Monsoon Mists (26 page)

‘Not just now, but as soon as this calms down, I will. Can you swim?’

‘Yes, but I’ve never tried any long distances.’

‘No matter. If we capsize, we can always hold onto the boat.’

Jamie knew that even if she’d been a great swimmer, it probably wouldn’t do any good in the middle of the ocean. And holding onto a boat in weather like this could be difficult, to say the least. No point telling her that though.

He continued to try and guide the little craft over the crest of the waves, but it was an uphill struggle, literally. They were soon soaked with spray from the white tips and a particularly large wave jolted them sharply. Zar gasped.

‘Hang onto something,’ Jamie shouted. ‘Or even better, come and sit here with me.’

He made room for her next to him and held out his hand towards her. She stretched out her own hand and as she started to stand up he called out a warning. ‘No, don’t st—’

But she’d already risen and just as he was about to grab her fingers, another massive wave hit the side of the boat, making her lose her footing. Zar stumbled, then fell overboard with another scream before he could stop her. Jamie stared at the water as she disappeared beneath the surface, frozen in horror at first, but then his limbs were galvanized into action. He had to save her.

‘
Zarmina
!’

He hung over the side, frantically looking for her, but when she appeared, she was too far away for him to reach her. Then she was sucked under again. ‘Noooo!’ Grabbing the oars, he rowed hard to try and keep the boat near the spot where he’d last seen her and to his relief, he saw her head come up once more, her arms splashing. ‘Zar, over here! Keep afloat, I’m coming!’ he bellowed. He wasn’t sure if she heard his words, but she turned her head towards the sound of his voice at least, and seemed to be fighting to stay above water.

The next few minutes were the longest of Jamie’s life as he battled to push the boat close to her. Several times he lost sight of her and was afraid she’d slipped under the surface, dragged down by her heavy skirts, but to his relief, she came up repeatedly. Finally, when he thought for sure he was going to lose her because he simply didn’t have the strength left to fight the waves any more, her head suddenly appeared right next to where he was sitting and her arms flailed above the edge. He let go of the oars and threw himself sideways, grabbing hold of one of her hands.

‘I’ve got you!’

Relief swept through him, but her fingers were wet and slippery and he almost lost his grip. Fighting down the rising panic, he quickly caught hold of her wrist with his other hand and hung on for dear life, then tried to haul her upwards. ‘Can you grab the side of the boat? Come on, help me out, Zar,’ he urged.

He could see that she was in shock and near exhaustion, but she nodded and tried to do as he asked. Once he was sure she had a firm grip on the side, he leaned over and put his hands under her armpits, heaving her back into the boat where she landed in a sodden heap on the bottom, coughing and spluttering. The boat rocked dangerously, but a rogue wave helped them for once by pushing in the other direction and saved them from overturning.

‘Zar! Zarmina? Talk to me. Did you swallow much water?’

She shook her head. ‘Yes. No. Maybe, just … a little.’

‘Good. Come here. Shhh, it’s all right now. You’re safe. You’re fine.’ Jamie sank down onto the bottom of the boat and sat next to her, pulling her close. They were both trembling with exertion and fear, but they were alive, at least for now.

He made sure the oars were inside the boat so they couldn’t fall out, then bent his head to lean it against Zar’s. He closed his eyes and let the waves take them where they wanted to. There was no way of steering at the moment. Where they went from here was in God’s hands, but at least Zarmina was alive.

He thanked the Lord for that.

William whimpered, almost out of his mind with fear, as he watched one huge wave after another rising above and around him.

He was going to die, he was sure of it.

Was this his punishment for leaving Zar behind? Was God angry with him? But she’d deserved it, the stupid conniving woman, and she wasn’t his responsibility. Not really. She’d brought it all on herself by acting so wilfully.

She should have married Richardson, then she wouldn’t be in a fix now.

Still, the thought of her alone with the pirates or Mansukh’s men, whichever group triumphed, sent a frisson of guilt through him.

‘Badly done, son, badly done,’ he almost heard his father’s voice admonishing him.

Nothing he could do about it now though. And she had Kinross to fight her corner. That left a sour taste in his mouth as well, the way she’d spoken of the man as if he was their saviour, a knight in shining armour.
Hah!
William had saved himself, he didn’t need the infuriating Scotsman.

Or so he’d thought.

He huddled low inside the boat, desperately seeking shelter underneath the seat at the stern, but the foamy water still reached him. He could taste it on his tongue, smell it, feel it oozing over his skin. His eyes stung, partly from tears of terror, but mostly from sea water. The storm had been raging for hours and he’d lost his oars. Trying to hide from the sight of all the water, he lay down and closed his eyes tightly, wrapping his arms around his head. That way he didn’t have to look at the horror all about him. But in his mind’s eye, he continued to see the waves coming towards the boat, rolling over him, drowning him …

Eventually, he fell asleep from sheer exhaustion, and when he woke up, he thought he really had died and gone to heaven. All was calm, blessed peace. Tiny waves lapped against the sides of the boat, but none rose up above him. Best of all, the sun was shining in a mostly blue sky.

And then he heard a shout.

Confused, he sat up and looked across the water where he spied a ship. It looked like a fishing vessel, but although it was small and somewhat bedraggled, he thought it was the most beautiful sight he’d seen in his life. He waved his arms and saw answering gestures from the crew, then the ship slowly turned towards him.

They were coming to pick him up. He was safe.

Sometime towards dawn, the waves and the wind died down at last and Jamie breathed a sigh of relief. He’d been sitting on the bottom of the boat with his back leaning on the seat and Zarmina in front of him, slumped within his arms. They were both wet through, but luckily it wasn’t too cold and by huddling down in this way they were spared the worst of the wind. It was still extremely uncomfortable though and a couple of times he’d had to bail out the water that kept filling up the inside of the boat as well. It was one thing being squelching wet, they didn’t need to sit in a puddle too.

‘Zar? Are you awake?’ He whispered the words, just in case she’d managed to doze off.

‘Yes. I think so.’

He smiled at that. ‘If you’re talking to me, I’d say you are. Listen, I think the sun will be rising soon and then we’ll be able to steer a course towards land again.’

He didn’t add that it might be a hopeless endeavour, as he had no idea how far out into the ocean the storm had pushed them. They had to try, at least, and hope for the best. The alternative didn’t bear thinking of.

‘Good. Maybe we’ll dry out a bit.’ She shivered. ‘I’m so wet. I must look like a drowned rat. I certainly feel like one.’ Her skirts were spread out around their legs, heavy with brine.

‘The most beautiful rat I’ve ever seen,’ Jamie murmured, for although her hair hung in sodden tangles, her face was as lovely as ever, if a bit paler than normal.

She sent him a look of disbelief over her shoulder. ‘You’ve got sea water in your brain, or possibly your eyes.’

‘I wouldn’t be surprised,’ Jamie agreed. ‘Once the sun is up, we’ll have to remove our clothes one by one and wring them out, then try to dry them. I have no idea how you managed to stay afloat with all that material weighing you down. You must be a stronger swimmer than you thought.’

He felt her shudder once more, the memory of her terror obviously still fresh in her mind. ‘Yes. It was as though they were alive, trying to pull me under,’ she murmured. ‘I’d almost given up …’

‘Don’t think about it now. You’re safe.’ He tightened his grip round her torso and hugged her close. He didn’t want to think about it either. He’d come so near to losing her and he knew now he didn’t want that. He … cared about her. His mind stuttered over the unfamiliar feeling and he quickly turned his thoughts to more practical matters.

‘Did you lose the fake talisman or is it still there?’

Zar patted her bodice. ‘It’s there, as are the diamonds I think. Amazing that they didn’t fall out!’

‘Yes. I guess it was a good thing for once that you’re laced up so tightly. Never mind, we’ll get you out of that soon.’

‘I’m sure the clothes will dry even without us taking them off,’ she said, a slightly prim note creeping in.

‘You’re not seriously going coy on me now, after all we’ve been through?’

‘Well, I’m not going to sit naked in front of you, if that’s what you think.’ She sounded cross now and he shook his head behind her back. Honestly, she was such a contradiction – shy one minute and courageous the next.

‘I swear, I’ll keep my eyes closed. Or you can blindfold me if you want, but you’re not sitting around in wet clothes all day.’

‘We’ll see.’

In the end, they compromised. He took off his shirt and waistcoat first, while she removed her gown. Once these garments were dry, Zar made him turn around while she took off her chemise and petticoat, then put his shirt on instead, together with her now very stiff gown. Once her chemise had dried in turn, they swapped back again so he could take off his breeches. He tucked the shirt securely underneath him, but it made him smile to see her attempting not to look at his legs.

A bubble of laughter rose up within him, despite the predicament they were in. Perhaps it was time for some teasing, to take their mind off things …

‘Sorry they’re a bit hairy.’

‘What?’ Zar’s eyes flew to Jamie’s, then down to his legs, before she turned away again. She’d not wanted to look at his naked limbs, but it was difficult to resist. Hair or no hair, he was beautifully made. And as for his upper body, which had been on display for hours earlier while he lent her his shirt … well, words failed her.

He was a veritable god. No, that was probably blasphemy, but he was definitely shaped like one. Tanned an even, golden colour, his skin had gleamed in the sunlight which played across the muscles working underneath. Rowing made his biceps and shoulders bunch up, then relax in the most amazing way, and his taut stomach had flashed in and out of her vision as he bent to his task. It was incredibly distracting.

She’d had no idea a man’s body could be so fascinating.

‘My legs,’ he said, bringing her thoughts back to the present. ‘Not a pretty sight, are they.’ He made a face.

‘I wouldn’t say that.’ She felt herself blush. ‘I mean, I understood all men to have hairy limbs. That is to say … really, why are we discussing this?’

Jamie chuckled. ‘Just passing the time. We could discuss yours instead, if you prefer? They’re much daintier than mine. Very shapely, in fact.’

She sent him a glare. ‘You promised you wouldn’t look. I should have blindfolded you after all.’

‘Then you would have had to navigate. It’s a bit difficult to see the sun with your eyes closed.’

‘I took my turn at rowing.’

‘So you did. With your lovely legs.’ He smiled and she wanted to get up and box his ears, but knew she’d never again stand up in a boat. It was too risky.

‘Can we change the subject please?’ she almost growled at him. ‘I don’t want to discuss body parts.’

‘Ah, perhaps you’d rather touch them? I don’t mind. Feel free. I could do with a back massage actually. I’m cramping up.’

‘No!’ She tried to suppress her outrage. ‘No, thank you. I have no wish to do any such thing.’ Then guilt flooded her. He was, after all, doing all the work. Or most of it anyway. ‘Do you really need your back rubbed?’ she asked. She wasn’t sure if he was still teasing or genuinely hurting.

He grinned. ‘Maybe later. I’ll let you off for now.’

Zar was annoyed to feel disappointment well up inside her. Damn him, he was right – she’d wanted to touch him.

For a while she sat in silence, just staring at the water flowing past as Jamie rowed. Each time he dipped an oar into the water and pushed, a small whirlpool was created which made its way past her. She watched these in fascination, sometimes turning her head to follow their progress behind them. It became mesmerising, almost soporific, and she was in a near trance when something jolted her out of it and she sat up straight, swallowing a gasp.

‘Jamie?
Jamie!
Is that what I think it is?
’
she hissed.

‘What?’ He looked up and craned his neck to see what she was pointing at. ‘Ah. Yes. Hell and damnation!’

A triangular fin had appeared not far behind them and seemed to be heading their way. Zar felt as if all the blood had drained out of her head and pooled in her stomach. She clenched her fists to stop from screaming out loud.

‘What are we going to do?’ she whispered, as if the large fish could hear her. Perhaps he could? She had no idea if sharks had good hearing or not. It must have found them somehow. Had it been their voices that lured the beast towards them?

‘You’re not bleeding anywhere, are you?’ Jamie asked, squinting at her in the sunlight, before checking himself over.

‘No, why?’

‘I’ve heard they’re attracted to the scent of blood.’

‘I can’t see any and I don’t hurt anywhere. Do you? Your face?’

‘No, I’m fine. That’s all dried long ago. It’s probably just out for a leisurely swim then.’ Jamie was clearly trying to sound calm, but Zar wasn’t fooled. She saw him scan the water behind them and turned back to look as well, afraid of what she’d find.

The fin came closer and she could see part of the body now. It was huge, several yards long at least, but moving through the water with sinuous grace. She shuddered. ‘Jamie?’