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Listening with impossible raptness, he nodded. “What else?”
Helen crouched to stare at the pine decking on which they stood, and he lowered himself next to her. She trailed a hand over the unpainted wood. Aside from occasional oiling, it was unvarnished, and kept clean and smooth by swabbing.
“Beyond species, it’s the configuration of the tree itself. Floors and decks, they’re most likely from the upper, straight portion of a tree trunk.”
Nicholas blinked, taking this in. “Continue.”
She rose, and he followed suit. “Knees. A ship this strong and agile could not exist but for a tree’s knees.”
“Trees have knees?”
They both laughed.
“It’s where a limb joins the trunk at nearly a ninety-degree angle. The flow of the grain changes as it grows, and it’s very strong. It has to be to support the tree and limb from strong internal and external stresses—weight, wind.”
“Using a knee must mean much greater strength than combining two straight timbers.”
“Yes! However bound, two straight pieces will never be as strong as a natural-grown knee. The knees are critical in multiple places onAlacrity, such as the connection between the frame and the deck beams.”
Nicholas quizzed her about other tree parts and their uses. By the end, Helen realized two things. One, he had managed to put her at ease during the back and forth, and two, he had revealed a detailed understanding of ships that she would not assume a man in trade to possess, however successful he was in commerce.
He’s not the only one capable of observation.
“You know a great deal about ships.”
He shook his head. “Not clippers.”
“Shipbuilding in general. You’re well-versed, it’s clear.”
She wondered if he would brush her off, perhaps by switching to another question. Instead, he watched her for another moment through his thick-lashed eyes before explaining.
“You know how it is to learn from a family firm. Mine was shipping.”
“That explains it.” She smiled, gratified he had replied, even as she pondered why he had strayed from the family business. “Irons Shipping.” She spoke the name aloud, only musing, but it seemed to land heavily on Nicholas.
“Sideris is the family name. Irons…is mine.”
Without pressing further, she nodded in acknowledgment. She had wondered why his name hadn’t sounded Greek, but it was common enough for families to change their names upon immigrating. In his case, the adoption of Irons was, apparently, much more personal.
So he has his own oddities.
Her fascination with Nicholas grew, and so, too her admiration and even envy. “Perhaps a name change will be in my future. A name of my own, for a life of my own.” The Gray name was not an association she wished to continue, and whatever Miller pride lived within her, that name, too, carried with it a great deal of pain.
“What sort of life do you seek?”
She shrugged. “Life in the American West is laden with adventure, rife with the chance to start afresh.” She wondered why she had said that. Returning to Boston sounded unbearable, but life in the West had yet to resonate as her best option. “In any case, I must finishthisventure first before I decide. Shall we proceed below decks? The staterooms and saloons are a sight to behold. Perhaps you would also like a glimpse of the hold. In a few months, it will be filled with fragrant tea chests.”
If only saying that aloud would make it so.
“In due time.” He cocked his head. “What isyourfavorite part of the ship?”
That’s irrelevant,was her first thought. But he awaited her answer, watching her carefully, so she spoke of the intricate craftsmanship in the dining saloon.
“I look forward to seeing that, then.”
Helen nearly shook her head to clear it when she found herself staring at his sculpted lips. She cleared her throat and hurried to the hatch.
“Allow me to go first, so that I may assist you.”
