The Stolen Heart - Volume 2 of The Starbuck Saga

"Come on, lad, put your back into it!" the first mate shouted, giving Al a resounding thump upon said body part for emphasis.

"Ease up on the little chap, will you?" Captain Jared Starbuck called mildly from the deck of the Trident. "He's not even supposed to be in the boats. He's only a cabin boy."

"It was your idea to train him, sir, not mine. A monkey would learn quicker," Mate fired back.

Jared shook his head. "A monkey can't do sums, navigate, or sew and cook. I'm not even sure they can climb the rigging as well as he can. I've seldom seen such a natural talent for it. So stop complaining and steer away from us now before you stove in the whaleboat."

"Stroke! Stroke! Better, boy," Mate admitted grudgingly.

Almira gritted her teeth and cursed her own folly for the thousandth time since she had come on board. But there was no help for it. She had taken the advance in her wages working aboard the whaler in order to pay for her sisters' apprenticeships to kind Mrs. Jenkins the seamstress. She had made her decision, and simply had to endure, no matter how difficult the work was.

It had been the hardest decision of her life, only made bearable by three ardent hopes. The first was that her sisters would be happy and well provided for whilst she was away at sea.

She was confident of this, for Mrs. Jenkins was a poor lonely widow with one grown son who lived far away. She adored children and treated Amy and Alice as if they were her own daughters, so as long as they were able to pay their way and worked well, they would be set up for life, earning their keep, and more than marriageable when the time came.

The second hope was that Captain Starbuck would catch up with her brother's ship, the Dolphin, and they could sail together. The Dolphin and its captain had one of the worst reputations in the entire New Bedford whaling fleet.

It was only after her brother had signed the shipping papers and was in the launch bound for the mainland that they had discovered that fact. Considering how disreputable most whalers were thought to be, that was really saying something for the man's cruelty and depravity.

Adrian had left Nantucket weeks ago, and since then, Almira had been worrying herself sick. She simply had to try to rescue her brother before it was too late.

Finally, she recalled as she continued to row until her elbows and shoulders were on fire, she needed to find out what had happened to her father. He had sailed over four years ago, and been overdue for six months.

None of the ships which had put into port had had any news of him. A gam at the Bay of Islands in New Zealand almost a year before had been the last anyone had heard or seen of the ship so far as she had been able to establish through all of her incessant inquiries from every seaman who had arrived back in Nantucket since expectation had given way to uneasiness.

"All right, Mate, that's enough for today," Jared called.

Once the Mate told them they could at last ship their oars and get back to the Trident, she offered up a final prayer of thanks to the Lord for having put her in the path of Captain Starbuck when she had needed it most.

Since that fateful day, he had gone out of his way to help her. She didn't know what would have become of her and her sisters without his compassionate viewing of their plight, and timely intervention. She certainly didn't know how she would manage each day without his unfailing kindness and friendship.

Almira gave a grateful smiled to Jared as she got back on deck, and got an answering pat on the shoulder. It was only supposed to be captain to cabin boy, but all the same, his touch sent a shiver of desire coursing through her veins.

If she hadn't already been a bit smitten with him before they had set sail, she most assuredly was now. For despite living in close quarters with the tall, dark, golden-eyed captain, thus far she could find no flaw in his looks, morals, or personality.

She could recall their first meeting, the shock of his handsome face and kind demeanor, as though it were yesterday.

It had been a raw August day, more like winter than summer, and she had just buried her mother in the small churchyard down the road from their tiny house. They hadn't even been able to afford a decent coffin, she remembered with a pang.

She had felt sick to her stomach watching the thinly shrouded body disappear into the damp muddy ground. She had then gone home with her sisters and made some hot tea, noting that these were the last of the leaves. The coffee was long gone, and the butter and bread were about to give out as well. With only a handful of coins left, they were staring starvation in the face if she didn't do something soon.

She had drunk the tea to steady her nerves, then grasped her brother's old coat and trousers and shirt and gone into the tiny room she shared with her sisters. There she had taken the plunge.

She'd grasped her mother's sharpest pair of shears and hacked off her luxuriant blond tresses until they curled close to her head just above her ears. She had stripped off her plain brown gown, one of the few she owned and the one she had deemed most suited to the funeral.

Next she had removed her corset, petticoats, and drawers and small hoops, and had seen herself standing naked in the small mirror: a tiny waist, embarrassingly rounded breasts, lean hips and legs.

She'd cut the petticoat down the seam, and hacked off one long strip, which she had then bound around her chest to flatten her bosom. She'd cut the scant amount of lace off her drawers, and most of the legs, and stepped into the trousers. She'd tugged on some warm woolen stockings which were held up around her calves with a pair of plain black garters, and had put on her sturdy pair of work boots which she used in the garden. Then she'd donned the thick cotton shirt, and shrugged into the waistcoat and jacket.

Her sister Amy had come in just then and given a little scream. "Oh, my Lord, I thought you were Adrian for a minute!" she gasped, one hand to her throat.

"That bad?" Almira said with a small smile.

Twelve-year old Amy continued to stare at her, fascinated. "Very good, more like. You really do look like a young lad. A pretty handsome one at that. So you're really going to try to get a berth?" She had sounded both scandalized and excited at the very idea.

She nodded grimly. "We're going to starve soon if I don't do something. I don't want you and Alice to suffer any more."

"But it's such a huge sacrifice, Almira."

She smiled at the small tow-headed lass. "No it isn't. I can keep my dignity, for the most part, and make sure you two are safe and have a chance at happiness. Mother did her best, but we're in a bad way, dearest. We can't stay here as we are. Short of becoming a fallen woman, I won't be able to quickly get the money we need any other way. I must go. I hear there are a couple of new ships coming into the Straight Wharf. If I get there early, I might be able to talk one of the captains into taking me on. After all, I'm not Jedidiah Hussey's daughter for nothing. Er, son."

They both grinned at each other, and then Almira tried on her brother's hat. "There, perfect," she had said, looking into the pierglass from every angle, certain she made a convincing boy after all.

"Just be careful. Make sure you get a better ship than our hapless brother," her sister warned with a sniff.

She tucked her shirt in better, and strode up and down in front of the mirror to make sure she was playing her part to a tee. "I may not have a choice, but I surely hope to."

"Don't listen to the shipping agents, no matter what they offer you," she added, now moving over to look at her sister's possessions, to make sure she had not forgotten anything.

"Believe me, I won't. I'll speak to the captains myself, and won't ship out with anyone other than a good Nantucketer."

"Good luck, Almira," she said, her eyes welling up.

She ruffled her sister's hair affectionately. "It's Al, now. Al Hussey."

The Stolen Heart

Volume Two of The Starbuck Saga

Jacinta Carey

Setting: Nantucket, the coast of Chile, Valparaiso

Word Count=82,000 (approx 300 pages)

Rating: Quite sensual

ISBN: 978-1-58345-115-1
Price: $4.99

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Journey of the Heart, The Stolen Heart, Voyage of the Heart=Save $5 off the list price
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