Devi's Paradise by Roxane Beaufort Page A

not the time or the place. Let me take you back to your cabin. The wind is rising and I think we are in for a storm.’
    ‘But…’
    ‘No buts. I shall feel happier if I know you are safe below. Come,’ and he took her firmly under the elbow and did not stop until she reached her cabin door. He bowed again and gave a little quirky smile that told her he was aware of their attraction towards one another, then he left.
    Romilly flew into her cabin, shut the door firmly and threw herself across the bed. A tiny spark had been ignited between Joshua and her, and she determined to encourage it even though it might never blaze into passion. She was betrothed and he a dedicated mariner, but hope springs eternal in the human breast and Romilly felt decidedly hopeful. She curled up under the quilt and went to sleep with a smile on her face, ignoring the ever strengthening rise and fall of the ship, the sound of the wind and crash of the sea hurling itself against the fragile timbers.
    Romilly was riding round the estate at Harding Hall, the family seat of the earls of Standford. She was chasing a fox, the pack of hounds forging ahead, the leading huntsmen shouting, ‘Tally-ho!’ and their horns blaring.
    It was a blustery day, the rain lashing the trees, but the riders were indomitable, her father urging her on. ‘That’s it, girl! Go! Go!’
    She saw a hedge ahead, saw his stallion take it in a mighty bound, dug her heels into her mare’s sides, encouraging her to go full stride. The mass of greenery came closer. The mare leapt. Romilly lost her seat, tumbled to one side and off, hitting hard, hard ground, jolting every bone in her body.
    ‘My lady! My lady! Wake up!’ shouted Jessica, as Romilly opened her eyes and found herself on the cabin floor.
    ‘What’s happening?’ she said, the dream fading as reality struck.
    ‘The storm! The terrible storm!’ Jessica cried, hurrying around as well as she could in the dangerous tilt of the cabin. She was scrabbling to pack a few necessities in a leather valise. ‘It’s a hurricane, so the captain says, and we’ve to abandon ship.’
    ‘What?’ Romilly repeated, stupefied, getting up and managing to stay up by clinging to the bedhead.
    ‘He’s ordered his men to launch the longboat and we’re to take our chance in it. The vessel is going down, my lady! Oh, merciful heavens! Make haste!’
    The lamps swung crazily on their gimbals overhead and every object not clamped down was sliding and crashing everywhere. The sea lashed against the portholes, the May Belle bobbing like a cork, then dipping with dizzying speed into the troughs of the huge waves. There was no time to dress and Romilly grabbed her over-robe and Jessica flung a blanket around her. Then they struggled to open the door, tumbling out into the passage. Alvina was there, clasping her jewel box to her breasts, equally dishevelled. Kitty was sobbing hysterically, till her mistress slapped her across the face.
    ‘There you, Romilly! Come on! We’ve got to get on deck and into the boat. It’s the only way,’ shouted Jamie, white as a sheet, while George was attempting to buckle on his sword. Their valets were lumbered with bags containing the gentlemen’s clothes. Water was pouring down the companionway, but somehow Romilly managed to climb it.
    Dawn was breaking over the chaos on deck, everything at an alarming angle, ropes dangling, winches squealing, one mast snapped and lying across the stern like a felled tree, the others gaunt and bare, the sails tightly furled. She saw the grim faces of the sailors as they tried to lower the two boats that would not hold all of them, never in this world. Some would have to rely on casks, planks, anything that would float and support a man and keep him from drowning.
    Joshua was there, a formidable figure, magnificent and courageous and she wanted him at that moment, blindly seeking to be caught up in an emotion as vast as the fury of the elements. He seized her,