The Sea and the Sand by Christopher Nicole

Author:Christopher Nicole [Nicole, Christopher]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781850572831
Google: 8j2rNwAACAAJ
Amazon: B017KJOV3U
Publisher: Magna Print
Published: 1988-12-31T23:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 8

Gibraltar and Long Island — 1805-7

Isaac Hull stood on the quarterdeck of the USS Enterprise,gazing at the man and woman in front of him, and scratched his head. He was several years older than Toby, but having begun his sailing career in the Merchant Navy was no senior; the two had known each other all their service lives.

T know what I want to do,’ he admitted. ‘But I also know what I should do, for the good of your career, Toby.’

‘That is probably finished now, anyway,’ Toby said. ‘But I may be able to relieve you of any responsibility in this business. What date were you commissioned, Isaac?’

‘Why, 1 March, 1798.’

‘I was commissioned on 1 February, 1978,’ Toby said.

Hull frowned at him.

Toby grinned. ‘Oh, I shall make no attempt to relieve you of your command. But as your senior officer, I am requesting passage on board your ship for this young lady and myself to the United States. I will take full responsibility for my actions, and that will be recorded in the log.’

Hull hesitated, glancing at Felicity. Her veil was back in place and it was difficult to decide her expression or her mood. ‘It will be difficult,’ he said. ‘I had planned no such accommodation for so long a voyage. Miss Crown is welcome to use my cabin, of course, but we shall be some thirty days at sea, and, well …’

‘You fear for propriety,’ Toby agreed, ‘in private matters. But that problem, too, is easily solved. You are master of this ship. As soon as we are beyond the three-mile limit, you can marry us.’

Felicity gave a gasp.

Hull’s frown deepened. ‘Is that legal? Truly?’

‘If it is not, then the matter can be set right the moment we reach home.’ He turned to Felicity. ‘Will you accept such a form of marriage, as a temporary expedient, Felicity?’

‘I … I had expected nothing so sudden,’ she muttered.

He could understand her hesitation. He had been so preoccupied with what he had to do that he had hardly uttered a word of endearment since leaving Tripoli. But she could hardly change her mind now.

‘If you do mean to marry me, Felicity,’ he said gently, ‘then it really were best done immediately. There will be several factions seeking to prevent it. And I do love you, and wish you to be my wife.’

He heard her inhale. ‘If … if that is what you are sure you wish, Mr McGann, I will willingly marry you here and now, having regard to all the circumstances.’

*

‘And thus,’ Isaac Hull said, ‘by the authority vested in me as master of this vessel, I pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss the bride, Toby.’

Toby turned to Felicity. It had taken them only an hour to clear the port and glide down the Strait on the ebb tide; Gibraltar was still a mass of lights on the eastern horizon, and lights winked to either side of them on the Spanish and Moroccan coasts, as well. But they were certainly more than three miles from land.

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