Authors: Jane Toombs
"Watch out for the coral, it's sharp," he cautioned.
With each of them grasping the plank with one arm, they half-floated, half-swam toward the shore. Soon Romell felt sand underfoot, and they stood and waded through the surf onto the beach.
"Look!" she cried, pointing beneath the palms. "Boats."
"Outriggers," Adrien said.
They scanned the beach to either side of them, shading their eyes against the glitter of the sun off the sea.
"They're coming," Adrien said, jerking his head to the right.
He unwrapped the sword and hefted it, then handed Romell the
kris
. Holding the dagger in her hand, she watched the tiny dark figures move toward them along the sand and waited, with a stab of panic, for the eerie wail of the Southland: "Cooo-ee!"
Chapter 31
The natives came toward Romell and Adrien without any cry, without any sound at all. Adrien pulled her to his side. This isn't Southland, Romell told herself, yet the silent approach of these people was as frightening as anything that had happened to her there. Closer and closer they came, until Romell could see that the two dark and nearly naked men in the lead were armed with spears.
Adrien stiffened and Romell gripped the hilt of the
kris
tensely. One of the group running toward them shouted then:
"Holandes! Holandes
!"
The two men with spears halted abruptly. A man behind them hurried forward, and Romell blinked disbelievingly at the sight of breeches and a shirt. Beside her, she heard Adrien sigh.
"
Ingles
!" he called back. "
Ingles
!" He lowered the tip of his sword until it touched the ground. Two more men dressed in shirts and breeches—white men—stepped around the spear carriers and approached Adrien. All three of the men stopped a few yards away. Adrien spoke to them in a language Romell didn't understand. She stood her ground firmly, staring over their heads, though perfectly aware how they gaped at her, dressed as she was, the shirt plastered wetly to her body and her legs exposed to mid-thigh.
"
Esposa
," Adrien said with great firmness. "
Mi esposa
." He put his arm about her.
The three white men bowed, and the one in the middle replied to Adrien at some length. When he finished, Adrien nodded, then urged Romell forward as the men turned to go back the way they had come.
Romell and Adrien walked along the beach, escorted by the natives and the three white men. Although Adrien carried his sword casually, she could still feel the tension in his body. What had the man told him? She could ask Adrien, of course, but she felt disinclined to draw any more attention to herself.
They came around a point of land, and Romell drew in her breath. Drawn up on the sand of a narrow bay, a ship lay on its side.
"Oh," she said. "They were wrecked too."
"No." Adrien's response was terse. "That's a Spanish merchantman careened for scraping and repairs."
Spanish! Were they, then, in the Philippines?
As they neared the ship, Romell noticed a tent fashioned from canvas. As she watched, a woman came around the tent, shading her eyes and peering at them.
One of the Spaniards bowed to Romell, then nodded his head toward the woman. "
Dona
Alcarez," he said. "
Mi esposa
."
Romell didn't need to know Spanish to realize he'd introduced his wife.
"Thank God," Adrien breathed, so softly that only she heard him.
Later, dressed in a yellow and white silk dress with a straight bodice and a gold band up the center of the skirt, Romell came out of the tent.
How strange it felt to be wearing these clothes lent to her by a wide-eyed
Dona
Alcarez. She'd grown so used to sarongs and robes that the petticoats and the gown seemed heavy and hot. But she was grateful to be decently covered and smiled her thanks at the woman.
With
Dona
Alcarez at her side, Romell found Adrien talking easily to the men. Now, though she saw the men's eyes still admired her, Romell was able to meet their gaze directly. Adrien introduced her and she nodded politely, not understanding what they replied.
A few moments later, Adrien led her away from the Spaniards and their encampment to a secluded spot along the beach.
"I'm amazed that such a fine lady would walk with a rogue like me," he said, grinning at her and indicating his bare feet and coarse cotton pants.
In answer, Romell raised her skirts to show her own bare feet. "Alas,
Dona
Alcarez has very tiny feet."
He laughed and caught her to him. "Thank God for the
dona
," he said. "I thought for a time I'd have to defend you against the lot of them."
"Are we really and truly safe? Will they take us with them when they sail?"
Yes and yes
. Don
Alcarez is a Spanish gentleman of honor. We can count on his word."
She reached up to touch his face. "Adrien, I'm so happy, I do love you. I have for a very long time."
"If you'd been less stubborn, we'd have been wed and done with it these many months."
She drew a little away. "Adrien! You cared not a whit for me at the time you wrote to your brother. How could I have married you then?"
"Oh, I was a fool as well, I admit it," he said. "But I'm taking no more chances. We'll be married as soon as this ship reaches Sumatra." He smiled slightly. "Although I'm afraid I told the good
don
you already were my wife. At the moment, it seemed the best way to protect you."
She stared up into his dancing blue eyes. "You seem to make a habit of telling people I'm wed to you." She tried to speak sternly, but broke into laughter. "Serves you right. Have you quite forgotten I bring no dowry? What will you do with a penniless bride?"
"Love her," he said, hugging her close. After a moment, he held her away. "I've been thinking. Wasn't it your dream to return to Virginia?"
"Virginia is the most wonderful place in the world." She took a deep breath. "Except for wherever you are Adrien, it matters not to me where we live, you and I, as long as we're together. I love you more than I love any land, any place. And, as for the money, I have you, that's wealth enough."
Adrien let her go. Reaching down, he raised Nicholas's great sword up between them. She stared at the gem-studded hilt.
"What was that about no dowry? As I recall, you handed this to me. The ruby alone should pay for our passage anywhere in the world," he said, dropping the sword back to his side. "I'll admit, though, that I've caught your enthusiasm for Virginia. We'll seek our fortune in the New World of America, as soon as we find a ship to take us."
She hugged him fiercely, overwhelmed by her love, and he raised her face to his.
"You're my new world," he said. "Once, many months ago, you quoted the poetry of John Donne to me. Listen while I use his words to tell you how I feel. Cupping her face with his hands, he looked lovingly into her eyes.
"O my America! My new-found land.
My Kingdom, safest when with one man
-manned
My mine of precious stones, my emperie,
How blest I am in this discovering thee!"
The End
About The Author
Jane Toombs, the Viking from her past and their calico grandcat, Kinko, live on the south shore of Lake Superior in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula wilderness. Here they enjoy refreshing Springs, beautiful Summers, colorful Falls and tolerate miserable Winters. Jane is edging toward ninety with her published books and has over twenty-five novellas and short stories to her credit. She’s been published in every genre except men’s action and erotica, but paranormal is her favorite. She’s a member of a closed twelve author promo group called Jewels Of The Quill, where she’s “Dame Turquoise”
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