Rebellious Cargo by Susan Lodge

Author:Susan Lodge
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: romance, love, adventure, desire, danger, sea, secrets, naval, seafaring
Publisher: Crooked Cat publishing

Chapter Twelve

Jane struggled to open her eyes, and failed. The sounds and motions of the sea were missing. After weeks afloat, the stillness was alien to her, as was the softness of the mattress beneath her. She could hear the flutter of voices circling in the air, causing the shooting pains in her head to intensify. Where was she?

The voices disappeared and a cool soft hand touched her forehead. Celine, it must be Celine. Thank God! But her eyelids were like heavy curtains refusing to lift.

Several minutes past until she finally managed to open her eyes. “Celine, are you there?”

The hand was back, this time on her arm, but the soft feminine voice was not her friend’s.

“So you are back with us, my dear – the physician said you would come around in your own time.” Jane focused on a tall slender woman dressed in a serviceable black gown, her grey hair scraped back into a neat bun. She had the air of a housekeeper or governess and spoke English with a strong Italian accent.

“What happened – where am I?” Jane asked, wincing at the way her own words jarred her senses.

“You are safe in Malta. You had a fall on the ship on which you were travelling. When the ship berthed, you were brought here.” The woman straightened her covers and cast an assessing eye over her. “You are in one of Admiral Cookson’s houses, Mrs. Charlesworth, on a secluded part of the island. You are quite safe.”

Jane digested her words. A fall! She tried to remember, but a thick fog had nestled in her head. She had been on deck late in the evening, Will Forbes had spoken to her, and then he had been called away – she had strolled, then she had stumbled. She focused back on the woman.

“Celine – my companion, is she here?”

The woman frowned. “No, but do not worry, you will be looked after. Now you must rest. I will send word to Admiral Cookson of your progress.”

The woman held a glass to her lips and Jane took a few sips of the liquid, it tasted of sweet oranges and was very soothing on her dry mouth. The woman gently pressed her back against the pillows.

But, however inviting, she didn’t want to sink back into slumber.

Celine would not have left me.

Jane put a hand on the woman’s arm as she turned to leave. “I need to see the captain of the Serena, the frigate I was on board.” Jane’s voice turned desperate as a growing sense of loneliness enveloped her.

The woman frowned again. “The ship that you arrived in has already sailed.”

Sailed! He had gone then, and she had not said goodbye; perhaps it was for the best. The last time she had seen him she had acted like a fool, she could remember that much – a tease, a pathetic miss. He must surely have been relieved to dispatch her after they had reached port. Yet she could still feel the burn of his lips on hers.

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