.jpg)
The ship rocked among the waves and I startled awake, suddenly aware of a sound I’d never heard before. Tristan remained asleep beside me, his eyes closed peacefully in dreams. Not wanting to wake him, I rolled out of the bed, pulling the pants I’d worn that day back on and sliding a shirt over my head.
Leaving the room, I closed the door quietly, looking up at the starry night sky and smiling. The air was salty and fresh, cool against my skin as it moved over the open ocean.
“Is everything all right, mum?” James Abby asked from the helm.
“Yes,” I answered, moving toward him. “I just heard something strange—there it is again!”
It was an odd whiney sound, mixed in with the sounds of the water, like a far off cry of some kind.
“Aye,” James replied knowingly. “It’s the whales. They’re singing for us.”
“Whales?” I gasped in delight. “Are they where I can see them?”
He nodded to the right side of the ship and I hurried to its edge, looking over into the dark water. It was hard to see at first, but I thought I could make out their shapes, swimming alongside us, their backs breaking the surface and sliding under with incredible strength and ease. Their song would break with them, filling the night air for just a few seconds before disappearing beneath the waves, where I could no longer hear it as well. Suddenly, a little ways out, a whale breached, its body twisting in the air as it crashed downward.
Calling out in glee, I pointed, thrilled to have witnessed such a thing. “I never would have seen something like this at home,” I said to James offhandedly, still focusing on the water.
“Ye mean the desert?” he replied casually.
“Yes. Wait, how did you know I came from the desert?” Twisting, caught off guard by his statement, I stared at him with wide eyes.
He glanced around, checking to make sure there was no one else nearby, and cleared his throat. “The captain told me. Said ye were from a place very different from our own.”
“What else did he say?” I asked cautiously.
“Ye’ve come a long way, Mrs. O’Rourke.” The hushed tone of his voice confirmed it to me. Tristan had told him where—when I was really from.
“Why did he tell you?” I questioned quietly, turning back to the water.
“He means to ask the Grand Master for reassignment. I believe he wants to settle down with ye, somewhere. Ye’ve been married for a month, has he not said anything to ye about it?”
“No,” I sighed. “But he wouldn’t, would he? Not until he was sure it was going to happen.”
“Aye, that might be the truth,” he agreed. “He only told me because I refused to let him tell me how Oak Isle works without his explanation of why he wanted to leave.” He was continually glancing every which way, watching for anyone who was coming near enough to hear, falling silent if he thought someone too close. After a pause, he spoke again, with hesitation. “He—he told me just enough to find it, if I needed. He won’t reveal the door until he’s ordered. He hasn’t told ye, has he?”
“No.” For some reason, I felt a little put out, wondering where Tristan got off telling my secret to other people. But, James Abby was a member of the Order and obviously someone he trusted. I couldn’t really hold it against him, not if he were trying to secure our future. Of course James would have wanted to know what was so different about me, why I couldn’t just remain on the ship as I had been. “He told you about the vase, then?” I asked, wondering just how much he knew.
“Aye.” Glancing back, I saw him cross himself quickly, kissing his fingers and raising them to the heavens. “I can’t imagine what it must have been like.”
“I don’t remember,” I answered evenly. “So I guess we’ll never know.”
“Samantha?” Tristan’s voice called softly from the door to our room and I responded in kind.
“Isn’t it beautiful?” I smiled at him as he approached, the whales still singing.
“It is,” he agreed, taking me around the waist. He’d come out in nothing but his pants, his belt loosely buckled to keep them up. “I suppose I can forgive them for stealing ye from my bed,” he chuckled, kissing my forehead.
“We’ll be making port tomorrow afternoon,” James spoke up. “Aye, Captain?”
“Aye,” Tristan confirmed. “One last stop before we head to the Caribbean.”
“I’ll adjust the course to fit then,” he said. “Maybe I can save us a few wee hours, eh?”
“We will be much obliged, I’m sure,” Tristan said, looking over at him. “Thank ye for yer help, James. I heard ye speaking with my wife.”
“I apologize, Captain,” came the mumbled response.
“There is nothing to be sorry for,” Tristan added smoothly. “I had just wished to tell her myself.”
“When were you going to do that?” I asked, eyebrow raised. “After you’d bought the house?”
He laughed, squeezing me gently. “Aye, lassie. I didn’t want to get yer hopes up. The plan was to tell ye after I’d been reassigned. Ye aren’t mad, are ye?”
“I just don’t understand why you want reassigned in the first place,” I sighed. “I thought you loved doing this.”
“Loved? Not really, no.” He snorted, looking out over the water. “It’s a dangerous business, and I’m not one to enjoy killing other men because of it. If I can get ye and I off this ship and into a real home, then I’ll be happy.”
“Won’t you miss the sea, though?”
“Maybe I’ll become a fisherman,” he replied thoughtfully, making me snicker. “It will work out how it will, love. Ye need not worry about it.”