Page 33 of Miss Whittier Makes a List
“I suppose,”he said.“Perhaps children would not be so dreadful, if one got to know them.”
“It will take a much better answer than that to get thee back on my list, Captain Spark,”she said.
He threw back his head and laughed, andthe sound was wonderful to her ears.“You and your bloody list!”
“Really, Captain!”she admonished.“I wish you would not swear.”
“Wish in vain,my dear. And who is after Matthew?”
“Elijah, and he is a doctor near Boston. He is much too serious and treats me like a child.”
“Well, you are, Hannah,”the captain replied.“I can’t imagine what I was thinking when I told you I loved you.”
She stepped away from him instinctively, and he reeled her back in.“You ... you told me you were in like only,”she reminded Spark.
“Oh, yes, how could I forget?”he murmured.“I’m sure that’s all it is. A doctor, eh?”
“Yes.”She thought of Andrew Lease, sitting patiently on the orlop deck every day, watching his sailors die>“How did you find Andrew Lease after he disappeared?”
“I never did finish telling you, did I? He found me, rather. We were in Deptford Hard for repairs and revictualing for the blockade. He just showed up one day and told me he was signing on as ship’s surgeon.”The captain shook his head and gathered her closer.“I think I am part of the punishment he has decreed for himself, but God knows Ibearhim no illwill. People die.”He paused a moment, as though collecting himself.“Even lovely little sisters. Well Hannah, name me another brother,”he continued,determined to change the subject.
You dear man, she thought, looking up at him. You think nothing of staring into French guns and pounding away at close range until you sink a ship, but you cannot bring yourself to talk about your sister. How sad.
“William, who is a student atHarvardCollege.”She leaned closer and whispered.“Mama thinks he is getting much too worldly.”
The captain looked around at the deck, empty except for the helmsman.“I won’t tell a soul, you sillynod.”
Hannah blushed and straightened up.“It is a matter of some concern to my mother. Hosea comes before William, and he is a merchant like Papa. He has made it his business to find me a husband inCharlestonamong the other Friends there. I supposethatis why I saved him for last. He may prove the most vexatious.”
The captain leaned over suddenly and kissed the top of her head.“Poor Hannah! Someone is always trying to tellyou what to do. Do you get tired of it?”
e="+0">nt>Isn’t there always someone telling us what to do?”she countered.
He released her then and turned his back to her, staring out at the water again.“I suppose there is. Sometimes I thinkIhave been working for Napoleon andFrancethese past twenty years.”He turned to her, his hands spread out.“I mean, they move, and I jump to the blockade, or sail theCaribbean, frightened right down to my toes.”
She was silent a long moment.“At least thee is honest,”she said at last.
“Only a fool would not be afraid, Hannah, or a madman like Lease. He can’t wait to get killed in the line of duty. I, on the other hand,would like to live a long time yet. At least, long enough to convince you that I am not too old for you.”
She could think of nothing to say.“Thee knows it would never work, Captain Spark,”she said softly.
“Why not?”he asked, his voice just as gentle.“I can bend and you can bend. I am sure ....”
What he was sure of,she never knew. With a cry, the helmsman let go of the wheel and dropped to the deck.Captain Spark rushed to the wheel, which was spinning wildly. His eyes on the sails, he corrected the course and called to Hannah.“See to thatpoorsod!”
She hurried to the sailor, who was lying on his back,armsoutstretched. She gathered him into herarms, alarmed that he was dead, and then relieved to discover that he merely slept. When she pulled him in closer to her, he opened his eyes in surprise, startled to find himself in the embrace of a woman. He sat up, rubbing his eyes, to see his captain manning thehelm. He staggered to his feet,only to drop to his knees again and then his hands. He swayed back and forth on the deck.
“God, Captain, I am so sorry!”
“Belay it!”Spark snapped.“You’ll he more use to me if you sleep.”He turned around, his eyes fierce.“And that is an order, Mitchell.”
“Aye, aye, sir,”said the helmsman, his voice scarcely audible. He crashed to the deck again and in less than a minute, he was snoring, as though he slept on a feather bed. Hannah stared at him, then covered him with Mr.Lansing’s cloak.
“Should ... should I call someone?”she asked.
The captain shook his head.“No, my dear. Just sit on the deck close to me and tell me everything you know.”He looked at the slumbering helmsman.“Sleep—what an innovation. I am resolved to try it sometime.”He took a firmer stance behind the wheel.“Talk about the weather, your brothers, your church, every Bible verse you ever memorized, what you want in life. Keep talking. Keep me awake.”
Chapter Ten
