Chapter Twenty-Eight
The two to four weeks Nathan had mentioned to Corky that the trip could take hadn’t seemed like such a long voyage to him before they’d set sail, but it did now. Of course, like Corky, he’d never sailed so far from land before. Crossing the Channel between France and England on his runs was nothing compared to an Atlantic crossing. So he hadn’t known what this sort of isolation was going to be like. Now he did, and it was hell with such a desirable woman as Judith aboard—a woman who wouldn’t leave him alone.
She was dangerous to him in so many ways. She’d gotten him to open up. He couldn’t remember ever saying so much about himself to anyone else before. She made him want more for himself. She made him wish their circumstances weren’t so different. But the worst thing was that knowing he couldn’t have her didn’t stop him from wanting her.
He picked his times on deck carefully now, first making sure she wasn’t there. But he had been trying to find Boyd Anderson alone for several days now, without having to disturb the man in his cabin. Today he finally saw him, not alone, but on deck.
“The captain suggested I speak with you, Mr. Anderson, if you have a few minutes?”
The woman Boyd was with said, “It’s a little too windy for me up here today. I’m going to return to the family.”
“You have a beautiful wife,” Nathan said as they both watched her walk away.
Boyd turned back to him with a smile. “I know.” But then his eyes were drawn to Nathan’s waist. “Ask whatever you like as long as you tell me what you have crawling around in your shirt.”
Nathan laughed and pulled out the kitten. “It was sleeping.”
“You weren’t going to toss it over the side, were you? They’re valuable aboard.”
“Not this size they aren’t, but no. I found it strolling down the corridor by itself. I looked for its mother for a while, but she’s hidden her litter well.”
Boyd was still staring at the kitten, curled up now in the palm of Nathan’s hand. “I know Artie brought his tomcat along, but I didn’t think he was such a romantic that he’d bring along female companionship for him.”
“I’d have to agree with that assessment.” Nathan grinned. “It’s more likely a female jumped aboard on the southern coast, long before we sailed, to have kits this size.”
“Well, good luck finding the mother. But don’t let my wife see that tiny thing before you do, or she’ll want to adopt it. Women can get silly when it comes to adorable babies. Now, I’m sure you didn’t want to speak to me about lost kittens?”
“No. The captain, as well as the first mate, both steered me to you. Artie said you’re as American as one can be, and I’m going to need American assistance after we dock.”
“How so?”
“Are you familiar with the town of New London?”
“It’s maybe a half day’s ride up the coast from Bridgeport. It’s a whaling town and one of our competitors.”
“For whaling?”
“No, shipbuilding. My family has owned a shipyard for longer than I can remember. We don’t just build ships to add to our fleet, we build by commission as well.”
“Would you know if any of those competitors only claim to build ships?”
Boyd laughed. “That’s an odd question.”
“Not odd when you hear the rest of what I have to say.” Nathan explained his situation, ending with “I didn’t know the thieves are operating out of a whaling town. The thought of them overhauling The Pearl into a whaler turns my stomach. I need to find her before she’s sold.”
Boyd was shaking his head, his expression incredulous. “A decade of stealing ships right under the noses of the English? I wonder . . .”
“What?”
“Skylark had a ship disappear out of Plymouth harbor in England four years ago. We thought it merely departed ahead of schedule, and when the ship and captain were never seen again, we had to conclude they ran into trouble on the seas.”
“If your vessel was one of the stolen prizes, they may have killed your captain if he was still aboard when they took it. The thieves killed a man when they stole mine, so they don’t care if anyone gets hurt. But the information I have is that they only steal English ships.”
“You can’t tell the difference with ours. We got out of the habit of keeping our colors up in English ports after we dock. Damned lot of rubbish gets tossed on our decks in the middle of the night if we flaunt that we are Americans. Old grudges not forgotten on both sides, apparently.”
“But your vessel could have been lost at sea as you surmised. You don’t know that it’s related.”
“We don’t know that it isn’t. Regardless, while it’s probably nothing that can ever be verified, the people you’ve described still need to be stopped. I don’t know anyone in the town government of New London personally, but I have an old friend who settled there who would. John Hubbard and I go way back, and he owes me a favor.”
“I’ll be sure to look him up then.”
“We will,” Boyd corrected. “I’m going with you.”