Seger, Maura (7 page)

"Your ships have been as well-cared-for as my own. But I think you should see that for yourself."

Standing, he held out his hand. Erin hesitated before taking it. His skin was pleasantly warm against hers, his fingers strong and firm. She remembered the way they felt tangling in her hair, caressing the nape of her neck, sliding along her shoulders and arms to the curve of her waist.

The staircase was so narrow that only one of them could go down it at a time. She used that as an excuse to break the contact between them. When they reached the bottom, both her hands were occupied holding her skirt above the sawdust-strewn floor.

Storm did not miss her unease. He smiled sardonically before saying a few words in Japanese to the employee who stepped forward to open the door for them. The man looked surprised, or at least as close to it as rigorous courtesy allowed.

Erin was tempted to ask him what he had said, but she wasn't sure she would appreciate the answer. Resolutely silent, she accompanied him along the wooden-plank sidewalk laid over the dirt-packed roads that ran between the docks and warehouses.

The sailors who had greeted her when she arrived stepped aside to let them pass. There were no further comments about her beauty and desirability. Instead, their eyes were kept rigorously averted and their mouths firmly closed. More than one looked appalled at the thought that they might have offended a woman in whom their employer had a proprietary interest.

The dry docks in which ships were stored and repaired lay off to the side beyond the wharves. Erin had no difficulty picking out the
Nantucket Moon
and
Emerald Isle.

Both clipper ships sat well out of the water, their hulls scraped free of barnacles, the seams sealed with waterproof tar. The decks gleamed with fresh varnish, and all brass and copper implements shone in the sunlight. Even the wheelhouses were newly whitewashed, as though awaiting the arrival of their captains.

The ships' fluid lines, proud masts and graceful prows fairly begged to slide back into the sea and feel the wind once more fill their sails.

Storm's claim was correct: they had clearly received meticulous care. Turning to him, she could not deny her appreciation. "I had no hope of finding them in such good condition. Please forgive me for doubting you."

Embarrassed by her gratitude, he attempted to shrug it off. "There's no need for that. I understand you were worried." Sternly he added, "As you should be. Just because they're in good shape doesn't mean you're going to sail them out of here anytime soon. There's still the matter of your uncle's debt to settle."

"I realize that," Erin murmured, her elation fading as the truth of what he said reached her. She raised her head, facing him squarely. "You have yet to convince me there is a debt."

"Is that so? Then how do you account for the shipments your firm received from here last year? If you paid any attention at all to the business, and I am beginning to suspect that you did, you must know your funds were exhausted. Without borrowed money, you couldn't have financed the cargoes."

Erin didn't attempt to repudiate that, but neither did she accept it as proof of his right. "But you didn't lend us any funds. If you had, I would have found some record. Even failing that, if we had borrowed from you, you would certainly have been aware that my uncle was running the company, yet you admitted yourself you didn't know that. So I don't see how you can claim to hold a lien on my ships."

"Not even if I tell you that the company your uncle did borrow from went bankrupt a few months ago, leaving among its debts a substantial liability to the Black Star Trading Company? I agreed to take control of property it was holding in lieu of the payments."

Erin stared up at him bleakly. What he said had the ring of truth. It explained why she had not known the fate of the ships, and why he had indirectly become involved in the affairs of the company run by a family he must despise.

Worse yet, it was a sufficiently complicated legal tangle to leave little hope of her being able to regain the ships anytime soon. At least not without Storm's approval.

"I see. . . . That does make it clearer."

"I'm so glad you think so."

"There is no reason to be disdainful. I simply wanted to understand how you came into this."

As he looked down at her from his great height, a hint of gentleness softened his features. "And now you do?"

Erin nodded mutely. The heady impact of his nearness made it difficult for her to speak. For a moment she was struck by the absurdity of their situation. Why were they standing on a dock surrounded by other people, locked in a discussion of business, when all they both wanted was to be alone together to revel in the passions that threatened to break free at any moment?

She retreated from that thought as she might from an inferno threatening to engulf her. Sternly she lectured herself on the importance of establishing realistic objectives and sticking to them.

Not for her the dreamy-eyed visions of a handsome prince on a white charger who would whisk her away to eternal happiness. She was an intelligent, sensible woman prepared to make her own way in the world.
If she could get her ships back.

Taking a deep breath, she managed to keep her voice steady. "I would like to know the extent of the debt so that I can arrange to repay you."

Storm studied her for a moment before apparently deciding not to delay any longer in letting her know the full magnitude of the problem she faced. Quietly he said, "Twelve thousand dollars."

Erin gasped. All the color fled from her face. Her small hands clenched at her sides, the knuckles white.
"T-twelve thousand . . . ?"

He might have said a million, so far beyond her reach did it appear. Once, long ago, when she had no comprehension of what it took to earn even a single dollar, she would not have been more than mildly impressed by such a sum.

But now that she had an all-too-acute understanding of the sheer toil that went into acquiring so much money, she felt stunned. The meager resources she had managed to protect from her uncle's profligate spending would not stretch to cover half the debt.

There seemed only one course left open to her. As calmly as she could, she said, "I will have to ask you to wait for payment until I can get cargoes back to the States and sell them. From what I have learned, a single voyage by the
Nantucket Moon
and
Emerald Isle
should yield profits to more than cover the amount owed to you."

Masking her apprehension, she glanced up at him. His reaction was not encouraging. A frown darkened the eyes that a few moments before had looked as bright as a moon-washed sea.

"Do you have any idea of the enormity of what you are proposing to do? The wiliest traders in the world are flocking to Japan. They snap up all the best products for distribution through well-oiled networks of middlemen and merchants. Compared to them, you are a rank amateur. Yet you seriously believe you can secure not one cargo, but two, get them safely back to the United States and sell them profitably? All while I wait patiently for my money? That is a risk I see no reason to run. Not when I can outfit the ships myself much more easily."

His doubt in her abilities was hardly surprising, but it still hurt. As did his presumption that she was so gullible as to believe everything he had just said.

"If you can make use of the ships, why haven't you already done so instead of letting them sit in dry dock?"

A glimmer of respect flitted across his features, only to be instantly quenched. "Because I didn't take possession of them until a few weeks ago and they needed extensive repairs. I will admit that if you chose to make an issue of whether or not I have a right to use the ships, you could delay my doing so. However, I honestly see no alternative."

"But there is. Let me carry out my original plan. That way we will both benefit."

"Erin, you don't know what you are saying. It is much too difficult."

"For whom?" she demanded, unable to contain her anger any longer. "For the simple-minded child you choose to think me? I have done many things in the last few years which you undoubtedly would not have believed possible. And I will do this as well, with or without your help."

Her vehemence provoked his own ire. For reasons he did not care to explore, the idea of her being completely independent and self-sufficient troubled him.

Driven by the purely male urge to take her down a peg or two, he deliberately taunted her, "Will you? I rather doubt it. However, it will be amusing to watch you try. Just don't look to me for help when you inevitably run into trouble."

Erin bit her lip against the angry retort she was tempted to hurl at him. Instead, she contented herself with a dignified dismissal. "You are the last man I would ever look to for assistance. But that is beside the point, because I will not need any. Just make sure you continue to care for my ships as well as you have so far, because I intend to sail them out of here before the month is done!"

Without giving him a chance to reply, she turned on her heel and marched down the dock toward her carriage. Storm stared after her in mingled perplexity and admiration.

Never had he encountered such a spirited combination of beauty and intelligence wrapped up in a delightfully feminine package that provoked him to the most unbusinesslike thoughts possible.

Part of him wanted to ruthlessly bend her will to his and force her to yield pliantly to anything he desired. But another, gentler part yearned to protect her from a world he suspected was harsher than she yet realized.

Running a hand through his thick chestnut hair, he sighed deeply. Try though he did, he could not begin to guess which side of him would win.

Chapter Five

"The draft from your bank in Boston is perfectly acceptable here," Ned explained, "so you shouldn't have any difficulty doing business." He hesitated a moment before adding, "If you are quite sure that is what you want to do."

"I am," Erin assured him firmly. "I've come ten thousand miles to save my family's ships. No man will stop me now. The sooner I get started, the sooner Mr. Davin will realize that."

Her host cast a worried look at his wife seated beside him on the couch. Elizabeth took the hint and spoke up. "I understand why you are concerned about securing the best possible cargoes, but it might be a good idea to acquire the services of an intermediary to actually do the work for you. Otherwise, you'll have to go through the markets yourself, negotiate with the traders, check out the merchandise, and all sorts of other things."

Erin smiled slightly at her concern. Elizabeth was too polite to say that what she proposed to do was unwomanly, but it was clear her thoughts were tending in that direction. Gently she reminded her, "I won't be doing anything all that different from what you do when you buy goods for your household. Just on a larger scale."

"I suppose . . . but the only people who buy from the same shops as me are other housewives. Not crafty merchants who aren't too particular about how they get the best possible deals."

That was true, Erin admitted silently. She was well aware that her competition would be formidable. Unless she was very careful, she would either miss out on the truly top-quality goods or be forced to pay exorbitant prices that would leave no margin for profit.

"Nonetheless, I must try, for the reasons I have explained."

Both Carmodys were still doubtful, but they made no further effort to dissuade her. Each understood that there was simply too much at stake for her to turn back.

With Meg still grudgingly nursing her broken ankle and Elizabeth in the throes of early pregnancy, a fact Ned had shyly announced at dinner the previous night, Erin opted to go to market alone. In the last few days, she had become quite accustomed to making her way around Yokohama without an escort. So long as she stayed on the main streets and took care not to be out after dark, she felt perfectly safe.

Accordingly, she left the house later that morning, with the intention of stopping at the cloth merchants' first. If she was to have any hope of her goods selling well in the States, silk had to be one of her top concerns. The demand for it seemed to be insatiable, provided the quality was there.

After turning her horse and buggy over to one of the street urchins who for a modest fee promised to keep both safe, she took a few minutes to stroll up and down the street dominated by fabric shops. Several she dismissed immediately as lacking a sufficient selection of goods. Two more were crossed off her mental list because the quality of the fabric on display was clearly inferior. That left half a dozen to choose from, which she thought must certainly be an ample number to afford her the best possible buys.

That confidence was shaken almost the moment she entered the first shop and smiled courteously at the owner. The small, kimono-clad gentleman returned her greeting but did not hide his dismay when she explained the purpose of her visit. Instead of being pleased by a potential customer, he frowned sharply.

"I am not sure I understand. You wish to purchase a large quantity of silk to send back to America?"

"That's right. I am buying cargoes for my two ships and I expect silk to be an important part of them."

"You are buying. . . ?" The somber-faced man shook his head in bewilderment.
"You
own ships?"

Erin stifled a sigh. She had expected some surprise at a woman involved in a business usually reserved to men. But the silk merchant's shock made her wonder if she had underestimated the magnitude of what she was attempting. Summoning patience she did not truly feel, she explained, "Yes, I own two clipper ships which are presently in Yokohama. I want them to return soon to America, with cargoes. So I would like to see the goods you have to offer to determine whether or not I am interested in buying them."

Instead of accepting her quiet request with the eagerness a merchant might be expected to demonstrate, the man continued to stare at her stubbornly. "You have money?"