Wings Of The Morning Part 19

"I'm sorry, Greer," Buck told her, his eyes filled with love "I'm sure you would have made a wonderful mother."

"Thank you, Buck, but I'm not sorry anymore," Greer told 154.

him. "I wouldn't have wanted to raise them on my own." Greer smiled at a sudden thought, and Buck questioned her.

"I'm just laughing at myself really," she admitted. "I nearly asked you if learning about my pregnancies will change the way you feel about me, but I think I already know that answer."

"As a matter of fact," Buck told her seriously, "I was just thinking that some of your reluctance to accept my proposal might stem from the fact that you think I would press you to have children." Buck stopped for a moment to hold the lovely widow's eyes with his own.

"It's you I want, Greer, no one else. I had no desire to marry until I met you, and it's you alone that I'm going to want for the rest of my life."

"Oh, Buck." Greer's eyes flooded with tears. "I'm trying, I really am."

"Shhh," Buck said softly. "I didn't tell you that to distress you or scare you away. I just want you to know that nothing is going to change my feelings."

Greer reached across the table and took Buck's hand She gave it a light squeeze before releasing it. Both of them were ready for a change in subjects, and the topic turned to Smokey.

"I so enjoyed the party. I was utterly amazed to learn that Smokey is the captain of her own ship, however."

"She certainly didn't look the part that night, but Dallas tells me she's magnificent. He said if his heart wasn't set on building ships, he would gladly sail around the Atlantic for the better part of every year with Smokey."

"Do you suppose they'll see one another?"

"I doubt it, Greer. Smokey's plans were to be halfway to the Orient by now."

"So there's been a change in plans?" Robby asked Da.r.s.ey the morning after they had left London.

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"I don't know. She was still sleeping when I woke in that chair. Until she wakes up and gives orders or seems able to function," Da.r.s.ey shrugged, "I just don't know."

"Did she say anything?" Scully wanted to know.

"Not yet. There were no bruises that I could see once the dirt was off of her, but I realize that doesn't mean a thing."

The men all exchanged looks. Faces darkened with anger.

It was all too easy to imagine what could have happened in the hours she was gone. The fact that she found her way to the ship, however, was nothing short of a miracle, and that gave the men cause to hope she would really be all right.

"So what is our present course?" Mic pressed Da.r.s.ey.

"Home," the older man told him simply. "I'm going to head below and see if she's stirred, but for now, set a course for Kennebunk."

Smokey had been awake for some time, but had not moved from her bed Her entire body ached, especially her legs, but in a very real way she welcomed the pain. It meant she had fought hard and survived. Right now she was praying and thanking G.o.d for the strength He had given her.

She praised Him for His love and care and for sparing her from anything worse. She had been grabbed and frightened and forced to fight, but as upsetting as all of those things had been, Smokey was all too aware that the situation could have been much worse.

Praying and surrendering her hurt pride, her fear, and every known sin to her Lord, Smokey knew the peace that only He could give. By the time Da.r.s.ey appeared with a mug of tea, she was ready to talk.

"How are you, la.s.s?" he asked softly as he sat on the chair on which he had spent the night.

"I'm going to be all right. I hope I never have to repeat a night like the last, but I'm going to survive."

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"Can you tell me about it?"

"Do you remember my going out?"

"Yes."

"When I came out of Meg's private rooms, I noticed a man standing there. I was thinking about what Meg and I had been discussing and never gave him any thought. He grabbed me from behind I struggled, and because he was small, I nearly got away. But then he pressed a sweet-smelling cloth over my mouth. I woke up aboard a ship in a strange room."

"Who did this?"

"HaamichWynn."

"The pirate?"

"Yes." Smokey's voice was soft.

"I've heard he's a huge man."

"He is. I don't know who it was that grabbed me; obviously someone who works for him."

At that point Smokey went on to give Da.r.s.ey the entire story, from the moment she woke up, fought with the pirate, escaped, and saw Dallas to where she found the Aramis.

"You actually kicked Dallas?" Da.r.s.ey asked her.

Smokey nodded regretfully. "I panicked when he wouldn't let me go. All I could think about was Haamich Wynn finding him with me and killing him. I don't know if he'll ever forgive me."

"I'm sure you just need to explain."

"I hope you're right."

The two fell silent for a moment, and then Smokey went on. "Da.r.s.ey, how did the Aramis come to be docked in the south quarter?"

Still trying to deal with all she had shared, Da.r.s.ey took a ragged breath and began to tell of his nightmare in the last 36 hours.

"I didn't give you much time to return to the back room.

When you hadn't shown in five minutes, I got nervous. When two more went past, I hit the door running. There was no sign of you.

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"Someone in the tavern said that the table in the corner pad recently been occupied and was now empty. Hearing that, I ran for the docks. As you well know, there was no trace of I you. I searched for a time--many of us did--but I didn't wait vvery long before going back into Clancy's and asking about the men who were missing.

"No one seemed to know a thing about them, and for Clancy's, that's not normal. Meg and Bart know everyone who walks through the door, or they do soon afterward. Evidently those two were not new, but neither were they regulars until some weeks ago. Any and all attempts to gain information from them were met with blank stares, and since they kept to themselves and always paid their bill, Bart let them alone.

"When Clancy's came up dry, I did a little more inquiring in the neighboring taverns. Bart went with me. Even though others had seen the men we spoke of, no one knew their names. I felt frantic at that point, and on the off chance that you'd returned, decided to head back to the ship. Docked some yards away from us was a huge frigate. I don't know why it caught my interest, but it was so heavily guarded that I couldn't get it out of my mind.

"When they pushed off, we followed them. I knew there was a chance that I could be leaving you high and dry on the docks, but I simply had to follow that ship. Strangely enough, they did not head for high seas. They docked again, this time in the--"

"South port area," Smokey finished for him, now understanding exactly where she had been. All this said, both Da.r.s.ey and Smokey fell quiet. When Smokey spoke, she sounded weary.

"I want to go home, Da.r.s.ey. I want to go home to Willa's cooking and scolding and loving."

"We've set a course for Kennebunk, la.s.s," Da.r.s.ey told her, watching as her eyes briefly slid shut with relief. She hadn't eaten anything yet, but for the moment there was no need.

Da.r.s.ey watched as she scooted low beneath the covers and closed her eyes, this time to sleep.

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Q/mifo~Q/m 159.

Smokey back for weeks. An appearance now would bring a myriad of questions.

Smokey had no idea how Jenny would respond to all she had been through. With Jenny's present condition in mind, and real concern for the baby, Smokey made herself stay away.

It was one of the hardest things she had ever asked herself to do.

smokey lay in her bed at Willa's and stared at the white ceiling above her. She had been home for over two weeks and had done little but sleep, eat, and take long walks to the beach, where she would sit for hours and pray.

Her encounter with Haamich Wynn made her feel as if something precious had been wrenched away from her. She had escaped physical harm, but the emotional effects went deep. She knew such men existed, but she had never faced one personally.

Smokey also spent hours every day thinking about Dallas and wondering where he could be. She asked herself all the questions she wanted to ask him. Did he understand that she panicked on the docks that night? Was he angry over the way she was dressed, or was it concern? And always, her last question--why, if he was angry or upset with her, did he pull her back for another kiss?

All these questions and many more swam through her mind. She longed for answers, but when none came she repeatedly forced her mind back to G.o.d's sovereign will, asking for His peace in this troubling time.

She also prayed for Jenny. She hadn't been to see her since she returned, but it wasn't for lack of want. In truth, she wanted desperately to see her, but Jenny was not expecting "Why, Dolly," Jenny exclaimed as her brother opened the door to her bed-sitter after a soft knock.

"May I come in?"

"Of course," Jenny a.s.sured him and stayed on the settee after he had waved her back down.

Dallas bent and kissed her cheek. "Motherhood agrees with you; I've never seen you look lovelier."

"Thank you," Jenny told him sincerely. As her hand moved to her distended stomach, she wished she could return the compliment. Dallas was smiling and looked genuinely glad to see her, but as she took a moment to study his face, Jenny saw something that disturbed her.

"Did I misunderstand you, Dolly, or are you back before you had originally planned?"

"I am early, yes, and I'm afraid I can't stay. I'm looking for Smokey."

"Smokey?" Jenny frowned in confusion and studied her brother's face once again. He was working hard to hide his anxiety, but it was there.

"She isn't here. Did you really expect her to be?"

He shook his head regretfully. "I only hoped Has she been in touch?"

"No. Dallas, what's going on?" Jenny's use of his real name told him she was frightened.

He hesitated and then spoke with a measured tone. "I saw Smokey when I was in London, but she was in a terrific hurry (^ i 160.

and we didn't really get to talk. I was rather hoping she had come home, since I had an early shipment for Tate." Dallas did not tell Jenny that he altered his course in hopes of seeing Smokey. "I just wanted to make sure everything was all right with her."

Jenny looked instantly relieved "I'm sure she's fine, probably running a little behind schedule. Knowing Smokey, she's made up for it by now and is halfway to the Orient."

Dallas worked to put a smile on his face. "Just in case she did come this way, I think I'll ride over and check with Da.r.s.ey's sister. Where did you say she lived?"

Dallas had finally managed to use his normal voice, and Jenny gave him directions to Willa's without the slightest reservation.

Willa poured coffee for Da.r.s.ey and Smokey before refilling her own cup and sitting down at the table again. They had just eaten a wonderful meal of baked fish, and everyone was full and content.

"That was wonderful, Willa," Smokey told her. The older woman smiled Smokey had been off her food for the first week she was home, and it was nice to see her face filled out again.

"My mother's recipe," Willa said and smiled at Da.r.s.ey. "Do you remember those Sat.u.r.day clambakes, Dars?"

Da.r.s.ey chuckled and explained to Smokey. "Mother hated clams, couldn't even stand the smell of them. So as a new bride, when the rest of the family was eating clams, Mother always baked fish for herself. Mother was so good at it that Father wasn't long in joining her and abandoning the clams.

"Before their first anniversary the whole family was eating fish on Sat.u.r.day afternoons. They never stopped calling it a clambake, but they all ate fish."

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Smokey listened with rapt attention to their reminiscences.

She'd never had a family life like the type they had known, and it was all very fascinating and wonderful to her.

She thought she could sit all evening and hear them go on, but there was a knock at the door.

Willa rose to answer it, saying that their neighbor, Mrs.

Bright, had planned to bring some fabric over so Willa could help make some clothes for her baby granddaughter. Neither Da.r.s.ey nor Smokey noticed when they did not hear the sound of Mrs. Bright's voice, but when the deep tones of a masculine voice floated from the front room, they both tensed Smokey's back was to the kitchen door, but she kept her eyes fixed on Da.r.s.ey's face and knew the exact moment their guest entered "h.e.l.lo, Dallas," Da.r.s.ey spoke easily. To his credit, he did not look at Smokey. "Would you like to sit down and have some coffee?"

"Thank you, but I'll pa.s.s. I'd like to talk with Smokey if I may."

Smokey's heart was doing funny things just hearing his voice, but she forced herself to turn and, with a semblance of calm, look at Dallas.

"May I talk with you, Smokey?" he asked when her eyes locked with his.

"Certainly," Smokey said and rose slowly from the table "We can go into the front room." Smokey mentally congratulated herself on how normal she sounded and hoped that he wouldn't notice how she was trembling as she led the way to the parlor.

Once seated across the room from each other on the old, comfortable furniture, an unwelcome silence fell. Smokey spent a few moments looking at the hands in her lap and then out the window, dark as it was. She glanced up to find Dallas'

eyes riveted on her.

"Am I out of line to ask why you were so set on leaving me when we met in London?"

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