"Because I want to study the Aramis."
"Why?" Smokey asked again, beginning to think this conversation
absurd
Dallas sighed It was a reasonable question, but so hard to
answer.
"I don't want to sail all my life." Dallas* eyes were now back
to sea, his voice wistful. "When my parents moved south, a
man they'd known for years took over my father's company.
Buck had his own business to run, and I was too inexperienced
to understand we were being swindled until it was too
late. We were nearly broke in six months. Now I want to build
the business up again, and my sailing is simply a means to that
end. When I have enough capital, I want to build ships, and
studying the Aramis would be invaluable to that trade."
"Knight Crafts," Smokey said when the realization dawned
"They're fine ships."
"I think so. I realize we were one of the smaller lines, but
it's my dream to see the company in full production again."
80
"What happens to your ship in the next few weeks?"
"It needs repairs, and because it's been a busy year, my
crew is ready for a break. I would work hard for you," Dallas
added, "and take orders with the rest of the men."
Smokey wondered that she was actually considering it.
Nate had impaled his hand on their last voyage, and as of a
week ago, it was still infected. They could sail without him; it
wouldn't be the first time they were shorthanded, or Dallas
could take his place. Of course he probably wouldn't want the
job when he learned it was the most insignificant position on
the ship.
"I have an opening, but there's nothing very glamorous
about it."
"I would take any job in order to be on theAramis when
you sail."
"You'd be a cabin boy of sorts, taking everyone's grief and
seeing to every dirty job on ship, including the care of my
clothes, my cabin, and the officers' quarters, and without a
word of complaint."
"I was cabin boy to my uncle for two years. I can do the
job." Dallas' eyes were alive with excitement.
"All right," Smokey agreed before she could change her
mind
"Great!"
Without even looking at him, Smokey knew his smile was a
mile wide.
"Do your officers call you Smokey or Captain Simmons?"
Dallas asked, his voice respectful.
"Captain Simmons," Smokey said with an unladylike snort.
"I should be so lucky!"
It was a cryptic remark, but Dallas was given no chance to
question her. Smokey pushed to her feet, jumped down to the
beach without help, and took a few steps away. She turned
back to him, as though suddenly remembering he was there.
"Be at the docks here at six bells tomorrow evening. Be on
time, or we'll sail without you." She gave him no chance to
reply.
81
Dallas watched her walk on down the beach, his heart and
mind aswarm with questions. None of them mattered for the
moment, however. He was going to sail on the Aram is. He still
had his doubts as to whether Smokey could sail her way out of
the harbor, but that wasn't important--studying her ship was.
9 w 9
"Did Dolly find you?" Jenny inquired of Smokey when she
came back to the house.
"He did," she told her with a decisive nod
"And did he apologize?" Jenny prompted
"Yes, we actually talked awhile."
"Why, Smokey, that's wonderful! What did you talk about?"
"My sailing. I actually was able to converse with him this
time without stuttering or staring at him like I was demented"
"So the wall has come down between you?"
"I wouldn't say that," Smokey shook her head "He asked if
he could sail with me when I leave tomorrow, and I actually
agreed"
Jenny's mouth swung open. As funny as she looked, Smokey
did not feel like laughing. She gave Jenny a short rendition of
the conversation, and when she finished, the younger woman
"What are you thinking?" Smokey needed to know.
"That you're wonderful," Jenny told her lovingly.
"What do you mean?"
"Smokey, I know Dolly hurt you last night, and here you
are helping him out. It's been his dream to build ships for
years, and I think your assisting him is wonderful." Jenny
paused and bit her lip. "Do you feel a little used?"
"A little," Smokey admitted "Your brother is kind, but he
really couldn't have given me the time of day before he found
out who I was."
Jenny nodded with understanding. "I'll be praying that
82
you two will get to know each other and be friends. Knowing you both, I think you would get along very well."
"Thanks, Jen, but first I need you to pray about my having
to tell Darsey. I don't even want to think about what he's going
to say."
83
Now it was Smokey's turn to sigh, heartfelt and deep. "I'm
sure that won't be a problem, Darsey," Her voice was resigned
"No problem at all."
She turned and went upstairs before he could question
her, but in truth he had heard enough. He sat in Willa's parlor
for a long time, wondering how many years he had prayed for
this, and then asking himself, now that it had finally happened,
why it scared him witless.
As it was, Darsey said nothing. He simply stared at Smokey
for one full minute. When he spoke, his voice was even.
"What about your plans for China Island?"
"We can still do it, if we don't forget the book this time."
Darsey fell silent again.
"I can send word that it won't work out," she finally said,
looking so young and vulnerable that Darsey sighed deeply.
She was so naive of other ships and crews. Didn't she realize
how unusual their life on the Aramis was?
"It's not me I'm thinking of, lass, it's you. The boys know
how to give you your privacy, and you give us ours. We don't
know this man. It certainly wouldn't be the end of the world if
he didn't work out, but it would be an awful bother getting rid
of him"
"I don't think he'll be any trouble. Like I said, he's been a
captain for years, and he just wants to study the Aramis."
"In other words, we won't be getting much work out of
him."
Smokey shrugged. "I hope that's not the case, but I can't
make any promises. I don't want to talk you into this, Darsey."
Smokey's voice changed suddenly, and Darsey knew his captain
was speaking.
"Because if I do talk you into this, you'll say 1 told you so' if
it doesn't work out. So speak up now or keep still."
"I'll abide by your decision, lass, but hear me well. I'll not
brooka moment of improper conduct out of him where you're
concerned."
85
the next day darsey gathered the officers of the Aramis as they set sail from their home port in Kennebunk. He explained
that Nate would not be sailing with them this trip, and
that they would be picking u
p a man Smokey had hired to take
his place in Kennebunkport.
"Does Nate know he's being replaced?"
"He's not being replaced, Mic," Darsey patiently told him.
"It's just for this one voyage."
"He wants to study the Aramis," Smokey interjected when
she came across the group gathered on the deck. "Since he
won't be sailing with us again, I'd like you to be of help to him
if you can. Answer any questions he may have. Outside of that,
it's business as usual."
The men nodded, and Smokey's eyes lingered on their
faces. There wasn't a man under 40, and most were nearer to
50. Darsey was that and then some. Each of them--Darsey,
Mic, Robby, Pete, and Scully, who was the ship's cook--had
sailed with her father for years before he died. She knew them
to be capable, reliable, and loyal to a fault. What would they
think of Dallas Knight? Indeed! What would Dallas think of
them?
Hers was not a normal group of sailors. Most men enjoyed
full-time work, but Smokey had a tendency to stay closer to
85
home than her father had, so she could be in port more often.
| The older these men became, the more that seemed to suit
them. She was a generous captain, and they always shared in
the fruits of her labor, which Included time off for weeks at a
stretch.
The men dispersed while Smokey was still deep in thought.
She walked to the bow, her body moving to the rocking of the
ship with the ease of a willow tree in the wind
Once at the front of the ship, the sight of the waves and the
speed with which the Aramis moved did not thrill her as it
usually did. She barely noticed either. Her mind was already
in Kennebunkport and on the man who would be waiting in
port to meet them.
"I've never seen you like this, Dallas," Tate commented to
his nearly delirious brother-in-law. Buck was quick to agree.
The three men were standing on the dock Sunday evening,
awaiting Smokey's ship.
"It's hard to explain," Dallas told them, his eyes still alight
with pleasure even as he tried to calm down. "It will mean so
much to the business, and I think this is a once-ina-lifetime
opportunity."
"I hate to be a prophet of doom," Buck interjected, not
unkindly. "But have you thought about what will happen if you
don't get along with Smokey or her men?"
"What's not to get along with?" Dallas asked in genuine
confusion. "1*11 do my job, observe the workings of the ship,
and come home rich with knowledge." Dallas' voice was so
matter-of-fact that neither man commented.
Dallas himself was still thinking on his brother's words,
but the more he thought about Smokey Simmons' personality,
the more assured he felt that they would get along fine. After
all, she was very shy and quiet, keeping mostly to herself, and
that would suit him fine.
86
He reminded himself that she had talked more on the
beach than he had ever heard her, but that was obviously
credited to the fact that she was more comfortable talking
about ships than any other subject.
Dallas hoped that if she were really knowledgeable, he
would learn some things from her, but he had no illusions. She
was young and timid, and Dallas believed he would learn
more from her ship and her men than he would from her.
He wouldn't have admitted it to his family because they all
liked her so well, but in the brief time that he had known he
would be sailing with theAramis, Dallas had convinced himself
that Smokey must be little more than a mascot.
The big man he had seen with her in London was her first
mate, a man named Darsey Dallas knew he was almost as well
known as Smoke. As soon as Dallas remembered who the man
was, he realized that he must be the driving force behind
Smoke. It was like this with many ship's captains--Smokey
owned the ship, Darsey did all the work, but as owner and
captain, Smokey took the credit.
An hour later, as Darsey introduced himself to Dallas and
showed him to the crew's quarters, Dallas was more convinced
than ever about Smokey's uselessness aboard ship. In
his thrill of being on theAramis, he forgot just how much his
own first mate did for him on the Zephyr. His mind even went
so far as to feel a bit of disgust that Smokey couldn't stay home
where she belonged.
She hadn't really struck him as that kind, but she was
clearly the type of female who had to have attention. He
figured she must have inherited the ship from her father and
then gotten it into her foolish, female head to be a captain. He
tried to adjust his attitude as he stowed his gear for the voyage.
Dallas would have been amazed to learn that Smokey and
Darsey had run into sentiment like this before. He would have
been surprised beyond speech if he had known that Darsey
had interpreted most of his thoughts on their first meeting.
87
As the first mate made his way topside, he hid a smile
Mr. Knight would have to find out the hard way that
loke Simmons was no figurehead
Their first morning at sea, Smokey sat at the desk in her
cabin and pored over her maps. She had to be in Savannah by
tomorrow morning and then into Florida the morning after.
That would mean their trip to China Island would have to wait
until the end of next week A knock on her cabin door interrupted
her thoughts.
"Come in," she called Darsey entered and shut the door
behind him. The chair he took creaked under his weight as he
made himself comfortable in the small space.
"Did Dallas get settled?" Smokey wanted to know.
"I believe he did"
"What did you think of him?"
Darsey grinned. "I think we've got another one who's
giving me more credit than I deserve."
"Oh, no." Smokey's look was one of exasperation. "I really
thought better of him than that. Oh, well, we won't be out that
long."
"Long enough for him to learn he's wrong," Darsey said, a
mischievous glint appearing in his eye.
'You don't really think we're going to tangle, do you? I
mean, he will take orders, won't he?"
"That's up to himvnow, isn't it, lass?" Darsey spoke honestly.
Smokey agreed with a nod "I guess it Is, but you know,
since I'm not out to prove anything, you could simply handle
all problems on this trip."
"That's true, but it's unlikely that such a plan would last for
more than a day."
Smokey laughed He was right. It was just as she'd said to
88
no
Dallas, captains did not make good crewmen, and she was
exception.
By the time the Aramis pulled into the port of Savannah,
Dallas had all but forgotten Smokey's presence on board,
which only confirmed his earlier belief that she was quite
useless as a captain. With this in mind, he was surprised to
hear her greet him as she came onto the deck. He ha
d begun
to think she preferred to spend all her time in her cabin.
"Good morning, Dallas/' Smokey said congenially as she
moved past him and approached Scully He noticed that she
was dressed as she had been in London--baggy clothes, black
boots, knit cap, and all. She stopped next to Scully and waited
for him to face her. Dallas, without effort, overheard their
conversation.
"You've got a few hours, Scully, to make sure you're ready."
Her voice was a bit stern. "If you don't have proper food on
this trip, I won't be at all happy."
"Aye, missy," Scully said with a frown, and Smokey turned
away.
Dallas had to duck his head in order to hide his expression. So, she*saprima donna to boot/He didn't knowwhen he
had been more repulsed. He watched as she went below. A
minute later Darsey appeared Darsey handled the load and
later the casting off, and although Dallas did his Job silently
and efficiently, he was beginning to feel a strong aversion to
his captain.
malice 2 * P "" ^^^ Dallas> duties were mini'
mai once they were out at sea, and he found himself feeling a
89
little bit of heaven on earth. In just a few days' time, he had
become adept at ignoring Smokey and at the same time studying
her clipper.
Dallas had never been on a ship that could move with such
speed. The Aramis was a yare vessel, and he had never seen
her equal. She cut through the water with the ease of a sharp
blade against tender beef. If he hadn't understood before, it
became increasingly clear now why this boat was in and out of
port before the Zephyr could even get moving. The cut of her
bow, the placement of the sail--in fact everything Dallas
could see--contributed to her grace and speed
He smiled to himself on more than one occasion as he
worked There may he aspects of this job I don't enjoy, but
studying this craft more than makes up for every one of them.
The afternoon of the sixth day saw Smokey on the deck
more than any other day previous. Quiet as they sailed, she
allowed Darsey to handle most everything, but her eyes were
watchful. Everyone on deck knew that the ship would be in the
midst of a storm before the night was through. What remained
a mystery was how hard it would hit, and for how long.
The afternoon was swiftly disappearing when they moved
into heavy cloud cover. The north wind seemed to pick up as if
by magic, but still no rain fell. The wind had begun to whip the