There is a light knock on the door, and Higgins says, "Excuse me, Miss, but Mr. Pickering is here. Are you decent?"
Amy folds her hands and puts them in her lap, hooding her eyes and looking down demurely. I know she will be glad to see the young lawyer, but she will not show it outwardly. If pressed on expressing her feelings for him, she will invariably say, "I am not ready for that sort of thing as yet."
I look at her and reflect that it may be possible that her reserved way with males might be a better way than my usual manner of working the brutes—which seems to be to hop immediately into the lap of the nearest likely looking gent in a grand uniform or a fine cut of clothes and who looks like he might provide a bit of fun. She certainly has Ezra Pickering well in hand.
"As decent as I ever get, Higgins," I call. "Send him in."
The door opens and my very good friend, lawyer, and Clerk of the Faber Shipping Worldwide Corporation enters the cabin, wearing his habitual half smile, which widens upon seeing Miss Amy Trevelyne seated there.
"How good to see you, Ezra," I say. "Will you take tea with us?"
"Alas, no, Miss Faber," he says, turning to Amy. "Will you join me for a promenade about the deck, Miss Trevelyne?" he asks, bowing to her and reaching out his hand. "It is a fine day, and I believe Jacky will be wanting some privacy."
I lift my eyebrows in question as he reaches into his vest and pulls out a letter, which he hands to me.
Reading the address on the envelope, I let out a squeal of delight as I see it is from Jaimy. Amy rises and takes Ezra's hand, and they both go out, leaving me to tear open the letter and throw myself across my bed.
Lt. James Emerson
Onboard HMS Dolphin
Bournemouth, England
March 17,1807
Miss Jacky Faber
c/o Pickering Law Office
Union Street
Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Dearest Jacky,
I have wonderful news!
It appears that the petition for pardon on all the charges against you is virtually certain of passage. Hoorah! Only a few more signatures and formalities and the deed will be done and you will be free—free to sail back to England and to all of us here who hold you so dear.
I was delighted to hear of your purchase of the brigantine Lorelei Lee—a very colorful name, to be sure, but totally befitting your nature. How you managed to afford such a purchase, I shall not ask. That notwithstanding, I am somewhat comforted in my worry for your safety in crossing, yet again, the broad Atlantic, by the fact that you will be traversing it in a much larger, sturdier craft than the Nancy B. Still, I will continue to worry until such time as I see you again running toward me, arms upraised, illuminating some dismal dock in London with your shining presence.
Ian and Mairead McConnaughey were delighted to receive your last letter and have left for Waterford to recruit the Irish crew you requested and begin booking passengers for your venture in transatlantic passenger service. Things are hard in Ireland right now, and I am sure you will not lack for a full manifest of human cargo.
All is well at your little orphanage and your grandfather looks forward to your return to the ancestral soil.
Captain Hudson, Lieutenant Bennett, and all aboard send their regards and best wishes. Dr. Sebastian is off on a scientific voyage to the Greek Isles and reports that he regrets he will miss both the spirited company and the artistic skills of his lovely fellow naturalist.
Again, I apologize for the brevity of this letter, but, as you well know, I am a perfect scrub with a pen and there is much to do to prepare for your greatly anticipated arrival.
Till we again meet, I am
Yr Most Humble & Obedient Servant
Jaimy
I tuck the letter under my pillow, wipe the tears of joy from my eyes, and go back out on deck.
"Send for the Captain ashore," I crow. "We leave on the morning tide!"
Chapter 6
Miss J. M. Faber
Faber Shipping Worldwide
15 Battery Street
Boston, Massachusetts, USA
April 22,1807
Lt. James Emerson Fletcher
Onboard HMS Dolphin
London, England
Dear Jaimy,
Oh, Jaimy, I got your wonderful letter and there is so much exciting news to tell!
You'll remember, dear one, in my last letter to you, how I managed to buy the beautiful ship Lorelei Lee—yes, Faber Shipping has made some very good investments, plus the rum and molasses runs have been very profitable. And Solomon Freeman's fishing and clamming operation has been turning a tidy profit as well. He has added two more fishing smacks to our little fleet and crewed them with responsible men—Jemimah Moses's grandson Caleb, a strapping lad of seventeen and newly bought out of slavery, being one of them.
So now that I have my lovely Lorelei all fitted out, we're ready to embark on my Irish emigration scheme to ferry men from Ireland to work in Boston on the landfill project. The town has decided to fill in the Millpond and the Back Bay so as to give the town some growing room, and the workers will pay the price of their passage by having it deducted from their wages, gradually, over several months. Yes, it is rather like indentured servitude, but not nearly so harsh. If a man is industrious, sensible, and sober, he should be able to repay Faber Shipping within several months. If not, he will face the wrath of John Thomas and Smasher McGee, our Enforcers, who can be quite persuasive, believe me.
I have written to Ian and Mairead McConnaughey to request that they go find Liam and ask him to put together my Irish crew and begin signing up passengers. We shall sail out of the Emerald's old home port of Waterford on the southeast coast of Ireland, and make that our European base of operations. As I've often said, Faber Shipping WORLDWIDE.
As things have gotten so much more complicated, we have taken offices on Battery Street, at the end of Long Wharf so that we will be close to the commerce of the harbor. Chloe Cantrell runs the office and handles all the paperwork, as dear Ezra Pickering is prospering in his law practice and so cannot be expected to give all his time to my poor enterprise.
Oh, what a thrill it gave me to see the sign, Faber Shipping Worldwide, go up over the entrance, all gold and gilt, outlined in black on a deep red background. I painted it myself, and it gave me great pleasure in doing it. Sin of Pride, I know, but I can't help it; it looks so grand.
Amy Trevelyne is well. She has just completed an account of my journey down some big rivers in America, which she calls Mississippi Jack, Being an Account of the Further Waterborne Adventures of Jacky Faber, Midshipman, Fine Lady, and the Lily of the West. A bit wordy in her titles, I feel, but let it go ... I must say, Jaimy, that you come out well in that one ... mostly, you dog. I hope you'll be glad to hear that Clementine Amaryllis Jukes Tanner is with child...
I put up my pen for a moment, imagining Jaimy mentally counting back the months upon reading this. Don't worry, you bad boy, it's been well more than nine months since you last ... saw her.
Ahem! Enough said about that. Best keep that book from your mother, though, as she might not be as forgiving as I.
If you hope to see our brothers Davy and Tink upon my arrival, I'm afraid you will be disappointed—as former British sailors, it would be best that they not venture out onto the high seas, where they would be in danger of impressment. Nay, they shall remain in Boston and crew the Nancy B. Alsop on the Caribbean molasses and granite runs. Plus, Davy and Jim want to stay close to their wives, and Tink wishes to see a certain Concepcion down in Havana. Of all our friends, only Higgins shall accompany me on this voyage, for I have hired a full crew from a disabled merchant ship stranded in Boston. They were desirous of passage back to London and so I got them for a song—and you know how I dearly love a bargain. When we return, I hope that Ian McConnaughey will have assembled that Irish crew in Waterford with as many of my old Emeralds as he can find—and wouldn't it be prime if he found our old sea-dad Liam Delaney free to be master of the Lorelei?
My, this is turning out to be quite a long letter. My hand is growing quite cramped. But the thought that you will hold this paper in your hand and read it gives me the will to push on.
All here are well and send their love. I'll tell you more of that later, when I see you in person (oh, blessed day!). We leave right after I post this letter on the Fast Mail Packet.
Yours forever and ever,
Jacky
The lines are off and the Lorelei Lee is free of the land. Oh, Jaimy, I am so very hopeful of happiness!
Chapter 7
Lt. James Fletcher
Onboard HMS Dolphin
London
April 26,1807
Miss Jacky Faber
c/o Ezra Pickering
Union Street
Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Dear Jacky,
I write this in great haste and I do not have time to tell you exactly what has happened, but suffice it to say there have been changes in the Admiralty and great aspersions have been cast against your good name—and mine.
Please, I beg you, do not depart Boston just yet, as you would be in great danger should you arrive here now.
I have to make this letter short, for I must post it immediately and make myself ready. I have received word that I am to be arrested within the hour.
Hoping to God that you have not yet left, I remain, etc.
Jaimy
Chapter 8
"Land ho! Dead ahead!" comes the call from the lookout high up in the mainmast. There is a great cheer from those on deck at the sighting of their homeland—soon all will see wives, families, sweethearts, or at least enjoy some gentle company in familiar and cozy inns.
I had been standing on the quarterdeck, talking to Captain Browning about the weather and the trim of the sails and whatnot, when I heard the call. I added my yelp to the general cheer and dashed up the ratlines to my foretop to gaze out over the bow of the Lorelei Lee. It is indeed the Isle of Wight and we are back on home ground. I take a deep breath and note how I can feel my heart thumping in my chest. It won't be long now, girl...
I sink down and sit with my back to the foremast, and with my eyes on my native land, I pull out my pennywhistle and play upon it—"Rule, Britannia" seems appropriate—and let my mind think on James Emerson Fletcher, whom I might well see very soon.
In my last letter to the lad, I didn't tell Jaimy about Randall. Jaimy always looks calm and composed, but I know he has something of a temper and more than just a little streak of jealousy as concerns me and my somewhat numerous male ... er, acquaintances. But he need not worry any longer about Randall Trevelyne, at least not now. Ever since their first meeting, he and Polly Von have been keeping constant company in Boston, enjoying the charms of the city—and each other's as well. I had put on a show at the Pig and they were there. I played a slow tune on my fiddle, and they danced together there in front of me. It was lovely to see—Randall in his fine uniform and Polly in her Desdemona dress from the Othello production that Fennel and Bean were about to mount, their having made enough money out in the sticks, putting on the revival shows, to do such a thing.
Watching the two of them dance that night, did I feel a slight pang of my own jealousy?
Yes, I did.
Did I have any right to feel that pang?
No, I did not.
But I did, all the same.
Little Mary Faber, that feral child of the streets, who remains a part of me, pops up and asks, Why can't we have all the pretty boys, Jacky? Why not? But I push her back down and tell her to be quiet. No, I am promised to just one.