Hearts of Gold by Phoebe Conn

Author:Phoebe Conn
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: ePublishing Works!
Published: 2014-11-17T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 14

April 1849

The Spanish Dancer encountered stormy seas during the night and when the savage winds and high swells continued on into the day, a majority of passengers as well as many of the crew became seasick. Most of the men found it impossible to sit in a chair let alone hold a hand of cards, and the prospect of a cutthroat poker game lost all its appeal. The chance to win back his money Colin had demanded from Buck was postponed for several days until good weather returned.

Though Buck was one of the few not affected by the constant rolling motion of the ship, Lyse most definitely was. She refused to leave her bunk and each time Buck looked in on her he found her fair skin far closer to pale green than its usual shade of creamy peach. Considerately, he stayed only long enough to ask if he might bring her something before again leaving her to suffer alone as she insisted she must.

By the time the storm had passed, three days had gone by and Buck was thoroughly bored with his own company and readily admitted to Lyse that he had missed her. "Do you think we had been spending too much time together?" the slender young woman inquired shyly.

Her question amused him enormously because he doubted he would ever tire of her frustratingly independent and yet enchanting company. Slipping his arm around her waist, he escorted her across the deck to a secluded spot where they could hear themselves talk above the howl of the wind in the sails.

"If we had been spending too much time together, then I would have enjoyed being by myself awhile."

Lyse hadn't felt well enough to miss him, though, and because that seemed like a very impolite comment to make, she kept still. Before her silence could grow awkward, Robert Ash found them to apologize for being as seasick as the rest of them and being unable to provide any comfort to her. With a sweetness that nearly brought a return of the nausea that had plagued her, she quickly forgave him, but she was delighted the man had been too ill to bother her. Tim MacCormac was the next to join them. Then Max Henderson arrived. As usual he had brought his banjo and a crowd quickly gathered around as he began to play.

Buck thought being with Lyse was like working in a traveling circus, for there was always something exciting happening around her. They had to do no more than appear on deck to draw a crowd and he couldn't help but wonder how she would be able to pan for gold surrounded by a swarm of adoring admirers.

The crowd clustered around Lyse annoyed Tim too, for he wanted to spend every minute he possibly could with her and he didn't enjoy sharing her attention with Buck or anyone else. Robert Ash took pains to make his conversations with her appear to be no more than part of his assigned duties as the ship's physician, but he was equally smitten.

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