Wings of the Morning

  "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

  was still speechless.

  "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