"At one time you were interested in the Duchess of Glasgow," she declared firmly. "Don't deny it because I could see that you were. We don't know what has become of her— but if she were here, perhaps you'd still "
A low growl of denial escaped Jeremy's lips, and he started toward her. Janine moved backward across the garden, determined to say what was on her mind despite a feeling that perhaps she was going a trifle too far.
"Then," she continued bravely, "you fell in love with Esther Mary. Oh yes, you did! I'm sure you did! And you're only deigning to look at me now because she and Dirk "
"Rubbish!" Jeremy was faintly surprised by the fierceness of his own bellow. Leaping forward, he took hold of Janine's shoulders and began to shake her. "Hold still! How can I talk to you when you keep running away from me? And listen to what I have to say! It's true that I thought the Duchess was dazzling, but I was never in love with her! Never! It's also true that I thought Esther Mary was attractive. I still think she is! But you, you addlepated wench, you're the loveliest girl who has ever lived! I've known for some time that I've been in love with you, and I've probably loved you from the first moment I saw you—standing on the deck of your father's brig, looking as though you wanted to spit on me! What have you to say to that? Well? Answer me!"
"I—I can't," Janine gasped. "You—you're shaking all the breath out of me."
He released her abruptly, and they stood facing each other. They began to laugh together, then at the same instant the sounds died in both their throats and they moved surely, hungrily into each other's arms. They kissed, and as they did their worlds merged and became one. . . .
Within a quarter of an hour the brief ceremony was over, and as the four young people laughingly congratulated each other Reverend Pennywell jammed his hat on his head, placed his small Bible carefully in his pocket, and bustled out of the house. The sun was throwing a blinding beam through the archway where there had been a door, and the reverend almost collided with a burly, heavy-set man who hurtled up the path, his clothes disheveled and his eyes frenzied.
"What the hell is going on here?" the man shouted in a boom reminiscent of the quarter-deck.
Reverend Pennywell took off his hat, beamed, and extended his right hand. "Welcome, Captain Groliere!" he said heartily. "You're just in time! Here is your daughter—and your son-in-law."
"Jan is alive?"
"She is."
"And married, you say?" The captain stared stupidly.
"Yes, with God's blessing, to Master Stone, Jeremy Stone.
They're both well and inside the house. Come, Captain Groliere, there's no one they'd rather see."
Reverend Pennywell took his arm, but the Bonnie Maid's master shook him off and wiped a sleeve over his face. "Give me a minute, Reverend. Hard to take in so much so fast. Stopped for water at Grand Cayman Island the other day. Learned of the quake and rebellion from the skipper of a fishing sloop. Sailed like hell—pardon me, Reverend—and just dropped anchor in the roads thirty minutes ago. Asked everybody I saw about my Jan. An old Negress who'd been fed by her at a free soup kitchen somewhere or other directed me here. Give me a minute to get my bearings."
Again he wiped his face, and a variety of conflicting emotions showed in his eyes. Finally his breathing became more regular and, jamming his hat down on his forehead, he marched into the house, the reverend at his heels. Janine was the first to see her father and raced across the room to him. The others held back, but after allowing father and daughter a few minutes for a private reunion they came forward and joined in a flurry of greetings.
At last the captain focused his full attention on the new member of his family, and Janine instinctively moved closer to Jeremy, who met the older man's hard stare coolly, levelly, and smiled. Philippe Groliere studied him in silence for a moment; it was his business to know and judge men, and what he saw pleased him. Something had happened to this tanned, lean fellow in the months since they had last met. Jeremy was sure of himself now and at peace. The captain's glance shifted abruptly to Janine, and he softened. She was radiantly happy, and her eyes were shining as brightly as the strange, barbaric gold hoops she now wore in her ears.
Gruffly the old sailor extended a thick, hairy hand to his son-in-law. "Damned if you're what I had in mind for my little girl," he roared, "but damned if I don't think she set a good course!"
During the next few minutes Janine and Jeremy tried simultaneously to bring Captain Groliere up to date on all that had been happening in Jamaica. But they left out various details that seemed pertinent or important to Esther Mary and Dirk, who interrupted so constantly that the recital made no sense to the Bonnie Maid's master. And so he appealed to Reverend Pennywell, who was once again on the verge of departure, to give him a coherent account. The minister sighed, removed his broad-brimmed hat, and told a succinct, straightforward story. The two pairs of newlyweds had interests of their own and would have drifted off, but they stopped short at a question of the captain's.
"What has become of Her Grace of Glasgow?"
"I don't know," Reverend Pennywell said slowly. "She may have been killed, along with so many others. 'Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.' Galatians, 6. But let us refer to her no more as the Duchess Caroline of Glasgow. There is no such person and never has been."
Janine and Esther Mary gasped, and Jeremy could only stare blankly at the minister.
Reverend Pennywell had the full attention of his audience, and he smiled deprecatingly. "I have long been a student of genealogy, as Esther Mary knows. 'And that ye study to be ' "
"Please, Uncle!" Esther Mary was the only one who dared to interrupt. "None of your quotations now! Go on with what you started to say!"
The minister glanced at her in mild reproof: " 'We ourselves glory in you in the churches of God for your patience.' Second Thessalonians, 1," he replied, unruffled. "I am as familiar as anyone at the Court of St. James with the various branches of the Stuart family. And I knew from the day that the so-called duchess landed here that there was no such person, that she was an impostor. And if you ask why I have kept this information to myself, let me remind you that I do the work of God. I labor in His vineyards and do not interfere in the affairs of man."
There was a long silence, broken at last by Janine. "But— but if she wasn't the Duchess Caroline—then who was she? Who is she?"
No one answered.
The partly reconstructed Citadel dock was crowded on the morning that the Bonnie Maid was to set sail for New York and England. So many ladies and gentlemen, so many uniformed officers milled about that an onlooker who did not gaze at the ruined town behind them might never have guessed that Port Royal was the stricken victim of a catastrophe. Several prominent persons were taking passage on the brig, among them Colonel the Honorable Charles Llewelyn-Smith, who was returning to London for reassignment. Major Sir Stafford Chesley, who had suffered several wounds in the recent fighting and was in need of a change of climate, and Master Henry Slade, a wealthy bachelor plantation owner who had lost his taste for tropical living after the earthquake.
These worthies and their friends chatted amiably, while the owners of small boats waited patiently for the final farewells to be concluded so they could row the departing passengers to the Bonnie Maid. Captain Groliere was already aboard but had sent his gig to Port Royal to pick up his daughter and son-in-law, who had elected to remain ashore until sailing time. Jeremy and Janine stood now, hand in hand, oblivious of the hubbub around them as they watched Dirk and Esther Mary Friendly making their way through the crowd to their waiting horses.
Dirk turned briefly, waved, and plunged on. Jeremy lifted a hand in reply, then let it fall to his side. Janine looked up at him, and her fingers squeezed his. "We'll miss them," she said softly, "but they've chosen the life they want, darling, just as we're doing what we think is right for us."