Читать книгу To Slight the Jacket Blue - Bronwyn Sciance - Страница 12

"So you think this a good list of men, Captain?" Clarence asked, bending his head over the sheets of foolscap on which were penned the names of a number of good men and true who had been recommended to the rescue mission.

"I do, sir," answered the man Clarence had chosen to lead the mission. "About half of them have served in the military or some other fighting force. The rest have been recommended by the men of the City Watch. And all are excellent and able seamen."

Clarence ran his finger down the list of names, then nodded and gave it back. "And you will head them up, Captain Thomas.”

Captain Thomas rose from his seat. Clarence and Jane, who was seated a little behind him, stood also. "That I will, sir, and I hope to find him safe and sound, and restore him to you forthwith." With that, he turned and left the house.

Clarence sighed, then turned to Jane. "There, my dear. Don't you fret. Captain Thomas will find him if anyone can."

Jane set her lips in a thin line. "That may be, Father, but I intend to make absolutely sure." She looked her father in the eye. "I will be sailing with Captain Thomas when he goes."

"Absolutely you will not," Clarence said severely. "A sailing vessel is no place for a young lady."

"Nevertheless, I shall go. I intend to bring Edward back safely and never let him out of my sight again."

Clarence smiled affectionately. "My darling, it is a man's duty to work, and a woman's to wait. What would Edward say if he returned to find you gone? Surely you could not expect him to take the woman's part and wait?"

"Never, Father!" Jane answered quickly, a hand over her heart. "I would never ask Edward to degrade himself in such a manner. But surely a reasonable man would be thankful to see his wife again?"

"You aren't his wife yet," Clarence reminded her, "not even his betrothed, only his sweetheart. And you are still my daughter, and I forbid you to go!"

Jane stayed silent for a moment, staring down at the surface of the table. Finally she said, "Father, you know I do my best to obey you in all that you ask of me. If you asked me to do anything, give up anything, I would do so in a heartbeat. But what you ask of me now, I cannot agree to."

"Who said I'm asking anything, my girl?" Clarence practically shouted. "I am ordering you to remain here! What's so hard about that?"

"You are asking me to remain in suspense for who knows how long, to wait patiently while men who have never known my Edward roam the seas in order to locate my heart and return it to me–with no guarantee that they shall ever successfully do so," Jane replied steadily. "I would rather be dead than live in such suspense."

"But you know that women aboard ships are bad luck, Jane. Your presence would not do the men any help–far from it, you may cause the ruin of all they hope to achieve." Clarence had taken on a pleading tone. "Would you have that on your conscience?"

"Father, you are a learned man, you cannot believe such nonsense."

Clarence leveled a finger at his daughter, deciding to take a harsher line with her. "If you go after him, Jane, I wash my hands of him. I will cleave to my promise to return him safely to England, but allow him to marry you–never! What say you to that?"

"Only this: that any woman who would allow that to influence her rescue of the man she loves is not worthy of that love." Jane's eyes blazed. With that, she turned on her heel and strode out of the room, leaving Clarence alone with his stubbornness.