"I have no idea, captain. If I were you, I should sail right into Limón harbour and be damned to the Spanish. The local people are about to rise in open revolt against them, and the sum total of the garrison is two ragged customs officials. I'd wager they've not been paid in months." A plan began to form in Andrew's mind. "Put me ashore now, and I will arrange that by midday they shall be incapable of noticing your arrival. My word on it."
* * * *
A couple of hours later, Andrew crept up to Teresa's chamber door and scratched on it.
"
¿Quien es?
" demanded a sleepy voice he recognised as Josefa's.
He had forgotten that the maid was sharing the room. He was annoyed, but on second thoughts it was most fortunate that Teresa had a chaperon, and the girl would not understand if they spoke English. In a whisper, he explained that he must speak to the señorita.
When he was admitted to the room a few minutes later, Gayo glared at him with silent suspicion. Teresa was sitting up in bed, wrapped in a mantilla, her dark eyes huge in the light of a single tallow candle. Her black hair hung in a glossy plait over her shoulder. Andrew found himself suppressing an alarming urge to loosen it, run his fingers through its silky length, take her face between his hands and press kisses on her lips.
"What is it?" she asked, her voice husky. "Has the ship come?"
"Yes. I apologise for visiting you at this ungodly hour, but I must know, do you have some sort of sleeping potion among your medicines?"
"Yes, of course." Teresa started to push back the bedcover, then changed her mind. "Josefa,
mis hierbas, por favor
. You cannot sleep, sir? When do we go aboard?"
Quickly he explained the situation as she sorted through her herbs. "You see," he finished, "I shall tell Captain Fitch it was your doing that the officials are incapacitated, and with luck his gratitude will be such that he will take you aboard after all."
"But what am I to do if he will not? I shall never have another chance to go to England."
"Never fear, I shall find a way to persuade him. If gratitude will not do it, then I shall have to convince him that your uncle in the Admiralty will be most displeased to learn of his discourtesy."
"How kind you are to do this for me." She looked up at him with a slight frown, trying to read his reasons, then handed him a small leather pouch. "Here, take this and put three pinches in each man's mug of beer. They should fall asleep almost at once and sleep for at least twelve hours. Have you told Oscar? I expect he will be able to arrange for supplies to be ready to load when the ship arrives."
"Good idea. I'll talk to him first thing in the morning."
"The herbs could not wait till morning?" Teresa teased.
Andrew felt his face redden and hoped it was invisible in the dim light. "If you had had nothing suitable, I should have needed time to make other plans," he said with dignity. "Now I can catch a few hours sleep before I tackle the enemy."
She reached out one slender arm towards him. "You will be careful?" she begged. "They may be pathetic, but they are armed and Spain does still have sympathisers."
"I shall take care," he promised, bowing over her hand and kissing it with more warmth than he had intended.
He departed hurriedly, in something of a fluster, and failed to notice how she pressed the back of her hand to her cheek as she watched him leave.
For his own already shaky peace of mind, it was just as well.
Chapter 5
Josefa blew out the candle, retired to her pallet, and was soon breathing evenly. Teresa lay down, but she could not sleep. She was annoyed with herself. Sir Andrew was undoubtedly the most interesting and attractive man she had ever met, but she had no intention of throwing her cap over the windmill. The rare occasions when he looked at her with respect, even with admiration, were more than outweighed by the many times she had read disapproval in his face.
Besides, for all she knew some pretty, well-bred young lady awaited him in England. He might even be married. To be sure, he had never mentioned a wife, but nor had he ever claimed to be a bachelor.
It had been most indiscreet of him to come to her chamber in the middle of the night. He could very well have waited till morning for the herbs. She was glad Josefa had been with her. For the first time, Teresa realised that there was a good reason for society's insistence on a chaperon for young ladies.
She slept at last, but woke early and took Gayo down to the kitchens. In the dawn coolness the parrot was lively and talkative. The cook fed him on fruit and dried corn kernels, and laughed at his antics, especially when he addressed her as Sanchita. Her name was Maria, she said, and she tried to teach it to him.
Rowson came in to fetch hot water for his master to shave, and then Marco appeared, looking for something to eat to keep him alive until breakfast. "Let's take Gayo out for half an hour while it's cool," he suggested, peeling a banana. "It's only a step or two to the edge of the forest and it's not raining for once."
As they went, Teresa told him about the arrival of HMS
Destiny
and Sir Andrew's plan.
"The very thing!" said Marco in triumph. "I have been racking my brains to find a way to take Gayo aboard without anyone knowing. We can drug them and carry them on with the rest of the luggage."
"Papa said it was impossible to take him," his sister reminded him unhappily. "Besides, it is by no means certain that the captain will even allow me to go."
"Fustian! You cannot be so poor spirited. Sir Andrew is a diplomat, after all, and accustomed to persuading people to do what he wants. Of course you will go with us, and without you Gayo will pine and probably die in no time."
"Do you think so?" She watched as Gayo flew off to investigate a bush covered with appetising crimson blossoms.
"Do you want to risk it, Teresa? After he saved you from the jaguar?"
She made up her mind. "You are right, I cannot risk it. Surely if I keep him in the cabin there can be no objection. No one need even know he is there," she added optimistically. “Anyway, Sir Andrew said the captain might not mind as seamen often have parrots. I’ll worry about the duke when we get to England, but Sir Andrew and Oscar must not know we’re taking him aboard.”
"We must buy a closed basket,” Marco proposed.
"There is a sort of market near the posada. Will you go while I work out the right dose for him?"
* * * *
Oscar and Andrew were too busy with their own projects to notice the furtive activities of the younger members of the party. By the time the
Destiny
sailed into the harbour and dropped anchor, the two customs men were snoring in their official shack. The quay was already piled with barrels of fresh water and sacks of fruit, and hunters were coming in with game slung over their shoulders. A swarm of small boats rowed out to the frigate to bargain with the ship's purser in a peculiar mixture of English and Spanish.
Andrew was first aboard. By dint of crediting Teresa with the entire success of his plan, together with frequent references to Lord Frederick Danville of the Admiralty, he managed to persuade the reluctant captain to allow her to travel with her brothers.
He rushed back to the inn to tell her.
She was pleased but unsurprised. "With your diplomatic training," she explained laughing, "I never doubted for a moment that you could talk him round. I am all packed already, you see."
"Then let us go at once, before the captain changes his mind!" Oscar insisted.
In the bustle of supplies being loaded, no one noticed the basket that Teresa herself carried aboard with particular care. She managed to hold onto it while she climbed down the steep rungs of the companionway, too anxious about the limp little body within to notice her surroundings.
The cabin boy, a freckle-faced lad of ten or twelve, ushered her into the tiniest room she had ever seen. It looked to her more like a storage closet than an inhabitable space.
"'Tis the first mate's cabin, right enough, miss," the boy assured her, noting her uncertainty. "The gentlemen'll be next door, where the other officers gen'rally sleep. 'Tain't much, I know. If I was cap'n, I'da gived you my cabin for sure." He turned bright red and ducked his head.
"Thank you," said Teresa, smiling at him. "What is your name?"
"Willy, miss. If you wants anything just call out my name. Summun'll tell me ifn I doesn't hear."
Most of Teresa's meagre luggage had already been stacked in the cabin. When Josefa joined her, there was scarcely room to turn round. She checked that Don Eduardo's chest of coffee beans had arrived undamaged, then made sure the door was closed securely and opened her precious basket.
Gayo was muttering very softly to himself, though his eyes were closed. Teresa breathed a sigh of relief.
"
¡Ay, señorita!
" gasped Josefa. "
¡El papagayo!"
She fell silent, looking almost as green as the parrot, as a particularly large swell gently rocked the ship.
"
Ay de mí
!" agreed Gayo, struggling to his feet and trying shakily to climb out of the basket.
The ship rolled again, its timbers creaking. Teresa and Josefa both sat down suddenly on the two narrow bunks which were the only furniture.
* * * *
Andrew knocked on the door some minutes later. "Miss Danville?" he called. "We are about to sail. Will you come up on deck to watch?"
Teresa opened the door a crack. Her face was alarmingly pale. "You mean we are still at anchor and I already want to die?" She managed to summon up a weak smile.
"You will feel much better for some fresh air, I promise you. Oscar and Marco were both suffering until I made them go up."
"They are sick too? Josefa is much worse than I. If you will wait a moment, I shall try to persuade her to come along."
Josefa only groaned and refused to move.
Sir Andrew helped Teresa up the companionway and they went to join her brothers on the poop deck. She felt better at once, and was fascinated by the busy scene.
Barefooted sailors in striped trousers and short jackets scampered about in apparent confusion, climbing the rigging, coiling ropes, winding the windlass as the huge anchor rose dripping from the depths. The boatswain bawled orders and the three tall masts blossomed with white canvas. On the quarter deck, Captain Fitch directed orders to the helmsman; the breeze took the sails and the
Destiny
stood out to sea.
They rounded the Isla Uvita and met the full force of the rolling waves. Teresa held tight to the taffrail. After a brief glance down at the frothy white wake cutting the glass-green water, she kept her eyes on the receding shore and tried to ignore her stomach.
She had some success at this until it began to grow dark and she went below. When Andrew came to convey an invitation from Captain Fitch to dine with him and his officers in the wardroom, he was greeted by moans.
Opening the door, he stepped into the cabin. By the light of a swinging oil lamp, he saw Teresa and her maid huddled on their bunks.
"Hello, dinner," a hoarse voice said brightly.
Andrew swung round. The parrot was hanging upside down from a bracket on the bulkhead, regarding him in a friendly manner.
"Miss Danville! I told you—your father told you—that Gayo was to be left behind!"
Teresa sat up, her belligerent expression bringing a flush to her pallid cheeks. "I could not leave him. He might have died without me to take care of him."
"Gammon! Lord Edward promised to look after him." Curiosity overcame his fury. "How on earth did you manage to bring him aboard without anyone noticing?"
"Marco helped me. He is the only male sensitive enough to understand. I gave him a herb to make him sleep, the same one you gave to the customs men."
To her surprise, he laughed though he shook his head. "I must learn not to be taken aback by your enterprise, Miss Danville. But since his wings are not clipped, you must promise me to keep him close in the cabin, always leashed. If he started to fly around disrupting the crew, I daresay Captain Fitch would maroon the lot of us on the first island we pass."
"Like Robinson Crusoe?" Teresa considered. "That might be more agreeable than London society. At least I should not have to worry about obeying every petty rule. However, I shall attempt to keep him hidden."
"I am delighted to hear it. Now, are you well enough to dine with us?"
Teresa's nausea had disappeared as soon as she ceased to think about it. "Yes, I believe I am," she said in astonishment. "In fact, I am ravenous. Give me a few minutes to tidy myself."
"I shall send Willy to show you the way."
The cabin boy knocked as Teresa finished brushing her hair. "One minute," she called.
He opened the door and stepped in, then turned fiery red as he saw her putting on her slippers. "Beg pardon, miss. I thought you said to come in, honest I did. I ain't never done for ladies afore."
"That's all right, Willy. I am quite ready."
Turning to leave, he came face to face with Gayo. "Cor, miss!" he gasped. "You got a parrot! The carpenter has one, too, but it’s not half as pretty."
"Hello," said Gayo politely.
Teresa thought the child's eyes would pop out of his head. “Blimey, it talks! His don’t say nuffink, and it bites. Can I touch it, miss?”
"Not now. I shall be late for dinner. Tomorrow. And don’t tell anyone about him, will you?"
“Cross me heart and hope to die.” His eyes were like stars as he led her to the wardroom.
* * * *
In the days that followed, as the
Destiny
sped across the sparkling Caribbean, Willy became adept at smuggling food to Gayo. The task of keeping their presence secret was made easier by Josefa. The maid's seasickness continued, and any odd noises the parrot made were put down to her groans of misery.
Willy grew very fond of Gayo. It troubled him that the big bird was always kept tied and he begged Teresa to let him have the run of the tiny cabin. Mindful of her promise to Sir Andrew she refused, so one day he decided to take matters into his own hands.