Authors: Cherie Shaw
Henry decided to have his meals brought to him, for
the remainder of the trip, thus keeping a low profile, but with a little
bribery he could have one of the stewards keep him informed of the beauty’s
every movement; he thought as much anyway, not having been aware that her uncle
owned the very ship he was traveling on, and that all the employees on this
vessel worked for the Lord Beckford, and that the majority of them were loyal
to him beyond reason. Also they were well-paid, and most wouldn’t risk their
employment by spying on the Lord, or his niece, for any of the passengers.
However, as in every business, there always were a few who would sell their
souls for a shilling. Those few were usually weeded out and then dismissed.
Henry thought back over the last five years, and how
he had wormed his way into society in Paris, under another name, then Rome, and had wasted months courting first one debutante, then another. Disgusting
overweight young ladies who couldn’t even carry on an intelligent conversation,
but their bank accounts were sooooo very nice. Even then, the parents had stepped
in and stopped any long-term entanglement. Though now, just maybe his luck was
changing, and it was worth a try. He was at the end of his rope, and his
current funds were running dangerously low. Even the thousands he’d won
gambling on the Riviera were gone. It was time his luck changed for the
better, and Henry again picked up the mirror for another glimpse of the face
that he thought he still had.
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Olivia didn’t sleep well, tossing and turning most of
the night, then dozed off long towards morning. She took her meals in her
stateroom the next day, but claiming a headache, refused to enter the other
room, where the injured man lay. Maria didn’t mind tending the patient, and
voiced her opinion of him to all who would listen. “The dark-haired one is a
well-mannered gentleman, Miss Olivia. Not as handsome as my Ricardo, but once
his injuries have healed, he will be one fine looking gringo.” She had told
Olivia that morning, then again at lunchtime.
“I honestly have not noticed the rogue’s looks.”
Olivia had stated firmly, “My only wish is that the ‘gentleman’ heals well, so
he can be off the ship at the first port we come to.” Of course she had no
intention of mentioning how flushed she became whenever she approached the
‘rogue’, nor how his conversation with her was less than honorable the last
time she had tended him, nor how just being in the same room with him, made her
feel all flustered. She knew she had overreacted when he was slightly
delirious, and had said those forward things to her, she also knew that she
couldn’t use the ‘headache’ excuse much longer for not tending him, as Maria
had other duties to take care of. Lord Beckford had told Olivia that he would
dine with her that evening in her stateroom, so she waited until the supper
trays had been delivered by Ricardo, then changed her dress quickly, and washed
her face and hands, finishing just as her uncle tapped on the outer door.
Ricardo had wheeled in the cart full of trays of
steaming hot dishes then Maria had set out everything, from expensive cutlery
to gold-edged plates and linen napkins, along with crystal goblets, also a pot
of steaming hot coffee for after dinner. Maria had then taken the extra tray
of food into the other room to feed the patient.
As Lord Claude reached for a warm dinner roll, he
chuckled, then said, “You know, Niece, Maria tells me that young rascal in
there has developed a huge appetite, and would most assuredly eat the cutlery
if she didn’t haul it out of there in time.”
Olivia smiled, and said, “Of course uncle, I suppose
that is to be expected. He’s had a bad few years, of which I rather feel sorry
for the chap, but tell me, once he has recovered sufficiently, just what will
he do? I mean, where will he go? We can’t just smuggle him off the ship at
some out-of-the-way port.”
Claude took another bite of the tender beef steak,
chewed and swallowed before answering, then said, “I had a long talk with the
young chap, Ollie, last night after supper, and although he’s still very weak
and couldn’t talk that much, it does seem as though I was right in my
estimation of his situation. For one thing, yes he was shanghaied, and then
held prisoner on the very vessel of which I suspected, the Red Dragon. Captain
Devlin’s ship.
“He claims that he was on that ship around eight
years, and it’s no wonder he’s in such bad shape, and half-starved. Three
other chaps escaped at the same time, but he’s not sure they survived, though
they do have a meeting place set up for a few weeks from now, if they all were
successful in their escape that is. It is in the Wyoming territory, and that
is where this young man is from also.” Claude began eating again, and Olivia
nodded. She was enjoying the tasty meal.
After a few more minutes she asked, “By the way, Uncle,
did you find out the man’s name? If he lived in Wyoming, does he have family
there?”
“Actually yes,” Claude began, “I could tell right away
that he wasn’t British, as he has that very distinctive way of talking that the
Americans of the western part of that continent have, and he confirmed that
right away. His name is Logan Wakefield, and he believes to be around thirty
years old now. So many years stolen from his young life.”
“Yes, it is a tragedy.” Olivia mused, and dropped her
eyes to her plate, then slowly began, “I really am glad, uncle, that we were
able to rescue him, though will he be able to travel all the way back to his
home now? Is it still risky for him to be seen?”
“Well, Ollie, I have a plan. Just as soon as he is
able, gets his strength back and is healed, I plan on having him outfitted and
spruced up a bit, then he will miraculously appear from one of the ports where
we stop at, and I will hire him on to assist Ricardo in my stateroom. If the
captain or no one in the crew happens to see him board the ship, well, dare
they question my judgment?”
“I hadn’t thought of that. Do you think it will
work?”
“Of course it will work, Ollie, and I have already
spoken to Mr. Wakefield about my plan for him, and he is more than willing to
work his way back home.”
“So, his name is ‘Logan’? Logan Wakefield. Hmmm, and
just where was he when he was taken? It couldn’t have been from the Wyoming territory, as that is nowhere near any seaport.”
“He told me that he was shanghaied on the docks of Seattle, Washington. That’s way up to the northwest part of the country, however what he
was doing there, I have no idea. He’d talked a lot, and was tiring, so I left
him to rest. Perhaps I’ll speak to him again tonight before I leave for my room.
Oh, and he did say that he had parents living in Wyoming, at least hopefully
anyway.”
Lord Beckford paused and took a long sip from his cup
of after-dinner coffee, and Olivia stirred a spoonful of sugar into her cup of
hot flavorful tea, then she looked up at Claude and asked, “By the way, Uncle,
not to change the subject, but did you check with the captain? Is there a
passenger named Henry Adams on this ship?”
“I did that.” Beckford replied, took another drink of
coffee before continuing, “And I did look through the passenger list. There is
no Henry Adams listed, although there is one chap named Henry, though his last
name is Birch. Henry Birch. It seems he is staying in the cabin where you
thought you saw Adams. Strange, don’t you think?”
Olivia answered, “I believe it was him, Uncle Claude.
Just our luck to run into the arrogant scoundrel. Well, I shall ignore him if
I see him again.”
“Don’t worry, Ollie, I have already spoken with
several of the crew members, and he will be watched. It seems that he has
taken to having his meals brought to him at his stateroom, and is keeping to
himself at this time. I wonder why.”
“Well, if it is the same man, let’s just hope that he
leaves the ship at some port, and not where we are going.”
“I’m afraid not, Niece, as it seems, according to his
travel plans, that he will depart the liner at the same place as we will. New York harbor.”
Olivia arose from her chair at the table, then took a
deep breath, and walked over to her uncle giving him a light peck on the cheek,
then said, “That was a wonderful meal anyway, Uncle Claude, and thank you so
much for all your kind attention to my comforts on this trip. Things will work
out, I’m sure of that. As for now, I believe I’ll take a turn in watching over
the patient, though I feel he doesn’t need that much care now that he’s
awakened, and getting his strength back, and Maria certainly does need a break
from caring for him. Maybe I’ll take a book with me and read to him for
awhile, that is if the poor man understands good literature.”
Lord Claude laughed, “If I didn’t know better, Ollie,
I would think you have been avoiding seeing the poor soul since he awakened.”
“Heavens, no! Perish the thought.” She exclaimed.
“Well, anyway, I believe our Maria has been enjoying
this little adventure of ours, so if you can tear her away from that sickroom,
well and good. I hear they’ve had quite the conversations also, weak as he is,
she’s been entertaining him with stories of when she was young and in love with
Ricardo, and how long it took him to realize it.”
Olivia sighed, “Oh my, I’ll bet Mr. Wakefield has been
fascinated with that story, and the way she tells a story over and over, he
could probably now recite the whole thing by heart.” Then she laughed, “Well,
I’ll just take the pot of coffee in with me, and a mug, and see if he would
like that too, along with a book. Of course I probably won’t be nearly as
entertaining as Maria’s many stories have been, but I’ll give it a try.”
Claude chuckled, “Ricardo has been staying in there
with him most of the nights, and I’m sure he has heard many different versions
of Maria’s stories from Ricardo too, as that man will talk non-stop for hours,
though interesting. He’s told me many things of when he lived in Madrid when a child, then moved to Mexico City with his parents in later years, and that is
where he met Maria. From what he told me, she hated him from the very
beginning, though that was probably put on, so she just let him chase her until
she caught him. Anyway, that is Ricardo’s version.”
“Well, they probably talked about horses and cattle,
as that seems to be what Mr. Wakefield was mumbling about when he was delirious
and awakening from his coma.”
Claude mused, “Yes, right you are, Ollie. This Logan chap does know a lot about cattle and running a western ranch. He just might be a
good one to take with us to see that ranch property of mine in Texas, assist me in inspecting it, and give me his opinion.”
“Oh, Uncle Claude,” Olivia protested, “I’m sure the chap
will be in a hurry to return to his Wyoming territory, after being away for so
many years. Have you discussed this with him also?”
“Not yet, but I certainly will before we land, as we
have several weeks yet, there shouldn’t be any hurry in making those
decisions. We still have to stay in New York for a while and await word from
your brother too. Hopefully, if he is near, he will travel with us if he can
spare the time.”
“I don’t want to get my hopes up, Uncle, but you know
that is my fondest wish. To see Garth again. I’ve been so looking forward to
catching up on all his adventures on the high seas, and if I know my brother,
there will be many of them.”
Claude agreed with her, then walked her to the door,
tapped lightly and opened the door to the patient’s room, and escorted Olivia
inside, while carrying the coffee pot for her, and Olivia carried the tray with
mug, sugar and cream, then set it down on the nightstand, interrupting the
laughter of Maria and Logan, as they had been so engrossed in the funny story
she had just told, that they hadn’t heard them enter the room. Olivia thought,
“Oh my, I’m sure he’ll probably be bored with the book of poetry I chose to
read to him. Well, let the rogue just suffer through it anyway.” And she
tilted her little chin and looked away.
Maria had been entertaining Logan with tales of her
husband Ricardo, from back when he began courting her, and his many exploits at
that time, while trying to get her attention from several other young vaqueros,
who had formed a group of mariachis, and had been singing and playing their
guitars and violins under her window each night, after she had retired to her
room in her father’s large hacienda on the outskirts of Mexico City.
The group had played and sang romantic and tearful
melodies, while she pretended to be enamored, tossing roses from her open
window, while in her heart she only wanted the handsome Ricardo to sing to her,
and for her ears only. The entertainment came to an abrupt halt one late
evening, when the strong and virile Ricardo, tired of standing outside of the
patio wall night after night listening to the lovelorn wailing of the vaqueros,
suddenly appeared in the courtyard and proceeded to smash each and every guitar
and violin over the lovesick Romeos’ heads.