Page 28 of Tempted By the English Marquis
But that was the stuff of silly hopes and dreams.
ChapterFourteen
Easter Sunday
Civitavecchia Port, Italy
After six long weeks at sea, including seven ports of call along the way, theAventinoarrived in the Italian port of Civitavecchia. Gideon stood up on deck watching as the ship made its way past the impressive limestone walls of Fort Michelangelo. His Italian guidebook revealed that the building had been erected in the sixteenth century to help protect the city from pirates.
“And a pope laid the first stone,” he whispered.
He truly was in the place that had helped to shape and influence the world over its history. A land which had not only given birth to the mighty Roman empire, but which was now the center of humanity’s largest faith. It was all rather humbling.
But while he admired the view, and the eons of history that came with it, Gideon was more occupied with the huge sense of relief that came with having actually made it this far.
I don’t want to look at or smell anything to do with ginger for the next little while.
Poppy’s ginger tea had been his savior during those many horrid days of seasickness. And Gideon’s left wrist bore a dark bruise from where he had pressed his index finger hard against his skin. The Chinesenei guanpoint had stopped him from vomiting up the insides of his stomach. Poppy Saunders had given him such good advice, including the hope that he would get his sea legs within a few days of leaving England.
What she had failed to mention was that every time they left port, Gideon was forced to wait to find his sea legs once more. London, Lisbon, Gibraltar, Barcelona, Marseille, and all the other port departures along the Mediterranean coast had seen him confined to his bed within hours of the ship sailing. Those three to four days then repeated the same pattern of woozy head and clenched stomach. The foul-tasting ginger tea had been the only thing which stood between Gideon and what he was sure was certain death.
After this trip is over, I swear never again shall I roam. The albatross and the fish can have the deep blue sea all to themselves.
To say Gideon was looking forward to a week or so on dry land before attempting the journey home would be an understatement.
He didn’t want to consider what he would do if his mother and sister demanded that they return to England on the first available ship. At least if they did, he wouldn’t have to suffer alone.
TheAventinocame to a shuddering halt as the anchor chain pulled taut. Gideon wisely stayed well out of the way as the crew threw ropes over the side of the ship to the dockside, then hauled the gangplank into place.
Thank you, dear Lord. I have made it. Perhaps not entirely intact, but at least alive.
He hitched up his trousers. The journey had seen him lose a good deal of weight, and his pants had become embarrassingly loose around his waist. They now hung low on his hips. One of the first things Gideon intended to purchase once he arrived in Rome was a pair of braces. If he had time, he would have some new suits made.
His travel trunk was carried ashore and placed on the dockside. It was only when he followed it and stood on the wharf that Gideon noticed the lack of people about the place. There were no carriages to be seen. He took a short walk along the dock road, where he stopped to peer in through the windows of various shipping offices and also tried the handles of several doors. It proved a fruitless endeavor. Everything was closed.
Back at the ship, he hailed the captain. “Excuse me, but do you know where I could arrange a coach to take me on to Rome today?”
The captain shook his head. “Not today. It’s Easter Sunday; everyone is in church this morning. Nothing is open. After they have been to mass, people will be spending the rest of the day with their families.”
Oh, just what I need.
He was still a good fifty miles or so from Rome with no way of getting there. And his heavy trunk meant he couldn’t walk into town and attempt to find lodgings.
Gideon shook his head, in disbelief. “So, you are telling me that there is nothing around here that will be open today?”
“Sorry. Only the shipping office. You could stay there tonight, maybe sleep on the floor, and they can arrange transport for you tomorrow morning. There is some food still on board the ship which I can give to you. Considering how little you ate on the journey over from England, I expect I owe you quite a few meals. I shall also leave you a couple of bottles of wine.”
The offer of wine certainly helped to make the prospect of sleeping on a stone floor a little less unappealing. “Thank you. I’m grateful for the care that you and your crew gave me.”
“I would let you stay onboard the ship tonight, but unfortunately as soon as it is unloaded, we will be sailing theAventinoback up the coast. Come Wednesday, I will be taking on a new crew and starting the return voyage to London,” added the captain.
“I don’t know how you can spend as long at sea as you do,” replied Gideon. A chill slid down his spine at the mere thought of a life lived onboard a ship.
The captain lifted his gaze to the blue heavens. “This is the best sailing weather of the year. The de Luca Shipping Company makes as many trips across to England and back as it can between now and the start of winter. In the colder months, the water gets rough, and the winds blows right through you.”
Gideon’s long-suffering stomach did a flip. He couldn’t imagine what it must be like sailing in the middle of the freezing winter.
I am on dry land, and for the moment, it is all that really matters.
