
"If you say so…" Elroy murmured, looking crestfallen and disbelieving.
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"Soon, my love…" Daniel watched the sun sinking slowly behind the great green land in the west. "I will be with you soon…"
The last of the sunlight painted streaks of amber light across the dark waters all around them. He grasped a halyard and jumped up onto the rail for a better view as the ship heeled over on her final run for home and Schooner Bay.
Behind them, the restless ocean seemed limitless. Ahead, the rugged coastline of Maine shouldered its great bulky way into the sky, offering again the broad comfort of permanence. Home and the solid ground beneath his feet once more.
He inhaled deeply, smelling the green land over the briny salt of the ocean. Forest and groves lined the shore, and the only sign of life was the far distant lights winking on in the gathering dusk. He'd sent young Malcolm scurrying ashore in Boston with an urgent telegram, saying when the ship would arrive.
He knew they would wait for him at the docks. No worker or master would be going home until the Carolyn was safely berthed again in her home port and the eager seamen were safe ashore to family or tavern wench.
Daniel hunched his shoulders deeper into his naval jacket. The freshening air was keen now, with a bite to it and the promise of more to come. Those who knew the weather best had already predicted the coming winter would be deep and hard. Unforgiving on those unprepared for it.
Ice and snow would trap the hearty Mainers in their homes and businesses. Coal and firewood would quickly be in short supply. The captain of the Carolyn shook his head and sighed. A wise man prepared early, as he had done before he'd sailed this last time.
Soon, he would command nothing but armloads of wood and endless buckets of coal. Within the darkness of his beard, his teeth gleamed in a wry smile. He knew he wouldn't have it any other way.
And, in the fullness of time and the sacredness of the season, the Gull Cottage family would be blessed with a new addition. A boy or girl, he cared not. To have mother and baby safe and well was all he asked of the gods of man and the endless ocean.
He turned from the view and jumped down to the deck as the lights of Schooner Bay drew closer. He was impatient to have his love in his arms again and her soft lips warm beneath his.
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