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“I understand,” she forced out.
He nodded, swallowing hard, gripping her hands more tightly. “Even when Robbie and I betrayed you, we never stopped loving you.Ihave never stopped loving you.”
Face crumpling even as she stood straight, Helen nodded. “Even when I hated you, I never stopped loving you.”
For a moment, they both laughed as they cried.
“I forgive you, Elijah. I forgive you.”
His eyes screwed shut, and his breathing became ragged. Despite all the tension elsewhere, his shoulders relaxed, no longer burdened by the weight of a decade of guilt.
“You’re not alone. You have Hughes. The Siderises. That family…they’re not like the Grays, those temperance-loving, sour-mouthed fools. Call on Sirena and Pen while I’m gone. I’ve asked them to look after you.”
Again she wanted to argue but nodded instead. “Tea or no, come back to me, Elijah. Go to China and do what you must, butyoucome back.”
“Yes, ma’am. I told you—I shall see you in September, ready to make us a fortune, then carry you away from this dismal island.”
After a last squeeze, they forced themselves to let go of each other.
Elijah cleared his throat and dashed away the tear that trailed down his freckled cheek. “Nowthisis for Father.”
For Father?They hadn’t spoken of him since they had sailed past Dartmoor. Perplexed, Helen followed Elijah as he strode toward the crowd on the quayside. Her mouth parted as he approached the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty, six men of a certain age, all balding or white-haired. Two of them were garbed like civilians of high stature, the other four wore heavily decorated naval uniforms, their brass buttons shining, and their ribbons and medals as bright asAlacrity’ssignal flags.
“My humble ship awaits your inspection, fine sirs.”
Helen exchanged a look of shock with Mr. Hughes.
“Upon my returnfrom the East, of course, and once the treasures so swiftly transported to your shores are unloaded from her hold.” He held up a hand, as if to forestall complaint, and indeed, several of the men shot looks of outrage from under their heavy brows. “Forgive my rudeness for not remaining to converse, but I must, with the speed and prowess of an American blockade runner in 1812, set sail for China this very moment.”
Ignoring the harrumphs that followed his pronouncement, Elijah turned on his heel. After taking only a few steps, he stopped and faced the officials again. “Ah, yes, very good! Each of you has his trusty telescope. Gentlemen of the Admiralty, in honor of your presence here today, ready your spyglasses and heed the special salute I and my men shall offer once underway. May you accept it in the full spirit in which it is offered, and may it convey the esteem in which I hold London—nay, all of Britain!”
He strode to the gangway like a cock among hens. What he intended, Helen could only wait to see, but she knew her brother. His springy step meant he was quite pleased with himself.
A gentleman with toffee-colored hair stood at the top of the gangway. He would be handsome if not for his severe expression. The clergyman, she realized suddenly. He and Elijah shook hands, then the man waved to Lord Anterleigh.
Mr. Hughes offered his elbow. “I do believe I should like to create some distance between my person and the sputtering admirals.”
He guided her over to the Siderises and Lord Anterleigh, who all watched with open concern. Helen held Nicholas’s gaze, aware of his clenched fists when he looked at her hand on Mr. Hughes’s elbow. Sirena and Pen approached, each taking one of her arms.
Elijah’s shouts rang out with the last orders before they were underway. Dockworkers detached the gangway, and Helen felt lost.Alacrity’s umbilical cord was severed. The ship began floating away from the curved brick wall, built to accommodate the shape of a hull.
Isn’t this wrong?Guilt attacked her. She would be staying in a lavish townhouse, wearing her soft new underclothing and fashionable gowns, while Elijah risked his life—all based on her plan and at her urging.
She shook free of the women’s grasps and rushed to a spot where she could stand alone and watchAlacritymove deeper into the Thames. All along the dock were a line of ships laden with cargo waiting to be unloaded—rum, sugar, molasses, and coffee.
Even in the fog hanging near the river, the clipper’s black hull gleamed, a contrast to the bright-gold of the eagle figurehead. Always busy, the waterway was even more crowded this morning, littered with rowboats and other vessels vying for a glimpse of the ship whose fate already produced speculation and wagers.
Neither those spectators nor anyone on the quayside needed a telescope to see the crew liningAlacrity’squarterdeck. Squinting, Helen counted a dozen men before Elijah squeezed in, his auburn hair and uniform standing out. At Elijah’s command, they all saluted. Then as one, they turned around, bending at the waist.
Twenty-six bare cheeks raised up, and as ifAlacrityhad sprouted molars, a row of pale bumps appeared all along the quarterdeck railing. They remained for another count of ten, lest anyone doubt what they were seeing.
Oh, Elijah!
“The indignation! The indignation ofbuttocks!” cried one of the Lords Commissioners behind her.
Jeers and laughter drowned out the complaints, and Helen covered her mouth to stifle her amusement. Under the American flag, Elijah gave one last wave, and knowing it was for her, she stopped breathing. The pain of watchingAlacritybegin her journey intensified. She wasn’t only a woman of five-and-twenty; she stood as a girl of nine, watching her hero leave.
Her vision clouded, making the thirty stars on the national ensign turn into more. She swayed on her feet. The port noises faded.
