Pitney paused and stared at his large hands for a long moment.
“The next morning she was found at the bottom of the stairs, broken and dead. The dames all agreed the husband had pushed her, and buried beneath their wealth and influence, he was cast into a dungeon. But with the help of friends he escaped and fled to his sister’s house in London. Her husband, a merchant grown wealthy of his own skills, had gained title to a remote island and was soon to take his wife and baby daughter there to live. The condemned man changed his name and garb and went with them where he helped them make their home and found one of his own.”
Pitney’s gaze raised and rested fondly upon the woman beside him, who smiled back tenderly through her tears.
“I have been with ye since ye were a wee babe, Shanna, lass.” His voice was oddly thick. “I rocked ye on me lap and bounced ye on me knee. I’ve always served yer purpose and do so now as much as it may seem otherwise.”
“Uncle Pitney—” Shanna sniffed, wiping away a tear that trickled down her cheek.
“I have seen ye abuse the sensibilities of many men, though most of them deserved it, but this one ye married, this Ruark, has been much afflicted by the world in such ways as few others are. He is a bold man, with a good head on his shoulders, true to what he believes is true. That such a man should be reduced to bondage is odious, but ye, me proud Shanna, have betrayed him at every turn with little care for his honesty or pride. ‘Tis of course no fault of yers that ye are a spoiled brat, and me own hand has been lent to that. I have seen little in yer schooling that would have taught ye to have a fondness for simple folk. It may be counted a credit to yer wisdom that ye have been more than fair with most people. Alas, this cannot hold true for those most near and dear to ye. Ye thought all men were foppish fools and when that one came upon ye who was to be valued above all others, ye had no knowledge of how to care for him.
“Ye would have taken him with ye on this ship and in the closeness of it, would only have been a matter of time before one of ye gave the game away. He had to be separated from Sir Gaylord, but ye cannot see that. Ralston is suspicious of ye both, as he is of everyone, and has hounded Mister Ruark’s trail for many weeks. I’ve watched him meself. But ye are oblivious to that. This game ye started has been played out far too long and will bring more harm and hurt, yet I can understand that ye cannot give it up.”
Pitney faced his niece and was a trifle bemused at the soft regard she returned to him.
“I would ask two things of ye until the end of it is seen: that ye not hinder the man overly and that ye ask no further favors of me where he is concerned.”
Shanna stared into the roiling sea, considering for the first time the full account of what her Uncle Pitney had said.
The deep blue of the open sea gave way to the greener hues of the shallower water on the tenth day out of Los Camellos, and before the sun had approached its zenith in the sky, the low-lying dunes of a coastline came into view. The lookout gave a shout, and Shanna dragged out her heaviest cloak and, despite the chill wind sweeping the decks of the Hampstead, joined the men on the quarterdeck. After all, this was Ruark’s home, and she was anxious to see for herself what kind of land had borne such a man.
Ralston’s spare frame shivered in his woolens and, moaning for the good soft winters of England, he sought the warmth of his cabin. The heartier Sir Gaylord stayed on the deck a whole minute longer, then with a disparaging snort he, too, retired to the shelter of the decks below. Only Pitney and Trahern stayed to watch the green-capped dunes creep nearer. Shanna wedged her way between the two men and huddled there, taking whatever shelter and warmth they could offer. At the captain’s order, the ship altered course to parallel the shoreline on a southwesterly heading. Small islands were now seen forming a bastion before the main coast as the brigantine stayed well offshore.
“It seems so barren.” Shanna voiced the common opinion in a disappointed tone. “ ‘Tis naught but sand and shrub. Where are the houses and people?” Dejectedly she watched the bleak coast slide by. She turned to find Captain Dundas standing close behind them. He smiled almost gently. “ ’Twill be a good two or three days up the James River before we reach Richmond.”
Sometime later they left sight of land again, but in the early afternoon a new coastline was sighted. It was near Hampton that a small lugger headed out to intercept them, and soon Captain Beauchamp’s first mate, Edward Bailey, came aboard. “Captain Beauchamp left me here ter see yez safe up the river,” he explained before pulling an oilskin packet from his pocket and handing the captain a sheaf of documents from it. “These be me papers and some charts o‘ the river.” He produced a letter from the packet and presented it to Trahern. “A letter from Mister John Ruark ’tis.”