for all my 23 years, and I don't know what I'll do without him."
Darsey silently weighed his choices. To coddle her right
now would make matters worse, but he fully believed that she
needed to grieve her father. He decided that for the moment
at least, she needed to buck up. Her grief could come later.
"I'll tell you what you'll do," Darsey's voice was stern.
"You'll captain theAramis just as he taught you."
Smokey looked at him in surprise and saw that the entire
crew was standing by, 25 officers and men, their eyes not on the waters that had swallowed her father, but fastened on her.
Smokey turned completely to face them, and as she did so,
Sftwsev moved to stand with the men. A moment passed, and
s'n stepped forward, his posture and voice holding
respect.
: are your orders, Captain?"
^''nt have been more surprised than if he had
tfflg at her. She studied their faces, and as her
Teach man, he removed his cap in a gesture of
s>
17
fealty. Smokey fought the tears that threatened to choke her
and spoke when she could
"I've a yearning for southern waters," she told them softly,
her voice gaining momentum with every word. "Ready yourselves,
men, and set sail."
"Aye, aye, Captain" was all she heard, her every word their
command. She watched as they moved to their positions. Her
own gaze went back to sea.
"You can do this," Smokey whispered to herself, "and you
can do it well, thanks to your papa." She prayed then, asking
God for guidance and wisdom. In so doing, she gained her
first glimpse of what her father had felt all these years--the
duty, the responsibility to his men, and even the loneliness in
going on without someone you love.
Darsey surreptitiously watched his new captain from his
place behind the wheel. He was praying also. Smokey might
have been surprised to learn that his prayers were not for her
as a captain, but for her as a woman. He asked God to bring
a special man into her life. Someone who would love her
enough not to be intimidated by her position. Someone who
would see her for the extraordinary woman that she was.
Darsey understood more than any of her men what a
superb captain she was. He believed, however, that she would
make an even finer wife and mother.
21kennebunk, maine
Jury 9,1850
amid the crowd of well-wishers, Jennifer Pemberton
stood next to her husband and studied the bride. She was as
lovely a bride as any girl could hope to be, her eyes sparkling
with happiness over the day's events. Jennifer was reminded
of the way she had felt at her own wedding just the year
before.
Hundreds of people were attending today's celebration,
since the groom's father was a man of some influence in the
area. Jennifer's attention strayed for a moment, and her eyes
caught sight of another woman in the crowd She looked pale
and somewhat overwhelmed, and Jennifer wondered if she
wasn't as much a stranger in these surroundings as she herself
was.
Wearing a dreadful brown dress that did nothing for her,
the woman, she observed, was quite petite in both height and
build. Her hair was blue-black and shiny, but pulled back
tightly into an unbecoming bun at the back of her head
Jennifer wasn't sure what prompted her, maybe it was the
almost fearful way the woman held herself, but she felt compelled
to seek her out. After touching her spouse's arm, she
moved a few yards away to stand beside her.
22
"Friend of the bride or groom?" Jennifer's voice was very
kind, and the other woman, after starting slightly, looked like
she had been thrown a lifeline.
"I guess the groom," she admitted in a hesitant voice. "My
father was a merchant sailor, and we've had dealings with
Carleton Shipping for years."
"Was a merchant sailor?" Jennifer prompted gently.
'Yes. He died two years ago. I run the business now."
Jennifer again heard the hesitancy in her voice, but couldn't
place the reason. She took her to mean that someone sailed
her father's ship or ships, and she did the book work.
"By the way," Jennifer spoke again, finally remembering
her manners, "I'm Jennifer Pemberton."
'Victoria Simmons," she supplied, giving Jennifer her first
real smile. Jennifer was so surprised at the way it transformed
her features that for a moment she said nothing.
Why, she's lovely! she thought to herself. The drab color of
her dress and her severe hairstyle are hiding a lovely flower
amid weeds.
"Areyou a friehd of the bride?" Victoria wanted to know,
feeling strangely at home with this woman who was watching
her so intently.
"No. I'm in the same position you are, or I should say, we
are. My husband does business with Carleton Shipping. I've
never even met Ben Carleton, but Tate--that's my husband-- knows him. Until today I'd never seen the bride or groom.
What are their names again?"
"Steve and Bridget," Victoria replied
"Oh, that's right."
Both women watched as the newlyweds made their way
toward the door. Once they were out of view, Jennifer turned
finrf, ikte headed toward them.
t, here comes my husband. Tate," she spoke when he
Ibeside her, "this is Victoria Simmons. Victoria, this is
"""*. "Rite Pembenon." Hp meet you, Victoria."
23
"Thank you. It's nice to meet you also." Victoria couldn't
have been more sincere, but she was suddenly out of words as
she stood before this tall, striking couple. Amoment of silence
fell until another couple approached, and Victoria found herself
just outside their circle. After watching a minute with
some regret as the other four visited with careless ease, she
turned and walked away. It was going to take more than two
hours to get home on the stagecoach, and she knew she had
best get going.
She was a block away from the church when she heard a
man calling her name. She didn't know anyone in this part of
Kennebunk, so for a moment or two she ignored him. The
voice was insistent, however, and Victoria finally turned Tate
Pemberton was rushing up the street, a look of profound relief
covering his face.
"Jennifer nearly panicked when she couldn't find you. She
thought we'd lost you for good We have our carriage. May we
offer you a ride home?"
"Thank you, Tate," she told him sincerely, thinking this
was the nicest gesture she'd experienced in a long time. "And
please thank Jennifer for me, but I live on the other side of
Kennebunk, nearly to Kennebunkport, and I'm sure that's out
of your way. I'm going to take the stage."
"We live in Kennebunkport, so your home must be right on
the way," Tate told her with surprised pleasure as he took her
arm and began to lead her back up the street. Tate asked her
exactly where she lived,
and when Victoria explained, Tate
nodded decisively.
From down the street Victoria spotted Jennifer standing
outside the church, looking anxiously in their direction. Even
from a distance, Victoria could see her smile as they neared
"I thought we'd lost you, and we had so little time to get acquainted,"
Jennifer told her sincerely, still wondering what it
was about Victoria Simmons that attracted her.
"I appreciate your offer, but are you sure it's not a bother? I
came on the stage, and it's really no trouble."
24
"You're right on our way," Tare supplied as the coach
appeared. He ushered the ladies inside. Within moments they
were headed down the road toward home, the women sharing
one side of the coach and Tate across from them.
"I really appreciate this, Jennifer," Victoria began, but the
other woman cut her off.
"Please call me Jen or Jenny. All my friends do. We're glad
to give you a lift. The stage can be so crowded and stuffy."
Victoria smiled at her, and Jenny was again amazed by the
change in her. Jenny would have been surprised to learn that
Victoria smiled because, compared to some of the cabins she
had occupied in her life, the stage felt huge.
"Jen tells me you're in shipping," Tate mentioned at that
moment.
"Yes, I am. It's not a large business, but we're never without
work."
"How many ships do you own, Victoria?"
'Just one," she told him.
"I might know your captain," Tate leaned forward slightly,
frank interest covering his handsome face. "What's his name?"
"Do you always go by your full name?" Jenny asked, choosing
that moment to interrupt her husband "Or do your friends
call you Vicky?"
"Actually," Victoria turned to Jenny, since Tate didn't look
at all upset over the interruption, "my nickname is Smokey."
"Smokey?" Jenny was surprised.
"It's her smokey gray eyes, Jen," Tate said with satisfaction.
"That's right," the smaller woman told him with a smile.
"That, along with the fact that when I was a baby, my father
used to say I would get so angry he thought smoke might come
from my ears."
The Pembertons enjoyed this, laughing at the vision. The
conversation moved to many avenues in the next two hours,
and with only one brief stop, Smokey was home a little ahead
of the stage. She thanked the Pembertons for the ride and
25
made her way into the house, a rambling, somewhat ramshackle
two-story that had been home since her father died.
Smokey lived with her first mate, Darsey, and his widowed
sister, Willa, who were both still up and settled in the small
parlor when she came in. Smokey took a chair by the open
window, and they looked at her expectantly.
"How was the wedding?" Willa wanted to know.
"It was nice."
"It didn't give you any ideas, did it?" Willa's look was
hopeful.
Smokey laughed. "What was I supposed to do, grab the
first man I saw and make it a double ceremony?"
"That's not what I meant, and you know it," Willa told her
with a stern look that could not mask the fact that she wanted
to laugh at Smokey's words.
"Who brought you home?" Darsey questioned her.
"The Pembertons. They live just beyond Little Fishing
Rock, and when we met after the wedding, they offered me a
ride."
"Old Saul Pemberton? I thought he passed away more than
a year ago." Darsey frowned in thought.
"It wasn't Saul, but his son, Tate, and Tate's wife, Jenny.
Jenny's maiden name was Knight." Smokey fell silent for a
moment.
"You should have seen her dress," she said almost dreamly.
"The bride's?" Willa assumed, hoping the wedding had
started Smokey thinking about having a family after all.
"No," Smokey's voice was still soft. "Jen Pemberton's. It
was beautiful. Makes me wish I had taken your advice, Willa,
and gotten myself some new clothes."
"Well," the older woman said almost indignantly. "There's
nothing stopping you from getting some now."
"Yes, there is," Smokey replied matter-of-factly. She stood
and stretched, hiding an expansive yawn behind her hand.
"We sail for Wales in two days. What would I do with a fancy
28
dress aboard ship? Goodnight, Willa." Smokey kissed the
older woman's cheek and then moved toward Darsey.
"Goodnight, Dars," she said after she'd kissed him also.
"Sleep well, lass," he told her and watched her lovingly as
she left the room.
Willa waited only until she heard the floorboards creaking
upstairs before she lit into her brother.
"Honestly, Darsey, you've got more pull with that girl than
anyone! You could have said something--put in a word or
two!"
"About what?" the man asked in genuine confusion.
"Her clothes!"
"What *s wrong with her clothes?" Darsey frowned in puzzlement.
"She's always clean and well pressed"
Willa snorted in disgust. "I'm not talking about that*/wear
clothes that are more stylish than hers. Most of her clothes
look like widow's weeds. It's not as if she can't afford something
new." Willa's emotions were high, but Darsey was calmly
logical.
"Be that as it may," he told her, "it's just like Smokey said
What would she do with a bunch of frills on board ship?"
"Well, she's not going to sail forever," Willa said petulantly
and rocked a little harder in her chair, all the while frowning
in her brother's direction.
Darsey, who had entertained this thought on more than
one occasion, suddenly had nothing more to say.
It was growing dark so Tate and Jenny had decided not to
rry at Smokey's small house in the country. Still, she was the
^^r^v1Cu ?nversation as they continued their ride home.
jgatshe the sweetest thing, Tate?"
^^d she is," he answered as he moved across the
|next to his wife. "There's something fascinating
27
about her. She's such a mixture of confidence and vulnerability."
"I was surprised at her age when she first told us, but then
as I watched her, I saw that she certainly isn't a child"
"Well, 25 isn't what you'd call old."
"No, but when we were at the wedding, I'd have said she
was closer to my 20. Then as we talked, I realized she has
almost a worldly look about her. Not worldly really," Jenny
immediately contradicted herself. "But her eyes seem older
than the rest of her, if you know what I mean."
Tate silently digested this. "You know," he said finally, "we
did an awful lot of talking, and other than finding out that she
shares our faith in Christ, we really didn't learn much about
her."
"Do you suppose that was deliberate on her part?"
"No, I think she genuinely liked us, but I just get the
impression that she hasn't many friends." Oh,
Tate!" Jenny was struck with what she considered a
wonderful
idea. "Go back in a few days and invite her to come
for a visit. I know we would have such fun, and something tells
me she would love staying in a house that was right on the sea.
It would be such a change for her after living inland"
Tate agreed wholeheartedly, and in three days' time the
coach took him back to Smokey's house. Smokey wasn't there,
however; the door was answered by a woman. Tate assumed
her to be the woman named Willa, about whom Smokey had
spoken.
Willa told Tate that Smokey was away and wasn't expected
back for quite some time. Jennifer, he knew, would be very
disappointed
29
morocco
one month later
"You don't have to say it, YusuF. I can tell by the look on
your face that Smoke has been here. Is the whole load gone?"
"I am sorry, Captain, yes," the old man's grin belied his
words. His smile was infectious, however, and Captain Dallas
Knight grinned grudgingly in return.
"How does he do it?"
Yusuf's grin widened to rival the size of his thick waist.
"The ship," he said, and Dallas' eyes narrowed in thought. "I
am not saying Smoke is not good captain. But the ship is fast.
Maybe even fastest." The captain nodded, catching the other
man's meaning, even amid the broken English.
Dallas had gotten word concerning a load of tea in Tangier.
Since he had been in Spain, he'd set sail almost immediately,
but as usual, a ship called the Aramis, and a captain
known only as Smoke, beat him to it. It was a continuation of
the familiar pattern of the last two years, but that was no
comfort. His business was suffering as a result.
Dallas appeared to study the toe of his boot, his mind
miles away. You wouldn'/ think that in an ocean the size of the
Atlantic, one ship could cause me such trouble.
R was all too true. To Dallas it seemed that the Aramis, or
lather her captain, had no rules. The ship did not seem to be
governed by time or wind The Zephyr, Dallas' ship, had been
on the losing end of the expertise of the Aramis' captain on
many occasions. It never seemed to fail--if word aired that
merchandise of great value was up for grabs, the captain and
crew of the Aramis did the grabbing.
Dallas finally thanked Yusuf and returned to his ship.
Within minutes they were underway. He had one other stop.
Some miles down the coast, in Casablanca, a load of sugar
awaited him. From there, he was forced to admit, he had no