"I feel perfectly well," Sara countered.
Nora's concern was obvious in her expression. "You've been terribly preoccupied," she remarked. "Is the heat bothering you?"
"No," Sara answered. She let out a little sigh. "I was just thinking about… things."
"Any special thing in particular?" Nora prodded.
Sara continued to stare at Nathan. He raised an eyebrow when she didn't immediately answer her aunt.
Nora broke the staring contest when she asked her ques tion once again. "I was suggesting that now would be an excellent time to learn how to swim."
"I'll teach you."
Nathan volunteered for that duty. Sara smiled at him. "Thank you for offering, but I don't believe I want to learn how. There isn't any need."
"Of course there is," he replied. "You'll learn before we leave for England."
"I don't wish to learn," she said again. "I don't need to know how."
"What do you mean, you don't need to know how?" Nathan asked. "You sure as hell do need to know how."
"Why?"
Because she looked so genuinely perplexed, he lost a little of his irritation. "Sara, you won't have to worry about drowning if you know how to swim."
"I don't worry about it now," she countered.
"Damn it all, you should."
She couldn't understand why he was getting so irritated. "Nathan, I won't drown."
That statement gave him pause. "Why not?"
"You wouldn't let me." She smiled.
Nathan braced his hands on his knees and leaned forward. "You're right," he began in a reasonable tone of voice. "I wouldn't let you drown."
Sara nodded. She turned to Nora. "There, do you see, Nora? There really isn't any need-"
Nathan interrupted her. "However," he announced in a louder voice, "what about those times when I'm not with you?"
She gave him an exasperated look. "Then I wouldn't go into the water."
He took a deep breath. "What if you fell into the water by accident?"
"Nathan, this is sounding very like the argument you gave me about defending myself," she said, her voice full of suspicion.
It's exactly the same argument, he countered. "I don't want to have to worry about you. You're going to learn how to swim, and that's the end of this discussion."
"Nora, do you notice how he yells at me all the time?" Sara asked.
"Don't try to draw me into this discussion," her aunt said. "I won't take sides."
Husband and wife lapsed into silence. Not another word was exchanged until they reached the pier.
Sara finally took time to notice her surroundings. "Oh, Nora," she whispered. "Everything is even… greener and lusher than I remembered."
The tropical paradise was vibrant with every color in the rainbow. Sara stood on the pier and stared up at the rolling hills in the distance. The sun pierced the palm trees, shining bright upon the multitude of delicate red flowers sprinkling the way to the top of the mountain.
Clapboard houses painted in pastel shades of pink and green, with copper-colored tiled roofs, stood regal against the background of hills overlooking the harbor. Sara wished there was time to take her charcoals and paper in hand and try to capture the God-created canvas. She realized almost immediately that she couldn't possibly duplicate the masterpiece, and she let out a little sigh.
Nathan walked over to stand beside her. The innocent wonder on her face took his breath away.
"Sara?" he asked when he noticed the tears gathering in her eyes. "Is something the matter?"
She didn't take her gaze away from the hills when she answered him. "It's magnificent, isn't it, Nathan?"
"What's magnificent?"
"The painting God's given us," she whispered. "Look up at the hills. Do you see how the sun acts as the frame? Oh, Nathan, it truly is magnificent."
He never looked up. He stared down at his wife's face for what seemed an eternity. A slow heat seemed to permeate his heart, his soul. He couldn't stop himself from reaching out to touch her. The back of his finger slowly trailed a line down the side of her cheek.
"You are magnificent," he heard himself whisper. "You see only the beauty in life."
Sara was stunned by the emotional force in his voice. She turned to smile at him. "I do?" she whispered.
The unguarded moment was gone. Before she could so much as blink Nathan's manner changed. He became brisk when he ordered her to quit dallying.
She wondered if she was ever going to understand him. She walked by her aunt's side along the wooden planks that led to the street while she considered her husband's confusing personality.
"Sara dear, you're frowning. Is the heat beginning to bother you?"
"No," she answered. "I was just thinking what a confusing man my husband is," she explained. "Nora, he actually wants me to become thoroughly self-sufficient," she confessed. "Nathan has made me realize how dependent I try to make myself. I only thought I should," she added with a shrug. "I thought he was supposed to take care of me, but perhaps I was in error. I believe he would still cherish me even if I could defend myself."
"I believe he'd be very proud of your efforts," Nora answered. "Do you really want to be at a man's mercy? Consider your mother, Sara. She isn't married to a man as caring as Nathan."
Her aunt had given her something to think about. Sara hadn't considered the possibility that Nathan might have turned out to be a cruel man. But what if he had?
"I must think about what you've just said," she whispered.
Nora patted her hand. "You'll work it all out in your mind, my dear. Don't frown so. It will give you a headache. My, isn't it a lovely day?"
There were several men loitering along the pathway. They all stared at Sara when she strolled past. Nathan scowled at their blatantly lustful looks, and when one overly appreciative man let out a low whistle Nathan's temper ignited. When he walked past the man he casually slammed the back of his fist into the bastard's face.
The blow toppled the man into the water. Sara glanced back over her shoulder when she heard the splash. It was an absentminded action, for she was also trying to concentrate on what Nora was saying to her. She caught Nathan's eye. He smiled at her. She smiled back before turning around again.
All but one of the other men moved out of the way when Nathan walked past. The less cautious individual had a twiglike nose and a squint. "She's a fetching one, ain't she?" he remarked.
"She's mine," Nathan announced in a low growl. Instead of hitting the insolent man he simply shoved him off the pier.
"Boy, you're getting a mite protective, don't you think?" Jimbo drawled out. He grinned when he added, "She's just a wife."
"The woman doesn't realize her own appeal," Nathan muttered. "She sure as hell wouldn't walk like that if she noticed how the bastards were leering at her."
"Exactly how is she walking?" Jimbo asked.
"You know damn well what I'm talking about. The way her hips…" He didn't continue his explanation, but turned his attention to Jimbo's last remark. "And she isn't just a wife, Jimbo. She's my wife."
Jimbo decided he'd baited Nathan long enough. The boy was working himself into a fury. "I can already see from the looks of the place that we aren't going to be able to get the supplies we need to repair the mast."
That glum prophecy turned out to be true. After sending Sara with Nora and Matthew to get settled in Nora's house, Nathan went with Jimbo to explore the tiny village.
It didn't take Nathan long to agree that they'd have to sail to a larger port. According to the charts, the nearest supply port was a good two days away.
Nathan knew his wife wouldn't like hearing about his departure. On his way up the hill, he made the decision to tell her at once and get the inevitable scene over and done.
He was a bit surprised when he reached Nora's house. He'd expected to find a small cottage, but Nora's residence was three times that size. It was a large, two-story structure. The exterior was a pale pink. The verandah that circled the front and sides was painted white.