Acadia Song 04 - The Distant Beacon (8 page)

“I was sent northwards for supplies. But her ladyship had hired my vessel, and she ordered me here.” Her escort clearly shared her impression of the British colonel, for Gordon’s tone held a certain guardedness. “I assumed that so long as the supplies came into British hands, my task was done.”

“Of course, of course.” Grudge squinted over the papers. “It says you carried no weapons or powder.”

“That is correct.”

“Armaments were hard to come by, were they?”

Gordon chose his words carefully. “We brought what we could, Colonel.”

That had been their joint decision. Even before landing in Halifax, Gordon had warned Nicole that Britain ruled the high seas, which meant they would more than likely be caught by the squadron guarding the Boston harbor. Their ship was English; the manifest bore an English seal. What was imprinted upon their hearts was best kept a secret.

“I understand.” Colonel Grudge’s quarters were in what had once been a splendid stone manor on the harbor side of Beacon Hill. But the interior was stained yellow now with dirt and smoke and hard use, and an infantry battalion was encamped about the manor grounds. Through the open window blew the brisk wind, blasts of trumpets, the rattle of war drums. The officer behind the ornate rosewood desk appeared oblivious to it all. He ran his eye down the long list of transported goods, sniffed loudly, and said, “Well, all seems to be in order here. And as you are no doubt aware, your supplies are most useful to us at this time. We have just suffered through the most dreadful of winters, I don’t mind telling you. I’ll begin the off-loading immediately.”

“There is the small matter,” Gordon said politely, “of my payment.”

“Upon my word, did I neglect that? Forgive me, sir.” He sniffed once more, then shouted out, “Barnes!”

Instantly a narrow head and even more slender body popped through the open door. “Sir?”

“Prepare a requisition order for these materials.” He offered his aide the manifest. “Then have a company of those navy chaps see to removing these goods.”

“I’m sorry, Colonel Grudge,” Gordon said. “But my own orders were most specific. I must request that payment be made in gold sovereigns.”

Grudge squinted over his desk. “The British army’s paper is quite good, sir.”

“That may be. But I am commanded by the ship’s owners to request hard currency.”

The colonel looked at Gordon as if inspecting him, then said, “Barnes.”

“Sir.”

“Prepare a payment in sovereigns for our visitors.” When his aide remained standing agog in the doorway, the colonel intoned, “That will do, Barnes.” Once the young man had departed, the colonel inquired, “What are your plans now, Captain?”

“My superiors have ordered me to escort the viscountess to her holdings, then to present myself and my ship in New York.”

“Her holdings. Yes. Of course. And just where might these holdings be, my lady?”

“I am told they lie close to the Massachusetts Colony’s western border.”

The news seemed to amuse the colonel. “Is that so? How interesting.”

“I will be requiring a safe-conduct pass,” Gordon said. “For myself, the viscountess, and my men.”

The colonel paused in the act of reaching for his pen. “Your men, did you say?”

“Yes, sir. I shall require an escort for the lady’s personal belongings.” When Grudge seemed displeased with this news, Gordon continued, “They shall be drawn from my ship’s company, of course. I won’t be requiring any of those under your command.”

“No, of course not.” But the colonel remained vexed nonetheless. “Yes, well, that’s as it must be, I suppose.”

“Pardon me?”

“Nothing, Captain. Just affairs of . . .” His voice trailed off as he scribbled busily. He then lifted the candle at the corner of his desk and used it to melt the edge of the redsquare sealing wax. When enough had dribbled onto the base of his parchment, the colonel applied the military seal. “That should see you through our lines and patrols with utmost dispatch.”

“I thank you, sir.” Gordon looked over the document, rolled it up, and stored it away. “Might I ask of any regions which we should avoid?”

“All of Massachusetts Colony lies firmly within the grasp of General Howe.” The officer rose to his feet and gave them both a thin smile. “Now if you will excuse me, I must turn my attention to other pressing matters. Captain, my lady, I bid you a safe journey and good day.”

The most trying hours for Nicole aboard ship had been those of the late afternoon. The ship’s company was busy with end-of-watch duties, and the ceiling to her small cabin thundered with the rushing of wooden clogs.

An officer from Halifax and his wife were in the cabin next door, on their way to a new posting farther south. But the young woman had not been much company since she was in the early stages of her first pregnancy and feeling poorly.

That day, as usual, Gordon’s voice could be heard shouting orders to some far reach, though the frigid wind blew the words into indistinguishable fragments. Outside her small window Nicole could hear the creaking of ropes through stubborn winches as the ship’s cargo got hauled up from belowdecks and sent over the side to waiting longboats. Men shouted and groaned beneath the loads, officers called back and forth, the bosun piped his signals, the men hurried about in obedience. Everyone was busy; all had important work at hand. Except for her.

Nicole had taken to using this period of the day for Bible reading and reflection. When all hands were on deck, there was little room for her. And although Gordon staunchly refused to say so, she knew she was rather in the way. So she sat in the folding chair, positioned so the light from her window fell upon the page, and pondered the words of Scripture.

Gordon’s voice called out once more, and she found her thoughts following the course of this strong man. While he had said nothing directly, she was certain that if she asked, he would give up his life at sea to be with her on land. And yet still she wouldn’t permit him to pay formal suit. It wasn’t that she did not care for him. She did, and more deeply with each passing day. But try as she might, her concerns were not to be denied.

The overheard conversation Gordon had had with her father that Sabbath afternoon echoed through her mind. She looked down at the sacred book in her hands and knew Gordon did not share her faith. Oh, he had a certain interest in the Divine. Her father had said it best: Gordon preferred to keep God at arm’s length.

Here in her cabin, surrounded by the sounds of several hundred men hard at work, she found herself descending into a calm that offered a striking clarity. Nicole stared out her small window at the patch of frothy gray water. She laid her hand on the open page and gave herself over to a keenness of reflection she knew came from other than her own mind and heart. She loved Gordon. There was no questioning the fact. But she was forced to keep these emotions a secret.

The one other love of her life had been a scalding experience. Jean Dupree had also been a strong man, selfreliant and full of passion. But such passions could have a dark edge to them, hold a harmful appeal. At least for her. Nicole no longer ached for the man she’d left behind in the green Louisiana bayous, but the lessons were with her still. She had grown to live more honestly, to know herself well. She understood a part of her had been captivated by the sense of adventure, of danger, embodied in Jean Dupree.

A knock at her door drew her around. “Yes,” she called.

Gordon opened her door without stepping inside. “The men have been hard at it,” he told her, “and the offloading is almost complete.”

“That is excellent news. When can we depart for the interior?”

“Tomorrow if you like.” He paused.

“I am most grateful for your company on this journey, sir,” she said carefully, trying to keep her emotions in check.

“Miss Nicole, if you will allow me . . .”

She could tell he was on the verge of speaking his feelings, as he’d been before. “Which men will be accompanying us?” she hurried to ask.

The tension in Gordon’s shoulders released with an explosive sigh. “Bosun Carter and I have selected a dozen of our best.”

“Then I am certain no one shall be as safe as I,” she noted with a polite smile. When he remained standing there, filling her doorway, she raised the volume from her lap and asked, “Would you care to join me in my devotions?”

“Ah. No, thank you. Will you be joining the ship’s officers for dinner?”

“I would be happy to do so.”

“Until then.” He bowed stiffly. “Your servant, ma’am.”

Nicole winced at the force Gordon put to shutting the cabin door. She stared at the scarred wooden surface for a long moment, then whispered softly, “If only you could see how my heart yearns for you. If only you could know what is required.”

Chapter 7

The next day it was well past noon before the knock was heard at the door. And it was the bosun who opened it, not Gordon. “Your pardon, my lady. The captain sends his regards and asks if you are ready to begin.”

“Since early this morning,” she replied, pointing to the one remaining trunk. “That is all I have left on board.”

“Very good, my lady. The bosun’s chair has been prepared for you.”

The bosun was a stout barrel-chested man with a deeply seamed face. His strength was immense, and his voice loud as a cannonade. Yet he was a good and fair man, respected by the officers and men alike.

“Please be so kind as to use my name upon the journey ahead,” she said to him.

Carter’s features were stained the color of old tobacco from the sun and salt. Which made his teeth shine all the whiter when he smiled. “That I’ll do, Miss Nicole.”

“Thank you. And the rest of the men should do the same.”

“Right you are, ma’am. Now if you’ll just come this way.”

Up on deck, Nicole found herself facing a phalanx of the ship’s company. One of the young lieutenants doffed his hat and said, “We’re all most dismayed to see you depart, my lady.”

“Thank you, James.” She lifted her voice and said, “Thank you all. I count each of you as a friend, and consider myself the richer for your company.”

A quiet murmur ran through the gathering, the sound then caught by the biting wind and tossed overboard. But not before Nicole felt her heart swell from the unspoken accolade. She stepped to where the bosun stood holding the swinging chair at the railing. As she was winched up and over the side, the ranking officer commanded, “Present arms!”

As one, the ship’s company removed their caps and stood bareheaded in the gloomy afternoon. Nicole searched the ruddy faces one more time and suddenly found herself heartsick over yet another journey into the unknown. While being gently lowered to the waiting longboat, she cried, “I shall miss you all!”

To her surprise, the longboat did not head directly for the Boston harbor’s main landing. Instead it skirted around three groups of fishing vessels and began slipping upstream. “Where are you taking me?”

“Captain’s orders, ma’am,” Carter replied from his place by the tiller. “We’re to off-load away from prying eyes.”

The tide and wind were both with them, so they made swift progress. They rounded the city’s final hill into a region of unkempt marsh grass and stunted trees. The scene across the river couldn’t have looked more different. Farmland stretched back as far as she could see. In the distance was a charming village. “What is that, please?”

“Cambridge is its name, ma’am, and depending on who you’re speaking with, it’s either a den of thieves or a haven for all good men.”

“I’m sorry, I don’t understand.”

“The American garrison is headquartered there, ma’am.”

“An entire garrison?” Nicole peered across the water in astonishment. “But the colonel told us that all Massachusetts Colony was in British hands.”

“Aye, I also was told. Which is strange, if you don’t mind me saying, seeing as how we were met on our arrival with a cannonade from a fort taken from our redcoats just last year.”

Now she could see a variety of flags waving over the village. A trumpet sounded tinny on the wind. “What does this mean?”

“You’ll have to ask the captain that, ma’am. A good bosun learns to let the officers do the thinking and explaining.” He pointed toward the shoreline, where three carts and a pair of horses waited for them. “Aim for the cut there, lads, and pull hard.”