Page 9 of Miss Whittier Makes a List
She woke to a scratching at the door, which opened to admit a small man bearing what looked like a basin of porridge. He didn’t even bat an eye at her situation, but set the basin down on the berth beside her.
“Captain Spark sends this with his compliments. You are to eat it all, ma’am, or he says he will do something dreadful.”He spoke with a pronounced Cockney twang and wore apigtailas long as her own.
She gasped at his words, but picked up the spoon he proffered and began to eat. The orderly left the room without another word. She stayed where she was on her stomach, with the pillow tucked under her breasts and the porridge in front of her. It tasted better than her favorite dinner at home.
She ate it all, resisting the urge to run her finger around the rim of the bowl. She put the empty bowl and spoon on the night table, next to the carafe and someone’s reading spectacles andwas composing herself for a returnto sleep when there was another knock on the door.
“Hannah?”she heard through the door.
“Oh, come in, Adam, come in!”she exclaimed after a glance around to make sure that Captain Spark’s nightshirt hadn’t hiked up.
Adam Winslow let himself into the compartment. As he closed the door, she could see a glimpse of scarlet coat with white piping.“I like that!”she exclaimed indignantly.“Does he have a guard on thee?”
“Oh, no, Hannah,”Adam replied, crossing the room to stand beside her.“The guard is on thee.”
“Well, I suppose I should be grateful,”she said after a long pause. She motioned for him to draw up the chair, and he sat, resting his arm alongthe wooden edge of the berth.
“Thee looks a sight,”he said finally, with the familiarity of an old friend.“I am reminded of lobsters.”
She sighed.“The ship’s surgeon says I am progressing on schedule, whatever that means.”She reached for Adam’s hand.“Adam, I do not know how to tell thee ....”
He shook his head.“Thee does not have to. Captain Spark already told me that thee was the only survivor.”His eyes mistedover andhe looked away.“Poor Papa.”
Hannah was silent as Adam struggled within himself. Thee is only sixteen, she thought, a year younger than me. And now thee is the head of the Winslow household. Hosea is probably beside himself, and we can do nothing to assuage the sorrows of either of our families.
“Well, this voyage will not last forever,”Adam said finally. He released her hand.“I must hurry topside. The bosun said I was to take only a minute.”
“Is ... is thy situation horrible?”she asked as he turned to the door.
yea="29" align="justify">He shook his head.“I am well enough, Hannah. They are rough men, but we have seen sailors before.”
Hannah sighed.“And they have seen me,”she said, reddening further despite her vow to remainunembarrassedby her precipitate arrival on board theDissuade.“Mr.Lease said I came sailing into everyone’s view during Captain Spark’s sermon yesterday.”
He smiled then.“Did he? Ah, yes.”He sat down again beside her.“We were assembled on the main deck. Captain Spark had just finished reading the Articles of War and had announced his sermon when he stopped, ran to the railing, called for a blanket, and climbed down the chains with a grappling hook as thee floated past. Thee was relatively covered and slung over his shoulder like a meal sack as he climbed back onto the deck.”
He laughed at her expression.“I only knew it was thee by that tangle of hair.”He was sober then.“And I knew what it meant, toseethee floating past on theMolly’sgrating.”
He couldn’t say anything else. He looked at her for a long moment, then opened the door. Hannah raised her head from thepillow.
“Adam, we must think of something to get us off this wretched vessel,”she said as he disappeared into the companionway and was replaced, to her acutediscomfortby Captain Spark.
“I still think we should chum you for sharks, Miss Whittier,”he said, his face perfectly wooden.“And I will kindly thank you not to incite my crew to mutiny!”
“Thy crew!”she fired back, wisith all her heart that she could leap up and pummel him, instead of continue to lie on her stomach. Thee snatched him from theMolly Claridge’sdeck.”she stormed.“It is most undemocratic of thee!”
He was obviously going to say something else, but her last charge brought him up short.“Miss Whittier, theDissuadeis not a democracy,”he managed at last, a faint smile on his face.“And you are a dreadful baggage.”
She thought it was a smile, but it was gone before she could make sure. With a nod in her direction, he closed the door with a decisive click, leaving her to writhe in further discomfort entirely of her own making, and heartily wish Captain Spark to the devil again.
Chapter Four
She did not seeCaptain Spark for another three days,during which time she mulled over her many sins—chief among them hasty words—lay on her stomach, and suffered the ship’s surgeon to slather those parts with ointment that she could not reach. When she begged for something besides gruel at mealtime, he was implacable.
“But I am tired of it,”she argued on the evening of the fourth day of her tenure on board His Majesty’sDissuade.“Is there nothing else?”
“Not for you. Miss Whittier,”he said firmly as he capped the ointment and covered her with a sheet again.“Ship’s fare is entirely too salty, and you are still dehydrated.”He gave her one of his gallows smiles.“I assure you that before we get toEngland, you will be equally sick of salted beef and weevily biscuit. Hush now.”
With a sigh, Hannah flopped her chin back down on the pillow.“And now I suppose thee will leave me to my own ruminations,”she said.
