Read Online Raven Quest by Jo Ann Ferguson - Free Book Online Page B

been found?”
    His lips twisted up at one corner. “The sea is vast. Men die. Secrets are lost.”
    Putting her hands to her mouth, she shouted, “Father, if you can hear me, are you enjoying this?”
    â€œRory Mullins!”
    She spun to face Ernest’s fury. With his finger directly in front of her nose, he said, “Don’t believe if you wish, Miss Rory, but don’t disparage those of us who do.”
    â€œHow can I believe this? It’s outrageous.”
    â€œMost things are.” He jabbed his finger in his chest. “But I believe it.”
    â€œI can’t. You accept the story of a sailor dying in your arms, Nathan? How do you know he didn’t describe his death dreams?”
    Nathan grasped her arms and scowled. “We don’t ask you to believe. We ask you to help.”
    â€œCan’t you see, Miss Rory,” interjected the first mate, “that your existence proves the riddle is correct? Powell may have left a dozen children, but I’m sure you’re the only one with this name.”
    â€œI don’t know,” she said slowly. “I wish I could share your dreams, but I can’t!”
    Nathan glanced at Ernest, then said, “You may not, but don’t forget that Yellow Hal Warwick does. How long do you think it’ll take him to discover who you really are, Rory?”
    She backed into the railing. She fought to control her panic. When Nathan put his arms around her, she clung to him like a child frightened by a storm in the night. He cupped her chin and smiled tautly. “Warwick won’t find you, Rory.”
    â€œI can’t believe he would try to chase us when even you don’t know where we’re bound.”
    â€œHe wants the Raven’s gold.”
    â€œHe’s a fool!”
    He sighed. “They whipped all dreams from you, didn’t they?”
    â€œI have dreams! But I don’t want excitement. I had enough of that in Port Royal. I want a quiet life.”
    Nathan turned and walked away. She wanted to call after him, but Ernest said, “Leave him be.”
    â€œBut—”
    â€œYou won’t change him, Miss Rory.”
    She knew Ernest was right. Nathan might treat her kindly and try to seduce her with his kisses, but he never wavered in his determination to find this gold and prove that he had not given up everything for a treasure that did not exist.
    Rory went into the cabin and sat at the table. Staring out the window, she took a deep breath. Could Nathan be right? Could she have forgotten how to dream? No, she had her dreams. Maybe she was looking at this all wrong. If she dared to believe the poem would lead them to a fortune in gold, that might be the way to pay for her cozy house and garden.
    But how to decipher the poem?
    She leaned back in the chair. It was pleasant here. The windows over the bed were open to freshen the small cabin. Everything was wonderful except for her fears. She was terrified of Yellow Hal’s greed, but her surrender to Nathan’s urgent kisses frightened her more.
    The sunlight flashed off something on the shelf. Rising, she picked up the box the Blindman had given her. She ran her finger along it gently. Not once when she had dreamed of putting Port Royal behind her had she considered never seeing the Blindman again. Only he had believed she could be more than she had been born to be. She had overheard her mother’s cousin suggesting she be sold to one of the brothels, where he believed she would inevitably end up. She would prove him wrong.
    She opened the cracked cover of the book the Blindman had given her. A Bible! Why had he given her this? As she turned the first page, she knew.
    To Kassy,
    on your tenth birthday
    Love, your grandmother
    May 7, 1663
    God bless and keep you always
    This had been her mother’s. Kassy Mullins had been younger than Rory was now when she died in childbirth, so Rory had no memories of her mother. No fond