I reach over and thump on the side of the Nancy B. "On deck there! Tell Dr. Sebastian there are birds of interest out here!"
In response to my call, Davy appears at the rail with a long glass to his eye, but he ain't lookin'at birds.
"He knows, Jacky, but we got somethin' else here," he says. "A small boat, headin straight for us. No markings. Don't know what..."
Now, we've had lots of small shipping pass us here in the Florida Straits, and none of them has paid us any notice or given us any trouble, but no sense in taking chances. We must play our role.
"Come, Sister," I say, giving Joannie a nudge. "Back in the water for us."
And like any two seals rolling off slippery, seaweedcovered rocks, we slide back into the sea.
Under the surface we kick down to the bottom and start sawing at sponge stalks. When we have enough, we head back up, where we see above us the hull of a small boat slip in overhead. It appears that it has tied up to our raft. Joannie and I give each other questioning looks with our eyebrows, then go up, and as our heads break the surface, we suck in air.
I am shocked to see a man in the uniform of a British Navy coxswain standing at the bow of the mystery boat. And then two other men, both standing on our raft, advance into my field of vision. My jaw drops open when I see that one of them is Captain Hannibal Hudson of HMS Dolphin, and next to him is Professor Tilden, and the other is...
Jaimy!
I leap out of the water and onto the raft and then jump up in front of Jaimy and open my arms. "Oh, Jaimy, love, it is so good to see you!"
"Your fiancée, I presume, Mr. Fletcher," says Captain Hudson, unable to suppress a grin.
"Yes, Sir," says Jaimy, his face reddening. "It is definitely she."
And then Higgins is there to wrap me in the big towel and hustle me down to my cabin.
"We shall get you dressed, Miss, and then you shall await a visit from Captain Hudson and Mr. Fletcher."
"But Higgins..."
"But nothing. We must get you decent."
We will have dinner on the mess deck, my cabin being much too small for the number of people that need to be at the table. As Higgins was getting me rigged out in something presentable, I sent for Jemimah and said, "Dinner for six. Put out some wine for them till I get there. Pull out all the stops. Send out something for the men in the Dolphin's boat. Food for our crew later. Do what you can. And thanks."
She smiles and nods. "We'll do that, girl. Don't you worry. You just talk your talk." She leaves to get it done.
Higgins stuffs me into my Lawson Peabody dress, does what he can with my hair, and then we both go down to the mess deck to take our places at the table.
Captain Hudson has graciously left the place at the head of the table for me. I protest, but he insists that I take it, so I do. Seated around me are Dr. Sebastian, John Higgins, Tilly, with Captain Hudson on my left, and, on my right, Lieutenant James Emerson Fletcher.
There is a glass in front of each of us, and arranged on the table are bottles of good wine and plates of crab cakes and hush puppies—Thanks, Jemimah.
I apologize for the cramped quarters, but Captain Hudson recalls that his first command was a sloop of war and that this is quite luxurious in comparison. He then compliments me on the shipshape condition of my ship, which warms me. We toast the King, but before we fall to the main course, we have a Council of War.
"I think Agent Faber should bring us all up to date, as she is the one who has garnered the most information," says Dr. Sebastian. He pops a hush puppy—a fried cornbread biscuit—into his mouth. Joannie and Daniel, dressed in their best, hover about to refill glasses when they are emptied.
I take a sip of my wine and begin. "The good news is that we believe we have found the final resting place of the Santa Magdalena. I have seen the tops of her masts. She lies in about one hundred and fifty feet of water, well out of reach of a free dive."
There are murmurs of approval from Captain Hudson and Tilly, but then I say, "As to bad news, I regret to say that our activities here have not gone unnoticed." I look to Dr. Sebastian and he shrugs and nods ruefully. I don't want to insult Captain Hudson, but I must go on. "The conversations we had onboard the Dolphin when we were in Boston were overheard by a Spanish sailor who later jumped ship in Savannah and then made his way down to Havana and reported all to the pirate Flaco Jimenez."
Captain Hudson's face darkens, recalling his words that all was secure on his ship, and he asks, "And how do you know this?"
"I am acquainted with Captain Jimenez and met with him at Ric's Café Americano in Havana last week." Jaimy's hand has been on mine, and I feel it tighten. It's all right, Jaimy, I'll explain.
"Ummmm..." says the Captain.
"And that is not the worst of it, Captain," I say, pushing on. "A Spanish warship, the San Cristobal, patrols these waters. She is a First-Rate with three gun decks and eighty-eight guns. An officer aboard her, Lieutenant Juan Carlos Cis-neros y Siquieros, is certain that we are up to something. On the San Cristobal s last patrol, she boarded us, and we were searched. Many questions were asked. She is now anchored in Havana Harbor, and I have learned from some Spanish sailors"—I feel another tightening of Jaimy's hand—"that the San Cristobal will not sail again for some time. The sailors consider her captain a coward and a wastrel, but still ... all those guns. And the Spanish sailors I met are proud of their gunnery." Silence around the table.
I take another sip and continue. "This Lieutenant Cis-neros is a cruel man. He debased me upon our first meeting, and ... and when we were leaving the harbor two days ago, he forced me to stop my ship and made me watch as he had the sailors who had talked to me at Ric's whipped into insensibility. Fifty lashes each. They were all unconscious at the end. And one was no more than a boy."
Silence again.
Then the Captain speaks up. "What shall we do? I'll tell you what. My plan is to charge into Havana and blow that San Cristobal into splinters. Then we shall not be bothered. And to hell with some pissant pirate."
Dr. Sebastian nods and says, "I am sure you could accomplish that, Brother, but I believe Mr. Higgins has something to say on that matter."
Higgins then recounts the armaments in the various battlement arrayed about the harbor. "I'm afraid you would not get by Morro Castle before you were sunk. Since we British took the port in 1762, the Spanish have increased the fortifications tenfold."
"What's to be done then?" asks the Captain.
"I say I dive on the wreck, with the Dolphin lying nearby to protect us should Flaco or the San Cristobal come out to bother us. I think we've got at least a week and a half. With luck we can get the gold up by then and be gone."
Captain Hudson nods and says, "Good. And should that Spanish bastard come out, he'll see what for!"
Hear, hear! is the cheer, and dinner is served by Daniel and Joannie—great platters of Florida lobster and deep-fried grouper, a large fish speared by me that very morning, and perfectly fresh I assure Captain Hudson, who had an unfortunate experience with bad fish last year.
When all is eaten and drunk, Captain Hudson prepares to take his party back to the Dolphin, and I put my hand on his arm and say, "Could I ask that Mr. Fletcher be allowed to stay here with me this night?"
He looks from Jaimy to me and says, "You both remember your solemn vows in this respect?"
We both nod. "Very well, but just for tonight."
Later, in my cabin, Higgins serves us a late-night apéritif, and Jaimy and I talk far into the night, with much being said, and then we undress and go to bed. I think of our hammock back on the Dolphin as I lay my head on Jaimy's chest and slip off into blissful sleep.
Tomorrow I will dive into the depths in that horrid bell, but tonight I am supremely happy.
Chapter 30
I wake before Jaimy does, take a deep breath, then bury my face in his hair spread out on the pillow. Ahhhh ... how fine is this... He lies on his back so that his face is in profile, and for a while, I revel in just looking at him. His lips are slightly parted in sleep and I rise up and gently kiss them. He stirs a bit, but stays asleep. With my fingertip I trace from his forehead down over his nose and then to those lips and then to his chin and along his throat and then down onto his chest. He is just the most beautiful boy.
I run my hand across his chest, but he still does not awaken, so I stick my tongue in his ear. That pops those lovely eyes wide open.
His senses return to him as he turns his head and smiles upon me.
"I cannot believe that I am really here," he says.
"Me either." I snuggle in a little closer.
"The last time we woke up in the morning together was back in our hammock on the Dolphin. Do you remember?"
"Of course, I do. It was right after we ran the ship aground on that island. I have thought about that time every day since with great yearning ... longing that we should be that way again. And here we are, love."
"Yes, indeed, we are, and I am glad."
Jaimy puts his arm around me and I lay my head on his shoulder and bury my nose in the tousled black hair behind his ear.
After a few more delicious moments, I rise up on an elbow and run my fingers through that thick dark hair. Well, almost all dark—there is now a streak that runs through it, and I know it comes from the head wound he suffered last year during a battle with a French squadron in the Mediterranean. The hair above the scar has grown in pure white.
"Your slash of silver hair looks quite dashing, Jaimy. It matches my eyebrow."
"Well, since I have no choice, I shall wear it. Now lie you back down."
I lay my head back down again and press myself against him. "Pet me, Jaimy."
And he does, and I purr...Ummmmm...
Ding,ding ... Ding, ding ... Ding ... The quarterdeck bell is tolling Six Bells in the Morning Watch, telling us that it is six thirty and breakfast is about to be served.
"We must get up soon, Jaimy."
"I want to lie here next to you forever."
"Me, too, but duty calls. If I know the Royal Navy, the Dolphin will be alongside within the hour, ready to start the day's work. So you must get up and go off, dear, for I have to get dressed and make myself presentable, which is something, believe me, that you do not want to witness."
He plants a kiss at the base of my throat, then rolls out of bed and begins pulling on his clothes. I cannot help but watch and admire the breadth of his shoulders, the narrowness of his hips, the length of his legs. Oh, yes.
"Please come back at Seven Bells, Jaimy. I've arranged for us to have a private breakfast."
After he is dressed once again in his trousers and shirt, he reaches for his uniform jacket, but I say, "Don't bother with that, Jaimy, not just yet. It's too warm. We don't stand on ceremony here." He nods, throws the coat over the back of a chair, then comes back to stand next to me. He strips off the sheet that covers me, leans down to place a kiss on my tattoo, and says, "The Dread Brotherhood of the Dolphin forever!" He then tousles my hair and strides out the door.
Hear, hear.
I get up, go to my washstand, do the necessaries, wash parts, dry myself, and dress. I just throw on one of my simple dresses, 'cause I figure I'll be in my swimsuit before noon.