The Orphan's Dream (32 page)

‘I'm hot and sticky and I must smell like the swamp,' Mirabel said, chuckling. ‘I'm going to run out of clothes at this rate.'

Peering at her over the top of the blanket, Gertie gave her a searching look. ‘Why are you so cheerful? You look like you've been dragged through a hedge backwards, and you got scratches on your face that will fester if you're not careful.'

‘I survived,' Mirabel said, turning her head away. Gertie knew her only too well and she would know instinctively that something had changed. She glanced at Jack, but he had set himself apart from the rest of the men and was standing at the water's edge, smoking a cigarillo. The faint scent of it mingled with the wood-smoke from the campfire and the rich aroma of the hog meat as Moses roasted it on an improvised spit. ‘We'll eat well tonight,' she added casually.

‘I dunno if I can stomach eating a wild pig,' Gertie said warily. ‘You never know where it's been.'

‘It's better than alligator. Now that would be hard to swallow, but if you're hungry enough you'll eat almost anything.' Mirabel slipped a cotton-print gown over her head. ‘I'm semi-decent. Will you do me up, please?'

Gertie folded the blanket and proceeded to fasten the tiny buttons at the back of Mirabel's bodice. ‘Something's changed. What happened out there?'

‘I don't know what you're talking about,' Mirabel said, shrugging. ‘You've been alone too much and you're imagining things. Anyway, it's just as well you didn't accompany us today. You wouldn't believe what it was like in there.' She shivered, but it was the memory of Jack's embrace that sent a tremor running down her spine. The dangers and discomfort of the Fakahatchee swamp were forgotten, but the memory of that passionate embrace would last a lifetime.

‘And you've got to go back there tomorrow, I suppose,' Gertie said, sighing. ‘Better you than me, that's all I can say.' She fastened the last button, patting Mirabel on the shoulder. ‘All done, and you're right about the hog. I don't suppose it'll be as good as Mrs Flitton's roast pork and all the trimmings, but I'm starving so I won't be too fussy.'

‘Quite right.' Mirabel nodded in agreement, although she had barely heard a word that Gertie said. Her thoughts were for Jack only and she knew that it was foolish, dangerous even, but she had to be near him. She needed to speak to him and reassure herself that what had happened in the swamp had not been merely a spur of the moment reaction to the dangers they had faced. ‘I want to ask the captain something,' she said vaguely. ‘I'll only be a minute.' She walked away, heading towards the lake, but she had only taken a few steps when Hubert called out to her. He was lying on his bedroll with a blanket covering his legs, although it was still uncomfortably hot.

‘Come and sit with me, my dear. I've hardly had time to speak to you since we returned.'

Mirabel glanced anxiously at Jack, who was still standing staring out across the water. Soon it would be dark and they would eat their evening meal before turning in for the night. She needed him but she knew that what she wanted was impossible. When this was over they would go their separate ways and she might never see him again. She moved to Hubert's side. ‘You should be resting.'

He patted the ground. ‘Sit with me for a while, Mirabel. You must have had a terrible fright today, and I wanted to apologise for placing you in such dire peril.'

She went down on her knees in the dust. ‘I'm all right, Hubert. Really, you mustn't worry about me.'

‘But I do, my dear girl. It was my selfish desire to find the ghost orchid which brought us here. I should have been looking after you.'

‘I wanted to come and I wouldn't have missed the experience for the world.' She scrambled to her feet. ‘Would you like some tea? I know that Bundy will have a kettle on the boil.'

He nodded wearily. ‘You're too good to me, but yes, I would love a cup of tea, with perhaps a drop or two of brandy.'

‘Of course.' She walked over to where Bodger was sitting with his knees drawn up to his chest. ‘My husband would like some tea, but I don't like to disturb the men at the campfire.'

‘Of course, missis.' Bodger unravelled his long legs and leapt to his feet. ‘I know just how the boss likes it.' He winked and tapped a silver flask tucked in his shirt pocket. ‘Leave it to me.'

Mirabel smiled and thanked him. She hesitated, turning her head to look at Jack. She desperately wanted to be at his side, to inhale the musky scent of him that made her sense spin out of control, but she was painfully aware that every move she made would be observed by someone in the camp, especially Hubert. She was about to abandon her plan to join him on the pretext of watching the sunset when he turned his head and their eyes met. She knew she was lost and she moved slowly towards him, like a sleepwalker drawn to him by a silken cord that could never be broken. She could feel him smiling even though his face was in shadow, and then the atmosphere changed. She felt the air crackle with danger even before he shouted a warning. He was running towards her. ‘Get back,' he shouted hoarsely. ‘Run.'

Behind him she saw the sleek silhouette of a panther moving so fast it was like a streak of golden silky fur and it was heading straight for Jack.

FROZEN TO THE
spot, Mirabel could only stand and stare in horror as the animal raced towards Jack. She heard Bundy shout and the sound of a rifle being cocked but Jack had drawn the pistol from its holster and he fired into the air. The panther came to a skidding halt, and in one graceful movement it turned and fled into the stand of cypress trees bordering the lake. Moses raced past Mirabel brandishing a flaming branch he had plucked from the fire, but the panther had disappeared into the undergrowth. Jack slipped his gun back into its holster. ‘We'll double the watch tonight.' He laid his hand on Mirabel's arm. ‘Are you all right?'

She nodded slowly. The nightmare vision of what might have been flashed before her eyes. ‘You could have been killed.'

‘But I wasn't.' He glanced over her shoulder, frowning. ‘Your husband looks upset, and so he should for putting you in danger in the first place.'

She drew away from him, fear turning to anger. ‘I chose to come here. I'm not a child, Jack. I knew it would be dangerous.' The desire to hold him and be held was almost overpowering, but somehow she managed to cling on to her wavering self-control. For the second time that day they had faced danger together: all her senses were alert and her emotions raw with the need for him and him alone. She could hear her husband calling her name and she forced herself to walk away, each step hurting as if she were walking on shards of broken glass.

Hubert had risen shakily to his feet and he tottered towards her, arms outstretched. Their relationship had never entailed more than a chaste peck on the cheek and the mere thought of being embraced by him made her recoil in horror. She clutched his hands, giving them a comforting squeeze, and by doing so managed to avoid any closer contact. ‘Are you hurt?' he demanded querulously. ‘I couldn't quite see what happened. It was all so sudden.'

‘It was a panther,' she said, leading him back to where he had been sitting. ‘It came from nowhere.'

‘And Starke shot it?'

‘No, Hubert, he fired into the air and it ran away.'

‘It will return. It must have smelled the meat. We must be on our guard.' He sank down on his bedroll with a sigh. ‘I've brought you into terrible danger, Mirabel. I'm so sorry, my dear.'

‘Nonsense,' she said briskly. ‘Let's not go over it again. I'm here because I chose to be.'

He looked up at her, his eyes moist. ‘You've given me so much, and I've given you so little in return.'

‘That's silly,' she said, patting his shoulder. ‘You've given me everything I could possibly want.'

‘I'd be lost without you. You've made my life worthwhile.' His voice shook with emotion. ‘I know that I'm a selfish old man, but I want you to know that I love and respect you, and all I want now is for you to be happy too.'

She sketched a smile, struggling with feelings of guilt and frustration. She was trapped and there was no escape. Hubert deserved better than to be cuckolded by an unfaithful wife. ‘I am happy,' she murmured, avoiding his anxious gaze. ‘And I'll be even happier when we've found the ghost orchid.' She withdrew her hand gently. ‘Maybe we'll come across one tomorrow.'

Hubert nodded, reaching for his none too clean handkerchief and mopping his brow. ‘I hope so, my dear.' He looked up as Bodger approached them carrying a tin plate laden with roast meat and corn pone.

‘Here you are, guv,' he said cheerfully. ‘Eat this and you'll be fit as a fiddle by morning.'

Hubert accepted the food, staring at it doubtfully. ‘I'm not very hungry.'

‘You must try to eat,' Mirabel said, frowning. ‘Bodger's right; you need to keep your strength up if we're to find the ghost orchid.'

‘I'll do my best.' Hubert met her worried glance with a smile. ‘Go and enjoy your meal, my dear, and thank Captain Starke for his quick action, which probably saved your life. I'm deeply indebted to him.'

Mirabel left him, although she doubted whether he would eat much. Thinking back she realised that he rarely ate a big meal, even those prepared by a good cook like Mrs Flitton, and large chunks of hog meat burnt at the edge and pink in the middle were hardly likely to tempt a delicate appetite. She fetched her own plate and went to sit beside Jack. ‘I'm sorry,' she said softly.

‘What for?' He regarded her with the slow smile that had the power to send her senses reeling and her pulses racing.

‘I behaved very badly in the swamp, but it was fright that made me act as I did.'

‘I kissed you.'

‘And I kissed you back, but it was a mistake. It can't happen again.'

He seized her free hand, holding it in a firm grasp. ‘I love you,' he said in a low voice.

She stared down at their clasped hands. ‘You can't and I can't. I'm married.'

‘To a man who's old enough to be your grandfather? That's not exactly a union of souls.'

‘Shh. Someone might hear.' She glanced around anxiously, but the others were intent on enjoying their supper and Hubert had lain down, closing his eyes. ‘This has got to end now, Jack.'

‘But you love me. Don't deny it. I know you do.'

She bowed her head. ‘Don't make it worse than it is. I can't bear it.'

‘Leave him. Come away with me. I'll find another ship and we'll sail the world together.'

‘In a dream, maybe.' She looked up and met his intense gaze with a smile. ‘It's a lovely dream, but that's all it is. Hubert rescued me from Zilla's and he's treated me like a queen. I can't break his heart. He doesn't deserve such treatment.'

‘I would have come back for you. I thought I could forget you as I had the other women in my life, but it wasn't so. I'm not giving up now.' Jack rose to his feet, tossing the contents of his tin plate into the fire where the fat exploded into flames and the meat sizzled and curled, burning to ash in seconds.

Mirabel had lost her appetite. She sat for a while, not wanting to attract attention to herself, and then she rose quietly, giving her untouched food to Bodger as she made her way to where Gertie had laid out their bedrolls. No matter what Jack said, it was over before it had begun. She would not betray Hubert: her marriage vows had not been taken lightly. Her heart might be breaking, but she would have to be strong.

Gertie was curled up on her bedding with an empty plate at her side. She stared at Mirabel, her brow ridged in a frown. ‘What was all that about, Mabel?'

‘I don't know what you mean.' Mirabel sat down, preparing to sleep. ‘I'll be glad to get back to Mama Lou's so that I can have a proper wash and clothes that aren't crawling with insects.'

‘I saw you two with your heads together. I keep warning you about Captain Jack, but you don't seem to listen.'

‘I'm worn out and all I want to do is sleep. I suggest you do the same.' Mirabel had not meant to speak so sharply, but she knew from past experience that once Gertie got an idea in her head it was almost impossible to convince her otherwise.

Gertie subsided with a sigh. ‘He's trouble and always was.'

‘Goodnight, Gertie.' Mirabel lay down and closed her eyes, although it was a long time before she drifted off to sleep.

The search for the elusive ghost orchid continued next day. Mirabel had toyed with the idea of remaining in camp with Gertie, but the stubborn streak in her nature would not allow her to give up so easily. She kept as far apart from Jack as possible and was careful not to catch his eye, although she sensed when he was looking at her, which was often as the day progressed. Each part of the swamp looked the same to her as they waded through water and clouds of biting insects. She had almost given up hope when a sudden cry from Hubert brought about a sudden halt. Jack was close behind her and she could feel the heat of his body. The temptation to lean back and rest her head against his shoulder was so great that she had to dig her fingernails into her palms to bring herself back to the real world.

‘There it is,' Hubert shouted, his voice breaking in his excitement. ‘The ghost orchid, and there are several beautiful specimens.'

Mirabel moved forward slowly. She was already up to her waist in water and Abraham, who had accompanied them that day, had stepped into a sinkhole earlier and disappeared beneath the surface. It had taken the combined efforts of Jack and Moses to get him out. She peered up at the trunk of the custard apple tree and saw the startlingly white ghost orchids. Unreal and ethereal, they seemed to be floating in midair, their long fluttery tails moving gently in the light breeze. It seemed unimaginable that anything so delicate could live in such a hostile environment. ‘They're so beautiful,' she breathed softly.