Miss Whittier Makes a List (44 page)

“
I can do that
,
”
said the captain, his eyes lively.

“
No, sir! You can eat another piece of cake,
”
said Mrs
. Paige firmly as she took hold of Hannah
’
s
ar
m and helped her up.
“
Plenty of time for that later. Right my dear?
”
Hannah nodded and smiled at Spark.
“
No, remember, not too early.
”

She was asleep almost as soon as Mrs. Paige helped her into her nightgown and pulled back the bedcovers. She sank into the feather bed with a sigh,
burped
from the effects of almond cake at ten o
’
clock, murmured
“
Excuse me,
”
and closed h
er eyes. She thought she recalled someone coming into her room later to stand by the bed, and then brush her cheek with his own, but she couldn
’
t be sure. It may have been a dream. Heaven knew she was dreaming about Captain Spark more than she should, anyway. The impression that he needed a shave led her to believe it was not a nighttime fantasy, but she was too drugged with sleep
to explore the matter beyond patt
ing his face, murmuring something nonsensical that made him chuckle, and surrendering unconditionally to the mattress.

She woke to a world of sunlight and lay with her eyes closed, waiting for the sound of
birds. But it was September now,
and they had flown to South America, or at least
New Orleans
. But no, this was
England
, not
Nantucket
. The songbirds of an English summer would be in
Spain
, or over the Pillars of Hercules to
North Africa
. She opened her eyes then, wondering why she felt like she was home.

Without raising her head from the pillow, she stretched luxuriously and looked around the room, her eyes opening wider with delight. The curtains were simplest muslin and fluttered slightly in the breeze that came through the barely open window. The walls were pale blue, with no ornamentation beyond a
sampler with a Bible verse. Intr
igued, she raised up on her elbow to admire the severe bureau, and smiled to herself. There was no mirror on the bureau, and the room smelled suspiciously of new paint.

“
Daniel, what has thee been up to?
”
she mu
rm
ured out loud, and threw back the bedcovers. Her bare feet trod plain boards to the window and she curled up in the window seat for her first view of the ocean. Tears sprung to her eyes. The view was a powerful reminder of
Nantucket
, with the sea, such a deep blue that her heart flopped, peeping like an afterthought through the trees in the distance. She glanced around the sparse room again, and her heart was full to bursting. I could almost be home, she thought
.
Oh, I do love you, Daniel Spark.

She closed the window and climbed back in bed, amazed that it was possible to feel so good with her stomach rumbling for breakfast and her eyes still foggyfrom sleep. She folded her hands gently across her stomach and stared at the ceiling.
“
Hannah
Whittier
, thee is loved, truly thee is,
”
she whispered.

Someone knocked at the door. She knew it was too
firm
a knock for Mrs. Paige, and she gloried in that knowledge.
“
Oh, please come in. Captain Spark,
”
she said, sitting up and tucking the
bedclothes demurely around her,
even as she wondered if her hair was as unruly as she suspected.

He carried a tray with a teapot and two cups, and his eyes seemed even lighter against
that pale
blue background. He stood in the doorway
,
just looking at her until she put her hands to her hair.

“
I know I am a fright, but thee needn
’
t stare so,
”
she said at last when he closed the door with his foot, his eyes still on her.

“
Idiot,
”
he said, his voice unsteady as he put the
tray
on the table by the bed, sat down beside her, and took her in his arms without another word. In a moment he was lying next to her, his hands in her hair, smoothing it back even as he kissed her over and over, each kiss more insistent than the one before.

She could scarcely form
thoughts in her mind as she kissed him back, beyond wanting to pull back the covers and invite him under them with her. She heard his shoes hit the floor and knew he had the same idea, but the sudden sound on the bare boards brought her around. She pushed herself awa
y from him, even as her whole bod
y cried out for him to come closer.

“
Please stop,
”
she said.

“
I don
’
t want to.
”

“
Stop anyway.
”
she insisted.

“
Damn,
”
he said, and his voice was wistful as he caressed that curse into a loving epithet
“
Time is so sho
rt
, Hannah, I hate to waste it
.
”

He didn
’
t move from her side, but flopped onto his stomach and turned his head to watch her.
“
Well, do you like your room?
”

She nodded
,
her eyes delighted as she touched his back ligh
tl
y at first, and then with a firmer gesture. He closed his eyes as she rubbed his back.
‘
Thank thee for this room. I felt I was home,
”
she said finally when she stopped.

“
That was my intention. I am an unscrupulous lover, Lady Amber
,
and don
’
t you forget it. I
’
ll do anything to keep you here.
”

“
You even took out
the mirror,”
she marveled.
“
How did you know?
”

“
Oh, it was something you said d
u
ring those damnable midnight watches when you were telling me everything you knew, to keep me awake. I couldn
’
t find a rag rug for the floor, however.
”

“
How will I ever know what I look like?
”
she teased as he sat up and put on his shoes again.

He turned to her suddenly, his face more serious than she had ever seen him.
“
You can see yourself in my eyes, beloved,
”
he said,
his voice soft.
“
I will be your mirror.
”

“
Then I will marry thee,
”
she said.

“
Done,
madam!
”
he shouted and grabbed her up from the bed, whirling her around.
“
You won
’
t go back on that?
”

“
I couldn
’
t,
”ont>
she said and stood on tiptoe for another kiss.

He hugged her so tightly that her ribs hurt.
“
No, I do not suppose you could,
”
he said.
“
Hannah. I love you, but God knows, this is not going to be an easy thing.
”
He took her by the hands and held her away from him, gazing at her with a light in his eyes that set her whole body tingling.

He led her to the windowseat, sat down, and patted the space beside him.
“
I suppose we always come back to your list, Miss Whittier.
”

She smiled and touched his lips with her finger.
“
I do consider thy welfare above my own, or I never would have said yes.
”

“
Then I suppose there is nothing to do but write my solicitor and plot the next course
,
Lady Amber, which will involve s
ome legal thrust and
parry
,
”
he said, leaning back against the window frame, never taking his eyes from her face.

She blushed.
“
Do not stare so, my love!
”
she protested.

“
I c
ann
ot help myself,
”
be confessed.
“
I never thought that in the middle of war and national emergency, I would find my wife.
”
He broke his gaze finall
y and took her left hand in his,
turning it over.
“
I may even have a diamond or an emerald suitable for an engagement ring.
”

She drew her hand away.
“
No, none of that,
”
she said, her eyes wide with dismay.
“
We Friends do not hold with such fashion, Daniel. Nothing more than a plain gold band, if that, once we are wed.
”

“
It
’
s not enough for you,
”
he protested.

“
It is more than enough,
”an>
she insisted, her voice firm,
“
just as this plain room suits me.
”