Seacrets Read online

  Richard held his arms out to his beloved daughter and she fell into them and wept for what seemed like an eternity."There, there child, cry no more. I can no longer care for ya in my condition, even though it has been you who has, more often than naught, cared for me these past two years. As ya father I must know before I die I have done everythin’ in my power ta assure ya are well off and protected. This is the best I can do. Everyday I look upon your beautiful face and see ya mother, Maureen, in ya child. 'Tis harder and harder ta let go of ya, my wee bairn, more than ya know. But let go I must, for ya own good. Ya are much too good for the likes o’ some English rogue bastard. I'd rather ya take ya chances on that rough ship knowin’ when ya reach the shores o’ the Shawmut Peninsula, in Boston harbor, ya just might meet up with one o’ ya own kind. A strappin’ Irish lad and have a chance at a better life than one o’ serf to some bloody English soldier, or worse, forced to make ya way in the whore houses of this filthy city. I know for sure ya mother, Maureen, would have agreed with me. On this ya must trust me, gel. Up and until now I have taught ya well the ways ta protect ya self against danger. Ya know how ta hunt, shoot, and ride a horse better than most young lads. And what little schoolin' I did managed ta sneak inta ya, without the English blackhearts finding out about, ya also know how ta stitch, cook, manage a home, and are very well read. Ya will make a fine governess for someone's family or a wonderful school teacher."

  Maura wiped her eyes and listened to what her father had to say, knowing there would be no changing his mind on this. She stiffened her back against his words and sat stoically while he continued with his last bit of fatherly advice.

  "Remember one thing my child, never ever give ya heart ta some rogue not worthy o’ your regalness. Ya are truly very special, Maura. I would rather see ya never marry than to be bound to an unhappy union of convenience or abuse. That is why I am sendin’ ya away.

  I want ta make certain ya have every opportunity to put forth your greatness.” Richard fell silent awaiting a reply from his daughter. But none came.

  Maura rose up from her chair, placed a long kiss on her father’s forehead, hugged him and then ascended the stairs to her bedchamber.

  As she laid her head down on her pillow she knew this would be the last night she would sleep in her own bed. And after the morrow morning’s sunrise she would never again see her father alive.

  She buried her face into the pillows for one last long exhausting cry and fell off to sleep with her final thoughts being the fear of the unknown and having to face a new world on her own.

  δ

  Chapter Three

  Her room still blanketed in the deep purple darkness of dawn, Maura sat on the edge of her bed with a small satchel packed from the night before.

  Richard entered her room and looked upon her with tearful eyes. "Tis time lass. We must go ta meet with Godsey before the ship sets sail."

  Maura sat silent wishing the ship had sailed early so she wouldn't have to leave her home and her father. As she climbed into their small horse drawn carriage she looked upon her home one last time, took in a deep breath and forced back the tears to save her father any further heartache.

  As they reached the back entrance of the White Horse Tavern, Richard saw Godsey waving them onward. With a very short introduction Maura met with Godsey. He could see it in her eyes she did not want to go with him but her father pushed her forward. With one last ditched effort Maura begged her father.

  "Father please do naughtt send me alone. Come with me to America."

  “Alas, I would that I could gel. I canna go with ya. I don't even have money for passage for you let alone myself. If I should fare well over the coming year, I will find my way ta ya. But for now promise me ya will never forget ya heritage and ya will hang onta the old ways and ya language. Those are the only things in life worth keepin’, child. No one can e’er take those things from ya.”

  With that said Richard reached out and with both hands he took hold of Maura’s face and spoke to her in their native Gaelic for what he knew to be the last time.

  He told her she has been the treasure of his life. “Mu A Thaisce mi Luran inighean.” Then he kissed her on her forehead and with tears in his eyes he turned from her and ran from the alleyway.

  Maura stood, shaking with fear. “Should I go to the ship? Should I run from here and find my way back to my home?” Finally the sound of Godsey's voice broke the voices inside her head.

  "C’mon gel, we'll be late and I must give ya instruction before boardin' the ship."

  She followed Godsey into a scarcely lit room in the back of the tavern. “Come, come lass. Do naught be afraid. This here is Jeannie, my um, friend.” He chuckled while giving a playful pinch to Jeannie’s waist. “She has agreed to help with ya transformation.”

  “I’ve some old clothes from my boy that’s long since passed at sea. He was a cabin boy for three sailing seasons, when a giant rogue wave toppled the ship he was on. He was one of many died at sea that day two years ago, December.” Jeannie recalled with sorrow.

  She could see the fear in Maura’s eyes and tried in her elder wisdom to quell her fears. "Don't fret none lass. Godsey is a good man. He'll keep a close watch on ya."

  She instructed Maura, “Undress your top soes I kin show ya how to wrap your breasts to disguise your womanly fig’re.”

  Maura was most modest. After all she didn't even have a mother all of her life to help her dress, so this was very difficult to have someone looking at her unclad body. Her face immediately became heated and she blushed scarlet as she disrobed her top in front of Jeannie.

  Maura could see Godsey’s back as he was keeping lookout, but she feared he could turn any moment and see her. “Please marm, hurry, I’d be shamed if Mr. Godsey turned and saw me all out.”

  "My goodness, lass, you'd best keep this bawdy fig'r wrapped tight, lest one o’ those rogues aboard ship will have way with ya." Jeannine, nervous herself, jabbered away.

  Finally, after Jeannie had Maura dressed in boys clothing, she went to the hearth and grabbed a handful of cooled ash and rubbed Maura's face, a tad, to give the appearance of a street waif.

  "Well, Godsey my love, what ya think? I’m thinkin’ she’ll pass for a boy now, eh!" Jeannie stood beside Maura, proudly displaying her work.

  Godsey turned toward Maura, took in a deep breath and sighed.

  "Well let us hope we can fool the captain, is all, or both our backs will feel the stingin’ o’ the lash."

  Maura looked at Godsey with apologetic eyes. "I'm sorry Mr. Godsey. I shall do my best ta keep ya from the lash."

  “Awe, don't ya be apologizin’ gel. I owe ya father more than a few scraps of skin off my back. It'll be alright.” He tried to console Maura.

  “Once I get the Captain ta accept ya as his cabin boy ya must stay in the cabin, unless I come for ya. Do ya understand me? It would be very dangerous for ya ta go about the ship unattended. Should ya be found out, the lash will be the least o' ya worries. Ya get my meanin’ gel?” Godsey continued with his protective warning. “Those hooligans would be all over ya before ya could say jack rabbit. I will make sure ya get out o’ the cabin at least once a day, topside, for fresh air and exercise. The Captain spends a fair amount of time in his cabin going over his logs and maps and such, so ya will have ta be very clever not ta be found out by him or we'll both be in the gravest o' danger. I canna stress the point enough lass.”

  With those instructions given and some quick nods from Maura, they were off for the biggest adventure of Maura McCoveny's life... America.

  Maura’s fears temporarily turned to excitement, as she had dreamed of going to America as a child, but thought it was an experience she'd share with her father, or maybe her future husband. With thoughts of her father running from the alleyway, still reeling in her head, she began to breath heavy once more. She felt her whole body jerk forward as Godsey grabbed her by her wrist and they began to run toward the dock.

  Godsey feared he'd wasted
too much time. “C’mon Maura, lift those legs lively! There are punishments for latecomers and I don’t intend ta be late.”

  As they approached the great vessel, the Arabella, Maura's eyes grew wide with a mixture of fear and excitement. The noise down on the docks was incredible. There were hundreds of bodies, mostly men, scurrying from one end of the dock to the other, preparing to shove off for various ports around the world. Maura had briefly lost track of Godsey within the crowds of people. She was tripping over her own feet in unreserved awe. Maura was fast becoming dizzy from whirling about at each new sight and sound. The loud thud of wood on wood and the scraping sounds steamer trunks made as the deck hands dragged each one up the gangplank. The clanging of the toll bells alerting the hands it was nearing departure.

  Godsey instructed her to walk up the gangplank and wait at the top for him.

  Maura watched as Godsey walked towards the tall figure at starboard, unaware she was looking upon the man she'd be sharing a cabin with for the next three months. He was tall, about six feet in height, shoulder length black hair, and weathered tan skin. Even though he wore a calf length leather highwayman’s coat, she could tell he had a thick broad chest and arms to match. She took her eyes from the men and found a pane of glass in one of the cabin windows. With her finger tips she wiped away the dusty grime off one cracked pane and could not believe her eyes when she viewed herself in the murky window. Jeannie had hidden her thick dark raven tresses under an Irish newsboy cap. She donned very oversized boys trousers and an extra large flannel shirt. She was most uncomfortable with the binding of her breasts. To herself she said, How ever will I keep these bindings on for three months, but I know I must or… I could run away right now and no one would be the wiser. I could bargain my way home to my father. I could...

  “You, there Cabin boy! Take my trunks below deck.” Daniel shouted to her from across deck. “And mind ya, boy, I tolerate no stealin'. Any pilferin’ from me will find ya thrown overboard. Understand?" The Captain bellowed in Maura’s direction. "Y’y’yes, Captain, sir, I understand." Maura replied in a weak boyish tone.

  Godsey looked over at her, rolled his eyes and whispered to himself..."Mother of God, be praised."

  Maura struggled to drag the heavy trunks to the Captains quarters.

  Godsey waited for the Captain to be out of sight and came up behind Maura. "Here, lass, let me help ya, lest ya be here all damn day with this trunk. Have ya no muscles a’tall gel? I suggest ya be findin’ some. I won't be there ta help ya every time." As he wiped his brow Godsey stepped back away from Maura.

  "Thank you Mr. Godsey, sir." she said with eyes pointed to the deck.

  “It's Godsey, lass, or Albert as my mum was fond of. My father was Mr. Godsey and he's long since dead. I've got ta go topside ta get ready ta shove off. Ya wait here and the Captain will come down soon and tell ya of his needs. I told him ya was Jeannie's nephew and ya had never sailed afore, so ya was kinda green an' all. He said that was fine and he'd show ya the ropes, so ta speak. Remember, he's ya toughest audience, if ya can fool him you've got clear sailin' lass. Oh, and don't forget Maura, never leave this cabin without me." He bobbed his hat to her and set off to topside.

  Maura's heart sank as soon as she heard the heavy cabin door slam shut behind her. She knew her life from here on would never be the same. She forced her feelings of dread and doom way down inside of her and vowed to make the best of a bad situation.

  Maura walked over to the Captain's bunk and climbed up onto the ledge seat of the great bay window. Several panes were open and she could feel the icy January wind biting at her cheeks, as it blew in hard off the Atlantic. The smell of salt sea air filled her senses. She sat for what seemed like hours watching the dock workers and deck hands finish the last of their duties before shoving off, as Godsey had put it to her.

  Finally she turned her attention back to the cabin that was to be her home for the next three months. With a thud Maura jumped from the window’s ledge and began to explore the cabin for things that would be of interest to her so as to busy herself and while away the hours, when at sea, not realizing a Captain's cabin boy would have very little time to while away hours.

  Maura began to take in the many different scents of the room. She noted, first off, the smell of cherry tobacco and a heavy scent of sandalwood imbedded in the linens on the Captain's bunk. That, mixed with the scent of weathered leather, told her a man's presence was definitely about. The combination of the woodstove embers and the cherry tobacco reminded her of her father. The lump in her throat began to resurface and Maura had to fight to swallow hard to keep from crying again. She shook her head in an attempt to pull herself together.

  She walked to the desk, and with one slender index finger, she traced the back frame of the Captain's leather chair. She walked around to the seat of the chair and sat down in it and realized her small woman's frame was lost in its greatness. The chair was obviously made for the stature of a large man’s frame. She swiveled the chair slightly to the left and noted the Captain's log book and some maps strewn about. In an attempt to tidy the desk she came upon a hand painted portrait of a young woman she guessed was approximately her own age, or perhaps a year or two older. The picture was of Mallory Gilmore. The Captain's betrothed.

  Maura picked up the portrait and ran her fingers over Mallory's face in admiration of such a great beauty. The woman's overall looks were much different than her own. Mallory was pale of skin, with just a hint of pinkish hue to her cheeks. Her lips were thin and colored a dark shade of berry. Her eyes were a deep shade of amber and her hair was a mixture of strawberry and flaxen tresses stretching down her back with a few strands playfully adorning her shoulders and across her ample breasts that swelled invitingly over the top of her pale green and lace bodice.

  Maura was thinking the woman’s waistline was small but adequate for her buxom frame. She turned herself to face the lengthwise mirror on the back of the cabin door and examined her own frame. She wrinkled her nose at her own reflection, while turning herself this way and that.

  Turning her attention back to the portrait, she again ran her fingers across the whole of the picture. Maura, so absorbed in her appraisal of the woman in the portrait, did not hear the cabin door open.

  Daniel looked upon his cabin boy and noticed he had Mallory's portrait in hand and was studying it with great intent. "Ah lad, I see ya have an eye for the fairer sexes. Even at your tender age." He laughed heartily. "What be ya given name lad?" Daniel asked.

  Maura hadn't even given a thought he might ask for a name.

  What was her name, now? Her heart was about to burst out of her chest. This is it, she thought. I have naught even made it out of the harbor, and I am already found out! "Davy, sir" she blurted out at once.

  Daniel had not even noticed the delay in her response.

  “I like ya already, Davy," Daniel said as he slapped her full on her back sending her soaring forward, knocking her to her knees, face down into his oversized leather chair.

  Maura, still with her back to him, her eyes as wide as medallions, and brightly flushed cheeks, pulled herself up off of her knees to face her Captain, holding her cap tight atop her head, so as not to give away her secret.

  Daniel continued walking about the cabin while talking to her, not noticing her awkwardness. "They'll be time a plenty ta teach ya the ways of women lad, and I'll be only too happy ta school ya on that score.” His gorgeous smile flashed white teeth against the backdrop of his rugged tanned and weathered skin.

  Her heart began to flutter. This was odd, she thought, as she quietly continued listening to him and became lost in the shape of his mouth as he formed each new word.

  “Rule number one lad, don't ever let ya self become too enchanted with their beauty or it'll be the death o' ya boy. Enjoy what ya can from the wenches, but always hold ya own against their trickery. Ah but I've ta teach ya the ways of a cabin boy, first." Daniel laughed out loud again while slapping Maura forward into the des
k, this time.

  As she pushed herself up off of the desk, she thought,if this keeps up I’ll have ta add paddin’ ta my backside, as well.

  Maura looked upon him from the side view, as Daniel was busying himself at his desk going over the ship's manifest. His profile was strong and striking. The skin of his forearms and chest were as weathered and tan as his handsome facial features. His overall looks were rough and rugged, not like any of the boys she knew from her village.

  His hair was long to the shoulder and raven black with flecks of blue highlights that shone through when the sunlight was upon him. His shoulders were broad, and his partially unbuttoned shirt revealed a smooth and muscular chest, unlike her father's that was pale and covered with a thick matt of silver hair. Shamelessly she sought to fix her gaze upon his waist area. Then, just as quick, she averted her eyes from him and began to silently chastise herself for noticing his solid muscular legs, buttocks, and hips. Then placed a hand to her cheek to try and cool her blush. She was startled out of her trance by the tone of Daniel's deep masculine voice.

  "So, lad, Jeannie is your aunt?"

  "Y-yes sir, Cap'n, sir. Maura stammered, forgetting to mask her voice.

  "Ah, I see ya voice has not yet changed, lad. Ya must be very young, what say, thirteen-fourteen summers? Come, come, boy, speak up ta me. You'll be very close with me o'er the next three months and will have ta get used ta my ways. I am a stern Captain, but a fair one. If you do ya work and cause me no ire, you'll escape the lash and mayhap I'll hire you on again in future." Daniel had realized he'd not properly appraised this young lad. He reached out and squeezed Maura's upper forearms and remarked, "Ya are kind o’ scrawny lad, aren't ya? Haven't worked much in your life, I can see that."