crippled hip.
“
Remember this well, Celine: I will see to it that you never have to whore like your mother
.”
She was only five when Persa had taken over her care, and from that day on Celine’s life had changed forever. There had been no more squalid rooms in back alleys. No more fear of hunger. Nothing remained of the sordid life her real mother had led. Persa had seen to it that Celine’s was a life of pleasant routine. The old gypsy understood her better than anyone. Persa had never made fun of Celine’s gift or recoiled in fear of her touch.
Fate had thrown them together, Persa had always said, because Celine needed to learn when to use her gift and how to close her mind to the visions, how to guard her touch and use her second sight only when needed.
True to her word, Persa had taught her to survive. Before she was old enough to work in their shop selling potions, Celine had hired out as a companion to an old woman down the street. She knew the pride of counting the coins she had earned from long hours of work. Thanks to Persa’s training, she was able to get the most for her money at the market. She learned how to save and knew the difference between things she needed and things she merely wanted.
But nothing she had learned about the men who visited Persa’s shop had prepared her for marriage. She knew with certainty what a good whore did in bed, but not what a good wife did.
Tonight, by law, she would have to give herself to Cord. Without love, would she be any better than her mother? Any better than a whore?
The ship’s bell sounded, forcing her to set aside her dark thoughts. She had but a quarter hour to freshen up before dinner. Two members of the crew were in the saloon as she passed through to get to her cabin. They were bustling in and out of the open pantry, tending the covered pots of food that had been carried from the galley in the bow of the ship. All of the cabin doors were closed save for one that belonged to Josiah Campbell, the ship’s surgeon superintendent. He was a spry, thin-faced gentleman with white hair and deep smile lines that bracketed his mouth and creased the corners of his eyes. Dr. Campbell acted as go-between for the captain and the crew and passengers. Since there was far from a full complement of travelers this voyage, the doctor had time on his hands.
He was seated on a cane chair just inside his cabin door studying the pages of a book in his lap. He paused long enough to look up and smile as Celine made her way across the saloon. She nodded and then gently knocked on the door to her cabin. She didn’t relish walking in on Cordero unannounced, and catch him unawares.
The door to the adjoining cabin opened and Foster, dressed far more like a gentleman than a servant, poked his head out and smiled.
“Can I be of ’elp, ma’am?”
“I was just going to freshen up and I wondered if … if my husband was inside.”
Foster shook his head. “ ’E’s in the captain’s cabin. Said to tell you ’e’ll join you for dinner. I’ve taken the liberty of laying out a gown for you.”
Celine looked down at the traveling outfit she was wearing and wondered why he expected her to change. She was still uncomfortable wearing Jemma O’Hurley’s clothes. It was one thing to take a woman’s unwanted fiancé, but quite another to wear out her clothes.
An hour later she was seated on a bench at the long dining table, wedged between her new husband and the captain’s mate, both of whom seemed content to do little more than stare down the gaping front of yet another ill-fitting bodice. Celine was so nervous she was not certain she could manage at all. Aside from the fact that her husband had insisted he would claim his rights later this evening, she was the only woman in the presence of Cord, the mate, the surgeon superintendent and Captain Isaac Thompson. She had been disappointed when she’d learned that Foster and Edward would be taking their meals with the steerage
“
Remember this well, Celine: I will see to it that you never have to whore like your mother
.”
She was only five when Persa had taken over her care, and from that day on Celine’s life had changed forever. There had been no more squalid rooms in back alleys. No more fear of hunger. Nothing remained of the sordid life her real mother had led. Persa had seen to it that Celine’s was a life of pleasant routine. The old gypsy understood her better than anyone. Persa had never made fun of Celine’s gift or recoiled in fear of her touch.
Fate had thrown them together, Persa had always said, because Celine needed to learn when to use her gift and how to close her mind to the visions, how to guard her touch and use her second sight only when needed.
True to her word, Persa had taught her to survive. Before she was old enough to work in their shop selling potions, Celine had hired out as a companion to an old woman down the street. She knew the pride of counting the coins she had earned from long hours of work. Thanks to Persa’s training, she was able to get the most for her money at the market. She learned how to save and knew the difference between things she needed and things she merely wanted.
But nothing she had learned about the men who visited Persa’s shop had prepared her for marriage. She knew with certainty what a good whore did in bed, but not what a good wife did.
Tonight, by law, she would have to give herself to Cord. Without love, would she be any better than her mother? Any better than a whore?
The ship’s bell sounded, forcing her to set aside her dark thoughts. She had but a quarter hour to freshen up before dinner. Two members of the crew were in the saloon as she passed through to get to her cabin. They were bustling in and out of the open pantry, tending the covered pots of food that had been carried from the galley in the bow of the ship. All of the cabin doors were closed save for one that belonged to Josiah Campbell, the ship’s surgeon superintendent. He was a spry, thin-faced gentleman with white hair and deep smile lines that bracketed his mouth and creased the corners of his eyes. Dr. Campbell acted as go-between for the captain and the crew and passengers. Since there was far from a full complement of travelers this voyage, the doctor had time on his hands.
He was seated on a cane chair just inside his cabin door studying the pages of a book in his lap. He paused long enough to look up and smile as Celine made her way across the saloon. She nodded and then gently knocked on the door to her cabin. She didn’t relish walking in on Cordero unannounced, and catch him unawares.
The door to the adjoining cabin opened and Foster, dressed far more like a gentleman than a servant, poked his head out and smiled.
“Can I be of ’elp, ma’am?”
“I was just going to freshen up and I wondered if … if my husband was inside.”
Foster shook his head. “ ’E’s in the captain’s cabin. Said to tell you ’e’ll join you for dinner. I’ve taken the liberty of laying out a gown for you.”
Celine looked down at the traveling outfit she was wearing and wondered why he expected her to change. She was still uncomfortable wearing Jemma O’Hurley’s clothes. It was one thing to take a woman’s unwanted fiancé, but quite another to wear out her clothes.
An hour later she was seated on a bench at the long dining table, wedged between her new husband and the captain’s mate, both of whom seemed content to do little more than stare down the gaping front of yet another ill-fitting bodice. Celine was so nervous she was not certain she could manage at all. Aside from the fact that her husband had insisted he would claim his rights later this evening, she was the only woman in the presence of Cord, the mate, the surgeon superintendent and Captain Isaac Thompson. She had been disappointed when she’d learned that Foster and Edward would be taking their meals with the steerage
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