Haven House, page 10
“It’s okay,” he said and covered my hand with his. It was warm and soothed me unlike anything else.
“You’ve checked the manifest of the dirigible?”
Damien grimaced. “Apparently it’s missing. Andrew and I spoke of that before you entered the room. The only copies were on the dirigible and are now destroyed.”
“Oh.”
“Yes.” He scratched at the back of his neck. “If only I had some way of keeping track of what we know.”
Once more, I bit my lip. “It’s too bad you don’t have a schoolroom blackboard. You could—”
Damien rose. “Of course! That’s it.”
I watched, lost at the sudden exultation on his face.
“What?”
“We have one—well, actually several—on the ship. I think, anyway.” He scratched his head, grabbed a sheaf of papers on the left of the desk, and flicked through pages. “Yes. They were being sent to a school as part of our philanthropic program. All I need to do is give the captain the direction and have it brought up here. You’re a brilliant woman, Amaryllis.”
That made me feel rather uncomfortable, as I hadn’t really done anything spectacular. While I tried to consider how to tell him that, he pressed a button on the radioscope. I heard him ask the captain to find and deliver the blackboard; then he rose and moved toward me. “You look exhausted. Let me arrange a cup of tea.”
He opened a cupboard behind him, revealing a large kettle resting on a heater plate, then a second cupboard that contained cups and a teapot.
He moved assuredly, setting everything out on a tray before bringing it back to the desk.
“You’re incredibly handy there, Damien,” I muttered as he placed the tray on the wood top.
“You’d be surprised just what I can do. Remember, my mother and I were alone for a long time. After my father passed, well, I had to learn quickly.” He settled at the desk and poured the tea into fragile cups. “Mother… Let’s just say I had to assist her in the early days. When things improved, we still did a lot for ourselves, because she always said we should never expect others to do for us what we have the time and skills to undertake ourselves. One never forgets skills like these, and when I’m on location, I don’t have people with me to attend to my needs. I prefer it that way, though.”
Every admission revealed more of the complexities of this man. It made me want him more. Something I was quickly coming to understand wasn’t just about the baser and carnal urges so much as the qualities he hid from sight.
I drank my tea in silence, digesting all he’d said. As we finished, a knock came from behind me, and I startled.
“That will be the blackboard,” Damien told me as he rose to open the door.
A large sheet of slate, mounted on a wooden surround, was carried inside by four sailors, puffing and panting with exertion. “Cap’n said you’d be wanting this too.”
The oldest man held out a box, and when Damien opened it, his face crinkled into a smile. “Excellent,” he muttered as he pulled a heavy blackboard duster and chalk from within.
“Cap’n also said dinner will be in the dining room in an hour.” The men quickly filed from the room, and the door shut behind them.
I stood there, teacup in my hand still.
“So, Ammy, let’s write down what we know.” He set to work, white chalk marking the board.
Haven. My background summed up succinctly: “Bought from father, rescued by brother.” He wrote the names of my five charges on the board, the name of the man whose enhancements had been found after the explosion—Gerald Fansom—and in the centre of everything sat one word: Haven.
“It’s not a lot,” I said, staring at the slate.
“No. But more will come. I’ve got people, including Andrew, looking for clues. I sent him Fansom’s details, or the bit I had. It’s not much either, but at least a name will allow us to start.”
A ding rang through the air, and he muttered, pushing papers aside and opening a cupboard. A mechanical monstrosity filled the cavern.
“What’s that?”
He smiled, though it was cold and remote. “It’s a communicase. Allows me to remain in contact with friends via secure wireless transmission.”
I blinked. “Wireless transmission?”
“It allows me to send and receive messages. I can’t ‘speak’ or ‘hear’ as transmission is only the written word.” He flicked switches and turned a dial, and a long paper extruded from the device. He scanned it, frowned, and passed it to me.
* * *
Gerard Fansom was a member of Haven’s security detail. On the outside of the ring. He’s been missing for four days, along with several high-ranking officials. Master and Junior are also missing. As soon as I have more, I’ll report back in. Keep my sister safe. AC.
* * *
I wasn’t sure how to take this missive. After all, I wasn’t just an adult but also a person capable of free thought and movement. The knowledge that Andrew thought I needed to be protected irked me for a moment. Then reality intruded. To be fair, this was a situation I was highly unprepared for.
“We should head down to the dining room. Dinner will be served soon, and we should look in on the children too.”
His words brought me back to my responsibilities, and I gasped.
“Oh my, yes!” I’d almost forgotten them while helping Damien. “I’m sure they’re fine.” Now I bit my lip, feeling as if I’d completely abandoned them. “Jessie was with them, as was Francesca, but it’s not fair that they had to care for them all day.” Heat radiated from my cheeks. I tugged up my skirts and headed to the door I’d entered through.
“No, this way is easiest,” Damien offered, and I took his outstretched hand. The connection between us was warm, like a sizzle of awareness.
We hurried down the stairs, and by the time Damien had squired me to the cabin door, I had no idea where I was.
“It’s okay. You’ll find your way around here soon enough.”
The door opened, and I noted with surprise the spaciousness of their quarters. Three rooms opened to a large communal space.
“I gave the captain orders to ensure they were put into a suite,” Damien explained. “He had it ready for them.”
Constance and Faith were snuggled up with Francesca on a lounge chair as she read to them. They had that sleepy, content look, while the two boys settled in with some blocks, and Jessie cleared a table. Clearly they’d already eaten.
Francesca laid the book down and looked at me. Once more I felt that sliver of unease, that somehow I’d failed. “We’re fine,” she murmured in a tone that soothed. “We’ve kept busy today, and the girls will retire soon.”
“I’ll come down tomorrow morning. Maybe we could…” I bit my lip. What could I possibly have the skills to assist with? “What do you need for the boys?”
Francesca slanted me with a look far more worldly than a girl of her age should use. As if she were ten years older than her biological age. “They need schooling. Education.”
My mind blanked, but then I whirled, looking at Damien. “The things you have in the hold. Are there books? Primers and slates?”
He nodded.
“If I could have some for the boys. I might work with them.” Here was what I needed to be useful. “I can work with them in the morning, if that’s acceptable, Francesca. Now for you…”
She shook her head. “I’ll look after the little ones and sew.”
“But what about your education?”
The glance she threw at me was yearning, which quickly disappeared, followed by a mask of indifference. “I’m a girl. Education isn’t for me. Or at least more than a basic one and according to the elders, I’ve got more than enough.”
Fury ignited within me, but before I could speak, Damien answered. “That’s not right, Francesca. Your education is vitally important. Once we deal with this issue, I’ll engage a tutor for all of you. If you want an education, it will be made available.”
The girl blinked, her eyes shining like jewels. “I… Thank you, Sheriff.”
A sound echoed through the ship. I turned to Damien. “What was that?”
“The dinner hour. Come, we need to meet the captain in the dining room.”
He ushered me away, his hand on my arm nearly burning through the length of my dark sleeve.
Chapter Ten
I entered the children’s suite, hoping for books and perhaps slate. What I found were some desks, two new slates, a pile of books, and even a writing book.
The books ranged from primers to encyclopaedias. I shook my head as Jessie smiled. “They passed a quiet night. None of the younger ones woke at all, and Miss Faith only once went to use the lavatory.”
“All right, then. You prepare them, then rest. Francesca and I can take over. You can take the afternoon and night duties, if that suits you.”
“Yes, Miss Ammy.” She retreated, and moments later, Simeon and Samson entered the room.
Jessie ushered them to the table in the corner, and I settled into the luxurious armchair and scanned the books. Where to start? Perhaps I needed to find out what education they’d had.
Calling Francesca forward, I waited as the girl took the seat beside me. “What schooling have the boys had?”
Francesca’s lips thinned. “Not enough. They can read. Simeon more than Samson, as Mama started before she got ill. Samson can form letters and knows their sounds, but that’s about all. I would have taken over, but with four…” She shrugged. “Mama’s illness was long and difficult. It took a lot of time, so I couldn’t spend it with them.”
They’d had a horrible time, and I felt the guilt eating at me. How could I improve her lot in life? “You like to sew?”
She nodded. “I’m good at it too.”
She might be good, but it clearly didn’t fill the yearning inside. She had that look of someone who was resigned to something she didn’t want to do. “If you could choose to be anything, what would it be?”
A glint lit in her eyes. “Anything?”
“Yes, Francesca. Anything.”
“A physician. Someone with the power to heal. Someone who can make the sick better.”
Reaching out, I clasped Francesca’s hand, felt the subtle tightening. “You wish you could have been there for your mother?” It didn’t seem like magic to work that out.
She nodded. “None would come at first. The doctor said she’d get better, and besides, she’d have done better if she’d stayed with her husband. He was no husband, Miss Amaryllis. No father. He simply bedded her.” Vitriol spewed forth, something I knew well, and my gut knotted at her words.
“Then I’ll talk to the sheriff. We’ll get you tutors for science and math. If it can be done, you will become a doctor someday.”
I knew she didn’t believe me because her lips twisted. “You can’t promise.”
This was the time I could gain her trust. I wouldn’t lie, because that wouldn’t be in anyone’s best interests. “If I can make it happen, I will. The sheriff wants you to be what and who you want to be. Not because some sick men made up rules for women that make no sense and keep us from being who we can be, but because it’s what we’re called to do.”
A shiver wound its way through her. The urge to comfort and embrace the girl came and went. Ignoring it hurt me on an intense level, but instinctively I knew she wouldn’t welcome it and wasn’t ready.
“We’ll see,” she muttered and rose. Walking back to the others, she settled in to soothe the now-fretful Faith.
I studied them, five children ranging from almost adult to little more than a baby and wondered at how similar they were, yet different. Francesca was dark-haired, her long tresses confined in a tight braid. Her Cupid’s bow lips pink, eyes grey. Cheekbones that appeared chiselled. Slim. I could see why Letitia wanted her out of Haven now.
Samson and Simeon were dark-haired too, though it was a mass of frizzy, tight curls. Their eyes were the muddy green-brown of hazel. Freckles covered the bridges of their noses, and they were sturdy of body. Stout legs betrayed the running and carrying they’d done for their mother. Confinement wouldn’t be easy for them.
The two youngest girls, with jet-black hair, frizzed and tightly curled. Skin fine with a mere dusting of freckles. They also shared what I guessed were features passed down through their paternal line.
Once the children had broken their fast, I called the boys over and settled them at the desks, then set tasks. I needed to see how much they knew. I had them read, something they showed a great aptitude toward. Writing was less successful. They knew letters and sounds, but they lacked other skills such as punctuation and grammar. Their mathematics were adequate.
By the time the midday meal came, they were tired of sitting and academic work, and I let them join their sisters at the table. Francesca’s eyes, far too old and worldly, met mine. I knew what she wanted to know: Could I help them?
I settled myself at the table and watched the children eat slowly. The stew they’d been served was hearty and warming. Yet, while I read hunger in their faces, I wondered at the way they ate, as if savouring each bite.
The silence stretched as no one talked. At the end of the meal, Jessie appeared and bundled the children up. “I’ll go up top and let them stretch their legs for a bit.”
Assessing the boys, I caught her eyes. “Get one of the men, either Frank or Aloysius, to assist.”
She smiled at me. “Yes, Miss Ammy.”
Jessie hustled the four youngest from the room, and I turned to Francesca.
“Your brothers both have gaps in their learning.”
“The school refused them, so I worked with them when opportunities came. They’re good boys, but they are boys.” She shrugged, and I wanted to laugh.
“Perhaps you should join us upstairs tonight when we dine. Do you have a clean gown?” I glanced down at her dusty three-quarter faded brown outfit.
“No. I had to make sure Constance and Faith had what they needed.”
Unsure how to accept the fact that she’d taken on the role of pseudo-mother to the four younger children, I made a point of telling myself to check with Damien on whether they also carried cloth or clothing in the hold.
I rose and dusted off my skirts. “I’m going to my cabin to eat and wash. I’ll return—”
“We’ll be fine for the afternoon.” She twined a strand of hair which had loosened from her braid around her finger. “Did you mean what you said?” Uncertainty appeared in her gaze, and she raised her chin. As if expecting me to say no, I gathered.
“About what?” I asked, keeping my tone gentle.
“Dinner. Joining you.”
I smiled and reached out, stilling her hands. “Yes. I’ll talk to the sheriff and arrange it. I’ll also see what other clothing might be found for you.”
She started, but I turned and left the suite, my feet retracing yesterday’s path. At the room marked “Office,” I knocked and then entered when Damien called to “Come.”
He was sitting in the chair behind the desk, hair wild and jutting up in many directions. The urge to stomp forward and kiss him rose, heating me so I was sure my skin would split and some wild, wanton woman would emerge.
“Ammy.” His tone carried a silky quality, and his eyes glinted. “Shut the door and come sit down.”
He pointed to the chair opposite, and I detected a gleam of humour lurking in the depths. Could he tell what I was thinking?
Settling into the hardwood chair, I gave myself a moment, gazing at him. His face wasn’t perfect. It was nicked and scarred at his chin, though it was firm. The dark hair framing his face, now released from the leather strap he usually controlled it with, flowed over his broad shoulders. His lips, firm and full, widened into a smile as I continued my slow perusal.
“Ammy?”
I raised my eyes so I could look into his. Those dark green pools offered me something I was afraid to accept. “I came… Uh, I want Francesca to join us as we dine. Also cloth. She needs clothes or cloth, as she didn’t pack for herself.”
His brows raised. “Why? You told her to.”
Now that I was on firm ground, I leaned into my seat. “She said Constance and Faith needed more than a single change. She had to give up hers for them.”
“I’ll talk with the captain, then. I believe we had some clothing and bolts of cloth. Is there anything else you need for the children?”
I bit my lip and considered how to make the request. “Francesca wants… It seems her schooling was curtailed, and she’s been working with the children. But she wants to be a doctor.”
He cocked his head to one side. “I see. She’ll need specialist tutors. Science, math, and so on.”
I nodded. “Yes. But I fear she may also have other gaps in her education. When we’re settled… Where are we going, anyway?”
Damien frowned. “I have some business interests in Port Alino. I’ve not yet made them public, but I have a house there. Smaller than home, but it would be suitable. I thought we’d make landfall there. Besides, I have the cargo to unload there.”
“Where is Port Alino?” I’d never heard of it.
His smile grew broader. He reached for a map and beckoned me to join him behind the desk.
I rose and moved, squeaking when he grabbed my wrist and pulled me down to his lap.
I heard the whoosh of breath and the caress of his exhalation upon my skin. Dancing nerves took up the quiver that occurred every time we touched.
“Damien?” I half turned, and he groaned.
“If you look at me like that, Ammy, I’ll have to kiss you.” His voice took on a gravelly nature, and I shivered.
He tugged me closer until our lips touched. The kiss was gentle to begin with. Soft and feather-light. My lips opened beneath his urging, and the taste of him, dark and rich, filled me.
“Damien,” I muttered, and he deepened the kiss. Boneless, I nestled closer, and the touch of his fingers digging into my skin through layers of clothing as he urged me on felt right.
