A Light For My Love by Alexis Harrington Page B

but
especially Susan Price, leaned a bit in Jake's direction, forks
stilled. Old Captain Meredith cocked an ear toward him, waiting for
his reply.
    Jake sipped his coffee, the dainty porcelain
cup looking out of place in his grip. "I didn't buy her. I was the
ship's mate and I won her in a poker game from the man I sailed
under."
    "Eh?" came Captain Meredith's blaring
inquiry. He wiped his nose on the napkin tucked into his shirt
collar, and his white brows drew together as he demanded, "Who'd be
daft enough to wager a ship in a card game? That's like wagering
your own mother!"
    "Yes, it is. But the master who bet her said
she'd lost her luck."
    The air filled with a confusion of voices,
all speaking at once.
    "Lost her luck! Jake, dear, have you lost
your mind?"
    "Aye, that master wasn't daft, but you must
be. I'm surprised you made it all the way to Astoria on that doomed
ship."
    "Sell her—you must sell her. There's terrible
danger—"
    China said nothing, thinking that this was so
typical of Jake. Bold and audacious, he thought he could lead
anyone, conquer anything. But this was serious. Loss of luck was
the worst thing that could happen to a vessel, even worse than
sinking. A drowning, the voice of a ghost, any odd occurrence could
jinx a ship. Once it occurred, ill fate would hound her to the day
she sailed to the scrap yard, and until then she would lose lives,
money, and time. No captain or buyer would knowingly enter into an
alliance with a jinxed ship. This was just another example of
Jake's recklessness.
    Jake glanced down the table at China. She
remained silent, offering no advice, not looking at him. She jabbed
idly at her eggs. Judging by her expression, he wasn't even sure
she was listening.
    Jake shook his head and put a spoonful of
sugar in his coffee. "I've navigated the Katherine for four
years. She was stubborn and slow and plagued with all kinds of
accidents. But she hasn't lost her luck. It was that captain who
was unlucky. He was a foolhardy tyrant who was too fond of Russian
vodka, and he sacrificed crewmen's lives and his ship's grace
because of it. He stayed in Charleston after the card game, and
once he was ashore, she never gave me another moment's worry. I
sailed her around the Horn to get here. She has the manners of a
lady, and she responds like a new bride."
    China's head came up at this remark.
    Captain Meredith nodded approvingly, then
posed in a hopeful tone, "Will you at least rename her? To trick
the bad spirits who've taken note of her?"
    "No. It's said she was named for a woman with
rare beauty and a very kind heart." He looked at China again, then
added, "No man could ask for more."
    China focused her attention on her plate, her
mouth tight at his allusion. Jake Chastaine was in no position to
discuss kindness. If he'd had a kind heart, he would have left
Quinn in Astoria. Ignore him, she told herself. Just eat your toast
and ignore him.
    "I was hoping to see Ryan. He must be nearly
grown by now," Jake went on, gesturing at an empty chair. "Has he
already left for school?"
    A vast, yawning silence fell around the
table, and no one rushed to fill it. The hiss of the gas chandelier
overhead suddenly seemed very loud. Only two people looked at him:
Susan Price, with her vague, troubled gaze, and China, her face
paled to snow and her eyes glinting back at him with blue frost.
Aunt Gert studiously folded her napkin, and Captain Meredith
continued spooning up his mush, apparently deaf to Jake's inquiry.
No one spoke, and Jake began to wonder why asking such a simple
question made him feel as though he were sitting there in his
drawers.
    China swallowed convulsively, and the toast
went down her throat in a dry, choking lump. Reaching for her tepid
coffee, she took a drink. She struggled to keep her voice steady.
"The sea got both of my brothers Quinn and Ryan."
    The feeble remainder of her appetite gone,
she stood and began clearing the table, avoiding Jake's dumbfounded
gaze. She hadn't