Read Online The Royal Handmaid by Gilbert Morris - Free Book Online Page A

shrugging. “We let go of things, don’t we, as time goes on? There’s always the last of something—the last time we play ball, the last time we see someone. Life is pretty much a series of endings.” He looked up at the sky and said, “The weather’s good. We ought to make Hawaii with no trouble.”
    “How long will you stay there, Caleb?”
    “Just long enough to take on water and any supplies we might have forgotten.”
    The men stood discussing the supplies they would be needing by that point in the voyage, and finally Caleb said, “Well, time to set sail.”
    “Good-bye, Caleb. May God give you a good voyage.”
    “I’ll be careful to get your girl to the islands.”
    Loren Matthews moved to the gangplank and watched as the men began to run the sails up. They were good sailorsand he trusted them. He longed to stay on board the Mary Anne and forget everything else, but that could not be.
    Finally Rena came running to him and threw herself into his arms. “Good-bye, Daddy. Thank you for all you’ve done. We’ll make you proud of us.”
    “I already am,” he said. “God go with you, daughter.”
    Matthews stepped off the gangplank, and Novak nodded as he undid the mooring lines. “Good-bye, sir.”
    “Good-bye, Novak. Look out for these people. They’ll need your help.”
    Novak grinned back. “I’ll do my best, Mr. Matthews.”
    Matthews stood on the dock and watched as the Mary Anne began to move out slowly at first, almost imperceptibly. The passengers lined the deck to wave good-bye while the crew scampered over the sails and loosed all the mooring lines. The Mary Anne turned slowly into the channel, and the breeze caught the sails, puffing them out. Almost like a living thing, the Mary Anne surged toward the open sea. Loren looked at Rena, who was in the stern waving. He waved back and cried out, “Good-bye, daughter!”
    Her voice came to him clearly, “Good-bye, Daddy—I love you!”
    Matthews watched as the Mary Anne left the harbor and began to bob gently up and down on the waves. He waited until she was nothing but a dot on the horizon, and then he turned slowly and walked with a heavy step back toward his car.
    ****
    Rena grasped the rail as the Mary Anne lifted and plunged on the open sea. She had only been on her father’s yacht once before, and that was only for a short jaunt down the coast. She had felt so queasy on that day trip that she had not wanted to take any longer trips, preferring to take ocean liners, where the floor was almost as steady as at home. As the wind picked up and the motion of the Mary Anne increased, Rena suddenlyremembered her earlier experience with seasickness. She had forgotten that in all the excitement of planning for the mission. Now the salt water sprinkled her face, and she felt the first pangs of nausea. Oh no, I’m going to be sick!
    Even as she thought this, she regretted the heavy breakfast she had eaten. Dalton came up to stand beside her, looking aristocratic as always, and untroubled by the movement of the ship. “Well, we’re on our way,” he said.
    “Yes, we are.”
    “Are you glad? But of course you are.” He reached out and took her hand as he gazed at the horizon. “It’s a long way in a big ocean.” When she did not speak, he turned back and his eyes widened. “You’re pale! Are you getting sick?”
    “I’m afraid I am, Dalton.”
    “Well, you’d better go to your cabin and lie down. I hear seasickness is a terrible thing.”
    Rena licked her lips and then pressed them together. “I got a bit queasy the other time I was on this ship. The motion doesn’t bother me on the big steam ships, but this pitching—” Without another word, she left his side and made her way belowdecks. Going to her cabin, she sat down abruptly as the ship began to roll from side to side. The nausea increased, and she rose to get a basin. She did not make it, though, for suddenly she felt sicker than she ever had in her life. She lost her